Spaghetti Squash Bolognese---from Bob Harper!

You guys. YOU GUYS! This is good. You know how you sometimes make healthy stuff and it tastes healthy, but not in a great way? This isn't that stuff. It tastes so good!  Try it. Really really.

Spaghetti Squash Bolognese
(Adapted from Bob Harper)

Ingredients
16 ounces ground turkey breast
1 cup sliced celery
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 24-26 oz. jar of spaghetti sauce (I used Ragu)
4 cups spaghetti squash strands--or just use one large-ish spaghetti squash
5-6 cups chopped fresh spinach (Really, just use as much as you'd like)

Directions
Cut your spaghetti squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place both pieces cut side up on a dinner plate. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 8 minutes. Let them steam/cool for another 5-10 minutes. Then use a large spoon to scrape out the strands into a large bowl. Set aside. (You can even do this step in the morning and leave it in the fridge)

Combine turkey, celery, and onion in a large pot on medium-high heat. Sauté for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally to break the turkey apart.

Add the spaghetti sauce and simmer for 20 minutes. Mix in the spaghetti squash (which will warm through from the heat of the sauce). Turn off the heat, add the spinach, and stir until wilted.

We served it with some bread on the side. Delicious!

Ziti Pizza Bake

Here's another Six Sisters recipe, and it's a good one!

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

1 medium onion (optional), diced -- (I think I'll leave it out next time, it was too crunchy)

1 green bell pepper, diced -- (I left this out because I have a picky husband)

8 oz sliced pepperoni

4 oz (1 cup) shredded mozzarella cheese

8 oz (2 cups) shredded cheddar cheese

12 oz Rigatoni noodles, cooked                 

15 oz pizza sauce

26 oz Spaghetti sauce

1. Brown meat, onion and pepper in frying pan.

2. Drain grease and add pizza sauce and spaghetti sauce

3. Combine all ingredients in a large crock pot (spray with non-stick spray first).

4. Cook on HIGH for 30 minutes and then LOW for 2 or 3 hours until the cheese melts.

Note:  This makes a lot of food, so I usually freeze half before cooking it.  Later it can be thawed and cooked in the slow cooker as directed above.

My note: I divided this into three parts and froze all three. One of the parts I put in a ziploc bag and two other parts I put in casserole tin thingies. I just made one of them in the casserole tin, I baked it at 350 for 20 minutes covered with foil and then 10 more minutes uncovered. It was soooo yummy! (and probably not going to be tagged with the "healthy" tag...)

(My guess is that the recipe all together would probably feed 9 or 10 people)

Crockpot Chili

All day Crockpot Chili
(Adapted from here )

1/2 c. dried beans (I used pinto)
2 cans of beans--any kind--drained (I used black and cannelini)
1 large green pepper, diced finely
1/2 - 3/4 onion, diced finely
1 (14.5 oz.) can of diced tomatoes
1 (6 oz.) can of tomato paste
1/4 c. barbecue sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's is all we use!)
Dash of: Cayenne pepper, Paprika, Garlic powder, and Chili powder
2 tsp. salt (more or less to taste)

Rinse your dry beans and place into a 4-qt. crockpot. Cover with about an inch of water and cook on low for 5 hours. Then add the remaining ingredients and cook on low for another 6 hours. Serve with breadsticks or corn bread.

**If you don't have the 11 hours in one day to do this, cook the dry beans in that late afternoon/evening, and then add the remaining ingredients before placing it in the fridge, covered. Pull it out and plop it into the crockpot the next day on low. You could easily cook this for longer than 6 hours if necessary.

I thought it tasted even better today as leftovers!

Lemon Oregano Rice

Another great side dish, and its a quick and easy one, too!

Lemon Oregano Rice
1 Tbsp. Butter
1 cup uncooked white rice
14.5 oz chicken broth
4 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. dry oregano

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium high heat, and stir in the rice. Cook rice, stirring frequently, until browned--about 5 minutes.

2. Add remaining ingredients. Mix. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook 20 minutes until liquid has been absorbed. Fluff with a fork before serving.

Avocado Egg Salad Sandwiches

I first found this idea on Livestrong.com and then went after an actual recipe to adapt to our family.  It was delicious and really quite healthy!

Avocado Egg Salad Sandwiches 
(Adapted from Allrecipes.com)

4 large hard boiled eggs (I did mine the night before so they had plenty of time to chill)
1 RIPE medium Hass avocado
Yellow mustard
Paprika
Salt & Pepper to taste
1-2 Tbsp. pickle relish
4 slices of whole wheat bread

Peel your eggs and place them in a mixing bowl. Using a pastry cutter, or a knife and fork, chop up your eggs to your desired consistency. In a separate bowl, mash up your avocado. You want it really mushy--this is taking the place of the usual mayonnaise! Add about a teaspoon of prepared yellow mustard, and a sprinkling of paprika (as much as you'd like!). Mix this into the eggs. Then add the pickle relish and salt & pepper to taste.

Use whole wheat bread to make your yummy sandwiches and you are set for a healthy summer-y meal!

Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers--Vegetarian Style!

My friend Renae gave me this recipe and we've had it two or three times this year. We love love love it!

Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers
4 large sweet red peppers (we've also used green)--rinsed well
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 c. shredded pepper jack cheese (or plain jack if desired)
3/4 c. salsa
1 small onion chopped
1/2 cup corn (canned or frozen)
3/4-1 c. cooked rice (we always use our wild rice blend on these)
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin

Cut tops off peppers and remove seeds. Set aside. In a large bowl combine beans, cheese, salsa, onion, corn, rice, and spices. Spoon the mixture into the peppers. Place in a 4 or 5 quart slow cooker coated with cooking spray.

Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until peppers are tender and filling is heated through. Serve with sour cream if desired.

Poppyseed Dressing

This dressing is amazing!  It's all I eat on my salad's these days!

1/2 cup Sugar (I use 1/4 cup of Truvia Baking Blend)
1 teaspoon grated onion (or 1/4 teaspoon onion powder)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup Canola Oil
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
3/4 teaspoon poppyseeds

Mix all ingredients, except the oil, in a blender, or food processor.  Add the oil a little at a time (I do it in 1/3 cup increments), blending really well between batches, until all the oil is added.  (This helps it emulsify better then doing it all at once.)

Chop up some almonds, toasted and sugared over low heat on the stove, for a topping.  We also use pumpkin seeds and cranberries as toppings.  It's so good!

Crockpot Herb Roasted Potatoes

This is a quick and easy side dish!

Crockpot Herb Roasted Potatoes
(Adapted from Robyn)

6 - 7 medium potatoes
1/4 c. water
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. dried minced onion
3 Tbsp. butter

Cut the potatoes into half moons. Place them into a 4-quart crockpot. In a small bowl, mix all the herbs and spices. Add the water to the potatoes and then sprinkle on the seasoning mix. Stir to distribute the spices evenly. Add butter in 4-6 slices/pieces on top of the potatoes. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Lentil Sloppy Joes

Yes, you read that right. LENTIL sloppy joes. We love lentils at our house and use them regularly in place of meat. I never really liked sloppy joes growing up, but I find myself craving these puppies regularly. They are super delicious AND healthy!

Lentil Sloppy Joes
(Barely adapted from Skimpy Pantry)

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked lentils, rinsed.
3 cups water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium-sized onion, diced fine (I use the food processor!)

A hearty sprinkling of garlic powder

1 bell pepper, diced fine (I use the food processor again!)

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon yellow mustard
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 can diced green chilies
2 cans tomato sauce (8 oz.)

Directions
Combine the lentils and water in a sauce pan, covered on medium low for 30 minutes or until lentils are tender.  Drain any excess water.  

Meanwhile, saute the onions and bell pepper in olive oil until onions are opaque.  Add remaining ingredients except for the lentils.  Cook on medium low, covered, for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
When the lentils are done, add to the tomato mixture.  Ladle on burger buns and serve with whatever you like on sloppy joes. We do cheese, mustard, and jalapenos around our place!

Easy Brazilian Cheese Bread

These are DELICIOUS and so easy to make!!!!  It has some kind of crazy cheese listed on the ingredient list . . . We have tried cheddar, Mexican, Italian, a combination of these things, etc. I think we decided that we like Italian the best.

Larger photo

Simple and gluten-free Brazilian cheese bread, or Pão de Queijo, made with tapioca flour, milk, eggs, olive oil, and cheese.

The recipe as presented is fairly basic. Feel free to dress it up a bit with herbs or spices of your choice.

• Prep time: 5 minutes
• Cook time: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 egg*
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup milk
• Scant 1 1/2 cups (170 grams) tapioca flour
• 1/2 cup (packed, about 66 grams) grated cheese, your preference, though we got the best results from Mexican farmer's cheese - queso fresco
• 1 teaspoon of salt (or more to taste)

Special equipment recommended:

• One or two mini muffin tins. Mini muffin tins are about half the size of a regular muffin pan. The muffin openings are about 1-inch deep, and 1 3/4 inch wide at the top.

*It helps when baking with eggs to start with eggs at room temperature. If you don't plan ahead (that would be me, usually) you can put the egg in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes to gently take off the chill of the fridge.

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a mini-muffin tin. Put all of the ingredients into a blender and pulse until smooth. You may need to use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender so that everything gets blended well. At this point you can store the batter in the refrigerator for up to a week.

2 Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until all puffy and just lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for a few minutes.

Eat while warm or save to reheat later.

Note that Brazilian cheese bread is very chewy, a lot like Japanese mochi.

Yield: Enough batter for 16 mini muffin sized cheese breads.

From this website: Simply Recipes http://www.simplyrecipes.com

Sweet Teriyaki Chicken

Another freezer meal success! Again, from this website :)

Slow Cooker Sweet Teriyaki Chicken

Ingredients:
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 onion, chopped
1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts

Directions:
Mix together soy sauce, sugar, garlic salt and chopped onion in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag. Place chicken breasts inside the bag and zip closed.
When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or LOW for 7-8 hours.
Serve over rice.

So yummy! It tasted quite a bit like the teriyaki chicken rice bowls from teriyaki stix, only the chicken wasn't that yucky cheap stuff :) It was a tiny bit salty for my liking, so next time I think I might do a little less soy sauce, and I might just double the sauce in general because I like it on my rice. Overall it was delicious! 

Sweet and Tangy Meatballs

I decided to make a bunch of freezer crock pot meals last week, and rather than put them all on at once I decided to wait until we tried all of them in case there were duds. Meal #1 was wildly successful. According to Micah, they are "the best meatballs ever." I got the recipe from here.

1 package of frozen meatballs (I got turkey meatballs and they were DELISH)
1 jar of grape jelly
1 jar of chili sauce

Mix it all up, put it in a ziplock bag and stick it in the freezer. Thaw for 24 hours (I think we did it for less than that and survived) and then slow cook it for 2 hours on high or 4 hours on low. Serve over rice!

(This was a tiny bit spicy for my liking, but I am a huge spice wimp. I think I'll use more jelly and less chili sauce next time, but not by much)

6 Can Chicken Tortilla Soup

Taken straight from allrecipes.com!

Combine:
1 can whole kernel corn (drained)
1 can black beans (not drained)
2 cans chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes and green chiles
1 can chicken (I used Costco canned chicken)

Put them in a saucepan, heat it all up, and serve over tortilla chips with cheese and sour cream!

Bonus points: SO easy, SO fast, SO cheap! All good things.

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup With Baked Tortilla Strips

Delightfully easy and tasty meal--made in the slow cooker!! This was the perfect meal for these frigid temperatures we are living in.

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
(Adapted from Skimpy Pantry)
Ingredients
1/2 red onion, chopped 
Generous sprinkling of garlic powder

1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped

1/2 bell pepper, chopped

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 can (4 ounces) green chilies

1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes

2 cans (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed (I did one can black beans, one can pinto beans)

1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

A handful of fresh cilantro

Dump all the ingredients into your slow cooker. Stir. Cook on low for 6 hours. Serve with sour cream and tortilla strips (see below!)


Baked Tortilla Strips 

Ingredients
Corn tortillas (I used four for two of us)
Olive oil
Seasoning salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using kitchen shears, cut the tortillas in half and then cut each half into strips. Lay the strips onto a cookie sheet and drizzle a small amount of olive oil on top. Toss the strips utnil they are well coated. Spread them evenly on the cookie sheet and sprinkle with seasoning salt. Bake 10-15 minutes or until crispy.  Note that you want them CRISPY and brown--but not burned. Taste test because CHEWY is not what you want. CRISPY.

And enjoy.