I just got this recipe in a Skinnytaste email and made it today, on this lovely (ha!) 39-degree morning. It's a good alternative to oatmeal or Red River cereal and doesn't take much time to prepare.
Recipe
Breakfast Quinoa
Comments
- I ended up having to "un-skinny" this by adding a spoonful of light brown sugar. I like the taste of brown sugar in my oatmeal, so I'd rather do this than use sweetened applesauce.
- I used a Fuji apple since that was all I had on hand
Rating
3/5
Friday, October 5, 2012
Tortellini Soup
This is another one of my favorite winter soup recipes.
Recipe
Tortellini Soup
Comments
- When I first made this for my work week lunches, most of the broth had absorbed into the tortellini by day 2. If you're going to refrigerate this and eat it over the course of a few days, I would recommend adding one extra can of broth, plus one 14 oz. can of pureed tomatoes.
Rating
4/5
Recipe
Tortellini Soup
Comments
- When I first made this for my work week lunches, most of the broth had absorbed into the tortellini by day 2. If you're going to refrigerate this and eat it over the course of a few days, I would recommend adding one extra can of broth, plus one 14 oz. can of pureed tomatoes.
Rating
4/5
White Bean Chicken Chili
This chili is very hearty since it's chock full of beans. I add extra cayenne because I like it spicy!
Recipe
White Bean Chicken Chili
Comments
- I use Shredded Crock Pot Chicken instead of diced cooked chicken breasts.
Rating
4/5
Recipe
White Bean Chicken Chili
Comments
- I use Shredded Crock Pot Chicken instead of diced cooked chicken breasts.
Rating
4/5
Shredded Crock Pot Chicken
I debated even creating a post for this but thought I would since I use this chicken in a lot of recipes. Usually I'll throw this chicken in the crock pot on a Sunday morning and then later in the day I whip up some soup/chili for my work week lunches, plus save some for a weeknight meal.
Fill a crock pot 1/4 full with water. Add frozen chicken breasts and cook on low for about 6 hours, or on high for about 4 hours. Remove chicken breasts from water and use two forks to shred them.
Fill a crock pot 1/4 full with water. Add frozen chicken breasts and cook on low for about 6 hours, or on high for about 4 hours. Remove chicken breasts from water and use two forks to shred them.
Blueberry Bran Muffins
These muffins are low fat, high fiber and I think they taste great! They're not super sweet like a normal blueberry muffin.
Recipe
Blueberry Bran Muffins
Comments
- I used oat bran, which I was able to buy in bulk at the grocery store
- I like a lot of blueberries in my muffins, so I added 1 1/2 cups instead of just 1 cup. I used the small frozen wild blueberries from Costco.
Rating
4/5
Recipe
Blueberry Bran Muffins
Comments
- I used oat bran, which I was able to buy in bulk at the grocery store
- I like a lot of blueberries in my muffins, so I added 1 1/2 cups instead of just 1 cup. I used the small frozen wild blueberries from Costco.
Rating
4/5
Canned Tomatoes
This is the third year in a row that I've canned my own tomatoes. Usually I would just rely on my mom and grandma for a few jars every year, but I seriously kind of hoard them so I needed to start building up my own supply. I love all tomatoes but these are one of my favorites - they're great in recipes, like Stewed Tomatoes, or by themselves, or tossed with pasta, a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and parmesan cheese.
There isn't really a recipe for this, it's more of a step-by-step process, so here it goes!
You will need:
1/2 bushel of tomatoes
Canning salt
12 pint-sized canning jars with lids and rims
1. Purchase tomatoes at the farmer's market. The vendors usually have some marked specifically for canning - they're not as pretty-looking as the ones that they display on their tables. Usually they're sold by the half bushel. I picked up a half bushel of tomatoes for $12. A half bushel will fill a brown paper grocery bag about 3/4 full.
2. Sterilize your canning jars. A half bushel of tomatoes will yield about 5 to 6 quarts, which is about 10 to 12 pints. I prefer to use the pint jars for canning since I usually use them in recipes for just two people. To sterilize the jars, fill a 6 qt or 8 qt pot with water and bring to a boil. Submerge 3 or 4 jars in the pot and boil for 10 minutes. Place jars on a clean towel to dry. I use silicone-tipped tongs to do this, as well as rubber dishwashing gloves, so that I don't get burned by the boiling water. Once the jars have cooled, I flip them upside down so that any remaining water can drain out.
3. Fill one side of your kitchen sink (assuming you have a double sink) with cold water and ice cubes. Keep the water boiling in your pot and drop in about a dozen tomatoes. Let them sit for about one minute. Use the tongs to grab them from the pot and place them in the ice water. Continue this process until all of your tomatoes have gone through the boiling process and are now in the ice water. If the sink water gets warm, just add more ice cubes as needed. Don't worry if your tomatoes have bruises or dark spots on them - we'll take care of that in the next step.
4. Peel and cut up your tomatoes. I just peel them by hand - the skins should be soft and will peel right off. Cut each tomato into 4-8 slices (if tomatoes are small, then 4 slices is fine). Discard the skins and the core. I prepare my tomatoes in 4-cup increments, so I fill a 4 C measuring container with tomatoes and then add 1 tsp of canning salt. Then I take the entire 4 C container and dump it into an empty 8 qt stock pot. Fill the pot with the tomato/salt mixture.
5. Cook tomatoes on medium high heat for 30 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes. The tomatoes will be "done" when they are completely soft.
6. While tomatoes are cooking, fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add the lids and boil for 10 minutes. Use tongs to remove the lids and place on dry towel.
7. Fill canning jars with tomatoes, leaving about 1 inch of room at the top of each jar. Once jars are filled, take a damp paper towel and wipe off the lips of the jars, ensuring that all tomato residue has been removed. Place lids on jars. Place metal rims on jars and tighten. Let jars cool for about 4 hours. Before storing, tighten the metal rims on the jars. Label lids with the date. These tomatoes will keep for at least two years.
There isn't really a recipe for this, it's more of a step-by-step process, so here it goes!
You will need:
1/2 bushel of tomatoes
Canning salt
12 pint-sized canning jars with lids and rims
1. Purchase tomatoes at the farmer's market. The vendors usually have some marked specifically for canning - they're not as pretty-looking as the ones that they display on their tables. Usually they're sold by the half bushel. I picked up a half bushel of tomatoes for $12. A half bushel will fill a brown paper grocery bag about 3/4 full.
2. Sterilize your canning jars. A half bushel of tomatoes will yield about 5 to 6 quarts, which is about 10 to 12 pints. I prefer to use the pint jars for canning since I usually use them in recipes for just two people. To sterilize the jars, fill a 6 qt or 8 qt pot with water and bring to a boil. Submerge 3 or 4 jars in the pot and boil for 10 minutes. Place jars on a clean towel to dry. I use silicone-tipped tongs to do this, as well as rubber dishwashing gloves, so that I don't get burned by the boiling water. Once the jars have cooled, I flip them upside down so that any remaining water can drain out.
3. Fill one side of your kitchen sink (assuming you have a double sink) with cold water and ice cubes. Keep the water boiling in your pot and drop in about a dozen tomatoes. Let them sit for about one minute. Use the tongs to grab them from the pot and place them in the ice water. Continue this process until all of your tomatoes have gone through the boiling process and are now in the ice water. If the sink water gets warm, just add more ice cubes as needed. Don't worry if your tomatoes have bruises or dark spots on them - we'll take care of that in the next step.
4. Peel and cut up your tomatoes. I just peel them by hand - the skins should be soft and will peel right off. Cut each tomato into 4-8 slices (if tomatoes are small, then 4 slices is fine). Discard the skins and the core. I prepare my tomatoes in 4-cup increments, so I fill a 4 C measuring container with tomatoes and then add 1 tsp of canning salt. Then I take the entire 4 C container and dump it into an empty 8 qt stock pot. Fill the pot with the tomato/salt mixture.
5. Cook tomatoes on medium high heat for 30 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes. The tomatoes will be "done" when they are completely soft.
6. While tomatoes are cooking, fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add the lids and boil for 10 minutes. Use tongs to remove the lids and place on dry towel.
7. Fill canning jars with tomatoes, leaving about 1 inch of room at the top of each jar. Once jars are filled, take a damp paper towel and wipe off the lips of the jars, ensuring that all tomato residue has been removed. Place lids on jars. Place metal rims on jars and tighten. Let jars cool for about 4 hours. Before storing, tighten the metal rims on the jars. Label lids with the date. These tomatoes will keep for at least two years.
Kitchen Sink Fried Rice
I've made this a dozen or so times and have made it slightly different each time depending on what ingredients I have on hand...hence the kitchen sink title!
Recipe
2 C. brown rice (I use instant)
3 C. chopped mixed vegetables*
1 package pre-cooked Canadian bacon, chopped (approx. 6 slices)
Vegetable oil
Sesame oil
Sriracha hot chili sauce
3 eggs
Dash of milk
Soy sauce (optional, for serving)
*This mix of vegetables is totally up to you. Last time I made this recipe I used onion, carrots, celery, red bell pepper, water chestnuts, green peas and broccoli. In the past I've also used mushrooms, snow pea pods, cabbage and bean sprouts.
Prepare rice in a saucepan according to directions and set aside. In a small frying pan, scramble the eggs with the milk and set aside. Heat vegetable oil in a wok and add your raw vegetables; saute until tender. Add Canadian bacon and cooked vegetables, plus your sesame oil and sriracha sauce. Stir over medium low heat for a few minutes to combine the flavors. Add scrambled eggs and rice, then cook a few more minutes. Add additional sriracha, sesame oil, soy sauce, etc. as desired.
Comments
- I've made this with beef and chicken as well, and in that case I cook the raw meat in the vegetable oil with a bit of sesame oil before I add any of the raw vegetables.
- I've never measured out the vegetable oil, sesame oil or sriracha. If I had to guess I'd say that I probably use 1-2 Tbsp of vegetable oil (enough to coat the bottom of the wok), then 1-2 tsp of sesame oil and 1-2 tsp of sriracha.
Rating
5/5
Recipe
2 C. brown rice (I use instant)
3 C. chopped mixed vegetables*
1 package pre-cooked Canadian bacon, chopped (approx. 6 slices)
Vegetable oil
Sesame oil
Sriracha hot chili sauce
3 eggs
Dash of milk
Soy sauce (optional, for serving)
*This mix of vegetables is totally up to you. Last time I made this recipe I used onion, carrots, celery, red bell pepper, water chestnuts, green peas and broccoli. In the past I've also used mushrooms, snow pea pods, cabbage and bean sprouts.
Prepare rice in a saucepan according to directions and set aside. In a small frying pan, scramble the eggs with the milk and set aside. Heat vegetable oil in a wok and add your raw vegetables; saute until tender. Add Canadian bacon and cooked vegetables, plus your sesame oil and sriracha sauce. Stir over medium low heat for a few minutes to combine the flavors. Add scrambled eggs and rice, then cook a few more minutes. Add additional sriracha, sesame oil, soy sauce, etc. as desired.
Comments
- I've made this with beef and chicken as well, and in that case I cook the raw meat in the vegetable oil with a bit of sesame oil before I add any of the raw vegetables.
- I've never measured out the vegetable oil, sesame oil or sriracha. If I had to guess I'd say that I probably use 1-2 Tbsp of vegetable oil (enough to coat the bottom of the wok), then 1-2 tsp of sesame oil and 1-2 tsp of sriracha.
Rating
5/5
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