Its Getting Hot in Here

Its cold outside, really cold. And, being as frugal as I am, (and considering how outofcontrol the summer power bills got) we have yet to actually turn on the heat longer for more than 15 minutes. The thermostat hasn't gotten below 68, so no need to really worry for now. But, today it was really really cold and I just couldn't get warm. Solution, turn on the oven! I made brownies and chicken parmesan. Typically I don't really cook using the oven, so baking was a rare treat and the suggestion of brownies was very popular! Win win win.

Brownies
1 Pillsbury sugar-free brownie mix (or probably any other brownie mix)
1 large egg
1/4 cup sugar-free raspberry jam
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Pre-heat the oven (something I rarely adhear to, but I planned to leave the oven on as long as I was able to) to 350. Mix together the wet ingredients with a fork until blended. Add the brownie mix and stir until completely mixed together (the recipe on the box says 50 stirs but I can't count that high). Dump the brownie batter into a pam-sprayed 8x8 or 9x9 or I used an 8 inch cake round pan. Bake for 28 minutes or until the fork comes out clean.

Chicken Parm
3 small chicken breasts
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup tomato sauce
Salt, pepper, red pepper flake

Dry the chicken and place on a plate. On a separate plate, mix together the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and salt, pepper, red pepper flake. Dredge the chicken in the breading mixture and place on a non-stick-sprayed glass baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes or until done. Remove from oven and cover with the tomato sauce making sure the top is coated and there is sauce under the chicken as well. Add some more parmesan cheese to the top of each piece of chicken and place back in the oven for another 10 minutes or until the cheese melts and the sauce is hot.

Now you're done and your kitchen is probably at least 5 degrees warmer. Just make sure you turn the oven off.

I Love Spinach

I love spinach, yes I do. The health benefits are terrific, plus the baby spinach used in salad lasts a lot longer than any other lettuce. Usually if I buy the 1lb package of organic baby spinach it lasts about a week and a half until it starts to look a little limp. So, instead of letting it rot or throwing it away, I usually try to cook the spinach somehow. Here's two recipes with left over baby spinach.

Florentine Sauce

As much spinach as you have left over

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

1/4 cup of parmesan cheese

Oregano, Basil, Salt, Pepper and red pepper flake

Add spices and tomatoes to a sauce pan and cook over medium heat until the tomatoes start to break down, stir frequently. This is probably about 10 minutes. Reduce the heat, add the spinach leaves and stir, cooking until the spinach wilts nicely. Remove the pan from heat (and turn burner off), and stir in the parmesan cheese.

Sauteed spinach and quinoa

As much spinach as you have left over

2 tbs lemon juice

1/2 cup cooked leftover quinoa (or another grain/pasta thats left over)

Salt, Pepper, Parsley and a smidge of red pepper flake

Toppings: blue cheese or gorgonzola cheese, toasted breadcrumbs, toasted pine nuts, golden raisins, etc (whatever is left over)

In a non-stick skillet sprayed with Pam on medium heat, add the spinach and spices and stir until a bit wilted. Add the lemon juice and cook for a couple of minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the quinoa. Let this mixture sit until the quinoa heats through. Serve and add toppings. If your guy is picky about veggies, add more cheese and microwave for 1 minute, stir and melt the cheese.

Pasta with Meat Sauce & Ricotta

I really enjoy making my own pasta sauce. It is great to control the ingredients and its seriously easy. Plus I like a really chunky sauce, and you just don't get that in a jar. This dinner is possibly the healthiest pasta with meat sauce ever - grass fed organic ground beef, whole wheat pasta, etc.

Meat Sauce

1 lb ground beef - the leanest you can find.

1 can diced tomatoes

Spices: oregano, basil, salt, pepper and red pepper flake

2 cups whole wheat pasta - I used penne

1/2 cup fat free ricotta cheese

While the water is boiling for the pasta, add the ground beef to a separate sauce pan. Cook and stir the meat so it cooks thoroughly and breaks apart into chunks. Once the meat is cooked, remove from pan and drain on paper towel. Add the whole wheat pasta to the boiling water and cook until done (8 minutes or so). With the pasta cooking, add the tomatoes to the sauce pan (after you wipe the pan with paper towel too), and add the drained meat too. Add all the spices to the sauce pan and just let it cook over medium low heat for about 15 minutes. Drain the pasta, top with sauce and a tablespoon full of ricotta cheese. Add some parmesan too if you'd like.

I served the pasta with a side of cooked baby carrots. You can't really ever get enough Vitamin A!

Calories in my portion: 330

Spicy Turkey Sauce over Medium Shells

This week at the grocery store, Hunt's canned diced tomatoes were on sale: 2/$1. Obviously I bought 2 cans. Red Bell Peppers were also on sale. And we had half a box of whole wheat pasta shells. Terrific start to a healthy italian meal.

1/2 lb of 93% Ground Turkey
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped in 1/2 inch pieces
1 can Diced Tomatoes, drained
Basil, Oregano, Red Pepper Flake, Salt, and Ground Black Pepper
2 cups whole wheat pasta medium sized shells

While the water is boiling for the pasta, cook the ground turkey in a medium size pan. Once the turkey is cooked through, remove from pan and set on a paper plate lined with several paper towels. Smush so all the fat drains out. Wipe the pan with another paper towel. (Yes, I really do this paper towel smushing and wiping). Add the chopped pepper to the wiped pan and cook covered over medium heat until the pepper is really soft. Then add the tomatoes to the pan and a bunch of spices. At this point, the water should be boiling. Add the pasta to the pan and cook for 7-8 minutes or cooked to your preference. Let the tomatoes and pepper cook for another 2 minutes together and add in the drained turkey. Stir and let cook over medium-low heat until bubbly. Serve over pasta and top with some grated parmesan, fresh basil, etc.

Greek Chicken Wraps

So, we had ground chicken in the freezer and like always I didn't know what to do with it. We also had small tortillas from a prior fajita night. I really love the South Beach snack size tortillas - 90 calories and 7 grams of fiber. And, there was lettuce and feta cheese. I have always loved the chicken lettuce wraps at PF Chang's, so I wanted to do a spin on that. But obviously with less sodium and calories.

Greek Chicken Wraps

Chicken
1/2 lb ground chicken, 99% fat free
1/2 orange bell pepper
1/2 red bell pepper
Spices: Salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, oregano

Saute the chicken in a nonstick pan, stirring frequently so the chicken breaks apart. Toss in the spices and cook until done.

Greek Dill Sauce
1 6oz container of fat free greek yogurt
1 tbsp dill relish
Spices: oregano, lots of dill, salt and pepper

Mix together all the ingredients. Might be a good idea to do this the night before. It worked for me - made it much dill-ier.

Toppings: finely chopped romaine lettuce, feta cheese. Other options: olives, tomatoes, etc.

Calories in 1 wrap: 211

So, while researching for this blog post, I looked up PF Chang's nutritional information. Did you know that majority of their main dishes are supposed to serve 3 people?? The lesson here is two-fold, Know before you go, and Share Share Share!

Buffalo Wing Burgers

I had been craving wings for weeks, so when I was debating what to do with the ground turkey, I thought of wings! At Target, I found Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing sauce - with zero calories. I knew we already had blue cheese, celery and potato rolls. The Buffalo Wing Burger was born!

Buffalo Wing Burger
1 lb of ground turkey - use 93% lean or leaner
1/2 cup Frank's Buffalo Wing sauce
1 egg
1/2 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
1 stalk of celery finely chopped
Salt, pepper, parsley, chili powder
3 potato rolls
1/2 cup blue cheese
3 lettuce leaves

Mix the first 6 ingredients together. Adding more Frank's if it seems dry. Mold into 6 burgers (yes there will be leftovers). Grill until cooked through. Add one burger to each roll, topping with some blue cheese and the lettuce leaves. Add more Franks to the bun if you'd like. You can also add any other toppings you'd like.

Raspberry Ice Cream

Finding an icecream that is lactose free and tasty is pretty much impossible. So, having my own ice cream maker to make any type of icecream I wanted is awesome!

Raspberry Ice Cream
3 cups Fat Free Lactaid or any other lactose-free milk
1/2 cup fat free half & half
3 tbs sugar free raspberry jam

Wisk all the ingredients together and add to the icecream maker. Let it mix for about 25 minutes or until done. Makes about 6-8 servings.