Chicken Broccoli & Mushroom Stir Fry

I'm still alive! I've been trying to meals but I've been lacking the time to blog. I'll try to keep up with it so you can have some healthy new meals to try, too!

Tonight I made Chicken Broccoli & Mushroom Stir Fry. I LOVE IT! You can find the original here. Below is how I made mine. I used what I had on hand. 

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into ¾" pieces
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ cup tamari sauce (natural version of soy sauce)
• 2 medium garlic cloves, grated
• 2 Tbsp cooking oil (I used extra light olive oil), divided
• 6 cups broccoli 
• 1 small onion, sliced
• ¾ lb (12 oz) white button mushrooms, sliced

 

1. Trim chicken breast of any excess fat and pat dry with paper towels. In a medium bowl, toss chicken breast with ¼ cup flour until evenly coated. Remove chicken to a plate (leave remaining flour in the bowl - you'll use it for the sauce)
2. To make the sauce: in the bowl with remaining flour, add 1 cup chicken stock, ¼ cup honey, ¼ cup tamari sauce, 2 cloves grated garlic and stir until smooth. Set aside.
3. Heat a wok or large heavy-bottomed skillet on medium high heat and add 1 Tbsp olive oil. Once oil is hot, add chicken pieces and spread out evenly. Let chicken sit for a minute before stirring, then stir fry 5 minutes or until browned. Remove chicken from heat and set aside.
4. Add another 1 Tbsp of oil to the pan. Once oil is hot, add small broccoli florets, onions and sliced mushrooms to the pan and stir-fry 4 minutes, or until mushrooms are softened and broccoli is crisp-tender.
5. Stir the sauce again then pour it your hot vegetables. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Simmer 2 minutes or until sauce is thickened then toss in chicken and cook another 30 seconds or until heated through. Season to taste with salt if needed

Healthy Pancakes

My kids are always begging for pancakes...and not a healthy kind. Of course I refuse to make the kind from the box so I started searching for an alternative that we would all enjoy. Luckily, I found one on the website - Sally's Baking Addiction!

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/3 cups (167g) whole wheat flour (or white whole-wheat)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 large egg (or 2 egg whites)
• 1 cup (240ml) milk*
• 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large banana)
• 2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar (or light brown)
• 1/4 cup (63g) Greek yogurt*
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup add-ins like chocolate chips or fruit, optional

Directions:

Toss the flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Set aside. In a separate medium bowl, whisk the egg, milk, and banana together. Whisk in the brown sugar and yogurt until no lumps remain. Whisk in the vanilla until combined.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients in. Stir gently until just combined. Do not overmix the batter or your pancakes will be tough and very dense. Add any mix-ins you prefer, but again - do not overmix the batter.

Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat. Coat generously with cooking spray, oil, or butter.  Once very hot, drop about 1/4 cup of batter on the griddle. Cook until the edges look dry and bubbles begin to form on the center or sides, about 1 minute. Flip and cook on the other side until cooked through, about 2 more minutes. Coat griddle/skillet again with nonstick spray for each pancake or batch of pancakes.

Keep pancakes warm in a preheated 200F degree oven until all pancakes are cooked. Serve immediately. Pancakes taste best right after they are made. Pancakes freeze well, up to 2 months.

*Recipe tested with both skim and vanilla almond milks. Soy milk, 1%, 2%, 

Banana Bread

I returned from vacation to find 6 brown bananas on my counter. They needed used and I just happened to come across Emily Fonnesbeck's recipe. The only thing I did differently was use whole wheat flour and add bittersweet dark chocolate chips. If you haven't checked out Emily yet, you must. She is phenomenal. Okay, so I haven't actually met her but I plan to one day...and maybe do an internship with her when I finally return to school! A girl can dream...

Here is her recipe:

JC's Banana Bread 

2 ½ cups rice flour

½ tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

6 ripe bananas

2 eggs

¼ cup oil

1 tsp vanilla

Combine rice flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. In a blender, place bananas, egg, oil and vanilla and blend to mix. Add banana mixture to rice flour mixture and stir to combine. Place in greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

Enjoy!

Emily Fonnesbeck RD, CD, CLT

Ratatouille

My New Hampshire family sent us home with all kinds of yummy veggies from their garden. I knew exactly what I needed to make and we watched Ratatouille while we ate! I used this recipe but deviated just a bit.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sized tomatoes, greens removed
• 1 bulb garlic, tip cut off to expose cloves on top
• 1 eggplant
• 2 zucchini (unpeeled)
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 very large carrot
• 2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoon olive oil + additional for drizzling
• 2 tablespoons leaves thyme
• 1 tablespoon leaves oregano
• 1 teaspoon basil

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 °F. Roast the tomatoes and garlic bulb (drizzled with a touch of olive oil) for 45 minutes to 60 minutes, or until skins on tomatoes are very wrinkly and darkened, and the garlic is caramelized and fragrant. Remove from the oven, let cool and then remove skins from the tomatoes and the roasted garlic cloves from the bulb.
2. Decrease your oven temp to 375 °F. Slice the eggplant, zucchini, sweet potato, and carrot into even slices, about 1/6 to 1/4 of an inch thick.
3. In a food processor, blend the roasted tomatoes and garlic along with the tomato paste, sea salt, basil, and 2 tablespoons olive oil until very smooth. Spread 3/4 of the sauce into the bottom of a lightly oiled ceramic oven safe dish. Arrange the sliced vegetables into a spiral ring, alternating the colors to create an eye-catching pattern. Drizzle with olive oil (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) and the remainder of the sauce. Top with fresh thyme and oregano.
4. Top with a layer of parchment paper to cover and bake in preheated oven for 55 minutes. Let cool and then serve alone or on a bed of mashed potatoes, quinoa, forbidden rice, or your favorite grain.

Zucchini Boats

A friend gave me a recipe and I LOVED it. So did my family and neighbor! This time I made a few adjustments to make it a little more healthy. Give it a try!

Ingredients:

• 4-6 Zucchini
• 1/2 lb ground turkey
• 3/4 -1 C of salsa
• 1/2-1 C of cooked quinoa
• 1 can diced tomatoes, no salt added, drained
• 1/4 C minced fresh cilantro
• 1/2 tsp chili powder (homemade) - use more if you like a little more kick
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 C shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Cut  zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out pulp, leave 1/4" in shells. 
2. Place shells in an ungreased 3 qt microwave save dish. Cover and microwave on high for 3 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain and set aside. 
3. Meanshile in a large skillet, cook turkey over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Remove from heat and stir in quinoa, cilantro, chili powder, cumin and tomatoes. Scoop into zucchini shells.
4. Microwave, uncovered on high for 2-4 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Microwave for another 30 seconds to melt the cheese and zucchini are tender. 

Enjoy!!

Crockpot Pasta 2

I love my crock pot. I can't believe it took me so long to start using it. This recipe was simple, adds quite a few veggies and the kids had no problems finishing their bowls...because it's pasta. Here is the original recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 onion, diced
• 2-3 cups baby carrots
• 3 cups spinach, chopped
• 5 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 can beans, rinsed and drained, low sodium
• 1 can diced tomatoes, no salt added
• 2 cups chicken or veggie broth, low sodium
• 3 Tsp oregano
• 2 Tsp parsley
• 1/2 Tsp Sriracha 
• 1/2 jar of organic spaghetti sauce, low sodium (or home made sauce)
• 8 oz of pasta (I used a quinoa pasta)

Directions:

1. Brown turkey.
2. Add everything to the crock pot except the pasta. 
3. Cook on low 7-8 hours or high 4-5 hours.
4. During last 30 minutes on high or 1 hour on low, add pasta.

Healthy Enchilada Bake

It's been a while since I posted a new recipe. I admit I've been a little lazy on trying new recipes. I've been recreating the ones my family enjoys. I finally tried something new! I didn't deviate from the original recipe too much. I used half the amount of cheese and I topped the recipe with the extra enchilada sauce. I hope you enjoy!!

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
2 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, seeds and ribs removed,diced
1 red pepper, seeds removed, diced
1 orange pepper, seeds removed, diced
1 cup corn frozen kernels
Juice of 1 small lime
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed, low sodium
2 cups red enchilada sauce (I made a recipe very similar to this)
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

2. Add quinoa and water to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 5 minutes. Turn the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Cover quinoa and set aside.

3. In a large skillet, heat the tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and jalapeño. Sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add in the peppers and corn. Cook for about 3-4 minutes. Add the lime juice, cumin, chili powder, and cilantro. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

4. In a large bowl, add the cooked quinoa and black beans. Add the sautéed vegetable mixture and stir to combine. Pour in the enchilada sauce and stir. Add 1/2 cup shredded cheese. 

5.Pour the black bean and quinoa mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with remaining shredded cheese. Cover the pan with foil. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove foil. Bake an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and edges are bubbling. Remove from the oven, and let cool for 10 minutes. Garnish with toppings, if desired. Serve warm.