Cooking – Page 6 – Fervent Foodie

Turkey Time

December 8, 2010 6 Comments

I swear every time I make meatballs I forget to write down what I threw into them. Ohhhh, the elusive turkey meatball recipe… changes every time. Yet, always tastes delicious.

I bring you spaghetti squash with turkey meatballs and garlic mushroom marinara:

Easier than it looks, I promise!

(Check out this post for some tips on cooking up your spaghetti squash)

While my spaghetti squash was doing its thang in the oven, I got to work on the meatballs. Here’s what went into them:

Your guess is as good as mine. Winking smile

Alriiiiiiiiight, here’s approximately what went into the meatballs:

10 ounces 99% fat free ground turkey breast
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 egg
2 tbsp bread crumbs
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp marjoram
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp dried oregano

This mix gave me 10 2-bite meatballs:

I sprinkled each meatball with a little olive oil (about 1 tbsp for all 10 meatballs). I cooked these in a 400 degree for 15 minutes, flipped them over and cooked for another 10.

Meanwhile, I sautéed 2 cloves minced garlic and a couple handfuls of sliced baby bella mushrooms in a sauce pan:

Then added 1.5 cups of Prego sauce to the pan along with some garlic powder, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and dried oregano. I popped a lid on the pan and let it simmer away on low heat until the meatballs and spaghetti squash were done cooking:

I promise you–this dish will totally satisfy your pasta cravings. Look how tasty:

As an added bonus, I was able to get 3 servings out of this batch. Hello tomorrow’s lunch and the day after tomorrow’s dinner!

Stats on 2 cups Spaghetti Squash with 3 Turkey Meatballs and 1/2 cup sauce: 320 calories, 37g carbs, 10g fat, 27g protein, 7g fiber. Molto bene!

Since the ground turkey comes in a 20 ounce package, I decided to use the remaining 10 ounces to make up some of my beloved Turkey Meat Muffins Open-mouthed smile

Only thing I did different this time was to omit the oil. I didn’t notice much of a difference, so I think I’ll stick with the oil-free version in the future.

I LOVE these guys for several reasons.

They are pre-portioned and super cute.
They satisfy my belly in a healthful way.
Leftover meatloaf sandwiches rock my socks off.
Saying “meat muffin” brings an unavoidable smile to my face 😀

Nom.

Recipes

Szechwan Shrimp

December 5, 2010 2 Comments

Whelp, I haven’t been doing much blogging lately BUT I have been doing a decent amount of cooking! Time to play catch up!

Three things that I look for in any good recipe:

Easy.
Healthy.
Onions.

ok… The recipe just has to be friggin delicious (usually that comes with the addition of some onions, but not always).

This recipe for Szechwan Shrimp has been a favorite of mine for a couple years now, simply because it meets my three criteria (even the onions!). Even though it has lots of ingredients, most of them are things I always have on hand. Can’t complain about that!

First up, I mix up the sauce ingredients in a small bowl:

2 tbsp water
1 tsp ketchup
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp honey
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp olive oil

Then I sprayed down a skillet, heated it over medium heat, and added 1 large sliced green onion and one clove minced garlic. I let these sauté for a bit, then added 3 large raw shrimp:

Once the shrimp was cooked through I added the sauce and used a rubber spatula to combine.

I let the mixture heat up until it started to bubble and thicken and then tossed on top of 1 serving of brown rice. I also added some steamed oriental veggies and a Chung’s veggie spring roll:

So pretty!

So delicious…

Recipes

Mini Pumpkin Muffcakes

November 14, 2010 3 Comments

Oh so simple, and oh so delicious.

In the past week or so, I realized that my year-to-date pumpkin intake is severely below goal this year. It dawned on me that I have only enjoyed ONE Starbucks pumpkin latte this year and I’ve only made pumpkin cookies ONCE. Sad! The very next day, I received an email newsletter from Hungry Girl that was ALL ABOUT PUMPKIN. Fate? I’m thinking yes.

Do any of you get the Hungry Girl email newsletter? I am a big big fan. She always has simple healthy recipe ideas and offers up tips on healthier options to make at chain restaurants. She’s also coming out with a show in January, which I’m pretty pumped about.

One of the pumpkin recipes in the newsletter that caught my eye was this recipe for Caramel Pudding Pumpkin Cupcakes. I truly am a baker at heart. Yes, I love to cook, but if I had to choose I’d pick baking any day. One of the reasons I rarely bake is that I possess little to no will power against baked goods. I’m the girl who has to try a “little bite” of each baked good at family get togethers… only to end up eating the sugar equivalent of 7 king size snickers bars… For those of you who were Sex and the City watchers, I could totally relate to the episode where Miranda ate chocolate cake from the trash can. Like I said. Little to no willpower. So rather than suscept myself to sugar induced comas, I avoid baking.

Unless of course I have plenty of people to pawn my wares off on… And when all else fails, I scale it down. I mean way down. I’ve been known to make a solitary no-bake cookie. Talk about proactive measures!

When I got to baking these pumpkin cupcakes, I decided to cut the recipe down to 3 cupcakes. Come on. You have to give yourself a little wiggle room Winking smile

I assembled the ingredients for 3 cupcakes in a large bowl (making a few minor tweaks from HG’s recipe):

1/2 cup Better Crocker moist yellow cake mix
1/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
1 egg white
1.5 tsp Smuckers sugar free breakfast syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 packet Truvia
dash of salt

I whisked everything together with a fork for a good two minutes:

Then divided evenly into 3 muffin tins, which I popped into a 350 degree oven for 12 minutes…. and VOILA!

Little bits of joy:

I’m so proud Smile

While the cupcakes cooled, I got to work on the caramel icing. For three cupcakes, I only needed 1 caramel candy (the little cube caramels you can find individually wrapped in the bulk candy section of the grocery store) and 1 tsp Almond Breeze Vanilla Unsweetened Almond Milk. I put both of the icing ingredients into a bowl and popped into the microwave on 50% heat for 1 minute, then stirred, and repeated for another minute.

Then I just drizzled the caramel goodness over top of the three cupcakes:

I had one of these little guys with my evening cup of Earl Grey tea. It reminded me of the pumpkin muffies you can get at Panera (you know, the ones that are dusted with powdered sugar?). These cupcakes really are a cross between a muffie and a cupcake…. A muffcake, if you will Winking smile

Not only were they super easy and scrumptious, but they made my kitchen smell absolutely heavenly.

Stats on 1 Mini Pumpkin Muffcake (as prepared by Fervent Foodie): 106 calories, 23g carbs, 1g fat, 2g protein, 1g fiber

Mini Pumpkin Muffcakes Ingredients List (makes 3)

1/2 cup Better Crocker moist yellow cake mix
1/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
1 egg white
1.5 tsp Smuckers sugar free breakfast syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 packet Truvia
dash of salt
1 caramel candy
1 tsp Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

Recipes

Black & White Chicken Chili

November 12, 2010 1 Comment

Every year, my company holds its annual Crockpot Fest where employees anonymously submit chilis and soups to a contest judged by our fellow coworkers. I’ve never participated in the crockpost fest from the submission side of things, though I have been more than happy to taste everyone else’s creations!

Given the recent relocation of my wildly attractive boyfriend Winking smile I suddenly have quite a bit of free time on my hands (which my Type A Personality is feverishly seeking to fill), so I thought this contest would be the perfect opportunity to start catching up on all the quality kitchen time I’ve been missing out on.

I decided to go with my spin on this recipe, which I call Black and White Chicken Chili.

As with any great recipe, it started off with a big fat onion:

Then it was time to bring on the HEAT. If you can’t take the heat… well… don’t eat the chili. Just sayin’ Winking smile

The heat in this recipe came in the form of chopped green chilis, jalapenos, and cayenne pepper along with some garlic, cumin, and dried oregano.

First up, I heated up a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot and then dropped in the chopped white onion:

Then I sat back and let the onions do their thang.

Once they were soft and translucent, I added the seasonings, chilies, garlic, and jalapenos and let everything jive together for a few minutes:

Then I tossed in my black beans:

And the white beans:

And gave everything a nice stir. Isn’t it beautiful?

Next up, I added the chicken broth, chicken stock, and shredded chicken:

I popped a lid on the pot, and let the chili meld together for about 15 minutes. Then I added 1 cup of shredded cheddar jack cheese:

YESSSSSSSSSSSSS.

Once the cheese melted, I turned the pot off to let everything cool down.

As with all soups, making this chili the night ahead makes for EVEN BETTER tasting chili the next day. Here’s a shot of my hard work at the contest:

Gotta love an accountant’s humor hahaha…

Another great thing about this chili is that it freezes really well. Last time I made it, I portioned it out into six individual servings and popped four of them into the freezer. Gotta love that!

Next time I make this chili, I think I’ll start off with a rue to help thicken things up a bit. As it stands, it’s a bit more like a choup than a chili. 🙂

Black & White Chicken Chili Ingredients List (Serves 6)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 big fat onion
3 cloves garlic (and by 3, I mean 5)
8 ounce can diced jalapeno peppers
4 ounce can chopped green chile peppers
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
16 ounces reduced sodium chicken broth
8 ounces chicken stock
3 cooked and shredded chicken breasts
2 cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup shredded Cheddar Jack cheese

Stats on 1 Serving: 351 calories, 38g carbs, 11g fat, 27g protein, 14g fiber

Recipes

Black & White Chicken Chili

November 12, 2010 1 Comment

I decided to go with my spin on this recipe, which I call Black and White Chicken Chili.

As with any great recipe, it started off with a big fat onion:

Then it was time to bring on the HEAT. If you can’t take the heat… well… don’t eat the chili. Just sayin’ Winking smile

The heat in this recipe came in the form of chopped green chilis, jalapenos, and cayenne pepper along with some garlic, cumin, and dried oregano.

First up, I heated up a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot and then dropped in the chopped white onion:

Then I sat back and let the onions do their thang.

Once they were soft and translucent, I added the seasonings, chilies, garlic, and jalapenos and let everything jive together for a few minutes:

Then I tossed in my black beans:

And the white beans:

And gave everything a nice stir. Isn’t it beautiful?

Next up, I added the chicken broth, chicken stock, and shredded chicken:

I popped a lid on the pot, and let the chili meld together for about 15 minutes. Then I added 1 cup of shredded cheddar jack cheese:

YESSSSSSSSSSSSS.

Once the cheese melted, I turned the pot off to let everything cool down.

As with all soups, making this chili the night ahead makes for EVEN BETTER tasting chili the next day. Here’s a shot of my hard work at the contest:

Gotta love an accountant’s humor hahaha…

Another great thing about this chili is that it freezes really well. Last time I made it, I portioned it out into six individual servings and popped four of them into the freezer. Gotta love that!

Next time I make this chili, I think I’ll start off with a rue to help thicken things up a bit. As it stands, it’s a bit more like a choup than a chili. 🙂

Black & White Chicken Chili Ingredients List (Serves 6)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 big fat onion
3 cloves garlic (and by 3, I mean 5)
8 ounce can diced jalapeno peppers
4 ounce can chopped green chile peppers
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
16 ounces reduced sodium chicken broth
8 ounces chicken stock
3 cooked and shredded chicken breasts
2 cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup shredded Cheddar Jack cheese

Stats on 1 Serving: 351 calories, 38g carbs, 11g fat, 27g protein, 14g fiber

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