homemade poptarts and cupcakes

These treats may not be super healthy nor are they meals, but at least they are free of preservatives or artificial colors.  These poptarts make great snacks or a great addition to eggs for breakfast and the cupcakes make a delicious dessert.  I try and stick to one treat a day or less (and definitely no soda).

Ever buy greek yogurt and not like it?  Use it up in this recipe!  I added 1-2tsp. sugar to the dough to help get rid of some of the tartness of the yogurt.  I filled these with Trader Joe's organic rasberry jam with 50% less sugar.  All natural and less sugary...pefect!

before:

after:

And, follow the dark chocolate cake recipe on the back of dark chocolate cocoa powder container for some delicious cupcakes!  Instead of pouring the batter into cake pans, pour it into paper lined cupcake pans and bake at 375 for ~15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Top with an easy frosting as below.

2 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1/8tsp. cream of tartar

Add sugar, water, and baking powder to small pan and bring to boil over medium heat.  Stir constantly until sugar dissolves.  Add this mixture slowly to the egg whites and beat on medium speed until stiff peaks form, ~5-7 minutes.  The boiling sugar syrup will cook the egg whites.  Top on cooled cupcakes.  This frosting keeps its shape surprisingly well!  You can top with sprinkles or dark chocolate pieces.  yumm

added some mini chocolate cupcakes without frosting to the platter:)

"to die for" toast

Some of the best toast you will ever have.  If these pictures do not convince you to try the whole wheat pretzel recipe I have been posting about, then I don't know what will!  You can freeze some of the pretzels and pull them out one at a time whenever you want!  So convenient and makes for delicious snacks or meals.

Slice a pretzel in half, toast, and spread some butter on top. 

Serve with some eggs for a wonderful breakfast.  Or eat as is or add some jam.  These are so good toasted!

Also, the whole wheat cinnamon raisin swirl bread makes divine toast.

Boy do I love bread, especially bread that I made:)  Hope you can experience the amazingness of homemade bread!  Try it!  Let me know how it goes!

meatballs!

Easy and delicious.  The carrots and potato made these very tender and tasty!

1 large russet potato
2 large carrots
1/4 onion
salt and pepper to taste
1tsp. italian seasoning (or a mix of basil, parsley, thyme, and oregano)
1/8 cup ketchup (eye-ball it)
1 egg
~1/2 to 1lb. ground beef

Grate potato, carrots, and onion (or just throw them in a food processor) and add to large bowl.  Add the rest of the ingredients (I had ~1/2 lb. ground beef on hand, but this recipe would probably be fine with up to 1lb. beef) and mash together until ingredients evenly distributed.  Roll into balls. 

Bake covered with foil at 350 degrees for 45min. to 1 hr.  Then, remove foil and place under broiler (500 degrees) for a couple of minutes to brown.  Watch carefully so they don't burn! 

For a side dish, I sauteed 1/4 onion and 3 medium zucchinis in a bit of olive oil, cut into thin strips, for ~10 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve them together and you have a healthy, easy dinner!

Sorry this picture isn't the best, but it was delicious!  And hard to take the time for a picture as it all smelled so good:)



Also made these meatballs w/ 1lb. meat and without the carrots and baked at 375 degrees uncovered for 1 hour and they turned out great! 

chicken n' veggie curry dish

This was super easy, light, and delicious.

3-4 chicken breasts
2 russet potatoes
1 onion
4 carrots
5 small tomatoes, remove stem
2 zucchini
1 can garbanzo beans, washed and strained (chickpeas)
2tbsp. curry powder
2 tsp. ground ginger
pinch of cinnamon
1/2 tsp. chili powder
salt and pepper to taste (lots of pepper, not so much salt because it's in the chicken broth)

Cut the chicken, potatoes, carrots, and zucchini into 1" chunks (roughly).  Cut the onions into thin strips.  Add the chicken, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, and onion to a pot.  Add the seasonings and pepper (really however much you like of each).  Cover with chicken broth (full sodium kind), ~2.5 to 3 cups.  (I used 4 cups and it was too thin).  Bring to a boil and then turn down to low to simmer for ~40min or until potatoes become somewhat soft.  Toss in the zucchini and chickpeas and simmer another 20 minutes.  Serve in a bowl with some rice or couscous.  Or, serve cornbread on the side.  Yummy, healthy dinner!

simple pasta with zucchini, asparagus, tomato, and pine nuts

This recipe is similar to one in a previous post, but prepared a little differently.  Both were yummy.

2 medium zucchini
10 asparagus stems
1 medium tomato
1/4 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1/8 cup pine nuts
fresh basil
salt, pepper
parmesan cheese

First, sautee the zucchini chopped into small slices and the asparagus chopped into 1" long pieces over medium heat in 1tsp. olive oil until tender and browned.  Add a little salt and pepper while cooking.

Place asparagus and zucchini into a separate bowl.  Next, brown the pine nuts in the same pan for 1-2 minutes.  Then add the chopped tomato, onion, and garlic and cook over medium heat ~5 minutes or until tomato and onion are tender.

Add the tomato mixture to the green veggies and cover bowl with foil to keep warm. 

Mix in some whole wheat spaghetti (enough for 3-4) and top with some chopped basil and parmesan cheese!

Serve with a hard boiled egg for some protein.  To make the perfect boiled egg, place eggs in a pot with a lid and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and immediately turn off heat.  Let sit in hot water for 10 minutes.  Remove eggs using slotted spoon and place in a bowl of ice water.  Let them sit for 5 minutes.  Crack them and the skin/shell should come right off!

quick twice baked potatoes and broccoli with red peppers

For some quick and easy twice baked potatoes, utilize your microwave!

2 baked potatoes
2 scallions, chopped
freshly ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
2tbsp. butter
1/2 cup cheddar cheese

I don't like sour cream, which is typically in twice baked potatoes, so I don't use it.  But if you like it go ahead and try adding 1/4 or 1/3 cup sour cream!  Microwave the washed, scored (make a few slits on the tops of the potatoes with a knife so they do not burst in your microwave) potatoes for 8-10 minutes until fork tender.  Cut out center and scoop out innards without piercing through skin.

In a bowl, add your cheese, scallions, nutmeg (1/4 tsp.), salt, pepper, and butter.  Then, add the hot potato, which will melt the butter and cheese.  Mix together with fork until thoroughly mixed.  You can also add a splash of milk here if you think the filling is too dry.

Fill your shells, top with some cheddar cheese, and bake at 375 until golden brown on top.

For a simple change to boiled broccoli, brown some red peppers in a little olive oil over medium heat for ~5 minutes.  Top off the broccoli with some cheddar cheese (if desired) and the red peppers.

Serve with some protein and you have a quick n' healthy meal!  yumm

egg&ham on toast, berries

A wonderful breakfast idea for you!  Brown a slice of ham over medium heat in a non-stick pan.  Remove and place on a plate.  Next, cook an egg (poach, scramble, or fry).  Place ham & egg on a buttered piece of toast.  d e l i c i o u s! 

Serve with some berries and you have a healthy, yummy breakfast! 

flipped...not sure why

green beans and roasted red potatoes

32 oz. green beans, with ends snapped off
1/2 large onion, chopped
oregano or italian seasoning
3 medium tomatoes, chopped

Boil green beans for 1 minute to turn dark green, then strain and immediately transfer to a big bowl of ice water (this is called blanching).  Next, toss the green beans with chopped tomatoes and onion, ~1tsp. dried italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste, and a drizzle of olive oil (~3 tbsp.) in a large baking pan.   Cover with foil and bake at 425 degrees (or 350 for longer) for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and stir beans.  Place back in oven and bake another 20 minutes until tender. 

steamy picture

For the roasted red potatoes, cut potatoes in half and place in large baking pan (aluminum or glass...doesn't matter).  Drizzle with olive oil.  Add some salt, pepper, dried rosemary, and minced garlic and bake at 350 degrees (or higher temp. for less time) for ~1hr. or until tender.  Stir a few times during baking.

Serve these wonderful sides with some roasted chicken or other protein and you have a delicious meal!

chicken, vegetables, biscuits

I baked some chicken thighs at 350 degrees until they were done, probably 30minutes.  To a large sautee pan, I added 1tbsp. olive oil and added some zucchini, green bell pepper, onion, mushroom, and tomatoes roughly chopped and cooked until they were tender.  Add some salt and pepper to the chicken and veggies before cooking.  I made some biscuits to go with dinner too, but unfortunately they did not rise very much.  Still tasted good!  Don't be afraid when things don't turn out:)  Quick and healthy dinner (maybe not the biscuits if you're watching the cholesterol/fat). 

Also made baked custard for dessert!  So easy and was low in fat and sugar. Sorry no picture:(

pasta bean soup

This is a very modified version of a recipe from Williams Sonoma Italian Favorites. 

1 yellow onion
turkey bacon
3 tomatoes
1 can beans
salt/pepper/olive oil/red pepper flakes
1 cup pasta
4 cups chicken broth

In a large pot heat 2 tbsp. olive oil.  Add 1 medium onion chopped in small pieces and 6-8 strips of peppered turkey bacon cut into small pieces.  Stir every 1-2 minutes for 10 minutes or until onions are soft and bacon is cooked.  You can use regular bacon if you like, but I don't actually like the flavor of bacon in things.  The turkey bacon gave a very nice flavor and definitely a kick from the pepper!  Next, add 1 can of pinto beans (or whatever beans you like), strained and 3 tomatoes cut into chunks.  I used frozen tomatoes that had thawed in a bowl of water for a few minutes.  Frozen tomatoes are so nice to have on hand!  You can also add some red pepper flakes and chopped fresh basil.  Then, salt and pepper this mixture just a little (you'll get lots of sodium from the chicken broth) and cook it a few minutes longer with occassional stirring.  Whenver I say occassional stirring, that is usually the time I am rushing around preparring other things.  That's how a meal gets done very quickly, doing things simultaneously.  Next, add 4 cups chicken stock (low sodium chicken broth is not the best choice when making soups....the broth is a main component and will taste dull and bland) and 1 cup water.  Bring broth to a boil, add 1 cup pasta (whatever type you like), reduce heat to med-low and simmer for 8 minutes or until pasta is done.  A whole meal in less than 30 minutes.  Serve in a bowl and top with some parmesan cheese!  This soup gets even better the next day. 

mashed potatoes, broccoli, salmon

Broil salmon (with some salt and pepper) 8 minutes for 1/2" thick pieces.  10-15min. for 1" thick pieces.  Cut into thickest part to see if done.  If not, try broiling 1 minute longer until done.  It should not look translucent, raw; it should look opaque.  Serve with a slice of lemon.

To make mashed potatoes in a jiffy, cut a large russet potatoe into small chunks and put in some salted, boiling water.  Cook until tender, ~20 minutes.  Heat 2tbsp. butter in 1/4 cup milk (add more as needed) and add this to the potatoes with some salt and pepper.  Mash up.  Leaving the skins on gives you a lot more vitamins and minerals.  Don't peel your taters!