Turkey Meatballs

Wow, I'm so glad I'm getting to this BEFORE the end of the month!!! This is an oldie but goodie at my house and actually, a light bulb went off when I read about Carly's chili. I was reminded of a couple of pounds of ground turkey in the freezer and Wa-La! Turkey Meatballs! Unfortunately, there is no pic so you'll just have to trust me that it looks pretty too!!!

1 lb. ground turkey

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2-3 TBSP chopped, fresh basil

1/2 c. tomato juice

1 egg

1/4 c. chopped onion

1 cup breadcrumbs or cooked millet or quinoa

Mix and knead altogether and make into 18 or so small meatballs. Put in heavy pan and pour the following over the top:

2 c. tomato juice

1/4 tsp. dried basil or italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

Simmer on stove or bake in casserole dish in oven, basting a couple of times while cooking.

Serve on whole wheat spaghetti noodles.

*Tip: Add whatever vegetables you have chopped up in the fridge!

Greek Chicken Kabobs with Lemon Rice

I am excited to say that I have found a yummy, easy, and healthy recipe! I have felt like I have done the same dinners the past month-stir fry, pasta, breaded chicken breasts. I needed something new, and something amazing. These chicken kabobs definitely fit the description. They are so flavorful while tasting so light. I paired these kabobs with a Greek salad and Greek lemon rice. Rarely do I ever make a meal, sit down to eat it, and rave about my own work-but last night I couldn't stop saying how delicious the whole meal was! The rice was wonderful, the salad fresh, the kabobs so flavorful. I am so excited to make this meal again. It's definitely going to become a staple meal in our home. The rice recipe calls for white rice, but you can substitute brown if you want. I rarely ever cook with white rice, in fact, before last night I couldn't remember the last time I had used it. I was lucky we even had it. Since it's such a rare occasion when I use white rice I didn't feel the least bit guilty using it for the rice dish. I will probably try the recipe out next time with brown, but the white rice was so good in it! A quick tip, if you don't have a grill or don't want to take the time to fire it up, I grilled my kabobs on my panini maker and they turned out great.

Marinated Greek Chicken Kabobs

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) container fat-free plain yogurt
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese with basil and sun-dried tomatoes (I used plain feta)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 large red onion, cut into wedges
• 1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

Directions

1. In a large shallow baking dish, mix the yogurt, feta cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Place the chicken in the dish, and turn to coat. Cover, and marinate 3 hours in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.
3. Thread the chicken, onion wedges, and green bell pepper pieces alternately onto skewers. Discard remaining yogurt mixture.
4. Grill skewers on the prepared grill until the chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Pilafi (Greek lemon rice)

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Serves 4 people

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup long grain white rice
• 1/4 onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups chicken broth
• juice and zest of one lemon

Directions

1. heat olive oil and butter in saucepan over medium heat.

2. cook onion, garlic and rice for 3-5 minutes until onion is soft and rice is completely coated in butter/oil.

3. stir in black pepper, lemon zest and chicken broth.

4. bring to a boil.

5. turn down heat and let simmer for 15 minutes covered.

6. when rice is fully cooked take off heat and add lemon juice.

7. serve as is or add a touch more butter and pepper.

Lisa's Bean Soup

I went to visit Lisa one night and she had made this wonderful soup. I loved it! I had just bought a huge bucket of 15 bean mix for my food storage and was happy to find a good recipe for it. I used to put the ground beef in, but I don't anymore. We all prefer it with just the ham. I bought three spiral hams from Costco for Sam's farewell, and froze the meaty bones to use later for this soup. I'm afraid I just used my last one. Everyone loves it. I always feel good when I feed my family legumes.

2 cups of 15 bean soup mix, washed

3 qt. water

1 lb. browned ground beef

1 meaty ham bone

1 lg. pinch basil

1 lt. pinch thyme

1 t. salt

Cook all except ground beef. Boil. Simmer for 3 hours

Add:

1 lg. onion, chopped

2-3 stalks celery, chopped

3 lg. carrots, diced

1 16 oz. can tomatoes (I always puree my tomatoes)

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

1 T. parsley flakes

2 T. beef broth powder

Cook until vegetables are tender

Chicken Salad Sandwich Thins

I love sandwiches and the last time I went to Costco they were serving samples of chicken salad served on these deliciously thin whole wheat rolls. I was so excited about the100 calorie whole wheat buns that actually tasted good. I bought a pack and came up with this recipe that night.

Other than the buns, I didn't need to buy anything to make these yummy and healthy sandwiches. To be honest, the kids didn't really go for this one - which means I've been able to have the leftovers for lunch for the past few days! Recipe makes 8 sandwiches, with only 180 calories each.

8 Oroweat Sandwich Thins

2 12.5 ounce cans premium chunk chicken breast (from Costco)
1/4 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup carrots, diced (matchstick carrots are perfect)
1/2 cup spinach, julienned (stack 6-8 spinach leaves at a time, roll, and slice into thin strips)
1/4 cup dried cranberries or raisins
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 cup light mayo
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon cumin

Mix mayo, lemon juice, and cumin in a large bowl. Add drained chicken and mix well with a fork. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drizzle whole wheat rolls with olive oil and toast on a grill pan. Spread a thick layer of chicken salad in between two toasted buns and thindulge!

Vegetable Curry Stir Fry

Ok, so I know I am posting another stir fry recipe right in a row, and this picture pretty much looks like the last one I posted, but I made this one the other night and loved it. I am a huge fan of curry and this sauce will now be my go to stir fry sauce. I will give you the full recipe to this stir fry, but I just used the sauce and did my own thing for the rest. I got the recipe from here, and it has all the nutritional information for this whole meal if you want to try it out.

Ingredients:

1/2cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth

2teaspoons cornstarch

2teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

1-1/2teaspoons curry powder

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I left this out because I didn't have it)

Nonstick olive oil cooking spray

3 green onions, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups broccoli florets

2/3 cup sliced carrot

1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil

6 ounces boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

2/3 cup hot cooked rice, prepared without salt

Preparation:

1.

Stir together broth, cornstarch, soy sauce, curry powder and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

2.

Spray nonstick wok or large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat. Add green onions and garlic; stir-fry 1 minute. Remove from wok.

3.

Add broccoli and carrot to wok; stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from wok.

4.

Add oil to hot wok. Add chicken and stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes or until cooked through. Stir broth mixture; add to wok. Cook and stir until broth mixture comes to a boil and thickens slightly. Return all vegetables to wok. Heat through. Serve over rice.

Quick and Easy Stir Fry

Lately I have been making a lot of stir fry. It's a great meal for when you have no idea what to make, it's inexpensive, and it can be very healthy. Now, I say it can be healthy, because a lot of stir fry recipes call for cooking the vegetables in oil or butter for a while. I used to do that, but lately I have been steaming my vegetables and find that the stir fry's turn out just as good. This stir fry is hardly an exact recipe. Whatever vegetables I have I use. I usually have brocoli and carrots on hand, so sometimes I just do a brocoli and carrot stir fry. But if I plan ahead I will grab zucchini, green onions, and peppers. Bok choy would be a great addition as well. I used to serve my vegis over brown rice, but lately I have been serving them over quinoa which I like better because it takes less time to cook and it's better for you. So like I said, this isn't an exact recipe but I will give you the jist as to what I do for my quick and easy stir fry meal:)

For the Sauce:
3 T. soy sauce (low sodium if you have it)
1 T. corn starch
1/4 c. water
1 T. honey (this is optional, but I like to add it to give it a little sweetness)

mix and set aside.

Steam assortment of vegies. I usually steam over a cup of vegies per person. You could do more or less if you like. I steam my vegies for about 10 minutes, I like them to remain a little crunchy. After vegies are steamed transfer them to a pan with just a tsp of olive oil, and sautee for just a minute (this step is optional, I like to do it because it sears the vegis a little which I like). Toss in the sauce and green onions if you have them (I like alot of green onions, about half a cup) Cook until sauce thickens. Serve over rice or quinoa.

Note: The sauce makes a lot, you could probably get 4 servings out of it. You could also toss in some chicken if you wanted, but quinoa is a good source of protein so this really is a nicely balanced meal.

Chicken Chili

I have never been a big fan of traditional chili, I think it is great that we have two alternative chili recipes in a row. I don't really like to call this chili because it doesn't taste anything like a typical bowl of chili...it's so much better and good for you too! I love this chili! Oh, and one serving, about 1 1/2 cups, has around 170 calories (not including toppings).

Chicken Chili

by Ina Garten

Ingredients

• 4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 onions)
• 1/8 cup good olive oil, plus extra for chicken
• 1/8 cup minced garlic (2 cloves)
• 2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and large-diced
• 2 yellow bell peppers, cored, seeded, and large-diced
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for chicken
• 2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled plum tomatoes in puree, undrained
• 1/4 cup minced fresh basil leaves
• 4 split chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
• Freshly ground black pepper
• I added 1 cup of cooked quinoa - thanks for the idea Dana

For serving:

• Chopped onions, corn chips, grated cheddar, sour cream
• I top with avocado slices and corn tortilla strips

• Cook the onions in the oil over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the bell peppers, chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, cayenne, and salt. Cook for 1 minute. Crush the tomatoes by hand or in batches in a food processor fitted with a steel blade (pulse 6 to 8 times). Add to the pot with the basil. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Rub the chicken breasts with olive oil and place them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast the chicken for 35 to 40 minutes, until just cooked. Let cool slightly. Separate the meat from the bones and skin and cut it into 3/4-inch chunks. Add to the chili and simmer, uncovered, for another 20 minutes. Serve with the toppings, or refrigerate and reheat gently before serving.

Tortilla Strips

Stack 2 or 3 small corn tortillas and cut into thin strips with a pizza slicer. Heat some olive oil in a saute pan over med-high and then add the tortilla strips, cook until lightly browned and crunchy.