Italian Veggie Stew

I was watching food network yesterday. Our heater was broken and I was waiting for the electrician, it was super cold in the house and I saw Rachael Ray making this stew. I was freezing and it looked awesome. This is technically my recipe, being added and subtracted ingredients to make it WLS friendly. I made this tonight, my "I'm not picky, as long as it's meat" husband ate 2 bowls. I consider it a success

• about 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 2 onions, sliced
• 2 large parsnips OR carrots, peeled and chopped (the original recipe called for potatoes)
  
• 1 eggplant, chopped
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 (28-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 cup stock, chicken or vegetable
• 1 teaspoon dried basil, rosemary, and parsley each

Heat a medium soup pot over medium heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, bay, chopped garlic and onions and let them sweat out while you prepare the rest of the veggies. Drop in this order: parsnips/carrots, eggplant, zucchini, and bell pepper. Season with salt and pepper after you add each ingredient, cover and cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and add tomatoes and stock and herbs and cook 15 minutes more, to heat through. Add parm cheese on top. This is soooo good with so little calories and fill you up. Add as a side to your protein!

Teriyaki chicken lettuce wraps

I went out with my girl friend for sushi (yes, without the baby and the daddy!) and we split a appetizer. We chose teriyaki lettuce wraps, and omg they were delicious! I decided to recreate them the next night and they were nearly identical, and very easy.

• 1 lb chicken breasts, chopped in small pieces prior to cooking
• sesame oil, about a tablespoon
• salt and pepper, enough to coat the chicken
• 1 can of water chest nuts, finely chopped
• 1/2 a white onion finely chopped
• 1-2 chopped scallions
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 a teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  
• 1/2 a cup of kikkomon teritaki glaze
• 1 Tablespoon peanut butter (optional gives a Thai taste to the dish)
• 1 head of iceburg lettuce

Heat a pan to medium/high with the sesame oil in it. Salt and pepper the chicken and add to hot pan. Stir the chicken around the pan for 3-4 minutes then add in chopped water chestnuts, onion and scallion. Sautee until the chicken is completely cooked and onions are translucent. Turn the heat down to low. Add in garlic, red pepper flakes, glaze and peanut butter. Stir around enough to coat the chicken mixture and melt the peanut butter. Pull the big leaves off the head of lettuce, place the chicken in the lettuce leaf and enjoy.

O and if you want to know what to do with the extra 1 or 2 leaves of lettuce, see below.

Crock Pot Orange Chinese Beef

I am a little addicted to my crock pot. I think I need a support group. In my travels today I found an Aldi food store, and I'll admit I was a little overly excited! I've been wanting Chinese food so bad today, even though at this point with my weight loss I can eat it, it's so greasy I really don't want to. I picked up some thin sliced sirloin so I decided to make some Chinese at home. You can also totally make this as a stir fry in a pan.

• 1 lb thin slices sirloin cut into strips
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil (you can use whatever you have, I used sesame for the Chinese theme)
• 1 teaspoon ginger powder
• 2 green bell peppers, chopped
  
• 2 small white onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
• 1/2 cup orange juice
  
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 Tablespoons chopped garlic
  

Heat oil up in a pan. Salt and pepper your steak and brown it up in the pan. Add your chopped onions, peppers, and garlic in the crock pot on low. Add steak in. Add in ginger powder, teriyaki sauce, OJ, and soy sauce. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. This was soooo delicious!

Asian crock pot pork chops

These are seriously delicious. I ate 2 of these they were so good. Not to mention easy!

• 6 pork chops 1/2 inch thick (browned in pan with salt and pepper)
  
• 1 onion sliced thin
• 1 Tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup brown sugar splenda
• 1 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1 Tablespoon chinese 5 spice
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Brown up pork chops in a pan seasoned with salt and pepper. Place the pork chops on the bottom of the crock pot. Place onion and garlic on top of that. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. Pour over top of pork and onions. Cook on low for 5 hours. These will be falling apart when they are done. They are SO good.

Golden Lentil Soup- Crock Pot Edition

Soup's on! It's getting chilly here in New Jersey, actually at night it's down right cold! There is a restaurant near me called Atlanta Bread Company, and they have the most amazing Golden Lentil Soup. I've been all over every website looking for a copycat recipe. In fact, Atlanta Bread website doesn't even have the ingredients on their website. So I tried to replicate it. It is a vegetarian dish, but lentils are loaded with protein.

• 4 cups chicken broth (or veggie broth for the vegetarian)
• 2 cups hot water
• 1lb dry lentils
• 1 regular sized yellow onion chopped fine
• 2 cups chopped and peeled carrots, chopped fine
• 3 whole cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 cup canned, diced tomatoes
• 1 Tablespoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon saffron (or saffron powder)
• 1 teaspoon cayenne powder
• salt and black pepper to taste

This really couldn't be any easier. Rinse and pick through lentils. Add lentils, chicken broth and hot water to the crock pot. Chop onion and carrots small and add. Peel garlic, keep them whole, but smash them with the flat side of a knife. Add the garlic, they will melt right into the soup. Add in diced tomatoes. Add cumin, saffron, cayenne and salt and pepper. Stir. Cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4-5 hours. About an hour before you want to eat, take about 1/4 of the soup, add to a blender or magic bullet and liquify. Add back into the soup. This makes it thicker and yummier lol. You can also use an immersion blender for the last part. This is sooo delicious, and good for all stages of post op!

Chicken Cacciatore

This recipe is great for using up your leftovers. I didn't have to buy anything for this dish, as I had everything on hand. This is so easy and delicious.

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into strips



• flour



• cooking spray



• salt and pepper



• 1 large yellow onion, cut into strips



• 6 ounces mushrooms cut into pieces



• 2 Tablespoons chopped garlic



• 1 16 ounce can tomato sauce



• 1/4 cup of water



• 1 Tablespoon of each: fresh Basil, Oregano and Parsley, chopped into small pieces



• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Heat a large skillet. Coat chicken strips with flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Spray skillet with cooking spray and brown chicken on all sides, approx 5 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate, respray, and add in onions on medium heat. Salt and pepper them. Cook for 5 minutes, lower heat to medium low and add in mushrooms and garlic. Stir for 1 minute then add in tomato sauce, 1/4 water, spices and red pepper flakes. Cover and simmer on low for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over wheat pasta, or plain. This is very good, I ate a good amount of it!

Chicken Mango Sausage, Peppers and Onions

My husband has now declared this is his NEW favorite dinner. I love going to trader Joe's and getting these ingredients, but you can pretty much get them anywhere. This is a fruity twist on traditional S,P&O's.

• 1 package chicken mango sausages, cut into bite sized pieces (I used trader Joe's, but you can get chicken sausage pretty much anywhere)


• 1 large yellow onion chopped into thin strips


• 2 bell peppers, I used red and yellow, cut into thin strips


• 1/2 cup frozen mangos (or you can use one fresh mango)


• 1 Tablespoon chopped garlic


• 2 Tablespoons mango salsa (you can find this is the Mexican foods section or dressing aisle in a jar)


• 2 Tablespoons mango juice (I used Goya)


• salt and pepper to taste


• cooking spray
  

Spray a large skillet and set on medium high heat. Add in frozen mango and cook for about 3 minutes. Then respray and add in onions and peppers. Salt and pepper and cook for 15-20 minutes until softened, but not mushy. Add in sausage and cook for about 5-10 more minutes. Add in garlic, mango salsa and mango juice, and cook just long enough to thicken the sauce. Serve over quinoa or brown rice. This is seriously delicious!

Smokin' Turkey Legs

I was trying to recreate the Disney World style turkey legs. These are awesome, but I do not have a smoker, so it did lack that intense smokey flavor, but these were full of ton of flavor.

• 1 (2 liter) bottle of diet ginger ale



• 1 tablespoon lemon juice



• 1 tablespoon lime juice



• 2 packets splenda



• 2 Tablespoons hot sauce



• 1 Tablespoon red pepper flakes



• 1 large vadalia onion, sliced thick



• 4 large turkey legs



• 2 Tablespoons SF BBQ sauce



• poultry seasoning
  

Add first 8 ingredients to a large pot. Boil turkey for about 30-40 minutes, or until internal temp is 180. Preheat broiler to 400 degrees. Remove turkey and take out onions. Lay onions on a baking sheet, and lay turkey legs on top. Add BBQ sauce and poultry seasoning to both sides of the turkey leg. Broil for 15 minutes, then turn legs, and broil for another 15 minutes.

These ingredients sound weird together, but this is a very different and flavorful dish.

Sausage, Peppers and Sweet Onions

I like to experiment with the different ways to make this dish. I make a really good version with mango's, but I couldn't find good ones at the store. This is a great dish with minimal preparation.

• 1lb chicken sausage, cut into half inch pieces (I used al fresco garlic chicken sausage, but I usually use trader joes mango chicken sausages.)




• 2 peppers, one red or orange, sliced thin




• 1 large vadalia onion, sliced thin




• 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil




• 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley




• 1 Tablespoon chopped garlic




• 1 cup tomato sauce




• salt and pepper




• cooking spray

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add sausage and brown. Add in peppers and onions, salt and pepper and cook until the veggies are soft, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn down heat and add in basil, parsley and garlic. Saute for about 2 minutes. Then add in tomato sauce and stir til heated through. Serve with wheat pasta or brown rice, or by itself!