GARLIC CHEDDAR CHEESY CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI PASTA

I love playing with sauces. This one was created because I found a very interesting, festive new cheese at Costco the other day. It is a cranberry white cheddar cheese. YUM! Definitely different, anyway. And an inspiration to get a little crazy in the kitchen.

I hope you enjoy this new rendition of a delicious cheese sauce for pasta, veggies, or whatever else you like.

Recipe

Broccoli, rinsed and chopped into 1-inch pieces

Chicken, cooked and chopped into 1-inch pieces

Spaghetti noodles (your favorite type), broken into 3-inch segments

Butter – 2 T

Whole wheat pastry flour – 2T

Milk – ½ C

Garlic clove, peeled and pressed - 1

Cranberry White Cheddar cheese, crumbled – ½ C

Boil and salt water to cook noodles. Put a steamer basket on top of the noodle pot (make sure it fits well) and steam the broccoli pieces at the same that you cook the noodles. When the  noodles are done (boil about 10 minutes) the broccoli should be tender. Remove both from the burner and drain noodles right away.

Place chicken, noodles and broccoli in a large bowl and make sauce.

For the sauce, in a saucepan, melt butter on low. Add flour and whisk together, then heat over medium until bubbly. Be careful not to burn! Add in milk and whisk to make sure it combines well. Add in garlic clove, freshly pressed. When well combined, cook until sauce starts to thicken a little, and is the thickness you prefer for your intended dish.

Mix in cheese and stir until it is melted. Pour over noodles, broccoli and chicken.

ENJOY in Good HEALTH!

CHICKEN AND PARMESAN SHEPARD’S CASSEROLE

Staying with our chicken and green bean theme…and Parmesan. Easy, affordable, and yum!

Recipe

Russet potatoes, half-peeled and diced – 6 large

Butter – 2 T

Milk – ½ C to 1 C

Salt – 2 teaspoons

Corn kernels, frozen – 1 C

Green beans, canned, drained – 2 cans

Chicken meat, cooked and chunked – 1 ½ C

Parmesan Cheese, shredded – 1 C

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place potato chunks in cold water and bring to a boil. When potatoes have boiled and become tender, drain the potatoes, and place in a large bowl with the butter. Once the butter has melted, add salt and ½ cup of milk. Blend until creamy, adding milk to bring them to your desired consistency.

Layer green beans, chicken and corn in the pan. Top with potatoes. Cover with foil and let bake about 25 minutes.

Top with parmesan, return to the oven, and allow cheese to melt (uncovered) – about 10 minutes.

ENJOY in Good HEALTH!

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE WITH CHICKEN AND PARMESAN

This will probably be your new favorite green bean casserole. We’ve eaten it four times in the past few weeks. Just saying…

Recipe

Butter – 2 T

Flour (white or wheat) – 2 T

Salt – 1 teaspoon

Honey – 1 teaspoon

Onion – 1/3 C diced

Sour Cream – ½ C

Non-fat Greek Yogurt – ½ C

Green beans, canned, drained – 2 cans

Chicken meat, cooked and chunked – 1 ½ C

Parmesan Cheese, shredded – 1 C

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt two tablespoons of butter over low heat. Stir in flour and salt, and cook over medium-low for about one minute, or until smooth. Remove from heat, stir in salt, sugar, onion, sour cream and non-fat greek yogurt. Stir in green beans and cooked chicken chunks.

Spread into a 13 X 9 pan, and top with Parmesan cheese. You can also top with crushed buttery crackers if you desire.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until bubbly.

ENJOY in Good HEALTH!

PUMPKIN CRANBERRY CHOCOLATE CHIP CAKE WITH ALMOND GLAZE

Pumpkin is never-ending in my house from October to December. We love it! Here is another recipe from our pumpkin-loving home to yours. 

Recipe

Cake Ingredients

Pumpkin puree – 1 ½ C

Sugar – 1 C

Oil – 2/3 C

Almond extract – 2 teaspoons

Large Eggs – 4

Whole wheat flour (finely-ground) – 4 C

Baking soda – 2 teaspoons

Salt – 1 teaspoon

Ground cinnamon – 1 teaspoon

Cloves – ½ teaspoon

Baking powder – ½ teaspoon

Chocolate chips – 1 C

Chopped walnuts – ½ C

Chopped cranberries – 1 C

Frosting Ingredients

Butter – 1/3 C

Powdered sugar – 2 C

Almond extract – 2 teaspoons

Hot water – 3-4 T

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Move oven rack to middle position in the oven.  Grease two round cake pans.

Mix pumpkin, sugar, oil, almond extract and eggs. Stir in flour through baking power just until mixed. Then add chocolate chips, walnuts and cranberries and stir just until evenly incorporated.

Pour into greased cake pans and bake for 20-35 minutes, checking to see when just browned and a toothpick comes out clean.

As the cake cools, prepare the frosting. Melt the butter then remove from heat. Add powdered sugar and almond extract, then whip in just enough water until you reach the desired consistency.

When cake has cooled, remove from pans, plate them, and simply pour over frosting.

Realizing this does have sugar in it, still ENJOY in Good HEALTH!

ROASTED APPLE PUMPKIN SEEDS

Pumpkin seeds are a tradition in our home. My kids love to gnaw on them, and I love to make them. 

We always use and re-use and re-use our pumpkins each October. First we paint them. Super cute. The kids always get one to decorate however they like.

Then, after Halloween is over, I wash them, bake them, and puree them. Voila! Pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pancakes, etc.

And just when you thought we were through, we use the seeds, we roast them and then devour them.

Like I said, we use and re-use and re-use the heck out of them. Now you can too!

Recipe

Pumpkin seeds – 3 C

Oil – 2 T

Apple cider packet - 1

Heat oven to 300 degrees F.

Clean seeds of most pulp and strings. Rinse. Drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with cider mix. Mix until well covered.

Bake on a foil-lined sheet for 40-50 minutes, stirring 2 or 3 times. Make sure to take out of the oven when they have started to brown.

ENJOY in Good HEALTH!

ROATSED CORN WITH HONEY BASIL BUTTER

Growing up, we always had boiled corn. So I didn’t realize corn could be so delicious roasted in the husk in the oven. YUM!

Good anytime, and definitely improved with basil butter. Make this tonight and enjoy.

Recipe

Corn ears – 6

Butter – 3 T

Basil, fresh, finely chopped – 1 teaspoon

Honey – 1 T

Keep corn in the husk, rinse and roast in oven at 350 F for 30 minutes or until soft.

While corn is roasting, soften butter for 5-8 seconds in the microwave, just until soft. Do not melt it. After softened, stir in honey and basil.

Just before eating, slather corn in herbed butter and devour.

ENJOY in Good HEALTH!

GOAT CHEESE MASHED POTATOES

Goat cheese is delicious. It is like cheese meets awesome. Pungent, sharp, surprising, bright. It adds so much to whatever you make. With the exception of maybe, fudge? Well, we’ll have to play around with that too. Maybe we could make something work.

Something you KNOW is going to be enhanced by goat cheese is mashed potatoes. They are a staple comfort food, but can often lack depth of flavor or interesting components.

This recipe changes that. Try this. Don’t tell your family about your experiment. Simply make your mashed potatoes (with the extra special ingredient) and serve them up. I did this and the kids (who don’t love goat cheese or mashed potatoes) actually ate them!

Why do I make mashed potatoes with goat cheese if my kids don’t love them? Simple. I do. Gotta do something for the mom once in a while, right?  J

Recipe

Russet potatoes – 2 pounds

Water

Butter – ¼ C

Milk – ½ to ¾ C

Goat cheese – 4 oz of chunks

Salt – 1-3 teaspoons (to taste)

Wash and scrub potatoes. Peel off only about half of the peels. Cut into 1 inch chunks. Put in a large pot and cover with cold water. Put on to boil. Boil until tender.

Drain potatoes. Put in a large bowl, add butter and allow to melt. Add ½ C milk and whip with electric beater. Add goat cheese and more milk (to desired consistency) and whip until well combined. Salt to taste.

ENJOY in Good HEALTH!

GARLIC LIME PAN-FRIED GREEN BEANS

“So,” you wonder, “how to prepare those delicious looking green beans you bought at the grocery store?”

They looked so good, you had to get them. You know, growing up, we never had fresh green beans. Always canned. So much cheaper! We know, though, that fresh is usually best. So, we try to change out ways.

And this is me, trying the change. I’ll admit, I still love the canned version. But this style of green beans was refreshing, different, and bright. I hope you like them as much as I do!

Recipe

Olive oil – 2 T

Green beans, ends trimmed – 1 lb

Garlic cloves, peeled and minced – 2

Lime juice – from one lime

Lime zest – from one lime

Salt – to taste

Steam green beans for 4-6 minutes.

Heat oil over medium heat in a deep skillet. Add steamed green beans and cook about 5-7 minutes or until just beginning to brown. Add minced garlic, lime juice, lime zest and salt to taste. Heat and stir just until all combined.

ENJOY in Good HEALTH!

PUMPKIN ZUCCHINI PANCAKES

YUM! These pancakes are easy, delicious, and give you two different vegetables to start off your day!

They are not too sweet, but can be dressed with honey…ooh, cinnamon laced honey would be amazing! Or a nice cream cheese glaze, or traditional pure maple syrup. I LOVE FALL TIME FOOD!

Recipe

Pumpkin puree - 2 C

Honey – ¾ C

Eggs – 4

Almond extract – 2 teaspoons

Milk – 1 C

Zucchini, shredded – 1 ¼ C

Salt – 1 teaspoon

Baking soda – 1 teaspoon

Cinnamon – 2 teaspoons

Nutmeg – 2 teaspoons

Soft White Whole Wheat pastry flour – 3 C

Mix pumpkin through zucchini. Blend dry ingredients together (salt through flour). Combine wet and dry ingredients.

Cook on a griddle or in a frying pan in oil/butter over medium-low heat.

ENJOY IN GOOD HEALTH!

TROPICAL LIME FRUIT SALAD

I bought some ripe peaches. So naturally, I had to make a delicious salad to go with dinner.

This fruit salad is dressed with an amazing lime syrup, which you will love on so many other things too. Pancakes, Oatmeal, cake…whatever.

Recipe

Peaches, rinsed, pitted and chopped – 2

Bananas, peeled and sliced – 2

Mango, pitted and chopped – 1

Avocados, pitted and peeled and chopped – 2

Lime syrup

Fresh squeezed lime juice – from 3 limes

Lime zest – from 1 lime

Honey – 2/3 C

To make the syrup, mix over medium heat on the stove, and cook until slightly reduced and thicker. Combine all chopped fruit, then dress with lime syrup. And eat as much as you want before you let your family eat it. Because you  may not get any after they try it!

ENJOY IN GOOD HEALTH!

MINT AND FRUIT WHEAT BERRY SALAD

I just think sometimes, skip the grinding and use the whole grain! Right? So…here’s a nice cooked wheat berry salad. VERY WHOLE. I mean, it really doesn’t get much whole-r than this.

So really, after I ate this for dinner, I felt full, satisfied, healthy, happy, and my stomach digested so well. No uncomfortable bloating (for eating whole wheat), or weird gurglings.

You should try this. It’s like rice, but it’s not rice. It’s wheat. Did I mention it’s a whole grain?  

Recipe

Wheat berries, cooked – 5 C

Water, salt – 2 qts water and 2 tsp salt

Peach, pitted and chopped – 1

Mango, pitted and chopped – 1

Mint leaves, chopped – ½ C

Goat cheese, crumbled – 1 C

Pour the dried wheat berries into 2 quarts of salted water. Bring to a boil, and boil for 3 minutes. Reduce to medium-low and simmer about 30-45 minutes, or until berries are tender.

Remove berries from heat, drain and rinse with cold water. Add in chopped fruit, mint leaves and goat cheese. Toss carefully. Salt as needed and ENJOY IN GOOD HEALTH!

CREAMY POTATO HAM SPINACH CASSEROLE

I don’t know about you, but I love potatoes. And though they are a starch, and not so popular right now with our carb-a-phobe society, I still champion them. They are a whole food, after all. And so delicious, versatile, and my kids will eat them. So that’s a major plus.

Try this recipe I just concocted today. A great experiment gone right!

Recipe

Potatoes, washed and diced into ¼ inch cubes – 7

Spinach, fresh – 6 C

Ham, chopped into ½ inch cubes – 2 C

Garlic cloves, peeled and crushed – 3

Nonfat Greek Yogurt – ½ C

Mayonnaise – ½ C

Milk – ½ C

Sour Cream – ¾ C

Gouda cheese, sliced – enough to cover casserole top

Set oven to 350.

Boil potatoes in a large pot, while steaming the spinach on top simultaneously. When potatoes are soft, drain both potatoes and spinach (separately). Add in ham, stir and then spread into a 10 X 14 pan.

Mix nonfat greek yogurt, mayo, milk, sour cream and garlic. Mix into potato/spinach/ham mixture. 

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and top with cheese. Bake an additional 5-10 minutes, just until cheese melts.

 Enjoy in Good Health!

ARTICHOKE CREAM CHEESE DIP

My son, Sully, asked me to make this for dinner. It was a hit! Super easy, super yummy, all natural ingredients, and no preservatives. What other convincing do you need?

Recipe

Cream cheese, softened – 12 oz

Diced onion – 1/3 C

Mayonnaise – ¼ C

Nonfat Greek Yogurt – ¼ C

Marinated artichoke hearts, quartered – 2 ½ C

Garlic cloves, peeled and pressed – 4 small

Preheat oven to 350.

In  a food processor, process artichoke heart quarters until finely chopped. Place in a bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and stir until well combined.

Place in an oven-proof glass dish and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, or until warmed through.

Serve with whole-grain crackers, pretzels, or chopped veggies. YUM!

ENJOY IN GOOD HEALTH!

WHITE BEAN HUMMUS

This dip is super easy, and my children actually prefer its texture to that of a traditional garbanzo bean hummus. It is mild, easy to flavor with whatever roasted veggies of spices you like. This version is tame, with only a bit of garlic and lemon added. YUM!

Recipe

White beans, cooked and juice drained (reserved) - 2 1/2 C
Salt - 1 teaspoon
Garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half - 2
Sesame seed - 1/2 C
Lemon juice - of 1 lemon

Put sesame see, salt, garlic and 1/2 C bean juice. Process in food processor about 2 minutes, or until seed and garlic have been finely ground. Add in beans. Process another minute. Add more bean juice or salt if desired.

Serve with cucumbers, carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, or whatever veggies you love.

ENJOY IN GOOD HEALTH!

CRANBERRY AND FENNEL CORN MUFFINS

Oh my goodness. So good! I have been trying to find a cornbread that was moist, interesting and delicious. And so, here it is. I made it. I love it. I hope you love it! We loved the muffins so much, we ate them all before taking a picture. Sorry!

Recipe

Cranberries, chopped in half – 1 C

Fennel bulb, chopped in ¼ inch pieces – 1 C

Milk – 1 C

Canola oil – ¼ C

Egg – 1

Yellow cornmeal – 1 ¼ C

Soft white whole wheat flour – 1 ¼ C

Honey – ½ C

Baking soda – 1 T

Salt – ½ teaspoon

Lemon juice – 1 T

Lemon zest – from 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 400. Grease the bottoms only of 18 muffin cups (1 ½ muffin tins).

Combine milk, oil and egg, and stir. Then, put the rest of the ingredients into the bowl, and gently stir just until they are combined. DO NOT OVERSTIR. Batter may be a little lumpy, but that is fine.

Pour batter until muffin cups are about 2/3 full. Bake for 12-18 minutes, just until the batter is set, but not too brown.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Serve warm with butter and commence smiling.

ENJOY IN GOOD HEALTH!

COCONUT CURRY BAKED SPINACH

Ever since I was first introduced to curry, I’ve been a little in love with Coconut milk. It is so dense, creamy, sweet and savory all at once. It’s a little bit of magic, too, with how versatile it can be.

This idea came to me when I opened my fridge and spied a 3 lb bag of spinach I needed to use. I wondered if coconut curry would blend well with the spinach. And, well, yum! You can put a little less curry in if you don’t want to overwhelm immature or heat-sensitive taste-buds.

Recipe

Spinach leaves, fresh – 8 cups

Coconut milk – 1 14 oz can

Ginger, peeled and diced – one inch piece

Sweet onion, diced – 1/3 C

Honey, runny – 3 T

Lemon juice – 1 T

Sea salt – ½ to 1 teaspoon

Preheat oven to 350. On stovetop, combine coconut milk and curry. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, and cook about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in honey, lemon juice and salt.

Mix spinach leaves and sauce together, then place in a 2 quart casserole dish. Bake about 15 minutes, or until spinach is nicely wilting. ENJOY IN GOOD HEALTH!

CRANBERRY AND CABBAGE CHICKEN SALAD

I love chicken salad. We didn’t have it much when I was a kid. I remember tuna. Yes, that memory is hard to forget. It is still a little hard for me to eat tuna today. But chicken salad I love.

This version is light, refreshing, and so tasty. I think the dressing is key to its delicious notes. It’s super easy to make, and should be an easy crowd pleaser.I hope you like it!

Recipe

Sweet onion, diced – 1/3 C

Roasted chicken, diced – 3 C

Cranberries, dried and sweetened – 1 C

Cabbage, finely shredded – 2 C

Nonfat Green yogurt, plan-  ¾ C

Mayonnaise – ¾ C

Garlic, peeled and crushed – 2 cloves

Lemon juice – 1 T

Combine onion, chicken, cranberries and cabbage. For the dressing, combine yogurt, mayo, garlic and lemon juice. Season to taste (a little pepper, a little salt).

Mix dressing over salad and ENJOY IN GOOD HEALTH!

SPAGHETTI WITH CAPERS, ANCHOVIES, TOMATOES AND BASIL

I may never go back to marinara again! This recipe is one I found and then tinkered with. I went much heavier on the capers…because I LOVE their earthy, pickled tang. I also added in a some herring I had…yum! It may look “interesting” but I know you’ll love it. It’s easy, quick and delicious!

My four-year old and 6-year old didn’t complain once about dinner. They sat and ate it quickly. They even knew about the fish and capers in the sauce!

Recipe

Spaghetti noodles – 1 ½ lbs

Canola oil – 2 T

Garlic cloves, peeled and chopped – 5

Pickled herring in oil, drained and finely chopped (from a tin)– 2 oz

Anchovies in oil, drained and finely chopped (from a tin) – 2 oz

Black olives, roughly chopped - 12 oz (two cans)

Capers, drained/rinsed – 5 or 6 T

Cherry tomatoes, sliced in half – 10 oz

Sea salt

Basil leaves, roughly torn – ½ C

Put 4 Tablespoons of sea salt in 6 quarts of water. Heat to boiling. When boiling, place noodles in, stir, then cook until al dente.

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, tall frying pan. Add in garlic, herring and anchovies. Cook until aromatic, about 1-2 minutes. Add in olives, capers, tomatoes and stir over medium heat. Cook until tomatoes begin to collapse.

Drain pasta and toss in a large bowl with the sauce. Adjust seasoning as needed, though the salted water the pasta was cooked in, and the saltiness of the sauce ingredients should be sufficient.

ENJOY IN GOOD HEALTH! 

PORK LOIN WITH RASPBERRY APRICOT SAUCE

I love the tang of raspberries, and the richness of sweet apricots. Here, I’ve married them in a chunky sauce to dress moist pork loin. Delicious!

Recipe

Pork loin, cut into pieces ¾ inch thick – 4

Oil – 3 T

Salt

Pepper

Apricots, dried – ¾ C

Water – 1 C

Raspberries, fresh – ½ C

Honey – 1 T

Basil leaves, for garnish

For the sauce, place dried apricots and water in a pot on the stove. Heat the water on a  medium setting. Simmer for 10 minutes.

While simmering, work on the pork.

Season pork fillets on all sides with desired amount of salt/pepper.

Heat oil in a  skillet or pan to medium heat. When nice and hot, place pork fillets in the pan. Sear on each large/flat side for about 3-4 minutes. Finish off smaller sides of pork (edges) in the pan to get a nice, dark sear.

Place in a preheated over (200 degrees) to keep warm while you prepare the sauce.

Apricots should be softened now, so place them and the water you cooked them in, in a food processor. Add berries, seeds and all. Hurray for fiber! Add in honey and process until nicely combined.

Remove pork from the oven, dress with the sauce, garnish with basil and ENJOY IN GOOD HEALTH!

Parmesan Cheese Sauce

This is super easy to prepare, and uses whole ingredients, so you can feel great about feeding it to your family. Forget about powdery packets of artificial flavors and anit-caking agents. This is the real deal, and it is really delicious.

Recipe

Butter - 2 T
Whole Wheat Flour - 3 T
Mlik - 2 C
Salt - 1 teaspoon
Garlic cloves, pressed - 2
Parmesan cheese, shredded - 1 C

Melt butter over low heat and whisk in flour until smooth. Turn heat to high and whisk in milk until smooth. Boil for about one minute, then lower heat to low. Add in salt, pressed garlic cloves and parmesan cheese. Stir until well combined. 

Use over pasta, potatoes, vegetables, whatever else you love with cheese!