Menu Monday: Zucchini Hummus #paleo

One of my go-to party foods has always been hummus.  I have a couple great recipes that I bring to get togethers but sadly, hummus is not considered paleo thanks to the chickpeas.

We were invited to a friend's place Friday night and I spent part of Thursday trying to decide what to bring.  I wanted something that I'd be allowed to eat since I was pretty sure most of the food there would be off limits.  I stumbled upon this hummus recipe on Pinterest and decided to give it a shot.

I thought there was no way it would be thick like regular hummus given the water content in zucchini or taste even close, but surprisingly, it was a very good.  It really DID taste like hummus and the spicy peppers and pine nuts on top gave it a little zing.  I made 1/2 a batch, which yielded about 2 cups of hummus.  It was especially good with the cukes and a few people at the party had it with chips and said they really liked it.  I think I'm going to try making a roasted red pepper version since that's my favorite flavor of hummus.

Do you like hummus?  What's your standard potluck contribution?

Meal Monday: I need ideas!

So, it would appear that I've gotten into a dinner time rut.  This frequently happens this time of year because the kids are busy with activities and most dinners need to be fast and easy.  I have a whole bunch of ideas on my RECIPES page up there ^ and I should probably break out the crock pot more often.

I like Pinterest for menu ideas.  If you look at my recipe board on Pinterest, you'll mostly find desserts and booze, so I need some better ideas.

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I did find this pin for 52 uses for rotisserie chicken and I have to say it has some promise, but I HATE touching the chicken to take it off the bones.  Weird, but true.  Do you have a good recipe for using a rotisserie chicken?  How do you get the chicken apart without getting grossed out?

Meal Monday: Curried Chicken Salad with Apples

I saved this recipe to ziplist quite a while ago but never got around to making it. That changed yesterday. You can find the original recipe plus ziplist plug in here. Her pictures are also much better than mine, but I don't claim to be any kind of food photographer & I do my best with my little eye phone. In any case, I give you

CURRIED CHICKEN SALAD with APPLES

Ingredients:
8 oz cooked chicken breasts - cubed (I used a large can of Swanson chicken, drained)
4 celery stalks - minced
1 apple - diced
1/2 cup plain low fat yogurt (I used Chobani fat free plain)
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt


1. Wisk together yogurt, curry powder, lemon juice and salt in a medium bowl.


2.  Add chicken, apples and celery.  Toss well then refrigerate for a while to let the flavors blend.

this picture is terrible - I am sooo sorry

3.  Enjoy!


I really liked this one - the curry gives the chicken salad a nice kick and it's a really pretty color - but I think something is missing.  Next time I make it, I'm going to try crushed pineapple instead of the apple and see how that works. I think grapes would be good too.

What's your favorite addition to chicken salad?

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Meal Monday: Spicy Pulled Pork Tostadas

Do you follow Shrinking Kitchen?  If you don't, you really should.  Every weekend, they post a menu for the week that can totally take the guesswork out of menu planning.  Last week, the ladies at Shrinking Kitchen posted some serious winners.  This is my take on their Spicy Pulled Pork Tostadas with Lime Cumin Slaw.  It was absolutely AMAZING and the family ate it up - even my girl who claims to not really like Mexican food.  You can click on the link up there to get their recipe plus they have a fancy ZipList plugin so you can save it.  I made a couple changes but for the most part followed it pretty much as written.  I noted my changes below.

Ingredients (these are Shrinking Kitchen's directions with my notes)

1 - 2 lb pork shoulder (I used 2 pounds and it was barely enough for the 4 of us after it cooked down)

1 onion, quartered

3 garlic cloves, smashed

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano (mine was ground oregano)

1/8 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon chili flake (I used red pepper flakes)

1/2 bottle beer (I used Oberon from Bell's Kalamazoo Brewing - it's a wheat and worked perfectly)

16 small corn tortillas

For the Slaw

1 head napa cabbage, chopped

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/4 cup sweet corn (from the cob or frozen) - I used about 1/2 a can of Del Monte Summer Crisp Corn

1/4 cup chopped cilantro - I used more like 1/2 a cup

1 tablespoon jalapeño pepper (seeds removed if you're sensitive to heat) - I used 1/2 a jalapeno 

1 teaspoon cumin

juice of 1 lime - about 1 Tbsp lime juice from a bottle

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon honey

2 tablespoon fat free plain yogurt - I used Greek yogurt

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Rinse pork shoulder and pat dry, place in slow cooker. (I also trimmed quite a bit of the fat away.)
2. Add onion, garlic, cinnamon, cumin, oregano, brown sugar and chili flake to the bowl of a food processor.
3. Pulse until you have a paste. (Do not use a blender and put a silicone spatula into it while it's moving, unless you like picking out pieces of plastic from your food.)
4. With clean hands, give the pork shoulder a massage with the paste mixture. Get in every nook and cranny.
5. Pour the beer into the slow cooker.
6. Cover and cook on high heat for 4 hours or low heat for 6.  (I probably cooked mine closer to 8 hours on low and it turned out fine.)
7. Remove the pork from the slow cooker and use two forks to shred.  Get rid of any of the fat you see.
For the Slaw
8. In a large bowl, whisk together lime juice, olive oil, yogurt, cumin, honey, salt and pepper.
9. Add the cabbage, red pepper, corn, cilantro and jalapeno.
10. Toss together gently and place in the fridge for at least an hour.  (I did this step at lunch time and it seemed like a huge amount, but by dinner time it had "shrunk".)  
To Assemble Tostadas
11. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat.
12. Spray corn tortillas with olive oil spray and place in the skillet.
13. Warm the tortillas until they reach your desired level of crispness.  I kept mine soft enough to fold like a taco but you could make them crispy and flat like an actual tostada if you wanted.
14. Place two tortillas on a plate, and add shredded pork, slaw and any other toppings you like: light sour cream, pico de gallo, avocado or light shredded cheese work well.  I just put extra cilantro and a squirt of lime on each of mine.  

I still have 1/2 a pork shoulder in the freezer, so I wouldn't be surprised if this makes it into the rotation again this week.  It really was delicious and I LOVED the slaw.  I'd probably even kick up the heat a little bit more next time.  I had enough left over for one taco for lunch the next day - it reheated great but was much better the night before with corn tortillas rather than the flour tortilla I used for lunch.

   

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Meal Monday: Chocolate Cherry Energy Bites

We love a good no-bake energy bite cookie in this house. I have a peanut butter & chocolate chip one that I've made a few times, but this time I decided to try something different with the dried cherries I got at my group run on Saturday.

I give you Chocolate Cherry Energy Bites

1/2 cup almond butter
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup coconut
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 tsp vanilla
Pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup dried cherries roughly chopped



1. Heat almond butter & honey together over low heat until blended & liquidy.
2. Remove from heat. Add cocoa, vanilla & salt. Stir until well combined.



3. Stir in oats, coconut, wheat germ & cherries.



4. Put in the fridge for a bit to cool. Then use a teaspoon to scoop dough & roll into 1 inch balls. Makes about 2 dozen.




Looks ugly but tastes pretty good. A nice change from the usual recipe.

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Meal Monday: NOT a healthy choice

Today I bring you my daughter's favorite meal. She likes this so much that she now makes it on occasion. It really isn't very healthy, is full of sodium, and needs a side of vegetables to balance it out, but the kids seem to like it.  It's based on a recipe from my MIL and I've adapted it to fit our tastes a bit better.

Tater Tot Hotdish (or Casserole if your husband is not from Minnesota)

1. Brown a pound of hamburger, drain well & put in a 8x8 dish. Sprinkle with minced onion & a little seasoned salt.


2. Put frozen peas on half or on the whole thing if your kids aren't picky.  I'm sure you could use another frozen vegetable if you want, but I always use peas.  My MIL doesn't put any veggies in hers.


3. Sprinkle some shredded co-jack cheese on next. However much you want. I only use about 1/2-3/4 cup to try and cut down on the calories, but you can put in more if you want it cheesier.


4. Arrange frozen tater tots on top. Make sure they look perfect or if you aren't a bit OCD, just throw them on there in a single layer.


5. Pour a can of reduced fat/lower sodium cream of chicken soup over the tots & spread it out.


6. Bake in the microwave for about 17 minutes or in a 350* oven for 30-40 min (I'm guessing) until heated through. I always nuke it.


This will serve 4-6 people. You can double everything & make it in a 9x13 pan if you're so inclined, it just won't fit in the microwave if you do that and you'll need to cook it longer in the oven.

Now, the big question...is this a "casserole" or a "hotdish"?

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Meal Monday: easy egg sandwich

In my healthy living survey post last week, I mentioned eating microwaved egg mcmuffin sammies almost every morning for breakfast. I got the idea from Corey - if you don't follow her blog, you really should.  Just sayin'.  She makes hers much more gourmet-like than I do, but you really can make these how ever you want.  Throw in some veggies, different cheeses, a different meat, no meat, whatever. A few people asked how they I make mine, so here you go.  It's really complicated, so I suggest you pay attention!

Assemble your ingredients


Crack egg into a ramakin or coffee cup and scramble slightly.


Cover (this is a VERY important step) and microwave on high for about 40 sec. Too much more and you'll be cleaning exploded egg out of your nuker.  Too much less and your egg will be really runny.  You might need to experiment with this to see what works best for your microwave and your tastes.


I love these ramakins because they are perfect for creme brulee they make the egg the perfect size for the English muffin you should've been toasting while the egg cooks.

Nuke a slice of Canadian bacon for about 10 sec and assemble your sandwich. You can add cheese but I never do.


Easy-peasy breakfast, healthy and full of protein, done in less than 2 min.  I usually eat some fruit with mine, but you could also just grab this and eat it in the car on the way to work not that I've ever done that.

What's your favorite breakfast?

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Meal Monday: Pinterest Ideas

I never had the chance to make something this weekend that was blog-worthy, so I thought I'd put some links to a few of my favorite Pinterest recipes on here instead.

Vanilla Walnut Overnight Oats

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This is by far one of my favorite overnight oat recipes and I eat it just like in the picture, with raspberries and walnuts on top.  The recipe makes a HUGE bowl, so I usually cut it in half - or save half for the next day.

Microwave Baked Apples

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Yes, I've made these apples.  No, I'm not ashamed.

Petite Turkey Meatloaves

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These meatloaves have gone into our regular rotation.  I think we eat them at least every other week - they're fast, easy and healthy.  I don't have the fancy mini loaf pan, so I just form them into loaves and put them on a foil-lined cookie sheet with sides.  I also make a slightly different topping - ketchup, mustard, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce (I have no recipe - it's mostly ketchup with a little bit of everything else).

Do you have a favorite Pinterest recipe?  Leave me a link in the comments if you do - I'm always looking for fun, new recipes.

Meal Monday: Orange Chicken

This is a recipe I originally found through ShrinkingJeans. I made it a few weeks ago and I loved it, but my kids weren't thrilled. They're weird though, so yours will probably think it's great. Super fast, easy to throw together and have on the table in under 45 min.

Orange Chicken

2 pounds chicken breasts (I usually don't use this much)
1 green pepper
3/4 cup light Catalina dressing
1/2 cup orange marmalade
2 Tbsp beef bouillon or beef broth
2 Tbsp onion flakes
1/2 tsp celery seed



Preheat oven to 350*

Cut chicken and green pepper into bite-sized pieces.

Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl.

Toss chicken, green pepper, and sauce mixture in a 9x13 pan.



Bake at 350* for 30 min or until chicken is done. I added a little corn starch/water mix to the sauce after 30 min & put it back in while the rice cooked to thicken the sauce a bit, but that's totally optional.


Serve over brown rice with a side of broccoli.


(I promise it tastes better than it looks - my food photo skills are seriously lacking)

Do you have an easy, 30-minute recipe that you like to serve on busy nights?

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Meal Monday: Chicken Caprese Pasta

This was Sunday night's dinner, and while certain members of the family didn't rave about it, I thought it was pretty darn tasty.

Ingredients

2 large chicken breasts
1 box (12 oz) bow tie pasta
1 container grape tomatos, halved
8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into little squares
1 bunch fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste


1. Grill or sauté chicken until done & cut into bite-sized pieces.
2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta as directed on the package.
3. Make the sauce by cooking the oil, balsamic, salt & pepper over medium to low heat until it reduces a bit.


4. Put chicken, pasta & tomatoes in a large bowl.
5. Add sauce & toss to coat.


6. Add cheese & basil right before serving.


7. I served this with some broccoli and oven baked "fried" mushrooms. Very yummy.


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Meal Monday: Guinness Stew

Since St. Pat's Day is coming up in a few weeks, I thought I'd give you all a nice stew recipe made with Guinness Stout. Y'all know how much I love a recipe that features beer - especially when you don't need the whole bottle and have a bit left to drink :)

Guinness Stew

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 bay leaves
1 large yellow onion, sliced into 1/4" pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs beef stew meat
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
2-3 Tbsp flour
3/4 cup (or more) beef stock
1/2 cup (or more) Guinness
1 pound (I use way more than this) carrots cut into chunks
4-5 medium potatoes cut into 1/2" pieces
2 celery stalks, cut up
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
Salt & pepper to taste


Heat 6 quart oven safe casserole, add oil, onions, garlic & bay leaves. Cook for a few minutes and then add the meat.

Brown meat on all sides and cook for a few minutes until onion is clear. Reduce heat to low & add thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper & flour. Stir until smooth. Add the beef stock & beer. Simmer, stirring until the stew thickens a bit.


Here is where you can finish this in 2 different ways. You can add the veggies, cover & cook in a 275* oven for about 2 hours, stirring a few times. Or, do like I do & use your crock pot.

Add veggies to your giant crock pot.


Carefully pour liquid from the meat mixture over the veggies & transfer the meat to the crockpot. Add the parsley & cover.


Cook on low for 6-8 hours or until veggies are done.


Do you have a favorite St.Pat's dish?

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Menu Monday: PB Overnight Oats

It took me awhile to get on the Overnight Oats in a Jar kick, but now I eat them at least once or twice a week. I used to think you needed an almost empty peanut butter jar to make them, but I've learned any container will do. This is one of my standby recipes, but the beauty of it is that you can really throw anything together and it'll be good - once you get past the cold oatmeal aspect :)

PB Overnight Oats

1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 cup water (or more if you want runnier oatmeal)
1 Tbsp chia seeds (you can leave these out)
1/3 banana, thinly sliced
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
1-2 tsp peanut butter or whatever is left in the jar



Combine all ingredients in an almost empty peanut butter jar or any container with a lid.


Give it a stir and put in the fridge overnight.


Give it another stir in the morning and enjoy. You can add extra fruit or milk if you want or eat it as-is.

Do you have a favorite overnight oats recipe? Do you ever eat them warm?

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Meal Monday: Lasagna Cups #recipe

I wanted to grill out Saturday night, but the thought of standing in 8 inches of snow to grill didn't appeal to me.


The husband wanted lasagna and I remembered seeing a recipe on Pinterest for Lasagna Cups, so I thought I'd give those a whirl.  If you go to the link, you'll get a recipe for the sauce, cheese filling and everything, but I went the easy route and just made them like we would've made regular lasagna.  You can use whatever your family likes.

I used the following:
1 package Barilla lasagna noodles - cooked about 2 minutes less than the recipe called for. Keep 12 of them whole and then cut the remaining ones into fourths.

For the sauce:
2 jars Ragu chunky tomato, garlic and onion sauce
About 3/4 lb cooked up ground beef that was in the freezer
(plus I left out some plain sauce for 2 of the cups for the girl who doesn't like meat in her sauce)

Cheese filling:
1/2 of an 8oz package shredded mozzarella
1 container lowfat ricotta cheese
About 1/2 cup parmesean cheese
1 egg
Some Italian seasoning

Directions:
1. Line jumbo sized muffin cups with parchment paper. They will not want to stay in there, but once you start assembling the cups it gets a little better.  But not much. Just saying.
2. Put one cooked noodle in the cup, overlapping the edge a little bit.  Warning - between trying to get the papers in the cups and this step, I was ready to dump the whole lot. It was a PITA.
3. Put a spoonful of sauce in the bottom, then a noodle slice, then cheese mixture, then more sauce, then a noodle slice, then cheese mixture, more sauce, noodle slice, sauce, and the remaining mozzarella cheese.


4.  Bake at 350* for about 25-30 minutes or until they are hot and bubbly.  They can sit for a few minutes while you make garlic bread and a salad.
5.  Remove from the muffin tin by pulling up on the paper.  You can then slide a cup onto your plate and it will stay together.
The verdict?  Kind of a Pinterest flop.  These were tasty but didn't get as hot and bubbly as baking a pan of lasagna. Also, we decided the outer noodle was not edible because it got really crispy in the oven, so basically we just ate the insides.  Kind of a waste if you ask me, but I guess I saved a few calories by not eating the main noodle.  Overall, I didn't think this was really worth all the prep, but it was something different.  I think it would be good if you have people in the family who like different lasagna fillings, too.  Maybe make some with red sauce, some white, with and without meat, etc.  You get the idea.

Have you ever attempted a recipe from Pinterest that didn't work as you'd planned?

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Meal Monday: Cinnamon Rolls

Yep, these have happened a couple times in the past few weeks (yes, I work out so I can eat). Not the healthiest of meals but fast for a yeast bread & really yummy. I found the original recipe on Pinterest but didn't like the frosting posted so that creation came from the web. I also don't own a stand mixer so I mix this with my hand mixer. A PITA but it's not worth the $300+ or taking more counter space so I make do.  This recipe makes 24 big cinnamon rolls, but I always cut it in half because I really don't need 2 dozen calorie bombs in my house.

Here's what you do:

Mix and let sit for 15 minutes:
3 1/2 cups warm water
2/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup oil
6 Tbsp yeast

Then add:
1 Tbsp salt
3 eggs
10 1/2 cups flour

Mix together for 10 minutes, then sit for 10 minutes.

using my hand mixer - you need to stop frequently and clear the blades.

Oil cupboard (don't use flour), dump out dough.  Divide in half.  Roll one half out into a rectangle. I just use my hands.
Spread with 1/4 cup melted butter and then with cinnamon-sugar mixture.
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Roll up tight, but not too tight.  Divide into 12 rolls and place on greased cookie sheet (I use a piece of parchment paper, too, which makes clean up much easier).  If you make sure the edges are all near the middle, you won't have dry pieces.  Repeat with other half of the dough.  Let it rise for a few minutes - it won't take long.

Bake for 12-15 minutes at 400 degrees or until the tops are golden brown.

Allow to cool - if you frost them too soon the frosting will just melt.  I'm a sucker for cream cheese frosting and this is what I use:
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup softened cream cheese
2-3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract


I actually plugged this into My Fitness Pal, and each roll with cream cheese frosting is about 450 calories.  Sometimes you just have to splurge.

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