Balsamic Chicken and Vegetables

I love this one its very light, but has tons of flavor. The inspiration came from Cooking Light Magazine.

3 or 4 chicken breasts
1 red pepper cut into thin strips
1/2 vidalia onion or some other sweet onion cut into thin strips
2 carrots sliced into strips
a few sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 cup low sodium fat free chicken broth
1 clove garlic chopped

For rub:
1/2 tsp each of
oregano
fennel seeds
dried basil
garlic salt
ground pepper
1/4 tsp thyme

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
olive oil appx 2 tbsp total
dash salt and pepper

1. Rub chicken breasts with dry rub and place immediately in heated skillet coated in olive oil (or olive oil spray) cook 3 minutes on first side, then turn over, then cook one minute more.
2. Remove chicken from skillet, place in baking pan and bake at 400 in oven for about 20 minutes* until cooked through.
3. Meanwhile add a little more olive oil to skillet, add all veggies, cook 5 minutes, add broth and garlic.
4. Cook 3 more minutes.
5. Add balsamic vinegar. Add a dash of salt and pepper to veggies.
6. Serve chicken with balsamic vegetables on top.

I baked sweet potatoes to go with this meal. I just put three sweet potatoes in the oven on the rack. I did not wash them or poke them or wrap them in foil. You just have to put them on the rack and bake at 400 for one hour. We slice them open and eat directly out of the skin with some brown sugar and pecans.

* I put the chicken in the oven when the sweet potatoes had 20 mins left to go.

Comments from my household:

Pumpkin said:
"Its good" (then held two thumbs up)

Bubbs said:
"The chicken is cooked perfectly. Is there rosemary in this?"
Me: "No"
Bubbs: "Are you sure? I taste rosemary. You know I don't like rosemary".

Steel cut oats, The other oatmeal

One other go to breakfast of mine is steel cut oatmeal. I love it. Actually now, I prefer the steel cut over regular rolled oats. If you have never tried it before it tastes like well, oatmeal. The differences lie in the taste and texture, steel cut oats are crunchier than regular oatmeal and have a nuttier taste. Steel cut oats versus rolled or old-fasioned oats nutritionally are almost the same, the difference lies in the processing. Steel cut oats are not processed like the rolled oats, or pre cooked like rolled oats. So, cooking time for steel cut oats is much longer, at least 15 minutes. 

Here is an idea: I have a friend who puts her steel cut oats and water in a crock pot at night on a timer. At midnight the crockpot starts and cooks the oats till 6am when her large family gets up. They have ready made healthy breakfast! I love that idea, leave it to a mom to come up with that time saver!

A typical nutritional label on a container of steel cut oats are as follows:

1/4 cup of steel cut oats:
Calories – 150
Fat – 2.5g
Carbs – 27g
Fiber – 4g
Sugar – 1g
Protein – 5g

Steel Cut Oatmeal
Another way to eat oatmeal other than instantly from a packet.

You can add lots of mix ins to the oatmeal, I do.

Blueberries

Pecans

Walnuts

Cinnamon

Brown sugar- not a lot though

Milk

Apples

Strawberries

How about this fun idea for the kids:

You can use any oatmeal for this, but you will need a mini flan/ creme brulee torch.

(Perhaps you got one as a wedding present, we received two!)

Cook oatmeal according to the directions, sprinkle brown sugar on top, torch the sugar for a few seconds to create a fun, crispy shell on top that kids will love to break open with their spoon!

Ladies, your husbands will Love this one!

This is my recipe for mexican lasagna. My husband, brother and dad all love this recipe. This is healthy, I promise.

2 lbs. ground turkey 98% fat free lean (I like Jennie O)
1/4 cup chopped onions (find frozen chopped onions in the frozen veggie aisle)

Taco seasoning (I make my own because I can't handle the msg in normal taco packets)
2 tblsp brown sugar
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
pinch of salt

1 can enchilada sauce
1 can diced tomatoes, not drained
1 small can chopped green chiles, not drained
4 large high fiber tortilla wraps or wheat tortillas
1/2 cup 2% milk cheese taco or sharp cheddar
handful of fresh cilantro
1 small can diced black olives (optional)

1. Brown turkey along with onions. You should not have grease left over because there is hardly any fat in the turkey. Add taco seasoning to meat.
2. In a bowl combine sauce, tomatoes, chiles, cilantro, and olives.
3. In a large lasagna pan layer the ingredients like you would a lasagna. Meat on bottom then two tortillas then add 1/2 of sauce on tortillas. Layer again meat, tortillas, sauce finish with 1/2 cup cheese on top.

Notice how much cheese is on top? Only 1/2 cup for the whole lasagna.

Bake at 375 for 45 mins till bubbling.

For the side:

I mix one small container of 0% fat greek yogurt and chopped chives, or green onions, or cilantro together for topping instead of sour cream. Greek yogurt has a TON of protein and is low in calories, it tastes just like sour cream.
and/or
I chop an avocado and squeeze a little lime juice on top.
and/or
I cook some fat free refried beans with a small sprinkle of cheese on top or a side dish.

Ramp up your fiber and protein at breakfast.

One thing my husband and I eat almost every morning is an omelet wrap, it is really high in fiber and protein and lasts us for hours. They are very easy to make, especially with the cool new small kitchen appliance my husband and his hunter friends turned me on to.

Drumroll please......

Not just for hunters any more.

This little red grill is the BOMB! 

A buddy of my husbands brought this grill to the farm last year so they could cook eggs in the morning after they were busy hunting all morning (read: snoozing in their tree stands, not really hunting). They would toss a few eggs in the grill, shut the lid, and in just a few minutes viola! cooked eggs! He brought it home after hunting season, so I thought I'd try it. I love it! Look out George Forman, there is a new grill in town.

Here's what we do each morning.

1. Beat two eggs in a bowl gently with a fork. 

2. Plug in grill, spray with cooking spray.

3. Pour in eggs, add thinly sliced ham, or turkey or diced turkey ham. 

4. Add spinach, onions, tomatoes, whatever you like in your eggs. 

5. Lastly add some cheese. I use light feta because it has a strong flavor with lower calories. This way I don't eat so much. 

6. Shut lid and the grill "steams" the egg. Wait about 4 mins. 

7. Fold eggs over and lay in a high fiber tortilla wrap with salsa or avocado. Yum!

This is a high fiber high protein breakfast that will keep you full. You can also wrap in foil and take on the go to class or work or whatever. 

These babies have 13g dietary fiber! No crap!

Hunting season starts I think in a week and I'll probably have to give up the grill, so I'll have to find a new one to buy. Later I'll post other recipes I make in the grill. 

Eat More Watermelon!

Today we stopped by a farmers market down the street after church and found some great produce. I am soo tired of the sad looking fruits and vegetables I find at the grocery stores.  You know that one Seinfeld episode where Kramer just loves the fruit he gets at Joe's Fruit stand but Jerry says "Fruit is a gamble, I know that going in."? Well I have to side with Kramer on that one. Finding a good source for fruit is priceless, I wish I could return half of the bad fruit I have had to toss because of flavor, texture, or quality. I feel like it is so hit and miss. Right now the great produce in season, peaches, watermelon, tomatoes, and corn are soo tasty, actually I'd rather have a really good peach than a Big Mac right now. Check out how ripe and beautiful the watermelon looks that we picked out today.

Seedless is always better! Less work. 

Eating watermelon is a diuretic (read: it makes you pee), its filling, its sweet, and its low in calories, all helping you to loose weight and not retain water. I have learned that watermelon, or any melons, are more convenient if you actually cut them up instead of just looking at the big melon sitting on the counter. You are more likely to eat fruit when it is cut into tiny bite-sized pieces. I love my watermelon slice then cut into strips or little squares...not sure why... I guess it is just more fun to eat that way. As a matter of fact...ill be right back I am going to go get me a big bowl of watermelon instead of eating a bowl of ice cream.

Sunday morning breakfast before church

Our first attempt at poached eggs.

Bubbs and I did this for the first time ever today. It worked pretty well. We actually did three, then four at a time, they all came out pretty close to perfect. Here is how we did it.

How to poach an egg:

1. Boil 6 or 7 cups of water in a medium size pot.
2. Add one tsp white vinegar per cup of water in pot.
3. Slow boil to a simmer.
4. Crack egg into a teacup and lower cup into water.
5. Slowly pour egg into water, carefully not breaking yolk.

We poached three eggs together in one pot.

6. Its ok if egg sinks to bottom, it will release.
7. Allow to cook for 4 or 5 minutes.
8. Remove with a slotted spoon.

Poached egg on a breakfast sandwich. Thanks mom for the Lenox plates. I love them!

I ate mine on a high fiber toasted english muffin, with, two slices avocado, a handful of spinach, and a spoonful of salsa. We also had 3 slices of turkey bacon and coffee.

Comments from my household:

Pumpkin:
"No way, I like cheesy eggs."
She is always the optimist.

Bubbs-
" Very good. They turned out pretty damn good."

First Recipe: Red Beans and Rice with Lite Kielbasa

Red beans and rice served with steamed green beans.

The Red Beans and Rice with Lite Kielbasa is one dinner I just made up with ingredients I had on hand. 


For Red Beans and Rice w/ Lite Kielbasa:
1 package-14 oz-  Hillshire Farms LIte Kielbasa sliced diagonally into small pieces
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 bag Success Rice brown rice, boil in bag
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
7 slices of turkey pepperoni
1/4 fresh red pepper, diced
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp brown sugar
Dash if garlic salt
handful of fresh cilantro quickly chopped
Spray of olive oil cooking spray


Directions:
1. Cook rice according to package directions. Remove from water, save water in pan for steaming veggies later. 


2. Spray a large skillet and cook kielbasa and red peppers for appx 7 minutes. Add rice, tomatoes, kidney beans and turkey pepperoni. Cook 3 mins more. Add all spices. Add cilantro. Cook 1 minute. Serve immediately.


3. Steam veggies of choice, today I used green beans, in same pot of water as rice was cooked in. 




Comments from my household:


Pumpkin-
"I thought the flavors were yucky". 
She only ate the green beans...tough that means more for me!


Bubbs-
"It was hot, but it was awesome!"

In the beginning...

 I have never created anything like this before, actually I am really just doing a blog to record a "food diary", something I have wanted to do for a long time now.  A food diary is just a running journal of what I have cooked, created, or have eaten for the day.


Currently, my husband, we will call him Bubbs, and I are in the middle of loosing weight, together. Bubbs has lost over 30 pounds (not sure of today's daily weigh in number) and I have lost 37 pounds since the day my son, we will call him Gunnar, was born a few months ago. How did we do it? Well, I, Crusie (pronounced cruu-see, not cruise as in the boat ride, it's just an old highschool nickname) am following the Weight Watchers program, and am working out daily. Mostly, I do the elliptical for at least 20 minutes, it takes a lot of Shakira in order to motivate me to get through the workout. Bubbs is mostly just eating what I cook, and lifts weights, or does cardio daily. Together, in terms of pounds lost, we have lost a small child's worth of weight. I gotta say... it feels really good to remove the weight, I feel like a different person. To be honest, I really don't have time to create or maintain a blog. In fact most of my posts will be submitted while I hold my baby in my lap and type with one hand, while the other is cleaning up baby throw up.


Each day, I will post what I have lovingly cooked at home, hopefully with a picture as a visual and exactly what my little family each thought of my meal.