Wow! 101 posts!

My last post was my 100th post! How cool (and appropriate that it was about Disney)!

I apologize for the lack in posts lately. DH's car gave us a LOT of trouble last week and $1250 later, it is almost all better. Sigh.

We've had some good eats lately, I tell you what.

Cajun Jambalaya, Clean Eating Magazine

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb raw shrimp, 26/30 size, peeled and deveined, tail on
• 4 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into 1 inch pieces
• 1 all natural low sodium turkey sausage (I used two Jennie O's links), sliced
• 1/2 medium white onion, diced
• 1 med green bell pepper, stem and seeds removed and discarded, diced
• 1 rib celery, diced
• 1 1/2 medium vine-ripe tomatoes, cored and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tbsp salt-free Cajun seasoning
• 1 cup all-natural instant brown rice
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• Sea Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• Olive Oil cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400* F
2. In a large mixing bowl, toss together all ingredients except cooking spray, mixing well until combined.
3. Prepare 2 foil pouches. Spray each piece of foil with cooking spray. Divide mixture evenly between both pieces of foil and seal.
4. Place pouches on a baking tray and slide onto middle rack of preheated oven for 25 minutes or until rice and proteins are fully cooked.
5. Carefully open pouch and pour mixture into a large bowl to serve immediately.

Modifications: I don't actually own Cajun seasoning, so I made my own. I also added some red pepper flakes and used rice that was already cooked in my rice maker. My shrimp were not peeled, because unpeeled shrimp are cheaper.

The Verdict: I loved this dish! I thought it was delicious! I think DH enjoyed it too.


Sweet and Sour Chicken, Clean Eating Magazine

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbsp raw honey
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or more...)
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice (I added)
• 1 1/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1/2 fresh pineapple, cut into 1 inch cubes (I omitted)
• 12 sprigs fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients. Place the chicken in a large shallow dish. Pour mixture over chicken, tossing gently. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet (or wok) over medium-high heat. Add chicken and marinade and saute for 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Add bell peppers and onion and cook for 5 minutes or until vegetables are slightly tender. Add pineapple (if using) and cook for 2 more minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve immediately over rice for a complete meal, if desired.

Verdict: I LOVED THIS DISH. DH was okay with it. He wanted more sweet taste and a little more spice. When I make it again, I will add more spice for sure. I'll also experiment with other veggies, like broccoli, water chestnuts, et cetera.

I made another dish from Clean Eating Magazine this week, but it was a fail. Big time. It ranked in the bottom three meals ever. The worst was moussaka, next is the Tuna Nicoise Stovetop Casserole. I made cabbage wraps. The filling was good, which is why I'm glad I reserved some of that for lunches this week, because it made a good little burrito today; especially when paired with my homemade baked tortilla chips and Tom Leonard's FIRE salsa (I love the spice!).

In other news: I've been running TWICE since the last post!

Last Thursday I did four five minute runs broken up by 2 minute walk breaks. It went pretty well. Today I did a five minute run, two eight minute runs, and another five minute run broken up with 2 minute walk breaks. I did 2.75 miles in 32 minutes, which is pretty decent.I haven't had any knee pain yet, which is really nice, but I have been having pain around my rib cage where the shelf bra and sports bra end. Perhaps they are too tight, but it really hurts after a while. We'll see what happens. I hope everyone's having a lovely day and that you enjoy these recipes!!

FOOD!

I know you've all been waiting for a FOOD update! Well, here we go!

Wednesday night I made Asian Burgers. I foolishly did not photograph them, but I do have an artist's representation of their deliciosity.

Hahaha. Gotta love Paint!

I'll try to break it down. Unfortunately, when I make up a recipe, I don't really measure things. Haha.

1 lb leanest ground beef

1 tsp EVOO

1ish tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp powdered ginger

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp Sucanat (needed some sweetness!)

Mix the aforementioned ingredients thoroughly and form into 4 evenly distributed patties.

While grilling burgers, saute some mushrooms with low sodium soy sauce and red wine vinegar. When burgers are almost done, top with mushrooms and a slice of cheese (I used pepper jack because it's what we had). Let the cheese melt a bit. Yum.

Place assembled burgers on Arnold's Sandwich Thins (stole this idea from Whitney) and enjoy with your fave preperation of oven fries! I choose these lovelies (no picture, just recipe). I <3 me some parmesan oven fries!

Last night we had... what to call this dish... well, maybe you can leave me a name for it as a comment... I'm drawing a blank. I will warn you that there is a lot of multitasking in this recipe!

8 oz (when dry) cooked whole wheat penne pasta

1 package Jennie-O's hot italian sausage

Grape Tomatoes (3/4-1 cup)

Spinach (maybe 2 cups? I think I did 2-3 handfulls)

2 tbsp butter (or marg)

2 tbsp whole wheat flour

1.5 cups skim milk

2 cloves garlic

Dried herbs of choice

1 tbsp EVOO

Remove casing from sausage and cut into bite sized pieces. Cook in cast iron skillet until browned on both sides.

Heat EVOO and one clove sliced garlic in another skillet. Remove garlic and add tomatoes. Break town tomatoes, smashing them as they get hot. add to cooked sausage. Turn heat off sausage pan and add the spinach, letting it wilt when mixed into sausage/tomato mixture.

Meanwhile, make a white sauce by melting butter in a small sauce pan. Add flour and whisk to make a roux, then add the milk, whisking to combine. Add finely chopped garlic and a couple of pinches of dried herbs. I used Italian Herbs. When the sauce has thickened, combine the pasta, sausage mixture, and sauce in a large serving bowl. I added all the sauce, which was not necessary, but at the end, I drained the extra sauce out to use in a recipe later this week. You can also just add as much as you'd like (about half the recipe is enough) and save the rest if you want it to be more versatile for a later recipe.

It was.... DELICIOUS. SO SO SO good. I have leftovers that I am about to consume. I know that my "recipe writing skills" for these recipes kind of stink, but oh well. The food is good, so if you want to make it, you'll have to put up with it! :-)

If you wish to name the recipe, the key ingredients would be: Penne, a white garlic herb sauce, hot turkey sausage, tomatoes and spinach. Maybe I'll think of something!