Chicken Thigh Sloppy Joes....Yes You Read That Right

Okay Sloppy Joes, a standard fav in most households right?  Super easy, you can make a mess and get away with it, mom does not need to think about dinner because most of the Sloppy Joes are made from cooking up some ground beef and opening a "can" (yikes) of some kind of tasty sauce that when we were younger and growing up thought it was the best stuff ever.  Never thinking about what was really in it.  Well why can't we have sloppy joes in a somewhat more healthier and maybe "cooler", "hipper" version?

I have been thinking on this for a while, but just kept putting it off until the other day when my kids where talking abou them and I knew we had a busy schedule that night.  Go with me on this, trust me, if I can get my hubby to eat these (yes I got the eye roll when he got home from work), then I really have complete confidence you will be able to pass these off to the family.

If you have been reading my blog posts and following along with me on Fitnessmom, then you know I don't measure and I hate to (which is why you won't find any baking recipes coming from me). 

Boneless Chicken thighs (hence the title of the Blog)
One can of cream of celery soup mix
Once can of stewed tomatoes
One can of pinto beans
Ground pepper
Paprika
Granulated garlic
Shredded sharp cheddar cheese

*NOTE*  AS always I use the lowest form of sodium ingredients possible, also watch and look at the sugar content and count in food items.  If I were to add a bit of salt, I would just use a pinch of Sea Salt.
Add all ingredient to the slow cooker BEFORE adding the chicken.  Add 1/2 cup of water to the cream of celery soup mix OR 1/2 cup of low sodium chicken broth.  Whisk all together then add your chicken and set to cook for about 4 hours.  When done, just pull apart chicken with 2 forks.

For the recipe here, we used Whole Wheat buns for the kids.  You are thinking well isn't the entire point of a Sloppy Joe is to have a bun?  Yes, so using just half on one would be better (if really concerned about cals and carbs) a fork helps also.  :) 

Just throw together a simple salad for the side and done.  The meal looks heavier than it is.  And the good thing about this, you are not still starving after so you are not wanting to "snack" later that night.

The kids loved them, and the hubby.....well he apologized for the "eye rolling" and enjoyed them very much.

Healthy and Clean Cinco DeMayo

A Cinco De Mayo meal made healthy...

Fresh is the key to this dinner, no canned sauces, no re-fried beans, nothing heavy.  You can have seconds with this meal. 

Chicken Fajitas -

Start with sliced red onions (julian)
sliced onions (julian)
sliced green bell pepper (julian)
sliced chicken breasts (thin)
sea salt
ground pepper
paprika
granulated garlic
ground cumin
ground cinnamon
EVOO

Sautee all veggies until cooked but still firm, add seasons, add chicken.  Continue cooking until the chicken is fully cooked, mix and let simmer for 5 minutes.  *NOTE* if you do not have the seasons needed you can use enchilada sauce and add when 1/2 cooked.  Serve the fajitia mixture in soft white corn tortialla (double layering is preferred to keep from ripping apart.

Pinto beans on the side are the healthiest choice over re-fried.  Cook up some rice if desired.  Place some sour cream (low-fat) and homemade quacamole out for extra yummies.

Homemade chips top off the meal.  A pitcher of iced lime/lemon water on the table and you are good to go. 

Dinner by Faith....

Nothing pleases me more than preparing wholesome, fresh food at home.  It is even better when the kids get involved.  Turkey burgers made by Faith tonight. 

Ingredients
Lean ground turkey
1/2 zuch
1/2 yellow squash
1/2 yellow onion
1/2 carrot
Plain bread crumbs
1 egg
Sea salt
Ground Pepper
EVOO
Black Beans
Whole wheat/grain buns (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Add ground turkey, egg and bread crumbs in a bowl.  Cut veggies and place in food processor with a dash of EVOO and a splash of water.  Blend, remove and add to the turkey mixture.  Rinse black beans then add handful to food processor and blend.  Also remove and add to turkey mixture.  Knead all ingredients together and shape burger patties.

Saute the extra veggies with EVOO to and dash of seal salt and pepper.  Use as topping for your burger.

Add burgers to pan with oil just to sear both sides, then remove and place in baking dish and bake for about 20-30, until thoroughly cooked.  You can either use the whole grain bun OR just do a plain burger.  We have been doing so well lately with our meals that tonight we treated ourselves to the whole grain bun.  Top the burger with lettuce, tomato, onion, etc. and enjoy.

No side dish was needed for this meal tonight, as it had everything in it.  The kids ate it up and Faith did a wonderful job. 

Wine Country Lasagne...Fitnessmom Way

Normally lasagna is full of meat and cheese.  Well, in this house that is not the case.  Personally I hate eating lasagna with meat and and too much cheese is not appealing to me.  So I usually make veggie lasagna, which of course goes over real well with the hubby and kids.  Most of the time I do big chunks of veggies that you get in almost every bite, but the kids tend to fork it apart and dissect it.  Then it came to me.  Yes, I had figured it out!  I was going to create the Winecountry Lasagna "Fitnessmom way".

Prep time is about 1/2 hour
Ingredients:
Cauliflower (did you think I wouldn't)?
Broccoli
Zuchs
Yellow Squash
Yellow onion
Mushrooms
Raw Garlic
Red Wine (hence the Winecountry name)
EVOO
Sea Salt (if you are wanting to add)
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Salt Free All Purpose Seasoning
Ricotta Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
Of course lasagna noodles

As you know, if you have been following me....I don't measure, so this is all done by your own personal preference. 




Cut the cauliflower and place in a baking dish and drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle with garlic powder (garlic salt will add too much sodium to the recipe).  Bake the cauliflower for 30 min at 350 degrees.  While this is baking, take the broccoli, zuchs, yellow squash, onion and raw garlic, cut up and saute in EVOO and sprinkle with salt free all purpose seasoning and pepper.  Now here is where the red wine comes in, (I just use some from an open bottle on the counter) pour some into the saute pan with the veggies (again at your own preference) take a glass out of the wine cupboard and pour one for yourself. 

Let the veggies cook up until somewhat soft, then remove from pan and pour into a bowl, set aside.  Cut up the mushrooms and saute them in the same pan with the leftover flavors, adding a tad more EVOO if needed.  Remove cauliflower from oven and add to the veggie bowl, (again, set aside).  This is a great time to start boiling your noodles.  Drink your glass of wine.  Once the veggies have somewhat cooled, place them in your food processor.  I had quite a few so I had to do this about 3 separate times.  Remember to add a bit of water so as to blend well.  Add the blended veggies to the saute pan with the mushrooms until you have blended all of them. 

I am not an "Italian" gal, so no homemade sauces coming from me (not yet anyway) so the jar will have to do.  Add your tomato sauce to your blended veggies in the pan and fold together and heat.  At this point the noodles are done and rinsed, start layering them in your baking dish.  Then spoon in the veggie mixture combined with the sauce.  Spoon on ricotta cheese, then grate some mozz.  Repeat this layering process two more times (depending how much you make and how high you want to go). 

Place in pre-heated oven and bake at 350 degrees for about 1/2 hour.  The fun part is taking the left over noodles and spooning up the extra sauce from the pan with them, the kids and I love to do that.  

Success! Lasagna Fitnessmom way, with a twist of winecountry.  The kids ate it up and my hubby had two helpings.  Doing the veggies blended like this really made more of a "meaty" type of meal without the meat.  By the way, this dish make great leftovers.....:)

 

Mandarin Chicken at home..

Okay, so who does NOT like ordering their fav takeout from the fav Chinese place? Well we love to every so often when that "craving" kicks in.  However, you start to think about all the sauce, sodium and oils.  I know our kids love Mandarin Orange chicken and they like to eat if often enough that I had to come up with a version I could do at  home.  Hopefully a tad healthier and more cost effective. 

After searching for some time, I stumbbled upon one, only it added alot of sugar.  So I took it and made it more my own and modified.  Here we go.

3-4 boneless chicken breasts
salt + pepper
1 cup cornstarch
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

The sweet and sour sauce:

4 tbs ketchup (also has sugar)
1/4 cup seasoned Rice vinegar (now 1tbls of this has 5 sugar grams) so using 1/4 cup OR even 1/2 cup is adding your sugar count
1 tbs soy sauce (this is where your sodium count comes in) So go low Sodium
1 tsp granulated garlic

* NOTE * With the ingredients already carrying their own sugar and sodium count...There is NO need to add any extra added sugar or salt to this recipe...

Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees. Rinse your chicken breasts in water and then cut into cubes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat then dip into the eggs.  Heat your 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned but not cooked through. Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish. Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and then pour evenly over the chicken. Bake for 1/2 hour and during the baking process you should turn the chicken once.

Caribbean Shrimp...Our way

Was in the mood for Shrimp, the grill is put away for the winter so I asked the hubby to please make something in the kitchen.  Here is Caribbean Shrimp, done Fitnessmom way. 

71-90 count raw shrimp peeled and de-vained
Yellow bell pepper
Red bell pepper
Red onion
Green onion

Sliced fresh garlic
Left over homemade salsa - Recipe
Kiwi
Mango
Cilantro
Chili powder
Kosher salt
1/2 Serrano diced pepper

Saute all the veggies in EVOO then add the shrimp and cook until pink.  Add the salsa to the mix and fold all together.  Serve over rice.  

*NOTE* Cooking your rice in low sodium Veggie Broth makes for extra flavor.  Again, I don't measure, so make your own adjustments with this and enjoy.  Great meal to share with friends.

Why Buy It When You Can Make It?

I love, love, love quiche. However, I am not a fan of the omelet or the frittata. Go figure.  I hate to bake, yet I will bake a quiche. Hmmm, the entire things just seems weird right?  Well I have had this on my mind for days and finally got to it this morning.  The house is quiet, the skies are dull and it is a tad chilly outside, so I will bake a quiche. 

I do not make my own crust...EVER, this would require me to go into baking mode and measure...no no.  Store bought pie crust will do just fine.  Now time to go through the fridge, you see not every quiche I make is the same.  They are kind of like snowflakes, I never know what I will pull out of the oven.  If you are doing proper shopping, you should pretty much be able to create your own at any given time (hence the pie crust) those you need to think about.  Today's recipe consisted of the following lucky ingredients that happen to be in the veggie draw of the fridge.

Yellow onion
Mushrooms
Yellow bell pepper
Red bell pepper
Yellow squash
Green onion
Frozen broccoli heads (I have fresh in the fridge) but just used the others today
Sharp cheddar cheese
5 eggs
Sea salt
Flax seed

So crack eggs in bowl and add a little bit of water, whisk and set aside.  In a saute pan add all the veggies, (minus the frozen broccoli) to some EVOO.  Saute them and sprinkle with sea salt (I use that all the time instead of table salt) the course texture gives me more control when using my fingers to sprinkle.  While veggies are "doing there thing", defrost the frozen broccoli in water in the microwave for about 2 -3 mins. don't cook them, just get the freeze off and soften.  Add these to the veggies and finish the saute.  Here is the extra ingredient that I add that no one will ever taste or know about, the flax seed.  Just one spoon full on top of the veggies and stir in.  (Remember to grind the flax seed first).

Everyone has a different take on quiche.  My hubby loves the top covered with loads of cheese and thinks the egg goes after the veggies.  I don't agree.  I pour the egg mixture first into two separate pie shells evenly (5 eggs works, or you can do more)  I don't like the number 6 and 7 seems to many.  Then I add the veggies, again evenly to both.  Lastly, top with finely grated cheese (of course this is up to each individual as to how much).  Put both into pre-heated oven at 350 degrees and cook for about 30 mins. while checking not to burn.

Depending on whether or not you add the egg first or last will change the cooking time, so just keep an eye on them.  Remove from the oven and let cool (or eat hot) and you have yourself a great breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Even better leftovers.

Enjoy :)

Simple Enough For The Kids..

I am always talking about "prepping" doing ahead of time, shopping smart and having everything you need ready for any type of meal.  As much as I try, the kids (God bless them) still look and go through the plate in front of them with their eyes and forks.  You know, the "what is in this" question, or the move around the plate option, spotting every bit of green something or colored something.  Don't get me wrong, they are up to the challenge of the healthy meals and they know exactly what it is that their mom does every day and what I talk about.  I just have to ease up every once in a while and give them a "normal" plain ordinary meal.

Tonight will be just that, how much more simple can I get than chicken?  Oh that again.  Right, how many different ways can we create chicken?  How many nights a week do we have to eat it?  Well, beings that we don't do red meat in this house, you can only imagine how much chicken is cooked here.  This brings us to somewhat of a Stroganoff type chicken if you like. 

Mushrooms
Onions
Chicken Breast
Cream of Celery Soup
Chicken Broth
Rice

Seriously, that is it.  Low sodium everything.  Just cook the chicken breast first, remove and set aside in a bowl.  Add mushrooms and onions to saute with chicken broth.  No, there was no measuring in this recipe, just go with it.  Get all that sauteed together, then add the chicken back in with the cream of celery.  I like to first put the cream of celery in a bowl and whisk it up to de-clump.  Steam some brown or white rice and top the rice with the chicken.

Done, easy and quick.  One pan, one meal, the most simple ever for the kids (until they fork around and see the onion).  This with a side salad and they are good to go.  Not to mention this meal is super affordable.  I know it is a hit when they ask for seconds. YAY!

It's Spring and I was in the mood for Spring Rolls.  Thank goodness my hubby is patient, because as usual I gave him little notice and asked him kindly to stop and pick of 2 avocados on his way home from work.
Juice from 1/2 lime
2 tbl canola oil
1 tbs rice vinegar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
2 Avocados (cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
4 rice paper rounds (6 or 8 inches)
5 green lettuce leaves
fresh basil
fresh mint
2 carrots (cut into thin strips)
1/2 English cucumber (cut into thin strips)

In a small bowl combine lime juice, oil, vinegar, mustard, soy sauce and brown sugar until the sugar is dissolved; set aside

You will need to soften the rice paper rounds, run under warm water in a circular motion, then place on a clean kitchen towel to dry.  If you would like, you can double your rice paper or just use one.

Once you are done with that, then take the lettuce leaf and center it on top of the rice paper.  From there add your veggies, while being careful not to over stuff the roll.
Once you have made your rolls, cut them  in half and enjoy.

These are filling and healthy and fun to eat.  I enjoyed mine with a glass of Pinot Grigio and of course water with lemon.  You can create these rolls many different ways.  I happen to have modified this from another.