Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

Sweet Potato fries, oh my! Well, wedges anyway, but fries rhymed.

Anyway, what can I say… these totally rocked! Without further ado…

Ingredients:

3- large sweet potatoes (yams), peeled and cut into wedges (or fries too…)

Sprinkle & Drizzle with:

Drizzle with a little olive oil and toss (this makes the spices stick)

Sprinkle with Creole seasoning

Applewood Steak Rub, which had chipotle in it (or any kind of steak seasoning will do)

Chili powder (to taste)

Sugar and Cinnamon

Honey

(Although this is my concoction, you could add any dried ingredient in your spice cabinet that turns you on… because I know some of you like it HOT!

Directions: 

Put cut up wedges (or fries) in a bowl, coat with olive oil and dry ingredients and drizzle with honey, turning with hands to get them evenly coated.

Put on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour or until fork tender in the thickest part for wedges and 20 minutes for thinner fries. – YUMMO!

These babies turned golden brown on the edges while still being soft and orange in the center. The drizzles of honey and extra spices on the pan, turn dark brown and crusty and beg for you to eat them. I would have liked to take a picture “after” they were done. But… I was too busy eating them, sorry! Hope you like as much as we did! Enjoy!

These are the seasonings I used:

Cantaloupe Salsa

Cantaloupe Salsa

For topping chicken, fish and steak… or as my husband says, ” all by itself”, as he was eating it by the spoonfuls…

Seriously, this recipe made a lot of salsa and quite frankly I think it might even be good on tortilla chips? Try it and let me know…

Ingredients: 

1/2- cantaloupe, peeled and seeded, cut into small pieces

3/4 Cup- red bell pepper, diced small

1/4 Cup- fresh cilantro, chopped (if you use dried like I did, just a few sprinkles back and forth and mix, and sprinkle again… or to your taste…)

3- green onions, chopped

Juice of one lime (or 1/4 Cup of the bottled kind)

Pinch of salt

Pinch of hot pepper flakes (or more if you like it hot)

And just a “titch” of sugar… (yes, “titch” is well… I guess a W.Va word, I don’t know…) it means a smidgen… er, very little- just to take the sour bite out of the intense lime flavor.

Directions:

Dice your cantaloupe, red bell peppers and green onions into small pieces

Add in your lime juice

Add in your dried ingredients and stir.

Note: I made mine a few hours before dinner and kept it in the frig covered in plastic wrap. This is what it looks like on chicken: So pretty and tasty! Enjoy!

Meal idea (as shown): BBQ Chicken with Cantaloupe Salsa, grilled asparagus and sweet potato wedges with ooey, gooey, chipotle seasonings, cinnamon and honey. Oh my!

Salsa on Chicken

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

A friend of mine on Twitter posted this simple recipe so I tried it with the chicken breasts I had in the fridge.

Easy peasy and something to make when you’re sick and tired of chicken breasts the plain old way… with a vegetable and a starch.

Throw all this in the crockpot early in the morning and then go do your thing, baby!

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts

1- 16 ounce salsa (any kind, I used Old El Paso)

1- Taco seasoning package

No need to add water, except for maybe a dash to clean out the salsa jar…

Directions: 

Pour salsa and taco seasoning packet in crockpot and stir

Rinse chicken breasts, place on top of the salsa and cover

Turn on High for 4 hours or Low for 6-8 hours

When chicken is done, cut into strips or rip with a fork and a knife while still in crockpot

Put into taco-sized flour tortillas (or even hard taco shells) and top them off with:

Toppings I used: 

Lettuce, shredded

Cheddar Cheese

Black olives, sliced

Avocado, mashed

Tomatoes, chopped

Sour cream

Hot Sauce

… and anything else you might like on a taco!

I served mine with a side of Spanish Rice and Mexican Style Corn Bread! YUMMY!

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

Sometimes I’m just not in the mood for meat. This is a great way to make stuffed peppers without it and a nice healthy way to start the week… say after a really over-indulgent weekend, as I just had.

This is very easy, very tasty and is now one of our favorite ways to eat them. Hope you like them as much as we did. Enjoy!

Ingredients: 

3- large sweet bell peppers. (I bought one of each color to make them extra pretty)

1- cup cooked brown rice

2- small roma tomato, chopped.

1/2 small sweet onion (or onion powder to taste)

1/2 cups of frozen or canned corn

1/4 cup of red beans, rinsed

1/4 cup of black beans, rinsed

1/2 cup Monterey cubed cheese (one and half handfuls)

1/2 cup ripe olives, chopped (green or black)- I used black because I didn’t want it to be too salty, but either will work.

1 tsp. of basil or 2 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. of pepper

1/4 cup meatless spaghetti sauce (or 1 can of tomato soup)

1/2 cup water

2- Tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese

Directions: 

Cut tops off peppers and remove seeds; wash off with water and turn upside down on paper towel to drain. Keep tops with stem to place on top.

In large bowl mix the cooked rice, tomatoes, corn, onion, beans.

Fold in the cubes of Monterey cheese, olives, basil, garlic, salt and pepper.

Spoon this mixture into the peppers

Combine the spaghetti sauce and water and mix.

Pour half in bottom of over-proof pan then place the stuffed peppers on top.

Top the peppers with the remaining sauce

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese

Replace tops with stems back on peppers

Cover with foil and cook for 1 hour and 5 minutes at 350 degrees. or until peppers are al-dente and filling is hot.

Served 2 with one left over for my hubby’s lunch.

Please Note: I had a lot of filling left over and could have easily made 2-3 more peppers with this. This recipe will fill 6 small peppers or 4 large ones.

Baked Spasanga

Baked Spasanga (Spa-san-YA) is like lasagna only with spaghetti noodles. My husband loves lasagna but I don’t like making it. Never thought to make it this way, but it’s very easy to do and tasty too. It’ll be the way I make it from now on. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

24 oz. spaghetti sauce

32 oz. low -fat mozzarella cheese, grated

8 ounces of low-fat ricotta cheese

8 ounces of low-fat sour cream

1- 1/4 cups of half and half

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. minced garlic (I used 3 large cloves)

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 lb. of Italian sausage or ground beef ( I used 98% lean ground beef)

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook pasta according to package. (The box called for 10-11 minutes. I cooked mine 8 since it would be cooking in the oven later… it came out perfect aldente’)

In a large bowl combine the ricotta, half and half, sour cream, oregano, basil, salt and pepper, garlic, mozzerella, and half the parmesan.

Add cooked pasta and coat well.

Pour spaghetti in a large 9X13 baking dish, lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Top spaghetti with remaining Parmesan.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

While pasta is baking, prepare meat sauce. Brown meat in a skillet, drain fat and add spaghetti sauce and simmer.

Remove pasta from oven. Cut into squares and top with meat sauce. Serve with a salad. Easy peezy and kids will like it too!

Serves 4-6

Kale Chips

Kale Chips

Move over Lays… there’s a new chip in town!

Light and airy, totally crispy and oh so good for you! Simple, fast and I bet you can’t each just one!  Sit down to your guilty pleasure on TV without feeling guilty about your snack.

Ingredients:

1- bunch of kale, washed, trimmed and torn or cut into bite sized pieces. (* I used a salad spinner to get the excess water off or you can pat dry.)

1 tsp. olive oil

1 tsp. sea salt

Directions: 

First, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

After washing and spinning/patting kale, place in a large mixing bowl

Splash with your olive oil and mix well with your hands, making sure to coat well

Add your sea salt and continue to mix.

Lay kale out on a baking sheet and bake.

Note: I used a pizza pan with holes in it to allow the heat to circulate as you can see from the picture. This batch cooked faster, in about 6 minutes. For the other batch, I used a regular baking sheet and it needed to bake for approximately 12 minutes to get crispy. Both batches were great though.

This is my first batch with just sea salt, but I bet you could add spices like onion salt, garlic, ranch dressing powdered mix, curry, or whatever you have a taste for and it would be amazing! Oh, the possibilites!

Chicken Soup with Sweet Potatoes, Kale and Mushrooms

Chicken Soup with Sweet Potatoes, Kale and Mushrooms

Traditional chicken soup has met it’s match!  Richly colored kale leaves, orange sweet potatoes and brown-rimmed snow white mushrooms make this soup taste earthy and sweet. I guarantee this will satisfy your taste buds and may even ward off a cold in the process. It’s like a bowl of vitamins! Hope you enjoy as much as we did!

Ingredients: 

10 cups of low-sodium chicken broth

1- 1/2 lbs. of sweet potatoes, peeled, trimmed, and halved lengthwise, then cut into chunks. (*When choosing sweet potatoes, choose the darker orange variety, frequently labeled as “yams.” These have the best nutritional value and are loaded with beta-carotene which the body converts to Vitamin A.- Good for eyes, immune system, skin, teeth and bones.)

1- 10 ounce bunch of kale

1- 8 ounce container of portabella mushrooms, washed, stems trimmed and cut into thick slices

1 lb. chicken, cooked and cut up into bite sized pieces.

1/2 tsp fresh pepper

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Cook your chicken in a skillet with a little oil till no longer pink inside and browned on the outside. Salt and pepper these as you cook them. (*I used tenderloins.)

While chicken cooks, peel and cut sweet potatos, clean and chop kale and clean and slice mushrooms and set aside.

In medium sized pot, bring 10 cups of chicken broth to a boil.

Add your cut up sweet potatoes first. Cook 7 minutes, until fork tender.

Add your kale and mushrooms next and cook another 5 minutes.

Cut up chicken into bite sized pieces and add that to the soup. Stir.

Ladel soup into bowels, top with parmesan cheese and additional pepper to taste.

Serves: 6

Calories: 297 for 2 cups

Beef & Broccoli Rabe Penne with Citrus Glaze

Beef & Broccoli Rabe Penne with Orange Glaze

Colorful, easy and very healthy. This recipe is from the January/February edition of the magazine, Clean Eating.  You can find more great recipes on their website.

Whole wheat pasta makes an inviting, warm bed for bold flavors of broccoli, red peppers, and top sirloin slices that have marinated in ginger, honey and orange juice.

I think this recipe will be the kind that will be even tastier the next day as the flavors marry over night… if you have leftovers. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients: 

2 tsp. minced orange zest (I used orange zest from the bottle)

1/2 cup 100% orange juice

1 tbsp. honey

1 Tbsp. minced ginger

2 tsp. of low-sodium tamari (this is a richer, darker and less salty version of soy sauce, found in the soy sauce isle of your grocery store.)

1 tsp. of minced garlic (I pressed mine from fresh garlic cloves and used 3 large ones)

1 tsp. red pepper flakes (this doesn’t sound like a lot, but it was pretty spicy with the ginger added)

1/2 sea salt

1 lb. top sirloin steak, trimmed of fat and cut in strips

1 lb. whole-wheat penne pasta

1 lb. broccoli rabe. (I couldn’t find rabe, so just used regular broccoli this time. Rabe is nuttier and earthier in taste, and can be bitter. Using regular broccoli was fine.)

1 tbsp. of safflower oil, sunflower oil, or grape seed oil. (I wasn’t going to buy a whole bottle of an oil I won’t use, so I used Sesame Oil in place of this and it tasted great.)

1 large red bell pepper, cut into strips

1/4 cup grated low-fat  parmesan cheese

Directions: 

Step 1: In a medium bowl, combine first eight ingredients of: orange zest, orange juice, honey, ginger, red pepper flakes, garlic, tamari, and salt and whisk together. Cut steak into strips and place them in the mixture. Cover and marinate at room temperature for 10 minutes to 1 hour.

Step 2: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add your broccoli rabe or broccoli and cook till bright green, approximately 1 minute. Remove to bowl with slotted spoon and set aside.

Step 3: Return broccoli cooking water to a boil and cook your pasta in this water according to package directions. (Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain into colander. Transfer pasta to large pasta bowl.

Step 4: While pasta is cooking, heat oil on high heat in non-stick skillet. Remove steak from marinate, reserve marinade that’s left and cook steak approximately 3 minutes, constantly turning until brown. Reduce heat to medium, add your broccoli, red pepper strips and saute for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add the left over marinade, reserved pasta water, and saute’ for approximately 1-3 minutes more until peppers are al-dente.

Spoon steak mixture over the penne pasta and toss. Top with parmesan cheese and serve.

(After making this, I think you could add fresh baby spinach and portabella mushrooms if you wanted…)

Calories: 361 for 1/2 cup serving

Serves 6-8

Jeff’s Mac n Cheese

Jeff's Mac n Cheese

We really don’t eat carbs all the time, but my sweet husband wanted to surprise me with dinner the other day and made this rich and creamy mac and cheese and his tasty homemade meatloaf. It was so gooooood. Needless to say I had to exercise a little more the next day, but it was worth it! Oh, go ahead… you can have just a little.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

5 tablespoons butter, divided

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

2 ounces Velveeta cheese

2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs for the top, he used Italian style breadcrumbs

Directions:

Cook macaroni according to package directions.

In a saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat.

Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Reduce heat. Add the cheeses, stirring until cheese is melted.

Drain your macaroni and transfer macaroni to a greased 1-1/2-qt. baking dish.

Pour cheese sauce over macaroni; mix well.

Melt the remaining butter; add the bread crumbs. Sprinkle over top.

Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until heated through and topping is golden brown.

Serves: 6

Lemony Linguine with Turkey Sausage and Spinach

Lemony Linguine with Turkey Sausage and Spinach

It never fails. The minute I want to watch my carb intake, I start to crave carbs. BUT, this recipe is from Weight Watchers and I think if you’re exercising, eating lots of veggies and drinking water, you can splurge and have some pasta in moderation.

When I read this recipe I wasn’t sure about lemon and sausage together, but it’s very tasty and 1- 1/2 cups is 9 points with the points system from Weight Watchers. My husband and I thought is was delicious.

Ingredients:

1- 9 ounce pkg of linguine (you can buy wheat pastas for even a healthier version) I only had regular pasta for this recipe

1/2 lb. sweet Italian turkey sausage. (I cut prep time by purchasing Jimmy Dean pre-cooked turkey crumbles to make it easier. They were fully cooked and have 60% less fat than regular sausage.)

1- sliced shallot (if you can’t find shallots, buy some green onions and use about 3 of them chopped up)

1- 9 ounce bag of baby spinach, washed and ready to use

Directions: 

Bring your water to a boil

Cook your linguine according to pkg. directions until aldente’ (firmer texture, not soggy)

Drain, reserving 1/3 cup of the pasta water for later

In a large skillet, add 2 tsp olive oil and heat your sausage through (if using regular, uncooked sausage, makes sure its fully cooked, casing removed and no longer pink, approximately 15 minutes) and break up into crumbles with your spatula while cooking.

Add your sliced shallot (or green onions) to the sausage when almost cooked through and cook about 2 minutes.

Remove this mixture to a bowl

Add the spinach and reserved 1/3 cup of pasta water to the same skillet and cook until wilted and bright green, approximately 3 minutes.

Return sausage and shallots to wilted spinach in the skillet and stir thoroughly until heated through.

Add your drained pasta and the juice of one full lemon, toss well.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Yummy! Enjoy!