Northern Italy Vegetable Stew (or something like that)

At the end of last semester, I was a bit sleep deprived from a combination of work, studying for finals, packing for Christmas Break, and various other things.  So of course just as my immune system is completely compromised, I hop on a plane, to fly home to the midwest, where it's freezing.  By the time I made it to my parents house, I was about 90% sure I was getting sick.  My parents took me to Olive Garden for dinner my first night home, and I followed one of my #1 rules for eating healthy when eating out:

Always at least look at the "lighter fare" or "under 500 calorie" options on the menu.  You don't have to order from it, but at least consider it.

I have never been happier that I created that rule for myself.  I discovered this fabulous non-pasta option at Olive Garden called Chicken Abruzzi which I felt like was an antioxidant immune-system-boosting wonderland of perfection.  I ordered it, and it turned out to also be delicious!  (And apparently all those immune-system-boosting ingredients did the trick, because I felt better within 24 hours!)

I couldn't remember exactly what was in it, but last week I decided to create something similar at home.

I don't really know exactly what to call this, because there definitely wasn't enough broth to be a soup, but a "one-pot pile of vegetables on a plate" doesn't really sound appealing, and it sort of has a broth, so I'm calling it a stew.  You could easily make this more of a soup by simply adding an extra can of broth.  By substituting vegetable broth, this is also easily a vegetarian/vegan meal!

The food:

1 can great northern or cannellini beans

1 can diced tomatoes (drained)

1 can chicken broth

3-4 medium-large yukon gold potatoes, cubed (substitute any type of potato, but russet potatoes will take longer to cook or should be cut into smaller pieces)

Kale (torn into pieces, stems removed) - I'd say I used about 3/4 of a "bunch" bought at the store... I don't have an exact measurement on this.

Garlic (I honestly just dumped the last of my small jar of minced garlic into the pan... I'd guess it was about a tablespoon, but you can use less if you don't want it to be super garlic-ey.  I also think this would be fabulous with whole cloves of roasted garlic like the original at Olive Garden, but I was improvising)

Basil

Oregano

Salt & pepper to taste

The gear:

Knife and cutting board

can opener

a large pan
A spoon or ladel of some sort.  

The know-how:

1. Saute garlic over medium-low heat (I just used the liquid from the jar of garlic, but you could easily use olive oil or a little bit of the chicken broth.) about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add the beans AND the liquid from the can (the starch from the beans will help create a thicker, richer broth.)

3. Add the canned tomatoes and chicken broth, bring to a low boil.

4. Stir in the basil, oregano, and any other seasonings.

5. Add the potatoes.  Keep it at a simmer or low boil about 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender

6. Add the kale, stir to submerge in liquid.  Let simmer just until kale has wilted.

7. Enjoy!

Roasted Spaghetti Squash

Roasted spaghetti squash, straight from the oven!

A few people have recently asked me how I cook spaghetti squash, so I figured there's no time like the present to write a blog post on it.  So without further ado:

The Food:
1 spaghetti squash
Olive oil
2-3 teaspoons minced garlic (I buy the already minced kind in a jar)
basil
oregano
salt
other seasonings as desired
Parmesan cheese (optional) 

The Gear:
a cookie sheet or baking dish
cutting board
a good sharp chef's knife
a large serving/mixing bowl

The Know-how:
1. Rinse the spaghetti squash (not-so-fun fact:  you should always rinse your produce before you cut into it.  The knife will bring any bacteria from the outside right into the edible part of the food!)
2. Cut the spaghetti squash in half.  I prefer to cut it lengthwise, ending up with two oval shapes, but this is more difficult.  If you don't have the best knife skills, I'd recommend just cutting it in half so you get two circle pieces.
3. Scoop out the seeds and the very center fleshy part (this will have a very different texture than the rest of the squash, much like when you are carving a pumpkin.)
4. Slice into the center of the squash a few times.  This will allow the olive oil and flavors to seep into the rest of the squash better.
5. Place the squash in a baking dish or on a cookie sheet with the cut side up.  Drizzle olive oil over the squash.  You may even end up with a small puddle of oil in the hollow part of the squash -- this is fine!
6. Spread the minced garlic along the hollow area of the squash.
7. Sprinkle salt, basil, and oregano over the squash
8. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour.  The edges should have a slightly golden brown color.
9. Remove from oven.  Take a fork and scrape out the squash.  It should pull apart into spaghetti-like strands (hence the name.)  If it doesn't come apart easily, put in the oven an additional 10 minutes or so.  
10.  Use the fork and another utensil (I prefer a pair of tongs, but anything will do) to remove the squash from the skin and transfer to a large bowl.  If desired, add cheese and toss lightly.  
11. Enjoy!

Served with zucchini and Italian chicken sausage

PB&J Overnight Oats

Who in their right mind doesn't like a PB&J every now and then?  Okay, if you have a peanut allergy, you're exempt, but otherwise, if you don't like PB&J, you might be insane.  I discovered overnight oats about a year or so ago, and while I do enjoy them, I've struggled to find the right combination of flavors and textures to make something I can eat regularly.  Then, last night, in my new apartment, with none of my usual toppings and mix-ins on hand, I came up with this brilliant concoction.  Overnight oats are a nice twist on the classic, comforting flavors of PB&J.

The food:

1/3 cup oats

1/3 cup nonfat milk (or whatever milk you have handy… almond, soy, nonfat, etc. are all fine)

1/3 cup yogurt (I prefer Dannon light and fit greek vanilla, but anything with complimentary flavors will work)

1 Tbsp crunchy, natural peanut butter

2 Tbsp reduced sugar craisins

The gear:

Container with lid

Spoon

Measuring cups and spoons

(This is really high tech stuff here folks)

The know-how:

Combine all ingredients in container, stir, and refrigerate overnight.  (Again, this is really tricky.)  Add additional milk if desired to reach preferred thickness/texture.  Enjoy!

The Numbers:

Calories: 320
Protein: 17g
Sugar: 17g  (You can pretty much cut this in half by using unsweetened almond milk and skipping the craisins)
Fiber:  9g

Overnight oats are great because you can prep them the night before and have breakfast ready to go when you wake up in the morning!  They are also easily portable, so you can toss the container in your lunchbox and eat it when you get to work/school/etc. if you are in a hurry.  As an added bonus, they are cool and refreshing, which is nice in this hot summer weather!

While this particular flavor combination is my favorite, I also enjoy them with vanilla and fresh blueberries instead of the PB and craisins, and hope to try an apple cinnamon variety soon.  Basically, feel free to toss in whatever sounds good to you, just keep in mind if it is something that will get soggy, you may want to add it in the morning instead.

Cinnamon Apple Oat Muffins

September is here, which means apple cinnamon things are going to be all the rage for the next few months as we embrace the wonderful fall flavors of apples.  

Last winter, I was on a search for the perfect healthy, filling, cinnamon apple muffins.  I knew I wanted to use applesauce, oats, and fresh apples, and I knew I wanted to use minimal "unhealthy" things like butter and oils.  While I love to cook, baking is not my forte, since once it's in the oven you can't really change anything.  So when it comes to baking, I tend to stick to tried and true recipes and am very hesitant to make any changes... so the idea of making up my own recipe from scratch was just a bit too intimidating, and instead, I searched, and searched, and searched.  At one point I probably had 15 different muffin recipes bookmarked in my browser.  After at least a month, I finally found one that looked pretty close to what I wanted and decided to give it a try!

Best life decision ever.  

I ended up making several batches of these over the course of a few months.  They are great for an on-the-go breakfast!  I ended up individually wrapping some and freezing them to make them last longer too!  I also took a batch to a friend when they had a new baby. It was a quick, tasty, healthy treat for them to eat when they had their hands full adjusting to a new baby!  

And now, without further ado, here is my recipe, adapted from Fearless Homemaker:

Yield: about 12 muffins

The food:

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 egg white

2 medium apples, peeled and diced (I prefer gala, but any apple will do!)

Seriously, look at all these awesome ingredients!  Please note the lack of butter or overly processed crap!

The gear:  

Mixing bowls, spoon/spatula, measuring cups/spoons, muffin tins.  Some of those paper muffin-tin liners or some cooking spray.

The know-how:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.

3. Peel and finely dice your apples; set aside.  I usually aim for about 1 centimeter cubes, but I'm not all that precise.

4. In another bowl, combine applesauce, oil, and egg white, and stir into the dry ingredients until moistened.  The batter will be fairly thick.

5. Fold apple pieces into the rest of the batter.

6. Scoop muffins into muffin tins.  Fill each cup pretty full (3/4 or more.)  I like to use a plastic ice cream scoop which gets me a pretty even amount that happens to work perfectly for me.

7. Bake 15-18 minutes.  Poke one or two with a toothpick to make sure they're done.

8. If you wanna be fancy, head back over to the Fearless Homemaker and make the recipe for a streusel-like topping.  I prefer to skip this step, as it makes them healthier, less messy, and more portable!  

9. Enjoy!

Cheesy Mexican Rice and Veggies

As usual, all amounts of ingredients are an estimate!  I had this with chili-lime pork steaks and tortilla chips, but it would go great with fajitas or any other mexican dish too!

The food:
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 can rotel tomatoes w/ green chilis
3 cups dry brown rice
Water - amount listed on rice package instructions, minus 1/2 cup
Shredded cheese (I prefer colby jack, but any cheese will do!)
1 small red onion
half of a sweet bell pepper (red, yellow, or orange)
Vegetable oil
fresh cilantro (optional)
chipotle powder (optional)
Sour cream (optional)

The Gear:
Large Skillet with lid, knife, cutting board.

The know-how:
1. Heat skillet w/ small amount of vegetable oil
2. Dice the onion and red pepper, saute in skillet until tender
3. Add rice, water, and can of rotel tomatoes to skillet.  Stir in cilantro and chipotle powder. Bring to boil.
4. Reduce heat, and cover with lid - cook according to rice package instructions (usually simmer about 30 minutes)
5. While rice is cooking, open and drain the corn and black beans.  Stir into the rice mixture during last 5-10 minutes of cooking.
6. top with shredded cheese and replace lid until cheese is melted.
7. Serve and enjoy!  Top with a dollop of sour cream if desired!

Easy Avocado Chicken Salad

It's grilling season!  Which at my house means we always have leftover chicken in the fridge - this variation of a typical chicken salad and is a great way to use up those leftovers! It's great on it's own, but like it served on whole wheat toast or crackers.

This is another one of those recipes that came about just by throwing things together, and if you've seen some of the other recipes I've posted, then you know that I don't exactly measure things.  I've done my best to estimate the amounts of things, but feel free to change up the proportions to meet your tastes!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: none

Skill level:  A monkey could do it

The Food

2 small or 1 large avocado

1 large chicken breast, cooked

1/2 cup diced red onion

a handful of cherry or grape tomatoes

juice of half a lime

Salt and Pepper to taste

The Gear

You'll need some fancy equipment for this one: knife, cutting board, mixing bowl, spoon... Very high tech.

The know-how

1. Chop the chicken breast and avocado, and cut the cherry tomatoes in half or quarters.  (If you've never used fresh avocado before, here's a simple video tutorial for an easy way to remove the pit.)

2. Combine all ingredients except the lime in a mixing bowl, stir it together.  

3. Squeeze the juice of half the lime over the mixture.  Stir

4. Best served immediately.  Cover and refrigerate any leftovers. 

Note:  leftovers will quickly begin to brown, but they are still good to eat.  Just like an apple will brown after it's been sliced.  Supposedly, if you save the pit of the avocado and put it in the container, it won't brown as quickly, but I've had limited success with this.  

Enjoy!

Penne Asparagus Alfredo

I feel a little guilty even calling this a recipe, so I guess it’s more of a meal idea/suggestion.  Everybody likes pasta, and pasta is easy to cook, but nobody eats just plain pasta without any type of sauce or anything.  Marinara sauce is an easy vegetarian option, but it can get boring after a while.  Alfredo is a great alternative, but we typically hear alfredo and immediately think, “chicken alfredo” – what about the vegetarians?!  Asparagus goes great with alfredo, but plenty of other vegetables go well with it too.  Off the top of my head, I’d say broccoli, mushrooms, and asparagus would be my top choices. 

Simply cook the pasta according to directions.  Then steam or sauté your vegetables in a large skillet or pan.  Once your veggies are cooked almost to how you like them, pour in a jar of ready-made alfredo sauce (there are plenty of light varieties out there!), and heat it on low while your pasta finishes cooking.  Personally, I think some pre-made alfredo sauces are a bit bland, so I tend to add some minced garlic and some basil and oregano.  

Smoothie Success!

I absolutely LOVE smoothies, but I never seem to have time in the morning to make them before I leave for work.  Every now and then I’ll have one for lunch on a weekend, but I just never have a chance to have a smoothie for breakfast, which is just downright disappointing.  Well today I was strangely ahead of schedule, so I finally had my first breakfast smoothie of Meatless May! 

Smoothies are a great way to get some of your servings of fruit and vegetables for the day, as well as a great source of protein!  For me, every new smoothie is an experiment, and not always successful (last week I tried one that was a complete disaster!)  As a general, guide, I use some frozen and some fresh fruit, and either liquid (almond milk, green tea, juice, etc.)  and a scoop of protein powder, or Greek Yogurt.  I have made one attempt at adding veggies so far, but haven’t had much luck with that yet. 

Today’s smoothie was one of the best tasting and most filling smoothies I’ve made in a while, so I thought I’d share it with you!

Sunrise Smoothie Recipe (Orange, Pineapple, Strawberry)

Yield: about 20 oz.

The Food:

1 orange – peeled

2-3 slices of fresh pineapple – cut into large chunks  (If you don't have fresh, you can use canned, just make sure to get the "in juice" rather than "in syrup" and drain it well to avoid adding extra sugar!)

8-10 whole frozen strawberries (if your blender is not very powerful, smaller pieces of frozen strawberries may be easier)

About 1 cup greek yogurt (17 grams of protein!!)

The Gear:

Blender

The Know-How:

1. Combine all ingredients in blender.  Be sure to put your strawberries in first since they are frozen so that they will blend up more easily.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Enjoy.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

I’ve been dying to try quinoa stuffed peppers ever since I came across this recipe on pinterest.  This one looks amazing, but I was really in the mood for a more southwest/Mexican style recipe, so I did some googling and found this great recipe that I used as the basis for my recipe.  Since I was serving mine with a black bean and corn salad, I decided to omit them from the peppers.  That’s the great thing about stuffed peppers; you can make them to really suit your own preferences!  I also wanted to be able to make extra quinoa to have with throughout the week that would have a milder flavor to go with various other things. You could easily modify the recipe to make just the 2 peppers, or use the same recipe and just use more peppers.  For each whole pepper, you will need about 1-1½ cups of the quinoa mixture.

A few notes about quinoa:

• Quinoa is technically a seed, but often referred to as a whole grain.
• It is a complete protein with all the essential amino acids, making it a great part of a vegetarian or vegan diet!
• It is similar to rice in texture, flavor and cooking technique, and they can be easily substituted for each other in many recipes.
• As a general rule of thumb, 1 cup dry quinoa yields approx. 3 cups cooked.
• When cooking quinoa, use 2 parts liquid (water, chicken or vegetable broth, etc.) to 1 part dry quinoa.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers Recipe

Yield: 2 medium peppers, plus 4 servings of leftover quinoa

Active time: about 15-20 minutes.

Total cook time: about an hour.

The Food:

2 medium bell peppers – (red, yellow, or orange will be sweet; green will by more spicy)

1 ½ cups dry quinoa

3 cups water (for more flavor, you can substitute part of this with chicken or vegetable stock)

½ a medium yellow or white onion

1-2 small tomatoes or ½ can diced tomatoes, well drained

1-1½ cups finely chopped carrots (I used matchstick carrots then just gave them a course chop)

1-2 teaspoons minced/chopped garlic

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

Vegetable oil

Oregano – amount varies by preference; I used about a handful of fresh oregano finely chopped.

Chili powder – amount varies by preference; I used just a quick sprinkle because I don’t like it too spicy

Chipotle powder - amount varies by preference; see above

Other herbs or spices as desired

¼ - ½ cup shredded cheddar or Colby jack cheese

1-2 slices “spicy” cheese such as pepperjack (I happened to have jalapeño white cheddar, so I used that)

The Gear:

Large skillet – large enough to hold your water and quinoa without boiling over OR a smaller skillet and a large pot.

Small baking dish

Nonstick foil or cooking spray

The basics (Knives, cutting boards, measuring cups, etc.)

The Know-how:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onions and celery and cook about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the garlic and continue cooking (stirring occasionally) until onions are translucent, about another 2-3 minutes.
3. Add water, oregano, quinoa, and carrots.  If you want all of your quinoa to be more on the “southwest” or spicy side, go ahead and add all your spices and herbs now.  I wanted the leftover quinoa to be mild to go well with other dishes, so I add those spices later.
4. Bring water to boil and boil about 5 minutes.  Reduce heat and simmer covered, an additional 15 minutes.  When the quinoa is done, most of the liquid will be gone and the quinoa will have a rice-like texture and have small white spirals visible on each seed.
5. While the quinoa is cooking, slice the peppers in half lengthwise and remove the seeds.  Spray the baking dish with cooking spray or line with nonstick foil.  Place the peppers in the baking dish.  Dice your fresh tomatoes or drain your canned.
6. Remove about 2-3 cups of quinoa to a mixing bowl.  (Set any remaining quinoa aside to cool so you can store the leftovers.)  Stir in remaining spices, diced tomatoes, and shredded cheese.
7. Scoop the quinoa mixture into the pepper halves – don’t be afraid to pack it in there tightly. 
8. Cover the dish with foil and bake for about 30-35 minutes.
9. Remove the dish from the oven and top each pepper with ¼ - ½  of a slice of the pepperjack or other cheese – just enough to form a thin layer that will bubble up nicely and cover the top. 
10. Bake an additional 5 minutes uncovered until cheese is bubbling.

This makes a great vegetarian meal served with black bean and corn salad and fresh avocado, but would pair well with any Mexican-style dish!  As for the unused quinoa in this recipe, just let it cool, pop it in some Tupperware and refrigerate to have later in the week!

Quick and Easy Black Bean and Corn Salad

I discovered this recipe last summer, and it is delicious!  It goes great as a side dish with any Mexican meal, or use it as a salsa or to top a salad.  It’s also a great way to use up leftover corn (just use your leftovers instead of the can) or use up fresh tomatoes before they go bad.  No cooking required!

The Food:

1 medium red onion

1 can black beans – drained

1 can corn – drained

1 can diced tomatoes – drained –for an added kick, substitute a can of rotel tomatoes with green chiles!

Juice of half a lime

Small handful of fresh cilantro, finely chopped/shredded

The Gear:

Can-opener.  Bowl. Spoon.  Knife. Very high-tech stuff here folks.

The Know-how:

1. Open cans.  Drain out excess liquid.
2.  Dice onion.
3. dump contents of cans into bowl. Add diced onion.  Stir.
4. Slice lime in half.  Squeeze juice over vegetable mixture.
5. Chop up the cilantro.  Stir into the mixture.
6. Refrigerate covered at least 30 minutes to chill and let flavors combine.  Personally, I think it tastes best the next day

 See?  Isn't that easy?  Super easy and super yummy!