Recipes

Obviously, with me getting back into the gym, health has been a popular topic on my mind lately.
I'm lucky enough to work at an office where everything is at my fingertips.  It's a blessing and a curse, all in one.  I've enjoyed the luxury of having coffee shops and cafeterias at my fingertips.  That being said, it's not easy on the wallet.
A few weeks ago, I decided to start bringing my lunch and breakfast (and sometimes dinner) to work because spending $70+ a week on food is ridiculous to me.  And I'd so much rather get new furniture and save that money than spend it on things that won't matter to me in the long run.  Being financially smart is a learning experience and it doesn't come easily to me.  I struggle with making good choices everyday but I'm very happy with the ones I've made lately!
I started cooking meals for the week on the weekends again and I was so happy with the way they turned out that I wanted to share them with you.
Enjoy!
Giada's Turkey, Kale & Brown Rice Soup
Turkey Spinach Meatballs
Egg & Avocado Toast (I make this in the morning before I go to work and eat when I get hungry in the morning)
Personal favorite snack: I'll pack grapes, blackberries and 2 clementines in container with greek yogurt and drizzle of honey.  YUM!!  (Sometimes I add granola but it's expensive and I don't necessarily miss it when it's not there.)
To satisfy my sweet tooth, I munch on Cinammon Graham crackers  They're messy but do the job when I start to crave sugar.
I don't know if ya'll are struggling with maintaining (or getting to) a healthy lifestyle but I always appreciate when someone offers new recipes and insight to me so I thought I'd try to help others out too.  If you have anything to share, please comment!

Recipes, Tried and True

Before I start on the real post, thank you for the concern about my last one!  I'm okay, I just tripped over Toby on the stairs, fell on my tailbone in a bad way and hit my head on Sunday.  My head is fine and as far as we can tell, there are no cracked bones on my vertebrae (plus, I think I would know.)  My chiro is just waiting for the swelling and tenderness to go down so she can work her magic!  In the meantime, my back brace, ice packs and Alleve are working wonders.  I swear...

SO!  It's been a while since I posted favorite recipes and I'm not going to lie...I've spent a bit of time in the kitchen since then.  It's become a stress reliever and a personal point of pride when I copycat a recipe I like!  So, here are the recipes I have found myself recreating time and time again this past summer.

*Guiltless Alfredo Sauce
**Amazing with seafood or chicken and whole wheat noodles.  If I'm splurging, I bake a whole wheat baguette and use this sauce for dipping!  Also great for making creamy tomato sauce with your favorite ready made spaghetti sauce (I personally use canned tomato puree and add my own spices.)  Yum, yum, yum.

*Restaurant Style Ranch Dressing
**I no longer buy Ranch.  I make this, at least once a week, and it's the best dressing I've ever had.  Cheaper too.  Once you start, you won't ever go back to the bottled version again! 

Chicken Pesto Pizza
**I don't make the dough, I buy it (yeast scares me a bit.) But this is good the day it's made, the day after and the day after that.  SO yummy.  Easy to make too.  I bake the ready made dough on a cookie sheet for 5 minutes at the recommended temp with garlic salt and onion powder before I add the sauce and toppings.  I make this probably once every 2 weeks.  It's THAT good!

Baked Pesto Chicken
*There might be a theme here...I love chicken and I love pesto!  This meal is cheap, simple to make and my favorite way to enjoy it is with brown rice and a sliced zucchini/squash combo.

Creamy Garlic Pasta
**I use whole wheat noodles (usually angel hair or thin spaghetti) and grilled chicken.  There are denser versions of this recipe but I prefer this lighter take.

These are nothing super creative but again, I find myself craving/eating them at least once every 2 weeks.  I guess that's a perk of being a creature of habit, right??  I hope you try and more importantly, I hope you enjoy!  Bon apetite. :o)

Creamy Tomato Soup

I found this recipe on Epicurious and it's so good I had to share. I've always been a Campbell's Creamy Tomato Soup kind of girl and I have never been able to find a healthy homemade comparison I liked just as much...until I made this. I made a few tweaks so the recipe below include my changes.
The original is here

Cream of Tomato Soup
5 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1 cup half and half
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 small can tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups tomatoes, chopped (fresh or canned)

Melt the butter in a soup pot. Add the onion and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the onion is softened but not browned. Sprinkle the flour over the butter mixture and continue to stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, half and half, chicken broth, bay leaf, sugar, and salt and continue to cook and stir until slightly thickened. Stir the baking soda into the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes to the milk, and bring just to a simmer. Remove from the heat and put through a strainer (or use an immersion blender to smooth the soup.) Taste and correct seasonings. Reheat before serving.

**I added pepper and basil. Nothing original but the combination made the soup perfect!

Enjoy!!

Recipes

I wanted to post some of my favorite recipes on here to share. If you're like me, you're always looking for something new to add to your rotation and these are some of my tried and true favorites.
My go to recipe is the Chicken Teriyaki recipe I discovered last summer. Served over brown rice, it's fabulous! I can't leave out my favorite winter meal, sausage and tortellini soup, which I eat at least once a month, if not more, when it's cold outside. And I'm posting one of my favorite desserts because everyone always needs a new dessert to try! I have lots of recipes, so if ya'll want more ideas, just let me know!

Chicken Teriyaki (Courtesy of Elliot on AllRecipes)
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite size pieces
2 cups dry white wine, divided
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
Directions
To Marinate: Place chicken in a nonporous glass dish or bowl. Pour 1 1/2 cups of wine over chicken, then sprinkle with garlic powder and onion powder. Cover and refrigerate to marinate for at least 1 hour.
Heat vegetable oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and bell pepper for 5 to 7 minutes, or until soft. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Remove chicken from marinade, discarding any remaining marinade. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat and brown chicken, adding teriyaki sauce to 'sear'. Braise with remaining white wine and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside.
Add onion/bell pepper mixture to chicken and heat through, stirring. Serve hot.

Sausage and Tortellini Soup (Courtsey of
OurBestBites)
3 links Italian turkey sausage (you can use reg. Italian sausage too)
4 cloves pressed garlic
1 onion, diced
½ c. water
2 cans chicken broth
½ c. apple cider (don't leave this out!)
1 16-oz. can diced tomatoes
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 c. sliced carrots
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 medium zucchini, grated
8-10 oz. package cheese tortellini
2 Tbsp. dried parsley
Remove casings from sausage and crumble into a large soup pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. Drain sausage halfway through cooking if it's fatty. Meanwhile, chop onions and garlic. Add to pot and cook until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, apple juice, chicken broth, oregano, and basil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add zucchini and parsley, simmer for additional 15 minutes. Add tortellini and cook until soft. Serve with Parmesan.

The Pioneer Woman's Apple Dumplings (Courtesy of the Pioneer Woman)
2 Granny Smith Apples
2 cans crescent rolls
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
cinnamon
1 small can Mountain Dew (or Sprite)
Peel and core apples. Cut apples into 8 slices each. Roll each slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9x13 buttered pan. Melt butter, then add sugar and slightly stir. Add vanilla, stire and pour over apples. Pour soda around edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 350 degress for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.


Enjoy!!