35 Day Project: Dinner for a friend

Sometimes, you just do not feel like cooking.  I know that feeling well.  Even though I love to cook, there are days when I am happy that I have left overs, or meals I have frozen, because I just cannot stand the thought of setting foot in the kitchen, and going out to eat, even take out, gets to be pretty pricey anymore.  I love the luxury of a day of not cooking, and I imagine most people do.  Which is why today's act of kindness was extra fun for me.

Today, I cooked dinner for our friends, Erin and Jason.  In July, their beautiful baby boy, Welles, was born.  Over the last 7 months, I have gotten to spend a lot of time with them, and see what truly fabulous parents they are.  Jason works a full time job, and Erin is currently working several part time jobs, including helping direct the musical for a local high school.  Rehearsals are getting down to crunch time, and that means Erin is often not home in the evenings when Jason first gets off of work.  They both work hard, both inside the home and outside of the home.  To add more to their plates, poor Welles has been teething this week, and not resting well.  All of this added up to the perfect excuse to show them some extra kindness.   So, last night, I sent Erin a text message saying "I am cooking your dinner tomorrow."

I decided that I would make a casserole for them.  Cheesy chicken and noodles topped with bread crumbs. Sounds pretty yummy!  I also made them roasted Brussels sprouts and herb bread.  I even included a couple of monster brownies that I made yesterday.  I packed it all up and dropped it off to Jason, while Erin was at practice.  This way, they both can relax when they get home, and enjoy their time together as a family.

Cartoons by Hubby: The Beans Got Burned

The Backstory: I had a bit of a cooking catastrophe today, which is pretty rare for me.  I wanted to make black beans as part of dinner.  I had dried beans, but forgot to soak them overnight.  However, I know you can cook them in the pressure cooker without soaking them first, you just need to cook them a little longer.  Apparently, I judged poorly.  The beans burned, and charred bean residue was stuck inside my pressure cooker.  Hubby had a unique suggestion on how to clean it.  A suggestion, as I pointed out, that could have messy consequences.  As a result, he drew an entire comic strip dedicated to the Burned Bean Issue of 2013.

Review: Torani Syrups

I am a big coffee person, particularly when it comes to flavored coffee.  Two years ago, I switched from a regular coffee maker to a Keurig, which was a smart decision in my opinion.  The only downside is sometimes the flavors I crave are not available in K-cups, particularly in decaf coffee.  I have been trying to cut my caffeine intake, so good decaf is a must for me.  The best solution to this need is flavored syrups.

I was given an opportunity to try two of the holiday flavors from Torani Syrups recently, so of course I jumped at the chance.  The flavors I got to try were Pumpkin Pie and Vanilla Bean.  While both were delicious, the Pumpkin Pie was my personal favorite.

What I like best about these syrups is they are so versatile; they can be used in so much more than making flavored coffees and lattes (though they are delicious in those).  I am not much of a drinker, but I imagine these syrups could be used to make some delicious mixed drinks.  Mix the Pumpkin Pie syrup with some Whipped Cream Vodka, and I bet it would be delicious!  For chocolate lovers, mix it with your hot cocoa for a little extra kick.  To cure a super sweet tooth, mix it with some ice cream, milk, and crushed graham crackers for an amazing Pumpkin Pie milkshake (and maybe even spike it with some of that Whipped Cream Vodka I mentioned!)

I tried to get really creative, and I actually used they syrup, along with some pumpkin butter,  to flavor some Pumpkin Pie scones, which we all snacked on Thanksgiving morning.  They were a big hit!  The Pumpkin Pie flavor, though delicious, is strong, and not one I would want all year round.  But that is what makes holiday flavors so special.  Each year, come October, I want to make pretty much everything pumpkin flavored, so this is perfect.  The Vanilla Bean is a flavor I could see myself using all year round, even to make iced coffees in the summer.

In short, I was really impressed with the quality of these syrups.  Torani syrups are the ones used by my all time favorite coffee shop in Pittsburgh, so it comes as no surprise to me that I love them for use in my own home as well.

This post was sponsored by SheSpeaks and Torani.  They provided me with the product in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are honest and original.

Making the Holiday Season Full

Last month, I talked about my family's Polish Christmas customs, and what a huge part of my identity this is. I cannot imagine a Christmas without these traditions.  But for so many, Christmas is yet another day full of hunger.  So many Americans have difficulty having any type of holiday meal, let alone one that honors their cultural history.

Over the last couple of years, I have gotten to know some amazing folks, thanks to social media, who run a project called The Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project.  The goal is to collect reusable bags to help individuals visiting food pantries to safely, efficiently transport food.  We all know how flimsy plastic and paper bags can be (not to mention the scourge plastic bags are on the environment); imagine trying to carry those flimsy bags across several city blocks, or taking them on public transportation.  Tote bags are collected and distributed to food banks.

In addition, The Pittsburgh Tote Bag project helps raise awareness about various needs of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food bank, about hunger, and about recycling.  In short, this group does a whole lot of good.  As part of their 2012 Holiday Project, they decided to specifically raise awareness about the culturally diverse impact of hunger.  Imagine not having your favorite food, a long standing family tradition, as part of your holiday meal.  The 2012 Holiday Project suggested that people donate ethnic food items, along with a reusable tote bag.

I talked a lot about this last month, and encouraged my readers to donate.  Now, I put my money where my mouth is.  Tonight, I am attending an event where folks from the Pittsburgh social media set will gather together to celebrate the holidays.  We are using the opportunity to also donate tote bags and food items.  The food items I chose to donate are Hispanic food items, including rice, several types of beans, chicken stock, corn meal, coconut milk, tomato sauce, and peppers.  As I shopped, I could not help but think about the people who would receive these items.  I can only hope that this donation will help to honor and bless them as much as being a part of this project has blessed me.

Please consider donating to your local foodbank this holiday season, and take some time to check out The Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project. They are just good people.

Thankful for... good health

In the last 30 days, I have been under the weather an awful lot.  It started with a cold that Hubby had, which got passed to me, just before Halloween.  I was down with that for about 2 weeks.  And earlier this week I was just feeling sort of blah.  I feel a little blah a lot of the time, and it is typically related to my digestion.  I suspect that I have a lot of food related sensitivities and intolerances which contribute to that.  I currently suspect a gluten intolerance, something my mom has been suggesting for years.

Luckily, I have the ability to improve my health in a lot of ways.  Just last month, at my annual checkup, I learned that I dropped my cholesterol pretty significantly.  It could still stand to be a little lower, and I am working on that now.  In addition, my blood pressure is much better than it was at the beginning of the year.  I attribute a lot of these positive changes to alterations we have made to our diet.  The idea of possibly having to go gluten free kind of scares me, but lately I have been toying with gluten free and vegetarian meals, with mostly positive outcomes.

I am not one to say that my way of cooking or my lifestyle in general is the right one for everyone, so when other people push miracle diets/products/lifestyles on me, I tend to bristle a bit.  I think health is something that is extremely personal, and ones health or lifestyle needs change over time.

I look at what some other people I know have dealt with, or are dealing with, and I am thankful for my health, thankful for a body that works the way I want it to (most of the time- getting old kind of sucks though!), thankful for access to wonderful healthcare, and thankful for the opportunity to improve my health with the choices I make.  I am far from being the poster girl for health and wellness, but nevertheless, I am thankful.

 

Thankful for... holiday traditions

Photo Courtesy of ccho

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and like most families, we have our own traditional foods.  Thanksgiving traditions seem to be a regional thing, around here they include green bean casserole, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and of course, turkey.  But every family has their own traditional dishes or desserts that make the meal complete.

For my family, our more ethnically tradition centered holiday meals are Christmas and Easter.  You see, we are Polish.  Unless you live in certain parts of Pittsburgh or Chicago, you may not be aware that there are some pretty serious Polish traditions for the holidays, and for my family, they are what make the holidays complete.  At Christmas, we do the traditional Christmas eve Wigilia dinner, which includes several kinds of fish (no meat), and other Polish dishes, including my personal favorite, pierogi.  On Easter, we make Polish beet borscht, and have several other Polish traditions within our menu.  I cannot imagine celebrating these holidays without my favorite traditional foods.

Yet many people go without their favorite traditional foods during the holidays.  Many people go without any food at all.

In light of this, I am proud to be partnering with the Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project as a sponsor during their holiday project this year (see the button in my sidebar to the right).  This year they are focusing on collecting ethnic holiday foods, to help support the culturally diverse people of the Pittsburgh area.  They have made it so easy to help support this project.  They list different ideas for how you can get involved, include shopping lists of ethnic food items that are in need,  discuss different ways you can become a sponsor, and even list donation drop off locations.

Imagine your absolutely favorite holiday dish.  Now imagine you had to go without it.  That is a pretty terrible feeling.  Imagine how incredible it would feel to know that you, YOU, made someone's holiday special by providing their favorite dish.  During your celebrations tomorrow, and throughout the month of December, please consider getting involved with this truly phenomenal organization and help fight hunger.

I am truly thankful, on this Thanksgiving eve, for the holiday traditions celebrated in my family.  I am equally thankful for the chance to help a family in need get to enjoy holiday traditions of their own.

 

Thankful for... leftovers

Photo Courtesy of Arthaey

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to cook.  A lot.  And most recipes that I cook make at least 6 servings, often more.  I love cooking in large quantities.  It allows me to buy ingredients in bulk, and take advantage of great sales, which helps maximize out budget.  Sometimes, it allows me to provide a no fuss meal for friends in need, like when I helped our close friends prepare for the birth of their son.

Cooking in large quantities also allows me to freeze meals.  Sometimes, I will cook a meal, and immediately freeze half of it.  This helps us prepare for busy schedules, or other unforeseen events.  It prevents us from wasting food as well.

Most importantly, cooking multiple servings of a meal can provide us with leftovers, so that I do not have to cook every single day.  Believe it or not, there are days that I do not want to cook.  Today was one of those days.  I woke up very early, after very little sleep, and immediately got to work.  I stayed busy all day, to the point where I forgot to eat lunch.  By the time I did grab a bite and took some time to relax, I realized that I was feeling a little under the weather.  So, cooking was just about the last thing in the world I wanted to do.  Luckily, I made a huge batch of roasted vegetable curry, so, even though I have no interest in food tonight, Hubby is able to eat a hot, healthy, home cooked meal.

I used to turn my nose up at leftovers when I lived alone.  This was because I had no freezer space, and eating the same thing 6 days in a row can get pretty boring.  But, tonight, I am very thankful for leftovers.

 

Thankful for... too many hobbies.

Because I am not currently working, I have a lot of time to devote to my hobbies.  It has unlocked my own form of creativity.  Nearly three years ago (has it been that long, really?) I returned to blogging with a fresh perspective as a newlywed.  And I loved every minute of it.  I also chose to combine another one of my favorite hobbies, reading, with this new hobby, and began writing a book review blog.  I had no idea what that was going to turn into.  Since then, I have read and reviewed over 400 books.  That is more than some people read in a lifetime!

Blogging also sparked a passion for photography.  I wanted nice, pretty pictures for my posts, and before you know it, I am taking an adult ed class in photography.  While I am extremely amateur, I think my skills have vastly improved.

So blogging led to photography, which led to pictures of what I cook.  And I cook a lot.  One of the greatest ways I contribute to our household is by creating delicious, healthy, cost effective meals.  Because I am proud of my creations, and because they are often just so pretty and tasty looking, I take pictures and share them on my social media sites (yet another hobby).

All of these things snowballed into me doing something today I have been considering for a while... I finally created my own food and cooking blog, entitled The Occasional Veggie.  I will probably start posting all my recipes and food pictures over there as opposed to here, so be sure to follow that blog as well!

It seems, often, that I have too many hobbies (the above are just a few).  Obviously, I cannot focus on all of them at once, and the balance changes often depending on what else is going on in my life.  But I love that I have so many outlets for creativity.  These are the things that keep me mentally sharp, constantly learning, and forever improving.  I am thankful that I have so many opportunities to explore.

Pumpkin Pasta and Pumpkin Chili

It is officially Autumn, and you know what that means?  Pumpkin in EVERYTHING!  Coffee, ice cream, donuts.  Normally a lot of the pumpkin goodies that we see this time of year are not very healthy, so, I have decided to try to incorporate pumpkin into more main dishes.  So far I have tried two different dishes, wheat pasta with pumpkin sauce, and pumpkin chili.  Both turned out so delicious that I just had to share.

Wheat Pasta with Pumpkin Sauce

Ingredients:
1/2 pound your favorite type of wheat pasta (I used penne)
1- 1 1/2 pound ground turkey or chicken
1 small onion
1 granny smith apple
1 cup chicken broth, divided
1 small can of pumpkin (about 3/4 a cup)
1 cup Fiber One Cottage cheese
ground cinnamon
ground cloves
rubbed sage
minced garlic
crumbled goat cheese and pecans to garnish (optional)

Directions:
1.  In large skillet saute chopped onion and apple.  When the onion begins to look translucent, add ground meat, and begin to brown the meat.  As the meat browns, add minced garlic and rubbed sage to taste (I do not like a lot of sage, you may like more, use your judgement.)
2.  Put a large pot of water on to boil.  When water boils, cook the 1/2 pound of pasta according to the package directions.  When fully cooked, drain and return to pot.
3. While pasta cooks, fully brown meat.  When meat is completely cooked, remove the meat, onion, and apple mixture from skillet and set aside.  Deglaze the skillet with 1/3 cup chicken broth.
4. Add to skillet the canned pumpkin, cottage cheese, remaining chicken broth, cinnamon to taste and cloves to taste (I like a lot of cinnamon).  Stir together, and heat on medium until bubbly.  When bubbly, stir in meat mixture.  Simmer for 3-5 minutes to fully combine flavors.
5.  Add the meat sauce to the pan of pasta, and fully mix.   Serve with optional garnish of goat cheese and pecans.

Pumpkin Chili

Ingredients
2 pounds ground chicken or turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 large (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 small (16-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (16-ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1 (16-ounce) can black beans, drained
1 (12-ounce) bottle chili sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
crumbled goat cheese to garnish (optional)

 Directions
1. In a large dutch oven or soup kettle, brown the ground chicken or turkey with the onion. (I browned mine in a small amount of chicken stock, about 1/2 cup.  I added a small amount of chili powder and minced garlic as well, but you do not have to.)
2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well to mix.
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour.

Ladle into bowls and top with grumbled goat cheese if desired.

Enjoy, and feel free to share!

"Pin"satiable

I first took notice of Pinterest a few months ago, when I noticed that quite a few people were reaching my blog from that site.  I knew a few people who had joined, but, as with Twitter and the iPhone, I thought it sounded like a complete time suck and avoided it like the plague.

Then, I was at a party where some of my friends were discussing it, and decided it might be worth a try.  I requested an invitation, and within a week or so, I was granted access to set up my account.

For those of you who do not know, (first off, how do you not know), Pinterest is a site where you create virtual pin or vision boards.  When you first set up your account, they have some preset suggested boards, like "For the Home", and "Recipes" but you can delete or rename these.  In addition, you can create boards with any theme you want.  For example, I have a board for general crafty or DIY stuff, but then I have specific boards set up as inspiration for redecorating our living room and spare room.

I absolutely love this site, and the iPhone app.  I have gotten so many great ideas from here.  Hubby was annoyed at first, until I made several recipes I found on Pinterest.  Now he is a big fan as well.  I not only re-pin things I find on there or the web, but I have pinned a lot of my own original content as well, including entries from my blogs.  My most popular pins are some of Hubby's cartoons.

If any of you are interested in Pinterest, I do have available invitations, so find me on Facebook or Twitter and let me know you would like one.  If you are already on Pinterest, be sure to follow me and my boards by clicking the button in my sidebar.

Happy Pinning Ya'll!

Chicken Pot Pie Cups

One of the hardest things about trying to eat a healthy, low fat diet, after years of, well, not, is that I find myself craving comfort foods.  Particularly in the fall.  So when I found myself craving chicken pot pie, I knew I was in trouble.  Every healthy modified version I found was either still to fat laden for my liking, or just sounded disgusting.  So, I came up with these....

I started off with won ton wrappers.  Using olive oil cooking spray, I lightly sprayed a muffin tin (I found metal works better than silicone in this instance), then I put two won ton wrappers in the bottom of each muffin cup, so that they overlapped and filled the cup.

Next, I created a mixture of the following: 8 ounces of boiled chicken breast tenders which I had shredded, 3/4 cup frozen peas and carrots, 3/4 cup fat free cheddar cheese, and one can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup. I mixed this, along with parsley and poultry seasoning, until blended.  Then, I spooned the filling into each wonton lined cup in the muffin tin.  I popped them into a 350 degree oven until the won tons were crispy and slightly brown.

After removing from the oven, I carefully removed the cups and placed on wax paper to cool, while I repeated the process.  The first dozen was for freezing, the second was for dinner.

I served with oven roasted red potatoes with herbs and reduced fat Parmesan cheese, and more peas and carrots.

Nutrition information (just for the pot pie cups)
Serving size: 2 cups
Calories: 184
Carbs: 25 g
Fat: 2 g
Protein: 15 g
Fiber: 1g
WW Points Plus: 5

Thankful for.... a messy kitchen

Photo Source

These days, it seems my kitchen is always a mess.  Dirty dishes piled up in the sink, trash that needs to be taken out, groceries to be put away.  And truth be told, it makes me incredibly happy.

Do not get me wrong, I hate the mess, and I hate extra clean up.  I am blessed the Hubby is always willing to help clean up in the kitchen.  It is the reason behind the mess for which I am so thankful.

I have always loved to cook.  I grew up in a family where both parents cooked and we went or ordered out to eat.  Going out to eat was a special occasion thing, but there was nothing as comforting and bonding as the family sitting down at our own table for a home cooked meal.  I started cooking when I was in high school.  Just easy things at first, following simple recipes.  As I got older, I began being more adventurous with cooking, plus I paid more attention to how my parents cooked.  So, by the time I moved out on my own, I was well equipped to cook up a storm.

The only thing lacking.... someone to eat it.  I quickly realized I hated cooking for just one person, and began a lot of poor eating habits that plague me to this day.  Every once in a while, I would plan an elaborate dinner party for friends, but for the most part, my life was a table for one.

Then, I met Hubby.  And he was pretty excited that he had a girl who could cook.  When we were dating, he would come to see me, and I would cook up full meals, including dessert.  I was thrilled to be able to cook for him, and he was thrilled to have home cooked meals.  When we were engaged and house hunting, it was the kitchen that sold me on our home.  It was short on storage space, but had wonderful appliances with which I could create culinary masterpieces.

Lately, I have been extra motivated to cook.  It helps keep my diet healthy, and saves us money in the long run.  I am sure you can tell I am in cooking mode, given the number of recipes I have posted lately.  You can imagine the mess all this cooking has done.  Actually, if you look closely in some of the pictures, you can probably see it ;)

I love my messy kitchen (though I also love it clean) because to me, it signifies that I am happy, motivated, and providing healthy meals full of love for my family.

Chocolate Banana Oatmeal Pancakes

(I swear to you, I do actually do things besides cook.  It is just, lately, I have been in a cooking mood, so I go with it.  And when things turn out delicious, I want to share them with all of you!).

This morning, I woke up craving pancakes.  I had a few options.  I could order take out from a place in town that has awesome pancakes, then lament the calorie and fat content later in the day.  I could get pancake stuff from the store, and make a huge mess in our kitchen.  Or, I could try the easy, healthy alternative recipe I saw on this blog.  I went with option 3.

So, I assembled the ingredients and embarked on yet another cooking adventure.

First, I mashed a banana in a medium sized mixing bowl.

Once the banana was all mashed, I added 2 packs of instant oatmeal.  Any kind will do, but I went with Lavish Dark Chocolate Oatmeal.  It was already smelling great.

Next I added 3 tbsp of egg white, the equivalent to one large egg.

Finally, 1 tsp each of baking powder and vanilla extract.

I mixed everything up to a nice, well blended chocolaty concoction.

I used olive oil cooking spray in a skillet over medium heat. Once this was nice and hot, I used the 1 tbsp measuring spoon to drop spoonfuls into the skillet. These were going to be small but hearty pancakes, each about the size of a large no bake cookie. It was a little tricky knowing when to flip them, since they did not bubble like traditional pancakes, but with a little testing of the edges you are able to tell when the underside is done, and flip accordingly.

The batch made 2 servings of 4 small pancakes, which was perfect. As I said, they were small, but really hearty. I added 2 tbsp low calorie syrup to mine, and they were sheer perfection.

This one was a little tricky to calculate nutrition and WW points. I am going based on the nutrition information on the label for each individual item, plus the generic info for the banana, and plugging that into a WW Points Plus calculator.  The nutrition breakdown, with syrup us:

Calories: 279
Carbs: 61g
Fat: 3g
Protein: 7g
Fiber: 9g

Now if you plug all that into a WW Points Plus calculator, the result you get is 7. Yet the only individual ingredient that has any points is the Oatmeal, with is 4.5 points per packet. So, I guess go with 7 point to err on the side of caution.

Without syrup, it is:

Calories: 229
Carbs: 48g
Fat: 3g
Protein: 7g
Fiber: 9g

Again, plug that into a calculator and you get 6 WW Points Plus.  Yet if you only ate the oatmeal, it would be 4.5, and then if you later ate a banana, it would be 0.  Again, I guess go with 6 to err on the side of caution.

The possibilities are endless with this really easy recipe.  I am thinking, next time, strawberry banana oatmeal pancakes!

Mini Pizzas

In case you have not caught on, I am in cooking mode big time.  I am trying to reduce portion size and fat in my diet.  That sometimes means I have to pass on my favorite foods.  So, today, I came up with a way to satisfy one of my most common cravings: PIZZA!

I decided to make mini pizzas for lunch today.  Since Hubby and I like different toppings, this is a good way for us to both get what we want on pizza, and have it be healthier that if we ordered it from a pizzaria.

First I started with Arnold's Multigrain Sandwich thins.  I used Contadina Pizza Squeeze sauce.  One serving of pizza sauce is 1/4 cup, which covers three thin halves nicely.  I used a pastry brush to spread it around the thins.

Next I added fat free mozzarella cheese.  Once again, 1 serving made three mini pizzas.  So far so good.

I made three minis for Hubby that had mini pepperonis on them.  Since I do not like pepperoni, I used some low fat thinly sliced ham and a few pieces of pineapple for mine.

I baked them in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, so that the cheese was melted and the crusts were crisp.

That was it.  How easy was that?  The possibilities here are endless.  And best part was they tasted delicious!

Nutrition info for my ham and pineapple is as follows:
Serving size: 3 mini pizzas
Calories: 250
Carbs: 42g
Fat: 3g
Protein: 19g
Fiber: 9g
WW points plus: 6

For Hubby's pepperoni:
Serving Size: 3 mini pizza
Calories: 295
Carbs: 41g
Fat: 8g
Protein: 19g
Fiber: 9 g
WW points plus: 8

Review: Coconut Manna

I have been trying to reduce fat, specifically the bad fats, in my diet lately, and try to find ways to increase fiber without eating things that taste like cardboard, so when I had a chance to try coconut manna, I jumped at it.  The packaging says it is a healthy substitute for butter, and can be used as a spread.  My mouth watered at the idea of a bit of this, some nutella, and a banana wrapped up in a whole grain wrap.  The potential here was exciting for someone who loves coconut like I do.

The packaging indicated that the oil separates from the coconut, and you must put the container in hot water for five to ten minutes for everything to soften, so that you can stir it all up to a nice smooth consistency.  Sound pretty easy right?  Wrong.  I found after leaving the container in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes, it was still too hard to stir.  It took three rounds of hot water bath-vigorous stir cycle to get this to wear I could use it.  I tasted it, and was sad that it did not taste nearly as good as I anticipated.  It also had a weird gritty texture, and overall I was not crazy about it.

Since clearly this was not going to work as a spread for me, I instead used while cooking mulligatawny soup.  I had created a low fat version of the soup without butter, cream, or milk, so the coconut manna helped add a bit of richness to it.  However, it is still a bit high in calories to be something I would use daily.  I will probably continue using olive oil for much of my cooking, but I do plan on experimenting with the coconut manna when making smoothies, sauces, desserts, and ethnic dishes.  It did nicely in my soup.

I am not completely sold on coconut manna, but I am not ready to give up on it either.

I received this product for review as part of the Amazon Vine program.

Modified Mulligatawny

When we went to The Harmony Inn for dinner, I had one of the soups as part of my meal.  It was so amazingly delicious, the problem was none of the staff could get the name right.  Millet Mollie?  Chicken Mulligan? Chicken  Megan Mullally?  At this rate, I knew I would never find a recipe for it, since we had no clue what it was named.  On a whim, I asked one of the staff members if the cooks would be willing to share the recipe, and, they did!  It was called Chicken Mulligatawy.  However, I was sad to see the ingredient list included both milk and heavy cream.  I am trying to delete a lot of dairy from my diet, and cows milk and heavy cream would be terrible for me.  So, today, I decided to try to replicate the soup in a healthier way.

First off, I put chicken breast tenders on to boil.  I know, I know, not the tastiest way to prepare chicken, but it is healthy, and there will be plenty of flavor added on later.  While that was boiling, I got busy chopping my other ingredients.

I put about 1/4 cup of chicken broth in a pot, then added each of the following as I chopped them:

Celery

Onion

Granny Smith Apple

D'anjou pear

Eggplant

I added 1/4 tbsp curry powder at this time as well.

Once the chicken was fully cooked, I chopped it up, and added it in the curried mixture.  I also added 1/2 cup jasmine rice (I precooked it slightly, having learned my lesson with the stuffed pepper soup).

In order to give the soup a nice creamy texture, I added cream of chicken soup, as well as more chicken broth.

Some more curry, a little salt, and a lot of black pepper, and we are almost done.  One last secret ingredient.

This is coconut manna.  It is high in fiber, and has good fats in it, plus it adds a bit of creamy richness.  I used just a little, 1/2 tbsp.  That was all it needed.

I let this cook until bubbly, the reduced to simmer for 45-60 minutes.  I cannot wait to have it for dinner.

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken breast tenders, boiled

1 c celery

half a medium yellow onion

1 medium granny smith apple

1 medium green d'anjou pear

2 cups cubed peeled eggplant

2.5 cups fat free chicken broth, divided

1/2 tbsp curry powder

1/2 cup jasmine rice 

2 cans 98% fat free cream of chicken soup

salt, pepper to taste

1/2 tbsp coconut manna

For those curious here is some nutrition info.  These are approximations using an online nutritional calculator.
Serving size: 1.25 cups
Calories: 240
Carbs: 33g
Fat: 4g
Protein: 19g
Fiber: 7 g
WWPlus points: 6

Let me know if any of you try this, and what you think.  Should I change any of it?

Stuffed Green Pepper Soup

I have been really lax lately with my blogging, and there are a few reasons.  First of all, I set the crazy goal to read and review 200 books this year over on my book blog.  Nuts right?  I just finished reading book 150, and have been busting my butt to make sure I meet this goal.  So, that is keeping me pretty busy.  Also, well, I have just sort of lost heart with my blog.  I feel like I have nothing new to say, and have strayed from my original intentions a bit.  So, I am not sure what the future will hold for this blog, and I may not be posting here as often.

But to make up for my absence, I come bearing a gift.  It is the recipe for what is now my favorite soup ever!  I made it Sunday, and we just finished it last night!

Stuffed Green Pepper Soup.

Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey
2 large green peppers
1 small onion
1 large can (28 or 30 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 large can (28 or 30 oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup rice
2 1/4 cups water
4 tbsp brown sugar
salt, pepper, parsley flakes

1.  Brown the ground turkey in skillet.  I browned mine with 2 cloves of garlic and some pepper, just to give it some flavor.

2.  While meat is cooking, chop up green peppers and onion, and put in large soup pot.  I used a dutch oven.

3.  When meat is completely browned, drain and add to soup pot with peppers and onions.

4.  Add the canned tomatoes and tomato sauce.

5.  Add 1 cup rice.  I used brown rice, and it ended up still being slightly hard when soup was cooked, so you may either want to use a minute rice, or just pre-cook the rice for just a few minutes.

6.  Add 2 1/4 cups water.

7.  Add 4 tbsp. brown sugar.

8.  Add salt, pepper, and parsley to your taste.  I use very little salt, and it was fine.

9.  Stir pot and bring to a boil.  Once it boils, reduce heat and allow to simmer for 1 hour on stovetop.

There you go!  Easy, delicious, and healthy!  We made a packed of instant potatoes (the ones that are 80 calories a serving) and ate the soup with a scoop of mashed potatoes in it.  It was so delicious, and made a TON.  Seriously, last night was the 4th meal we got from it!

You can easily adjust this recipe to your taste (more meat, more peppers, etc).  You could garnish with cheese, or a little sour cream, whatever you prefer.  It was so delicious, I am sad to see it gone!

Big cooking day

In the past, I have approached cooking by deciding either that day, or the previous night, what we should have for dinner, making sure I have what I need, and then just cooking.  Even with lots of leftovers, it means I am usually cooking 4 days a week.  And while I love cooking, since I started working again, I have found I do not always feel like cooking, I do not always remember to take meat out in the mornings to thaw, and we have been getting take out more.

I know lots of women try to approach cooking for efficiently, cooking once a week for the whole week and freezing the meals, or premaking meal starters that can easily be turned into one of several dishes with little work.  But the other day, I found this blog that talked about making whole crock pot ready meals and freezing them.  I decided to give it a whirl last night.

Hubby picked me right after work and went to the store with me.  In less than 30 minutes, we got the ingredients for 2 sets of 4 different meals: BBQ chicken and veggies, goulash, chicken curry (all 3 from that same blog) and beef stew (my own recipe).  We went home and I got to work.

Each recipe gets seperated into 2 one gallon freezer bags, so I decided to do that up front.  I lined up my bags, all 8, and through all the recipes, distributing the veggies one by one as I chopped.  It was a little tricky keeping the recipes straight, and dividing the total recipe in half to get the right amount in each bag, but it really was so efficient to do it this way.  It took, including a break for me to eat, slightly less than 3 hours.  Each bag will last for 2-3 meals.  And each serving is less than $2 in cost (I had to estimate because I got other groceries and non food items at the store as well), probably closer to $1.50 per serving.  The meals are healthy, hearty, chock full of veggies, and sitting in my freezer as we speak.  (yes, the time on that clock was right, I finished just before 9 pm).

Now all I will need to do is grab a bag, thaw it for 30 minutes, and dump into the crock pot before work.  This might be my new favorite thing.  I am a little nervous about the recipes from the blog, they are pretty different from anything I have ever made, but since I was using that bloggers model, I thought it best to use her recipes too.  If this works out, I will do some different recipes next time.

My only complaint was the chicken.  I tend to use breasts or tenders, which are more expensive.  These recipes called for legs and thighs.  I left the skins on the legs, and used just legs for the bbq chicken.  I used the thighs for the curry, but I had to deskin and debone them, I could not stand the sight of the skin on those thighs, and all that fat, ick.  It may detract a little from the flavor, but it was a sacrifice I wanted to make to reduce the fat.  I was exhausted by the time I was done, but I think it will all be worth it in the long run.