April 26th, 2010

Kristina’s Veggie Bean Soup

Ingredients

• Carrots, raw, 3 medium (chopped)
• Mushrooms, 8 fresh (chopped)
• Onions, raw, 2 medium (chopped)
• Garlic, 4 clove (chopped)
• Celery, raw, 1 stalk, large (chopped)
• Red Ripe Tomatoes, 2 medium (chopped)
• Swiss Chard, 3 cup, chopped (chop stems and tear leaves; keep separate)
• Leeks, 5 leek (chopped)
• Asparagus, fresh, 3 spear, medium (chopped)
• Potato, raw, 3 large (chopped)
• Beans, great northern, 1.5 cup (dry and presoaked)
• Olive Oil, Extra Virgin, 2 tbs
• Water, tap, 8 cup (64 oz)
• Sage, ground, .5 tbsp
• Thyme, ground, .5 tbsp
• Cinnamon, ground, .5 tsp
• Bay Leaf, 1 tbsp, crumbled
• Adobo Goya, 0.25 tsp
• Pepper, black, .5 tbsp

Directions

• Serving size is 2 cups. Should make 10 servings.
• Saute onion, garlic, carrots, leeks, celery. mushrooms, tomatoes, and asparagus in olive oil using a large stock pot or dutch oven.
• Add all remaining veggies except for the potatoes, Chard leaves. DO NOT ADD BEANS YET.
• Add enough water to just cover the veggies and add all spices/seasoning.
• Bring to a boil and then simmer for 1 hour.
• Add beans and potatoes and the remaining water.
• Stir and allow to simmer for 2 hours. Be sure to stir and check water level periodically . Add more water as needed. Soup should be brothy not thick.
• When soup has finished cooking add Swiss Chard leaves and cover fro 10 minutes. Serve in bowl.

Number of Servings: 10 | Serving Size 2 cups | Here is the nutrional info

February 11th, 2010

Sinful Cinnamon Crockpot Oatmeal with Cinnamon Toast

I have to apologize for not having a picture of this. It’s been a while since I have made this for my family. I will make it soon and add a pictures.

For the Oatmeal

• Crockpot (I recommend the Rival 5-Quart Smart-Pot Slow Cooker)
• 3 cups of Steel Cup Oats (DO NOT USE QUICK OATS OR REGULAR OATMEAL. YOU WILL HAVE MUSH IF YOU DO)
• 8 cups of water
• 2 cups of fat-free Evaporated Milk
• 2 cups of Skim Milk
• 1/2 cup of Brown Sugar
• 1.5 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 large apple and 1 large pear (optional)

(Makes 8 servings)

To ensure that the oatmeal does not stick to the crockpot, spray it with cooking spray. Place all ingredients in the crockpot starting with the liquids first. I find that it cooks better if the liquids although I can’t really explain why. Place the butter in last. Cook on low for at least 6 hours. I cook it overnight. When you awake in the morning add slice the apples and pears and add it to the pot and cook for 30 minutes.

For the Toast

• Lightly toast 8 slices of bread in the toaster
• Place them on a cookie sheet
• Put 2 slabs of butter on each piece of bread
• Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar

Place cookie sheet with bread  in the oven at 375 degrees until toast is hardened Takes about 5-7 minutes.

Serve oatmeal with a slice of cinnamon toast.

February 3rd, 2010

Wednesday Dinner: Onion Mushroom Burgers with Mashed Potatoes

I love coming up with new recipes and new ways to try some old-time favorites with a new twist. If you have been following my weight loss journey you know that I have a serious problem getting enough protein in my diet.  So, I decided to add a little ground beef to my menu. The problem is that I really don’t like the taste of meat. It makes me gag to think that I have to eat beef.

So tonight I tried to create a burger that was more like a Salisbury steak and paired with some of my favorite veggies: mushrooms, onions, and green peppers.

Burger Recipe

Mushroom Sauce:

• 1 pint Baby Bella Mushrooms
• 1 large onion
• 1 large bell pepper

Saute this mixture starting with the onions and then adding the green peppers and then the mushrooms. Cook on medium until the green peppers and mushrooms have released all of their liquids. ( I learned this techniques from the Iron Chef competitions). Remove from pan.

Burger Seasonings (I cook by smell so the measurements are all palm -sized)

• Black pepper
• Ground Thyme
• Paprika
• Garlic Powder
• Red Pepper
• Cumin

In a bowl combine all of the dry ingredients and mix well. Mix half of the dry mixture into the ground beef. Form your burgers (4) and “flour” each burger patty with the remaining dry seasoning  mix. Cook burgers in pan (8 minutes on each side if you like yours well done).

For Sauce

• Mushroom, Onion, Pepper mixture
• 1 cups of hot water with a beef bouillon cube dissolved
• .5 cup of Balsamic Vinegar

Remove the burgers from the pan and add vinegar and water/broth. With fire on medium scrap bottom of pan and mix well. Add MOP mixture and bring to a slight boil. Add burgers back to pan and cover. Turn fire to low and cook until the middles of the burgers are as pink as you want (I like them well-done so it took about 13 minutes to cook thoroughly. This will differ based on the thickness of your burger)

Serve with mashed potatoes (I used instant mashed potatoes and made them with Soy Milk) and a side salad (my salad had baby carrots, 2 kinds of lettuce, peppers, mushrooms, and onions). Cover mashed potatoes and burgers with sauce/MOP mixture.

The burger is about 215 calories alone.

*The picture features a very large burger that I cut in thirds.

May 10th, 2008

Product Review: Slow Cook Your Way to More Time

My husband and I eat fast food way more than I usually like to admit (which pretty much explains why we are so overweight). But despite our busy schedules, we have made a promise to cook more for ourselves in order to save money and how health. My sister-in-law has long been a fan of her crock pot, so when she found out that we did not have one, she bough us a Crock-Pot® 5.5 Quart Slow Cooker w/ Little Dipper for Christmas this past December.

And we love it.

We use it for stews chili, gravy (what non-Italians call sauce), roast beef, pot roast, and so much more. And, because my husband works the second-shift, he puts meals on in the morning and by the time I get home around 4:00 pm, dinner is ready for both me and my daughter. I love walking into the house and smelling the great fragrance of a one pot meal.