The Obligatory New Year Post

Seriously- do you need another post where some blogger tells you how you can make this year so much better?  Well, maybe.  But this isn't it.  I'm just not feeling it.  I am going to try an experiment though.  Because if I am honest, I haven't stayed on my eating plan at all this year.  But for the next few weeks, I am going to eat like a diabetic and log it!  I'm going to see how I feel, how I look, and if it is worth it.  I'm not diabetic anymore.  But I'm going to test the diet and see how I do.  If you want to follow along, I'd love it.  :) 

If You Do What You've Always Done. . .

. . . you will get what you've always got. 

I've been thinking about this phrase a lot lately.  It's true.  If you don't change your habits, you won't change your life.  But I exercise, and I try to eat right.  So why is my weight still a little more than I want it to be?  Why do I lose and return to the same weight?  I started thinking about what it was that I needed to do differently.  To do that I had to look at what I have always done.  Guess what?  What I have always done is obsess about what size I am 'supposed' to be.  That hit me so hard.

I suddenly realized that I have held myself back, because I have talked negatively to myself.  I have allowed my size to decide what I would wear and how I would feel.  I kept myself at a size because I felt I didn't deserve to be anything else.  OH MY!  I did that!

I am a pageant coach.  I teach others to talk nice to themselves, but I didn't do it for myself.  Seriously? So I spent the weekend telling myself what I tell others.  "I am enough."  "I am important." Nobody else really cares what I weigh.  They care about how I make them feel.  They care that I love them.  They care that I am kind.  In heaven, no one is going to ask my BMI.  There is not a scale to enter Heaven.  But there might be a scale that measures my heart and how much and how well I loved my brothers and sisters. 

This weekend I ate what I wanted and refused to feel guilty.  Guess what?  I ate less.  I didn't care about the food as much and it didn't taste as good. 

There was a time when I was really little, as in 108 lbs little. During that time, I don't remember ever once feeling guilty about eating a cookie.  In fact, I don't remember even thinking about my weight.

So I am going to do things differently and I am hoping that I will get different results.  I am going to eat healthy for the sake of being healthy, but I am going to live.  Because in my life, a piece of cake is a must.  And I am not going to feel guilty about that.  I am simply going to be enough, because I am. 

I would really love to hear from you.  What will you do differently? Let's start a conversation.

Very Veggie Lasagna Casserole- And your kids will love it!

This is good stuff.  This is three helpings good.  This is healthy! But don't tell my kids.

This is my Very Veggie Lasagna Casserole.  Seriously, this stuff is loaded with yummy vegetables that my kids normally won't eat.  In fact, it has a veggie in it that I won't eat! As in, it makes me gag to think about eating it.  It took faith to add spinach to this. I hate cooked spinach. H-a-t-e! Would rather do laundry kind of hate. I had two helpings of this, my boys had three each.  And my little princess, who won't eat anything?  Oh, she happily scarfed it down.  Even the baby liked her ground up portion.  The husband had two helpings.  I'm telling you, it's good!

Guess what's in it?  Never mind.  I'll tell you.  :)  I'm generous like that.

Spinach, carrots, zucchini! Can you believe that?  My family ate zucchini and loved it!  I'm seriously doing the happy dance.

So you may remember an earlier post where I told you how to sneak carrots into your ground beef.  If not, you can find that here. That is how I got the carrots in.  The rest- easy peasy.  But no peas.  They wouldn't work in this one.  :)

Very Veggie Lasagna Casserole
1/2 of the meat mixture (found here)
OR
1 lb meat (shred 2 carrots into the meat while it cooks and add 1/2 large onion) cooked and drained.
2 cups of your favorite marinara, spaghetti sauce or even pizza sauce.
        (I used left over home made pizza sauce)
2 cups water with 2 beef bouillon cubes, or 2 cups beef stock
1/2 of a 13.25 oz box of whole wheat penne pasta (I used Barilla)
6 oz Cream Cheese
3/4 C. Cottage Cheese
1 10oz pkg of frozen spinach
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
1 slice swiss cheese (this is how I keep the amount of cheese down. - strong flavor but very little)
1 C. low fat mozzarella cheese divided

 Put the first 4 ingredients in a 4 quart stock pot.  Bring to a boil and turn down the heat to medium low.  While doing that warm up your cream cheese in the microwave so it's very soft.  Stir it until it is very creamy.  I added some basil and oregano to the cream cheese along with some chili powder because my homemade sauce was too bland for my tastes.  But if you are using a commercial spaghetti or marinara sauce, you don't need to do that. Add the cream cheese to the pot along with the cottage cheese and zucchini.  Cover for 5 min.  Now I recommend that you thaw the spinach first, but I didn't remember, so I ran a little hot water over it to remove any ice crystals and tossed it in the pot.  Cook for another 10 min stirring occasionally.  Just before serving add your slice of Swiss and 3/4 C. of mozzarella cheese. Stir in, allowing to melt.  When everything looks creamy pour into your serving dish and top with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese.  Serve.  YUM!

Sneaking in the Veggies

I am making tacos for dinner tonight.  I bet you are wondering why I'm showing a photo of carrots.  Well, I have a secret. When I brown ground beef, I add carrots.  I sneak them in so that my kiddos eat them without knowing it, and I don't have to hear them whine.  I sneak them in so that I can reduce the amount of meat that we eat without anyone missing it.  I sneak them in, because they really enhance the flavor of the meat.  I sneak them in because they are healthy!  Let me show you how.
(I'll post a recipe for lasagna casserole that uses this trick later this week.)

I have this little unit for small chop jobs.

It chops my carrots pretty fine.

I add the carrots and onions to my meat and cook all together.

Yummy ground beef and barely noticeable carrots.

I use:

2 lb. Beef
1 onion
3 extra large carrots
salt and pepper to taste (I actually don't add any. Whatever I am using the meat in will have enough salt)

Finely chop your carrots and chop your onions medium fine.  Combine and cook as you would normally cook your meat.  This is enough meat for 3 meals for my family of 6!

Use for tacos, spaghetti, casserole, hamburger stroganoff, . . . the  possibilities are endless.  Use this same trick for meat loaf and hamburger patties. 

Roasted Corn and Veggie Chowder

Every once in a while I like to play a game called 'how many veggies will fit in one dish?'  This is a game that gets mixed reviews at my house. As long as the family can't see anything offensive they will probably eat it.  If however, the zucchini is distinguishable, I'm in trouble.

In the past, I have not peeled the zucchini before putting it in the brownies.  The family was very suspicious of the green flecks.  When my boys were little they accused me of "feeding them worms" when I tried to use spaghetti squash in place of noodles.  They have warily eyed the "orange" french fries, and they have questioned me in depth over why carrots were in the spaghetti sauce.  Apparently I am not very sneaky.

This time, happily, they didn't ask, and they ate, and ate, and ate.  It was fabulous! So enjoy this chowder, and feel good knowing that your family members are getting their vegetables. :)

This is going to make a very very large amount of soup.  This will feed a crowd.  I had 7 people at dinner, mostly adults. Everyone had seconds and I still had at least 1/2 of the soup left.  I did this on purpose so I could freeze some for a future meal.  However, you can halve or even quarter this recipe and it will be just fine.

If you make this and put it in a slow cooker on warm you could feed the tailgating crowd at the next game.  Serve it with some yummy soft pretzels, and you are tailgate ready.  And if you make your pretzels with whole wheat flour, you have two healthy options, that your friends and family will love.

All of this is going onto the grill

This will be going directly into the broth to boil

just set the veggies right on the grill

yup- 4 slices of bacon. 

4 cups water plus 4 chicken bouillon cubes or 4 cans chicken stock
3-4 cups water
3 cups milk
4 corn cobs (cooked in boiling water and patted dry)
2 large baking potatoes peeled (you can use 3-4, but I try to avoid too much starch)
4-5 large carrots peeled- 3 will be grilled, but chop 2 and set aside- put in the soup pot when you add  the grilled veggies
1 large zucchini peeled, and seeded
1 head of cauliflower chopped
2-3 cups broccoli chopped
2 large stalks of celery chopped
4 slices of bacon (you will think it's not enough.  It really is and you don't need to add more for flavor, so why have the extra fat?)
1 large or 2 small white or yellow onions
1 whole clove garlic
(I didn't end up using the peppers- so they look pretty, but don't really end up in the soup)
4 slices low fat swiss cheese
2 cups cheddar cheese grated
1 8oz package cream cheese
3 teaspoons Old Bay
2-3 bay leaves
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste (I also like to add some white pepper, but it's not strictly necessary.)

Heat your grill to medium low, and place the corn, onions, zucchini, potatoes,carrots, and the garlic on.  I also cooked the bacon on the grill, because the fat drips away, and it's less clean up.  Put the celery, water, bouillon, cauliflower, broccoli and 2 cups of the extra water in a large stock pot and turn it on to simmer.

Once simmering, add the cream cheese and whisk it in so its smooth.  It will look milky in the water.  If it starts to look like it's cooking down too much, add another cup of water.

Once your veggies have nice char marks, remove from grill. Cool for a few minutes so you can handle them, then chop the potatoes, carrots, onions, and zucchini.  Peel and smash the garlic and cut the corn off the cob.  Add all of this along with the carrot slices that you set aside, to the stock pot.  Add your spices and the bay leaves and bring everything to a simmer.  At this point you may need to add 1-2 cups of water.

Let simmer for about 10 minutes, then add your milk and your cheeses.  It's going to start to thicken.  If it doesn't thicken enough, you can add some potato flakes.  You can also use flour or cornstarch, but I figure, since you already have potato starch in the soup, it makes sense to stick with it.

There you are. 

Re-Do the Fridge

It's hard to eat healthy.  This is what we hear, what we tell ourselves and each other.  When we were kids, we didn't have a choice.  If we wanted dessert, we ate our veggies.  Dessert wasn't more than once a week and likely not even that frequent.  Snacks were carrots, oranges, apples and graham crackers.  Because that is what was available to us, that is what we ate.  We had to ask for a cookie, and mom said "no" more than yes.  Why is it that when we grow up we toss these lessons out the window?  Why are we so much more permissive with ourselves?  Is it because we are adults and should be able to do what we want?  Of course it is. But just because we can, doesn't mean we should!

I thought about this for a while, and after talking to a friend, decided that food should not be a power play.  Not for kids and not for adults.  With that in mind, I redid my fridge.  I went to the store, and I bought what I know I should be eating.  I came home and cleaned out the fridge.  I loaded the good food in the fridge in such a way that I see it first.  I also promised myself that I would have 3 healthy snacks before a sugary snack.  The first day was an apple, a carrot, and some grapes.  By the time I got to the brownie, I took one bite and I was done.  Success!!!!!

So here is the challenge:  Clean out your fridge.  Repack it with healthy food.  Allow yourself a treat, but only after 3 healthy snacks.  Follow the rules you followed as a child.  I'm hoping to find my childhood metabolism. lol.  :)  Then send me a photo of your newly re-done fridge! 

On a side note- my grocery bill was actually smaller and I didn't use coupons!

"Breaded" Grilled Salmon

I'm on a salmon kick.  When my hubby wants to say "I love you," he will bring me a salmon.  Okay- we aren't bears.  But, if he happens to be at Costco, he will pick one up for me.  He doesn't like fish, so he brings it to me knowing that I will cook it for dinner and he will have to cook for himself.  So I think that he brings me a salmon to show me he loves me.  :)

Anywhoooooo, he brought me a beautiful looking fillet the other day.  I wanted breaded, fried, yummy fish.  I also really do want to eat healthier and get the waistline back to my version of perfect.  Dipping a fish into a vat of fat doesn't seem like the best way to accomplish those two goals.  But I like food! A Lot!

I decided to grill my fish, but also to lightly bread it.  The result?  Wonderful.  I do love a good salmon!

So the recipe I used for seasoning the salmon is here.  I made this Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon last year and blogged it for you then, but I didn't put the ingredients into an easy to read form.  Shame on me!  That is so rude.  So here you go.  I hope this is a little better.  :)

Spices:
 juice from 1 fresh lemon or 1 Tbl. lemon juice
Old Bay (you will just sprinkle on top- so no real measurement, but I'd guesstimate 1 tsp.
1/2 tsp. garlic powder or 1 tsp. garlic salt (reducing the sea salt if you use this)
2 tsp. dried parsley
1/4 - 1/2 tsp chili powder
Pepper (again, sprinkle it over- not a real measurement)
Salt (see above)
1 Tbl. splenda or honey
1-2 Tbl Olive Oil

Drizzle Olive oil and honey (or sprinkle splenda) over your fillet.  Then drizzle the Lemon Juice over the salmon.  Next, sprinkle all other ingredients on the fillet, making sure to cover the entire fillet.

To bread the fish:

Sprinkle 3 Tbl. panko on top of fish.  That is all, just 3 table spoons.  Heat that grill up to between 375-450 and place your fillet on  a piece of aluminum foil that has been sprayed with cooking oil.  Place on the grate.  Cook until the meat is opaque and flaky.  (Should register 145 on a meat thermometer.)

I spiced and breaded both sides and sprayed with a little Pam before setting on the grill.  I did not need to turn the meat.  It got a nice brown crispness without turning. It tasted like a yummy breaded fish fillet, with hardly any actual breading. Nice for someone watching their carb intake. Clean-up was a breeze too. 

Healthier Salmon Croquettes Anytime

A strange thing happened.  I had left over salmon and a left over baked potato in my fridge on the same day.  These are two items that I don't usually have as left overs, let alone at the same time.  I got an idea!  Generally I would feed the left over salmon to the dog.  I know- really expensive meat to feed to a dog, but it usually tastes and smells too 'fishy' for me after the initial meal.  But this fillet was really fresh and it didn't smell or taste funny and there was a lot of it left.  So I decided to make croquettes.

Croquettes are little fish patties that are breaded and fried and greasy and wonderful.  They are not diet friendly, even if it is fish. Additionally, they are usually made with mayonnaise and and cracker or bread crumbs.  I thought I could do a bit better, so I nixed the mayo, opting for Greek yogurt instead.  I ground up a nice big carrot and cut up my left over potato and added a smidgen of panko.  I also added green onion, and celery.  Then I decided to bake them instead of fry them.

Yummy- and my house doesn't smell like grease.  Bonus! Anyway, you try them and tell me what you think.  I'd love to hear how it turns out for you. :)

Patties:
1 Salmon fillet, cooked. or (I would guess) 2 cans of canned salmon - but fresh will give better texture.
1 potato baked, peeled and cubed
1 large carrot, run through a food processor to get a very fine dice
1 celery 
2 green onions
2-3 tbl. of Panko, or bread crumbs, or smashed crackers
1 egg
1 Tbl. Old Bay (I love this stuff. I put it on everything.)
2 Tbl fresh parsley or 1/2 to 1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp white pepper
2 shakes of cayenne (If you like it hot, go ahead and add more. I was looking for flavor, not heat.)
1 container of plain Greek yogurt (6 oz) 
1 Tbl. lemon juice
(Breading will follow)

Put all ingredients in a gallon sized zip sealed bag and mush it up. You can put it in your mixer and use a paddle attachment to get a very fine texture, but I like my meat chunky.  Mush it until incorporated and it will form a ball.  If it is too loose add some more lemon juice and yogurt.  If it's too wet, you can add more Panko.

Form the mixture into 1/8 cup sized balls, (a little bigger than a walnut).  Flatten but don't smash. Place on a cookie sheet and freeze.

Breading:

2 eggs
1 cup water
1/2 package of  panko crumbs
either 1/2 package of a commercially produced fry mix
or
1 cup flour seasoned with salt and pepper and cayenne ( you can also add a little cornmeal)

Combine the eggs and water and whisk. In a separate bowl combine your flour and panko.
Take each salmon patty and dip first in the egg wash and then in the flour.  I like to use one hand to do the wet, and one to do the dry, so that I don't end up with a gummy flour mess.  Return the patties to the cookie sheet as you go.

I froze most of the patties at this point, so I could have some quick meals in the future.  But even if you don't plan on doing that, put them back in the freezer for another 20 min. You don't have to do this step, but it is easier.

When you are ready, spray some cooking oil on a baking sheet and place your patties on the sheet.  Then spray the patties with some of the cooking oil. 

Bake at 425 for 20-24 min., turning once at about 16 minutes.

Awesome Crusty Bread

 

The other day, my husband made bread.  He never makes bread.  Bread is my thing.  I'm good at it.  I'm really good at it.  When you love to eat something, you get good at making it.  But, like I said, he made bread.  He made it in the dutch oven in the regular oven.  It was crusty and the crumb was nice and filled with holes.  I couldn't stop eating it.  The only problem, it took 14 hours!  Seriously?  Who has that sort of time?

So I decided to make bread in the dutch oven, in the oven and see if mine would turn out also.  I did not have a dough that started with a preferment, so I used more yeast and a little sugar. It came out crusty and beautiful, but the crumb was much tighter.  It was still great.  Absolutely wonderful with a nice cheesy soup.  I think I prefer the other bread for dipping in fondue though.  So if you have the time, make this: http://www.copykat.com/2013/01/13/no-knead-bread/ .

If you don't have 14 hours, make the one I made, which is also good.  Mine does incorporate some whole wheat flour, because the whole grains are so much better for you.  :)


3 cups warm water
1 pkg. quick yeast
1 egg
1/3 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. sugar (optional)

Let these ingredients rest until the yeast starts to bubble and smell yeasty.

Add
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour

mix and stir in

2 teaspoons salt

Add flour until dough pulls from the sides of the mixer (about 4-5) [you can also add oat flour.]

Place bread in a greased bowl and sprinkle with flour.  Cover with a towel and place in a warm spot to raise.  Once raised punch down and split in half.  Place on a towel sprinkled with flour to prevent sticking and sprinkle with a little more flour.  Place another towel on top.

While it's raising,  place a  Dutch oven, in the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Heat the pot for at least 30 minutes. Remove the pot from the oven and uncover it.  Remove the top towel and with your hand under the other towel carefully flip the dough over into the pot. Place the lid back on the pot, and place into the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the pot lid and bake an additional 10 to 20 minutes, until the bread is brown and makes a hollow sound when tapped.

You do not need to grease the dutch oven.  Heating the dutch oven ahead of time will prevent sticking.  :)

How to get all that Protein on a Budget

 Dieters and diabetics alike eat protein!  It keeps us full, it keeps us happy and it doesn't cause sugar spikes.  For most people protein means meat.  Meat is expensive!  One of the biggest reasons that people think they can't stick to a healthy living plan, is how expensive healthy food is.  Mac-n-cheese is cheap.  Steak is not.  Even Chicken is so expensive, unless you are willing to buy the whole bird, and a dieter usually only wants the white meat. And then there is the "the-hormones-in-the-meat-are-making-us-fat" argument.  I don't know if that is true or not.  This is what I know:

1) I want to eat.
2) I want it to taste good.
3) I want it to be healthy to fuel my body.
4) I want to cook one meal for the whole family (see number 2).
5) I want to be able to afford to eat this way.

I don't consider any of these wants unreasonable.  But to accomplish them all, I buy in bulk.  I buy from a place called Zaycon foods.  I buy the beef which is 97/3 and tasty.  I buy the chicken, which is boneless, skinless, hormone free and not previously frozen- so fresh.  I do buy it in 40 lb increments. It is worth it to me.  I get it home and repackage the meat into quart sized freezer bags and I add marinades to about 1/2 of what I get.  That way, I take a package out of the freezer in the morning and by dinner time, I have a nice marinated chicken breast to cook up.  Easy!  I pay $1.00-$2.00 less per pound by doing this.  When you buy 80 lbs of meat that adds up!  I think it takes my family of 6 3-5 months to go through this much chicken.  Although, some days we are having beef, but we mostly eat chicken.

For me the quality is better that my local grocery store and the price is lower, so it is worth the extra work of rebagging. I know for others this is not the case, but for me it works.

What do you do to keep the cost of eating correctly down?

By the way, I am including a link to Zaycon Foods here for you.  Go ahead and take a look.  See if they deliver in your area of the country. If so, give it a try and let me know what you think.  They have a lot of great products.  And before anyone asks, NO! +Zaycon Foods  did not pay me to write this. Yes! I like the service that much! And the only sort of compensation I might get is that if you buy something, and go through my link, I get $1.00 off on my next order.  It is not enough for me to write a blog post.  I have to actually like them.  :)

https://www.zayconfoods.com/refer/zf1982

Rochelle's Pumpkin Cowboy Cookies

I firmly believe that everyone needs a treat every once in a while.  For me, it's the "once in a while" that does me in.  I really really like sugar.  Such a hard thing to give up.  Now that I am not diabetic anymore, it is really hard to make myself stay away from the sugar.  I keep trying, and trying, and trying.  I'm doing really well with exercise, averaging 8-10 miles of walking or running a day, but the sugar . . . I do love it.  

You probably think this post is going to be for a low sugar low calorie treat.  I'm sorry.  You're wrong.  This is about one of my favorite yummy treats.  I know.  Cruel.   How about this.  I promise that I will produce some nice, healthy, low calorie, diet friendly, diabetic friendlier recipes in the next few weeks.  :)  For now, enjoy this fun treat, but only eat 2 and then give the rest away.  Your neighbors will like you, and you will still get to enjoy a little bit of the sweet life.  :)


Here it is. Rochelle's Pumpkin Cowboy Cookies
1/2 c butter (do not sub margarine)
1/2 c shortening. (Can use all butter but will stay softer with the shortening)
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 large eggs
2/3-3/4 cup pumpkin purée. (I used fresh so don't ask me the can size but its probably that amount that is always left over after you make a pie. Lol). You could also sub a jar if baby food sweet potatoes or yams.
Cream and beat everything til it looks silky like creamed honey butter

Add
1/2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 T vanilla
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t cloves
1/4 t allspice
Pinch of ginger

Cream until light and fluffy

Add

2 1/2 c flour ( go ahead and make the 1/2 cup whole wheat. Then you can pretend these are healthy.)
3 c granola type cereal. I like the great grains pecan).
Or
2 c old fashioned oats

Also add 1 bag butterscotch chips
1 bag semi sweet chips.

Or
1 c craisins
1 bag white choc chips.

Bake 350 for 10-12 min.

Fresh Spring Rolls

I love Pad Thai Fresh Rolls.  They are Ah-Mazing!  They are also really diet friendly.  I like diet friendly.  You get to eat a lot of food for not too many calories.  It's a definite win.  They don't make fantastic left-overs, so if you make them, you should plan to eat them, or just know that tomorrow they will be good- but not great.  They aren't difficult to make, but they do take some time.  If you have a spouse that likes to spend time with you in the kitchen- or you are looking for a good date idea, these would be fun to make together. :)

I'm going to give an ingredient list, but you put in what you like.  These are adaptable to suit your tastes.

Fresh Rolls
1 pkg. rice paper wrappers (look in the Asian foods section of your local grocer)
1 pkg of mung bean noodles (these are dry in the Asian foods section)
2 carrots peeled and julienne cut
1 cucumber peeled, seeded and julienne cut
4-5 large leaves of lettuce Chopped (try romaine)
4-5 pieces of cooked bacon, cut in half and then sliced into thin strips
1 green onion
1 small bunch cilantro or mint leaves
1 avocado

Sauce
2-3 Tbl. Rice vinegar
2-3 Tbl. Sesame Oil

1 Tbl. Soy Sauce
1 Heaping Tbl. Peanut butter
2 tsp. honey
1 Tbl. brown sugar
1 Tbl. minced garlic
dash of red pepper flakes

Method

Place the bean noodle in a bowl of cold water for 10 min.  Then drain and transfer to a bowl of hot water for 4-5 minutes, Drain.  (I do the soaking while I'm chopping my veggies.)

Line up all your ingredients on the counter assembly style.

Place hot water in a bowl.  Next to that place 2 paper towels.  Take your rice papers out of the package.  Take the first paper and dip it into the bowl of water.  Don't wait for it to get soft.  If you do, it will break when you try to fill it.  Just dip it in and set it on the paper towels.  Now place a few pieces of mint or cilantro on the bottom 1/3 of the paper.  Add some carrots, cucumber,  bacon, onion, and the noodles. Now you add the  lettuce and the avocado.  Fold each side in and then roll the paper around the ingredients.  (Think of wrapping a burrito).

Set on a plate and do the next one.  You can really only do one at a time, because you don't want wet rice paper waiting around for you.  It would get too soft.  This recipe should make about 12, so that is four servings.

For the sauce:
Just combine all the ingredients and wisk.  Taste it.  If you need more sweet add sugar or honey.  If you need more salt, add soy sauce.  You can use fish sauce, but I don't usually have that on hand.  :)

For fun you can crush some peanuts to serve with the rolls.  You dip first in the sauce, then in the peanuts.  It's super yummy.  :)

Taco Salad Too

 

I know that I have already posted my favorite Taco Salad recipe, but I thought I would add another that I also enjoy.  

Taco Salad
1lb. ground beef (Or Turkey or chicken- whatever makes you happy)
1/2 fajita seasoning packet
1/2 ranch seasoning packet
2 Tbl. Ketchup (I know, back with the ketchup, but this is a kid friendly recipe)

Cook your meat till it's all nice and brown. Drain. Add 2/3 cup water and the seasoning packets and ketchup. Cook until the liquid has reduced. Set aside.

Shred a head of Romain Lettuce and place in bowl. Add any of the following:

Tomato
Black Beans/kidney beans
green onions
1 c. cheddar cheese
1/2 c. pepper jack cheese
1 can corn, cooked and cooled
1 avocado

I also added some "Mexican" rice. Meaning, I had cooked rice in the fridge, so I added some salsa to it and heated it up and added it. Honestly delicious.

I also had pity on my family. I took 1 bag (the size you put in sack lunches) of Doritos. I crushed them and added to the salad. I mean the small bag- the really small bag. This is supposed to be healthy but easing a family into it is easier than all that change at once. ;)

Mix it all up and serve. Makes a delicious salad, and not delicious leftovers, so if you want left overs, keep everything separate and allow people to load their plates buffet style. :)

Asian Chicken Salad

Asian Chicken Salad

2 large chicken breasts
your favorite Asian marinade. I used Yoshida's Sweet and Savory
Marinade for 24 hrs. Don't skip this step!

After 24 hrs. cut into bite sized pieces and cook on the stove top.
toward the end of the chicken cooking, I added water chestnuts. I am not sure if they should be eaten straight out of the can, so I cooked them.

While the chicken is cooking I put some Olive oil (I have also used wok oil and it is yummy) in a pan and heat it. Then I throw in some raw almonds. (By some, I mean 3 1/2 of my handfuls. I have small hands. That is the best measurement I can give you.)

I sprinkle with garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt and pepper and a few dashes of paprika. You might be able to skip the paprika. I like it. I cook until golden and shiny. (Okay, I taste one.)

When done, set aside.

Dressing: (I realize the quantities aren't precise- but the fact that I remember them all is a miracle, so go with it.) :)

about 1/4 cup rice vinegar (this is the most important ingredient and no other vinegar will work)
about 3 Tb. soy sauce
about 2 Tb. Honey
1 tsp ginger (or less)
You can add some orange juice, I'd say 2-3 Tb.

Wisk together and set aside.

When ready to eat lay your lettuce in a bowl, add all the yummy veggies that you want, carrots, snow peas (okay I hate snow peas, but Seth likes them) green onions etc. Peel and slice oranges and lay on top and then add your almonds. Now put your meat over the top, (and your water chestnuts obviously). Give your dressing another quick wisk and drizzle over the top.

Delish. 

I also serve with some chow mein noodles, because everyone seems to like that. :)

Cheeseburger Salad

Cheeseburger-Salad

A fun recipe for you.  I have some friends who have tried it, and their boys now ask for it.  Yup!  That's boys asking for salad.  I'm telling you, this is good stuff, and sooooo easy!

Seriously, this is more a guide than a recipe. Its sort of 'a little of this, a little of that' in nature. I'll tell you how I did it, and you can make it work for your family. :)

1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 small or 1/2 large yellow or white onion
cook together in a frying pan

When the meat is done add:
About 3 Tbl. Ketchup
about 1 Tbl. Mustard (yellow prepared mustard, just the plain stuff)
about 1 1/2 tsp pickle juice (Dill)
Cook and stir and taste. If it needs more of anything add it. don't get it too wet though.

To your lettuce add:
3-4 pickles chopped
1 large tomato chopped
1 avocado chopped (I LOVE avocados! I use them for everything!)

Put your hamburger (or turkey) mixture on top. Add about 2 cups of Med. cheddar cheese grated.

You can serve with some home-made croutons.

I served with Ketchup on top, but you can use thousand Island or Ranch or nothing. The meat has plenty of flavor. I actually think some french fries or potato chips would be tasty, but I am not advocating it. lol.

Cheeseburger-Salad