Prep Sunday for a Week of Meals

SELF magazine had an article this week about prepping for an hour on Sunday and cooking all week. The recipes were for one, but I increased them to feed my family of 6. I did not do the entire program, but we enjoyed 3 meals - the Chicken with Black Bean Mango Salsa (I added a little peach as well, I think next time I'd add a little red pepper for color also), the Drunken Sausage (after browning the sausage, I threw it all in the crockpot for the day, worked great!) and finally, the Cheesy Shrimp. All were big hits with the entire family!

Here is the link: http://www.self.com/fooddiet/2012/02/cook-once-eat-healthy-all-week?in%20%20tcid=trail0123

Gnocchi with Shrimp, Asparagus, and Pesto

I made this Cooking Light recipe for dinner tonight. YUM! (I added some roasted grape tomatoes as well, because I can never resist the tomato/basil combo).

Gnocchi with Shrimp, Asparagus, & Pesto

• 2 quarts plus 1 tablespoon water, divided
• 1 (16-ounce) package vacuum-packed gnocchi (such as Vigo)
• 4 cups (1-inch) slices asparagus (about 1 pound)
• 1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
• 2 tablespoons preshredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
• 4 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Bring 2 quarts water to a boil in a Dutch oven. Add gnocchi to pan; cook 4 minutes or until done (gnocchi will rise to surface). Remove gnocchi with a slotted spoon; place in a large bowl. Add asparagus and shrimp to pan; cook 5 minutes or until shrimp are done. Drain. Add shrimp mixture to gnocchi.

Combine remaining 1 tablespoon water, basil, and next 4 ingredients (through garlic) in a food processor; process until smooth, scraping sides. Drizzle oil through food chute with food processor on; process until well blended. Add salt and basil mixture to shrimp mixture; toss to coat. Serve immediately.

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1634729

*I made it ahead of time to feed dinner in shifts tonight and fed Holland right after school before soccer and religion. She had an additional cold helping.

Crockpot/Slow Cooker Healthy Meals for the Fall

It is that time of year, again. Back to School (and Back to School Nights) and in my house, it is back to soccer and swimming, religion, and now scouts... There are very few nights in the fall that we will all be home at the same time to sit down and have dinner together. Add to that the cooler weather coming in & for me that means -- Crock Pot Meals. They stay warm and are easy to have ready and serve up when needed.

Here are a few crock pot links with some healthy and delicious looking recipes I am looking forward to trying this fall:

http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking-101/techniques/slow-cooker-classics-00400000001101/

http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/vegetarian-recipes/slow-cooker-recipes.php

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/8-slow-cooker-recipes-00000000008818/index.html

http://www.bhg.com/recipes/vegetarian/ideas/10-slow-cooker-vegetarian-favorites/

In particular, I am looking forward to trying these 2 this week:

Pesto Lasagna with Spinach & Mushrooms (I have never done lasagna in the crockpot, looking forward to this experiment)

• 4 cups torn spinach
  2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
  1/2 cup commercial pesto
  3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
  3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded provolone cheese
  1 (15-ounce) carton fat-free ricotta cheese
  1 large egg, lightly beaten
  3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
  1 (25.5-ounce) bottle fat-free tomato-basil pasta sauce
  1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
  Cooking spray
  1 (8-ounce) package precooked lasagna noodles (12 noodles)

Arrange the spinach in a vegetable steamer; steam, covered, 3 minutes or until spinach wilts. Drain, squeeze dry, and coarsely chop. Combine spinach, mushrooms, and pesto in a medium bowl, stirring to combine; set aside.

Combine mozzarella, provolone, ricotta, and beaten egg in a medium bowl, stirring well to combine. Stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan, and set aside. Combine the pasta sauce and the tomato sauce in a medium bowl.

Spread 1 cup pasta sauce mixture in the bottom of a 6-quart oval electric slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles over pasta sauce mixture; top with 1 cup cheese mixture and 1 cup spinach mixture. Repeat the layers, ending with spinach mixture. Arrange 3 noodles over spinach mixture; top with remaining 1 cup cheese mixture and 1 cup pasta sauce mixture. Place remaining 3 noodles over sauce mixture; spread remaining sauce mixture over noodles. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan. Cover with lid; cook on LOW 5 hours or until done.

Slow Cooker Ratatouille

• 1-1/2 cups cubed, peeled (if desired) eggplant
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped yellow summer squash or zucchini
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped tomato
• 1/2 of an 8-ounce can no-salt-added tomato sauce
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped red or green sweet pepper
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 1/2-inch-thick slices baguette-style French bread
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons finely shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon snipped fresh basil

In a 1-1/2-quart slow cooker, combine eggplant, squash, chopped tomato, tomato sauce, sweet pepper, onion, salt, black pepper, and garlic.
 

Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 4-1/2 to 5 hours or on high-heat setting for 2 to 2-1/2 hours. If no heat setting is available, cook for 4 to 4-1/2 hours.
 

For Parmesan toast: Preheat broiler. Brush one side of each bread slice with olive oil. Place bread slices, oiled sides up, on a baking sheet. Broil 3 to 4 inches from heat about 15 seconds or until toasted (watch carefully to avoid burning). Sprinkle bread slices with 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan cheese. Broil about 15 seconds more or until cheese is melted.
 

Stir basil into mixture in cooker. Serve in shallow bowls with Parmesan toast. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Makes 2 servings.

 

Make-Your-Own Granola Bars

Maeve can bring in a morning snack to school. I offered her the options of home morning snacks from the summer, usually fruit or cracker & cheese, nuts & dried fruit. None are as exciting as the granola bars (not the dry kind Dad gets) or fruit snacks the other kids bring. I don't on a regular basis buy chewy granola bars or fruit snacks - and don't want to make them a habit. To compromise we decided to try making Chewy granola bars that were healthy and even have some dried fruit and nuts. I let you know how they go over at school. Ok. So the first one was not as big a hit as I hoped. Katie had this one pinned it was great.  First batch went in a day, and I didn't even add chocolate chips. This time I am so I'm doubling the recipe  no bake granola bars

New diet

Help - For the next 2 weeks brad will not be able to eat any meat, or milk and he needs to limit his dairy. (He's fine they are checking for food allergies) I don't want to have 2 meals. I need ideas! I guessing we'll do some fish. He's not a huge fan of beans but I throw some in. I'm planning some breakfasts for dinners - eggs, pancakes, french toast and Waffles. What else are good options that he and the girls will like ? Thanks for your help.

Oatmeal Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes

On a long holiday weekend what is better than homemade pancakes. Here is a link to Oatmeal Blueberry ones that are very good. They take extra planning, start the night before but well worth the effort, and not difficult. Erin made them for us.

New Year, New Recipe

I like Katie's idea of a food related goal for the new year. Fish is not so much a problem for us. It is beans. I really like beans but my family does not. I want to work on adding more beans to our diet. I got a pressure cooker for christmas with this in mind. So I told my family once a week we are going to have meatless meals. I'm thinking beans. but we need to start slow. I cooked curried lentils as a side dish with a meal they all like. Then I froze the lentils in small batches and have been adding it to soups and stew. I also made a Minestrone with great white northern beans. Brad seems to like that, so I'm sticking with the great white northern and going to try Bridget's Brazilian Black Beans w/o black beans and meat. 

1 med onion, chopped

2-3 Cans black beans, drained

1-2 T olive oil

1 lb Cut up Chorizo, Linguica, kielbasa, pork, or ham (any combination of 2-3 meats work well)

2 cloves garlic chopped

8oz can crushed tomatoes

Topping: 1 med tomato, 1 med onion, fresh cilantro, chopped olive oil and vinegar to taste.

In a large sauce pot, saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Add meat to brown add tomatoes and black beans. Simmer 20 -30 minutes, if time permits flavor is enhanced with additional simmering.

Serve beans over rive, garnish w/tomato, onion and cilantro.

Mom and Dad visit - health concerns

I need to plan a menu for Mom and Dad's visit. I want to be very low sodium diet. I usually like to do one big meal. I was thinking turkey on the grill one night. But I need other ideas.  Also what do they do for lunch, I know they should not have cold cuts. Thanks for any help.

Moo Shu Beef Lettuce Cups

1 lb lean ground beef

1 c  yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 tbsp ginger root, fresh, minced

2 med garlic clove, minced

2 cup bok choy, thinly sliced

1 med sweet red pepper, thinly sliced

2 cup button mushrooms, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

8 leaf bibb lettuce

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and cook beef, onion, ginger and garlic over med-high heat for 5-7 minutes. Add bok choy, pepper, mushrooms and soy sauce; cook about 305 minutes. Spook about 1/2 c beef into each lettuce leaf. Yields 2 filled leaves per serving. Serve with extra soy sauce if desired.

George and I love it in the lettuce, but usually serve to the kids with tortillas.

This is a recipe from WeightWatchers.com.

Healthy Meals

My husband and I are trying to lose a little weight and get in better shape, and be healthier, in general. I have been adding extra fruits and veggies to every meal I can. 

I'd love some of your favorite healthy meals. If they are kid-friendly, all the better!

Yesterday I made a big pot of vegetarian chili. Added lots of mushrooms, peppers, onions, carrots, tomatoes, beans, and cilantro. We'll be having tonight, I like to let it sit a day, if I can. I will be foregoing my favorite toppings of cheese and sour cream. I think I'll toast some tortillas to serve alongside rather than a nice crusty roll.

Look forward to seeing your great ideas.