Easy Salisbury Steak

 

Easy Salisbury Steak

I came across this recipe on Pinterest and thought it looked really yummy. Be warned though, I've never had actual salisbury steak so I have no idea if this tastes like the real deal or not, but it was mighty delicious! I followed the recipe but didn't roast potatoes and I used a vidalia onion. One aspect of this recipe I love is the portion size, it gives you two perfectly portioned steaks. One of my greatest weaknesses is portioning the food I eat, I'm absolutely terrible at it and always make way too much, but this recipe is perfectly portioned as it is so it takes away the guesswork. I do know that normal salisbury steak has gravy on it, and this recipe kind of needs that. It tasted really yummy, but was a bit dry and dense and could've used some gravy. I was scooping up some mashed potatoes with every bite to add moisture. Otherwise, I really liked this recipe and I'll definitely make it again!

BTW, I served this steak with mashed potatoes and sauteed broccolini w/ a bit a parmesan cheese on top, but this dish is really flexible so serve it with your favorite starch/veggie combo!

Sarah's Review

Taste: 4/5

Ease: 5/5

"Guilt-Free" Ribs

"Guilt-Free" Ribs

So, I thought I had invented the holy grail of delicious clean food. BUT I didn't. When I make ribs, I usually use the crockpot and, fit people look away..., use a soda, coke, dr pepper, etc and pour it over the ribs close it and I'm good to go. But since we're trying to be clean, I decided to think outside of the box. I opened my fridge and saw organic apple juice and thought, oh. my. gosh. I'm a genius, but I'm not.. this is a totally documented way to make healthier version of ribs. Oh well, it was still mighty tasty!

2lbs Pork Ribs

2 cups organic apple juice

1/4 cup brown sugar

2Tbsp white vinegar

1Tsp garlic powder

2Tsp Worcestershire Sauce

S&P

1/4 cup BBQ Sauce (you can sub in something organic, or homemade)

The best ribs are cooked low and slow. I didn't really have the time so I did high for 5 hours. An hour before it was finished I put a light coating of bbq sauce on top.

Alana's Review

Taste: 4/5

Ease: 5/5
Comments: This was amazing and I didn't feel guilty for eating it (I rarely do - baha). The only complaint I had was that my ribs were super thick and a little fatty. So, it was extremely moist, and I much prefer it a little drier and some char. I didn't broil it either, which I will do next time!

Get Well Chicken

Get Well Chicken

Right as I got back on the blogging wagon, my whole family got sick! Somehow, each was sick in differing ways... So when I finally mustered up enough strength to cook, I wanted to make something that was easy and would make up feel better. I love combining rice, chicken and ginger when we're sick. It always makes me feel a little better.
 I took a whole chicken, rinsed it inside and out, put it in a baking dish, and added some S&P and garlic powder. I also added (don't read the next word bc it's not diet friendly...) butter. I added 1/3 butter stick on top and let it melt over the whole chicken. Baked at 350* for about an hr and 40 minutes. I cooked some white rice and dusted ginger over the rice and placed the chicken on top.

Alana's Review

Taste: 4/5
Ease: 4/5
Comments: This was super delicious, the only change I would make is to baste it throughout.

Toddler Review:
While he didn't "mmmmmm" through every bite, he a bunch of it. So I count this as a win in my book!
Summary: Toddler approved!

Birthday Chuck Steak Roast

Birthday Chuck Steak Roast

You can't get much simpler than this recipe. It was really good but I think I would change the meat up just a little. I usually do a meatloaf for my husband's birthday dinner, but I thought, with the clean eating, why not go primitive and do a delicious roast.
I layered the bottom of the crock pot with organic baby carrots, halved red potatoes, and chopped up half of a sweet onion, I threw on top of all that goodness a pretty chuck eye steak I procured. I used spices sparingly, just a little S&P, and put some chicken stock at the bottom, and splashed some Worcestershire on top.

Alana's Review

Taste: 4/5
Ease: 5/5
Comment: The meat was very fatty. I would definitely use a less marbleized, more lean meat next time.

Toddler Review:

Eh, he wasn't too impressed.
Summary: Toddler Disapproved!

Tomato and Broccoli Pasta

Tomato and Broccoli Pasta

One thing I love about pasta is that it's the ultimate vehicle, it goes with everything. If you have any leftovers, throw it in pasta! Random sauce in your fridge? Throw it in pasta! Or if you have veggies that are about to go bad, as I did, roast them and throw them in some pasta! You can't go wrong :)

Ingredients

3/4 box whole wheat pasta, I used rotini shaped

3 baby broccoli spears, chopped

About 12 yellow cherub tomatoes, cut in half

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese

1 tbsp. dried parsley

1 tsp. garlic powder

S&P

Preheat your oven to 375. Toss the broccoli with a little bit of olive oil and S&P, and put in an aluminum foil-lined pan. Then put the tomatoes in another aluminum foil-lined pan and sprinkle each with a little salt (to help draw out the moisture and get nice and roasted). Then put both in the oven. The broccoli takes about 8 or so minutes, the tomatoes take about 15 or so minutes. While those are going, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta like normal. Once the pasta is done, drain and toss with the butter and olive oil. Then add the veggies, cheese, parsley, and garlic powder and toss everything together. Add S&P as needed. 

Sarah's Review

Ease: 5/5

Taste: 4/5

Comments: This was such an easy dinner to make, and tasty too! You can make this with any vegetable you like. Just roast/saute and add! You can skip the butter to save a few calories, but I'm a butter addict so I threw a little in. Also adjust the seasonings however you like, this is completely customizable!

Ground Turkey Veggie Rotini

Ground Turkey Veggie Rotini

Amazing. That is all....

Just kidding, that's not all. Granted I say many things are amazing, BUT I could eat this over and over again, it was so good.

I used Hunts Organic Tomato Sauce (traditional), the whole can, used some splashes of organic chicken stock, two handfuls of spinach leaves, 1lb of ground turkey, about 4 vine ripe tomatoes, and typical seasonings: salt, pepper, oregano, basil, etc. I simmered the above at a medium to low temp for about an hr or so to really let everything marry. Then I put it all on some veggie rotini. By the way, you may be thinking wow she posts a lot of pasta... Yeah I do and I won't stop! 

Alana's Review

Ease: 5/5
Taste: 5/5
Comments: When can i make this again?!

Toddler Review:

Loved it. He's like his mana, loves pasta....

Summary: Toddler approved!

Seared Sea Bass w/ Rice and Veggie Medley

Seared Sea Bass w/ Rice and Veggie Medley

I'm always on the hunt for new types of fish to try. My local supermarket was having a special on sea bass, so I thought I'd give it a try. Since I'm unfamiliar with this type of fish and what goes good on it, I decided to cook it simply with basic spices and butter. I didn't measure the spices I used, so you'll have to adjust to taste, but I sprinkled the sea bass with garlic powder, paprika, a pinch of cayenne pepper, italian seasoning, and S&P. I melted some butter in a skillet over medium heat. Once hot, I seared the sea bass on both sides. One great thing I learned about this fish is it is a pinkish red when raw, but turns white when cooked so you can easily gauge how done it is. For the veggie side, I just cut up 1 carrot, a quarter of a yellow squash, and 1 stalk of baby broccoli (I was cooking for just myself tonight so if you're cooking for your family, use way more). I sauteed the carrot first in a pan with a splash of olive oil, then once that started softening I added the sliced yellow squash and cut up baby broccoli. I also added a bit of minced garlic, S&P, and let it all cook together until soft and lightly browned. Then I served the fish and veggies with a side of plain white rice. 

Sarah's Review

Ease: 5/5
Taste: 5/5
Comments: Sea bass is DELICIOUS! I loved this fish. It stays together pretty well in the pan and has a great flavor. The spices worked really well with the fish, and there wasn't a drop of food left on my plate afterwards. You can of cource sub brown rice for the white, but I'm just not a big fan of brown rice. You can also you any veggies you want for the side, sky's the limit!

Let the bloggin resume!

Sorry for the brief hiatus! We have been cooking like mad women though. It will take a few days to get it all on here, but otherwise... WE'RE BACK!!

Almond Crusted Scallops w/ Potatoes and Asparagus

Almond Crusted Scallops w/ Potatoes and Asparagus

Ever since I found the nice-looking seafood section at my local grocer, I keep experimenting with different types of seafood dishes. I saw a picture of almond crusted scallops and thought that sounded delicious, so this is my attempt at creating that.

Ingredients:

8 red or yellow potatoes (I used 4 of each)

20 asparagus spears

Dash of garlic powder

8 oz. package frozen bay scallops

1/4 cup unsalted almonds, chopped finely in a food processor

1/4 whole wheat panko bread crumbs

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp dried parsley

1/2 tbsp italian herbs

1/2 tbsp butter, melted

S&P

Preheat the oven to 375. Scrub the potatoes clean then put them in a pot to boil until fork tender. While that's boiling, clean 20 asparagus spears and toss them in a bit of olive oil with a dash of garlic powder, salt, and pepper (or whatever seasonings you prefer) and put in the oven for about 13-15 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, heat a skillet with a little olive oil in it over medium heat. Once hot, drop in the scallops and cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side. Once they're cooked, put them onto a baking sheet. Be sure to place them close together, they should all be touching. Mix together the almonds, bread crumbs, garlic powder, parsley, herbs, butter, and salt and pepper, and layer over the scallops. Once the asparagus is done, put your oven to broil and broil the scallops for about 2-3 minutes, or until the topping looks brown and crispy. Once the potatoes are done, drain and drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, and some dried parsley for garnish.

Sarah's Review 

Ease: 3/5

Taste: 3/5

Comments: I think diver scallops (the bigger ones) would work better with a recipe like this because the crust would stay on them. The crust fell apart when I scooped them off the baking sheet and it became more of a scallop crumble. Also, I would add some olive oil to the topping as well to make it more moist. The topping itself had a really good taste though, I liked the almonds a lot with the scallops. All in all not bad for my first attempt, I'll try this recipe again with the changes and let you know how it turns out!

Fresh Tomato Penne

Fresh Tomato Penne

I had planned on making pasta tonight because I found an awesome quinoa pasta and I was excited to try it. And it just so happened that a good friend of mine had gone to the farmers market and pick up some tomatoes and may have gotten too many. She didn't think she would finish them so she gave them to me, SCORE! I included them along with some Vine ripe tomatoes and two handfuls of spinach stirred into Hunt's organic pasta sauce. a couple splashes of organic chicken stock and 1 splash basamic vinegar and a couple pinches of sugar, salt, & pepper. 

Alana's Review 

Ease: 5/5

Taste: by itself 3.5, but with (a lot) Parmesan 5/5

Comments: More Cheese Please! 

Toddler Review: I don't know if he was just enjoying playing with the food and then eating it but he ate almost all of it! 

Summary: Toddler Approved! 

Leftover Love

Leftover Love

So I came up with this great idea... have you ever had just one item left over after dinner? So it's like, what am I going to do with 1/4 cup of green beans? I have a solution... I have a "rolling" left overs container in my freezer. Obviously, some things can't go together, but for the most part, after the said left over item cools I just dump it in. Then when the container is full, it's time to wait. Wait until, you're in a rush and half tempted to grab some easy fast food. Boom, this is already waiting to save the day!

This particular potluck is: teriyaki chicken, cheesy quinoa, corn, Italian style green beans, and broccoli tots. I wouldn't say it was friggin amazing, bc it wasn't haha (let's be real). It was tasty enough though! And much better than eating bad for you food. Win-win! 

Alana's Review 

Ease: 5/5 (it literally cannot get easier than this)

Taste: varies (mine described above 3/5)

Comments: pepper, everything can use more pepper

Classic Roast

Classic Roast

This is definitely not the prettiest picture I've taken since the gravy decided to spill all over the plate, but man was it delicious! I had been craving some good ol' roast and mashed potatoes, and my local grocer was having a fantastic sale on London broil so I decided it was time to try my hand at making a roast. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. London broil roast

5 whole carrots, peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces

1/2 of a sweet onion, quartered

1 tbsp rosemary

1 tbsp parsley 

1 tsp garlic powder

S&P

1 Bay leaf

2 russet potatoes

1 tbsp butter

About 1/4 cup milk

3 tbsp corn starch

I put the carrots and onion in the bottom of a mini slow cooker (my meals usually feed just myself or myself and my boyfriend), then I cut the roast in half, sprinkled it with the seasonings, and placed on top of the veggies. I filled the cooker with water until the water just covered everything, threw in the bay leaf, and covered and cooked on high for about 5 hours. About 30 minutes before time was up, I peeled and sliced the potatoes and put them in a pot of boiling water. While those were cooking, i drained the slow cooker liquid into a bowl, scooped off the top layer of fat, and put the liquid in a pot and brought to a boil. I mixed together about 3 tbsp of corn starch and 1 cup of hot water, and added to the liquid to thicken into a gravy. Once the potatoes were tender, I used a hand blender to mash them until smooth, added the butter, milk, and some salt and pepper, and blended until smooth and creamy. Then I plated up!

Sarah's Review 

Ease: 4/5

Taste: 5/5

Comments: It tasted like the roasts my mom used to make when I lived at home.  I was pleased with how it came out and I loved the flavor of the gravy! 

Cucumber Party Snack

Cucumber Party Snack

With summer parties right around the corner, it's a great time to start stocking up on some refreshing and easy party snacks, sides, and appetizers recipes and ideas. This one is not only nice and cool, but it also takes only a few minutes to prepare!

3/4 cup  plain Greek Yogurt

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
2 tbsp Mayo

Pinch: salt and pepper

Sliced cucumbers

I made mini sandwiches by putting a dot of the mix in the middle between two cucumber slices, then cut it in half.

Put the extra in the middle in a Ramekin.

Alana's Review

Ease: 5/5

Taste: 5/5

Comments: none, as a snack for a party it's perfect

Toddler Review: He loves cucumbers. He loves cheese. He loved this. It was definitely messy for him though! 

Summary: Toddler Approved!

Taco Seasoned Chicken Salad

Taco Seasoned Chicken Salad

I. Love. Salads. I would make them more often but somehow I always forget about them as an option until I'm trying to figure out what to do with left over lettuce, tomato, cucumber and carrots. Which is what happened tonight! Easy, delicious, quick, win-win-win!

All the above ingredients were used. I baked chicken at 375 for 40 min. Prior to that I seasoned them with cumin, paprika, pepper, and a minute pinch of salt.

I splashed some balsamic vinegar on top and called it a day.

Alana's Review

Ease: 5/5

Taste: 5/5

Comments: Make more often!

Toddler Review: Yum! He did more eating than playing, hah. And he ate ALL his chicken (which never happens). Side note, I think he's got his mama's love for spice.

Summary: Toddler Approved

Grilled Chicken and Cheesy Quinoa

Grilled Chicken and Cheesy Quinoa

So, things have been pretty boring in the kitchen on my end. I've been doing good,  clean eating wise, but it's been a lot of repeats. I definitely need to work on spicing it up.

The chicken was grilled on a griddle and I started to make my own sauce but I ran out of honey and cleaner ingredients, so I added some store bought bbq sauce to thicken it up. My quinoa, though, is what I wanted to post about. I cooked it like regular, then I turned off the stove and while it was still hot, I put in some shredded cheddar cheese and some gouda slices. It... was... amazing... it was very comforting almost too one tone. I added salt and pepper, and it was perfect. 

Alana's Review 

(Quinoa)

Ease: 5/5

Taste: 4.5

Comments: I used water instead of chicken broth, I'd do that instead. 

Mussels in Tomato Broth

Mussels in Tomato Broth

One of my my favorite things to do is mosey on around the grocery store looking for food inspiration.  We have a fabulous local grocer here that carries an array of interesting items that you wouldn't find at Walmart or Target. I was walking around today and came upon some frozen mussels which reminded me of this delicious mussels and broth dish at a local restaurant in Virginia Beach. Mussels are pretty cheap, so I decided to try to recreate that dish with my own ingredients. 

Ingredients:

One 28 Oz can organic crushed fire roasted tomatoes

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp parsley 

S&P

8 Oz frozen pre cooked shell-less mussels, thawed

4 red potatoes

Handful of spinach

I started by cubing the potatoes and boiling until easily pierced with a fork, then I drained them. I then started warming the tomatoes over medium heat. I added the chicken broth, garlic, cayenne, thyme, parsley, and salt and pepper and brought to a simmer. Then I added the mussels, potatoes, and spinach. I tore the spinach before adding. Then I let it simmer for 5 more minutes until the mussels heated through, then served with slices of fresh sourdough.

It didn't taste like the mussels and broth at the restaurant (as I expected), but this did taste good and was a different dish than I usually make.

Sarah's Review 

Ease: 5/5

Taste: 4/5

Comments: Use fresh mussels if you can, the frozen have a different texture, kinda like chicken and a little grainy. Fresh tastes way better (if you can believe it ;). Also I would up the spices. I was a little shy with them since it was my first time making this dish, but it could definitely use more of the spices. 

Egg White Breakfast Sandwich

Egg White Breakfast Sandwich

My (sappy) Back Story

My husband and I are very much equals when it comes to pretty much everything. There are chores he enjoys, there are other chores that I enjoy. And when it comes to our kids we put in equal amounts of time and effort. We have a great relationship, and one important hinge of that relationship is being appreciative of each other, especially when the other makes our day easier. Whether it's something they always do or something they're going out of their way to do, we take notice with appreciation just the same.

Anyways, our toddler and 2 month old woke up insanely early the other day, and while I was getting ready to start my day (get dressed, etc) he had put the baby back to sleep by the time I went to go get her and then let me go back sleep while he got up with our son. Right now, I'm on maternity leave, and his job can run for 12hrs at a time, sometimes longer, and is physically demanding. Him giving up the precious extra moments of sleep he needed was such a nice gesture. I wanted to make the next morning special for him. I let him "sleep in" (a WHOLE extra 30min) and when he got up and rushed to get ready for work, I had a coffee to go and this sandwich wrapped, both ready and waiting for him. We're not huge breakfast eaters because we're always in a rush, so I thought it would be a nice surprise.

Here's my sandwich. It's pretty basic, and I've done variations of it on here before, but it's extremely delicious.

Eggs:

1 cup finely chopped spinach

1/2 cup cheddar cheese (extra fo' my man)

8 Egg Whites

1/4 cup Lactaid Milk (my son has lactose allergies)

Pinches: salt & pepper

Mix and cook on the stove top with heated extra virgin olive oil. 

I cut a mini loaf of bread in half, and split them in two. Toasted then topped with the egg and tomato.

Alana's Review

Ease: 5/5

Taste: 5/5

Comment: I'm not a huge fan of breakfast sandwiches, so when I make it again, I'll probably leave off the bread on mine. Otherwise, amazing. 

Toddler Note: He LOVED it. He ate a whole huge bowl full (just the eggs) and kept going "Mmmm" with each bite.

One Pot Chicken Quinoa

One Pot Chicken Quinoa

Recipe:http://www.cookincanuck.com/2015/09/one-pot-chicken-quinoa-mushrooms-spinach-recipe/

Whenever I hear of a one pot meal, I'm instantly intrigued. If there's a chance I can cut down the number of dishes I'll have to do, I'll take it! Plus this recipe sounded nice and filling, which is perfect for a hungry gal like me. I'd never tried quinoa before so I figured this sounded like a yummy place to start.

I made the recipe according to the directions but halved everything (I was cooking for one plus two meals, so I only wanted to cook three chicken thighs) except for the spices that went on the chicken, which I doubled because I wanted to make sure I tasted them and seasoned the chicken nicely. Now, if you're going to half this recipe like me, write this next sentence down. ADJUST THE COOKING TIME. I had a silly moment where I thought I could cook the smaller amount of quinoa for the same 15 minutes it says, which then made it end up getting totally burnt and I had to start all over. So please, adjust the cooking times. I did 8 minutes of simmering the quinoa with the lid on. I'd also recommend cooking the chicken almost all the way through beforehand instead of just searing for two minutes, because after the quinoa was perfectly cooked, the chicken was totally raw so I ended up overcooking the quinoa so that I could get cooked chicken. It still tasted ok in the end, although the quinoa had an almost gelatinous texture which wasn't the most pleasing. The chicken did taste delicious though, so there's a win! 

Sarah's Review

Ease: 3/5

Taste: chicken 4/5 quinoa 2/5

Spinach Greek Yogurt Chicken

Spinach Greek Yogurt Chicken

Parmesan Greek Yogurt Chicken

Caprese Chicken

I decided to merge these two recipes! I couldn't wait to give it a try. It was delicious! Unfortunately, every component (aside from the tomato) was severely overcooked. But I can't be too upset at the cause. I'd overcook all my meals to stare at this face a little longer!

Chicken was tough and I over-reduced the balsamic sauce (AGAIN) and steamed the green beans so long that I ran out of water and burned my pot. AHHH!! And so the green beans tasted burnt. Yuck. But what are ya gonna do. When the baby needs you, you gotta be mom first, chef second! 

You may be wondering why I have that tiny measly slice of tomato on my chicken. I usually split my chicken with my son, and he is not a fan of tomato. I usually do 3/4 the chicken for me, 1/4 for my son and an extra veggie for him in addition to the sides my husband and I eat. I love meat, so I tend to over-indulge. And this is a good way for me to curb my intake. 

This reminded me of Chicken Florentine, but I've never read the recipe for that before, so I'm claiming this as it came directly out of my mind!

 Anyways - Here's my dets!

Mixed together:

3/4 cup plain greek yogurt

1/4 Parmesan

1/2 finely chopped spinach

Pinches to taste: Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder

Spread over chicken breasts, bake at 350 until cooked thoroughly (aka NOT 50mins to an hour for 1 lb total weight for two chicken breasts)

While baking, I made the balsamic sauce. 

1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar

2 tbsp light brown sugar

A couple splashes organic chicken stock (and then a couple more splashes to deglaze the pot when I over-reduced)

 Pull out the chicken, place slice of tomato on top, broil a few minutes, then top with the sauce. 

Alana's Review:

Ease: 4/5

Taste: 4/5 (would be 5/5 if I had cooked the chicken correctly)

Comments: Don't overcook the food. =)

Turkey Sammie

Turkey Sammie

There ain't a thing special or unique about this sandwich, but it was too pretty not to post. 

Eggs in a Basket

Eggs in a Basket

Today I wanted to share with you my favorite breakfast to make. It's quick, easy, and very filling. I first learned to make eggs in a basket my sophomore year of college. My best friend and I were starving one night while staying up late to study for an exam and she suggested we make eggs in a basket, and that was when I got hooked on them. Seriously, I probably ate them every day for two weeks after she showed me how to make them. So yummy! So here is how to make quick and easy eggs in a basket:

Ingredients: Bread (I used white bread from a local bakery but whole wheat would work well also)

Eggs

Black Pepper

Paprika

First spray a skillet with olive oil spray and set to medium heat. Next cut a whole in the middle of the bread. Back in sophomore year we just used a butter knife and cut around the perimeter, but now I used a heart shaped cookie cutter to make a pretty diamond-esque shape. Whatever you use, just be sure not to cut too close to the edges or they'll break and all of the egg will run out. Butter the edges of the bread on both sides (you can omit this step if you want to cut extra calories, I just like doing it so the bread has a buttery crispness to it). Once the pan is warmed, put the bread in and crack an egg in the middle whole you cut out. Be careful not to break the yolk. Now, the next part is up to what you prefer. For true eggs in a basket (the kind I like), you cook it over easy so the yolk is runny and creates a little sauce for everything, but if you don't like runny yolks then you can cook it through. I've overcooked them before and they are still tasty with fully cooked yolks, so just cook to your preference. For over easy, cook for about 2-3 minutes on the first side then flip and cook another 1-2 minutes on the other side. You can tell where the yolks are at in the cooking process if you poke them with the corner of your spatula. If it looks like a waterbed then they're runny. Once they're cooked to your liking on both sides, take them out and sprinkle with black pepper and paprika. Voila!

Ease: 4/5

Taste: 5/5

Comments: As I said above, you can sub whole wheat for the white bread to make this healthier. Also, this isn't a dish to use farm fresh eggs in if you're wanting to make the eggs runny. I'd recommend using pasteurized eggs (the kind you get at the store) versus fresh eggs straight from the chicken. You're safe using pasteurized and eating runny yolks, but farm fresh eggs would be iffy.

Broccoli Tots

Broccoli Tots 

http://gimmedelicious.com/2015/05/17/healthy-baked-broccoli-tots/

Let me first just say... I LOVE broccoli. And after years of carefully including it into my tastiest dishes, my husband finally likes broccoli too! Our toddler, however, does not... yet! So, in effort to recruit him to the broccoli-loving side I decided to try these broccoli tots. If you ask me I'd say I much prefer plain steamed broccoli, but this post is for my little buddy. 

I altered the above linked recipe a little.

2 cups steamed broccoli, chopped finely 

3/4 cup cheddar cheese

3/4 cup finely "chopped" unsalted saltine crackers

To taste: salt & pepper

3 eggs

Mix 'em, mold 'em, bake 'em.

22-25min @ 450 degrees

Alana's Review 

Ease: 2/5

Taste: 3/5

Comments: It was good, and my son ate it. So, it's a win. BUT like I said I like the broccoli by itself better. One nice thing about this is that I was able to freeze the left overs to heat up for baby boy when I'm short a veggie for him come dinner time.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

http://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2015/09/11/clean-eating-classic-cinnamon-rolls/

This morning I decided to make these whole wheat cinnamon rolls. The picture looked delicious and the blogger said her family thought they tasted better than store bought, so it sounded great to an avid cinnamon roll lover like me. They were easy to make, but they took FOREVER to make. I want to eat ASAP while I'm cooking something, so the time it took to make these made me almost go get donuts at my local donut shop...luckily I persevered and distracted myself with TV so I didn't. Finally they were done and out of the oven. I took a bite and.....ehh. They weren't bad, just not the cinnamon rolls I'm used to. I like my cinnamon rolls fluffy, sweet, and covered with icing. I could live with these not having icing, but it's hard to make whole wheat food "fluffy", so these were just dense little cinnamon rolls. They're not the worst, I'll still eat the rest, but I probably won't make these again. I'm afraid the unhealthy food wins this time.

Sarah's Review 

Ease: 2/5

Taste:2/5

Chicken Tortellini Soup

Chicken Tortellini Soup

One thing you'll notice as you see more soup posts from me is that I really don't care for broth-y soups. I'm a hungry gal, and a bowl of broth with a few pieces of veggies or meat in it is NOT going to fill me up. I say this because it served as the inspiration for this chicken tortellini soup I made. I came across a picture of a chicken noodle soup-esque soup with tortellini in place of egg noodles, which sounded yummy. I started out making using its recipe but soon discovered that the amount of veggies and such were not enough to satisfy me, so I improvised and ended up making a soup of my own stuffed with delicious veggies and chicken and tortellini. Here's the recipe:

2 chicken large chicken breasts

3 medium carrots, sliced

2 stalks of celery, sliced

1 cup sliced portabella mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cans chicken broth with roasted vegetables (see my turkey meatball soup post about this wonderful broth)

1/2 cup water

2 bay leaves

2 tbsp dried onion flakes

1 tbsp dried parsley

1 7oz box dried multicolored cheese tortellini

Handful of fresh spinach

Start out by searing the chicken in a large pot over medium heat with a little olive oil. Once cooked through, take the chicken out and immediately put in the carrots and celery and cook until tender. Meanwhile, either shred or thinly slice the chicken. I decided to get fancy and thinly slice it. Once the veggies are tender, add the mushrooms and garlic and cook for about 2-3 minutes, until the mushrooms are starting to brown. Once all the veggies are cooked, add the broth, water, bay leaves, onion, and parsley. Turn the burner to medium-high heat and bring soup to a simmer. Once simmering, add the tortellini and cook at a simmer for 15 minutes, or until tortellini are fully cooked. A few minutes before serving, add the spinach and cook until wilted. Don't forget to take out the bay leaves before serving!

Sarah's Review

Ease: 4/5

Taste: 4/5

Comments: My boyfriend and I were split on the tortellini. I didn't like them at all, they had a weird, fake cheese flavor to them (they were clean and made with real parmesan though). My boyfriend did like them though, so let me know if you try them and what you think! Otherwise the soup was delicious. Next time I'll try another brand of tortellini (or maybe get crazy and make my own!).

Parmesan Greek Yogurt Chicken

Parmesan Greek Yogurt Chicken

As unappetizing as the picture looks is as tasty as it was. Haha. So, here is my recipe. 

Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 cup plain greek yogurt

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Pinches: salt, pepper,  garlic powder, Mrs. Dash lemon pepper

Mix everything but the chicken in a bowl. Place the chicken in sprayed or oiled baking dish. Top each breast generously with mixture. I baked @ 375 for 40-45minutes.

Alana's Review

Ease: 5/5

Taste: 4/5

Comments: I liked it very much! It was so cheesy and moist. By the end it was a little too lemony, even for me. My husband doesn't like lemon chicken, like at all. I thought it wouldn't be as lemony as it was. So next time I think I'm going to switch it up and instead of a lemon taste I'm going to use chopped spinach. 

Ground Turkey Shell-less Tacos, Take 2!

Ground Turkey Shell-less Tacos,  Take 2!

I finally got around to remaking my Shell-less Tacos described here: Take 1!

I did everything exactly the same, except I made my own salsa! I used the store bought salsa to flavor the ground turkey like before. I just wanted to make sure my salsa tasted good before I mixed it all up in my food. 

Salsa:

Extra virgin olive oil, heated

1 small onion chopped finely, sauteed

1 & 1/2 tsp dried cilantro

Pinches: salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder

2tbsp honey (in many recipes I saw people used sugar, so this was my substitute)

A splash of organic chicken broth

While I cut up 3 large Roma tomatoes I threw the squishy insides in the sauté pan.

I threw the chopped tomatoes in at the end and turned off the heat but left the pan on the warm burner while I mixed it all together and then prepared the other parts of the meal

Alana's Review

(salsa)

Ease: 5/5

Taste:3.5/5

Comments: less onions, more spice! 

Protein Pancakes

Protein Pancakes

I'm a huge fan of pancakes, they're my favorite breakfast bread behind french toast. I used to make my pancakes from a box mix, but it has a lot of additives which aren't very clean. They also aren't usually super filling, I have to stuff myself in order to get full, so I wanted to make a pancake that will be more filling (which in turn means less pancakes I need to eat and most importantly less syrup). Here's how I made them:

1 1/3 cup 100% whole grain oats

3 tbsp whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Grind the oats, flour, and baking powder in a food processor until oats are fine. Remove to a separate bowl, then add all of the wet ingredients to the food processor and blend until smooth. Add this to the bowl flour and oats and whisk everything together. Spray a skillet on medium heat with olive oil spray, and drop 1/4 cup batter to make each pancake. Flip when the bottom brown. Serve with pure maple syrup and fruit.

These pancakes were super filling, I struggled on the last few bites. They are denser than normal pancakes, but they have a lovely cinnamon flavor and I love the hearty wheat taste. These are a great way to start off your day without the mid-morning hunger setting in!

Sarah's Review

Ease: 4/5

Taste: 5/5

Turkey Meatball Soup

Turkey Meatball Soup

My favorite thing to do is make a big pot of soup at the beginning of the week and take it to work for lunch throughout the week. Unfortunately, I'm super picky when it comes to soup so I usually stick to some variation of chicken noodle soup. Well, I decided I needed to jump out of my soupy comfort zone and try something new, so I decided on a turkey meatball soup (based off of this recipe: http://chefsavvy.com/recipes/turkey-meatball-vegetable-soup/). I'm not a big fan a ground turkey, but it's so much healthier than beef so went ahead and tried this soup anyways. I made the meatballs like the recipe says to but I also added some garlic powder to the meatball mixture to give it a little more flavor. My motto is you can never have too much garlic. After they were done, I added a head of chopped broccoli and 2 chopped carrots and sauteed those until they were tender. About halfway through I also added 4 big baby portabello mushrooms that I had sliced thin. Once the carrots started getting tender, I added the garlic, sauteed for a minute, then added 4 cups of chicken broth with roasted vegetables*, 1 cup water, and about 2 tbsp dried onion flakes. Once this started simmering I added a few dashes of black pepper, about 1 1/2 tbsp dried parsley, 1 tsp chili powder, 2 handfuls of spinach, and the meatballs I cooked earlier and let this cook until the spinach wilted. I then served with some fresh sourdough bread slices. 

This soup was quite tasty after I first cooked it, but it honestly was way better the subsequent days when I took it for lunch. The meatballs had soaked up more broth and all of the flavors had melded together beautifully. This soup is definitely going to overthrow my usual chicken noodle soup.

*So let me tell you about this broth. One day in Walmart I saw they had these cans of chicken broth with roasted vegetables on clearance, and since they hadn't expired I figured I'd give them a shot. These definitely lifted up this soup way more than normal chicken broth would have. It had a fantastic flavor and little bits of veggies in it. Now, a disclaimer, it's not really "clean" broth, but I'm not about to sit around making homemade broths so it will have to be a cheat. Feel free to add homemade broth to this soup, but I really think this broth is amazing and gave this soup a great flavor.

Sarah's Review

Ease: 3/5

Taste: 5/5

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frozen Bananas

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frozen Bananas

Remember the homemade chocolate I made? 
Click here for the recipe
Well here's something you can make with it: chocolate peanut butter frozen bananas! And it's super easy, all you do is melt the chocolate in the microwave, dip sliced banana disks in it, place on wax paper and freeze, and then drizzle melted peanut butter over them right before serving! Easy and delicious, and the perfect snack to squash a craving!

Sarah's Review

Ease: 5/5

Taste: 4/5

Warm Bruschetta

Warm Bruschetta

The inspiration for this dish came from none other than Alana! My boyfriend and I wanted a snack to munch on while we binge-watched the new season of House of Cards, and I checked up on the blog to see Alana's new post and it looked delicious! If you haven't seen it, go to the next post immediately. 

I've never made bruschetta but had the basic ingredients on hand, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I'm not a fan of raw tomatoes or cold mozzarella, so this is a warmed up version.

I quartered yellow sun burst tomatoes, sprinkled them with salt, and roasted in the oven at 425 for 15 minutes. While that was doing its thing, I sliced a loaf of sourdough bread about half an inch thick and drizzled with olive oil. Once the tomatoes were done, I switched the oven to broil and put the bread in for about 2 minutes. I mixed the tomatoes, mozzarella cheese pearls that I cut in half, garlic powder, dried parsley, and dried Italian seasoning and spooned onto the bread. Then I put it back in the oven at 375 for 3 minutes so the mozzarella could warm through. Once I took them out, I sprinkled with a little pepper and dug in!

These came out wonderfully and were the perfect snack for our night of laziness.

Sarah's Review

Ease: 4/5

Taste: 5/5

Clean Bruschetta

Clean Bruschetta

We had left over spaghetti from last night, so I threw together a classic at our home. I have made this many times, and it's always been unintentionally clean. So I thought I'd share! I like my bruschetta fresh and simple. I ran out of dried basil and dried oregano (AHHH!). So I had to make due with what I had, but typically I would use both of those items.

3-4 chopped Roma Tomatoes (love these)

Fresh Mozzarella, cubed

3/4 cup chopped spinach

Pinch: Salt, Pepper

(Again - I try to use the left over ingredients from previous meals, I had a couple loaves of delicious bread that my husband picked. I used this as my toasted bread)

Brush Olive Oil over sliced bread. 

Sprinkle: Garlic Powder, Thyme, & Rosemary over them

With the oven still hot from reheating my spaghetti, I turned it off and turned on the broiler. 

They did come out a little more burnt than I would have liked, but honestly it was still amazing. This is one of my favorite things to make. So fresh and easy.

Once plated, we dusted with Parmesan.

Alana's Review

Ease: 5/5

Taste: 5/5

Comments: Put Oregano and Basil on my grocery list.

Spinach and Tomato Spaghetti

Spinach and Tomato Spaghetti

So, I need to use recipes more to spice up our meals, but in general I love to just wing it and come up with my own recipes. This is my first attempt at clean spaghetti. 

Just like brown rice and whole wheat bread, I cannot stand whole grain pasta... I know, it's kind of hard to eat healthy without liking such major healthy staples. But, in effort to make it clean and healthier, I used veggie pasta. It said it was made with carrot and tomatoes. I'll take it! 

This turned out much sweeter than I expected.I think the pasta played a role, but all in all, pretty good! 

Sauce:

Heated olive oil in a pan

Sautéed minced garlic (removed once cooked)

Sautéed approx 2cups chopped fresh organic spinach

2 1/2 tomatoes

3/4 cup organic chicken broth

Dried 1tsp: basil, oregano, thyme

Pinch: salt, pepper, cilantro

Cook until tomatoes are cooked.

Toss in cooked spaghetti, mix in Parmesan to taste. 

Alana's Review

Ease: 5/5

Taste: 4/5

Comments: When I first tasted it, I liked it, but it seemed kind of boring. All the tastes in the dish were pretty much the same so nothing stood out. I attempted to put some balsamic vinegar in it, of course it'd be much better cooked in the first place still... but that wasn't quite it either. So I put more parmesan on it and that did the trick. Next time, I will put more cheese in the pasta and maybe a little vinegar while sautéing vegetables. 

Pistachio Pesto Pizza

Pistachio Pesto Pizza

My favorite pizza is at a small pizzeria in Tulsa. It has tons of cheese and a pistachio pesto on it, and oh man, it is delicious. I love pesto, especially interesting ones that are based on ingredients other than the classic pesto, so I fell in love when I ate this pizza. Tulsa is a bit of a drive from Oklahoma City, so I decided to try a version of this pizza at home, and it turned out pretty tasty.

I made the pizza crust by mixing 1 cup plain nonfat greek yogurt and 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, and kneading until a dough formed. I rolled it out to about 1/4 inch thickness and baked at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, until it was cooked through. The toppings were a thin layer of all natural pasta sauce (not homemade, but it was made whole ingredients), small fresh mozzarella pearls, yellow sunburst tomatoes that I had roasted at 425 for about 10 minutes or so, and pistachio pesto (recipe below). I baked this at 375 for about 8 or so minutes, until the cheese melted. I was impressed with how the pesto came out and all of toppings tasted great together. It can't beat my favorite pizza in Tulsa, but it sure will hold me over in the meantime!

Pistachio Pesto

1/2 cup shelled pistachios

1/4 parmesan cheese

1/8 cup olive oil

2 tbsp water

1/2 garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp orange juice

Pinch of pepper (if pistachios are unsalted, add a pinch of salt)

Mix everything in a food processor or blender until smooth.

Sarah's Review

Ease: 3/5

Taste: 4/5

Suggestions: Everything on the pizza was fairly soft, so adding some fresh chopped pistachios on top would be delicious for a little crunch.

Teriyaki Chicken

Teriyaki Chicken

Ok, so complete disclaimer... this is a healthier and cleaner version of my teriyaki chicken and may not fit your ideal clean eating standards. I am half Filipino and in my household we eat rice, a LOT of rice. Growing up we would eat rice with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's just how it is. So the fact that I haven't had rice since I started clean eating is a miracle. I know that brown rice is an option, but I cannot stand it. I don't know what it is about it, and I know some people love it and prefer it. But I just don't like it. I love and typically use jasmine rice. Brown rice is healthier but in this instance I just used my beloved jasmine rice. In the pre-cleaneating days I would sauté the chicken in butter, soy sauce, etc. And then would do the same for the green beans. So this is much much healthier! 

I salt and peppered two chicken breasts then dusted some garlic powder on top.  I prepared the sauce separately. After the chicken cooked I cut it up and tossed it with the chicken. I steamed the green beans, no butter or any thing else since the chicken with the sauce would be on top of the green beans. I put ginger powder in the water I cooked the rice with. 

Sauce:

1 cup organic chicken broth

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp light brown sugar

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp white vinegar

1/2 tsp ginger powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

A splash of balsamic vinegar

A splash of Worcestershire sauce

I let this simmer while the rest of the food was cooking. My thought with this was that instead of simmering the chicken in straight soy sauce mixture. I made the majority of the sauce be broth and just gave it teriyaki notes. Then by tossing the chicken at the end in it, it meant less of that sauce and sodium seeped inside. It was actually very delicious! I think I might even prefer this to my old way!

Alana's Review

Ease: 4/5

Taste: 5/5