Orange Chicken Stir-Fry

I wanted to make something a little different than I usually would and I found this recipe in a Healthy Cooking Magazine. It was really good and Ryan even ate all the carrots and onions too!

Orange Chicken Stir-Fry From Taste of Home Healthy Cooking

1 T cornstarch
2/3 c. orange juice
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, cut into strips
3 large carrots, julienned
1 medium onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
3 tsp canola oil, divided
1/3 c reduced-sugar orange marmalade
3 T brown sugar
1 T lemon juice
Hot cooked rice

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and orange juice until smooth; set aside. Combine the salt, ginger and pepper; sprinkle over chicken. Set aside.
In a large nonstick skillet, stir-fry the carrots and onion in 1 tsp oil until crisp-tender. Remove and keep warm.
In the same pan, stir-fry the chicken in remaining oil until no longer pink. Stir in the marmalade, brown sugar and lemon juice until marmalade is dissolved.
Return carrot mixture to pan. Stir in orange juice mixture; add to pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with rice.

Easy Beef Barley Soup

If you live in South Dakota, the weather continues to be such that you look forward to the hot soups or casseroles for dinner. It has been cold and rainy and yucky today which is pretty much what it's been like for the last week or so and looks like it will continue to be for at least the next week. Tonight we're actually having a beef roast in the crock pot, but I had made this soup a couple weeks ago and it was so tasty and easy. I never cooked with barley before and it was really tasty in this delicious, creamy soup.

Easy Beef Barley Soup From Taste of Home's Healthy Cooking
1/2 pound ground beef (I used the whole pound)
2 large fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 celery rib, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 tsp flour
3 cans (14 oz each) beef broth
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
1/2 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 cup medium pearl barley
1 can (5 oz) evaporate milk
2 T tomato paste

In a Dutch oven, over medium heat, cook and stir the beef, mushrooms, celery and onion until the meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in flour until blended; gradually add broth. Stir in the carrots, potato, pepper and salt. Bring to a boil. Stir in the barley. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45-50 minutes or until barley is tender. Whisk in milk and tomato paste; heat through.

Red Pepper and Parmesan Tilapia

I love any food with a little zip to it. This dish was really simple to make and so yummy! Give it a try when you don't have a lot of prep time for dinner.

Red Pepper and Parmesan Tilapia From Taste of Home's Healthy Cooking
1/4 cup egg substitute or 1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp to 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp pepper
4 tilapia filets (6 oz each)

Place egg in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, combine the cheese, Italian seasoning, pepper flakes and pepper. Dip fillets in egg, then cheese mixture.

Place in a 15x10" baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Cranberry Apricot Cream Cheese Muffins

I always try to have some sort of muffin or bread for breakfast in the morning. We like things that are prepared and easy to grab and relatively healthy :) I found this recipe in a cookbook from a friend: Cooking with HealthyRoads. I was happy to see that I had everything on hand that I needed to make these and I was excited to try them since they sounded so good. They really turned out pretty good. I wouldn't bake them quite as long next time so they are just a bit more moist. Overall, these were a yummy change from zucchini and banana bread.

Cranberry Apricot Cream Cheese Muffins
1/4 cup low fat cream cheese
1/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1/4 cup dried apricots, diced
2 cups flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups low fat buttermilk
3 T vegetable oil
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the cream cheese, cranberries and apricots; stir (the cookbook says with a whisk-good luck with that if that's what you want to mix it with).

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 5 ingredients (through the salt) in a medium bowl; make a well in the center of the mixture. Combine the buttermilk, oil, egg and egg whites; stir well with a whisk. Add to the flour mixture, stirring until just moist.

Spoon the batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray, filling each of them 1/3 full. Top each with approximately 1 tsp cream cheese mixture, dividing the remaining batter evenly over the cream cheese mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in the center. Remove muffins from pans immediately, and place on wire rack.

Hearty Lentil Soup

I had never had lentils before making this soup. You can buy a bag of them by the bagged, dry beans at the store or in the bulk food aisle as well. They are tiny little beans, I guess, and are packed full of fiber (the recipe says there are 10 grams of fiber per serving from the lentils!).

This soup was really good and very filling. I put half in the freezer for a later time since we also had leftovers for lunch and dinner the next day as well. This is a great soup to get more fiber and veggies into your diet.

Hearty Lentil Soup From Taste of Home's Healthy Cooking

3 cups water
3 cups vegetable or chicken broth
3 medium carrots, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
2 celery ribs, sliced
1 small green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup uncooked brown rice
1 tsp dried basil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bay leaf
3/4 cup tomato paste (I used 2 8 oz cans of tomato sauce since I was out of tomato paste-it would be slightly less tomatoey, but still good)
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup frozen peas

In a large saucepan, combine the first 11 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until lentils and rice are tender.

Add the tomato paste, corn and peas; stir until blended. Cook, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until corn and peas are tender. Discard bay leaf before serving.

Dijon-Crusted Chicken Breasts

This has got to be one of the best chicken recipes I've ever tried. These were pretty simple to put together and the cook up pretty quickly on the stovetop. I made sure to thaw the chicken out more than I usually probably would have and probably cooked them a little longer than I would have had to, but I was waiting for the rest of dinner to finish up. They turned out great anyway! This is a definite must try!

Dijon-Crusted Chicken Breasts From Taste of Home Healthy Cooking

1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1 T grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 T Dijon mustard
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp butter or margarine

Place the first 6 ingredients in a shallow bowl. Brush chicken with mustard; roll in crumb mixture. In a large skillet, cook chicken in oil and butter over medium heat for 5-6 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.

Black Bean Veggie Enchiladas

These were a really tasty alternative to beef or chicken tacos like we would usually have. We are working on going meatless for a meal or two every week to eat a little healthier, but it's also generally cheaper as well. These were so simple to make and tasted great!



Black Bean Veggie Enchiladas From Taste of Home Healthy Cooking


1 small onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp olive oil
15 oz. black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilis
2 T taco seasoning
1 tsp dried cilantro flakes
6 whole wheat tortillas, warmed
1/2 cup enchilada sauce
3/4 cup shredded reduced fat Mexican cheese blend


In a large skillet, saute the onion, pepper, mushrooms and garlic in oil until crisp-tender. Add the beans, corn, chilies, taco seasoning and cilantro; saute 2-3 minutes longer.



Spoon 1/2 cup bean mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in a 13x9" baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour sauce over the top: sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.

Skinny Cacciatore

This dish is a yummy treat on a cold day like today. It has lots of good fresh veggies in it as well as a number of items that are pretty common to have on hand, like canned tomatoes. This is healthy and tasty!

Skinny Cacciatore From Healthy Cooking Magazine

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in 1" pieces
3 tsp canola oil, divided
1 lg green pepper, chopped
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 3/4 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium carrot, shredded
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (29 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (14 oz) Italian diced tomatoes, undrained
1 bay leaf
3 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp pepper
9 oz uncooked spaghetti

In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, brown chicken in 2 tsp oil; drain. Remove and keep warm. In the same skillet, saute the green pepper, celery and onion in remaining oil for 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms, carrot and garlic; saute 2-4 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender.

Stir in the tomato sauce, tomatoes and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-12 minutes or until thickened. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to package instructions. Stir chicken into tomato mixture; cook for 8-12 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Discard bay leaf. Drain spaghetti; serve with chicken mixture.

Chicken Creole

We had this for dinner the other night and it was really good. It is a great meal to make as the weather starts cooling down and you need a little comfort food at night.

Chicken Creole From Healthy Cooking

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in 3/4" pieces
4 tsp canola oil, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 c reduced sodium chicken broth
1/3 c tomato paste (I used a whole 6 oz can)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp each dried basil, oregano. thyme, marjoram
2 c hot cooked rice

In a large nonstick skillet, saute chicken in 2 tsp oil until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm. In the same skillet, saute the onion, green pepper and celery in remaining oil until tender. Stir in the tomatoes, broth, tomato paste and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8 minutes (I added the chicken and simmered it all together). Return chicken to the pan; heat through. Serve with rice.

Tasty Tuna Casserole

This is a really quick dish to put together and something a little different from the usual meals I make. It is simple and tasty.

Tasty Tuna Casserole From Healthy Cooking

2 c uncooked elbow macaroni
1 can (12 oz) solid white tuna, drained
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
4 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, cubed
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Drain macaroni; stir into tuna mixture. Transfer to a 2 qt baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

Versatile Vinaigrette

I am growing just about everything imaginable this year. Some things are doing really well, others not so good. I have lettuce growing in a container on my front deck and it looks really good. I decided the other day to use it to make a salad for dinner. I also have radishes in a container so I decided to pick some of those too. Unfortunately, the radishes fall into the not so good catergory and the biggest one I found was about the size of a pea. It still tasted like a radish though. Anyway, I wanted to make a different kind of dressing for the salad and I found this recipe in a light cooking book. It was really easy and it tasted great. It says that it is a good dressing for pasta salad too which I am looking forward to trying soon too.

Versatile Vinaigrette from Six Ingredients or Less Cookbook

1/4 cup olive oil
2 T red wine vinegar
1 T Dijon Mustard

Combine ingredients; mix well to blend (I used a whisk to mix). Makes about 1/2 cup.

Roasted Cauliflower with Brown Butter

This is one of the best ways to eat cauliflower. I found this on someone's blog a while ago and have made it at least half a dozen times. Ryan loves this recipe.

Roasted Cauliflower with Brown Butter

6 cups cauliflower florets (about 1 head)
cooking spray
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp butter

Preheat oven to 400. Arrange cauliflower in single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat cauliflower with cooking spray; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes, turning cauliflower twice. Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat; cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Combine cauliflower and browned butter in a bowl, toss gently to coat.

Teriyaki Beef Burgers

I was excited for the end of the week this week. Not for any particular reason though. I happened to get off of work a little early and so I was able to start dinner preparations a little early too. I had planned to make these burgers from scratch, potato salad and coleslaw for a summery meal. It wasn't too warm out (70s) and it was pretty windy so we enjoyed our summery meal inside.

Teriyaki Beef Burgers from Healthy Cooking magazine

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (I just used 1#)
1 can (8 oz) water chestnuts, drained and chopped (If using less than 1 1/2 pounds of meat, use less water chestnuts)
1/2 c reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/3 c sherry or reduced-sodium beef broth
2 green onions, chopped (I used some that I'm growing in a pot outside!)
1 T brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp ground ginger
6 lettuce leaves (optional)
6 hamburger buns

In a large bowl, combine the beef and water chestnuts. Shape into 6 patties. Place in a 9x13" pan. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, sherry or broth, onions, brown sugar, garlic and ginger. Pour 1/2 c over patties; cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours or overnight. Cover and refrigerate the remaining marinade for basting. **I just poured all the marinade over the burgers. I thought the additional basting would just make a big mess on the grill.**
Coat grill rack with nonstick cooking spray before starting the grill. Drain and discard marinade. Grill patties, covered, over medium heat for 5-7 minutes on each side or until meat is no longer pink, basting occasionally with reserved marinade. Serve on lettuce-lined buns.

Potato Salad

To go along with the burgers last night, I made potato salad and coleslaw. I really like potato salad and am always trying new and different recipes. This one was very easy to make and is actually a Light and Tasty recipe.

Potato Salad from Healthy Cooking magazine

4 cups cubed peeled potatoes
1 celery rib, thinly sliced
1/3 c finely chopped onion
1/3 c sweet pickle relish
3/4 c fat-free mayo
1 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/8 tsp pepper
2 hard-cooked eggs, sliced
1/8 tsp paprika

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, celery, onion and relish. In a small bowl, combine the mayo, mustard, salt, celery seed and pepper. Pour over potato mixture and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Top with eggs and paprika.

Spaghetti Pizza Casserole

This one we had a while ago, but it was really tasty and easy to make. It made quite a bit for leftovers too.

Spaghetti Pizza Casserole from Light and Tasty

7 oz spaghetti
1/2 c egg substitute or 2 eggs
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 c chopped sweet yellow pepper
1/2 c choped green pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
26 oz meatless spaghetti sauce
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 pound sliced mushrooms
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook spaghetti. Rinse with cold water and drain. In a bowl, toss spaghetti with eggs and parmesan cheese. Spread evenly into a 15x10" baking pan coated with cooking spray; set aside. In a large nonstick skillet, cook the beef, onion and peppers over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add garlic, cook 1 minute longer. Stir in spaghetti sauce and seasonings; heat through. Spoon over spaghetti. Top with mushrooms and cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Scrumptious Blueberry Lemon Bread

This was really easy and really good! It is a Light and Tasty recipe.

1 and 1/3 c flour
2/3 c whole wheat flour
2/3 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 egg white
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
1/2 c fat free milk
3 T butter, melted
1 c fresh or frozen blueberries
2 tsp grated lemon peel
Glaze: 1/3 c powdered sugar
2 T lemon juice

In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, beat the egg, egg white, applesauce, milk and butter. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in blueberries and lemon peel.
Transfer to an 8x4" loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 60-65 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Combine the glaze ingredients; pour over warm loaf. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

This was so good!

Lemon Mushroom Chicken

We had this for dinner Thursday night and we loved it. Ryan raved about it that night and he took leftovers the next day for lunch and again thought they were great. It's a pretty simple recipe and shouldn't take too long if the chicken isn't frozen.

From Light and Tasty:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup plus 2 tsp all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 T butter
1/3 cup plus 3 T reduced sodium chicken broth, divided
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
1 T lemon juice

Flatten chicken to 1/2 inch thickness. In a large, resealable bag, combine 1/4 cup flour, salt and pepper. Add chicken, one piece at a time, and shake to coat.

In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook chicken in butter for 5-6 minutes on each side or until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm. (I kept the chicken in the pan while making the sauce.)

Add 1/3 cup broth to the pan, stirring to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil. Add mushrooms; cook and stir for 3-5 minutes or until tender.

Combine the remaining flour and broth until smooth; stir into the mushroom mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in lemon juice. Serve with chicken.

We had mashed potatoes with this and peas-yum.

Seasoned Baked Potatoes

From Light and Tasty: These potatoes are so easy to make are really good.

4 medium baking potatoes
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Scrub potatoes and cut in half lengthwise. Place cut side up on ungreased baking dish. Brush or drizzle oil over. Sprinkle with basil, onion salt and garlic powder. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until tender.