BBQ Chicken and Lentil Chili-In the Slow Cooker!

Yet another recipe born of necessity. I'm recovering from several back to back trips, and still haven't made it to the store this week. What's in the pantry and freezer? Chicken. BBQ Sauce. BBQ Seasoning and Rub. Now, admittedly, I could have gone conventional and made some grilled or broiled chicken with BBQ sauce. No complaints there, BUT in the spirit of cooking something clever (and not having to mess with much once I got home from work!), I thought to slow cook the chicken in the slow cooker, effectively making pulled chicken, then make it into some kind of chili. I couldn't find any cans of beans, but I did have some dried lentils, a can of tomatoes with green chile, some leftover low-sodium Fritos, plus a little shredded cheese and chives. Who would have thought 1) BBQ+Chili=YUM! 2) Lentils make good chili beans! Try this and your tummy will be happy. My husband literally did a "happy dance" and finished the rest of the pot!

To Slow Cooker, Add:

3 boneless chicken breasts
1 can mild tomatoes and green chiles
2 tsp BBQ seasoning/rub (being a KC native, I used Gates, which you can find here: Gates BBQ)

Cook on Low for 8-9 hours. Shred chicken in pot. Add to pot:

3/4 c. dried lentils
1 c. beef broth
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. BBQ sauce (again, I used Gates)
1-3 tsp more BBQ rub/seasoning, depending on taste and how salty your rub may be

Cook on High 1.5-2 more hours. Top with spicy southwestern Fritos (recipe follows) and some shredded cheese, sour cream, crackers, chives, whatever you've got that sounds good to you!

Serves: 2 if eating just as a bowl of Chili (or if your spouse is really hungry ;) ), up to 4 if eating more as a Frito pie topping with mostly Fritos and toppings.

Spicy Southwestern Fritos:

1 1/2 c. low sodium Fritos (about half a regular bag)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ground chipotle pepper
1 Tbs Jalapeno Cheddar popcorn sprinkle powder
Cooking Spray

Open all seasonings. Lightly spray Fritos with cooking spray and shake in a large bowl to distribute. Add seasoning powder and shake/mix well. Add to chili above or eat on their own. Delicious!

Quick Greek Chicken & Grain Salad

This is something I threw together on a Sunday for some healthy lunches during the week.

1c. Pedon 10 minute Italian 5 grain mix (from Costplus here)
      (this is a par-cooked blend of spelt, barley, whole grain long rice, kamut wheat and oats)
2c. Beef stock/broth

Cook grains in microwave or stove according to package direction. While grains are cooking, prepare the rest of the salad, mixing together:

1 cucumber, diced, ends discarded
1/2 onion, diced (white or red)
1 (6oz) carton reduced-fat feta cheese
1 (12.5 oz) can chicken, broken up somewhat (usually happens enough when mixing)
1 can sliced black olives
11/2 Tbs Greek Seasoning  (I use Mt. Eolus from Savory Spice shop here)
1/3 c. red wine vinegar (plus more to taste)
2/3 c. olive oil (plus more to taste)
salt and pepper to taste

Add cooked grains to salad mix, mixture, mix well, and it's ready to eat! Add more olive oil/vinegar to taste, depending on how much 'dressing' you want. I refrigerated mine overnight to let the flavors meld, so if you have time I recommend that. Also, in the spirit of my favorite "nest" concept, and adding more healthy veggies, I ate it on top of a bed of spinach. This makes about 4 servings.

Chickpea Goat Cheese Salad in Pita Pockets

So easy, my husband assembled it! Again, from my pins, I had this recipe: Chickpea Salad that I wanted to try. I pretty much followed the recipe, except using US measurements and using Greek Yogurt in place of the mayo. It turned out really delicious! All you do is chop some lettuce and slice a little onion, then dump all the ingredients in a bowl and mix!

We doubled it but only used 1/2 onion total, and there's enough for 4-6 servings (depending on if they are husband- or wife-sized). I'm having it for lunch today in half of a whole wheat pita pocket. Super stoked as I tasted a bit this morning while transferring to a lunch sized plastic container and it's delicious and amazingly goat-cheesy considering the amount that's in it.

Cauliflower Carbona of Course

I've had this Cauliflower "Alfredo" sauced pinned for a bit, and I've been wanting to try it. Who doesn't want a healthy way to get their creamy pasta sauce on!?! I have to say, I definitely give this a 10/10...it's amazingly velvety and rich-tasting. I followed the exact recipe above, adding a Tbs or two of Olive Oil and maybe 1/4 c. of Parmesan cheese to the puree. What did I use it in? Well, Carbonara of Course!

I just cooked up some whole wheat linguine, fried 6 slices of bacon cut into 1" strips, then sautéed mushrooms in 1/3 of the bacon grease+1 Tbs of Olive Oil, adding a tsp or so of Rosemary leaves and salt and pepper to taste. I also had a small amount (maybe 1/4c) of frozen peas, so I tossed those in with the mushrooms too.

In the spirit of my earlier Spinach Noodle Nests, I placed the pasta on a bed of spinach (why not, it's an extra veggie and texture, and I love the hybrid pasta bowl/salad mixture!!), then topped with some sauce, mushroom mix, a bit more sauce, and then topped with 5-6 of the 1" pieces of crispy bacon. Yum-o! It made about 4 servings, with plenty of sauce left over to freeze (yes, reviewers say it freezes well). I see a Cauliflower crust white pizza in our future...

Italian Spinach Noodle Nests

Per my husband, this recipe is "definitely blog-worthy." I think he wants to make sure that I don't forget what I did so that I can make it again. It's a hazard of being a "kitchen-sink" cook-I just make stuff off the top of my head quite often, and unless I archive it in writing, I'll never remember what I made "You know, that one time, it was like lemony with spinach..?" Haha, so here it is, blogged for posterity! I need to remember to take photos next time...

This is a light, lemony, slightly salty and herby Italian noodle dish playing on the Asian noodle bowls that consist predominantly of vegetables. In this case, a mixture of chicken sausage and mushrooms top salty linguine and lemony spinach greens. The "pop" of the mushrooms in your mouth, with the tender pasta and crisp lettuce is a killer texture and flavor combo!

Ingredients:

5oz. spinach leaves, rinsed and ready to eat
2 lemons
1 Tbs garlic juice (from jarred minced garlic)
1/2 pkg whole wheat linguine
5 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), divided
2 pkgs mushrooms, sliced 1/4" thick
3 chicken sausages (I used roasted red pepper), sliced 1/4" thick
1 tsp rosemary leaves
1/2 tsp all-purpose salt blend (My favorite kitchen staple is Mt. Elbert, from Savory Spice Shop here)
3 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbs butter
sea salt and pepper to taste
Julienned sundried tomatoes and parsley for garnish

1. Set pot of water on to boil. Once boiling, add linguine and cook 7 minutes to al dente.
2. While pasta is cooking, add butter, 2 Tbs EVOO, sliced mushrooms, sliced chicken sausage and garlic to pan. Sprinkle rosemary and salt blend over mixture and sauté covered until mushrooms are soft but still textured, about 5 minutes.
3. Prepare salad mixture for base of "nests": toss spinach with the juice of 1.5 lemons and garlic juices and add to serving bowls, making a dent in the center of the spinach mound to place pasta.
4. Drain pasta and add back into hot cooking pan. Add remaining 3 Tbs EVOO and salt and pepper to taste to the noodles. They should be on the salty side as this is the primary salt element in the dish.
5. Add 1/4 of noodles to center of spinach to make "nest"
6. Top with mushroom and sausage mixture, garnish with sundried tomatoes and parsley and enjoy!

It'za Meatball Stromboli!

This recipe was inspired by my recent travels, where I encountered an awesome restaurant (with delivery service to the hotel) that served a hotdog, topped with mozzarella cheese, wrapped in pizza dough, with marinara dipping sauce. Um, yeah. Pretty delicious.

Fast forward to the next week, when I'm home and thinking, "Man, that was a good recipe, but I don't want to eat a hotdog again. The mozzarella's a low fat cheese, I'm sure I could make whole wheat pizza dough, buy pasta sauce, add some veggies...if only I could think of a healthy substitute protein." Cue frozen turkey meatballs. Now we're in business! I did make my own pizza dough in my bread machine the day before I planned to serve the strombolis, but if you could find it, store-bought would probably be (almost) as healthy and delicious.

First, the pizza dough:

Into bread machine, add:

2/3 c. warm water
1/2 tsp. honey or sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3/4c. white or bread flour
1 c. + 2 Tbs whole wheat flour
4 Tbs ground flaxseed
1 1/4 tsp yeast


Now, the assembly. You will need:

Pizza dough (1 lb)
20 turkey meatballs
1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1c. pepperoncini peppers, drained
1 1/4 tsp. Italian herbs
1 1/4 tsp. Garlic powder
1 jar marinara or other red pasta sauce, for dipping.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Separate the pizza dough into 5 pieces.
3. Flour the counter and a rolling pin and roll each dough ball out to about 1/8" thickness, big enough to fit four meatballs across and roll. (I do steps 3-7 one stromboli at a time). You're going to eat them, so they don't have to be pretty, just big enough to contain the goodness.
4. Add 1/4c mozzarella cheese, 4 meatballs, Italian herbs, Garlic Powder and pepperoncinis to each dough round/rectangle.
5. Roll up each Stromboli, with the 4 meatballs in a line. Tuck in the sides first, then gently stretch the dough over the meatballs and roll until the other end meets the dough.
6. Poke 3 small vent holes in the top of each Stromboli. Make sure ends are sealed by pinching closed any open sides.
7. Place Strombolis on baking sheet (seam side down), spray the tops lightly with cooking spray, and sprinkle with 3-4 strands of mozzarella cheese.
8. Bake for 18 minutes, or until golden brown and heated through.
9. Serve with warmed marinara sauce.

(Insert Fruit Here) Nut Superfood Muffins

Since I love to bake, but am consistently frustrated with the lack of healthy options to make homemade deliciousness, I started experimenting with recipes until I found a winner. I started with a basic whole wheat banana muffin recipe for 12 muffins, found here: hungryandfit.com.

Some combinations I like: Banana/Walnut, Pineapple/Macadamia (omit cinnamon and nutmeg and use coconut instead of vanilla extract). I would also think Blueberry/Almond (almond extract in place of vanilla), Cherry/Almond (almond extract in place of vanilla) would be good. I may even have to try some kind of chocolate rendition...great idea for another post! I calculated these right at 200 fabulously healthy calories each.

Here's my recipe:

1c whole wheat flour
1/2 c oats (instant or regular)
1/4c ground flaxseed
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2-3 dashes nutmeg
1/3c olive oil
2/3c honey
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 mashed very ripe bananas or ~3/4c. mashed/crushed fruit of your choice
1/4-1/2c nuts of your choice

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease muffin tin.
2. Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl (where the entire mix will eventually end up): whole wheat flour, oats, flaxseed, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg.
3. Measure honey and olive oil (hint: add 1/3c oil first into measuring cup, then add honey until the total liquid reaches the 1 cup mark. The honey will pour out much easier this way).
4. Mix honey and olive oil together until well blended. Beat in eggs.
5. Add vanilla and fruit to egg mixture and stir in.
6. Pour wet ingredients into the dry flour mixture.
7. Add nuts to mixture.
8. Stir until just combined and then pour into muffin tin, with cups about 2/3 full.
9. Bake 18-22 minutes until browned and toothpick inserted in middle of center muffin pulls out clean of batter.