Chicken, Spinach and Artichoke Stew with Bulgur

Driving home after a long day, I surprisingly got the urge to cook something from scratch. I was in a chicken and artichoke mood, so I started there and wandered around the grocery store. I ended up with just a few ingredients to add to what I already had at home and I was ready to go. The result is a full and delicious stew put over a bed of bulgur wheat. I am proud to say that this recipe is completely original!

Ingredients:
-1 lb. chicken breast thinly sliced
-2 cups baby spinach (regular bag full)
-1 14.5oz can quartered artichoke hearts
-1 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes (plain or flavor of your choice)
-1 can tomato paste
-4 tbs lemon juice
-2 tbs balsamic vinegar
-1.5 tsp minced garlic
-1 tbs honey
-heavy dash cinnamon
-light dash oregano
-light dash ginger
-heavy dash cumin

-1 cup dry bulgur wheat

Directions:
-Cook chicken breast in lemon juice in large pot
-Chop chicken
-Add garlic, honey, balsamic vinegar, spices and let simmer for a few minutes
-Add artichoke and diced tomatoes and let simmer for a few minutes
-Add spinach 1/2 cup at a time (giving it time to shrink down)
-Let mixture simmer for a few minutes then set aside
-In a small pot, cook up bulgur wheat
-Serve chicken, spinach, artichoke mixture over bulgur wheat

Serves 4

This recipe is just bursting with flavor. I love it and I'm pretty proud of it! Feel free to experiment with other ingredients. Let me know how it turns out!

Pumpkin and Chili Pepper Soup

The pumpkin list just keeps rolling. I have now ventured into the soup realm. This is a simple yet delicious and hearty soup that is sure to be filling without being too heavy. It's also really basic, so you can add to it whatever you'd like! I recommend experimenting with spices and other veggies.


Ingredients:
-4 cups of water
-2 cups pumpkin puree
-1 can kidney beans
-1 large chopped bell pepper (orange, yellow, or red)
-1 small onion chopped
-1 can diced tomatoes (I used Trader Joe's fire roasted)
-3 chopped and semi-seeded poblano chili peppers (2 small red, one larger green...put some seeds in soup)

Directions:
-Combine in pot and boil
-Simmer for 35-40 minutes

Notes:
You can serve this with barley, rice, bulgur, etc. in it to make it thicker. It tastes great like this, but again, it's a basic recipe that can be tweaked to your delight! I also recommend sprinkling Parmesan cheese over the top. :-)

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Brown Sugar Sauce

I am Italian. I love pumpkin. I am now an Italian pumpkin lover. :-). Every year, my Dad's side of the family gets together for a homemade pasta festival. We make everything from scratch and the results are delicious! This year, I got to make the gnocchi. Thus, ever since mid-October, I have had gnocchi on the brain and figured I could change things up a little by making my own variation of it. This turned out wonderfully! I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
-1-2 cups pumpkin puree
-4-8 cups white flour
-1 egg
-dash of cinnamon
-dash of nutmeg

-1-2 tbs butter
-1-2 tbs brown sugar

-Grated parmesan cheese


Recipe:
-Bring medium/large pot of water to a boil and proceed with next step while water heats.
-Combine all ingredients in a bowl until it reaches a non-sticky consistency.
-(If it's too gooey, you need more flour.)
-Cover counter surface with flour.
-Taking the dough chunks at a time, roll it out into snake-like formations on the counter.
-Chop dough snake into quarter-half dollar size pieces (roll in more flour if necessary).
-Make a fork indent in each one.
-Toss in boiling water until pieces float then remove them and place them in a baking dish.

-Place butter in baking dish and stir until butter is melted.
-Place brown sugar in baking dish and stir until it has dissolved through the dish.
-Sprinkle cheese on top.
-Bake in oven for 10-20 minutes.

Notes:
This makes a lot of gnocchi. You can feel free to lessen the amount of puree you use, making less overall. This also tastes great with a tomato sauce. The brown sugar sauce gives it an almost desert appeal while the tomato sauce brings it back to Italy. Gnocchi is surprisingly easy and a whole lot of fun! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Fudge

The parade of pumpkin recipes continues with pumpkin fudge. You can actually taste the pumpkin in this! The consistency didn't turn out quite fudge-like, but rather a softer candy. It's super sweet and super delicious. The recipe is definitely more complicated than some of my others, but not too bad. Here is the original link: http://www.pumpkinrecipes.org/pumpkin-fudge.html .

Ingredients:
-2 cups white sugar
-1/2 cup pumpkin puree
-1/2 cup evaporated milk
-1/4 tsp cornstarch
-1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
-1/4 cup butter
-1/2 tsp vanilla
-1 cup nuts (optional...I did not use)

Recipe:
-Butter a dish (for final fudge product)
-In a saucepan, combine sugar, pumpkin, milk, cornstarch, spice.
-Bring mixture to a boil then reduce to a simmer.
-Simmer until it forms a gooey consistency.
-Take off heat and and add butter and vanilla until smooth.
-Spoon into buttered dish and let cool.

Notes:
-I made this with fat free evaporated milk and that probably contributed to the consistency.
-Original recipe called for you to simmer until dropping a bit of the mixture into cold water would make it form a little ball. Whatever that means...

I had never made fudge before and I'm pretty proud of my first foray into the fudge world. More to come!

Pumpkin Gingerbread

Ah yes, Fall. Autumn. Cool breezes and the desire for warm comfort foods. Halloween is over, Thanksgiving is on its way with Christmas right on the turkey's heels. Sounds to me like we need a tasty fall/holiday treat. Enter Pumpkin Gingerbread. This cakey treat is loaded with the delicious flavors of pumpkin, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Original recipe can be found here: http://www.pumpkinrecipes.org/pumpkin-gingerbread.html . I did more or less the exact same thing, with the exception of doubling the ginger. I also used homemade pumpkin puree which I think lightens it and makes it more authentically flavored.

Ingredients:
-12 tablespoons of butter
-2.5 cups all purpose white flour (haven't tried it with wheat yet...)
-2 tsp baking powder
-1 tbs ginger
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1 tsp nutmeg
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 cups of pumpkin puree (1 can)
-1 cup white sugar
-1 cup dark brown sugar
-3 eggs

Process:
-Preheat oven to 375
-In one bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, salt
-In another bowl, combine melted butter, pumpkin, eggs, white sugar, brown sugar
-Combine mixtures
-Pour into muffin tins or loaf pans or a larger loaf pan
-Bake for 40-50 minutes (knife/toothpick comes out clean)

Comments:
This was really easy to make and tastes so delicious. The picture posted really doesn't do this justice. Pumpkin Gingerbread is a fabulous breakfast or snack. Pour a cup of coffee, relax, and enjoy!

I will try to make a healthier version of this in the future. Essentially, that would entail using unsweetened applesauce instead of butter and wheat flour instead of white. If you happen to try it like this- let me know! I'd love to try it myself!

Zucchini and Beets with a hint of sweet

I recently acquired some fresh vegetables from my friend's mother's garden. She sent me home with zucchinis and beets. The two seem like an unlikely pair, but I disagree. I searched through my kitchen and experimented with things and ultimately came up with this recipe. It tasted like heaven. :-)

Ingredients:
-2 medium zucchinis (chopped to nickel-sized pieces)
-2 medium beets (chopped to nickel-sized pieces)
-1 tsp olive oil
-1 tsp minced garlic
-1/4 medium-sized red onion (chopped fine)
-2 tsp tomato paste
-1/2 cup water (1/4 may suffice)
-1/4 cup vegetable broth
-1 tsp balsamic vinegar
-1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
-1/4 cup chopped parsley
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1 tbs molasses
-1/4 cup garbanzo beans
-2 tsp corn starch (optional)
-1/2 cup bulgur wheat

Directions:
-In a medium-sized pot, flash heat olive oil, garlic, onions (heat on high for 1 minute then turn down to 3/4)
-Add beets and 2 tbs water (more or less water may be needed)
-Cook mixture until beets soften a bit
-Add lemon juice, tomato paste, and balsamic vinegar and cook for a few minutes
-Add zucchini, parsley, vegetable broth
-Cook for approximately 10 minutes on 4/5
-Add more water if necessary (I added too much and had to put in corn starch later)
-Add garbanzo beans, cinnamon and molasses and cook for another 5 minutes
-If mixture is too soupy, add corn starch
-In a separate pot, cook up bulgur
-Serve mixture over bulgur

-Serves 2

-Calories (per serving): 333

Calories may be an overestimate. I'm not sure how much of each thing I put in so I just overestimated. I also didn't have the patience to calculate all of the other health info. My apologies. This meal is so delicious. It has a perfect mix of sweet and hearty. Beets and zucchini really do go together! Don't like one or both, try your own veggies. Add in more! Test different spices. Put it over rice or cous cous instead. Whatever you like, do it! Let me know if you try it!

Honey Yogurt Mango popsicle

It's summer and it's hot! Ice cream sound tempting? If you are anything like me, ice cream and frozen yogurt binges become an almost daily occurrence in this roasty toasty season. Not craving the extra calories though? I have a great compromise for you- honey yogurt mango popsicles. These delicious pops have just 3 ingredients and are less than 100 calories per sweet and tasty treat. The Greek yogurt is key to making these pops creamy. The honey sweetens them and the mango adds a great flavor burst.

Ingredients:
-1 1/2 cups Chobani plain nonfat yogurt
-4 tbs honey
-1 mango

Directions:
-Peel, gut, and dice mango
-Combine mango, yogurt, and honey in a medium-sized bowl
-Pour/spoon mixture into popsicle molds (8 popsicle total)
-Freeze for 2-4 hours

Nutrition (per pop):
-calories: 84.2, sodium: 22.6mg, carb: 16.5g, sugar: 15.4g, fiber: .3g, protein: 4.9g

You can use the fruit of your choice or even use a flavored yogurt.

Kale flavor blast salad

Hello all! I am officially back in action! I have been rather preoccupied with work, classes at Salem State, buying a house, etc. I'm glad it's summer though! Expect some vegetarian recipes as I have decided to become a vegetarian for a month (or more...we'll see how it goes). Salads seem to be a large component of vegetarian diets, so my first post is a salad. The base is kale (an acquired taste for many). It is easy to make with about 10 minutes prep time.

Ingredients:
Salad:
-2 cups chopped kale
-1 large sliced red bell pepper
-1 serving sliced baby carrots (approx. 10-14 carrots)
-1 chopped granny smith apple
-1 100 calorie bag almonds (flavored or not)

Dressing:
-1 tbs honey
-2 tbs lemon juice
-1 tsp olive oil


Directions:
-Rinse all vegetables and fruit
-Chop all vegetables and fruit
-Combine all in a medium-sized bowl
-Add almonds
-In a separate cup, combine honey, lemon juice, olive oil
-Pour over vegetable/fruit mix and eat!

Nutrition:
-calories: 435, carbs: 76g, protein: 9.6g, fat: 14g, sat. fat: 1.2g, sodium: 146mg, fiber: 15.7g, sugar: 46g

Comments:
You can add/subtract whichever fruits/veggies you like. You can also experiment with different spices. I like the kale base because it has more nutritional value than lettuce, but feel free to use what you like!

Sausage and Tomato Mini Quiches

Ok, ok, I am back to cooking real meals. I'm giving muffins and soups/chilis a break in favor of trying recipes like this amazing one. This is now officially on my regular menu. With relatively cheap ingredients, it's not too much of a stretch to do so.

Talk about delicious and healthy all at once! You would never guess that each one of these delicious quiches is less than 75 calories, nor will you guess that they are made with a sausage substitute! They are cute, yummy, and a great breakfast/lunch/dinner/party item. They really aren't that difficult to make either.

If you make them for yourself, you'll actually end up with some leftovers. I typically eat three and pair them with fruit on the side- I have found that grapes, kiwis, and strawberries compliment them quite nicely.


Ingredients:
-5 eggs
-3 egg whites
-3/4 cup 1% milk
-3 Morningstar sausage patties
-1 large tomato
-1 small onion
-1/4 cup part skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:
-Set oven to 325 (place rack in center of oven)
-In a medium frying pan, brown up sausages
-Once cooked, chop sausage up and keep on a small plate
-Chop tomato and onion and cook up in the medium frying pan (2-5 minutes)
-Add chopped sausage to tomato and onion mix and cook (2-5 minutes)
-In separate bowl, whisk eggs, egg whites, milk
-In a heavily sprayed muffin tin, dollop sausage/veggie mix
-Sprinkle cheese over sausage/veggie mix
-Pour egg/milk mixture over cheese/sausage/veggie mix
-Cook in oven for 25-35 minutes (tops should start to brown lightly)

-Makes 12 mini quiches

Nutrition (per quiche): 74.1 calories, 3.3g fat, 92.5mg cholesterol, 117mg sodium, 3.5g carb, .55g fiber, 7.5g protein

Note: These totals reflect 1 cup of milk, but I actually used 3/4 cup (you can probably use less than that!).

The beauty of this recipe is that you can pick and choose your meats, veggies, and cheese. You can also experiment with fruit! I think an apple and cheddar quiche would be delicious!

I found this on the Cooking Light site. I made many modifications though. Here is the original recipe: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/mini_mushroom_sausage_quiches.html

Basic Spice Muffin

This is another recipe that is completely my own. It has a delicious mix of cinnamon and nutmeg flavors with a blast of hearty goodness from the the whole wheat flour. Once again, these are easy and low calorie. You probably have the ingredients already! Enjoy them right out of the oven or warm them up for optimum enjoyment. :-)

Ingredients:
-2 cups wheat flour
-1/4 cup granulated sugar (you can use brown sugar, too)
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp nutmeg
-1 egg white
-1 cup skim milk
-1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
-Set oven to 400 degrees
-Lightly spray muffin tin
-Whisk dry ingredients
-Add wet ingredients and pour into muffin tins
-Bake for 15 minutes (maybe less- use the toothpick test)

-Makes 12 muffins

Nutrition: 103.8 calories, .3g fat, 162.9mg sodium, 21.23g carb, 2.8g fiber, 3.65g protein

The beauty of a spice muffin is that you can add in whatever flavors you want. You can also add chocolate chips or fruit. Or you can eat them just like this!