Oven-Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I have never liked these little things, but this recipe was absolutely delicious!

Ingredients:

1 lb. Brussels sprouts

3 Tbsp. EVOO

1 tsp. Sea Salt

1 tsp. Black Pepper

1/4 C. walnuts (optional) - but I can't tell you how yummy these were, so I will always add them.

1/4 C. sliced mushrooms (optional) - again, yum!

Preparation:

Place Brussels sprouts in a bowl of cold water with ice cubes. Sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 20 minutes. (I let them sit longer because I was busy doing other things). Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400.

Place a clean kitchen towel on the counter. One by one remove the Brussels sprouts and trim the hard end off the bottom. Trim off any loose or yellowed leaves. Make a small cross in the bottom of each sprout. Cut any large sprouts in half lengthwise. When all the sprouts have been cleaned and trimmed, place them in a medium bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, walnuts and mushrooms. Toss lightly until all sprouts are well coated.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (I never use to use this stuff, but it has been so nice having it as a staple in my kitchen) and gently transfer the sprouts to the baking sheet. Place any halved sprouts cut side down. Place in oven and bake until lightly browned for about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

My husband, 9-year old son and 2 1/2 year old niece gobbled these up. Everyone loved them!

Chicken Szechuanese

INGREDIENTS:

Safflower or olive oil

1 lb/ 454g lean, skinless chicken breast, cut into strips, OR

1 lb/454g well drained firm tofu, cut into strips, OR combination of both to equal 1 lb (I just used chicken)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ cup red pepper, cut into strips

½ cup firm green or yellow zucchini, cut into strips

1/3 cup purple onion, cut into strips

1/3 cup snow peas, trimmed

2 cloves garlic, passed through a garlic press

1 tsp freshly grated ginger

SAUCE INGREDIENTS

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp potato flour or quinoa flour (I didn't have either of these, so I just used whole wheat flour & it worked fine. I have since found quinoa flour, so I'll be making it again with that.)

3 tsp low-sodium soy sauce or gluten-free tamari (I used Tamari)

3 tsp rice vinegar

1 tsp organic honey

1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth or water (I used a combo of both)

SAUCE PREPARATION

1. Mix all dry ingredients in small bowl.

2. Add liquid ingredients and mix well. Ensure there are no lumps.

PREPARATION

1. Place some of the oil in a nonstick skillet or wok. Brown chicken or tofu strips in batches over

medium-high heat. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Remove from skillet or wok and

transfer to a serving bowl.

2. In same skillet with a little more oil, stir-fry vegetables and garlic and ginger until just done,

but still bright in color. Add sauce mixture to skillet. Bring to a boil and stir constantly. Add

chicken or tofu or both if using. Heat through. Serve over brown rice.

Chinese Chicken & Rice

1 hour & 25 Minutes to Prepare and Cook

Ingredients

1lb boneless, skinless Chicken Breast, cut into julienne strips

2 C Water

1 C brown rice

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp Olive Oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1.5 C Broccoli florets (I used more than this)
1 C sliced Mushrooms
1 small can sliced Waterchestnuts (drained)
1 C Carrots, sliced (I used frozen, already sliced, thawed)

3 or more chopped Green onion

Marinade:
2 Tbsp EVOO

1 Tbsp Ginger Root (I used powdered ginger)
2 tsp low sodium tamari or soy sauce

Dash hot pepper sauce (I didn't have any, so I used red pepper flakes)

Directions

Number of Servings: 6

1. Combine all marinade ingredients. Place chicken in marinade and let stand for 1 hour in fridge. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 6 Qt (I used a smaller one) covered casserole dish with cooking spray. Add rice, water and salt and bake for 40 min or until liquid is absorbed. (I had to cook this for 1 hour and I upped the temp to 420 degrees for the last 30 minutes.)

2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet and gently saute garlic until just fragrant. Add sliced chicken and saute until no longer pink. Add chopped veggies and cook until just soft. Remove from heat. Serve piping hot over the rice.

Moroccan Chicken & Lentils

Total Preparation Time: 15 to 30 minutes

Actual Cooking Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

8 cups Water 3 tsp Sea salt divided 1lb Dried lentils, (Rinsed drained and picked over)

1 cup Plus 2 tbsp exta virgin olive oil 1/2 cup Red wine vinegar 3 tbsp Ground cumin, divided 2 tbsp Plus 2 tsp chili powder 2 Garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 Large onion, peeled and chopped 2lbs Skinless boneless chicken breast or turkey breast (thinly sliced) 1/4 tsp Ground cinnamon 1 cup Chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

Preparation

1. Combine water and 1 tsp salt in stock pot over high heat. Add lentils. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Simmer until lentils are soft, about 20 -25 minutes. Drain well. Rinse under cold water. Place in large bowl and set aside.

2. In small bowl, mix 1 cup olive oil (I felt like this was way too much oil, so I'd cut it back - maybe by half - next time), vinegar, 2tbsp cumin,2 tbsp chilli powder, garlic and 1 tsp salt. Pour this dressing over lentils. Toss gently and let cool.

3. In large skillet heat 2 tbsp olive oil. Add onion and saute until well cooked, about 5 min. onion should appear dark and soft. Add chicken or turkey and saute 2 min more. Add 1 tsp salt, 1 tbp cumin, 2tsp chilli powder,and cinnamon. Saute until poultry is cooked through.

4. Arrange lentils on a large serving platter. Place sliced chicken on top of lentils. Use remaining dressing and pour over chicken. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve at room temperature.

Great to freeze.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 391 ; Total Fat: 20g ; Carbohydrates: 25g ; Protein: 28g ; Sodium: 564mg ; Fiber: 5g

Split Pea Soup - Yummo!!!

2 hours to Prepare and Cook

Ingredients

2 cups dried split peas
12 cups water
4 bay leaves
sea salt
1tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion
4 ribs celery, trimmed and chopped
3 thick carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
6 cups water
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1.5 cups cubed roasted turkey (if vegetarian remove turkey breast)

Directions

1. Put dried peas in large saucepan and cover with 12 cups of water. And 2 bay leaves and sea salt and bring to boil. Let cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. In a Dutch oven (I just used my big cooking pot), place olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots. Saute for 8 minutes until onion begins to turn translucent.
3. Add chicken broth or preferred cooking liquid and 6 cups water. Add 2 more bay leaves, peas, and thyme and bring to boil. Add roasted turkey breast. Reduce heat and cover. Let simmer for an hour. The peas need to be soft. Check the pot now and then, since the peas have a tendency settle to the bottom and burn. You'll have to break them apart by stirring them.
4. Remove the bay leaves and season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Serve hot.

Number of Servings: 10

New Post

Hello to all my family and friends who've been following my blog and asking where my posts have been. Thanks for noticing and missing my posts!

I was in a 'workout rut' and I took about a month off from my normal P90X routine. That was a welcomed reprieve. I was able to hit the ground running again on a new round. I am feeling renewed and rejuvenated in my workouts - the break was just what I needed.

The hubby and I have been doing all kinds of Fall/Winter projects around the house - feeling inspired by all our friends who were fixing up their homes to prepare to put them on the market - I thought what a shame to do all that work, getting their house in beautiful condition and then not be able to enjoy it, so we set out to just do all those same things to our home, but just for us to enjoy and keep - no plans to leave any time soon! It's been fun... painting, cleaning and fixing all those little things that pile up. And... my house is looking gorgeous for the holidays! Bonus!

I've also been cooking - trying out all kinds of 'Clean Eating' recipes. I have a few to share that have been our favorites! I'll try to get those posted this weekend. If they're not there, please check back in a day or so.

It's a busy time of year for everyone. Don't forget to enjoy the Season and remember what's it's all about.

Merry Christmas!