Chili night

I was starvin Marvin when I got home. I had made some chili and put it in the crock pot before leaving for work. I was really anticipating coming home to some good chili. I was so hungry I wanted to dig right in.


1 can red kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 jar salsa
1 tsp. each of cumin, garlic, oregano, (1/4 tsp. )unsweetened cocoa, chili powder, salt and pepper
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
2 cups water
cooked in the crock pot on low for 8 hrs.

Topped with a piece of crumbled low fat cornbread and a scoop of non fat Greek yogurt
(my new favorite substitute for sour cream, and it has a lot of protein).

Romaine salad with a drizzle of light balsamic vinaigrette.

Macaroni salad on a sunny day

Main dinner ingredients, salmon and whole wheat elbow pasta

Macaroni salad
Whole wheat pasta
diced zucchini and carrots
mustard (whole grain, regular, honey mustard, and sweet onion mustard)
spices; dill, oregano, thyme, garlic salt, pepper, celery seed, and dry mustard)
reduced fat cheddar cheese
Tj's sweet relish

I saved half of the macaroni salad for dinner tomorrow night, and took the other half and added one can Alaskan wild salmon and diced hard boiled eggs. It was a good combination of veggies, protein, and whole grains. It tasted okay but my plan didn't come out as tasty as I was hoping.

Spring green

Mixed greens salad with Newman's light balsamic vinaigrette and some Sante fe salsa somersaults on top. I received this product the other day to review. They are amazing and super healthy. More to come on this product, and even a special giveaway.

Whole wheat pasta, marinara sauce, and hot Italian chicken sausage from
New Seasons.

Served on a sunny evening. I think this weekend might be nice, yippee. Too bad I will be working all weekend.

Bean dip

In a baking dish I made layers of:
layer 1 (bottom) fat free refried beans
layer 2 fat free spicy black bean dip
layer 3 salsa
layer 4 ground turkey (cooked ground turkey, diced onion, all natural taco seasoning, garlic salt, and pepper)
layer 4 more salsa
layer 5 reduced fat cheddar cheese
layer 6 (top) diced red pepper and a sprinkle of parsley
Baked at 350 degrees for 30 min.

A scoop of the "bean dip"

Topped with romaine lettuce, salsa, Greek non fat yogurt, and baked tortilla chips. This was the first time I have used Greek yogurt in place of sour cream and it was really good. I'm staying away from fat free sour cream since it's probably got some filler and preservatives. The Greek yogurt tasted even better then sour cream.

Wheat berries

I had some wheat berries for the first time at Whole Foods the other day on my salad. I really liked them, they had a slight chewy texture.

I cooked the wheat berries per instructions, but they were more chewy then they should have been. I'm not sure what went wrong. I added some:
cooked wild shrimp
diced zucchini, carrot, and shallot
1 TB. pesto
2 TB. roasted tomato and artichoke tapenade
basil, garlic salt, and parsley
1 can white beans
1TB. dried cherries
mixed together and topped with some Parmesan

Salmon pasta

I made a pasta salad with the leftover Alaskan wild salmon from lunch. I also
made a glass of refreshing peach herbal tea. I was so thirsty I forgot to take a picture. It definitely quenched my thirst.

1/2 a can of salmon
3/4 cup whole wheat shell pasta
diced zucchini
diced carrot
1 tsp. of raisins
1/2 of a juiced lemon
2 TB. Tj's roasted red pepper and artichoke tapenade
1 TB. marinated artichokes diced
dill and oregano
Parmesan cheese on top
I mixed the warm pasta with the cold ingredients so that it would bring all the ingredients to room temp.

This was so easy and really good, this could become a new favorite. This would also be good on a hot summer night.

Easy peazy

Marie Callenders all natural low fat cornbread

I cooked the cornbread for 5 min. less than the required cooking time, and I let it rest for 10 min. It made the cornbread so soft and moist, it was the best cornbread I have made.

Jambalaya stew
1 can red beans and 1 can black beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 jar salsa
1 diced roasted red pepper
1 diced onion
1 Tj's diced turkey polish sausage
1 tsp. each of oregano, cumin, garlic, and chili pepper, along with salt and pepper
cooked on high in the crock pot for 5hrs.
In the last 1/2 hour I added some already cooked brown rice, leftover from the other night.

I topped my bowl with 3 little Mary's crackers that I got today and wanted to try. Along with some ketchup and a sprinkle of reduced fat cheddar cheese.

I realized I needed some added veggies, so I threw some arugula on top and ate that first.

Asian tofu inspiration

Produce delivery from Organic to you was waiting at my door when I got home today.
It included:
2 bunch's of carrots
apples
grapefruit
potatoes
lettuce
mixed greens
celery
pears
oranges
broccoli
parsley

Veggies for dinner
red pepper, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, green onion, and bean sprouts

I cooked some brown rice and topped it with the sauteed veggies, tofu, and a few peanuts for some healthy fat.

Yum Yum

A medley of flavors

Dinner ingredients
Tj's red pepper and eggplant spread, diced tomatoes, and brown rice.

Romaine salad with shredded carrots, diced red onion, and soy nuts. Tossed in 1 TB. Newman's
light balsamic vinaigrette.

Whole grain rice cooked per instructions.
In a saute pan add 1/4 cup diced tomatoes and juice
3 TB. roasted red pepper and eggplant spread
diced marinated artichokes
diced roasted red pepper
diced chicken from last night
spices: garlic flakes, oregano, basil, and pepper
simmer until warm and serve over rice.

Dinner served and enjoyed!

Chicken tonight

Chicken marinade
1 TB. of Newman's light balsamic vinaigrette, rice vinegar, pesto, and water
1 tsp. of basil, garlic flakes, oregano, and thyme
mixed together
marinate chicken for at least 2hrs up to 8hrs. I marinated it for 4 hrs.

Grilled chicken with a side of pasta salad from last night. I like to put the pasta in a small bowl to control the portion size. It's so good I could eat a heaping plate of it.

Green green green

Main ingredient

Salad with romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, sliced cucumbers, and chopped broccoli. I tossed the salad in 1 TB. Drew's roasted tomato dressing.

My eye has been twitching today and someone told me to eat a bunch of broccoli and green leafy veggies. I know it's funny, it's been going on most of the day.

Dinner was 1 box of rice cooked per instructions.
1 package of Tj's sun dried tomato chicken sausage cooked with chopped asparagus, Tj's artichoke and roasted red pepper tapenade, basil, garlic, and oregano. I topped the rice with the sauce and added a small sprinkle of feta and a dollop of cilantro and jalapeno hummus.

Pizza burger delight

I was chatting on the phone with my best friend Michelle and didn't get very many before or ingredient shots.


Pizza burger
Tj's chicken lime burgers (I cooked them in the oven for about 30 min. at 400 degree's)
Tj's whole wheat flat bread
Assembling pizza
lay one flat bread down
top with 2 cooked chicken patties side by side
top with
zuchini
arugula
feta
tj's brushetta mix (the star ingredient)
topped with the other flatbread, that has been spread with hummus
back in the oven for 10 min.

The bottom flatbread go a little soggy. I think it's from the moisture of the chicken and zucchini. I would suggest flipping the whole pizza burger half way through the cooking time to crisp up both sides.

I had two wedges of pizza burger served with a baked sweet potato. The sweet potato had a little drizzle of pure maple syrup, a little salt and cinnamon.

Yes, that's the biggest sweet potato ever. I love these guys, so I took the biggest one.

Snoop night

Base ingredients for the soup.
Wow the soup box has quite the glare, it's Tj's organic creamy tomato soup. The pasta is whole wheat pearl shaped pasta. The little pearls are great for soups, they are just the right size.

Veggies; zucchini, onion, and carrots

During the winter soup is pretty much a staple around here. It's always homemade and always turns out so perfect and is so easy. I usually just throw a bunch of ingredients in a pot. Tonight's was a tomato based soup with lots of veggies.

Veggie chicken sausage soup
1 box Tj's tomato soup
2 cups water
1/2 of a diced onion
shredded carrots chopped up
finely diced zucchini
I added the leftover beans from last night
1 cup of the whole wheat pearl pasta
spices: oregano, basil, garlic, red pepper flakes, and pepper
1 package Tj's basil chicken sausage
cook on medium heat for 2 min. until the pasta is cooked
topped with Parmesan cheese and parsley

Jeff and I shared a cup of Kashi crackers and hummus. Actually I had about 3 or 4 of these crackers and Jeff had the rest.

Beans and eggs

I roasted some more asparagus tonight that was getting wilted. It wasn't as good as last night, since it was a little soft. I also had half of a Great Harvest whole wheat roll with some strawberry all fruit spread.

Mixed beans with a fried egg. I saw this on Jenna's blog, that she ordered at a restaurant and I thought it looked really good. Her version was with chickpeas, but I only had a can of white beans and a can of mixed marinated beans.

Bean Recipe
1 can white beans
1 can marinated beans
spices; oregano, basil, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper
1 tsp. of pesto
2 TB. diced and sauteed onion
1 red pepper sauteed
Topped with 1 whole egg and 1 egg white

I skipped eating the yolk on mine. I haven't had an egg yolk in such a long time that I think I lost my taste for them.

This dinner combination was so good. I just wish the asparagus would have been fresher.

Dinner was grilled/smoked chicken tenders, grilled zucchini, and pasta.
Pasta recipe (I was using up a lot of different ingredients)
1/4 of a bag of whole wheat orzo
1/4 bag whole wheat elbow pasta
1 cup Tj's garlic spaghetti sauce
diced marinated artichokes
spices; Italian seasoning, basil, oregano, pepper, garlic salt

The chicken tenders were dry on the outside (like jerky) and supper smoky, at least they weren't dry on the inside.

Crock Pot dinner

Tonight's dinner was made in a crock pot. I let some chili simmer all day while I was at work. I was really nervous about leaving it going while I was gone, but it did just fine. It was so yummy, all soft but not mushy, it was cooked perfectly.

This was the most soft a delicious avocado. It was an organic avocado that came in my produce delivery last week. It didn't have a name other than organic and from California.

Dinner was chili with a side salad. The salad was a mix of mixed greens, spinach, soy nuts, the last of a bag of Kashi seven grain crackers (the little tidbits at the bottom of the bag, it added crunch). I tossed it in 1 TB. (for two servings) Drew's smoked tomato dressing and a dollop of the homemade hummus. The hummus just needed a few days to marinate (that was the missing secret ingredient), it had that addictive quality this time. The little cup was some baby dill pickles, Jeff and I shared them.

Chili
a bag from the freezer of my mom's vegetarian chili
(I'm not sure what's in it, since mom cooked it)
I added
1 can black beans
1/2 jar salsa
1/2 can diced tomatoes
1/2 package Tj's ground turkey (the other half from last night)
1 tsp. oregano, cumin, chili pepper, and garlic flakes
1/2 of a diced red pepper
It cooked in the crock pot on low for 10 hrs. It doesn't need to be that long, I was just at work and than working out, so it kept cooking.

Nacho Bake

Tonight I made one of our most favorite meal's, nacho bake. It is so good and pretty healthy too.

1 pkg. Tj's ground turkey (I cooked the whole package, but saved half for tomorrow's recipe)
I added a dash of salt, pepper, and garlic flakes. I also added 1 TB. homemade taco seasoning
cook until the turkey is done

In a casserole pan
1 rst layer Tj's fat free refried beans
2 nd layer Drew's salsa
3 rd layer Guiltless Gourmet chips
4 th layer Amy's refried black beans
5 th layer ground turkey
6 th layer half a can of diced tomatoes
7 th layer Tj's double roasted salsa
8 th layer reduced fat cheddar cheese
9 th layer diced red bell pepper
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 min.
Let cool for 5-10min. and than serve

You can add so many variations to this one, and I have. Some variations might be sour cream, guacamole, different types of peppers. The possibilities are endless, and they all will taste amazing.

Greek night

Dinner was leftover falafel balls with some warmed up whole wheat naan bread. On the side was a bowl of Whole Foods spinach and lentil soup, my favorite. It had spinach, carrots, and celery so I considered that our veggies. Dinner was a little carb heavy but all excellent sources of carbs. And on a side note the falafel balls are really filling, so I only managed to eat two of these.

Salmon sammie

I toasted a piece of Great Harvest honey whole bread in the toaster. I than topped it with the salmon mix, sliced pear on top, a little lettuce (not pictured), and some feta. On the side we shared this plate of organic carrots and celery from my produce delivery today, dipped in some hummus.

Salmon mix
1 can salmon
diced celery, red onion, roasted red pepper, and canned artichoke's
spices: 1tsp. dill and oregano
juice of 1/2 of a lemon
mix together and it's done