Chicken with Bulgur Pilaf October 31, 2009

The following low calorie and time efficient recipe is from Real Simple. I gave it a go this week and it turned out super yummy! Bulgur wheat is an easy and healthful grain; give it a try and you wont be disappointed. The thing I really liked about this dish is that it was FAST! Dinner was on the table in 30 mins. which is perfect after a long day at work.

Serves 4

Hands-On Time: 15m; Total Time: 30m

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• kosher salt and pepper
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups medium-grain bulgur
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 bunch spinach, thick stems removed and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook until golden, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
2. Add the broth, bulgur, garlic, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to the skillet and bring to a boil.
3. Nestle the chicken in the bulgur, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the bulgur is tender and the chicken is cooked through, 15 to 17 minutes.
4. Transfer the chicken to plates. Add the spinach and basil to the bulgur, stir until slightly wilted, and serve.

 

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/chicken-bulgur-pilaf-00000000006984/index.html

Recipe rating: 3.5. out 5 stars

Be strong to the finish… October 31, 2009

Popeye had it right! Spinach does a body good! Seriously there are so many limitless health benefits to eating spianch!

 

Just copy and paste the following link from The World’s Healthiest Foods website into your web browser if you want to read all about them! http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?dbid=43&tname=foodspice

 

I have been adding spinach to everything these days. Who couldn’t use a little more vegetable goodness in their diets? I add fresh baby spinach into my salads, sandwiches and wraps. I have also been putting frozen chopped spinach into almost every meal. I put a generous cup or two into my spaghetti sauce. I also add a hearty helping to the pan when I making ground meat or soy meat tacos. It’s perfect added to an egg scramble. Another easy place to add spinach is in soups (like the Zuppa Osso Buco that I just blogged about!).

 

So think like our beloved sailor Popeye and eat more spinach mateys!

 

If you have any spinach tips, please share!

Zuppa Osso Buco October 31, 2009

Now that it is getting a little chilly outside I just LOVE to make soups. The following recipe is from Rachael Ray and is one of my favorites. She actually calls it is a “Stoup” because this soup is almost as hearty as a stew. The flavors are amazing!

 

Now if you have a problem with veal, you can use ground chicken or turkey. If you want to make this a vegetarian soup just delete the little meatballs all together and use vegetable broth instead of chicken; you’ll find it is still super yummy (I have done this a few times as well). What you don’t want to skip is the “gremolata” topping. I make my gremolata without anchovies because they honestly gross me out but the effect is still wonderfully tasty!

 

Just copy and paste the link below into your web browser.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/zuppa-osso-buco-recipe/index.html

 

This “Stoup” is a real crowd pleaser!

 

Recipe Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars! 

Perfect Pumpkin Muffins October 29, 2009

My vegan brother John forwarded this recipe to me from the VegNews Recipe Club (http://www.vegnews.com). ‘Tis the season for pumpkin so I thought I would give these a whirl. There are no animal products in these tasty muffins whatsoever so you don’t even have to wonder if it is safe to lick the spoon! The texture is a little bit denser than a typical muffin but I still think they are YUMMY!

Perfect Pumpkin Muffins

Makes 12 muffins (Note: I had way more mix than just 12 muffins, so I made 24 more additional mini-muffins to take with me to work!)

What You Need:

1 15-ounce can pumpkin purée
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup firm tofu, mashed
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup dried cranberries

What You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin, or line with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, mix pumpkin purée, maple syrup, olive oil, vanilla, and tofu. In a separate bowl, sift all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sea salt, and cloves. Add dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in dried cranberries.

3. Spoon mixture into prepared muffin tin. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Chili Roasted Potatoes October 29, 2009

I found the following recipe on Real Simple and it was a super easy and tasty side dish. I think it would also be good with sweet potatoes.

 

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs. Yukon gold or new potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces

3 tbsp. Olive Oil

1 tsp. Chili powder

1 tsp. Kosher salt and 1/4 tsp. black pepper

8 sprigs fresh Thyme

 

Directions

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl.

Transfer to a roasting pan and cook, stirring once until crisp and golden brown, about 35-40 minutes. I sprinkled with a little more kosher salt after they were cooked.

 

Easy Breezy!