Slow-Cooker Minestrone Soup

 

This is a great new recipe for slow-cooker minestrone soup.  I adapted this from a great recipe from EatingWell.  It is fairly low in calories and has a good deal of protein from the beans that you are using in this vegetarian dish (if you do not use chicken broth).  However, it makes a ton of soup, so you might either want to cut the recipe in half, or use a large slow cooker.  I wished I used my larger one (as opposed to my standard size one), but it all fit.  I also used dried beans that soaked overnight to reduce sodium.  I let this cook a long time and it just was fantastic.  This was a perfect dinner on a cold day in Michigan.

Ingredients (serves 8-10 portions)

1 1/4 cup Mixed Dried Beans (light red kidney and small red work well)

4-5 large Carrots, peeled and chopped (or around 14-16 baby carrots)

2 stalks Celery, chopped

1 small Red onion, chopped 

3 tsp (or cloves) garlic, chopped

2 cups fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 15 ounce can Petite diced tomatoes, undrained

2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

8 cups Vegetable or chicken broth (low or no sodium works well)

1/2 tsp Kosher salt (adjust to taste)

1/2 tsp Black pepper (adjust to taste)

4 ounces Pasta (rotini, elbows or any small shape) - about 1 cup

Directions

1. Place the mixed dried beans in a bowl and soak with around 6 cups of water overnight. 
2. Combine carrots, celery, red onion, garlic, green beans, diced tomatoes (with liquid) and Italian seasoning in the slow cooker.  
3. Drain and rinse the beans and add to the slow cooker with broth.  Add Kosher salt and black pepper to taste.  
4. Cover and cook on Low for 8 to 9 hours (it can go longer if needed).
5. 30 minutes before you want to eat, add dried pasta to the soup and cover.

Enjoy!

Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries

 

There are a great number of ways to make fries in the air fryer.  We found a great recipe (from Yumna Jawad's Feel Good Foodie) to serve as a base and started mixing in different spices until we found a great taste.  These are a quick and easy way to add a great side to your meal (if you have an air fryer).  Since sweet potatoes are a super food - it is a nice way to get them into your diet more.  The trick here is to be patient and not overload the sweet potatoes in the air fryer.  Working in batches might be in order if you are cooking for a crowd.  They need a bit of room to cook!

Ingredients (2 servings)

2 medium or 1 large Sweet potato
1 tsp Olive oil
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp Garlic powder
1/2 tsp Onion powder
1/2 tsp Paprika
Pinch of Black Pepper (adjust to taste)

Directions

1. Preheat the air fryer to 380°F. 
2. Peel the sweet potatoes, then slice each potato into 1/3 inch thick sticks.  
3. Place the sweet potatoes in a large mixing bowl, and toss with olive oil, kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder paprika and black pepper.
4. Cook without overcrowding the pan.  This will be between 13-14 minutes.  Half way through, shake the basket to get all sides cooking.  

Enjoy!

Air Fryer Crab Cakes

 

We love crab cakes at our house and are always looking for a recipe that is easy and delicious.  I have been enjoying the air fryer a great deal lately and we found this recipe on EatingWell.  This came out fantastic.  They looked a bit well done, but they were nice a moist inside.  We served them with a caesar salad.  This is going to be a regular in our house.  

Ingredients (makes 4 crab cakes)

• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp Butter (unsalted if available), melted 
• 1/2 tsp Basil, dried
• 1/2 tsp Tarragon, dried
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce 
• 1/2 tsp Lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp Paprika
• 1/2 tsp Garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp Onion powder
• 2 tbsp Sour cream
• 8 oz. Lump crabmeat (fresh if possible), drained
• 1/2 Red bell pepper, finely chopped.
• 1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
• Cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat a larger air fryer to 390°F. 
2. Whisk eggs, butter, basil, tarragon, Worcestershire, lemon juice, paprika, garlic salt, onion powder,  and sour cream together in a large bowl. Add crabmeat, bell pepper, and panko and stir gently.
3. With clean hands, shape the mixture evenly into 3 or 4 crab cakes (around 1/3 cup each). Generously coat the fry basket with cooking spray. Add 3 crab cakes to the basket; coat the top of the crab cakes with cooking spray. Cook until deeply browned and crispy on both sides, 14 to 16 minutes.  

Enjoy with Salad or shredded lettuce.

Long-Life Noodles with Chicken and Broccoli

 

I wanted to start mixing up my dishes for the new year.  We love a Chinese noodle dish and I found this late last year.  What a great way to start the new year with Long-Life Noodles, a recipe I found on the EatingWell site.  We changed the protein to chicken and tweaked a few things and loved the way it came out.  We think this is going to be a regular!

Ingredients (3-4 servings)

• 6-8 oz Thin spaghetti
• 1 tsp Sesame oil
• 3 tbsp Oyster sauce
• 3 tbsp Cooking sherry
• 2 tbsp Soy sauce
• 1 ½ tsp Cornstarch
• 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 10-12 oz Broccolini, stalks trimmed with larger pieces cut in half.  
• 12 oz Mushrooms, sliced thinly
• 2 Chicken breasts, trimmed and thinly sliced.  
• 2 tsp Garlic, chopped (or cloves)
• 1-2 tsp Sesame seeds

Directions

1. Cook thin spaghetti according to package directions. Rinse and drain well. Toss with sesame oil. Set aside.
2. Whisk together oyster sauce, cooking sherry, soy sauce, and cornstarch in a small bowl.
3. Heat a large flat-bottom wok or large pan over medium-high heat. Add vegetable oil and swirl to coat. Add broccoli and mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Add chicken and garlic.  Saute for 4 minutes, stirring continually.
4. Add the sauce and bring to a boil; cook for 1-2 more minutes. Add the noodles to the pan and toss to coat. 
5. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.  

Enjoy!

Tortilla Espanola (also Tortilla Espagnola or Tortilla de patatas)

Tortilla Espanola (also Tortilla Espagnola or Tortilla de patatas)

I have not made this dish in a long time.  I modified my recipe a bit from when I first wrote this down nearly 20 years ago.  We will definitely make this again before too long. Once you get the hang of this dish, it will be very easy to make and something that will be welcome for any meal! This dish is basically a Spanish potato omelet. I have heard that the word "Tortilla" in this dish comes from its circular shape, but it could also come from the fact that it will end up "cake" like. If you called this "Fred", it would still taste great.

Ingredients:

3-4 tablespoons Vegetable oil
4-5 medium white potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (around 1/8" thick with a mandolin)
1 medium onion (yellow or vidalia), thinly sliced (around 1/8" thick with a mandolin)

Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
6 Eggs

Cooking spray (if needed)

Directions
1. In a large pan, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium heat. Add potatoes and onions and stir every few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. The potatoes should cook for around 15-18 minutes. The potatoes and onion should brown in the process.  Lower the heat to prevent it from burning.  
2. In a large bowl, beat 6 eggs and add salt and pepper to taste. When potato and onion mixture is finished, add to the bowl with the eggs. Mix thoroughly.
3. Add one tablespoon oil to a skillet over medium heat (it can be the same used in step number 1. The ideal skillet for this step will have curved sides). Let heat up and then add the potato/onion/egg mixture spread evenly into the skillet.
4. Cook over medium heat for around 6-7 minutes until firm on the top (you do not want to burn the bottom).  Use a spatula to make sure it is not sticking to the sides.

5. Flip the tortilla.  There are two ways to do this.  Option one: you can take a large plate and place it over the top of the skillet. Make sure the smooth side of the plate is next to the food. Flip the skillet onto the plate. (If it falls apart, you did not cook it long enough.) Then slide it back into the skillet to cook the other side of the tortilla. Option two: you can use another skillet and just flip the tortilla from the pan into the new one.  Make sure that you have sprayed the other pan with cooking spray.

6. Cook for an additional 5-6 minutes.  Remove from heat and serve. Slice with a bread knife or pizza cutter.

Enjoy!

Panko & Pecan Crusted Mahi Mahi

 

We have been getting Hello Fresh meal kits since 2020 upon the recommendation of my son. At first, I was not crazy about the idea, but I tried it and really liked it. We started during the pandemic when we were not going out to eat. It provided a much needed diversity to our menu and after long days at work, it was nice to have everything you needed (for the most part) to prep a delicious meal. I also learned a great deal of recipes and new ways to prepare items that really improved my cooking skills. One entree we tried was Pecan-Crusted Trout that I adapted into this recipe. I also changed how I cooked it - opting for an air fryer method. This came out perfectly and it will be a regular addition to our menu planning!

Pictured above with a salad (but you have figured that out already).


Ingredients (Two Servings)

2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp Honey
1 tbsp Mayonnaise (olive oil is preferable)
2 tbsp butter
2-3 tbsp pecans, crushed (may use walnuts or other nuts)
3-4 tbsp Panko bread crumbs
1/2 tsp Thyme (dried)
1/4 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp Black pepper
2 Mahi mahi fillets (or other white fish such as cod).
Cooking spray

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix together dijon mustard, honey and mayonnaise. Set aside.
2. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter and let it cool slightly.
3. Add pecans, panko bread crumbs, thyme, Kosher salt and black pepper to the butter. Mix until well combined.
4. Pat dry the Mahi mahi fillets with paper towels. Season to taste with Kosher salt and black pepper
5. Add a thin layer of the mustard mix to each fillet, and coat the top evenly.
6. Evenly divide the pecan and panko topping and cover each fillet. Press firmly to adhere to the fish.
7. Preheat the air fryer to 400°.
8. When it is preheated, spray the tray with cooking spray and place the fillets (carefully) on the cooking tray. Cook for 11-12 minutes.
9. Remove and let cool slightly before serving.

NOTE: Alternative recipe for the oven - 450° at 10-12 minutes

Enjoy!

Mediterranean Chicken with Oranges and Olives #AirFryer

We are the happy owners of a Gourmia Air Fryer, and had this recipe in the small recipe book that came with the appliance.  (NOTE: for more recipes - visit this page).  We love this addition to our kitchen and think it really does a great job.  I found this recipe for chicken and we decided to give it a whirl.  Tweaked it a bit and loved the way it came out.  I do not have the nutritional information - but there is not much here that is bad for you.  We cooked this with roasted carrots and green beans for a great dinner.  Definitely make this again.  This makes 2-3 servings and does not take too long (outside the marinating time).  

Ingredients (2-3 portions)

1/2 cup Orange juice

2 tbsp Orange zest
1/4 cup White wine (or white cooking wine)

1 tbsp Olive oil
2 tsp (or cloves) Garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp Thyme, dried

1/2 tsp Kosher salt 

1/4 tsp Black pepper

1/4 tsp Fennel seeds

2 Chicken breasts (boneless & skinless) , sliced in half across to make four thinner pieces.

1 tbsp Olive oil
Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, sliced or chopped

1/4 cup Broth (chicken or vegetable)

Cooking spray

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together orange juice, orange zest, white wine, olive oil, garlic, thyme, Kosher salt, black pepper and fennel.  Remove half the marinade and reserve for later.

2. Add chicken to the bowl with the marinade and marinate for around one hour in the refrigerator.

3. After the hour is up, place paper towels on a large plate and pat the chicken dry.

4. Preheat the air fryer to 375 degrees in "Air Fry mode"

5. When preheated, spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray.  Arrange the chicken in a single level and cook for 15 minutes.  
6. While chicken cooks, add reserved marinade, olives and broth a small saucepan.

7. Bring sauce pan to a boil and lower heat to simmer for 10 minutes.  

8. When chicken is done, serve with the sauce.

Enjoy!

Mediterranean Chicken & Chickpea Soup

This is a recipe that I found from Cooking Light and one that I had wanted to try for a bit.  It is super easy and one that I will make again.  The addition of artichoke and olives gives it a briny taste that might not be great for everyone.  I am going to adapt this and try it again, with more traditional soup vegetables.  Still, I liked this and it makes a very nice addition to healthy slow-cooker meals.  It is also super easy to make - so that is nice!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in enough water to cover by two inches (or two cans chickpeas, drained)
• 1 cup Chicken broth
• 4 cups Water
• 1 large Yellow onion, chopped
• 1 (15 ounce) can Petite diced tomatoes (with liquid)
• 2-3 tbsp Tomato paste
• 4 cloves (or tsp) Garlic, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 3-4 tsp Ground cumin (adjust to taste)
• 4 tsp Paprika
• 1/2 tsp Black pepper
• 2 pounds bone-in Chicken thighs, skin removed
• 1 (14 ounce) can Artichoke hearts, drained and quartered (or marinated)
• 1/4 cup Kalamata olives, halved and pitted
• 1 tbsp Parsley, dried

Directions

1. Drain and rinse chickpeas and place in a 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Add chicken broth, water,  onion, tomatoes (with juice), tomato paste, garlic, bay leaves, cumin, paprika, and black pepper.  Stir to combine and place chicken on top of the mixture.  
2. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours (or high for 4 hours).
3. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let cool slightly. Shred the chicken with two forks, discarding bones and any fatty pieces. Stir the chicken into the soup. Discard bay leaf. 
4. Add artichokes, olives and dried parsley to the slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on low for one additional hour (or high for an additional half hour).

Enjoy!

Blueberry Cranberry Bread

 

We wanted to find an easy recipe for a blueberry muffin bread and found this great recipe from the Frugalmomeh site.  So the name is for Frugal Mom eh! (because they are Canadian).  Lots of great recipes on the site.  We wanted something to make an easy breakfast bread that could replace nutbreads.  I think we found it.  I tweaked this recipe a bit and loved the way it turned out.  A nice treat for a morning - or really anytime.

Ingredients (makes one loaf)

Cooking spray

1 cup White sugar
1/2 cup Butter (one stick), unsalted
2 Eggs
1 tbsp Vanilla extract
1 cup Skim milk
2 cups Flour (all purpose)
2 tsp Baking powder

1/2 cup Cranberries, dried

1/4 cup Almonds, sliced
1 1/2 cups Blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Directions: 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a 9 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar.
4. Add the eggs, vanilla and milk beating well.
5. Beat in the dry ingredients and until well combined
6. Add blueberries and mix by hand gently with a spatula being careful not to crush the berries.
7. Pour batter into your loaf pan and bake for 75-80 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
8. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to finish cooling.

Enjoy!

Honey Nut Shrimp with Green Beans

 

It seems like I played with this recipe years ago.  But it was only earlier in 2020, so that sounds about right.  I saw this recipe for Honey Walnut Shrimp from EatingWell and played with it.  I liked how it came out and I expect that we will be making it again and again as a simple, but elegant dinner.  This is great served with rice or noddles or just by itself.  If you are serving it with rice, it can feed four.  Without rice, it becomes two nice sized portions (with maybe a bit left over for lunch down the road).

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

2 tbsp Water
2 tbsp Brown sugar
1/2 to 2/3 cup Walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped
1 lbs Shrimp (large size, peeled and deveined)
1 tsp Honey

1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice blend

1/2 tsp Sesame oil
3 tbsp Olive oil, divided

8 oz Green beans, trimmed
1 tbsp Mayonnaise
1 tbsp Lemon juice

1 tbsp Soy sauce
1/2 tsp Black pepper, ground

1/4 tsp Kosher salt
½ cup sliced scallions

Directions

1. Bring water and brown sugar to a simmer in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat; cook until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 2-3 minutes. 
2. Stir in walnuts or pecans; cook, stirring often, until the sugar is golden and caramelized, about 2-3 minutes. 
3. Spread the walnuts evenly on a parchment paper-lined plate. Wipe out the pan.
4. Add 1 tbsp Olive oil and heat for a around 30 seconds.  Add the green beans and saute for around 3-4 minutes.  Remove and add to the shrimp mixture. 
5. Stir shrimp, honey, Chinese five-spice blend, sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon oil together in a bowl. Return the skillet to medium-high heat. Add the shrimp mixture; cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are well browned and cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat. 
6. In a separate bowl, Combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, soy sauce, pepper, salt and the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a small bowl and wisk until blended, add to the shrimp mixture in the pan, stirring to coat. 
7. Sprinkle with the caramelized walnuts and scallions. If desired, serve with rice.

Slow-Cooker Cuban-Style Black Beans

I really miss the Caribbean. I have been thinking that I needed to cook some dishes with Cuban black beans - so I thought I would start with a basic recipe that I have wanted to try for some time. This recipe was adapted from EatingWell's Slow-Cooker Cuban-Style Black Beans.  I thought I would try this and loved the way that it turned out.  I served with with grilled chicken.  Soon, I will mix it with rice (brown or white) and think it should be wonderful.  This was easy to make and it tastes fantastic.  It might not be 100% authentic Cuban cooking - but it will work for me!  It will be a regular dish as I try to mix up dishes that give me a sense of the Caribbean!

Ingredients (makes 10-12 servings)

1 lbs Dried black beans (about 2 1/3 cups)

3 1/2 cups Chicken or vegetable stock (low-sodium or unsalted)

2 cups Water

1 White onion (large), peeled and quartered through root

1 Green bell pepper, diced coarsely (1/2" pieces")

2 Bay leaves

2 tsp Oregano, dried

1 tsp, Black pepper

2 tbsp Olive oil

1 Red bell pepper, finely chopped

4 tsp Garlic, chopped (or cloves)

1 tbsp Cumin, ground

2 tbsp Tomato paste

½ cup Cilantro, chopped (around one bunch)

Directions

1. Sort and wash the beans. 

2. Stir together the beans, chicken stock, water, onion, green bell pepper, bay leaves, oregano and black pepper in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW until the beans are tender, 9 to 11 hours. Discard the onion and bay leaves.

3. When the beans are mostly done, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the red bell pepper and garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring often for around 8-10 minutes.  

4. Add the cumin to the skillet and stir until well blended (just under a minute).  Add the tomato paste to the skillet and stir until well blended (1-2 minutes).

5. Add contents from the skillet and the cilantro to the black beans.  Blend until full mixed.

Enjoy!

Shrimp and Vegetable Fried Rice

 

Every so often you need a dish like this.  It has it all, protein, grains, vegetables, and it is a bit better that you are going to get in a restaurant.  I love brown rice and this is a great way to work that into the diet.  This was adapted from Simply Scratch's recipe for Easy Vegetable Fried Brown Rice with Egg and came out very good.  It also reheated very nicely, so you can enjoy this down the road as leftovers.  I have been thinking that I wanted to make this soon, so I dug through my notes and wanted to get this posted.  I could have used a better picture.  Oh well - at least it tasted good!

Ingredients (3-4 servings)

2 tbsp Canola oil, divided (or light vegetable oil)
1 tsp Sesame oil
1 lbs Shrimp (any size - peeled and deveined)

2 tsp Garlic, chopped (or cloves)

1/2 cup Onion, chopped

8 oz can Water chestnuts, sliced

3 cups Peas and carrots (frozen) - adjust to taste

2 large Eggs

3 cups Rice, cooked (any type will work here)

4 tbsp Soy sauce (low sodium works well here)

Directions

1. Heat 1 tbsp canola oil and sesame oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and garlic.  Saute for 3-5 minutes, stirring continually.  Remove when cooked (pink through), remove to a bowl (with any liquids that accumulated).

2. Add remaining 1 tbsp canola oil to the wok.  Add onions and water chestnuts.  Saute for 2 minutes.

3. Add peas and carrots.  Saute for 3-4 minutes.

4. Push the contents of the wok to the side.  Add two eggs and scramble them into the vegetable mixture.  Saute for 2 minutes.

5. Add rice and soy sauce to the wok.  Mix thoroughly and saute for 1-2 minutes.

6. Add shrimp and any collected liquid.  Saute for 1-2 minutes.

Enjoy!

Grilled Salmon Kabobs

We wanted to try something different and I think we really hit the jackpot! We have tried cooking Salmon and it is never quite as good as we get when we are out. Since that is not happening that much these days, I wanted to find a recipe that gave us a great restaurant quality way to cook Salmon. This is it! The recipe is from UmmBinat's Soy Glazed Salmon Kabobs that I saw on Food.com. I tweaked the glaze a bit and cooked it with two thick salmon fillets. We will definitely be doing this again and will try with some other firm fish (maybe tuna or swordfish). Adjust the cooking time if the fillets are thin. Ours were around 1" thick at the biggest.

Ingredients (Serves 2)
Two Salmon fillets (with skin), around 3/4 pounds
3 tbsp Brown sugar
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp Soy sauce
2 tsp Rice vinegar

Directions

1. Cut salmon into one inch cubes, trying to keep them as consistent as possible.

2. Thread the salmon onto two metal or wood skewers and place on a plate.

3. In a bowl, combine the brown sugar, Dijon mustard, soy sauce and rice vinegar to make the glaze.  Wisk until well blended.  

4. Brush the glaze over the fish, reserving a small amount.

5. Grill or broil over high heat for 7-9 minutes, turning them at the mid-way point.  Use the reserved glaze to brush the fish after it is turned.  Fish should flake easily with a fork when done.

Enjoy!  

Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes

I thought I had shared this recipe - but it seems that I had not.  Here is the backstory.  So we are always looking for ways to use slow cookers when we have big family meals.  The idea of having a slow cooker taking a job away from the stove for a big event like Thanksgiving is a good one.  This is doubly valuable when you have a smaller kitchen.  We had made this once before - but I could not find the recipe I used.  Fast forward to 2020 - and we are in a smaller kitchen.  We just moved (yep - great time to do that) and we now have a smaller freezer.  So that extra turkey we bought on sale needed to be cooked!  And we need mashed potatoes...right?

There are lots of recipes out there - but I found one that I wanted to try from the American Heart Association's recipe collection.  This is a great place to start for healthy dishes that you can make at home.  I found a recipe for their Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes (from the Idaho Potato Commission).  I tweaked this a bit and loved the way it came out.  It was pretty easy to make and much better for you than many of the recipes I found.

Ingredients (serves 8-10)

4-5 lbs Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4" slices
2 tsp Sea (or Kosher) salt
1 tsp Black pepper
2 cups Broth (vegetable or chicken)
2 cups Water
1/2 cup (1 stick) Butter
1/2 cup Skim milk (adjust to taste)

Directions

1. Place the peeled and cut potatoes in cold water to cover for around 1-2 hours.  Drain potatoes.
2. Add potatoes, sea salt, black pepper, broth and water (in that order) to the slow cooker.  Cover and set on high for 4 hours.
3. When potatoes are tender, drain most of the liquid (adjust to taste).  Then add the butter (sliced into tablespoon sized portions) and the skim milk.
4. Use a potato masher (or small electric mixer), slowly beat potatoes are mashed.  Add additional butter or milk to taste. 
5. Leave on low or warm until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Chicken with Cranberry Mustard Sauce

The other day, I was looking for a cookie recipe and I stumbled upon the Ocean Spray recipe page.  I have grown very fond of cranberries and want to use them in more recipes.  I found this great recipe for Chicken Tenderloins with Cranberry Mustard Sauce and it looked excellent.  I played with it and tried it tonight.  Loved the way it turned out.  We made mashed potatoes and green beans to go with this.  This will be on a steady rotation - it was fantastic - and it is pretty healthy to make it even better.  We will have this again, maybe with roasted veggies.

Ingredients (Serves 2)

4-6 pieces Chicken tenderloins (or two chicken breasts cut into strips)
1-2 tbsp Flour
1/4 tsp Kosher Salt (adjust to taste)
1/4 tsp Black pepper (adjust to taste)
1 tbsp Butter
2 tbsp Olive oil
1/3 cup White cooking wine (or white wine)
2/3 cup Chicken broth
3 tbsp Dijon or brown mustard
1 tsp Cornstarch
1 tbsp Water
1/4 cup Dried Cranberries (adjust to taste)

Directions

1. Lightly toss chicken pieces with flour; shake off excess. Sprinkle lightly with Kosher salt and black pepper.
2. Heat the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the chicken and cook 3-4 per side, until chicken is golden brown on each side and cooked through. Remove from pan and keep under foil to keep warm.
3. Add cooking wine, chicken broth and mustard to skillet, scraping up browned bits and cook for around 1 minute.
4. Combine cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Stir into skillet with the dried cranberries and bring to a boil.  Cook for 2-3 minutes. Boil 1 to 2 minutes or until sauce thickens. 

Pour sauce over chicken & enjoy!

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

Normally I try to find my own twist on a recipe or come up with something from scratch.  But here is a recipe that Pam and I simply love.  Given the fact that we are spending a good deal of time in home, we need a recipe that will make the time feel better.  So this is one of our favorite recipes.  It is not exactly health food - but it is really, really good!  It is really just this recipe: Craisins Dried Cranberries Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies.  Ocean Spray has a really nice collection of recipes that are freely available and will be a great addition to everyone's recipe list.  Long story short - we always have the ingredients to make these in a pinch.  They often save the day!

Ingredients (Makes around 20 large cookies)

2/3 cup Butter, softened
2/3 cup Brown sugar
2 large Eggs
1 1/2 cups Old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
1 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 cup Ocean Spray® Craisins® Original Dried Cranberries (or any kind of dried cranberries or raisins)
1/2 cup Baking chips - white (vanilla) or chocolate or whatever!  Adjust to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
2. Using an electric mixer (ideally), beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. 
3. In a separate bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. 
4. Stir in dried cranberries and baking (vanilla or chocolate) chunks.
5. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. 
6. Cool on wire rack.

Enjoy & repeat!

Hungry Girl Brownies

We have started making these incredibly easy brownies that are a bit better for you. So maybe it is not like eating carrots and celery - but if you need a treat - this is definitely a great way to go.  We have taken the basic recipe from the Hungry Girl website.  We have played with the add-ins that we like and think that we have a good basic recipe here to match our tastes.  This is super easy and very delicious!  It is more 'cakey' than we normally like - but with fewer calories - it is a good trade off.  

Ingredients

Cooking Spray
1 box moist Devil's Food Cake
15 oz can, Pumpkin puree (do not use pie mix)

1/2 cup-3/4 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup-3/4 cup Pecans or walnuts, loosely crushed

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Spray the bottom of a 9"x13" plan with cooking spray.

3. Add the mix to a large mixing bowl.  Add the pumpkin and slowly blend both ingredients.

4. Fold in the chocolate chips and pecans and mix thoroughly.

5. Bake 25-27 minutes.  Be sure to check that a knife inserted comes out clean.

6. Let cool 1-2 hours then serve.

Enjoy!

Thick Red Lentil Soup

I have long enjoyed red lentil soup when I see it on a menu, but I have never tried to make it at home.  Given how easy it was - I feel a bit embarrassed - but I will definitely make this again.  I borrowed a recipe from thekitchn.com for Red Lentil Soup, but thickened it up to make more of a stew.  I am thinking this will be great for lunch, especially over roasted veggies.  I am set for the next two days already in the new year.  This is a something that can be made as a very nice vegetarian entree - especially on a cold winter's day.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 2-3 Carrots, peeled and diced (multi-color carrots would be good here)
• 2 large stalks Celery, diced
• 1 medium Yellow (or white) onion, diced
• 1 tbsp Parsley (dried)
• 1 tsp Oregano (dried)
• 1 tsp Spice mix (I used Epic Spices Citrus Pepper)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, adjust to taste
• 1 1/4 cups Red lentils (dried)
• 5 cups Broth (chicken or vegetable)
• 2 whole bay leaves
• 2 tbsp Lemon juice

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium (2- to 3-quart) saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, onions, and spices (parsley, oregano, spice mix and Kosher salt).  Saute for 5-7 minutes.  
2. Add the lentils, broth and the bay leaves.  Bring to a boil.  Then reduce to low and cover.  Cook for around 20-23 minutes.
3. Remove pot from heat and stir in lemon juice.

Enjoy as a thick soup or over a starch (such as baked/roasted potato or rice)

Zhender's Cranberry Relish

If you live in Michigan, there is a good chance that you have been to Frankenmuth.  That is a lovely city about an hour and a half Northwest of Detroit where they have cultivated a beautiful German themed community and have the best fried chicken in the Midwest.  The places for chicken are two huge competing restaurants that are owned by members of the same family (if you go back far enough).  Zhender's and the Bavarian Inn both have similar, but not identical menus.  Both offer the family style chicken dinners (all you can eat) which are one of the best ways to get insanely full anywhere in the state of Michigan.

One of the fun sides that come with the meals is a cranberry relish - especially if you go to Zhender's.  I have seen a few recipes on the web, and I have tweaked it a bit to lower the sugar.  This is a member submission on epicurious.  Here is one shared from The Flavors of Frankenmuth (from John Zhender). Love the way this turns out.

Ingredients
1 lbs Cranberries, fresh
2 Granny smith apples
2 Naval oranges
1 3/4 cups Sugar

Directions

1. Freeze cranberries overnight.
2. Clean apples, then core into large sliced (leave skin on).
3. Add half the frozen cranberries and apples to a food processor.  Chop until they are around a 1/4" large pieces.  Move to a mixing bowl.
4. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.  Move those to the same mixing bowl.
5. Clean the oranges.  Remove the tops and bottoms of the oranges and cut into sliced.  With the rest of the peel, add to the food processor and lightly chop until the peel pieces are around 1/4" large.  Add to the mixing bowl with the cranberries and apples.
6. Add sugar to the mixing bowl and blend.
7. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

Enjoy!

Basic Roasted Chicken Breast

Here is a very basic way to cook chicken breast. We have been cutting these thinly to add to salads and use for sandwiches. Not gonna lie - we were inspired by our love of salads at Panera! This is a simple recipe, but one I want to record so I can keep going back to it.

Ingredients (for 3 chicken breasts)
3 Chicken breasts (skinless and fat trimmed)
1 tbsp Olive oil
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Paprika

Olive oil spray or cooking spray

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Place the chicken in a mixing bowl.  Add olive oil, Kosher salt, black pepper and paprika.  Mix to coat the chicken.

3. Spray the bottom of a cooking dish with olive oil spray.

4. Bake for 26-28 minutes (more for larger breasts) until a meat thermometer registers 165°.

Enjoy!  If you are using it for salads, let cool before slicing.

NOTE: For very large chicken breasts, cut in half and cook for 35-40 minutes.  Use the meat thermometer to be sure it is cooked through.