Healthy Meatballs

My daughters LOVE meatballs like nobody's business.  They will order spaghetti and meatballs when ever they can (at least my youngest does.)  I found this recipe on a Ideal Protein Facebook group (Janeva Eickhoff's Ideal Protein recipes).  I want to make them for my youngest but not tell her that they are healthy and see what she thinks.  Only after  she goes for seconds will I inform her of the cauliflower content.  Bahahahahah - its a mother's dream come true!! 

Janeva's original recipe was for Buffalo Chicken Meatballs and they were fantastic. These are the larger size meatball.   I used the largest size Pampered Chef scoop to make these.  It made 14 meatballs.  On IP that's 7 per serving.  I could only eat 4-5 before I was stuffed!  I used Greek yogurt to cool them down a little.  The buffalo sauce was at the top end of my heat tolerance index.  To make these, just replace the marinara in the recipe below with Franks Buffalo wing sauce and you're good to go.

I also made them for spaghetti so I am putting that recipe out here.  For these, I used the smallest Pampered Chef scoop.  It made a whopping 32 meatballs 

I served them with a homemade marinara and whole wheat pasta.  You could easily use zoodles with this for a Phase 1 friendly dish.

Healthy Meatballs (adapted from Janeva Eickhoff)
Ingredients:
Meatballs
1 lb. ground chicken or turkey
2 C. cauliflower florets
½ C. grated zucchini
½ C. chopped green onion
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 ¼  tsp. sea salt
1/3 C. egg whites ( I used 1 whole egg in place of the egg whites)
Olive oil cooking spray

Homemade marinara
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 T parsley
1 T stevia
1 tsp basil
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp oregano

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Mix all marinara ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer until needed for meatballs
3.  Place cauliflower, green onions and zucchini in a food processor and pulse to a riced consistency.
4.  In a large bowl combine chicken, riced veggie mixture, garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt and egg whites.  Mix together gently.  Do not over mix.
5.  Spray a baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray.  Scoop meat mixture (about 2 T. for large  meatballs, or 1 T for smaller ones) and gently roll portions between palms to form a smooth ball.  Place on olive oil sprayed baking sheet.
6.  Bake meatballs for 20 minutes.  Remove meatballs from oven.
7.  Pour some of the marinara sauce in a bowl and transfer meatballs to the bowl; toss to coat. Let the meatballs sit in the sauce while you raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees.
8.  Drain the moisture and wipe the grease from the baking sheet.  Apply a fresh coat of olive oil cooking spray.
9.  When oven has reached 450 degrees, give meatballs another toss in the bowl, transfer meatballs and sauce to the baking sheet and bake on the top rack of the oven for 15 - 20 minutes.

10.  When finished cooking, toss in the remaining marinara and serve over pasta or zoodles

Going off script - lamb stew

So I posted about my freezer meal workshop and signing up with Wildtree last time.   I'm still working my way through the meals we made at the workshop.  I pulled out the lamb this weekend.  It was marinating in Greek spices, lemon juice and grapeseed oil.  It was supposed to be for kabobs.  But it got chilly over the weekend and we hadn't gotten the grill out yet.  I didn't really feel kabobs either.  So I went off script and made lamb stew.  I used the lamb, chopped some carrots, parsnips and turnips.  I wanted potatoes but didn't want the carb dose so I subbed in the turnips and hoped they would be a good substitute.  I also added a can of diced tomatoes, a small can of tomato paste and about 2 c of unsalted chicken stock.  Stirred it up, turned the crock pot on high for 4 hours and waited to see what would emerge.

Look at that scrumptiosness!  It was fabulous!  The lamb was so tender that you could cut it with a spoon.  Maybe that's how lamb is supposed to be.  I haven't had it in a while, but I don't remember it being that soft.  The Greek seasoning from Wildtree was a nice light but balanced flavor.  Really, really good.  Definitely a keeper!!

Greek Stew
2 lb lamb or beef, cut in about 1" cubes
2 tsp Wildtree Natural Grapeseed oil
2 tsp Wildtree Opa! Greek seasoning blend
1/2 Tbsp lemon juice.

5-6 carrots, peeled and chopped
3-4 parsnips, peeled and chopped
2 medium turnips, peeled and diced
2 c chicken or beef stock
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste

Mix first 4 ingredients in a gallon sized ziploc bag.  Allow to marinate at least 4 hours.  This can also be placed in the freezer and thawed out when you want to make the stew.

Add meat with marinade and rest of ingredients to a crock pot.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Stir it all up to combine  Sprinkle more Opa! Greek seasoning over the mixture in the crock pot if desired (I added about 1 T more)   Cook on high for 4 hours (or low for 8 hrs.  I cooked on high so can vouch for that method).

About a half hour before its done mix cornstarch with water and add to the stew to thicken to desired thickness.  I like my stews thick and hearty so I added about 2-3 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with maybe 1/4 c water.  But that is up to you and the consistency you like in your stews.

Once its done cooking, let it cool a bit then eat up.  You could serve this with a nice crusty bread, over rice (or cauliflower rice for even more veg) or just straight up in a bowl like we had it.

Enjoy!!

Do you Wildtree?

Do you even know what Wildtree is?

Wildtree is a company that sells organic spice blends, oils and also mixes and marinades,  I recently found out about them at a freezer meal workshop.  The workshop was put on by my IP coach, Lindsay.  We made 10 meals (enough to feed 5-6 people each) in about an hour.  With only about 1-2 hours of pre-workshop prep, thats not bad.

There they are - all 10 of them.  It will actually be about 20 for the hubs and I since we'd only eat half at a time most of the time.  

While these took a lot of the stress out of menu planning, these were really good meals too.  And fairly economical.

So I signed up ...now Im a Wildtree Rep too :)

My starter kit came today and I used some of the products to make dinner tonight

One of the meals we made in freezer meal workshop was a herb marinaded white fish.  I used swai fillets and we added grape seed oil and a lemon rosemary spice blend.  In my starter kit I got Zesty lemon grape seed oil so I used that on the roasted asparagus and also to pan fry the fish.

It was delicious!!!

If you want more information about Wildtree check out my website: www.mywildtree.com/MaureenVieth

Maple Dijon Chicken

I went in for my monthly check in with my coach last week.  Lindsay was running behind (or I was earlier than usual) and I heard Dusty, another coach, talking about some recipes.  This is one that she mentioned and I grabbed a copy and made it that night for dinner.  It was really good.  Pair it up with some roasted asparagus (and roasted potatoes on phase 4) and you've got a winner of a chicken dinner.

Dijon Chicken

½ c Dijon mustard

¼ c maple syrup (Phase 4, or use 1/4 c WF pancake syrup for Phase 1)

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

4 chicken breasts

Salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

Pat chicken dry.  Lay in a baking dish and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.

Mix mustard, syrup and vinegar together and pour over chicken

Top with more pepper, fresh rosemary and thyme if desired

Bake at 425 for 35-40 minutes.

Super Simple Chicken and Zoodles with a lemon pepper vinaigrette

Sometimes you just want dinner to be easy.  But easy and on plan don't always go together, unless you plan ahead a little bit.

My planning for tonight was two step.

First, our grocery store had rotisserie chickens on special, buy 2 for a special price.  SO I bought 2.  We had one for dinner over the weekend and the other I picked the meat off to have for lunches or whatever through out the week.

Step 2, when I make zoodles I make a lot  ... I mean like 3 or 4 zucchinis worth.  That way I get my veg and can save some for lunches later in the week.

So 2 of the elements of tonight's dinner were already well in hand.  All I needed was some sauce/spice to go with it and I would be set.  I made up a batch of a lemon vinaigrette I learned how to make in my first cooking class and drizzled it over the chicken and zoodles after I'd warmed them in the microwave (make sure to drain/pat dry the zoodles after you warm them because they will still release a bit of water when they are rewarmed)

Here's the recipe from Against all grain I use for zoodles.

Here is the vinaigrette recipe.  This is the same one I used for this sauteed asparagus and pasta dish from a while back.  I included the original (balsamic) version since I'm going to be back in Maintenance in a week or so (after my January reset).  The balsamic version is for Phase 4 only.  The Apple cider vinegar version is Phase 1 friendly

Lemon Pepper Vinaigrette
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest (optional)
1/4 shallot, diced

To make the Phase 4 version: use 2 tsp aged balsamic vinegar and 1 tsp red wine vinegar
To make the Phase 1 version : use 2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients.  Drizzle about 1  to 1.5 TBSP over chicken and zoodles.

Kung Pao Chicken with Zoodles from SkinnyTaste

I love Chinese food.  Even better when I can make it at home.  Even better than that when its a healthy version.

I love SkinnyTaste.com for this reason.  So far I have loved every dish I've made from the website and cookbook.  This Kung Pao chicken was a bit of a stretch because I am kind of sensitive when it comes to spicy food.  Ironic that I married a man who loves Indian food and thinks most things I make are mild (even when I'm choking because my face is on fire:)  So I thought  - OK I'l try kung pao chicken,  That's kinda spicy right, so the hubs ought to like it ... and it was spicy and he did like it.  It was just on the edge of what I can eat but boy was it good.  And now I have another recipe that uses zoodles ... I love me some zoodles.  I feel like I'm eating pasta but its zucchini :)  Win win in my book!

This is a Phase 4 recipe.  I'm not sure I could make it Phase 1 and still have it taste as good so I left it alone.  I may try some swaps (splenda for sugar is easy, its the Balsamic I'm worried about ...maybe apple cider vinegar.  And possibly a thin cauliflower puree to replace the cornstarch to thicken the sauce).  If I get to trying that I'll update this post or make a new one with the Phase 1 recipe on it.  For now just look forward to it when you hit maintenance!

Here is the kung pao with zoodles as eaten for dinner tonight

Here's a link to the recipe: kung pao chicken with zoodles

Crock Pot Cabbage Rolls

I'm not a chef.  I'm an engineer.  And a recipe hound.  I don't make up very many recipes - only about 3 of the ones on the blog are ones I've created myself.  I'm OK with that.  Because I find the search for new recipes just as exciting as making them up myself.   And the heavy lifting has already been done.  It just comes down to is it something I want to make versus how do I combine flavors and textures to make an appealing dish.  I like being a recipe hound ... its a catchy name.  Maybe I'll rename my blog someday if I can figure out how without blowing links up all across the internet.

Enough about me.  On to the food.
I've been hearing about cabbage rolls for a long time.  Now that I'm much more experimental in the food department I thought it was high time I tried them.  I found this crock pot recipe (that is also paleo and totally Phase 1 friendly - mind the restricted tomatoes) and thought I'd give it a whirl.
Oh my head, am I glad I did!!!
While the directions (listed below) took a little time (especially boiling the cabbage to start with) these really are pretty easy to make.  And with both crockpot and oven directions, you have options
These smelled fabulous while they cooked and the taste did not disappoint! Now since I've never had cabbage rolls of any kind before I really don't have a basis for comparison, but these were really good (even the hubs thought so :) )And it makes 12 rolls (a serving is 2) so there is plenty to feed an army (or be lunch for a few days to make a busy week go a little easier).
From a Phase 1 standpoint each serving is about 5-6 oz of protein and only about 1/8 c vegetable.

Ingredients for Paleo Cabbage Rolls from www.StupidEasyPaleo.com

serves 6
1 large head of green cabbage
1 pound (454 g) grassfed ground beef
1 pound (454 g) lean ground pork1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 white onion, diced finely
1-1/2 cups of riced or grated cauliflower
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
8 oz (235 mL) crushed tomatoes
4 oz (118 mL) tomato sauce

Directions for Paleo Cabbage Rolls

1. Rice or grate the cauliflower using box grater or food processor.  Save 1-1/2 cups for this recipe and the rest for something else. It’s tasty fried up in this side dish.

2. In a large bowl, mix the beef, pork, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

3. Put a large pot of water on the stove over high heat. To prepare the cabbage for rolling, you’ll lightly boil it whole and peel the leaves off a few at a time. Cut the core out of the cabbage and place in the pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. As the leaves soften, you can peel them off with a spoon. Take care not to rip them in half. The whole process usually takes about 15 minutes. Alternatively, you can throw the whole cabbage in and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. The outermost leaves will become very soft but still usable. In either case, peel as many of the leaves off as you can and let cool a bit.

4. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add a tablespoon of coconut oil or your fat of choice. Add the onion and grated cauliflower and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes until the onion is translucent and the cauliflower is softened. Turn off the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

5. Combine the onion and cauliflower with the meat, and mix by hand to incorporate all the ingredients.

6. Roll the golumbki by holding a cabbage leaf, concave side up with the stem toward you, and placing a large spoonful of the meat mixture at the stem end. Then roll forward, fold the sides in and end with the seam down.

7. Mix the crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce in a bowl. Put ~1 cup in the bottom of the crockpot (or casserole dish). Lay the golumbki in with the seam side down. Cover with the remaining tomato mixture once the crock is full.

8. For a crockpot, cook on low for 5 hours. If using the oven, cover the top of the dish with foil and bake for 90 minutes at 350°F (175°C).

Nutrition Information via MyFitnessPal.com

calories 312

Total Fat 12 g   

Saturated Fat 6 g

Monounsaturated Fat 0 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g

Trans Fat 0 g

Total Carbohydrate 7 g

  Dietary Fiber 2 g

Protein 30 g      

Roasted Chicken Galantine

So its January and I haven't blogged for a while.  Trip to Italy, holidays all that stuff kinda got in the way.  I will say that this is the first year in a great many that I haven't had "Lose Weight" or "Get Healthy" as a New Years Resolution.  "Stay Healthy" maybe, but not "Get".    Its kind of a nice feeling.

That being said I am doing a reset and doing Phase 1 again for the month of January.  The coaches at the clinic where I go have said its a good idea, especially if you got off track during the holidays.  Which I did.  I didn't' gain any weight (which is probably a first) but I did not lose the weight I gained in Italy or over Thanksgiving.  So I think a reset is a good idea.  Plus the fudge and Oreo ball diet says maybe its a good idea too.  I'm really not sure how I didn't gain weight, but I'll take it!!!

To start it off I made a Chicken Galantine - that's a de-boned chicken stuffed with spinach and onion and mushrooms and garlic. Totally phase 1 friendly and not all that hard to pull off - it looks really impressive too!!

I will state up front that I went to a cooking class (2 actually) that showed us how to de-bone a chicken.  In one of the classes we actually performed.  Its not too difficult really and this is a great YouTube video that shows exactly what we learned in class.  If you don't want to de-bone it just make the stuffing and stuff it.  Cooking times will be different though.

So start with a 2.5-3 lb whole chicken, thawed and ready to go.  De-bone or not, its up to you, although its super nice to just slice it up and have chicken meat surrounding the stuffing.  Go ahead give it a whirl.  No one will know how you did. (Maybe now is a good time to admit my first solo attempt at de-boning a chicken, I cut the wrong side for the first cut and so ended up with 2 halves of a deboned chicken.  I just snuggled the pieces up real close then stuffed and trussed.  It still tasted the same and next time I hope I'll remember which side goes first  :)

The other cool thing is if you want to attempt your own chicken stock, just throw all the bones in a crock pot with water (8 cups), carrots (2-3, peeled and rough chopped), onion (quartered), celery (2 stalks, rough chopped), a couple of bay leaves and some salt and pepper.  Cook for 6 hours on High and voila - chicken broth.  Here's my broth, about 2 qts worth.  It tastes pretty good too :)

For the stuffing you need an onion (diced), a couple cloves of garlic (also diced), a 16 oz bag of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed free of liquid, and a package of baby 'bello mushrooms, cleaned and stemmed and sliced.  If you aren't in Phase 1, I'd add some fresh mozzarella or ricotta cheese to it as well  :)  And if you want to attempt to make your own cheese here is a simple ricotta recipe - its easier than you think.  Go on, be adventurous!!

Saute the mushrooms for a few minutes over medium heat (add about 1 Tbsp olive oil to the pan too)  then add the the onions and some salt and pepper and cook til everything looks pretty done (maybe 5-8 minutes).  So long as the onions don't caramelize this is still Phase 1 friendly.  Add the spinach and garlic and mix it around.  Let it hang out another 5 minutes.  If you are adding the cheese do it now stir around for a minute or two then remove from heat.

If you haven't de-boned the chicken yet do that now ... its OK I'll wait.

Now stuff your bird ... again the video shows exactly what we did to stuff and truss it up so do all those things.

Here is my little chicky all stuffed and ready to go in the oven

Bake at 375 for about an hour and a half.  It should have an internal temp of 165 degrees.

This chicken is the finest I've ever tried.  We even rewarmed it (in the oven, not once but twice) and it was still juicy and tender and delicious.

To rewarm it, preheat oven to 350 degrees and cook the chicken for about 30 minutes till its all warmed up again.

Enjoy

Oven Baked Omelette

I love breakfast.  especially breakfast for dinner.  I think I've uttered those words before on the blog.  Its still true to this day.  I found a recipe on the Six Sister's site for this oven baked omelette.  I've made it a couple of times and its delish!!  Its not quite on plan though so I did make a few minor tweaks.  The original recipe is available through the link and it serves 5.  I cut it down to serving 1 and made it phase 1 friendly.

Enjoy

Ingredients

3 eggs
1 oz milk plus enough water to make 3/8 c
Sea salt, garlic powder and black pepper to taste
1 oz cooked ham, diced (or turkey bacon fried up crisp and diced)
1/2 c.  bell peppers , diced (pick your favorite combination. I used green and red)
2 tablespoons finely diced onion
1 oz  Go Veggie cheddar cheese shreds

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.

If using bacon fry it up crispy.  

In the same pan add a T of oil and the diced peppers.  Cook until just tender.

In a large bowl, beat eggs and  milk.  Add in remaining ingredients and pour into baking dish.

Bake (uncovered) for 45 minutes or until eggs are fully cooked (you will want to make sure that the middle of the dish is done).

Another Chicken crust pizza recipe

If you feel better using cooked chicken in the crust give this recipe a try from  A Nation of Moms.  I have not tried it yet but it looks just as good (maybe a little easier too since the chicken is already cooked).  If you try it let me know how it is in the comments!!

Crust Ingredients:
1 c. finely chopped cooked chicken breast (chopped in food processor)
1/2 c GO Veggie mozzarella shreds
1 egg white
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano

Toppings:
Walden Farms Smoky BBQ Sauce
sliced/diced onions
sliced/diced peppers
Go Veggie mozzarella shreds
Go Veggie Cheddar and Peter Jack shreds

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine all crust ingredients with your hands in a large bowl. Press onto baking sheet that has been lightly sprayed with EVOO spray. Form a flat circular “crust” shape about 1/4″ to 1/2″ thick. 

Bake for 12 minutes. 

Let cool for 5 minutes before adding sauce, add toppings (the more veggies the better!) and lightly sprinkle with more soy cheese. Bake for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. 

  

Enjoy!

Chicken Salsa Verde

I stumbled upon a couple of great pork tacos recipes a few weeks back.  I bought ingredients for both and have been wanting to try the second recipe for a bit now.  I didn't have pork in the freezer this week but had a big ol' bag of chicken breasts so I figured chicken tacos would be a good crock pot dinner to try out.

The original recipe is from Four Marrs ... One Venus ... great name for a blog!!  The Marrs family of all boys and the mom (the one Venus).  I love the throw back reference to Men are from Mars Women are From Venus.

This was super simple, even for a crock pot meal.  And as I shredded the chicken I couldn't help but sample it.  I had to make my self stop eating!  It was that good.  The salsa verde has a distinctive flavor and is pretty unique.  Much different from your normal taco taste, in my opinion any way.

Here is the recipe if you want to try it out for yourselves

Salsa Verde Tacos
2 lb pork (roast or picnic cut) or chicken breasts (skinless/boneless)
Kosher salt
1 jar salsa verde (I used HyVee select roasted salsa verde)
1 small can diced green chilies (also used a store brand here)
1 tsp. cumin

Place your meat in a crock pot.  Sprinkle with kosher salt.  Pour salsa verde over the top and then your diced chilies.  Sprinkle with 1 tsp of cumin.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours

Remove from crock pot and shred (its easier on a plate or cutting board than in the crock pot).  Put shredded meat back in the crock pot to keep it warm (I turned crock off but let the meat hang out in the juice that had accumulated)

Serve with your favorite taco toppings.

Meat wrap - Philly steak "sandwiches"

Any one remember these?

I remember the commercials from years ago.  I didn't' know what a Philly cheese steak sandwich was at the time and I thought these were kinda silly.  I've since learned the error of my ways, the divine nature of a good philly and Steak-umms are still on the market (in the freezer section)

Thought I'd give it a try!  Sure am glad I did.  I used a bag of PictSweet frozen diced onions and peppers and warmed them up (no caramelizing of the onions, just soft) in a saute pan with a little oil.

I cooked up the steak-umms per the package directions and piled stuff on a hoagie bun with cheese ... for my husband,  Of course I couldn't eat that.  

I think these would make awesome lettuce wraps but unfortunately I didn't have lettuce so I made ...ummm ... meat wraps

I used the steak-umm as the wrap, piled it with the peppers and onions and folded it up and ate it like that.  Kinda messy with meat and onion juice dripping everywhere, but I was in heaven.  The taste was cheesesteak sandwich.  Peppers and onions and total taste bud ecstasy.  I honestly didn't miss the bread at all (except maybe to soak up some of the drippings).

And since everything was from the freezer this really took just minutes to make.  You don't even have to plan it because the meat is to be cooked frozen!

So next time you are in the mood for a philly, try a meat wrap. 

Easy Italian Pasta Bake

I grew up on casseroles.  All kinds.  Some I liked (pizza casserole) some not so much (Johnny Mazzetti casserole- black olives ewwww).  And growing up Catholic there was the ever present tuna and noodle casserole on Fridays during Lent. 

Casseroles are one dish that has been decidedly absent since I started the IP program.  Not anymore.  This Easy Italian Pasta Bake from Innovative Aesthetics was very reminiscent of the pizza casserole I used to make, with just a few swaps.  

I used the IP Pasta and Go Veggie soy cheese.  I did not use WF sauce but instead  one in the health section  Sun Dry brand sun dried tomato pasta sauce as I look up the brand on the web, have brown sugar in it ... second to last ingredient on the list.  I missed it on the jar but hopefully it was so minimal that it wasn't a major factor).  

It tasted wonderful and was super thick (so much so that I added water to it to make it more "saucy")This dish felt like such a treat - pasta, meat, cheese.  3 of my favorite things!!  

It was so good I forgot to take pictures :)  

Here's the recipe 

Italian  Pasta Bake 
Ingredients: 
1 lb lean ground turkey 
4 packets of Ideal Protein Rotini Pasta 
1 Jar Walden Farms Marinara Sauce, or make your own in a food processor 
1/3 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese, Divided ·         

Directions
Brown meat until down and drain off any fat.
Boil pasta till al dente 
Add pasta, sauce and half of the parmesan to meat and mix well. 
Spoon into 13x9 baking dish; top with remaining cheeses. 
Bake 20 min. or until heated through.

Big Mac In A Bowl

You know how some things are better together than separate.  Take Sauerkraut, and Thousand Island Dressing.  Maybe even Corned Beef ... not a huge fan.  But put them together panini style and voila - reuben sandwich.  I adore reuben sandwiches even though I am less than enthused about most of the items that make it up.  On their own, blech mostly.  Together ... heaven on marble rye.

So with this mindset I thought I'd try the big mac in a bowl recipe.  I've seen it around the interwebs an awful lot.  Using WF Thousand Island its Phase 1 friendly and its supposed to taste fabulous.   You see, as I've already said, not a Thousand Island fan (except on a reuben).  Not a dill pickle fan either really.  But I thought maybe all combined together it might just be something magical.

And the verdict is ... Yumm-o!!

Way lot better than I thought it would be.  This is definitely taking a turn on the dinner rotation!  I really thought I'd be saying "I think next time I'll go lighter on the pickles", but the 1000 Island dill pickle combo is really quite nice.

The only thing I did differently was to add the chopped pickles and the re-hydrated onions to the browned meat when I took it off the heat.  I let it hang out for about a minute or so to let those flavors meld together, then added it to my bowl of lettuce.

Oh and you will need a BIG bowl.  The portion on this is huge

I've seen lots of recipes on the web.  

I'm linking to the Andover site because I like its organization:

Big Mac in a Bowl (Great for all phases)

Ingredients: 

8oz ground beef

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon minced dry onions

46 grams dill pickle slices or 2 dill spears, chopped, about 1 5/8 ounces

2 tablespoons Walden Farms Thousand Island Dressing

1 1/2 ounces iceberg lettuce, shredded

Directions:

Brown the ground beef, drain off any fat, season with salt and pepper.  Meanwhile, soak the dry onions in a little water to rehydrate them. Put the meat in a large salad bowl and add the remaining ingredients.  Toss and eat at once.

Salmon Glaze

Here is another recipe I found from the Andover Diet Center's website - Lime Maple Salmon

I almost didn't try this because of the sriracha sauce. I have heard that is WAY spicy and the little taste I took from the bottle I bought did not disappoint.  But since I'd bought it I was committed.  

If you know me you know I'm not good with too much spiciness   It has bothered my stomach for years.  But I've found as I've gotten my diet under control with the IP protocol, I haven't had the troubles that I've had in the past.  So I thought - what the heck.  It sounds tasty.  I can always adjust the spiciness if its too much.

Let me tell you it was amazing!!  The other ingredients in the glaze neutralized the heat while still leaving a lot of the flavor of the sriracha sauce.  I sauteed asparagus with it and since I didn't want to have the opened packet of syrup lying around I dumped that in the pan with some salt and pepper.  It turned out really good too.

Here is the glaze recipe


INGREDIENTS

• Juice and zest of 1/2 lime (I used 1 TB of lime juice and no zest)
• 1 tablespoon Walden Farms Pancake Syrup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons tsp sriracha sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt (I used fine sea salt)
• 1 1/4 lbs pounds salmon fillet, skin removed
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro (I used dried cilantro)

PREPARATION
Heat oven to 425°. In a bowl, whisk together juice, zest, syrup, sriracha and salt. Place salmon in a baking dish lined with parchment paper; pour lime-maple mixture over top. Roast salmon until cooked through and flaky, 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro; serve.


Enjoy!

Zucchini Pie and a New Recipe Resource

There is a little Ideal Protein epidemic in my office.  Since Tony (the guy I learned about it from) has done so dramatically well there are about 6 of us inthe office (or related to those in the office) that are on the program.One friend of mine who started last week found this amazing site for the Andover Diet Center.  Their recipe index is the best I've seen.  All the recipes are categorized for IP phase and if there is a mix of ingredients they tell you Phase 1 substitutes.  Really nice user interface!!!

Here is a link to the recipe site: Andover Diet Center recipe catalog

Some of the recipes I have actually pinned from Pinterest so they are getting their recipes from all over and just IP-tizing them - kinda like me but their set up is way slicker!!!

One of the recipes I tried this week was the zucchini pie.

The recipe was pretty simple.  I think I went a little short on the salt and had to add some when I was eating it.  I made this for our church small group potluck and it went over really well with only 1 small scoop left.

One change I want to try is to use fresh Basil and Oregano in place of the dill.  I'm not a huge dill fan and I thought the 1/4 c was a little overpowering.  Not bad but I could taste the dill and well, I'm not a huge dill fan :)

Still overall I'd rate this 4 to 4.5 stars.  It was really good, lots of veg and just a bit of protein from the eggs so it could still serve as lunch or a side at dinner.

Enjoy!

Zucchini Pie

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 pound (about 2 or 3) green zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 pound  yellow zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup freshly chopped dill
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 5 large eggs plus 5 large egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1 tomato, thinly sliced
• 2 ounces low-fat feta cheese, crumbled (Phase IV only)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add green zucchini, half the scallions, half the garlic, a teaspoon marjoram, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring frequently, until zucchini has softened and is beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.
2. Remove from heat; transfer to a large bowl; set aside.Rinse skillet; repeat process with yellow zucchini and remaining teaspoon olive oil, scallions, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon marjoram, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Transfer to bowl with cooked green zucchini; let sit until cooled. Drain and discard any liquid.
3. Add dill, parsley, and eggs to zucchini; stir to combine. Pour into a 9 1/2-inch round, deep baking dish. Cover with tomato; sprinkle with feta.
4. Bake until set, about 1 hour. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Steak Marinade

I discovered Chef In Training via Facebook.  Once again I am amazed by the talent out there.  Sometimes its hard to find, but when I find a site I like I keep checking it out and I end up sharing a lot of the recipes through my FB newsfeed.

This easy steak marinade is one I shared a while ago but I just got around to making it this week.

It was fabulous!!! The flavor was amazing!  and oh so simple.  Just the way I like it.  Add a side of grilled or sauteed vegetables and dinner is served!

Easy Steak Marinade
2 Tbsp lime juice (or juice 1 lime)
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp Montreal Steak Seasoning

Mix all ingredients and run into both sides of a steak.  I did the rub first thing in the morning and let it hang out all day in the frig.

I used a 1.25 lb London broil, but the original recipe calls for 1-2 lb flank steak.

If you are not a griller (which I am not) here is an easy way to make it in the house.

Preheat oven to 400.  Coat an oven safe grill pan with olive oil and heat to medium high for a minute or two.  Sear the steak for 2-3 minutes on each side (depends on the thickness.  The London broil I used was quite thick so I let it go 4 minutes per side).  Put the pan in the oven and let cook for 15-20 minutes, until desired done-ness.  I had an internal temp on the steak of 163, which was a perfect medium.

Enjoy!!!

Midweek Dinner: Crispy Chicken

I got the BBQ crisps this week at the clinic when I did my stock up run.  They were out of a lot last week because of the holiday so I thought I'd get a variety pack of crisps and soup and stuff.  I haven't had the BBQ crisps in a while and they sounded good.  And I wanted to make crispy chicken again. I was much surprised to find that I hadn't posted this recipe yet.  My apologies friends.  This one should have gone up a while ago.

I got the recipe on the Innovative Aesthetics Facebook page under Notes.  There are a lot of good recipes out there.  

Ingredients:

-6 oz. chicken tenderloins ( or breast sliced into strips that's what I did above)

 - 1 beaten egg

- 1 IP packet of crushed Unrestricted Chips - BBQ, Salt and Vinegar or Garlic are all fabulous

S+P to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Line cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with foil. Coat chicken in egg. Then, roll chicken in crushed garlic chips. Place chicken on foil-lined pan. Cook for 15-18 minutes. Last minute, select "broil" this seals the chips to be extra crispy and golden brown! Remove from oven, and enjoy.

Pasta and Sauteed Asparagus

I was trying something new this week and it turned out pretty amazing I thought :)  So i wanted to share.

It was a pasta and asparagus dish and I modified a vinaigrette recipe I got in my cooking class.

Lemon pepper Pasta with Asparagus
Ingredients:
    1 package IP Pasta, prepared
    2 c. fresh asparagus, spears chopped in thirds
    1/2 leek, finely diced
    2 tsp lemon juice
    1/4 tsp lemon zest (optional)
    2 tsp apple cider vinegar
    3 Tbsp olive oil
    Garlic salt, sea salt and black pepper to taste

Whisk the leek, lemon juice, zest, vinegar and olive oil together.  Add garlic salt, sea salt and pepper to taste (I started with about 1/8 tsp of each but added more.  It depends on your preferences)

Set aside.

Add 1-2 tsp of olive oil to a saute pan over medium heat.  Add asparagus and saute until done (about 10 minutes stirring/flipping it occasionally).  When the asparagus is fork tender, remove from heat and add the prepared pasta and about 2-3 tsp of the vinaigrette.  Stir to combine.

Eat and enjoy!!

Quesadilla anyone?

So today I tried a recipe I've been wanting to try for a while.  Once I saw a copycat Taco Bell Mexican pizza  recipe I knew I had to try these because the tortilla is the basis of the Mexican pizza.I got this recipe from the Innovative Aesthetics Facebook page.After mixing all the glop up here is what it looks like on the sheet pan before it went into the oven:

Here is at the half way point after I flipped them

And here is one little fella getting fried up in a pan

Since the recipe makes 6, and its unrestricted (other than lowering your protein amounts due to the eggs), I figured I'd have a quesadilla for lunch then Mexican pizza for dinner

Ta dahhhhhhh!

Next up the Mexican pizza... watch for that recipe coming soon

Tortillas (Cauliflower)

Ingredients

• ¾ head of cauliflower riced or 2 cups riced and packed
• 2 eggs
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. For these I actually rice my cauliflower slightly more fine than cauliflower rice. Toss ¾ a head of cauliflower cut up and most of the stem removed and pulse until you get a texture slightly finer than rice. (Once it is riced measure it to make sure you have 2 cups packed.)
3. Place riced cauliflower in bowl and microwave for 2 minutes and stir, then another 2 minutes and stir again then place in a dish towel and squeeze excess water out as hard as you can. (You’re going to want to get out as much water as you can and be careful because it will be hot.)
4. Place drained cauliflower back in bowl and add 2 eggs, salt and pepper and mix until well combined.
5. As a note it will be a little bit runny but shouldn't be pure liquid either. Spread mixture onto a baking sheet into 6 small fairly flat circles.
6. Place in the oven for 10 minutes then pull out of the oven and carefully peel them off the parchment and flip them and place back in the oven for 5-7 more minutes.
7. Once they are done place them on a wire rack to cool slightly.
8. Heat a medium sized pan over medium heat and place the tortillas in the pan pressing down slightly and brown them to your liking. (Don’t skip this step because it gives them slightly crispy on the edges and gives them a wonderful taste.)