Italian Sausage with Veggies & Rice

Yum!! This one was totally spontaneous. I had no idea what to make and had decided on lil smokies & mac'n'cheese but I had to throw out the milk because it was sour. I have to go to the store tomorrow. I'm running out of things. So needless to say all I really had was chicken rice and veggies...boring. I'm totally chickened-out. lol We had some 3 Italian Sausages left over. So I used them and thats how I made this dish served with yummy peach tea & frozen peaches. :-)

Ingredients
 1 cup Brown Rice
1 cup water
3 Italian Sausages
1 1/2 cup of mixed veggies
1 small onion (cut in strips)
Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb Seasoning
1-2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions
Add Olive Oil to the pan and cook the onion about 3/4 the way and then remove. Add the Italian Sausages and cook the outside til golden brown (don't worry about the inside we'll get it later). Remove the sausages and slice them into chunks then add the onions and the sausages back to the skillet and cook thoroughly. Start the rice. Heat 1 cup of water to a boil and then add the rice. Reduce to low, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the onions and sausage from the pan again (Sorry this was a learning curve. lol). Add the mixed veggies and let simmer on low for about 2-3 minutes then re-add the onions and sausage. (Again I apologize for the removing and adding several times.) Remove the rice from the heat and let set for 5 minutes. When rice has absorbed most of the water add to the pan with the onion, veggies, and sausage. Sprinkle the Mrs Dash Garlic & Herb Seasoning generously several times throughout before and after adding the rice. Mix well and serve!!! Serves 2

BBQ Chicken & Southwestern Style Rice

I thought of this one one day when Kevin and I were hungry but ended up eating out that night. So now I'm going to use it for me and leftovers for tomorrow. Ok for my BBQ chicken I'm going to use Budweiser BBQ sauce. I'm going to grill my chicken on the George Foreman Grill. And the Southwestern rice, is actually a recipe we've done before. It's the rice from the southwestern chicken skillet recipe just minus the chicken. It's going to be really good. I'm actually excited for dinner tonight. :-)

Extra Yummy Peach Tea

This one is SO simple. Go to your local grocery store and purchase the pitcher style Crystal Light Iced Tea Peach. It only has 40 calories in 1 large packet. Each packet makes 2 quarts of tea. Our pitcher is 1 gal so we use 2 packets to fill our pitcher.

Follow the directions on the back of the container and to make it extra yummy, Add frozen peaches to your glass each time you pour a new one or you can add the frozen peaches directly to your pitcher to give your pitcher that beautiful look. That would be the way I'd go if I was having guests over.

Leftover Rice Idea

We had leftover rice from our southwestern chicken skillet, so I added some red kidney beans and another slice of American cheese. It made it really good even for leftovers. :-) Stay tuned for my dinner recipe: Southwest Chicken Salad

Southwestern Chicken Skillet

Luckily this one was on the back of the brown rice box...shhhh don't tell anyone. It was easy and healthy. Plus I got to use that Southwest Chipotle seasoning again which I am in love with!!! Oh and I told Kevin I had to have a picture so I got one before we ate. :-)

Ingredients

1 tbsp. oil - I used olive oil but canola is probably better

4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 lb)

2 cups of water

1 cup of salsa, thick'n chunky - I used Lime & Garlic flavored Salsa

1 pkg (10 oz.) frozen corn - I used 10 oz frozen mixed veggies

2 cups of brown rice, uncooked

1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded - I used lowfat american & swiss (1 slice for me, 1 for Kev)

Directions

Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper (and Mrs. Dash's southwest chipotle seasoning) on both sides. Then add chicken to skillet and cover. Cook 4 min. on both sides or until cooked through (170F). Remove chicken from skillet and set aside. Add water, salsa, and corn (or mixed veggies) to skillet. Mix well and bring to a boil. Stir in rice. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer 5 min. Add chicken back to skillet and top with rice and sprinkle with cheese. Then recover and simmer an additional 5 min or until cheese is melted.

Turkey Tacos

This one was something I thought of while thinking about the things we needed to hurry and up and eat before they went bad... and it turned out to be amazing!!! Unfortunately it was so good I didn't get a picture of it before I devoured it. It was quick and easy, and to make things even better, it was healthy!!!

Ingredients
1/2 lb ground Italian Style Turkey
1 medium onion, diced
Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle Seasoning
4 whole-wheat flour tortillas
Toppings: Lettuce, sour cream, salsa, cheese, tomatoes, etc

Directions
Carmelize your onion. Remove the onion and put into a bowl while you brown the turkey in the same pan. when the turkey is almost done add the onion back into the pan and mix well. Season the turkey and onion with a couple sprinkles of the southwest chipotle seasoning. When this mixture is fully cooked you are ready to make your tacos!!! Stuff your whole-wheat flour tortillas with the turkey/onion mixture and the toppings of your choice. There you go. Quick, Easy, and Healthy Turkey Tacos!!! :-) Serves 2

Strawberry Cheesecake Bliss

Ok this one was kind of a fancy breakfast surprise for Kevin. I was hungry and had no idea what to make for breakfast, but I didn't want the same ole eggs and bacon. So I pulled out the packet of Martha White Strawberry Cheesecake Muffin mix and realized we didn't have muffin pans... So plan B was using the meatloaf pan. And the rest is history...

Ingredients

Martha White Strawberry Cheesecake Muffin Mix

1 Banana (sliced)

1 6oz container of Strawberry Yogurt

Milk

Directions

Make the Muffin mix using the directions on the package. It calls for the milk, I think it was 1/4 cup but just follow the package and you can't go wrong. You can use a muffin pan, but I used the meatloaf pan. After it is finished baking let it cool about 10min. Cut the loaf into 4 equal pieces. Then in each bowl. Lay the logs diagonally across each other like a X. Then top with 3oz (half) of yogurt and top with the banana slices to add prettiness and color. If you use this recipe to serve 4, then just lay one log in each bowl and top with 1/4 of the yogurt. This could also be served as a dessert. Serves 2-4

Turkey Burgers & Veggies with Rice

Ok so this one didn't come from a cookbook or from the foodnetwork. I just thought about what we have that we need to eat up... We have some ground turkey... we have 2 bags of frozen veggies and like 5 boxes of brown rice. lol So for dinner I'm making Turkey Burgers and as a side I'm mixing the rice and veggies together. Do I really need to post up ingredients and a directions? lol

Ingredients
Ground Turkey (enough to feed everyone)
Mixed Veggies or any veggies that you like (enough to feed)
Rice, brown or white (enough to feed)

Directions
Make patties out of your ground turkey and grill or fry them in a pan. Then put them on you bun and garnish as desired. While the turkey patties are going make your rice. Follow the directions on the box. Steam your vegetables or cook as desired. Mix rice and veggies together. Top with cheese if desired. Tada!! lol Serves as many as you need

Crabmeat Salad

Ok this one just sounded so good in the cookbook I had to try it. It is so easy you could make this one with children. This is listed in the book I mentioned earlier. Cooking with 5 Ingredients or Less by Susan Kosoff & Tersea Kennedy.

Ingredients
6oz of crabmeat, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of mayo
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup celery, chopped


Directions
Mix all ingredients in bowl until fully mixed. Then put in a container and into the refridgerator for 30 minutes to chill. Serves 2

Reference: Cooking with 5 Ingredients or Less by Susan Kosoff & Tersea Kennedy; 1984

Salmon Bisque

Well when I went to the library the other day to get my card I checked out four books. Two of which were cookbooks. This Salmon Bisque recipe comes from Cooking with 5 Ingredients or Less by Susan Kosoff & Teresa Kennedy. I know there is a new show out called 5 Ingredient Fix, but I promise you this recipe came from the book published in 1984. I love this book, especially since I am a new wife. I always loved cooking even if it was just boxed mac & cheese. I started adding new things to simple dishes and to me that's how you discover that you enjoy something. Now I can make homemade mac & cheese with whatever I have on hand. If you have pasta, milk, and cheese you can make mac & cheese. Now on to our Salmon Bisque...

Ingredients
2 - tablespoons butter
1/2 - cup chopped onions
2 - tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 - cups milk (separate into 2/3 cup; 3 1/3 cups)
2 - 7oz cans salmon, drained and finely chopped

Directions
In a medium saucepan, heat butter; add onion and cook until limp but not browned. Add flour and 2/3 cup milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. gradually add remaining milk and salmon. Cook until smooth and slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Serves 2

Reference: Cooking with Five Ingrendients or Less by Susan Kosoff & Tersea Kennedy; 1984

Leftover Pasta Idea

Ok so tonight I decided to put that leftover pasta from the Whole-Wheat Salmon dish to use. We had some chicken set out so I grilled it up and put it on top of the pasta. It was good but because salmon is flaky and easily broken apart I would strongly recommend sticking with the salmon. The chicken was hard to cut in the bowl. So if you're going to use chicken in this dish go out and pre-cut it before laying it on top the pasta... ;-)

Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Lemon, Basil, and Salmon

Ok this recipe also came from Giada's spa day episode. This one looks so beautiful but was a little bland. However it did hold up to her statement of healthy and light. Kevin (my hubby) is doing his healthy eating thing and he's HUGE into whole wheat pasta so this was a real winner. We ended up with leftover pasta but I'm not sure what to do with it yet...

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 1/2 pound whole-wheat spaghetti pasta
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 (4-ounce) pieces salmon
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 3 tablespoons capers
• 1 lemon, zested
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta and transfer to a large bowl. Add the garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine.

Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Add the fish to the pan and cook until medium-rare, about 2 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the fish. Remove the salmon from the pan.

Add the basil, capers, lemon zest, and lemon juice to the spaghetti mixture and toss to combine. Set out 4 serving plates or shallow bowls. Place 1/2 cup spinach in each bowl. Top with 1/4 of the pasta. Top each mound of pasta with a piece of salmon. Serve immediately.

Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Lemon, Basil, and Salmon Recipe

Artichoke & Tomato Panzanella

After watching an episode of Everyday Italian where Giada went to the spa and was inspired to created light spa friendly dishes, I got inspired to create my husband a yummy healthy dinner. We had already planned on having grilled chicken but we needed a side or something to do with the grilled chicken. After seeing this episode I decided to make the panzanella as a side with the grilled chicken. Panzanella is like a salad. My husband was so impressed especially since he's more of a cook than I am. lol

Ingredients

• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed (about 2 cups)
• 3 cups whole-wheat bread, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 large, red tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 1 cup pitted black olives, halved
• 3/4 cup chopped, fresh basil leaves (about 1 bunch)
• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning

Directions

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Drizzle the bread and artichoke hearts with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the bread and artichokes until golden brown at the edges, about 6 minutes total, turning every 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the bread and artichokes from the grill and transfer to a large bowl.

Add the tomatoes, olives and basil to the bowl and toss to combine. In a small bowl stir together the 2/3 cup olive oil, white wine vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Drizzle the dressing over the salad. Toss to combine and serve immediately.

If you love the sound of it go to the website and print it off and give it a try. It was so good and easily!!!

 Artichoke and Tomato Panzanella Recipe