White Bean, Kale and Chicken Sausage Soup

This cold weather is killing me - I feel like the summer cannot come fast enough.  With this weather, I have been in the mood for soups and chili to keep me warm!  I love to make soup because: A. It makes a whole bunch B. You can make it really healthy and tasty, and C. It makes me feel really warm and fuzzy :)

Here is one that is super easy and healthy.  Try it out on the next super cold night, you will not be disappointed!

White Bean, Kale and Chicken Sausage Soup

Ingredients:
4 Chicken Sausage Links (I like the Al Fresco), cut into 1 inch bites
2 Yellow onions, sliced thin
1 Package of shredded carrots
2 Cans, White Beans, drained and rinsed
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 Head of Kale, rinsed, dried, and cut into small pieces
1 42 oz. Box of Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth
12 oz. Water
1/2 t. Smoked Paprika
1/2 t. Cumin
Salt 
Pepper

Directions:
Heat a Dutch Oven over medium/high heat with just 1/4 cup of water.  Once the water is hot, add in the chicken sausage and brown (around 10 minutes).  After the chicken sausage is browned, add in the onion and season with salt and pepper.  Cook the onions for about 10 more minutes until they are soft. Add in garlic, cumin and paprika and cook for 2 more minutes.

Add in the broth, beans, carrots, and water and stir.  Cover and cook on low for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Add in the kale and cook covered for another 15 minutes.  

Ground Chicken Lettuce Wraps - 20-Minute Meal!

So I don't know if you have had them, but the lettuce wraps at PF Changs are *SO* good! I keep trying new ways to copy cat them at home and these have been the best so far!

I decided to make a yummy cold peanut noodle to go with them and it really made them great! Adding the carrots for crunch and it is really well balanced :)

I will make the noodles again - maybe with some sautéed chicken mixed in - it really is an easy and versatile dish!

Hope you guys love these as much as we did!

Ingredients:

1 lb. Ground Chicken (I am sure turkey or beef would be great too)
1 T. Dark Sesame Oil

1 Small Onion, diced

1 T. Minced garlic

1 T. Minced ginger

Peanut Noodles (Recipe Below)

1 C. Shredded Carrots

1 Head of Boston Lettuce

Salt

Pepper

For Peanut Noodles:

1/2 box of whole wheat spaghetti (cooked according to directions)

1 T. Natural Peanut Butter

2 T. Dark Sesame Oil

2 T. Low Sodium Soy Sauce

1 T. Brown Sugar

1 T. Sesame Seeds, toasted

Whisk all ingredients together (minus the pasta) until smooth.  After Pasta is cooled, toss with sauce and store in refrigerator. I will sometimes make the pasta the day before - let it really take up the flavor and it makes  a weeknight meal take about 10 minutes!  So easy :)

Directions:
Heat oil in a skillet on medium high heat.  Add onion, garlic and ginger and sauté for 5 minutes.  Add in ground chicken, salt and pepper and sauté until the chicken is cooked through and browned. To create wraps, I like to have it as a "do it yourself" fun dinner.  My kids LOVE these too - they like to put wraps together and they call the noodles "peanut butter pasta" which makes it very cool!

This recipe makes 4 servings, which is about 3 lettuce wraps a serving.  Other toppings that also work; steamed edamame, crushed peanuts, and bean sprouts.  Here is my finished lettuce wrap!  Try it out - you will not be disappointed! 

Frozen Peanut Butter Banana Bites

So I am always looking for new snacks and I think Pinterest is a great place to find healthy and delicious treats!  I saw a picture for some banana bites and I tweaked it a little and made it my own!  A little messy to make but really good - when you freeze the bananas they taste like ice cream!

Give it a try you will not be disappointed :)

Ingredients:

1/2 C. Dark Chocolate Chips

2 Large Ripe Bananas cut into 1/2 inch disks (approx. 24 disks)

1/4 C. fresh ground Peanut Butter (I am addicted to the Whole Foods kind!)

2 t. Coconut oil

Directions:

Place banana disks on a cookie sheet and top each one with about a teaspoon of peanut butter.

Mix together chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave for 1 minute - stir and heat for another minute or so until melted.  Using a fork dip each peanut butter topped banana disk in the dark chocolate and place on a freezer safe dish. Freeze for about 3 hours and enjoy!  My kids LOVED these and they didn't even ask what it was - they both just assumed it was ice cream - BIG mommy success! Mine came out a little messy but I didn't have much patience - I think with a bit more time they could have looked better :)

Cooking Is My Happy Place 2.0

So I have totally been M.I.A. - we have been trying to readjust the way we eat over here! It is really hard when you love to cook as much as I do - to make things that are not only fun and exciting but also healthy.  Well I like a challenge so I decided to switch over the vibe of this blog to food that is not only healthy but also tasty and fun to make!  We all like to eat well but it doesn't mean we have to sacrifice being healthy!

So if you are looking for a blog where you can find clean eating recipes spiced up a bit - you are in the right place!  I will be trying out my own recipe mixed with some that I think look yummy on Pinterest :)

To start it off - Here is a simple oven baked salmon that I made with a delicious greek style salad!  It really makes the dish taste great and because I used fat free greek yogurt it is totally guilt free!

Enjoy my healthy foodie friends :)

Oven Baked Salmon with Greek Style Salad
Serving: 4

Ingredients:
4 4-6 oz. Salmon Filets
1 Yellow Bell Pepper, Chopped
1 Medium Cucumber, Chopped
1/4 Red Onion, Finely Chopped
1C Non-Fat or Low Fat Plain Greek Yogurt
Juice of a Lemon plus 1 Lemon to squeeze over salmon filets
4 T. Fresh Dill, Chopped plus extra for garnish
2 T. White Wine Vinegar
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
Preheat Oven to 450 Degrees.

Mix Together all ingredients besides the salmon, set aside to marinate flavors together.

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray and place salmon filets skin side down. Sprinkle Salmon with Fresh Ground Pepper and Sea Salt. Cook for 12-15 minutes until salmon is cooked through.  Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over filets.

Serving size is 1 Cup of salad and 1 4oz. salmon filet

BBQ Chicken Pizza

So Friday night at our house is always pizza night - it started as a tradition with my parents and I have continued it along with my family.  One of our all time favorites is BBQ Chicken Pizza - everyone loves it and if you take the right shortcuts, it is so easy to make.  One of the best pizza tips I have is to ALWAYS get your dough from your favorite pizza shop.  It is always so fresh, the usually will cover it with some cornmeal, and because it is your favorite pizza place, you know you will love it.  It is about 2 bucks and totally worth the trip.

Ingredients:

1lb. Chicken breast

1 Pizza Dough from your favorite pizza place

1 C + 1/2 C BBQ sauce - whichever one you love - we are obsessed with Sweet Baby Rays

8 oz. Fresh Mozzarella, sliced very thin

1/2 C Shredded Gruyere Cheese
1/2 Small red onion, sliced very thin
Fresh cilantro, torn
Salt
Pepper
Cooking Spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Spray an oven-safe cooking dish with non-stick spray and pour in 1 cup of the BBQ sauce.  Put chicken in the sauce, turning it over to make sure that it is completely covered in sauce.  Place the chicken in the oven and bake until chicken is cooked about 35-40 minutes.  Take the chicken out of the oven and cool.  Once it is cooled, cut the chicken into small bite sized pieces. 

Spay a pizza sheet with non-stick spray.  Stretch out the pizza dough to make a nice circle.  Place the thin slices of fresh mozzarella on the bottom, and then sprinkle with the shredded gruyere.  

Next put on the sliced onions, chicken, and the rest of the BBQ sauce.  Season with salt and pepper and put in the oven. Cook until the crust is a nice golden brown and the cheese is all melted, about 12-14 minutes.  Once it has cooled a bit, add the cilantro and serve.  

Enjoy!!

Empty Out The Fridge Pizza...

Okay so one thing I HATE is throwing away good food.  You know the deal - you make a recipe - you use half of something and then end up throwing away the other half - so annoying!  One good thing about it is making something new - that you have never made before - and something I constantly do is use those foods to make a funky pizza.  I like to pick up a pizza crust from my favorite pizza place and start creating.

This is one that I made after Thanksgiving.  I had a Butternut Squash leftover that I wanted to use so I scoured the fridge to find things that would taste delish with it.

Here is what I came up with...

Butternut Squash, Bacon, Caramelized Onion and Blue Cheese Pizza (Yeeesssss)

Ingredients:

1 Pizza dough crust from the grocery store or local pizzeria 

1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
2 T. Olive Oil

1 Onion, sliced thinly
4 Pieces of Bacon
1 C. Cream Sauce (I make my own but you can buy some at the store)
1 C. Balsamic Vinegar (optional but I think the reduction really makes the pizza) 
1/2 C. Blue Cheese, crumbled
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Toss your butternut squash in olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper in an oven safe baking dish and place in the oven.  Roast for about 30 minutes - make sure to check on it a few times and mix it around a bit.  When the squash is nice and roasted take out and let it cool down.

While your butternut squash is in the oven, heat a skillet (I used my cast iron) over medium high heat.  When the skillet is hot, add your bacon.  Cook the bacon until crisp and set aside.  After you take out the bacon, keep the bacon fat in the pan, and add your onions.  Sauté your onions in the fat until they are a nice golden brown and put aside.

Spray your pizza pan with some nonstick cooking spray and roll out your dough.  Add the cream sauce to the pizza.  Next add the rest of your toppings (minus the balsamic vinegar) and pop the pizza in the oven for about 15 minutes - until the crust gets nice and golden.

While your pizza is cooking, place the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Once you have it at a boil, reduce to a simmer and reduce to about half.  After the pizza is a little cooled, add the reduction to the pizza and it is done!  It is amazing - and now I wont have to throw anything away :)

Enjoy!

Football Food... Sticky Spicy Drumsticks

So I don't know about you - but I love the quality of food at Whole Foods but not the price.  So I try and get whatever meats they have on sale to help a bit.  This week they had these beautiful drumsticks on sale and I couldn't pass them up!

So what to make... I love chicken and how versatile it is and really can take on whatever flavors you are in the mood for.  So today it was sweet and spicy - I love those two flavors together.  So I searched my pantry and came up with this quick marinade.  It was easy to make, and I had everything on hand - I will definitely be making this one again!

Sticky Spicy Drumsticks

Ingredients:

4 lbs. of Chicken Drumsticks
1/2 C. Honey + 2 T. 
2 T. Soy sauce (I like the low sodium)
2 T Hot Sauce (Sriracha is preferred)
1T. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 t. Minced garlic
Juice of 1 Lemon
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients and add to a large Ziploc bag.  

Pat your drumsticks dry and generously salt and pepper them.  Add the drumsticks to the bag and make sure that your marinade is covering all of your chicken.  Let them marinate for at least 2 hours in the fridge.  I let mine go for 4 hours and they really tasted yummy!

Preheat your oven to 475 degrees. Transfer your chicken and marinade into a large roasting pan or baking dish with high sides.  Brush your drumsticks with the remaining honey and season with salt and pepper.  

Bake the chicken, basting it often with the juices of the pan until it is well browned and the sauce looks nice and sticky.  Mine took 40 minutes, you can use a thermometer and make sure it is 165 degrees.

Serve the chicken on a platter and drizzle with the sauce - it was amazing!!

I will make these again for the next Pats game - I think this marinade would be great on wings too!

Enjoy!