Southwestern Stuffed Peppers

This is one of our go to recipes and, even though he doesn't usually love bell peppers, Husband really enjoys this recipe. We love it because it makes lots of extra stuffing that you can eat with chips or as a taco or something. It is also really good as left overs. Thing 2 loves it and Thing 1 likes the filling on chips. I give this 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Source: simplylovefood.com

Course: Main Course

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• Olive Oil
• 1/2 lb lean ground turkey breast
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 heaping tbsp of homemade taco seasoning or you can use the packaged type if you like
• 2 cups cooked rice any type you like – I like brown
• 3-4 organic bell peppers halved and seeds removed
• 1 can black beans drained & rinsed
• 1/2 cup organic frozen corn
• 1 (15 -16 ounce) jar salsa
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• fresh cilantro
• sour cream
• sliced avocado

Directions

1. Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat the peppers with olive oil and roast in a baking dish about 20-25 minutes just until cooked thru. Remove the peppers from the oven and allow to cool until you can handle them.
2. *****Note – make sure you cook your turkey ahead of time that way you do not have to worry about it later. Also, I sauteed the onions until cooked thru, I then added in my cooked rice, black beans and corn.
3. In a bowl add the taco seasoning, cooked ground turkey, chopped onions, black beans, corn and rice. Add in the jar of salsa and mix well.
4. Carefully spoon the turkey mixture into each half of the bell peppers and place back into the baking dish. Cook the peppers for another 15-20 minutes or until the peppers are cooked all the way thru. Before removing from the oven sprinkle the tops of each pepper with shredded cheddar cheese. Place back into the oven just until the cheese has melted.
5. Remove from the oven and top with fresh cilantro, avocado slices and/or sour cream just before serving.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 185
Fat: 4
Carbohydrate: 32
Protein: 9

Lasagna Soup

A lot has happened since our last post but the most noteworthy is that Thing 2 and I have gone gluten free! I've lived gluten free before but it has been slightly difficult getting back into the swing of things plus adding a 2 year old's palette to the mix. So my point is all of the recipes I will post will now either be gluten free or can be made gluten free. This soup is no exception. Husband really liked this soup and I enjoyed it more and more the stuffier my nose got. It was SPICY! I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that we used cut up Italian sausages rather than turkey sausage since that is what we had on hand but I think I will cut back on the crushed red pepper next time. We used brown rice lasagna noodles and left off the bread sticks to make this gluten free. It was good and hit the spot with the freezing cold weather outside. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Source: thedeenbros.com

Course: Soup

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 pound Italian turkey sausage casings removed
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 green bell pepper chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 (32-ounce) container chicken broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 4 ounces broken whole-wheat lasagna noodles about 4 noodles
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded mozzarella cheese
• 8 Whole-wheat breadsticks or grissini, optional

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick saucepot or Dutch oven. Add the sausage, onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is crumbled and browned, 8 – 10 minutes.
2. Add the broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salt, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors are blended, about 20 minutes. Add the noodles; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the soup thickens slightly and the noodles are tender, 10 – 12 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in mozzarella, basil, and the Parmesan. Serve with the breadsticks, if using. (whole-wheat lasagna noodles take a little longer to cook.)

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 225
Fat: 7g
Cholesterol: 53mg
Sodium: 826mg
Sugar: 4g
Carbohydrate: 17g
Fiber: 2g
Protein: 23g

Pork Carnitas (Take 2)

We found this recipe in Cooking Light and decided to give it a try. We have a Pork Carnitas that we love from Skinny Taste but wanted to see if it could improve. We decided... no. The other one is better. If we had never tasted the other one this one would be a 5 but since we were comparing this one gets a 4.5 out of 5 stars. Similar flavors just not quite as all around good. Husband said he could really taste the citrus which I could not taste at all. Oh well. It was really good and now we have 2 ways to make it!

Source: Cooking Light

Serves: 10

Ingredients

• 1 (3-pound) boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt), trimmed
• 10 garlic cloves sliced
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 chipotle chiles canned in adobo sauce drained and chopped
• 20 (6-inch) flour or corn tortillas, warmed,
• 2/3 cup chopped onion
• 2/3 cup bottled salsa
• 2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 10 lime wedges

Directions

1. Make 1/2-inch-deep slits on outside of roast; stuff with garlic. Combine cumin and next 3 ingredients (through black pepper) in a small bowl. Place roast in a 3 1/2-quart electric slow cooker. Sprinkle pork on all sides with spice mixture.
2. Combine juices and chipotle chiles. Pour juice mixture over pork. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or until pork is tender.
3. Remove pork from slow cooker; shred with 2 forks. Skim fat from cooking liquid. Combine shredded pork and 1/2 cup cooking liquid; toss well.
4. Spoon 1 1/2 ounces pork mixture onto each tortilla; top each with 1 1/2 teaspoons onion, 1 1/2 teaspoons salsa, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 334
Fat: 12.6g
Cholesterol: 87mg
Sodium: 424mg
Fiber: 3g
Protein: 29.4g

Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis

*UPDATED*

 So the picture really does not do this recipe justice. I wish you could smell what I smelled when I walked through the door after work. Actually, you can. Make this. The only changes that Husband made were that he converted it to 8 servings instead of 6 so he could use 2 lbs of ground beef and make more left overs and he didn't want to buy horse radish for this one recipe so he added a little more dijon. I think the horse radish would have made this even better but even so it was great! This can be made gluten free just by substituting crushed rice chex for the bread crumbs and I promise you can't even notice a difference. Thing 1 literally devoured his and asked for another "huge" one. When I asked him how many stars he said 100 so I think we will give this one 5 out of 5 stars. We will definitely make it again.

Source: Cooking Light

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1 ounce fresh breadcrumbs about 1/2 cup
• Cooking spray
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• 1/2 cup ketchup divided
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 ounces white cheddar cheese diced
• 1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
• 1 large egg lightly beaten

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add breadcrumbs; cook 3 minutes or until toasted, stirring frequently.
3. While breadcrumbs cook, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Combine onion mixture, breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup ketchup, and remaining ingredients. Shape into 6 (4 x 2-inch) loaves on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; spread 2 teaspoons ketchup over each. Bake at 425° for 25 minutes or until done.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 254
Fat: 11.4g
Cholesterol: 112mg
Sodium: 607mg
Fiber: 0.9g
Protein: 28.3g

Playgroup Granola Bars

Since Husband is a full time student and I work to support the family we don't have a lot of extra funds for sweet treats and snacks and are forced to make them. I searched the web for a healthy granola bar recipe since that is a snack we will all eat and I found this one. I've always had this negative opinion on homemade granola bars for some reason but not any more. These literally taste like Oatmeal Raisin Cookies!! Hooray! I didn't have wheat germ so I called my sneaky chef sister in law and she had some milled flax seed she said I could use. It seemed to work great especially since I have never used either and wouldn't know the difference anyway. Thing 2 devoured it and thing one humored me with a bite. When I said it tasted like a cookie he fought me on it saying cookies don't have raisins they have chocolate chips. Someone needs a cookie education class. I'm definitely interested in what Husband will think of these... Anyway, these are great and made a bunch which I put in snack baggies to store for easy snacking. 5 out of 5 stars.

Source: allrecipes.com

Prep Time: 15 Min
Cook Time: 35 Min
Total Time: 50 Min

Serves: 24

Ingredients

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup raisins optional
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 egg beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 161
Fat: 5.5g
Cholesterol: 9mg
Sodium: 79mg
Sugar: 15.7g
Carbohydrate: 26.6g
Fiber: 1.4g
Protein: 2.4g

Chinese Beef & Broccoli

This is one of our recent freezer meals that we got from Once a Month Mom. It is also one of the few we do that is not for the crock pot. My mom used to make Beef and Broccoli all the time and I really loved it. I think I've tried to make it before but it was never as good as Mom made. I'm not sure if it has just been too long since my mom cooked this for me but I actually thought this was good. The broccoli was the perfect amount of doneness and the flavors were really good! We used green onions instead of scallions and probably more garlic than the recipe called for. All in all Husband and I both scored this a 4 out of 5.

Source: recipes.sparkpeople.com

Prep Time: 10 Min
Cook Time: 5 Min
Total Time: 15 Min

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3 scallions thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 3/4 pound boneless sirloin steak trimmed of fat and cut into 2x 1/4 inch strips
• 3 cups fresh broccoli thawed or frozen broccoli
• 2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp fresh OJ
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp cold water

Directions

Freezing directions:

1. Place all ingredients into a gallon-size freezer bag.
2. Label and freeze. To serve, thaw in refrigerator, then place contents of bag into skillet over medium-high heat, cooking until veggies and meat have reached desired doneness.

Cooking directions:

1. Spray a large nonstick wok or high-sided skillet with nonstick spray and set over high heat until a drop of water sizzles. Add the scallions, garlic, ginger and orange zest; stir-fry until softened and fragrant, about 1 minute.
2. Add the beef strips and stir-fry until browned, about 3 minutes. Add the broccoli and stir-fry 2 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce and orange juice; bring to a simmer and cook 20 seconds.
3. Combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl until smooth. Add the cornstarch mixture to the wok and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 30 seconds.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 146.2
Fat: 3.6 g
Cholesterol: 48.5 mg
Fiber: 2.2 g
Protein: 22.1 g

 

Where have I been all your life?!

Ok, OK... It's been a while. I get it. Here I am. We've kind of gone a different route lately and it's been a little hard to share our recipes. That's right, we've jumped on the freezer meal band wagon! We love it! With me working full time and Husband in school it's either that or eat pizza and garbage (not literal garbage...) and we choose freezer meals. I've decided to start sharing the recipes that we find but again I have to say that these are NOT my own recipes. I find them elsewhere and will try them and compile them here for you. I will also tell you if I would change anything. Deal? Ok.

Husband and I are about to have a prep day and I think it would be easiest if I blog each recipe when we eat it rather than all the recipes on prep day. Keep your eyes out for new and exciting things. Yum.