Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Healthy Foods Recipe Group-August 2011

In August we had a wonderful recipe group with some AMAZING HEALTHY RECIPES!  It is always great to get new recipes, better yet new healthy recipes.  There are so many healthy recipes and ways we can make an unhealthy recipe more healthy.  I hope you enjoy these recipes. 

One of my favorite ways is healthy eating is drinking smoothies. They make a wonderful dessert.  They can definitely satisfy a sweet tooth.  Here is the Recipe for a Banana Shake.  A wonderful woman made this for us at Recipe Group and it was delicious. 

Banana Shake (for one person)1 frozen banana  (usually a banana that is pretty ripe)
1/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup milk
crushed ice
honey to sweeten if desired.


Blend all the ingredients up and enjoy!

10 Minute Taco Salad
1 can black beans(drained and rinsed)
8 oz sour cream
1 cup shredded cheese
chopped lettuce , tomato, and cucumber, sliced olives, avocado
corn chips or tortilla chips

Mix vegetables, cheese, and sour cream together.  Just before serving add corn chips or tortilla chips

Greek Summer Salad

Ingredients
A. 2 Cucumbers (pealed, seeded, diced into 1/2 inch cubes)
B. 1 package Cherry tomatoes (cut them in half, it looks nice)
C. 1/2 red onion chopped
D. 1 small can sliced black olives (drained)
E.  Juice of one Lemon
F.  2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
G. 2 tsp Oregano
H. 1 tsp Garlic Powder
I.  Salt and pepper to taste
J. Crumbled Feta to taste ( if you like sometimes you can find Lemon Oregano Feta)
Directions
Take A,B,C,D ingredients and combine in serving bowl
Take E,F,G,H and whisk in separate bowl
Mix vinaigrette in with veggies
Add salt and pepper to taste
This can be made the night before and refrigerated
The longer it marinates the better it tastes
Just before serving mix in Feta


Mango Quinoa Salad

Recipe adapted from Ali Vincent

2 cups cooked quinoa* at room temperature, or chilled
1 14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium mango, peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1 handful chopped cilantro (about 1/2 cup)
4 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper

*Quinoa can be cooked in water or broth. I suggest using vegetable or chicken broth for enhanced flavor, but plain water works great too.
Place cooked quinoa in a large bowl. Add mango, red pepper, green onion, black beans, and cilantro. In a small bowl combine vinegar, olive oil, and lime juice. Whisk until smooth and pour on top of salad. Toss to combine and add salt and pepper to taste. Chill for at least one hour before serving.

Peanut Butter Hummus

2-15oz can chickpeas
1 garlic clove, peeled
3-5 T olive oil
1/3 cup peanut butter
2 t. kosher salt
2 t. cumin
1/4-1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
1 t. smoked paprika
2 T. chopped peanuts, optional

Drain and rinse the chickpeas.  Put the garlic clove, chickpeas, 3 T olive oil, peanut butter, salt,  and cumin into a food processor and puree.
 

Kid Friendly Recipe Group-July 2011

Ever wonder what to feed your children? In need of a new recipe to feed the children in your life? Below you will find some wonderful recipes that we hope your children will love. Enjoy!

Pasta Salad
Cook your favorite kind of pasta
Kalamata Olives - chopped
Red & Yellow Peppers - chopped
Zucchini - chopped
Cherry Tomatoes - sliced
Feta Cheese
Toasted Pine Nuts
Top it with Balsamic Vinegar & Olive Oil.
Pretty simple - and anything and everything can be substituted.

Cream Cheese Chicken
Ingredients
1lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/4 bottle of Italian dressing
8oz cream cheese (1/3 fat works fine!)
1can cream of mushroom/chicken soup (Fat Free is great!)
2tbl milk
Salt/Pepper to taste
Directions
Brown chicken in skillet with dressing.  Meanwhile combine cream cheese, soup and milk until smooth. Add dash of salt/pepper.  Pour chicken and drippings into Crock Pot.  Pour cream cheese mixture over top and cover.  Cook for 6 hours on low.  Shred chicken and stir. Serve over rice.
Breakfast Pizza
Ingredients
 1 lb. sausage
2 (8 oz) pkg. crescent rolls
2 cups hash browns, frozen or thawed
1 ½ c. shredded cheddar cheese
8-10 eggs
½ c. milk
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
Directions
  1. Brown sausage, set aside to cool. (This step can be done ahead of time.)
  2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  3. Roll dough out and press into 10 x 15 pans. Bottom of crust should be sealed and outside edge should be slightly raised. Spread sausage over crust. Sprinkle hash browns, then cheddar.
  4. Beat together eggs, milk, salt & pepper. Pour evenly over everything.
  5. Bake in preheated oven until eggs are set, 25 – 30 minutes.
Cornflake Chicken (homemade chicken nuggets or strips for kids)
Serves 4: I usually double this so I can have more chicken nuggets
Ingredients
2/1/2 cups cornflakes
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts (cut to whatever size you would like)
1/4 cup milk
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place cornflakes in a plastic storage bag. Using a dough or pizza roller, roll back and forth over the bag until cornflakes are finely crushed. Place crushed flakes in a bowl. Add Parmesan Cheese, butter, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.

Place milk in a bowl. Dip chicken pieces in milk and then roll in crumb mixture until well coated. Place chicken skin side up in a pan. Press any remaining crumbs onto chicken pieces. Bake 30-45 minutes or until chicken in no longer pink in the center. Serve hot.

Healthy Smoothies are also great ideas for kids. You can blend up strawberries, bananas, yogurt, honey or agave nectar and have an awesome yummy smoothie!
What is your favorite kid friendly recipe?

Monday, May 9, 2011

Artichoke Spinach Lasagna

This is an amazingly good recipe if you like spinach and artichokes! I did add a little extra cheese since I love a lot of cheese in my lasagnas... but other than that - followed the recipe exactly. And it was a winner tonight!

Ingredients

Cooking spray
9 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can vegetable broth
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 (14 ounce) can marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
1 (28 ounce) jar tomato pasta sauce
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 (4 ounce) package herb and garlic feta, crumbled
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium-high. Saute onion and garlic for 3 minutes, or until onion is tender-crisp. Stir in broth and rosemary; bring to a boil. Stir in artichoke hearts and spinach; reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in pasta sauce.

Spread 1/4 of the artichoke mixture in the bottom of the prepared baking dish; top with 3 cooked noodles. Sprinkle 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese over noodles. Repeat layers 2 more times, ending with artichoke mixture and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle crumbled feta on top.

Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover, and bake 15 minutes more, or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Strawberry Sauce (From Our Best Bites)

This recipe is really easy and super yummy! I think you could even cut back some of the sugar and it would still be plenty sweet. I just need to come up with more uses for it since I had a whole bag of Costco frozen strawberries that didn't get put in the freezer and had to come up with a way to use them before they were ruined! I have a LOT of strawberry sauce now!


1 pint strawberries
1/3 c. white sugar
1 tsp. almond extract (my favorite) or vanilla extract

Combine berries, sugar, and extract in medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for five minutes, stirring/breaking strawberries up with a wooden spoon constantly.

After five minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly (if you have a glass blender jar) and a lot (if you have a plastic blender jar). When cool enough, transfer mixture to blender and pulse until desired consistency is reached.

That's it! It freezes well so I put a bunch in my freezer to use all summer long.

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Banana Crumb Muffins

Ingredients
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Low Carb Deep-Dish Pizza Quiche

4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
4 large eggs
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup shredded Asiago cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 cups sliced mushrooms, sautéed
2 Italian sausages, casing removed, crumbled, and cooked

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
In a food processor, blend together the cream cheese and eggs until smooth. Add the cream, Parmesan, chives, garlic, and oregano. Blend until smooth.
Scatter the Asiago and 1 cup of the mozzarella in the prepared baking dish. Pour the egg mixture over the cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.
Spread with the tomato sauce. Scatter the mushrooms and sausage over the top. Cover with the remaining 1 cup mozzarella.
Turn on the broiler and broil about 6 inches from the heat until brown and bubbly. Let sit for 5 minutes or so before cutting.

My friend made this for an Enrichment night. It was the biggest hit... we all devoured it!!!

Friday, May 9, 2008

Chicken Parmesan with Pasta

Chicken Parmesan with Pasta

3 c. pasta
10 Ritz crackers, crushed (about ½ c crumbs)
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 egg white
1 lb. chicken breasts ( I used 4 tenders and pounded them flat)
2 c tomato-basil (any flavor) spaghetti sauce, divided
1 c shredded mozzarella

Cook pasta. Combine cracker crumbs, Parmesan and oregano in pie plate. Whisk egg white in a second pie plate. Dip chicken in egg, then in crumb mixture.

Spray skillet. On medium heat cook chicken 5 minutes each side. Spoon 1 cup of spaghetti sauce over chicken; top with mozzarella cheese. Cover skillet. Reduce heat to low; simmer 3 minutes until cheese is melted.

Drain pasta. Add remaining sauce. Serve chicken over pasta.