A Very Happy Wednesday

So... I was feeling a little less than up beat today after work and knew I needed a little therapy. I decided that I was going to search the pantry and throw together a healthy meal. Here is what I found:
5 frozen chicken breasts
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Zesty Italian Dressing
Garlic powder with parsley
course ground pepper

Frozen bag of edemame (Rachel bought it when she was here and I forgot it was still there!)
salt

half a bag of red potatoes
canola spread
milk


First, I made the sauce for the chicken by mixing the cream o muchroom, a bit of zesty italian dressing, garlic/parsley powder, black pepper and a little water.
Then, I thawed and trimmed the chicken.
Next, I placed the chicken in a casserol dish and poured the sauce on top. I baked that at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

I boiled the potatoes, cut up. Then I drained them and added the milk and canola spread to taste and texture. Then I added black pepper and garlic powder.

Next, I boiled the edamame for a few minutes, drained and salted the heck out of it.

I really don't know why but this was so theraputic. I have been spending so much time studying anatomy and physiology with sean and so much time worrying about school and money that I have been forgetting to do little things like that for myself. It was fun and it made a Wonderful dinner!

Stuffed Bell Peppers

So, when the girls were in town (so much fun by the way), Rachel bought a lot of super good and healthy food. She dazzled us with her artistic food preparation, it was great! When she left, there were still 5 green bell peppers left over. I decided to get creative and cook stuffed bell peppers. They are in the oven as we speak. Here is the summary of what I did:

1. Cut off the tops of 5 bell peppers and gutted them.
2. boiled them for 5 minutes.
3. Put them in a casserole dish
4. Stuffed them with a throw together type of sauce (Marinara, onions, tomatoes, garlic, ground turkey, brown rice, spices, and whatever else sounds delish.
5. Bake on 350 for 20 minutes covered with foil.
6. Take out and sprinkle low fat mozzarella cheese on top.
7. Cook uncovered for another 10 Minutes.
8. Indulge and Enjoy

WW Friendly Tuna Casserole

A good sized pot of cooked whole wheat penne pasta
1 can of cream of celery
a little bit of vegetable stock (to desired moistness)
1 Can drained tuna
Fresh parsley from the garden
Black pepper
Salt
White corn
broccoli chopped
Whatever else you want to put in there.
A little bit of cheese

After you cook the pasta, throw all ingredients in to a casserole dish, except for the cheese. Once it is all mixed up, sprinkle a little cheese on the top and enjoy the lovely tuna casserole!

Oh yeah... I guess you better cook it at 350 degrees for a bit, about a half hour or so.

Boca and White Corn goodness

Just something I threw together in a skillet that I ate way too much of... mmm.

1/2 bag of frozen white sweet corn
1/2 bag of frozen broccoli bits
2 or 3 boca burger patties
a bit of garlic (whatever amount you are comfortable with)
a bit of black pepper
some chopped parsley


1. Brown the patties in a skillet sprayed with non fat cooking spray, remove from heat and set aside

2. In the same hot skillet, put corn and broccoli. Cook until hot.

3. Chop up the boca burgers and add to the skillet a long with the pepper, garlic, and parsley.

Serve with brown rice or just eat it plain. It is so good!

Ham stock 101

How to make ham stock for soups to die for:

Buy a quality ham with bone in and minimal fat inside. Cut off all the meat you can and dice it up into little bags for freezing. Then put the bone in the crockpot with plenty of water on low overnight without any spices. In the morning, cool the broth, strain the broth and pour 4 or 8 cup portions into small freezable bowls. Freeze completely. The next day remove from the bowls, place frozen blocks of broth into freezer bags, label and place back in the freezer.

Awesome soups you can make from this includes split pea soup, cabbage soup, lima beans, potato soup, etc. You can also make rice pilaf.

Love, the Soup Queen.

Potato Fish Loaf, as requested

4 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons Chopped fresh parsley or basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
8 firm fish fillets, such as flounder, sole, pike or talapia
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 large zucchini, thinly sliced
1 egg
1 tablespoon of milk
8 oz firm tomatoes, seeded and very thinly sliced
1/4 cup sliced black olives
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix garlic, parsley, and pepper. Place fish on a flat dish. Top with 1/2 the garlic mixture. Cover and chill.

2. Brush two baking sheets with 1 tablespoon of olive oil; arrange the potato slices on them without overlapping and bake about 25 minutes, without overlapping and bake 25 mins until brown and crispy.

3. In a non stick skillet, heat the remaining oil over moderate heat. Saute the remaining garlic mixture with the zucchinni, about 4 minutes, until soft.

4. Using a metal spatula, remove the potatoes from the sheets and transfer them to a plate. Reduce oven to 350.

5. Line an 8.5 by 4.5 by 2.5 inch loaf pan with oiled aluminum foil, allowing about 4 inches of foil to hang over sides of pan. In a bowl, whisk egg and milk.

6. Arrange half of the potato slices in the base of the pan. Top with a third of the zucchin, half of the fish, and a third of the tomatoes and olives.

7. Brush with some egg mixture; top with half the cheese. Repeat layering but END WITH POTATOES. (this is a really important thing:)

8. Bake loaf in the oven about 55 to 60 minutes or until fish is cooked. If potatoes start looking a bit dark, cover with remaining foil.

9. To serve, turn pan upside down on a serving dish and remove foil. AND..... Viola mucho yumaliciou!!



NOTE: I know this is pretty involved but it is seriously so good! It is a good one to do all together as a project, it goes way faster.