Steak & Pasta with creamy tomato sauce

First off, let me say one thing: make this meal. It's seriously amazing.

5 cloves garlic, finely minced, divided
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 lb lean steak cubed (I used ribeye, it was on sale!)
16 oz whole-wheat pasta (I used wheat egg noodles)
Olive oil cooking spray
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
1 28-oz jar or can no-salt-added crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp dried basil
8 oz fat free sour cream

Prepare marinade: In a bowl, whisk together 3 cloves garlic, vinegar, Dijon, cinnamon and pepper. Pour marinade over steak cubes in another container, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (You can also leave steak to marinate overnight.)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Drain steak cubes and discard marinade. Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat for 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-high, mist with cooking spray and sauté steak until browned on each side, about 4 minutes total. Remove steak from pan and set aside.

Mist same pan with cooking spray again, add onion and remaining 2 cloves garlic and sauté until brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and reduce heat to medium low. Add seasoning, basil and sour cream and combine. Cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, then mix in reserved steak and cook for 2 more minutes, until meat and sauce are completely warmed.

Serve 1 cup pasta with 3/4 cup steak sauce. Garnish with an additional sprinkling of Italian seasoning, if desired.

We had this with roasted asparagus (400 degree oven, 20 minutes - spritz of olive oil, salt & pepper before roasting), and fresh homemade pesto bread. This was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Make this, make it!

Flounder & Black Bean Burrito Casserole

**The original recipe calls for Halibut, we had flounder -- so I went with that! Any flaky white fish will do!


Olive oil cooking spray
10 oz white fish - cut in 1/4 inch strips
3 tsp fresh lime juice, divided
1/2 tsp ground cumin, divided
1 cup cooked or canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup cooked brown rice
2 green onions, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup corn kernels (thawed, if frozen)
1/2 tsp finely grated lime zest
1/4 cup finely diced roasted red pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
8whole-wheat tortillas - we used xtreme wellness tortillas
1 1/2 oz low-fat Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese, finely grated (about 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream or low-sodium salsa for garnish, optional

Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly mist an 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray; set aside.
In a small bowl, toss fish with 1 tsp lime juice and 1/4 tsp cumin; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine remaining 2 tsp lime juice, remaining 1/4 tsp cumin, beans and following 6 ingredients; stir to combine.
Lay tortillas out on a flat work surface and mound 1/3 cup bean mixture onto center of each. fish in a single layer on top of bean mounds. Roll each tortilla to enclose filling but keep ends open. Arrange filled tortillas, seam sides down, in 1 layer in prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese and bake, covered with aluminum foil, for 10 minutes. Then remove foil and continue baking until burritos are crispy and cheese is golden brown, about 15 minutes more. Serve burritos with sour cream or salsa, if desired. 

These were delicious!!! So fresh and flavorful! When Brian finished eating, he said "I look forward to having the leftovers tomorrow for lunch", so that's a great sign! We enjoyed them with fat free sour cream & salsa!

Whoa, where did January go?

I cannot believe that January is almost over! Crazy! Today is the 29th, and I can proudly say that we tried 21 new recipes so far this year, and have significantly changed our eating habits! We are eating FAR less processed foods, tons more fresh vegetables, and have been eating a few vegetarian meals a week. I have really enjoyed searching for new recipes, and cooking all of these healthy meals!

Last week was a little off track - I wasn't feeling great, and we had friends come into town (yay!), so that threw off our meal plan some.

This week I still have three recipes left from last week to make:
Seafood & Corn Chowder
Steak Pasta
Halibut & Black Bean Burrito Casserole

I plan on making these, and then using up some of our pantry to make the rest of the meals this week! I will post what we try!

Thank you so much for everyone that has encouraged me to continue this blog. I love hearing that people have tried some of the recipes, and loved them! VERY encouraging!

Chicken Cheesesteak Panini Wrap

4 cups sliced yellow onions (2 lg onions)
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 lg red bell pepper, sliced
2- 6oz chicken breast
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 oz low fat shredded cheddar
1/4 cup skim milk
4 whole wheat tortillas

Heat large saute pan on high. When skillet is hot, add onion and stir constantly for two minutes until onion begins to soften and release a bit of liquid. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook onion for 2 more minutes without stirring.

Add vinegar and 1/4 c. water, a bit at a time, stirring and scraping any brown bits from the bottom of skillet as liquid evaporates. Reduce heat to low and let onion simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until very soft, sweet and golden.

Meanwhile, heat a separate saute pan on high. Add red pepper and mushroom to hot, dry pan and saute for 2 minutes, stirring constantly as vegetables soften and release some liquid. Reduce heat to medium-low and let vegetables simmer for 5 more minutes until very soft and most of the liquid has evaporated.

Increase heat to high and add chicken to pan. Saute for 5 - 7 minutes, stirring often until chicken is cooked all the way through. Season with black pepper, cover pan and reduce heat to very low to keep mixture warm.

When onions are very soft, add cheese and milk to skillet, stirring as cheese melts into the onion

Place a quarter of chicken mixture and quarter of onions in a line on bottom third of each wrap. Roll like a burrito.

Very easy lunch idea -- just save a chicken breast from the night befores dinner!

Sweet & Sour Chicken w/ lo mein

Chinese night again! We love chinese food, so making it where we can have it - AND it not be bad for us - is wonderful! This was really great, especially the chicken! If you don't watn to use the "pasta" that is used in this recipe - replace it with wheat angel hair pasta. No problem! We baked egg rolls to go with this - frozen 80 calorie egg rolls -- nothing fancy :)

1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp raw honey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4 breasts), chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks (about 1 cup)
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks (about 1 cup)
1 small yellow onion, chopped (about 3/4 cup)

In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger and pepper flakes. Place chicken in a large shallow dish. Pour soy sauce mixture over chicken, tossing gently. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and marinade and sauté for 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Add bell peppers and onion and cook for 5 minutes or until vegetables are slightly tender. Enjoy!

Carmelized Onion Paninis

2 tsp olive oil
4 cups sliced onions (4 onions)
4 tsp honey mustard -- you can buy premade. I made my own. Mixed equal parts honey & musatrd.
8 slices whole wheat bread
4 sliced cheese (I used provolone, could use any type you like!)

Heat oil in skillet, add onions, cook over low heat 30 minutes, stirring occasionally - until onions reduce and caramelize.
Preheat panini grill or sandwich maker (I used grill pan & panini press  - can also use flat pan & heavy pan on top). Spread 1 tsp of the honey ustard on each of 4 bread slices. Top evenly with carmelized onions & 1 slice of cheeese. Top with remaining bread pieces.
Place sandwiches on grill, press for 4 minutes until cheese is melted. Flip halfway through if using a pan & press/weight. Serve!


These were DELICIOUS!!! We had them with a salad - spring mix greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, fat free feta  & homemade balsamic! (dressing recipe below) We will be having these again! YUM!

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic

1 tsp raw honey

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp dijon mustard

juice of 1 lemon (I used my Pampered Chef juicer - works AMAZING!)

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, honey, garlic, dijon mustard & lemon juice. (I shook it all in a mason jar, and stored remaining dressing that way!). Drizzle over salad. ENJOY!

Week #4 Grocery list & plan!

Steak Salad w/ black peppercorn yogurt dressing
Seafood corn chowder
Chicken Cheesesteak Wrap Panini w/ potato wedges
Sweet & Sour Chicken w/ veggie lo mein
Steak & farfalle Pasta
Halibut & black bean burrito casserole

Please do not be intimidated by the grocery list! You probably have a lot of it in your house already. The grocery list has every ingredient you will use for the week including spices, meats, cheese, EVERYTHING! Last week I had about 80 things on the list, when I deleted what I already had, I bought 24 items. You can save money by stocking up on items when they are on sale - especially meats!

**I just deleted items I had on hand - this week I need 26 items from the store

Yellow onion -4

Lg red bell pepper -3
green pepper
zucchini -1

1 cup bean sprouts

scallions
russet potatoes - 4

Iceberg lettuce

Romaine

Cucumber

Red onion
Avocado

Celery

Jalapeno
Cilantro

Chicken breast – 1.5 lb

Low fat grated cheddar
Fat free sour cream

Milk
Non fat greek yogurt
3 packages House Foods Tofu Shirataki Spaghetti Shaped Noodle Substitute

Beef tenderloin – 10 oz
10 oz white fish
¾ lb sea scallops

½ lb shrimp

Lean steak – 1 lb

Frozen corn kernels

Whole wheat pasta (not spaghetti/linguine)

28 oz jar crushed tomatoes

1 bag (about 12 ounces) frozen Chinese-style stir-fry mixed vegetables

canned black beans

Brown rice

Frozen Corn

Roasted red peppers

Whole wheat tortillas

Salsa

Pantry Staples
Pepper

Honey

Ginger

Sugar

Cornstarch

Soy

Chicken boullion

Cumin
Garlic

Olive oil

Apple cider vinegar

Red Wine Vinegar

Paprika

Thyme

Dijon Mustard

Cinnamon

Italian Seasoning

Basil
red pepper flakes
Lime Juice