Chili: Part 2!

Out of chaos comes clarity! My life has been crazy, crazy, crazy lately! I was inspired to revamp my chili recipe after meeting with a nutrition client last night. It is a combination of my own recipe and some inspiration from a fabulous site called: cookingcomically.com. The writer of that blog is a creative and hilarious cook and his recipes kill! Enjoy!!!!!!

Ingredients:

3 T olive oil
1 package soy crumbles
1 cup water
1 chopped green pepper
½ chopped red pepper
½ chopped yellow pepper
½ white onion chopped
½ red onion chopped
6 stalks celery, chopped
2 cups pasta sauce
1 can no added salt kidney beans, drained
1 can butter beans, drained
1 T red crushed red pepper flakes
1 T onion powder
1 T garlic powder
1 T paprika
1 T cumin
1 T sugar
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp black pepper

Directions:

Get up close and personal with your food!

In a large pot, add 3 T olive oil at medium heat.
Add both varieties of chopped onion and allow to simmer until edges start to become somewhat golden.
Add soy crumbles and water to pot. Stir so crumbles break apart.
The contents of your pot will begin to sizzle. Add water, celery & chopped peppers. Cook for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
Drain and add kidney & butter beans to chili mixture. Stir well.
Add 2 cups of pasta sauce to mixture. Stir well.
In a sealable container such as a zip baggie or plastic container, mix all dry seasonings together in this container. Seal and shake it up!
Add seasoning to the chili mixture and stir well.
Reduce heat and stir occasionally. Cook for about 30-45 minutes.
Serve hot & enjoy!

Tips/Tricks:
1)The sauce used in the images above is homemade. If you do not have access/time to homemade sauce, try to find one that contains little sugar and preservatives. The less junk in your chili, the better!

2) If you are NOT vegetarian and would like to add ground meat to this recipe, I would suggest first cooking the meat and draining it before adding to mixture. My recommendations would be ground turkey/ chicken.

3) I love to enjoy my chili with a corn muffin. Until I perfect a recipe, I swear by Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. It take 15 minutes to prepare and it really delicious! No high fructose corn syrup, too!

4)  Try topping this fabu dessert with fat free cheese, sour cream or enjoy with whole grain crackers.

5) Chili is wonderful to freeze! Make this whole recipe and freeze for a great go-to lunch or dinner!

Promises, promises!

Hey everyone!
I know the blogging has taken a slight backseat to my school semester but I promise to come back with a ton of recipes in hand! In the meantime, I am going to be posting links for helpful articles, motivational images and quotes and any other deliciously educational material I can find.

The article below is written for Yahoo! by David Zincenko. He is the author of the "Eat This, Not That!" series of which I have 2 books! I like his style because home cooking from scratch doesn't work in every scenario for every person. This article caught my eye because it is all about the way national food chains have polluted Italian pasta staples!

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/7-worst-pasta-dishes-america

Have a delicious day!

~Angel

12 Quick Breakfast Ideas

This is a list from CookingLight.com but it features some great ideas (many of which I already do!).

1|Single-serving bowls of whole-grain cereal are packed with vitamins and minerals.


2| Pair string cheese with whole wheat crackers.



3| Hard-boil several eggs to have on hand for busy mornings.



4| Small cartons of low-fat yogurt are a good combination of carbohydrates and protein.



5| Whole-grain English muffins can serve as a base for a breakfast sandwich. Spread on peanut butter, a source of satisfying protein and heart-healthy fats.



6| Make breakfast wraps with whole wheat tortillas; roll in lean protein, such as turkey and low-fat cheese, scrambled eggs with diced peppers and onions, or peanut butter and bananas.



7| Keep low-fat cheese slices on hand for breakfast sandwiches.



8| Single-serving cartons of low-fat, low-sodium cottage cheese are a good source of protein; stir in berries or fruit for fiber.



9| Top whole wheat toaster waffles with a tablespoon of peanut butter and/or fruit preserves.




10| Try soy or lean turkey sausage patties (you can eat them alone or put them in a breakfast wrap or sandwich).



11| Stir a tablespoon or two of fruit preserves or chopped dried fruit into plain instant oatmeal to add a touch of sweetness.



12| For protein, add a tablespoon or two of nuts to your yogurt or oatmeal. Stir frozen berries into oatmeal or yogurt to boost the vitamin content.

Easy Ways to Determine Portion Sizes

I found this image while blog jumping (jumping from one blog that leads me to a link to another blog, etc.). I don't know the true source (and I am not claiming to be the source) but it is an excellent little tool to determine what your portions should be. Enjoy!

Baked Avocado with Tomato salad & Steamed broccoli!

I absolutely love avocado! Its an amazing fruit that is commonly associated as being a vegetable because it isn't sweet. They are so versatile and can be incorporated into so many things besides guacamole (which is one of my favorite things in the world to eat!).

A very good friend of mine posted a blog about baking an avocado in an egg! It is pretty simple and the original post that I was inspired by came from here. I Googled it and there were so many baked avocado messes that came up from the weight of the egg causing the avocado to roll. My finished product was intact! Yay!
Check out the recipe for my whole delicious and nutritious lunch!!
Have a delicious day friends!!

Ingredients
1 avocado
1 medium/large egg
1 tomato (I use slicing tomatoes on the vine)
10 yellow grape tomatoes
1 cup broccoli
1/4 cup chopped onion
10 stalks chives (I used the smaller, prepackaged kind)
Italian seasoning (McCormick works well)
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Salt
Black Pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

AvocadoPreheat your over to 425 degrees.
1) Start by selecting an avocado that is just ripened enough to be somewhat tender when you squeeze it. You don't want one that is too firm or that gives way when you grip it.
2) Press the avocado slightly into your cutting board so one side flattens out slightly. Don't press too hard so the skin breaks. Just enough pressure that the avocado doesn't roll around on your counter.
3) Roll the avocado a half turn so you can see the flat side and the remaining rounded side. Cut it in half so there is a flatter side and will be your "dish".
4) Remove the core of the avocado and discard.
5) With a spoon, follow the edge of the hole left in the avocado and scrap out toward the bottom and edges of the existing hole. Make room for the egg to be dropped into it.
6) Season with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic and onion. Place on a baking sheet.
7) Crack and egg and gently allow the uncooked egg to fall into the hole you created.
8) Season the egg with the same spices as in step 6.
9) Gently put the baking sheet into the oven for about 15 minutes or until the egg is cooked through.
Tomato Salad
1) Chop vine tomato, yellow grape tomatoes, chives, onion and place in a bowl. Drizzle the olive oil over the salad and season with salt, pepper, garlic and Italian seasoning.
*If you have some, add basil or fresh mozzarella cheese. It's mouthwatering!

Steam the broccoli and plate with avocado and salad!

Enjoy!! Mmmmmm!

Quinoa Patties with sauteed greens

This recipe was adapted from one I found on Pinterest (my newer obsession). It came from wholeliving.com and I did adapt it a bit to offer less cholesterol and a bit more flavor. My mind was going crazy thinking about all of the vegetable variations I could mix into this recipe; it's endless!  So here goes!

Ingredients for patties:
2.5 cups cooked/room temp quinoa
3 cloves of garlic
2 whole eggs
1/2 cup egg beaters
6 stalks scallions
1/2 large white onion
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
3/4 cup whole grain seasoned Italian breadcrumbs
1/4 cup almond meal
1 tbsp dried rosemary
1 tbsp dried thyme
olive oil sprayer/spray
1/2 tsp salt

Ingredients for greens:
3 stalks kale
3 stalks swiss chard
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper
rosemary

Quinoa Patties:
1)Cook quinoa as instructed on the package. To get about 2.5 cups quinoa I used 1 cup of dry quinoa. Let cool to room temperature.
2) Using a food processor chop and combine the onion, scallions, cheese, rosemary and thyme. Chop into small, coarse pieces. If the mixture gathers some liquid at the bottom of the processor bin, drain slightly.
3) Combine quinoa, eggs, egg beaters and salt in a bowl. Add processed mix into bowl until well combined.
4) In a separate bowl, mix the bread crumbs and almond meal. Add to quinoa mixture. It should be mixed well and not overly dry/wet.
5) Spray a pan with olive oil and heat at medium/low.
6) Using a spoon (or in my case a 1/3 cup silicon measuring cup), scoop the mixture onto the pan and push down to flatten into patties.
7) Let cook until you can see the edges of the patty begins to brown. Flip. Continue this way for about 7-10 minutes or until evenly browned on both sides.

Greens:
1) Pour olive oil into a large saucepan with garlic cloves. Allow garlic to heat up at medium.
2) Add kale and chard to pan and gently mix with olive.
3) Cook until the leaves begin to slightly wilt and become bright in color.
4) Add seasonings to taste and serve.

This recipe was so good and filled a craving I was having for a hearty meal. Add grated vegetables to the patties for a variety of flavor combinations!

Vegetable Medley over Bulgar Wheat

This was a delicious meal I prepared pretty quickly for my lunch!
Loaded with fiber, iron and protein this is a nutrient rich meal with lots of flavor!

This recipe was essentially a "leftover" food item recipe that turned out to be delightful! I had some fresh spinach that I feared would go bad if I didn't do something with it within the next day or so. Here is what I ended up with!

Like my fancy "takeout" container?
I didn't have time to plate it nicely, ha!

Ingredients
1 Cup fresh spinach (frozen would also work, make sure it is thawed first)
1 medium sized white potato peeled, sliced into very thin slices
1 carrot
2 cloves of garlic
olive oil spray (I use a mister)
1/2 cup Gimme Lean Meat Substitute (if you eat meat, feel free to use ground turkey, very lean beef or ground chicken)
1/2 cup dry bulgar wheat
Black pepper
Salt
Onion powder
Rosemary

1) Spray a sautee pan with mister to coat with olive oil mist.
2) Add 1 clove garlic and turn heat to medium. Allow garlic to simmer slightly.
3) Spray pan again with mister and add potato slices.
4) Allow slices to brown. Stir and flip frequently so the potatoes don't stick to the pan. (About 4-5 minutes).
5) In a small saucepan bring 1.5 cups of water to a boil. Add spinach and cook until spinach wilts and become a very bright green. Reduce heat and add 1 garlic clove. Simmer for 2 minutes.
6) Using a pasta spoon or any spoon with holes to drain water, transfer drained spinach from saucepan to sautee pan, leaving the excess water in the saucepan. Allow spinach to cook with potatoes.
7) Using the leftover water from the spinach, prepare your bulgar wheat. Add bulgar wheat and bring back to a boil. Once boiling, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the wheat absorbs the water.
8) Using a peeler, peel off the top layer of the carrot and discard. Then peel slivers of carrot until the carrot is mostly peeled. Add slivers to sautee pan.
9) Mist with olive oil spray.
10) Add seasonings to taste.
11) If using, Gimme Lean meat sub or another kind of meat substitute, add to vegetable medley. Break up pieces until it resembles ground beef. If you chose to use a meat, follow the instructions below.
12) Continue to cook for a few more minutes or until the medley and "meat" are browned slightly.
13) Spray bulgar wheat with mister and spinkle a small amount of onion powder. Top with vegetables and enjoy!!


Using Meat:
In a separate pan, brown thawed meat before starting to cook the vegetables. This process takes much longer than substitutes because they are essentially ready to eat. After the meat of your choice is browned, drain excess liquid and add to vegetables at step 11.

** I used the excess water from the spinach because I like to utilize all of the vitamins and minerals present in a food. When a vegetable is boiled, the colored water leftover contains many minerals and vitamins that were leached from the food during boiling. Using that same water to boil a grain that absorbs water allows you to still enjoy the benefits of all of the nutrients in the food.