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Balsamic Onion & Jalapeno Turkey Burgers

August 8, 2020 by Lindsay 21 Comments

So remember when Erica posted these Jalapeno Cheddar Turkey Burgers?

Well, I tried really hard to wait patiently for nice grilling weather so I could make some burgers on the grill….but apparently we’re heading straight into another week of rain, so this weekend I just gave into my craving and made a batch of burgers indoors.

I was drawn to her recipe because I just so happened to have a random jalapeno that needed to to be used up. However, over the past couple of years, I’ve had a few issues with making things so spicy they they are almost inedible. So, I knew I wanted to tone down the spice a bit.

I’ve also been thinking about making burgers stuffed with caramelized onions for a while now. While I didn’t end up doing that exactly, I used that idea to make my own burger.

Here’s what I did:

I diced up about 1/2 c onion and put it in a hot pan. I made sure not to stir it too often so that it started to caramelize.

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After the onions began to caramelize, I added some balsamic vinegar.

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The onions soaked up almost all of the yummy balsamic! I removed them from the pan and set them aside to cool.

Next, I put 1 lb of lean ground turkey in a bowl, added one jalapeno (minced) and two cloves of garlic. When the onions were cool enough to handle, I added them to the bowl along with about 1/4 c shredded low-fat Mexican cheese and some McCormick’s Grill Seasoning.

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When everything was mixed together, I had five nice sized burgers:

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Balsamic Onion & Jalapeno Turkey Burgers

by Lindsay L

Keywords: grill pan sear burger sandwich entree healthy turkey

Ingredients (4-6 burgers)

  • 1/2 c onion, diced
  • 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 1 jalapeno, minced
  • 1 tsp McCormick’s Grill Seasoning
  • 1/4 c low-fat Mexican cheese

Instructions

1. In a small pan, caramelize the onions. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir to combine.

2. Combine the turkey, onions, jalapeno, seasoning and cheese in a small bowl.

3. Form into 4-5 patties.

4. Cook on the grill or in a pan, top with cheese if desired and serve.

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I cooked them in a pan and topped with some pepperjack cheese when they were almost done. Yes, I tear my cheese to fit the size of the burger. I hate when it drips down over the sides and gets in the pan!

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Now I’ve gotta tell you, my friends, I’m not one to get all that excited about burgers. I don’t eat them if they’re beef and usually when I cook burgers for the hubby I end up eating something else. In fact, the night I made these, I didn’t even eat one. But I did eat one the second night and let me tell you…these are GOOD! I was only planning on eating half a burger along with a bowl of Nutrition Soup, but after I ate the first half, I put that soup right back in the fridge and ate the other half! I love the flavor the onions give them…and the jalapeno gives them a little kick, but not a ton of heat.

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Oh, if you’re wondering why it’s cut up like that, it’s because the hubby informed me -just as I was about to get up and make these burgers that I’d been planning in my head ALL DAY- that he wanted something light for dinner…like tapas. Well, that just wasn’t happening. So cutting his burger into “burger bites” was my solution. Makes the burger seem less overwhelming!

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Serve with some roasted fingerling potatoes and you’re good to go!

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Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Filed Under: Dinner

Goat Cheese, Spinach & Bacon Stuffed Chicken

October 24, 2020 by Lindsay 36 Comments

“The best chicken I’ve had.”

That’s what the hubby said to me last night while eating this. He said “Bean, this is the best chicken I’ve had.” I said, “Ever?” He said, “Yes.”

So there you have it. It’s that good, and it couldn’t be easier. Inspired by this recipe from Tessa that I’ve been thinking about for the past few weeks, here’s what I did. I was too lazy at the time to pull up the recipe again….but it turned out just fine 🙂

I did some prep work in the afternoon, before I left for work. I grabbed a handful of fresh spinach, diced it up and put it in a bowl with a little bit of water. After 2 minutes in the microwave it looked like this:

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I scooped the spinach into a paper towel and wrung out the excess water before returning it to the bowl. Then I added a few tablespoons of goat cheese, and two strips of turkey bacon, diced, that I cooked up on the griddle.

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Mix it all together and set it aside. I had three chicken breasts thawed out in the fridge so I cut slits in the side (kinda difficult since they were thinner than I thought they were!) and divided the mixture between the three breasts.

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I knew I was going to bake these, but I always like to pan sear chicken for a little extra flavor. Bonus this time because, after seasoning with paprika and black pepper, I just plopped them on the griddle I cooked the bacon in for a little more bacon-y flavor. I didn’t even feel bad doing this since turkey bacon makes WAY less grease than regular 🙂

I put the chicken in a greased, glass baking dish, covered it with foil and stuck it in the fridge. Then the hubby popped it in the oven for about 20 minutes at 400 degress while I was on my way home from work, along with a sweet potato I had diced up! When I got home, dinner was almost ready.

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If you want to be extra fancy, slice it up so it looks pretty…but I’m not gonna lie, I only did this for you guys! Hubby got his piece whole on the plate.

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So there you have it! It’s good stuff, give it a try 🙂

Goat Cheese & Spinach Stuffed Chicken

by Lindsay L

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Keywords: bake entree chicken goat cheese spinach

Ingredients (Serves 3)

  • 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 cup fresh baby spinach
  • 3 Tbsp goat cheese
  • 2 strips turkey bacon, diced
  • paprika and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Roughly chop the spinach and place in a small bowl with 1/4 c water. Microwave on high for one minute. Drain excess water.

2. Add the goat cheese and bacon to the bowl with the spinach and stir to combine.

3. Cut a slit in the side of each chicken breast and stuff 1/3 of the mixture inside each one.

4. Sprinkle with paprika and black pepper and sear both sides in a hot pan (Optional: cook in the same pan you cooked the bacon in for added flavor).

5. Transfer the chicken to a greased baking dish, cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

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Finally, thanks to everyone who commented, texted, tweeted, called and facebooked me a happy birthday!! I had a wonderful day and am lucky to have such great people in my life.

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Chicken

The Nutty Pepper Stirfry

August 10, 2020 by Lindsay 22 Comments

We all know I’m a big fan of stirfrys. And for some reason, right after I go to the grocery store, I can’t help but crave one! I think it’s because my fridge is stuffed so fun of delicious looking vegetables and they’re all I can really think about eating.

But yesterday I took my stirfry to a whole new level. First of all, I had a plethora of peppers. I picked up a poblano and cubanelle pepper this week just because they looked good….and yellow peppers were on sale for $1 each so you know I buy at least 4 every time I’ve been in the grocery store since that started! Add a red pepper and you’ve got yourself a pepper explosion!

Before I went to work, I chopped up all of my peppers, along with some broccoli, onion, green beans and carrots. I put them in a tupperware with some garlic and threw them in the fridge. Then I sliced up a leftover chicken breast from our weekend grilling. When I got home from work, all I had to do was heat up the pan and toss everything in.

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I wanted to change things up a little bit and a peanutty sauce was sounding really good. I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out, but I thought I’d give it a whirl.

I added 1/4 c peanut butter and 1/2 c vegetable broth to a small pan, along with some soy sauce and ginger and heated it up, stirring until smooth. Then I added a little cornstarch to thicken it up. First taste test? Blah. It definitely needed something else. I added a little more vegetable broth, a pinch of brown sugar and a splash of orange juice and voila! Deliciousness.

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You could also pour the sauce over the stirfry before serving, but I’m a control freak when it comes to sauces so I like to serve mine on the side.

After the veggies cooked to crisp tender, I added the chicken to warm it up. I also added some chopped cashews for a nice nutty crunch!

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Serve the stirfry over brown rice and top with peanut sauce.

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I didn’t really measure stuff as I was adding it to the sauce, but here’s my best guess as to the amount of each ingredient I used:

Nutty Pepper StirFry Sauce

by Lindsay L

Cook Time: 10 min

Ingredients (1 cup)

  • 1/4 c creamy peanut butter
  • 3/4 c low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
  • 2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp orange juice
  • 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp corn starch

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat until thickened.

Serve over stirfry.

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Enjoy!

–Lindsay–

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Loaded Spinach Salad

November 7, 2013 by Lindsay 26 Comments

This, my friends, is TBS.

The. Best. Salad.

EVER!

Actually, it’s so good that I’ve eaten it for dinner two nights in a row. That’s right. The exact same salad. And quite honestly, I’ll probably eat it again tonight. What can I say…I’m a creature of habit. In fact, if it weren’t for my hubby, I wouldn’t have a food blog…because I’d just eat the same four things over and over…and no one wants to see that. So for his sake (and yours!) I usually try to get a little more creative in the kitchen.

BUT since the hubby has been busy with work for the past few nights, I’ve allowed myself the indulgence of repetitive eating 🙂

So let’s build this salad, shall we?

Start with about 2 cups of baby spinach. Add 1/2 c quinoa. Then pile on the toppings. This should include, but is not limited to:
-strawberries
-red peppers
-apples
-red onions (forgot these the first night!)
-roasted sweet potato

Top with sesame ginger dressing and dig in!

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Lather, rinse, repeat for night 2!

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I enjoyed the other half of my red pepper and the other half of my apple on the side each night! Protein, veggies and fruit- oh my! There’s not a single thing about this salad that I don’t LOVE 🙂

So tell me, what’s your absolute favorite salad topping?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Filed Under: Uncategorized

2 Hours of Food Prep on a Sunday

October 26, 2020 by Lindsay 32 Comments

This is what two hours in the kitchen on a Sunday morning can get you:

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That would be 10 meat muffins, 6 turkey burgers, 1 pan of lasagna (baked in 3 individual pans) and 2 containers of spaghetti sauce.

Also known as “what the hubby will be eating on Tuesdays and Thursday evenings for the next several weeks.”

Spring quarter starts today, and since I’ll now be gone on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, I knew I needed to prepare some simple meals for the hubby…unless I was ok with him eating an entire frozen pizza two nights a week! That doesn’t exactly jive with my “Dietitian in training” status so I got to work.

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I started with the meatloaf and the turkey burgers. Since they have pretty similar ingredients, it was easy to make them at the same time. I opted to cook the meatloaf in muffin form to make it easy to store in individual batches.

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While those were cooling, I got to work on the meat sauce for the lasagna. As usual, I added a ton of vegetables and garlic. After they had been sauteing for a while,  I added two big cans of no-salt-added crushed tomatoes and a can of no-salt-added fire roasted diced tomatoes to the pan.

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While the sauce simmered, I cooked the lasagna noodles and mixed together the frozen spinach and ricotta cheese. I had to trim each noodle by about 2 inches so that they would fit in the disposable pans I bought, but I knew it would be a lot easier to store the three separate pans than it would be to make room for an entire pan of lasagna in my freezer. I essentially put one “row” of my typical pan of lasagna in each container.

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I covered each one with foil and into the oven they went for 30 minutes. Once everything was cooled, I got it ready for the freezer. I wanted to divide everything into typical “dinner portions” for the hubby so I paired the turkey burgers and split the meat muffins into 3, 3 and 4. This will make it easy for me to simply grab a bag out of the freezer the night before and put it in the fridge so that all the hubby has to do is heat it up. For the lasagna, I can take out on pan at a time and he can eat half for dinner and the other half for lunch.

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I divided the remaining sauce into two tupperware containers so I can just pull one out and defrost it for an easy spaghetti dinner during the week!

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Later in the afternoon, I did some more prep work. I cooked a big batch of quinoa to eat throughout the week and I roasted a couple cans of chickpeas (one of my favorite snacks!) so that I could pack them to munch on between classes.

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Last week, I saw Heather’s post for Crunchy Green Split Peas and I was immediately intrigued. I’ve never cooked split peas myself and have no conscious memory of ever eating them…although I suspect my mom probably made them when I was younger…but they’re packed with protein and fiber so I decided to give them a try. Like lentils, you don’t have to soak them- just rinse them off, put them in a pot with some water and let them simmer for 20 minutes or so. Since I was already roasting the chickpeas, I decided to do the same to the peas. I patted them dry, sprayed them with olive oil and seasoned them, then stuck them in the oven at 400 degrees F, stirring them every 10 minutes or so until crunchy.

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The result? They’re good! I saved half of them after cooking so I can try them non-roasted. I’ll have to get back to you on my opinion.As for the roasted kind? Perfect to munch on mixed with my chickpeas.

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If you close your eyes and use your imagination, they taste just like candy buttons. Remember those?!

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Ok, so not exactly….but the size and shape are dead on!

So there you have it! I’m ready to face this quarter head on 🙂 Now you tell me- have you ever had split peas? What’s your favorite way to eat them?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Homemade Wheat Thins

February 23, 2015 by Lindsay 45 Comments

An easy, homemade version store-bought Wheat Thins!

**Pictures updated 2/2015**

Over the weekend I made a batch of Homemade Wheat Thins thanks to a deliciously simple recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod. They were simple to make and taste even better than store-bought! If you’re a cracker lover like me, give them a try!

These easy, homemade Wheat Thins taste even better than store bought!

 

What’s your favorite cracker? Have you ever tried to make it at home?

Enjoy, my friends!
–Lindsay–

 

Filed Under: Snack

Curried Turkey & Lentil Burgers

December 9, 2020 by Lindsay 18 Comments

Ever since Kerstin posted these Indian Saag Naanburgers about a month ago, they’ve been lurking in the back of my mind. I had some ground turkey in the fridge that was ready to be used today, so I started brainstorming.

I thought about an Indian Turkey & Lentils dish that I made a few weeks ago and thought it might be fun to use 1/2 the package of turkey and then add some lentils to the burgers.

Then I remembered these Sweet Potato & Pecan Burgers that I also had bookmarked from Cooking Light. I pulled them up to refresh my memory and realized that they actually got pretty bad reviews, especially for a Cooking Light recipe! But still, I believed I could incorporate some sweet potatoes into my burgers. I mean, curried roasted sweet potatoes are one of my favorite things after all!

So off I went to the kitchen to attempt to combine those three recipes!

I started by cooking the lentils. While they were simmering, I put the turkey in a large bowl with some garlic. I microwaved a large sweet potato and scooped half of it into the bowl. I added some spices,  panko, onion and some Chobani. Finally, I threw in the lentils. Then I dug in, mixed everything together and formed some patties!

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I stuck them in the freezer for about 45 minutes, pan seared them on both sides and popped them in the oven. See my handy dandy thermometer?!

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I topped the burgers with some pepperjack cheese and a tomato slice.

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The results?! Good!  After reading the reviews of the sweet potato burgers, I was worried that these would be soft and mushy. If you’re comparing them to straight meat burgers they are definitely softer, but considering the ingredients, they turned out better than I expected. The pan searing gave them a nice brown outside. I baked them because I was worried they would fall apart if I flipped them too often in the pan, but I think they would have been fine. Next time I’m going to try pan searing them the whole way….or maybe grilling them if I get brave!

I thought about making the saag topping, but got lazy. However, I told the hubby about it and he thought he would enjoy it so I’ll definitely add that next time! You could also add more spices to the burgers, perhaps some paprika or  even some bbq sauce?!

Curried Turkey & Lentil Burgers

by Lindsay L

Prep Time: 45 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Keywords: bake pan sear sandwich entree burger healthy lentils turkey Indian

Ingredients (6-8 burgers)

  • 1/2 lb ground turkey
  • 1/2 large sweet potato
  • 1/2 c cooked lentils
  • 1/4 c onion, diced
  • 1/2 c panko breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 c Chobani non-fat Greek yogurt
  • 3 cloves garlic, diced
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Stab sweet potato with a fork all over. Microwave on high for 5-6 minutes. Cut in half length-wise and let cool.

2. Add turkey, lentils, onion, garlic & half the sweet potato to a large bowl.

3. Add spices, panko and yogurt.

4. Using your hands, mix everything together and form into patties.

5. Place in the freezer for 30-45 minutes.

6. Choose desired cooking method. Pan sear or grill until turkey is cooked through, or pan sear on both sides and bake at 400 degrees for approximately 20 minutes, or until cooked through.

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Best part? Leftovers for lunch!

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What’s the most creative burger you’ve ever made?!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Tex Mex Barley Bake

August 10, 2020 by Lindsay 12 Comments

 

A few weeks ago, I came across a recipe for a Tex Mex bake that involved barley in the March issue of Rachel Ray’s Magazine. I’d been thinking about using barley as my pick of the week for a a couple weeks and this seemed like a good way to ease into it since the hubby adores Mexican.

I wasn’t totally digging Ray Ray’s version because it had snap peas in it, which I’m all about, but not in a dish like this…I also had 1/2 lb ground turkey that I needed to use up, so I made my own version.

Here’s what you do:

Start by cooking your turkey with some garlic, onion, mushroom and green pepper. Then add some black beans, tomato and corn. I seasoned the mixture with cumin and cayenne pepper.

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While that’s cooking, cook your barley. I found quick-cooking pearl barley at my grocery store and decided it would be perfect. Just boil water, add and let simmer for 10 minutes.

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Add your barley to the meat mixture and remove from heat. Then, melt 1 Tbsp butter in a pan and add 2 Tbsp flour. Whisk together for 1 minute, then add some warm milk. Bring to a simmer, then added some shredded pepperjack cheese and stir until melted. Then add the cheese mixture to the meat mixture. I used 1 1/2 c milk and about 1 1/2 c cheese, which is a reduced amount compared to what Rachel used. I didn’t even end up using all of that once I had the cheese mixture made. It’s up to you how cheesey you want to make it. I probably would have been fine with about 3/4 c milk and 1 c cheese.

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Transfer the mixture to a baking dish, cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover, top with crumbled tortilla chips and return to the oven for 10 more minutes.

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Tex Mex Barley Bake

by Lindsay L

Prep Time: 15 min

Keywords: bake saute entree healthy ground turkey barley black beans Mexican

Ingredients (Serves 4)

  • 1/2 lb ground turkey
  • 1/2 c green pepper, diced
  • 1/2 c mushroom, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 c onion, diced
  • 1 can (no salt added) or 1 1/2 c black beans
  • 1 medium tomato, diced
  • 1/2 c no salt added corn
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 c cooked barley
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 2 Tbsp flour
  • 3/4 c skim milk, warmed
  • 1 c pepperjack cheese, shredded
  • tortilla chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine garlic, onion, green pepper, mushroom and turkey in a large skillet over medium heat.

3. Add black beans, corn and tomatoes and cook until turkey is cooked through.

4. Cook barley according to package directions and add to meat mixture.

5. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour and whisk for 1 minute.

6. Slowly add milk and bring to a simmer.

7. Add shredded cheese, stirring until melted.

8. Pour cheese mixture over meat mixture and stir to combine.

9. Transfer mixture to a casserole dish, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

10. Remove foil, top with tortilla chips and return to oven for 10 minutes.

11. Serve warm.

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I served mine with roasted balsamic asparagus for the hubby and sauteed balsamic kale for me!

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Serve with extra chips, or over extra chips like taco salad:

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In conclusion, the hubby would like you to commiserate with him because he has consumed almost his entire Costco-sized bottle of Cholula. Waa waa….

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So tell me, are you a hot sauce fanatic?

Hope you guys enjoy this recipe. I thought it was delicious and I’m sure the hubby will be eating the leftovers in a taco for lunch tomorrow 🙂

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Reader Request: Banana Cookies

August 10, 2020 by Lindsay 11 Comments

Hold on to your socks, folks! Because this recipe could possibly knock them right off!

My friend Sarah told me via The Lean Green Bean facebook page that she was looking for a recipe for banana cookies. She told me they could have peanut butter and chocolate chips and even oats! I personally love banana baked goods. I’m constantly making banana bread and banana muffins, but i’d never tried cookies before so I was super excited. The hubby, however, was not so excited. He doesn’t like banana baked goods. In fact, he’s requested that I place a moratorium on reader requests for anything banana.

You know what that means? Keep them coming!! 😉

Anyways, I began my cookie quest by doing a little google research. As usual, I couldn’t find anything that was striking my fancy….so after getting the basic idea, I did my own thing.

They turned out great! So here’s what you do:

Start with your butter and sugar:

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Look who I caught sneaking in for a taste:

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Add your egg, bananas, peanut butter and vanilla. My bananas were super soft so I didn’t even bother mashing them first. I made these last week and wanted to make sure there were still some left on Superbowl Sunday so Sarah could taste the finished product. To make sure this happened, I waited until Thursday to make the cookies and my bananas were ready to use on Monday. Hence, my bananas were super speckly. But that’s fine, perfect for baking:

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Stir in your dry ingredients and add your chocolate chips:

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Scoop them onto cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees F for 12-14 minutes.

DSC 7639While Poco likes to sneak in during the baking process, Marcus prefers to just wait until the cookies are baked before he tries to steal one. They keep me on my toes:

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Banana Cookies

by Lindsay L

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 12-14 min

Keywords: bake dessert healthy banana chocolate peanut butter

Ingredients (approx 30 cookies)

  • 1/2 c peanut butter
  • 1 egg
  • 2-3 mashed bananas (about 3/4 c)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 c white sugar
  • 1/4 c brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 c oats
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 c chocolate chips
  • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 c whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 c AP flour

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream butter and sugars. Add the egg, peanut butter, vanilla and bananas and mix until well combined.

3. Mix in flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and oats until just combined.

4. Stir in chocolate chips.

5. Scoop onto cookie sheet at bake 12-14 minutes.

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The result? Delicious. The only things I might recommend are that if you really want the peanut butter taste to come through, add a bit more. It’s pretty faint in this version. And don’t add too many chocolate chips because they can overpower the taste of the bananas.

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So tell me, do you like banana baked goods?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Homemade Nutrigrain Bars

June 25, 2021 by Lindsay 44 Comments

Normally I’m pretty good at managing my time. In fact, I’d even go so far as to say I’m great at it. I’m a  busy girl, and I do a pretty good job of getting everything done on time, and in an organized fashion.

I’m also slightly obsessive. Obsessive compulsive when it comes to things like checking three times in a row to make sure my alarm is set, or that I did in fact put my keys in my bag. Other times I get obsessive about ideas. Like the time I decided, despite the fact that I had just started 3 weeks of vacation, that my office need to be cleaned and organized at one o’clock in the morning. Or the time I decided I needed to scrapbook an entire year of  photos in 2 days. Or the time I found a wallet that I was in love with but was too cheap to pay for and I decided I needed to find one at half the price they were selling it in the stores. You get the idea…

So yesterday, when I decided that I HAD to make homemade nutrigrain bars, nothing was going to stop me. Did I have other things I should have been doing instead? Yes. Do I have a huge biochem test next week that I should be studying for? Absolutely. Am I supposed to be writing a dietary menu for a renal patient and doing a 9 page case study for my practicum? Yep. Did any of that stop me? Absolutely not.

It all started on the bus ride back to my car after class. I don’t usually eat Nutrigrain bars because they higher in sugar and they have a super long list of what I view as unnecessary ingredients. But occasionally I buy them for the hubby because he likes to have things to snack on. Yesterday I was a little out of sorts and running behind and I grabbed one of the bars on my way to class. As I sat there on the bus eating it, I started thinking about fig newtons. And how they were sort of similar. And how I loved them as a kid. And how I want to try this recipe for them. Sidetracked.  And how I loved them. See what I mean about being out of sorts? What it boils down to is that I decided that I was quite capable of making my own version of homemade nutrigrain bars and that’s what I spent my evening doing. (After I took a 3 hour nap because I am feeling pre-sick and am trying to fend it off…but let’s not talk about that).

After doing some googling and not finding any recipes that I deemed super healthy, I made up my own but these two gave me a starting point: Jenna’s Fig Newtons and Carrie’s Almost Nutrigrain Bars.

Here’s what I came up with:

Combine some greek yogurt and brown sugar. Add an egg and some vanilla. Stir in some flour and oats, baking powder,  baking soda and cinnamon.

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Freeze the dough for a little bit and then press it out into nutrigrain sized rectangles (Yes I’m aware that that’s not very precise…deal with it!) Use a knife to cut off the scraggly edges.

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For my fruit filling, I used the leftover blackberry jam I made back in December when I was making these blackberry oatmeal bars and had stored in the freezer until now.

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You could also make your own by mixing some frozen berries with a little bit of sugar and letting it boil away 🙂 Or just use store bought.

Spread some fruit on the rectangles, fold the dough over the top and pinch the seams to seal.

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Bake and enjoy! I literally closed my eyes when I opened the oven because I was afraid the blackberries would have leaked out everywhere, but they didn’t! This was as bad as it got!

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I did learn, however, that if you’re going to put a little dough patch over a place where the dough split when folding, you should spend a little time making it blend in instead of just slapping it on there, or it will look like a tumor after baking:

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The result? They’re not bad guys! Considering I didn’t use any butter or oil and very little sugar! They puffed up a bit more than i thought they would, but that’s ok. I thought I was putting too much filling in, or that the filling would be too watery but it stayed put! The shell is chewy. It’s been my experience that using greek yogurt in baking makes things chewy. And the shell doesn’t have as much flavor as if I had used some butter or a little more sugar, but i’m used to doing that with my baking so it tastes pretty good to me!

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[print_this]

Homemade Nutrigrain Bars

1 1/4 c whole wheat flour
1 c oats
1/2 c plain Chobani greek yogurt
1 egg
1/4 c brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
1) Mix the yogurt and brown sugar on medium for 1 minute.
2) Add the egg and vanilla.
3) Stir in the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.
4) Shape dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and put in the freezer for 30 min.
5) Divide the dough in half, put half back in the dough back in the freezer.
6) Roll or press the dough into a rough rectangle. Trim off the sides and cut into squares that are approximately 3 or 4 inches by 4 inches.
7) Spoon some fruit onto the square, fold dough in half and press seams to close.
8 ) Repeat with the rest of the dough.
9) Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

*Makes 8-9 bars

[/print_this]

So tell me, how would you tweak this recipe but still keep it healthy?!

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Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Reader Request: Black Bean Soup

September 29, 2016 by Lindsay 5 Comments

Let me start by saying that I don’t like black bean soup. In fact, until last year, I couldn’t even eat black beans themselves. Over the past year, I’ve gotten better at adding them to things and I even kinda like them in my salsa.

Let me also say that the hubby loves black bean soup. Especially from Panera. So when some family friends put in a request for “healthy black bean soup”, I decided I would give it a try.

I started by scouring the internet for recipes. And let me tell you, there are a lot out there. Just for kicks, I looked up the nutrition facts for Panera’s black bean soup. 1,590 mg of sodium per serving. That was all the motivation I needed.

Being that I’m unfamiliar with black bean soup, let me tell you what I do know about it:
-the broth is black
-there doesn’t appear to be anything in it but black beans

However, all of the recipes I looked at involved onions, celery and red pepper. So I started with that. Except I left out the celery, for the sake of the hubby. Me being the genius that I am, I didn’t exactly read through the directions of all the recipes I was looking at. I was more focused on the ingredients. So I decided since I didn’t recall seeing any of these ingredients in black bean soup before, it must mean they were chopped up very small.

SO, I spent an inordinate amount of time chopping up my onion, red pepper and garlic into veeeeeery time pieces.

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After sauteing them for a while, I added the chicken broth, some cumin and some cayenne pepper and half a can of black beans:

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It was about this time that I realized why I’d never seen anything besides black beans in black bean soup. BECAUSE YOU PUREE IT! DUH. Had I read the directions a bit earlier, I might have caught onto this fact. But not to worry- I stayed cool as a cucumber, grabbed my immersion blender and proceeded. Messily, I might add. There wasn’t a lot of stuff in the pot at this point and it was very splatter-y…but I managed.

Finally, I added the rest of the black beans. To cut back on the sodium, I choose low-sodium black beans. I opted to drain and rinse one can, and use the liquid in the second. You could use the liquid from both, or do what I did, or you could use one can with liquid and another cans worth of beans from your freezer. DECISIONS, DECISIONS, my friends.

To thicken the soup even more, I mixed some cornstarch and water, poured it in and let it simmer. I also added some lemon juice.

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The result? Not bad, but per the hubby…it needs a little work.

To kick it up a notch, here are some suggestions:

-double the amount of cumin and cayenne pepper.
-add some sweet potatoes at the very beginning and puree them up with the first ingredients

Bottom line: If you’re used to Panera’s black bean soup, your system might be in for a little shock with this low-sodium version. But with a little doctoring and a extra spices, this version can taste just as good 🙂 And you’ll be better for it!

[print_this]

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:
olive oil
½ a medium onion, diced
1/4 red bell pepper, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cup low sodium broth
2 cans low-sodium black beans
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 ½ Tbsp cornstarch
1 ½ Tbsp water
juice of ½ a lemon

Directions:
-Heat olive oil in a pan. Add onions, garlic and red peppers and sauté until soft.
-Add broth and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
-Add half a can of beans (drained and rinsed) and spices. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
-Using an immersion blender (or a regular blender), puree until well blended.
-Add the rest of the beans, including the liquid from the second can.
-Mix the cornstarch and water together and add to the soup, along with the lemon juice.
-Simmer until thickened, 5-10 minutes longer.
-Garnish with non-fat Greek yogurt and cilantro if desired.

[/print_this]

 

So tell me, what’s your favorite way to make black bean soup healthy?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Cornbread, Apple & Sausage Stuffed Peppers

August 10, 2020 by Lindsay 8 Comments

Last night, the hubby and I put together one of the best dins we’ve had in a while. We finally went grocery shopping, so we’re all stocked up! While I’m not a big red meat fan, the hubby does love his steak. Since I never make it for him, he picked up a steak for himself and was quite excited about making it.

He wanted me to let you all know that while he is a Weber enthusiast, he was not enthused about heading out to light the grill when it was 10 degrees outside, so he cooked his steak on the Foreman…. don’t judge him 🙂

We also bought some baby bok choy which we really enjoy, but the past several weeks we’ve tried to buy it, it has not looked its best. Today we scored a great looking bunch. Although we like it, we really haven’t cooked it all that often, so the hubby did a little google research and then got to work sauteing it with some bacon, onions and garlic.

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While he was working on that, I got to work on my dinner. I’m not a fan of traditional stuffed peppers but I thought putting this stuffing in a pepper would be delicious! I started by cooking some quinoa, and popping my red pepper in the oven.

DSC 7312And yes, that is another sweet potato but I’ll have you know that the hubby requested it tonight because he wanted potatoes with his steak 🙂

I  chopped up two of my Cranberry Corn Muffins and put them in the oven as well.

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Next, I chopped up some garlic, onion and celery and put them in a saute pan. While those cooked, I diced up a chicken sausage, half an apple and some craisins and added that to the pan as well. I also used a little bit of curry powder and paprika but didn’t want to add too much because I like the flavor of the chicken sausage.

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When the potatoes were done, I took everything out of the oven and put the pepper on a bed on quinoa. Then, I added the muffin bits into the sausage mixture, along with a little chicken broth and mixed everything together.

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About this time, the hubby put his steak on the “grill”. He added some bacon for flavor and discarded it when it was done cooking.

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I added the stuffing mixture to my pepper and we were ready to go!

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We both thoroughly enjoyed our dinners. My stuffing had great flavor and and the pepper was cooked just right! The hubby added a little blue cheese to his steak and loved every bite.

So tell me, which one do you think looks better?

The hubby also enjoyed one of his favorite beers 🙂

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Cornbread Apple & Sausage Stuffed Peppers

by Lindsay L

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 30 min

Keywords: bake saute entree healthy quinoa chicken sausage apple cranberry

Ingredients (Serves 2)

  • 2 red bell peppers
  • ½ c celery, diced
  • ½ c onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 apple, diced
  • 1/2 tsp curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 2 corn muffins, roughly chopped
  • handful of Craisins
  • 1/2 c low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 fully cooked chicken sausages, diced
  • 1 cup cooked quinoa

Instructions

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

-Slice the top and bottom off the peppers and stand them on a baking sheet. Bake until tender, approximately 30 minutes.

-Roughly chop corn muffins and place on a baking sheet. Bake until slightly browned and crispy.

-Saute onion, celery and garlic until soft. Add apple and sausage and continue to cook until apple softens slightly. Add seasonings to taste.

-Add the Craisins and corn muffins to the sausage mixture along with chicken broth. Stir to combine.

-Place ½ cup quinoa on each plate and top with peppers.

-Spoon stuffing mixture into peppers and serve warm.

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Enjoy!

–Lindsay–

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Apple

Curried Sweet Potato & Red Pepper Dip

August 10, 2020 by Lindsay 7 Comments

This whole thing started while I was thinking about making some more Sweet Potato Hummus. Since I’ve been looking for ways to use up the plain Chobani that I have left in my fridge, I contemplated mixing that in. Then I thought that sounded pretty gross. I like the idea of mixing in guacamole but hummus? Not so much. But I really wanted the sweet potato.

Hi, my name is Lindsay, and I’m addicted to sweet potatoes.

I started thinking about what I could mix with the sweet potato and Greek yogurt and I settled on a red pepper. They were on sale for $1 each at the grocery store a couple weeks ago and I may or may not have bought 10 a few. I decided roasting the red pepper was in order so into the oven it went. I poked some holes in a sweet potato and stuck it in the microwave for 6 minutes.

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Then into the food processor it went. I added about half a container of the yogurt…and then I got a little crazy and just dumped the whole thing in.

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After the first mixing, I added the juice from one lemon, some paprika and some cayenne pepper.

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Then, as usual, I added more cayenne pepper.

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Then I started thinking hmm…these ingredients are suspiciously similar to what I use to make my curried roasted sweet potatoes. Except the curry powder was noticeably absent. Not gonna lie, I was a little nervous about what that would do to my lovely dip, so I scooped out a little bit (so I wouldn’t potentially ruin the whole batch), dumped in some curry powder and gave it a whirl. AND IT ROCKED.

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The sweet potato and roasted red pepper and pretty sweet. If you like sweet, you could definitely leave the curry powder out and enjoy it. HOWEVER, the curry powder really takes it up a notch. It helps cut the sweetness and gives it some heat. AND, it tastes just like my roasted sweet potatoes.

DSC 7244Using a food processor, you can quickly whip up this healthy, vegetarian curried sweet potato & red pepper dip.

Here’s the recipe. Give it a try!

Curried Sweet Potato & Red Pepper Dip

by Lindsay L

Keywords: food processor appetizer snack healthy vegetarian sweet potato greek yogurt

Ingredients (approx 1 cup)

  • 1 medium sweet potato
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 lemon
  • 6 oz plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1-2 tsp curry powder
  • 1/2 -1 tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place red pepper on a baking tray and roast until the skin is blackened and blistered, about 40 minutes.

Allow it to cool and remove the outer skin, stem and seeds.

Poke holes in the sweet potato with a fork. Microwave on high for 6 minutes, turning once half way through.

Slice the sweet potato open and scoop out the cooked potato.

Place the red pepper and sweet potato in a small food processor.

Add the greek yogurt and combine until smooth.

Add the juice from the lemon, and the spices to your desired taste and mix again.

Chill until cold, then serve with crackers or raw veggies.

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So tell me, what’s your favorite kind of dip?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Filed Under: Appetizer, Snack Tagged With: Sweet Potato

Simple For Scotty: Hot Meat & Broccoli Bake

August 6, 2020 by Lindsay 17 Comments

After college, when I moved out of my parents house for good, my dad gave me a stack of index cards held by a rubber band that was so old it was practically disintegrating. The cards were his recipe collection from way back when he was living on his own.

I love looking through them and thinking about my dad cooking some of these meals on his own so many years ago. Especially since my mom was always the one that did the cooking while I was growing up. (Except when my dad made waffles for dinner as a special treat!)

Since my mother-in-law has been asking me to post some recipes that are easy enough for my father-in-law to put together on nights that she’s working late, I thought these recipes would be a perfect place to start!

Enter Scott. Scott is my father-in-law. I love him to death, but he’s not what one would call proficient in the kitchen. In fact, I’ve never actually seen him do anything in the kitchen besides open a beer! Now, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that….I’m just trying to give you a clear picture of what we’re working with here.

This first recipe has a limited number of ingredients and doesn’t involve anything more complicated than boiling water so it seemed like a good place to start! Here’s the original recipe:

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Here is what I did, and what you can do to make it even easier:

Turn the oven on and set it to 350 degrees. Consult your oven’s manual for step-by-step directions.

Take some frozen, pre-cooked meat out of the freezer, because we don’t want to push the limits by actually requiring any cooking yet.  In my case, it was pork tenderloin. Usually it would be chicken. Most people probably have some sort of pre-cooked meat in the freezer. If not, next time you cook some, throw in a little extra and freeze it for occasions such as this.

Next, I steamed some broccoli. Don’t panic, Scott. All that involves is tossing some pre-cut broccoli in a tupperware container, adding a little water and putting it in the microwave for 3 minutes. OR just use a bag of frozen broccoli.

Finally, the most complicated part…the onion. I’d bet that most people have a partial onion in their fridge. I almost never use all of one at one time. So all this requires is taking it out of it’s container and roughly chopping it with a big knife a few times. YOU CAN DO IT!!

Put these three things in a small baking dish:

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I opted to leave out the celery because the hubby doesn’t like it. I also opted to skip cooking the onion “in a small amount of cooking fat” as the recipe says, because you’re going to bake it anyways so who cares.

Next, open a can of cream of something soup. I chose to use cream of mushroom soup (healthy request) because I was using pork instead of chicken…but either would be fine. You could also use cream of celery or something. Pour that on top of everything else.

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Here’s where I changed it up a little bit. I realized I didn’t have any cheddar cheese soup on hand. I’m not sure if they even make that anymore? I contemplated mixing in some shredded cheese, but opted to just open a can of cream of chicken soup (healthy request) and mix that in too. I also opted to leave out the can of water. If you want your sauce a little runnier, all that would entail would be filling up the can that the cream of mushroom soup came out of with water and pouring it into the dish. Then mix everything together. You could add some spices here if you want to get fancy, like black pepper or cayenne pepper…If you’re a fan of rice, pull out an Uncle Ben’s 90 sec rice, tear each edge at the top, microwave for 90 seconds and dump the rice into the dish too. If you’d rather have pasta, follow the instructions below.

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Put it in the oven for 1 hour until hot and bubbly.

Meanwhile, fill a big pot with water and put it on the stove. Turn the burner on high and when the water starts boiling (that means big bubbles will be steadily forming), add some noodles 🙂 Cook for the amount of time stated on the bag/box of noodles.

When everything is done, put some noodles on a plate and top with the meat and broccoli mixture!

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Congrats, Scotty…you just made your first meal 🙂

Enjoy!!! (and then put your dishes in the dishwasher)

So tell me, have your significant other learned to help you out in the kitchen? What’s the first thing you taught them?

–Lindsay–

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Meatloaf with Cajun Spices

August 12, 2020 by Lindsay 6 Comments

Tonight I have another family recipe for you! My mom used to make this meatloaf all the time when I was growing up. I never ate it. BUT, it wasn’t because it wasn’t good. I was just picky and hated pretty much everything that wasn’t Cheerios 🙂

My sister loves this meatloaf. My parents love it. My husband loves it. I, in my wise older years, have come to like it. Trust me, it’s a good one! While we were visiting my parents for Christmas, my dad suggested that I put it on the blog so that all of you could enjoy it to!

*If you’ve looked at my last few posts, you’ll notice I’ve started putting a printable recipe at the bottom. This was a reader request and I’m doing my best. As you know, I don’t usually measure things…so please understand that some of the recipes are not set in stone, I’m just giving you my best estimation on how much of each ingredient I used. Feel free to adjust as necessary. (Eventually I’ll hopefully add printable recipes to everything I’ve posted so far…but it might take a while).

That being said, this is the only meatloaf that I make where I actually follow the recipe!

So here we go!

Dice your veggies and saute in butter. Add the spices, Tabasco and Worcestershire.
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Next, add the ketchup and evaporated milk and cook for another two minutes:
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Transfer the veggies to a bowl and let them cool. Once they’ve cooled, add the meat (I used 1 lb ground pork and 1 lb ground turkey), 2 eggs and breadcrumbs. You can either mix everything together right on the pan, or in a bowl. Then form the mixture into a loaf (or two).

DSC 7025Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until meat is cooked through.
DSC 7029DSC 7031Cajun Meatloaf

This is one of those recipes that I can never make quite as well as my mom did, so my loaves were a little loose, but after I let them rest, they were sliceable!
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Cajun Meatloaf

 

by Lindsay L

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 30 min

Ingredients (Serves 4)

  • 2 bay leaves (optional)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 3/4 cup onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup celery, chopped
  • 1/2 cup green or red pepper, chopped
  • 1/4 c green onion
  • 2 Tbsp Tabasco
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire
  • 1/2 cup evaporated milk
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 2 tsp garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 lb ground beef (or turkey)
  • 1/2 lb ground pork
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs
  • 2 eggs

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Melt butter in a large pan. Add onions, celery, peppers, green onion, garlic, Tabasco, Worcestershire, and seasonings.

3. Saute until soft, then stir in milk and ketchup. Cook 2 min more.

4. Remove from heat and cool to room temp.

5. Put meat in bowl or pan. Add eggs, breadcrumbs and vegetables (take out bay leaves if using).

6. Shape into one large loaf or two smaller loaves.

7. Bake 25-30 minutes or until meat is cooked through.

8. Let rest 10 minutes, slice and serve!

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So tell me, do you like meatloaf?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Filed Under: Dinner

Lindsay’s Lunchbox: Part 1

October 26, 2020 by Lindsay 6 Comments

Happy Friday, friends! Today I’m going to start something new.

fit+and+fresh

One of the biggest requests I got when I asked readers what they wanted to see on The Lean Green Bean in 2011 was suggestions for packed lunches. (**Sidenote, my new lunch box for this year is a Fit N Fresh and has all of those cool containers pictured above in it…it’s awesome!) As many of you know, I’m currently a student. I have class every day of the week. I’m taking classes at two schools. Most days I’m gone 7-5, just like a normal work day. While I don’t exactly get a lunch break, unless you count sitting in my car, cramming food in my mouth in the school parking lot, all the while looking over my shoulder to make sure I don’t miss the bus a lunch break. But I do pack my lunch….and I eat it when I can 🙂

SO, from now on I’m going to use Fridays to share some lunch ideas with you! Many of them will be cold lunches, since I don’t have access to a microwave most days, but some will be hot (I do get to eat lunch at home a couple days a week)! And many can be altered or added to if you want to heat them up.

Are you ready? Here we go!

The best advice I can give my fellow lunch-packers is to start early. I usually start getting my lunch components ready on Sunday.

For example, this past Sunday I:

-made a batch of Sweet Potato Hummus
-threw some chicken breasts in the crockpot when I woke up with some broth and let them cook all day. When they were done, I shredded them and made a big batch of chicken salad
-washed a bunch of spinach and sliced some red onions to be used for spinach salad
-made a batch of roasted chickpeas

This makes it a lot easier when you actually get ready to pack your lunch each night. (Please do it at night. You’re WAY more likely to actually pack it. If you wait until morning, before you know it you’ll wake up late and find yourself running out the door with no lunch!

Here are my suggestions for this week:

1) Hummus.
Easy to make, keeps well in the fridge and the lunch box, cheap! And it’s versatile. Eat it with crackers, pita chips, bagel chips (my new favorite-lower sodium than pita chips) or fresh veggies. Currently loving sweet potato hummus.

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2) Chicken Salad.
Shredding your own chicken cuts down on the sodium vs. canned. You can make a big batch of plain chicken, turn some into salad and freeze some for another week. Or, turn half into salad and store the other half in the fridge. After a few days, decide whether or not you’re sick of it. If you are, put the rest in the freezer. If not, make another batch of chicken salad. I like to eat mine using crackers as a scoop. You can also put it on a sandwich.

All I do when I make chicken salad is add a little (emphasis on little) bit of light mayo OR some plain greek yogurt to the chicken, top with lots of curry powder and cayenne pepper, toss in some green onions and stir to combine. Super easy and super tasty!

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3) Spinach salad.
You can buy big bags of baby spinach at the grocery store for pretty cheap. Prep a big tupperware of the staples (for me, spinach and red onion), then just take some out each day to pack in your lunch. You’re more likely to eat it if it’s already ready to go.

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Add the other toppings the night before. This week I liked sliced apples and pomegranate…deeeelicious!

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If you want to add dressing, put it on the bottom of your tupperware so all the spinach doesn’t get soggy, then mix it around before eating. Just don’t forget your fork, or you’ll be eating with your fingers like I did. Don’t judge me!

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4) Fruit and yogurt.
This is my go-to lunch. I could eat it every day. Put some chopped fruit in a container, pack some yogurt and then mix it all together at lunch time. More apples and pomegranate arils!

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With Chobani. YUM! Speaking of Chobani…i just may have a little Chobani giveaway going on next week for you guys!!! You’ll have to stay tuned 🙂 Greek yogurt is a GREAT way to get some protein at lunch time!

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5) Oatmeal bowls
If you have access to a microwave then this one’s for you! Make a packet of plain instant oatmeal. Push the oatmeal to one side. Put half a container of greek yogurt (I had some Peach Chobani) on the other side. Top with some fruit (you guessed it, apples and pomegranates) and a bunch of cinnamon. Mix it all together and get some of everything in each bite! Other add-in suggestions include raisins, bananas, peanut butter, chocolate chips, granola, cereal, grapes….the list goes on!

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What’s your favorite packed lunch? Send me your ideas and I can include them on future Fridays!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Stock Your Pantry with The Staples

July 18, 2021 by Lindsay 13 Comments

Happy New Year my friends! A few weeks ago, I asked for reader requests to kick off 2011! Well, it’s here now and I couldn’t think of a better way to kick it off then to go back to the basics.

list

When my lovely cousin asked me to do an article about pantry staples, I immediately started writing it in my head. I think it’s important for anyone, no matter what your living situation, to have most of these staples on hand. People often ask me how I have enough time to cook at home so often instead of going out. The answer is a well-stocked pantry. I usually have over half the ingredients a dish requires at home already and I try to use my grocery store trips to get fresh foods and replenish these staples when they run out.

fruit

Having a well-stocked pantry also allows you to whip up an easy meal in a hurry if you have no other ideas.  I was going to wait until after I go to the grocery store tomorrow, but then I thought wait! if this is about pantry staples…then I should have all this stuff on hand even though I haven’t cooked in my own kitchen in almost 2 weeks!

I vividly remember the first time I really stocked my pantry. I guess I must have done it somewhat during my senior year of college when I lived in an apartment…but I was living with 3 other girls and let’s be honest, I was in college and I didn’t really eat that well. A couple months after we graduated, the hubby and I moved into our first apartment. During the move, I was horribly sick with a high fever and was having an allergic reaction to the medicine the doctor gave me. The whole thing was quite miserable…HOWEVER, not even all of that yuck could detract from my excitement for going to the grocery store the first time. Armed with a list similar to the one I’m about to give you, we headed to Wal-Mart and loaded up. By the time we were done, our cart was practically overflowing and the check-out lady was looking at us as if we were slightly crazy. I quickly explained that we were building a pantry so she would quit judging us!

grocery

If the thought of building a pantry from scratch seems daunting, take comfort in the fact that many of you reading this are not going to be starting at the very beginning. You probably already have a lot of these things on hand and after reading the list, you can just fill in the gaps. If you are starting from the beginning, yes it is expensive, yes it takes a while, and yes- it’s almost impossible to find enough cupboard space to store everything….but it’s worth it! If you want to eat healthy, stocking your pantry with healthy foods and time-savers is a great way to get started.

So here we go! I’ve organized this list the way my kitchen is organized because it was the easiest way for me to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything. I have a cupboard right by my stove, a little area of the counter and a drawer where I store a lot of my spices and condiments. It looks like this:

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Then I have a walk-in pantry where I store the rest of the stuff.

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And finally, I added a little list of some of my fridge and freezer staples.

Here’s the list! I debated for a while about whether to write little asides about each thing..I feel like some of you will only want the list, while others want to glean as much info as possible…so the list is big and bold, but my thoughts are also included 🙂 I didn’t want to bore you with pictures of every single thing, but I tried to give you the general idea…don’t judge me by my messy cupboards!

Pantry cupboard
 
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Kosher salt– I rarely add salt when cooking but when I do, I use a pinch of this.
Peppercorns– Freshly ground pepper is so much better than pre-ground. If you don’t have one of these Graviti pepper grinders I highly recommend getting one. I got one from my mother-in-law a couple years ago and have since given them as gifts to several people. Just stick in some batteries, fill with peppercorns and when you turn it upside down over your food, it automatically grinds the pepper for you!
pepper
 Spices– I started by buying a set of jarred spices, and then built on my collection by adding ones that weren’t included in the set. However, there are several in my set that I never use, so if I were doing it again, I would probably just buy empty jars and fill them with spices I know that I use. Some of my most commonly used spices are: cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, oregano, basil, parsley, rosemary, dry mustard, cinnamon, curry powder, chili powder and thyme. I also keep sesame seeds, poppy seeds and salt-free seasoning mixes on hand, as well as garlic powder to use in a pinch if I run out of fresh garlic!
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Extra virgin olive oil– a healthy fat that I use in most of my cooking
Balsamic vinegar– great to have on hand to make salad dressing or pour over roasted vegetables
Decaffeinated tea– for when you’re feeling sick, cold or nostalgic 🙂
Honey– I love the honey bear but I suppose any shaped bottle will suffice…remember these little guys?
04 HoneyBear
White wine for cooking– You can find this specifically designed to keep in your pantry cupboard for cooking, but a regular bottle of white wine will also work!
Pam cooking spray– I don’t use this often since I use Silpats, but every once and a while it comes in handy, especially for loaf pans and muffin tins!
Molasses
Worcestershire sauce– great to add a few dashes to meatloaf or stir-fry
Tabasco-especially if your hubby is obsessed with hot sauces like mine is…see below
Chalula
Sriracha
 
Baking supplies
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Vanilla extract-100% pure please!
All-purpose flour
Whte whole wheat flour– a great way to make your baked goods a little healthier!
Baking powder
Baking soda
White sugar
Brown sugar
Chocolate chips
Powdered sugar
Pantry Staples-Liquids
Canola oil– another healthier fat that you can use to replace butter
 
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Regular vinegar– use it to make your own buttermilk!
Red wine vinegar
Low sodium chicken broth– Imagine is by far the best brand I’ve found as far as low sodium content. As you know, now I make my own veggie broth and freeze it, but it’s always a good idea to have some store-bought on hand!
 
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Pantry Staples-Cans
Canned beans (no salt added)– make sure to rinse them even if they don’t have salt added. Use in a pinch when you run out of dried or don’t have time to make them.
Tomato paste (check sodium content)– most recipes only call for a Tbsp or two of tomato paste. Scoop the rest out of the can and into a ziploc bag. Press to flatten and freeze. When you need some more, just break off a chunk.
Spaghetti sauce (check sodium content)– read the labels to find the one with the lowest sodium content. Use when you don’t have time to make your own.
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Diced tomatoes (no salt added)
Crushed tomatoes (no salt added)– use to make your own spaghetti sauce
Dried beans– one of the cheapest forms of protein, easy to make a big batch, freeze and pull out when needed!
Tuna– I get the kind packed in water. Great way to add protein to salads or casseroles
Chickpeas– another inexpensive protein source. Add to pasta dishes and salads or roast them for a snack!
 
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Cream of chicken/mushroom soups (Healthy Request)– can be used to make enchiladas, crockpot dishes and even gravy in a pinch
Evaporated milk (Skim)– I don’t use this often but occasionally a recipe calls for it and it’s nice to have on hand
Pantry Staples-Veggies
Garlic– While buying the pre-minced kind in the jar is convenient, make sure you look at the label to see what else is in that liquid. I opt for fresh cloves of garlic and mince them up right along with my vegetables or use a garlic press:
 
garlic
Onions– I keep both red and white in stock. I seem to buy at least one onion every time I’m at the store, even if I don’t need them…I’m not sure why
 
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Sweet potatoes
Potatoes
Dried chili peppers– they come in big bags, last forever, and are a great way to add some heat to your favorite dishes like Clam Spaghetti
Pantry Staples-Grains
Brown Rice- uncooked or low sodium instant– just check the sodium content. I love Uncle Ben’s 90 second brown rice, but some of their varieties are really high in sodium
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Bread crumbs– I usually buy unseasoned and then add the spices myself, or you can make your own with some stale bread!
Cornstarch– Great for thickening sauces and soups
Cornmeal– great to make muffins, cornbread and sprinkle under your homemade pizza dough to keep it from sticking to your pizza stone
 
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Quaker oats– add them to cookies and baked goods to make them healthier or use them to make homemade granola
Panko Breadcrumbs– I use these to bread my fish and chicken
Pasta– I always keep several boxes on hand, including spaghetti noodles, lasagna noodles, bowties and elbows
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Cereal– Healthy cereals like Cheerios and Kix are a great way to start your day
Instant oatmeal– Watch the sugar content. I love the pre-packaged fruit flavored ones, but they can be high in added sugars. I’ve started buying plain and adding in my own mix-ins like pumpkin cinnamon or strawberry banana
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Crackers– check the labels. Look for whole grain, low-fat, low sodium and low sugar. I like Kashi Original 7 Grain
Macaroni and cheese– a childhood favorite in the blue box. I usually have one box on hand for emergencies 🙂
Bisquick– great for pancakes, waffles and biscuits or cornbread in a pinch
 
Other Pantry Staples
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Smart Balance peanut butter
Raisins
Mixed nuts– great to pack for a morning or afternoon snack. Mix with dried fruit and cereal or crackers to make your own trail mix.
Granola bars– check the labels!
Fridge Staples Condiments
Syrup– also look for alternatives like yogurt to dip your pancakes in instead
Teriyaki sauce– look for low sodium
Dijon mustard
BBQ Sauce– check the sugar content or make your own
Low-sodium soy sauce– still use sparingly…even the low sodium kind is high in salt!
Ketchup
Low-fat salad dressing– I love Newman’s Sesame Ginger or even better make your own!
Rice vinegar
More Fridge Staples
Stick butter– unsalted please!
Tub Butter– I like Brummel and Brown Yogurt Spread
Milk– Skim!!!!
Eggs
Vanilla yogurt– I put it in scones and other baked goods!
Parmesan cheese– lasts for a long time and you can use sparingly
Lemons-use for the zest or juice to help brighten the flavor of dishes
Carrots
Celery
Ground coffee
Whole wheat tortillas– check the sodium content and make sure the ingredient lists whole wheat first!
Low-fat string cheese– great for snacking…takes you back to childhood!
Turkey bacon
Low-fat Mozzarella cheese
Low-fat Mexican cheese
Salsa
Freezer Staples
Chopped spinach– great to add to lasagna or other pasta dishes
Sandwich bread– look for 100% whole wheat, low sodium and high fiber
Steamfresh veggies– good to use when your favorite is not in season.
Chicken
Ground turkey
Fish
Frozen fruit– great to have on hand to whip up smoothies!
Ginger– store in a ziploc bag and grate with the microplaner when needed

So there you go, my friends. Hope this helps get your New Year off to a great (and organized) start!!

I’ll leave you with this image that the hubby noticed in his beer while we were eating dinner today…do you see the bird on the branch?

IMG00172 20110101 1447

So tell me…what’s on your pantry staple list that I forgot to mention?!

–Lindsay–

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Curried Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos

August 10, 2020 by Lindsay 12 Comments

These Curried Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos make a hearty meatless meal any taco lover will adore!

Hi Friends!

I’ve got a good one for you tonight, my friends! As you may know, I have a plethora of sweet potatoes in my pantry right now. I also have a large stock of frozen black beans in the freezer. The two go well together, as they did in our dinner tonight. I was originally inspired by these sweet potato enchiladas but they just weren’t quite what I was in the mood for, so I did my own thing. Here’s who to do it my way:

First, dice up a sweet potato (skin on please!), season it with curry powder and red pepper, and throw it in the oven to roast at 425 degrees for 20-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. I used about 3/4 tsp curry powder and 1/4 tsp red pepper.

These Curried Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos make a hearty meatless meal any taco lover will adore!These Curried Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos make a hearty meatless meal any taco lover will adore!

Meanwhile, add a little olive oil to a pan and saute 1/4 c onion. If your black beans are frozen, add them at the beginning so they can thaw. If they’re not, add them after a few minutes.

These Curried Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos make a hearty meatless meal any taco lover will adore!These Curried Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos make a hearty meatless meal any taco lover will adore!

When the potatoes are roasted to your satisfaction, remove them from the oven and add them to the bean and onion mixture.

These Curried Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos make a hearty meatless meal any taco lover will adore!These Curried Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos make a hearty meatless meal any taco lover will adore!

Portion into whole wheat tortillas and top with diced tomato and a sprinkle of low-fat Mexican cheese. You could also add other toppings like ground meat, salsa or spinach!

Curried Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos

by Lindsay L

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 30 min

Keywords: roast saute entree healthy vegetarian black beans tomato sweet potato Mexican

Ingredients (Serves 2)

  • 1 large sweet potato, diced
  • 3/4 tsp curry powder, or to taste
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
  • 1 c black beans
  • 1/4 c onion, diced
  • 1 medium tomato, diced
  • 4 whole wheat tortillas
  • low-fat Mexican cheese

Instructions

1. Dice sweet potato, with skin on, and mist with olive oil. Sprinkle spices and stir to coat.

2. Roast at 425 degrees F for 20-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

3. Saute the onion in a pan over medium heat, adding the black beans at the beginning if frozen and at the end if not.

4. Add the sweet potato to the bean and onion mixture.

5. Portion on to tortillas and top with tomatoes and cheese.

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These Curried Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos make a hearty meatless meal any taco lover will adore!These Curried Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos make a hearty meatless meal any taco lover will adore!These Curried Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos make a hearty meatless meal any taco lover will adore!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Sweet Potato

Turkey Dumpling Soup

June 21, 2018 by Lindsay 13 Comments

 This Turkey Dumpling Soup is the perfect day after Thanksgiving meal. Use your turkey bones to make homemade broth, then add veggies, leftover turkey and dumplings for a warm, hearty meal!

This Turkey Dumpling Soup is the perfect day after Thanksgiving meal. Use your turkey bones to make homemade broth, then add veggies, leftover turkey and dumplings for a warm, hearty meal!

**Post and photos updated 12/8/15*

Hi Friends!

This soup is my grandma’s recipe. Every year while I was growing up, my grandparents used to make the drive from Minnesota to Kansas to spend Thanksgiving with us. I loved helping my mom and grandma make all the traditional Thanksgiving foods, but my favorite part of the weekend was the day after Thanksgiving, when my grandma would make this soup. The dumplings are by far the best part. Note that I like my dumplings pretty firm so I only use 1 tsp baking powder. If you’re looking for a softer dumpling, try 2-3 tsp baking powder.

Older kids might enjoy helping you plop the dumplings into the pot…just be mindful that the liquid might splash.

This Turkey Dumpling Soup is nothing fancy, but it’s a great way to get an extra bang for your turkey buck by using the bones to make homemade broth, and it’s an easy way to transform some of your leftover turkey into a new meal.

This Turkey Dumpling Soup is the perfect day after Thanksgiving meal. Use your turkey bones to make homemade broth, then add veggies, leftover turkey and dumplings for a warm, hearty meal!

Here’s how you make it:

Print

Turkey Dumpling Soup

Turkey Dumpling Soup 2
Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

The perfect way to transform your leftover turkey.

  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 40 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: serves 4-6 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cups sliced carrots
  • 1 cup sliced celery
  • 1 cup onion, diced
  • 2–3 cups leftover turkey, chopped
  • 4–6 cups broth
  • 1 egg + enough milk to make 1 cup
  • 2 c flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder

Instructions

  1. Add celery, onion and carrots to a large pan and saute for 5 minutes.
  2. Add turkey and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.
  3. Put the milk and egg mixture in a bowl.
  4. Add the flour, salt and baking powder.
  5. Drop by the spoonful into simmering soup. (They will EXPAND so start small)
  6. Let them simmer for 10 minutes, then put the lid on and let them simmer 10-20 minutes more.
  7. Serve warm.

Notes

Add seasonings as desired. I like mine with just a little salt and pepper but you could try adding some cayenne pepper for an extra kick or some herbs like a bay leaf, rosemary, thyme, etc!

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @theleangreenbean on Instagram

Turkey Dumpling Soup
 This Turkey Dumpling Soup is the perfect day after Thanksgiving meal. Use your turkey bones to make homemade broth, then add veggies, leftover turkey and dumplings for a warm, hearty meal!
It just doesn’t feel like Black Friday without a bowl of this soup and now that my grandma is gone, I’ll continue to honor her by making it for my own family every year!
[Tweet “Transform your leftover turkey into this Turkey Dumpling Soup via @leangrnbeanblog!”]
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Filed Under: Dinner, Soup & Salad

Grandma’s Jello

August 10, 2020 by Lindsay 4 Comments

DSC 5635

Hello My Friends!

As promised, here is the recipe for Grandma’s Jello!

This is probably the best jello you will ever make…so prepare yourselves. SO GOOD! And so easy. It has been a Thanksgiving staple in our house for as long as I can remember.

To begin, purchase strawberry jello. I chose sugar free but you can use regular. You need two of the big boxes. It’s that good. Just trust me.

Then gather your supplies. Here’s what you need:

Grandma’s Strawberry Jello

 

by Lindsay L

Keywords: side jello strawberry

Ingredients (1 big bowl)

  • 2 large packages strawberry jello (regular or sugar free)
  • 1 c coolwhip, thawed (fat free)
  • 2 c sliced frozen strawberries, thawed (no sugar added)

Instructions

1. Prepare the jello according to the package directions.

2. Once the jello has set, add the cool whip and beat using a hand mixed until well combined.

3. Stir in the strawberries and serve!

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DSC 5627

 

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Do yourself a favor and make sure the bowl is big enough…I cut it close as you can see.

While the jello is setting, move your cool whip and strawberries to the fridge to thaw. I used fat-free coolwhip but any kind will do. Usually I buy a container of pre-cut strawberries from the store, but this year I happened to have a GIANT bag of frozen strawberries in the freezer so I just thawed some out and cut them up. Your choice.

When the jello is set and the coolwhip is thawed,  mix up the jello and then scoop the cool whip into the jello (I usually use about 1/3 of the container). Insert the mixer and blend away:

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Stir in the strawberries and consume:

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Enjoy!

–Lindsay–

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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Lindsay Livingston The Lean Green Bean Healthy Living Tips and Tricks

I'm a Registered Dietitian and mom of three from Columbus, Ohio. I use this blog to share simple, healthy recipes, nutrition tips, and an honest glimpse of motherhood!

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Questions? Comments? Email me: [email protected]

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