Healthy Spinach Lsagna Roll

I LOVE pasta!!! This one is a nice twist from just eating regular pasta...

Ingredients

• 9 lasagna noodles, cooked
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained
• 1 (15 ounce) container fat free ricotta cheese
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon minced garlic
• ½ teaspoon dried Italian seasonings
• salt and fresh pepper
• (optional) 1 chicken breast, cooked and diced
• 32 oz tomato sauce (I used spaghetti sauce)
• 9 Tablespoons part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350°. Make sure you drain the spinach well. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, egg, garlic, Italian seasonings, chicken, and salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Pour about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry by patting them with a paper towel.

 Take ⅓ cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over a noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 Tablespoon of mozzarella cheese. Cover baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts..

Makes 9 rolls.

21 Day Fix Approved Chicken in Vodka Sauce

If Grey Goose can be a part of my dinner....and it's 21 Day Fix Approved...BRING IT ON!!!

LOL!!

I love pasta...but when you look at many of the pasta sauce nutrition labels...they can be scary. Luckily while making this sauce I was able to control what goes in the sauce!! And it was delicious! 

This is one that will definitely be made again!!!

Ingredients

• 4 slices turkey bacon (nitrate-free)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 medium red onion, chopped
• sprinkle of red pepper flakes, or more to taste
• 28 oz crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup plus 1 T of vodka
• 4 T 2% plain Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese and more for topping
• 1 T chopped fresh basil
• 2 tsp dried oregano flakes
• 2 boneless chicken breasts, grilled
• Pasta or Zoodles
  

1. Chop turkey bacon into bits and sautee until brown. Remove from pan.
2. Add olive oil to pan and diced onions. Cook for a few minutes until they begin to soften, then add garlic and crushed red pepper. Cook for another minute.
3. Add can of crushed tomatoes to the pan, as well salt, pepper and the herbs. Stir in bacon and vodka. Simmer for ten minutes on medium low heat.
4. Add in Greek yogurt and Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine and cook for a few more minutes. The sauce should turn a more pinkish color.
5. Plate your noodles or zoodles, add chicken, then top with sauce. Add a bit more Parmesan on top!
    
   I love this pasta..and it can be found at Aldi. I think it's a little over $2.00 a bag..but so worth it!!! Easy to cook...big on taste!!! You all have to go and look for it!!!
   
   
   
   Hope you enjoy this pasta as much as my family and I did!!!
   
    

Steak Faijitas

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs Flank steak
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion
2-5 bell peppers (color of your choice)
100 percent whole wheat tortilla
Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
Shredded lettuce/spinach (optional)

Directions:
Combine chili powder, cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
Rub the spice mixture over the flank steak and place steak at the bottom of slow cooker.
Sprinkle the soy sauce on top of the steak.
Top with diced jalapeno and minced garlic.
To top it off, add the sliced bell peppers and onion.
Turn the slow cooker on HIGH and cook for 5 1/2-6 hours. Steak should be easily shredded.
Drain the meat and peppers well then serve on a 100% whole wheat tortilla with toppings of your choice.

Sweet Potato Broccoli Chicken Bake

This is one meal that just SCREAMED fall to me!!! And it's right around the corner..so a perfect meal for the upcoming season!

Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs, cubed
3 cups packed broccoli stems and florets, chopped
1 large sweet potato or yam, ¼ inch small cubes--small cutes are key (~1½ cups cubed)
½ cup red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp.raisins
2 Tbsp. chopped walnuts or nuts of choice
⅓ cup olive oil
1 ½ tsp. Italian seasoning, dried
¼ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. pepper
¼ cup soft goat or feta cheese, crumbles

1.  I cooked my chicken breast in the slow cooker during the day. You can either make the recipe as listed below (cooking chicken with the rest of the veggies) or slow cook it.
2. Preheat oven to 375 °F.
3. Grease a large casserole dish with olive oil.
4. Place cubed chicken on the bottom of casserole dish. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
5. In a bowl combine broccoli, sweet potatoes, red onion, garlic, raisins, chopped walnuts, olive oil and herbs. Toss to coat.
6. Top chicken with herb and vegetable mixture.
7. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and sweet potatoes are soft. Top with optional cheese just before serving. I still cooked mine for the full 45 minutes (even though the chicken was done already).

Totally delicious!!! One of my new favorites!

 
 

Meal Planning~ Week of August 22

Sunday- we usually eat out..I try to ask for a box to cut my portions in half
Monday- a favorite- chicken sausage with veggie
Tuesday- sweet potato broccoli bake
Wednesday- my friend will be visiting- not for sure of our plans
Thursday- hamburger in a bowl
Friday- slow cooker steak fajitas

Mexican Stir Fry

Ingredients

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 skinless chicken breasts, fat trimmed off and diced into 2" chunks
• 2 bell peppers
• 1½ cups broccoli florets
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• optional: ½ tsp chili powder
•  
• Instructions:
• Heat a large pan on medium high heat.
• Add oil and heat until shimmery, about 20 seconds.
• Add diced chicken, stir occasionally until lightly browned on all sides- about 5 minutes.
• Add peppers and broccoli and continue to cook until veggies are slightly browned and softened- about 10 minutes.
• Add spices and a little water to help coat the stir fry with the spices (about 2 tbsp- adjust as needed).
• Cook until water is completely absorbed.
• Remove and enjoy!

Tip: I cheated when it came to  cooking my chicken. I put mine in the slow cooker and then shredded it! Busy mom didnt have time to cook on stove top...LOL!

•  

21 Day Fix Approved stuffed Shells

I LOVE pasta!!!! I wanted to find a meal that could be a little more than just the regular brown rice pasta I've been having. This uses ricotta cheese over a bunch of mozzarella cheese. It is sooo delicious!!! Saved some for my lunch tomorrow!! Looking forward to eating it again. LOL!

Ingredients

• 25 Jumbo Shells (whole wheat if you can find them!)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb ground beef (or turkey)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups pasta sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Cook shells until el dante and set aside (TIP: I cooked mine earlier in the morning so it would cool down and be a little easier to work with).
2. Heat oil over skillet and add garlic and saute for a few min.  Add ground meat and onions and season with salt and pepper.  Cook until meat is no longer pink. Set aside to cool.
3. Heat some more oil and cook the spinach (if you want to or omit this step..I cooked mine ahead of time).
4. Mix ricotta cheese, spinach and eggs in bowl.
5. Once meat mixture is cooled, add to ricotta mixture.
6. Pour 1/2 cup of pasta sauce in bottom of 9×13 dish.
7. Stuff 25 pasta shells with roughly 2 tablespoons of mixture and place in baking dish. Pour remaining 1 1/2 cups of sauce over the shells and top with mozzarella cheese.
8. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in oven at 400 for 30-35 minutes.

**21 Day Fix Containers (per 5 shells): 1 Yellow, 1 Red, 0.5 Purple, 0.5 Green, 1 Blue ***

Avocado Pasta

Creamy Avocado Pasta! I have been craving the avocados (okay mostly guacamole). I had seen a friend recommendation for avocado basil pasta. I thought why not. Got my ingredients and went to town. It was yummy!!!

Ingredients

• 12 ounces spaghetti
• 2 ripe avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/3 cup olive oil 
• Crushed red pepper
•  
  Instructions
• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
• To make the avocado sauce, combine avocados, basil, garlic and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor; season with salt and pepper, to taste. With the motor running, add olive oil in a slow stream until emulsified; set aside. 
• Mix in a large bowl with pasta. Sprinkle crushed red peppers as you like.
•  
• My favorite pasta now a days is the brown rice one from Aldi's. Cooks up nicely and tastes delicious!! I served with steak. Yummy! You can add veggies to your pasta if you want...but I decided not to.

Beef & Broccoli with Sweet Potato Noodles

I realized while looking through my blog...I enjoy two types of food: Mexican and sweet potatoes! LOL!!!! This one sounded interesting to me just based on the fact that the noodles were made of sweet potatoes!! I was ready for the challenge of making noodles with a potato!! I'm really trying to get out of my comfort zone while in the kitchen and trying new things like this once a week!!
Here is how you can enjoy this yummy meal:

Marinade:

• 12-16 Ounces lean stir-fry beef slices
• ⅓ Cup fresh orange juice
• 2 Tablespoons coconut aminos
• 1 Clove garlic, crushed
• 1 Teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• ½ Teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ½ Teaspoon sea salt

Noodles:

• 1 Large sweet potato, peeled and spiralized
• 1 Tablespoon avocado oil (or cooking fat of choice)
• Salt and pepper

Sauce:

• ⅔ Cup coconut aminos
• 2 Tablespoon sunflower seed butter
• 2 Teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 Clove garlic, minced

Other:

• 1 Small head of broccoli, chopped.
• 2 Tablespoons avocado oil (or cooking fat of choice)
• Sliced scallions to garnish

Instructions

1. Place the marinade ingredients in a Ziploc bag, seal and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and no more than 60 minutes.
2. While the meat marinates, make the sweet potato noodles. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spiralize the sweet potato with the attachment with the smallest triangles. Lay the sweet potato noodles on a parchment lined baking sheet and toss with oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the noodles are tender. Set the noodles aside.
3. Place a pan over medium-high heat, add the broccoli, fill the bottom with water and cover with a lid. Steam the broccoli for 2-3 minutes, drain the water and transfer to a separate bowl.
4. Remove the beef from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels.
5. Heat a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat (or Wok if you have one). While the pan heats, whisk together the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat the sauce over medium-low heat until it begins to simmer, then reduce to low.
6. Place the oil on the large pan, and add the beef in a single layer. Toss for 2-3 minutes, add the broccoli to the pan and cook an additional minute.
7. Remove from the heat and toss with the sweet potato noodles and sauce.
8. Garnish with scallions and serve.

Meal Planning~ week of January 24th

Good afternoon from a sunny Columbus! There's a little snow on the ground...but nothing too exciting as the rest of the country is getting a TON of snow!!!
Still sticking to my goals with the hammer and chisel nutrition plan! This week we have planned:
Sunday~ grilled chicken, roasted broccoli, and sweet potato
Monday~ Greek chicken in whole wheat pitas
Tuesday~ Taco Tuesday
Wednesday~ carne asade
Thursday~ 21 day fix chicken enchilada soup over quinoa
Friday~ Flat out pizzas

Just some ideas for you all as you are setting up your menu plans!
Have a great one!Stay warm!

Meal Planning~ week of January 17th

Hey all!! Hope that you are having a nice long weekend. The boys have had a four day weekend with tons of activities planned so I am now just finally getting around to sharing what's on the menu at our house this week. I am trying to stick to the hammer and chisel meal plan as best as I can. This girl is really sticking to her goals! :)

This week we are having:
Sunday~ Grilled chicken, sweet potato, roasted broccoli and red onion
Monday~ 21 day fix chili (fixate cookbook)
Tuesday~ Taco Tuesday
Wednesday~ Steak fajitas (from the fixate cookbook)
Thursday~ Having a moms night out at a local pub this week so might have a cheat night :)
Friday~ Chicken noodle soup (also from the fixate cookbook)

Tonight's dinner was delicious and added some hot sauce for extra spice.
Any questions? Dont hesitate on asking.
Enjoy your week!

Product Review: Flat Outs Pizza Crust

How loves pizza??? This girl right here does...LOL!!!
I wanted to find an alternative that would be considered "healthy" and make some at home.
From my research, it seemed like flat outs was going to be answer!! I was so excited and ran to WalMart to pick some up.
We tried them out yesterday night and I cannot wait to have another one. I bought the rosermary and olive oil ones. That added such a nice touch of flavor. I topped our pizza with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni. I added red onion to mine. I cooked them up in about 10 minutes and they were PERFECT. If you are a fan of thin crust, this is definitely for you!! It was nice and crispy. If you don't mind cooking up your own pizza be sure to check these out!

No...I was not paid for this...just wanted to share this with you all :)

Mango Black Bean Quinoa Salad

I am loving the mangoes right now at the grocery store!!! They are so ripe and juicy!!! Best part thing of this meal is so much of it can be prepped ahead. And also let's face it..the weather is sooo HOT that it's nice not have the stove on for a long time.

Does this not look delicious?

It was super easy to make.
Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
2 chicken breast
1 can black beans
3 limes
1 onion (I forgot to grab a red onion at the store..but I used a sweet onion)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 mango
jalepenos (amount depends on your spicy likeness)
2 tsps cumin
1 tsp chili powder
Olive oil

Obviously some steps just depends on how you want to prepare it but this is what I did:
First I put my chicken in the slow cooker in the morning. I added the 1 tsp of chili powder and 1 of the tsps of cumin. I cooked for about 7 hours.
When it got closer to dinner I made my quinoa. I added the 1 cup of quinoa, 2 cups of water, and the last tsp of cumin and cooked for the 15 minutes.
While it was simmering, I shredded my chicken and added to the big bowl. I also rinsed my beans,  cut my red pepper and onion, mango, and jalepeno and added to the bowl. Once the quinoa was done I added it to the bowl. I drizzled olive oil and squeezed the juice from the 3 limes. Toss to coat...and serve. It was soo good :)

Greek Chicken Pitas

I don't know about you all, but where I live (south Florida) it is super HOT!!! With my meal planning, I am trying to find things that are A). easy to cook B). Light C). and not hot (like soup hot...spicy hot I LOVE). This recipe meets all the requirements for my summer cooking!
I did my chicken in the slow cooker. It's just easier for me to throw my chicken breast in there. I am not a big fan of those chicken strips sold at stores in the Ziploc bags and I could get the chicken from the deli section...but I just prefer this method.

this meal was super easy to prep since the slow cooker took care of the cooking part. Just cut up some veggies...add some lemon and chives. Cut the pitas in half and you have yourself a fabulous dinner!

Each serving has 380 calories.

 

Total Time: 10 min.
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cooking Time: None
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients:
1 (6½-inch) whole wheat pita, cut in half to make pockets
3 oz cooked chicken breast, boneless, skinless, cut into 1-inch cubes
¼ medium tomato, chopped
¼ cup chopped cucumber
1 Tbsp. chopped red onion (optional)
¼ tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
¼ cup shredded romaine lettuce
2 Tbsp. crumbled feta cheese (about ½ oz)
Preparation:
1. Fill pita halves evenly with chicken, tomato, cucumber, onion (if desired), oregano, lemon juice, romaine, and cheese.

Avacado Chicken Salad

The boys and I had spent all of yesterday in the van. I will be the first to admit we didn't make the wisest food choices on the way home. We stopped at Mickey D's, had tortilla chips in the car, Zaxby's chicken..you get the point. We also are just coming off a week vacation in TN where we ate at Paula Deen's restaurant and a few other yummy places (although we did a good job on dinners with our crock pot). This is our first day home and I knew I wanted to make something light...and yummy!
What you are going to need:
2 cups shredded chicken
1 avocado
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp lime juice
1 tsp fresh cilantro
1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup plain Greek Yogurt

Easy to make:

 Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20-30 minutes to let all those yummy flavors blend together.


Serve on your favorite bread, crackers, pita pocket or on a bed of lettuce.

Hello Fresh: Panned Seared chicken

This was our third meal in the hello fresh box we received. This was probably my least favorite of the three. The broccoli was fine...but I had never cooked barley before....I don't know if I cooked it properly but just didn't do much for me. The other two had more of a bold taste, which my taste buds really like. I wouldn't say it was a bad meal...just not for me. I ate it (better than having a snickers bar...LOL), but if offered again wouldn't order it.

Hello Fresh Review: Argentine Spiced Steak

Out of my three meals through Hello Fresh...this was my favorite! The combination of spices and all the ingredients just made this one very appetizing.

 

 

 

The above picture is all the ingredients used in the meal. It also came with a side of couscous.

 

I really loved the recipe cards. Made it super simple to follow along. I am a total visual person so this helps in the process.

After a bit cooking time...under 30 minutes this was my final dish:

Like I said...really appetizing. I had some for dinner and there was enough left for me to have some at lunch the next day.

Clean Grillin' summer

Is anyone as excited as I am that summer is right around the corner? While I do live in Florida, we are getting super close to the end of the school..which totally symbolizes SUMMER for this kindergarten teacher.
As a beachbody coach I always try to think of fun and exciting ways to keep my friends engaged and wanted to extend this to you all. I have started a Facebook group that will feature various recipes to make sure you keep on track nutrition wise while grillin' out.
Here is a link to my summer grillin' clean group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1471286679828517/members/

Hope to see you there!! Starts on May 23rd!
If you are having any problems contact me directly!

Hello Fresh Review: Pork

On Sunday we had our first of our three Hello Fresh meals: The pork one.
I loved how they provided easy to read recipe cards:

The front side showed everything that you are going to need to prepare the meal. The backside provided all the nutritional information as well the steps to prepare the meal.

I went into the fridge to get the correct bag that matched my recipe:

I loved how everything was laid out and ready to. They measured the spices for you as well. The little jar of orange jam was a nice touch as well for this recipe. Obviously you still have to cut all your veggies and cook the meat...but hey you didn't have to go shopping nor really measure anything out.
I found the ease of the recipe to be easy. I didn't feel like it took long...30 minutes tops. I didn't feel overwhelmed or anything.
This meal also came with a side of basmati rice.
Here is the complete meal:

In my opinion: VERY tasty. It was  meal that I don't think I would have really prepped on my own if it weren't for the box. I usually don't cook with yellow peppers...or even with the orange jelly that made a topping...(which by mistake put on top of the rice and not the pork...but still tasty).
So far very satisfied.
Ready to try yours??? Head to hellofresh.com and use this code:                              5FWX7S to get a great discount on your first box.

Mexican chicken

Yes another Mexican dinner....but this time chicken style. Sorry we love Mexican here. It just tastes so fresh to me and I don't feel bad for eating it!
This is one of my husband's favorite meals. I found it on Pinterest and must be served at a restaurant as it was called Qudoba chicken.

 

Ingredients start off simple: Package of chicken, a can of broth, and a package of taco seasoning.
Take these three ingredients and place into your slow cooker. I cooked mine at low for 8 hours.
Smells so good when you walk in the door after work.

Now you can get creative. I get a circular serving dish and first layer down lettuce. I had a cup of jasmine rice. On top of that I put cheese, onions, black beans, the chicken from the slow cooker, a little bit of tomato, and some spicy guacamole.

Took the pic after I start devouring it. LOL!!
One of our favorites and on our menu at least once a month!!