Easy and filling salad (kandis)

I needed to use my lettuce before it went bad, so I did as follows:
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 bag lettuce
1 tomato
Colby's guac (in burrito bar post below)
cilantro
freshly toasted tortillas
home-made ranch dressing This was good and filling--and easy! It would be even better with this dressing:
Creamy Tomatillo dressing:
Combine in blender: buttermilk ranch dressing package, 1 can diced green chiles, mayo, 1 lime, 1 jalapeno, 2 tomatillos, ½ bunch cilantro, 1 yellow onion. So yummy! (but spicy!)

what to do with boc choy... (kandis)

Ok, here is yet another meal made with what I had around (no, I don't usually have boc choy in my kitchen, but Robyn gave me a bunch and I couldn't let it go to waste!). I found a recipe online (below), didn't have all I needed and made this up as follows:
Ingredients:
chopped fresh broccoli, carrots, onion and boc choy, 1tsp garlic.
chow mein noodles
teriyaki sauce
olive oil (and sesame if you have it handy--if not, you probably won't miss it!)
Boil noodles (you only need to cook them about 3 minutes--if you do it too long you won't like them as well!) first and set aside on plate.
Heat olive oil (and a little sesame oil) in skillet, put in garlic and veggies and stir-fry until desired 'crisp-tenderness.' Remove from skillet and set aside.
Add more oil and place noodles in skillet to 'pan fry' (you may need to turn the heat up for a minute) with a few shakes of Teriyaki sauce.
**for kids: at this point I put some noodles on their plate with some broccoli and carrots from the veggie plate.
Return veggies to skillet with noodles, add more Teriyaki sauce (around 1/4 cup) and toss--serve.

**alternatives: add peanuts or cashews, toss with hot chili sauce for some kick. You could also add some shrimp if you needed a sea food meal for the week.

Here is the original recipe I found online (I'll be trying this next--minus the meat and wine--you can sub chicken stock for wine):

Szechuan Noodles recipe:

Serves 3 to 4
Ingredients:
1 pound fresh noodles (Shanghai thin noodles are good)
1/2 pound chicken breast, cut into strips
4 ounces shrimp, shelled and cleaned
1/2 bok choy, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup carrot, cut on the diagonal
1/2 cup broccoli or cauliflower, trimmed, cut on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces
1 onion, shredded
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
2 tablespoons hot bean sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons cooking oil for stir-frying
Marinade:
1 teaspoon wine
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Sauce:
1/2 cup stock
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon chili oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Preparation:
Mix together marinade ingredients. Marinate chicken for at least twenty minutes. While marinating chicken, mix together sauce ingredients. Set aside. Also while marinating chicken, parboil noodles in a pot of boiling water for three minutes. Loosen up noodles with chopsticks as they are boiling. Drain.

Heat wok. When heated, add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add garlic and chicken and stir-fry. When the chicken is nearly done, push the chicken up to the side of the wok and add the shrimp in the middle of the wok. Stir-fry. When the shrimp are done, mix the chicken and shrimp and remove from the wok to a platter.

Reheat the wok and add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add onions, bok choy, carrot and broccoli and stir-fry until tender and crisp. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of salt over the vegetables and mix it in. Remove the vegetables to a platter.

Clean out the wok with a paper towel. Heat wok again and add 3 tablespoons oil. Place noodles in the wok, using chopsticks to break them up. Add 2 tablespoons hot bean sauce and 1 tablespoon light soy sauce. Stir-fry until the noodles are heated through. Add cooked chicken, shrimp and all the vegetables. Restir sauce mixture and add. When it comes to a boil, test and adjust the seasoning if desired, then remove and serve.

Veggie enchiladas (kandis)

Here is my lazy attempt at simply using what I had on hand...


I chopped the veggies, steamed rice and toasted fresh tortillas--then mixed whatever sounded good (beans, rice, cilantro, olives, onion, canned chilies)--rolled into tortillas, placed in pan and topped with enchilada sauce. I baked it at 350 for 30 minutes--then topped with cilantro and tomatoes before serving.

**alternative suggestions: topping with Colby's home-made guac (recipe below in 'burrito bar'), using sliced peppers as well. (If you don't want super crunchy veggies--sautee onion and peppers for a few minutes to bring to 'crisp-tender' state before mixing all ingredients and baking).

**one more variation: I also love to omit the enchilada sauce and brush rolled tortillas with olive oil and sprinkle with salt before baking--it makes them crunchy and delicious!

**for my kids: I didn't put enchilada sauce on theirs and simply put rice and beans inside their tortillas and served with ketchup.

Made-up favorite: (Indian flare?)

This week I've been trying to make dinner with what I have in my kitchen. I made this up the other night and was shocked at how much I loved it! (I've now made and eaten it at least 4 times in the last week!)
Rice
Sautee: red/yellow/orange pepper slices, onion slices, zante currants (tiny raisins--normal ones would work great too), cashews. Season with olive oil, lemon juice and cumin in the pan (red pepper flakes if you like spicy). I topped with cilantro and just toasted some tortillas for presentation...
This week I've also tried it with white beans... you can't go wrong.
To make it even more flavorful, Colby suggested to add a yellow curry sauce (you can buy mix near the coconut milk down the 'asian/exotic' isle at the grocery store... remember--red curry is spicy!)
My grade A++, Colby's grade B (but with curry--A)

No-cook pasta sauce:

This was part of my attempt to only use what I had on hand in creating a edible dinner.
Whole-grain pasta, 5 fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, 1 can tomato sauce, salt/pepper.
Colby loves his pasta 'pure' (as he calls it)--'slightly boring' is what I call it. He gave it a B, but I like my pasta to be a little more adventurous, so I would have added sauteed veggies like zucchini, onion, peppers, etc. It was filling--which was a plus... (a touch of grated parmesan cheese couldn't hurt either...)

Zucchini Herb Casserole

(before the cheese)

I'm always looking for a good zucchini recipe since we produce BUCKETS of it!! So I found this one on http://www.allrecipes.com/ but modified it to make it delicious!

Zucchini Herb Casserole

1 cup uncooked brown rice (the browner the better I say when it comes to grains)

vegetable broth (if you want your rice cooked in it, yummy flavor!)

2 Tablespoons EVOO - extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 lbs. zucchini, cubed

1 green pepper, diced

1 cup sliced green onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. sweet paprika

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 1/2 cups seeded, chopped tomatoes (I used canned diced tomatoes, could use any kind)

1/2 - 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Cook the rice according to directions (use vegetable broth in place of water if you want). Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a shallow 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the zucchini slightly then add the green pepper, green onion and garlic another 5 minutes, or until tender. Season with garlic salt, basil, paprika, and oregano. Mix in the cooked rice, tomatoes, and cheese. Continue to cook until heated through. Transfer to casserole dish.

Bake uncovered 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Notes: So really I didn't mix the cheese in, I was short on time so I did everything else and put the cheese on top to melt (no cheese is fine too) while it was still in the skillet and then served it straight from there. Although I do think it would be that much better to let all the flavors combine while in the oven.

This is a great dish to take out or put in anything you want. I put in more vegetables, rice and spices, and did less cheese than the original recipe called for. You can too!! I think some onion, red pepper, yellow squash or even lentils, couscous or quinoa would be great!! Have fun with this creation.

Quote from my hubby, "When we eat stuff like this I don't even miss meat."

HALLELUJAH!!!!

Raisin Coleslaw

I am soooo happy to be your personal guinea pig...and share the results!! Here is to a healthier us!!

Raisin Coleslaw
Dr. Joel Fuhrman - Eat to Live


You'll need:


1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 baked potato (I had leftover baked red potatoes so I used those)
1 tsp. mustard
1 tbsp. lemon juice
4 cups cabbage, shredded
2 cups carrots, shredded (I went the easy route and got the coleslaw mix with cabbage and carrots -1 bag)
1 cup beets, shredded (optional) I passed!
2 cups apples, peeled and shredded
1/4 cup scallions, finely chopped

Blend the raisins, apple juice, potato, mustard, and lemon juice, then mix all the ingredients together. Use this in place of a lettuce salad for lunch or dinner.

Well, I love coleslaw and this was really great for how healthy it is, just remember it is not as creamy and juicy without all that mayo but has a great flavor!!

If you're counting calories like me this makes about 10 servings so each serving is a cup and 65 calories. Now that is what I call nutrient dense calories (well really what Dr. Fuhrman would call it!!).

Enjoy!