Chicken d'lish Kabobs

The name says it all, these were great! We had garlic naan bread with it (bought from the stores deli) - YUM!

1/4 cup fat free greek yogurt - plain
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt
dash paprika
1 lb boneless skinless chicken, cut in bite size pieces
Green bell pepper
onion

Combine yogurt, lemon juice & seasonings. Marinate at least one hour. (Mine marinated for 8!). Assemble kabobs using onions, peppers & chicken. Grill until done.

Baked Ziti with summer vegetables

4 oz uncooked wheat ziti noodles
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups chopped yellow squash
1 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups chopped tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup shredded part skim  mozzarella cheese (divided)
2 tbsp fresh basil
2 tsp fresh oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 cup fat free ricotta cheese
1 egg
cooking spray

Cook pasta according to package directions.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil to pan. Add squash, zucchini, and onion. Saute 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and garlic, saute 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in pasta, 1/2 cup mozzarella, and herbs.
Combine ricotta, egg, and salt. Stir into pasta mixture. Spoon into an 8x8 baking dish - coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until bubbly and browned.

My husband, who thinks meat is required at EVERY meal, said "this is great, you can make it anytime!". It was VERY good. That little bit of ricotta makes it so creamy and rich. It makes four large servings! All it needs is a little side salad!

Miso Glazed Chicken

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar 
• 3 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
• 2 1/2 tablespoons honey
• 1 1/2 tablespoons white miso
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chile paste 
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
• 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil, divided
• 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite size pieces
  
  

  
  

  1. 1. Combine first 6 ingredients, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in 1 tablespoon oil. Place chicken in a zip-top plastic bag. Add vinegar mixture; seal. Marinate in refrigerator for 1 hour, turning once.
  2. 2. Preheat oven to 400°.
  3. 3. Remove chicken from bag; reserve marinade. Place marinade in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes or until syrupy, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; divide mixture in half. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil; swirl. Add chicken; sauté 4 minutes. Turn chicken over; brush chicken with half of marinade mixture. Place pan in oven; bake at 400° for 6 minutes or until done. Remove chicken from oven; brush with remaining half of marinade mixture, turning to coat. Sprinkle with cilantro, if desired.
  
  This was a great quick chicken dish! Let the chicken marinade for a few hours, or even over night! VERY fast to cook after it's prepped. We had this with vegetable gyoza (From Trader Joes), and some stir-fry fresh vegetables. delicious!

Spicy Beef Sandwiches

1 boneless beef chuck roast (any cut of roast will do!)
1 jar (12 oz) pepperoncini
1 cup water
1/2 packet french onion soup mix
12 oz sweet red wine
1 onion, chopped
1 bag frozen bell pepper blend
2 tbsp italian seasoning
1 french loaf bread
sliced provolone cheese

Trim fat from beef & discard. Pour pepper juice into crock pot - Cut off tops of pepperoncinis and place the peppers into the crock pot as well. Add all remaining ingredients (except bread & cheese!), cook on low for 8-10 hours. Shred beef with form. Serve on french bread, topped with cheese.

These were really good! Such easy prep, and then a delicious dinner 10 hours later! We will be repeating this one!

April 16 - GO DAY!

All blog, no recipe :)

What a crazy month! Owens first birthday, Multiple showers (yay for weddings & babies!), a week long trip to Disney and my mom came to visit from Texas! WOW! When it's all said and done, I've picked up about two pounds in the last month. (Minnie mouse makes some AMAZING white chocolate raspberry cookies by the way). Anyways, back on track now! I can tell the difference in how I feel from eating all the processed junk lately. I feel so yucky. My skin isn't as clear, I'm not in as good of a mood - just an all around "blah" feeling - all from those lovely preservatives, MSG and all the other crap in our food!
My great friend, Missy, a new beachbody coach (yay!) is doing a challenge on her facebook page. I'm doing it. Nothing like a friendly competition to shake you back into getting on track! Go "like" her page - she posts recipes, tips, words of encouragement, and sometimes that blast of reality you need! You won't regret it - go "like" her page!

Just an idea of what to look forward to this week:
Miso chicken
Summer squash pasta with scallops
Jamaican jerk chicken with beans & greens
Garlic Cilantro Shrimp
Stir fry & tuna steaks

It's going to be an amazing week here! And it can be for you too! Just dedicate yourself, and DO IT!

This is what I did this afternoon:

Fresh fruit, stir-fry veggies for a quick lunch or snack, and prepped salad toppings!

Bread, Bread, Bread and more bread!

Any guesses what this blog is about? BREAD!

It really is crazy when you look at the ingredient list in a loaf of store-bought bread. Or a bag of bagels.

PLAIN BAGEL INGREDIENTS: UNBLEACHED ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR [FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, REDUCED IRON, NIACIN, THIAMIN MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), FOLIC ACID], WATER, SUGAR, SALT, YEAST, CORNMEAL, WHEAT GLUTEN, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, PRESERVATIVES (CALCIUM PROPIONATE, SORBIC ACID), GUAR GUM, CITRIC ACID, MALTODEXTRIN, ALGIN, SOY LECITHIN, SOY FLOUR.

Basic humburger bun: enriched flour, water, salt, wheat gluten, calcium sulfate, soy flour, ammonium sulfate, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, ammonium chloride, baking soda, sorbic acid, deactivated dry yeast, dough conditioners, calcium propionate & sodium propionate (preservatives), and soy lecithin. 

Make you a little uncomfortable to not be able to pronounce all the ingredients in your bread? It should. Lately I have made bagels, hamburger buns & english muffin bread is in the oven as I type. (I'll post recipe, we will assume it's good - I'll report later!)

I found the English Muffin bread recipe here. I made it exactly as she stated - using regular yeast - and I cut the recipe in half. I made 2 loaves, not 4.

Bagels! YUM Bagels!

1 cup warm water

3 cups of bread flour

2 TBS white sugar

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

3 TBS sugar

1 TSP cornmeal

1 egg white

Toppings if wish:  shredded asiago cheese, poppy seeds, dried onion flakes, rock salt, cinnamon sugar...

1.  I add the first 5 ingredients in the order listed.  Set on Dough Cycle.  When complete, place dough on a lightly floured surface. Shape into 8, flatten them, and then poke hole in the middle.  (Make it big, because dough will rise.)

2. Cover bagels with a clean dish towel, and let rise.  Mine take about 30-60 minutes to get rise.  Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil.  Dissolve 3 TBS of sugar in boiling water.

3. Sprinkle an ungreased cookie sheet with cornmeal.  Heat oven to 375.

Transfer bagels to boiling water.  (My pot holds about 4 at a time.)  Boil for 1 minute, turning halfway through.  Remove bagels and place on dish towel to drain.

4. Arrange boiled bagels on baking sheet. Glaze top with egg white.

5. Bake 20 minutes at 375.

These are amazing bagels! And - you can pronounce all the ingredients! YAY! We (my mom & I) made pesto asiago bagels. Add 1/4 cup pesto to the bread machine (add with the water), and top with asiago blend cheese before baking. Seriously, they're amazing.

Hamburger buns!

1 ¼ cups milk , slightly warmed

1 beaten egg

2 tablespoons butter - softened

¼ cup white sugar

¾ teaspoon salt

3 ¾ cups bread flour

1 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast 

Place all ingredients in pan of bread machine according to manufacturer's directions.

Select dough setting.

When cycle is complete, turn out onto floured surface.

Cut dough in half and roll each half out to a 1" thick circle.

Cut each half into six 3 1/2" rounds with inverted glass as a cutter.

Place on greased baking sheet far apart and brush with melted butter.

Cover and let rise until doubled, about one hour.

Bake at 350° for 13 minutes. (until lightly brown)

Mashed potatoes w/ leeks & roasted cabbage

Both of these are easy sides, and best off - they're delicious! :)

Roasted Cabbage:
cut the bottom (the hard part!) off of your head of cabbage. Then cut cabbage into rounds. Drizzle with olive oil & sprinkle with cajun seasonings. Bake at 400 for 45 minutes!

Mashed Red Potatoes w/ leeks & rosemary:
Take 1 lb red potatoes, was them, and dice. Cover potatoes with water, and boil for 15 minutes, until fork tender. In a separate pan, saute one diced leek in 1 tsp olive oil until tender, then stir in 1/2 tsp dried rosemary and cook for 30 more seconds. Drain potatoes. Add leeks to potatoes, 1/4 cup fat free sour cream & 1/4 cup skim milk. Mash in the pain (to how you prefer them -- we kept them chunky!)  Salt & pepper to taste.