Spinach Scramble

This is my default breakfast. When I don’t want to think about what to eat and I’m in a place where I’m eating well, I throw this together and it’s delicious and filling every time and packed with nutrients. It also comes in at under 300 calories. When I’m not in a place where I’m eating well, I eat cheese. Lots of cheese.

Place a skillet over medium heat. Add a teaspoon of olive oil, ¼ cup chopped onion, and 3 large sliced mushrooms. Mist veggies with cooking spray as needed to get a good sauté.  Cook until onions are translucent and mushrooms are nicely browned.

Add two large handfuls of spinach to the pan. This will look like an insane amount of greens, but don’t worry, it will cook down.

 

Then you can feel good about yourself and your nutritional superiority all day long. Stir the spinach constantly.

When the spinach has wilted, add two beaten eggs. If you’re lazy like me, you’ll just crack two eggs right into the pan and whip them up with your spatula as they cook. Keep the eggs moving until they're cooked and scrambled. There should be just enough egg to give you a shot of protein and sort of stick everything together.

Salt and pepper to taste and serve with your favorite salsa. I like to pour Pace all over the top of my scramble. So good. And your house will have that wonderful sautéed onion smell for a couple of hours.

Cut-and-Paste Recipe

Spinach Scramble

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1 tsp olive oil

Cooking spray

¼ cup chopped onion
3 large mushrooms
2 cups baby spinach
2 large eggs
Salt and pepper
Salsa

Place a skillet over medium heat. Add a teaspoon of olive oil, chopped onion, and mushrooms. Mist veggies with cooking spray as needed to get a good sauté.  Cook until onions are translucent and mushrooms are nicely browned.

Add two large handfuls of spinach to the pan. Toss and stir to cook down the spinach.

When spinach has wilted, add two beaten eggs and stir until egg is cooked. Salt and pepper to taste and serve with your favorite salsa.

Homemade Egg Rolls

Homemade Egg Rolls... Anyone hungry?

My cousin came over the other day and made these with me. They were delicious and delectable... and they had vegetables in them. That makes them healthy... even though we deep fried them, right?

So they were really relatively easy, just time consuming.

First we started by squishing together all the ingredients. The ground meat, veggies, and seasonings.

When we finished, it looked a little something like this:






We placed the filling into wonton wrappers, and rolled them up cigarette style.

Until we had a nice pile...

You want quite a few. Believe me, these babies go fast.

Then we set up outside on the deck, to avoid making the whole house and everything in it smell like frying oil.

We waited for the oil to heat up. My cousin tested the oil by putting a scrap of egg roll in and seeing if it started to bubble and float. When it was ready, we fried the egg rolls.

We had to avoid putting in too many at a time, or the oil cooled down too much from all the filling.
When the egg rolls were golden and bubbly and crispy, we took them out and drained them on plates lined with paper towels.

We served them with sticky rice, steamed cauliflower, and homemade sweet and sour sauce.

Delicious!

Cut-and-Paste Recipe

Homemade Egg Rolls

1 lb raw ground beef (as lean as possible)
1 C shredded cabbage
1/2 C shredded carrots
2 T soy sauce
1 T shredded fresh ginger
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Veggie Enriched Chili - My Husband's All-Time Favorite

Our favorite healthy chili recipe.

Perfect for a fall night. Stuffed full of healthy veggies, and using up some of those zucchinis the size of your arm. From my calculations, a mere 135 calories per 1 C serving, and full of nutrients and low on fat. It also freezes wonderfully. I cook it in my big 8 quart stock pot, because I need lots. I love this chili.

My husband just might marry this chili if he and I ever call it quits.

Soooo... now that I've over-sold it. Enjoy!

Oh... and it's simple to prepare. Especially if you have the right magical kitchen equipment.

Start by browning the meat, and while it's cooking, toss in the finely chopped onion, zucchini, garlic, jalapeno, and bell peppers. 

If you want to simplify your life, buy this food chopper. Only $16.95, and I use it for everything. With its help, I can finely chop all these veggies while the meat is starting to brown, and easily get them all chopped in under 10 minutes. And they are the size of the ground meat bits. Teeny, camouflaged vegetables. See:

Those used to be baby carrots! (P.S. Feel free to substitute finely chopped carrots in place of some of the veggies in this recipe. They are perfect in it, and made it into this particular batch I photographed.)

Anyhoo. Let that meat brown with those veggies until the meat is cooked through and the veggies are getting tender. About 20 minutes.

Then add the beef or chicken broth, tomatoes, and spices, and let simmer for another 20.

Near the end, throw in your beans, corn, cilantro, lime juice, and finally, mix in your tomato paste to thicken.

And voila! Your chili is ready to be topped with some shredded cheese, sour cream, and served with a side of whole wheat corn bread or tortilla chips.

Cut and Paste Recipe

Veggie-Enriched Chili

1.25 lb extra lean ground beef or chicken breast chorizo   
1 Cup finely chopped onion
8 Cups finely chopped zucchini
1 finely diced or puréed jalapeno pepper
1 T minced garlic
3 finely chopped green or red bell peppers
2 T granulated sugar
9 tsp beef bouillon and 9 C water (or 9 cups broth)
3 cans diced tomatoes
1/2 T paprika
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
2 cans tomato paste
3 Cups cooked black beans
3 Cups cooked Great Northern Beans
3 Cups canned or frozen corn kernels
1 bunch finely chopped cilantro
1/4 C lime juice

Cook first six ingredients until meat is cooked and veggies are tender. Add spices, broth, and diced tomatoes and cook for about 20 more minutes. Then add beans, corn, cilantro, lime juice, and tomato paste, and let stand about 10 minutes before serving.

Vegan Cooking with Chloe Coscarelli and a Look at Her Crème -Filled Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

I’m a little bit vegan sometimes. Other times, I eat nothing but lean meats and vegetables, eschewing bread, pasta and rice altogether. There are weeks when I make nothing but Indian food. I bounce around, trying to find a healthy mix and I’ve found some truly awesome recipes.

This month I’m hooked on Chloe Coscarelli’s new cookbook, Chloe’s Kitchen: 125 Easy, Delicious Recipes for Making the Food You Love the Vegan Way, which was sent to me for review. I’ve made several of her recipes and my family members, all major carnivores, are really enjoying most of them. We’ve even repeated a couple in the short time I’ve had her book.

Chloe has a way of making vegan cooking accessible and when you eat her recipes you don’t feel like you’re missing something. They’re full of flavor and not full of weird ingredients to compensate for the lack of meat and dairy.

I recommend the Barley Bliss Casserole, delicious, creamy home cooking with a sauce I think about long after I'm done eating it. This is a great healthy substitute for those old cream of chicken based comfort food casseroles.

We also loved her Guilt-Free Garlic Mashed Potatoes with parsnips and cauliflower. These were amazing and pumped full of veggies. I will definitely be making them again.

Also, she’s authorized me to post her "Chlostess" Crème-Filled Cupcake recipe for all of you to try. These were surprisingly delicious and if I can sub them out for my family’s favorite 300-unpronouncable-ingredient treats, we’ll be better off. I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that she makes a great cupcake. Chloe created the first vegan cupcake recipe ever to win the reality show Cupcake Wars. Try this recipe, check out her website, and then give her whole book a try. Enjoy!

“Chlostess” Crème -Filled Cupcakes

MAKES 14 CUPCAKES

Move over, you other name-brand cupcakes found in a little plastic bag! These are homemade, have half the fat, and are still crème-filled delicious! 

Make-Ahead Tip

The Chocolate Cupcakes can be filled with Crème Frosting and frozen for up to 1 month.

Thaw cupcakes and apply Chocolate Ganache topping and swirl design before serving. Any leftover Crème Frosting can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. 

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

1½ cups all-purpose flour*

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup cold coffee or water

½ cup canola oil

2 tablespoons white or apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

*For a gluten-free alternative, substitute gluten-free all-purpose flour plus ¾ teaspoon  xanthan gum

CRÈME FROSTING

1 cup nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening

3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 to 5 tablespoons soy, almond, or rice milk

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (dairyfree)

¼ cup canned coconut milk, mixed well before measuring

2 tablespoons canola oil

To make the Chocolate Cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup cupcake pans with 14 cupcake liners. 

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. In a separate

bowl, whisk together coffee, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Pour the wet mixture into the dry
mixture and whisk until just combined. Do not overmix.

Fill the cupcake liners about two-thirds full with batter. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean with a few crumbs clinging to it. Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting. 

To make the Crème Frosting: Using a handheld or stand mixer, beat the shortening until

smooth. With the mixer running on low, add powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon
nondairy milk at a time, as needed, until frosting reaches a spreadable consistency. You
may not need to use all of the nondairy milk. Beat on high for 2 more minutes until light
and fluffy.

To make the Chocolate Ganache: Melt chocolate chips and coconut milk in a double boiler or microwave. Whisk in oil until smooth.

To assemble the cupcakes: Fit a piping bag with a small round or Bismarck tip and fill with the Crème Frosting. Insert the tip into the center of the top of each cupcake and squeeze the bag to fill the cupcake with about 2 to 3 teaspoons frosting. There is no need to scoop out any of the cake. Spread the top of each cupcake with a thin layer of Chocolate Ganache and pipe a 4-loop design with the Crème Frosting.

Mini Food Blogger in Training

She doesn’t blog about mini food. She is mini and she’s already thinking like a food blogger.

Today I told Wanda it was lunch time and she said, “I want lunch abouuuuuuut apple sauce!” She added that she also wanted apple slices of the orange variety. All sliced fruits are apple slices, just different flavors.


The apple sauce is topped with probiotic powder or as we call it, “Sprinkles.” The Thomas train is not for consumption. Maybe I'll catch her with some protein or grains later. For now, I'm excited when she expresses interest in anything that's not candy.

I took this picture because once she’d laid out all the food, she said, “Okay, now take a picture of my lunch like this!” She staged and I shot. We are good team.

World’s Simplest Fruit Salad

Don’t let your fruit languish, my friends! I always seem to have a drawer full of sad fruit that nobody wants. When the berries and bananas are gone, we’re left with apples, oranges, melons and a scattering of fruits that no one’s excited to eat.

I’ve adapted Heather’s husband’s fruit salad recipe to help me deal with this problem. It’s probably overstating things to call this a recipe. It’s more of a preparation suggestion. However, I’ve made this for showers and parties and always get compliments and recipe requests. So, here it is:

Choose a sampling of fruits from your fridge, or if you’re making this for a baby shower or potluck, choose a sampling of fruits that look and taste good together from your local grocer. This is good, even if all you have are apples and oranges but it's fun to go a little more exotic every once in a while.

Chop the fruits into small pieces, the smaller the better. For example, grapes are ideal for this when cut in quarters.

Place all the fruit in a bowl.

Add a dollop of yogurt. Less is more here. You want just enough to moisten and flavor the fruit but not enough that you ever have “gobs” or white. No one wants “gobs” on their fruit salad. I prefer vanilla yogurt for this but I’ve used just about every flavor imaginable. Personally, if I’m using plain yogurt, I like to add a couple of tablespoons of applesauce or all-fruit jam to sweeten it a bit.

Gently stir to coat the fruit and you’re done!

I’ve served this as a side-dish at dinner in individual ramekins with a slice of orange on top and the kids can’t get enough. They will literally eat two to three times as much fruit when I serve it this way than when I simply chop it and serve it on a platter.

Cut-and-Paste Recipe

Simple Fruit Salad

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4 cups fruit
¼ cup yogurt (vanilla preferred)

Chop fruit into small pieces, no bigger than half an inch. Place them in a bowl with yogurt and stir gently. Take a minute to wonder why you printed off this non-recipe recipe card.

Honey-Lime Chicken

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Because it was dinner time and the chicken was justifiably scared, considering how often we devour its kinfolk.

If you eat chicken as frequently as my family, you’re always looking for new ways to cook it. One of my favorites is this simple honey-lime preparation. With only five ingredients, all things I generally have around the house, it’s one of my go-to meals when I haven’t planned ahead.

It’s adapted from a Cooking Light recipe book I quite like.

Pour your soy sauce into a shallow baking pan, 8x8 or 9x13 depending on how much chicken you’re cooking.

Place the chicken in the soy sauce and turn to coat.

Bake on the middle rack at 350F for 30-40 minutes until done in the middle or until they reach an internal temperature of 165F. I almost always slice my chicken open to make sure there’s no pink in the middle.

While chicken is cooking, chop green onions or chives and set aside. Measure lime juice and honey into small sauce pan.

When chicken is cooked through, remove chicken from soy mixture and place on a serving dish. Add ¼ cup of the soy/drippings mixture to the honey and lime juice sauce pan. Heat them to combine and then pour over the chicken. Sprinkle with the fresh green onions and serve. This goes great with veggies, rice, quinoa, or even whole wheat couscous. 

Cut-and-Paste Recipe

Honey-Lime Chicken

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4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup honey
¼ cup lime juice
One bunch green onions or chives

Preheat oven to 350F. Pour soy sauce into shallow baking pan, big enough to hold all the chicken pieces with some space between them. Add chicken pieces to soy sauce and turn to coat. Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the center.

While chicken is cooking, chop green onions or chives and set aside. Measure lime juice and honey into a small sauce pan. When chicken is cooked through, remove chicken from soy mixture and place on a serving dish. Add ¼ cup of the soy/drippings mixture to the honey and lime juice sauce pan. Heat them to combine and then pour over the chicken. Sprinkle with the fresh green onions and serve.