Recipe Box: Buffalo Chicken* Chili

January 14, 2014 by bec2point0

*contains no buffalo. Or chicken. I’ll explain.

With my work Biggest Loser competition starting last week, I knew it was time to get back in the kitchen. After being waylaid by the flu and strep throat, I finally got down to business this weekend, and the first order on the agenda was making this chili. I came across the recipe in Weight Watchers Magazine and my entire being was like ‘YES!!’

Because chili. And buffalo chicken. And yum.

The original recipe called for ground skinless chicken breast. This is all-but-impossible to find, so I grabbed ground skinless turkey breast. I also had to make a special trip to buy beer, as this is not something I ever have on hand. The rest of the ingredients are typical panty staples at Casa de Bec.

This chili is GOOD, but I’ll say this. It’s not very chili-like. I don’t know if it’s the color, or the lack of beans (which you could totally add, and I think I will next time), but it doesn’t scream ‘CHILI’ to me. What it does scream is ‘HEALTHY AND DELICIOUS’. And really, that’s more important.

I hope you guys enjoy!

Buffalo Turkey Chili

Adapted from Weight Watchers Magazine, November/December 2013

Prep – 15 minutes

Cook – 30 minutes

Serves – 4

Ingredients:

2 tsp Canola Oil

1 lb ground skinless turkey breast

1 onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, sliced

2 carrots, sliced

12 ounces light beer

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 can (14.5 ounces) fire-roasted diced tomatoes

¼ cup hot sauce

¼ cup crumbled Gorgonzola

¼ cup light sour cream

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add turkey and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned. Add onion, celery and carrots; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened.

Add beer, broth, tomatoes and hot sauce, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened (about 15 minutes). It doesn’t get particularly ‘thick’, so just cook until your veggies are how you like them.

Garnish each serving (about 1.5 cups) with 1 TBSP each crumbled gorgonzola cheese and light sour cream.

ENJOY.

No seriously, enjoy. It’s really good. Not too hot, but hot enough. And if you’re doing Weight Watchers, the original recipe lists this as 7 Points Plus per serving. That’s a good deal for a big bowl of chili with toppings. I made this for lunches this week, but it would totally work for dinner with a side salad. Or hey, if your home team has a really good shot of making the Superbowl (Go Pats!), this would be a great addition to a Superbowl party.

We hope you guys enjoy this! What’s your favorite Superbowl party food? Any healthy recipes you want to share with us??

Recipe Box: Snow Ice Cream

January 6, 2014 by vfreile

Flakes, flurries, snow.

If you haven’t lived with snow the last few days, you certainly heard about it from your frostbitten friends.

It’s been a frigid few days with heaps of snow in the northeast. More than a foot of snow blanketed my town last week, which meant shoveling my driveway three times in less than a day. And let’s not even talk about how the temps dropped to single digits with wind chills around -15. (Word on the street is that it will be even COLDER today with FEET of snow to cover parts of western NY. I’m in denial. Join me there, please.)

In all, we got about 15-16 inches in my yard last week. And that meant lots of fresh snow to make a tasty snack…. Snow ice cream!

That’s right. It’s ice cream made of snow. SNOW!

The recipe was shared by a friend and former colleague Marketta, who writes a column for the Democrat and Chronicle and writes her own blog, Simply Faithful. Last year, during a big snowfall, she shared her family recipe for snow ice cream.

Snow ice cream?

I’d never heard of such a thing before. My boss assured me it was real Midwestern treat. He also relished stories about how he enjoyed homemade snow ice cream as a child.

I printed out Marketta’s recipe and waited for some snow.

Winter ended without another huge snowfall and I forgot all about it until last week. And let me tell you, snow ice cream completely lived up to the hype. Marketta generously encouraged me to share her family’s recipe.

Here’s a list of what you’ll need:

Marketta’s snow ice cream
– 1 gallon of fresh snow
– 1 cup sugar
– 1 can condensed milk
– 1 tsp. vanilla

I collected snow from my backyard, away from trees or other debris.

Using the same stock pot I’d taken into the snow, I combined all of the ingredients and stirred them together.

Keep stirring until mixture has consistency of ice cream. Add milk if it seems too dry.

I know this looks a bit like mashed potatoes, but trust me. It’s fantastic!

Eat as much as your can stand on the first go-round. I froze what was left with plans to eat the rest the next day and it became a big sweet block of ice. But not to worry, it was still edible. It just needed to thaw for about 15 minutes before I could serve it up.

Have your ever heard of snow ice cream? Have you tried it? Would you?

Recipe Box: Bow Tie Pasta with Asparagus, Sun-dried tomatoes and Boursin

December 18, 2013 by Meridith

Back when Jay and I got married, we got a recipe book as a gift. Now, back when Jay and I got married, my cooking skills were… well, how to put this?

Nonexistent.

I could make a mean grilled cheese and boxed macaroni and cheese with the best of them. But my skills were fairly limited and the main chef in the house was Jay.

Ten plus years later, I’m the head honcho in the kitchen. This recipe was one of the first ones that I was really able to master and still remains one of our favorites.

Bow Tie Pasta with Asparagus, Sun-dried tomatoes, and Boursin

1/3 c pine nuts
Kosher salt
8 oz bow tie pasta (they sell 12 oz packages so I usually leave about 1/4 in the box)
14 medium spears of asparagus, cut into 1.5″ pieces
1TBSP olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese
2 oz (1/3 c) Garlic and Fine Herb Boursin Cheese
1/4 c of diced sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
1 TBSP chopped fresh dill (which I skip because I’m not a huge fan of dill)
3/4 Tsp lemon pepper

1. Put the pine nuts in a dry small skillet over medium heat. Shake constantly until evenly toasted on all sides, about 4 minutes. Set aside.

2. Fill a large saucepan 3/4 full of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and add kosher salt. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until barely tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the asparagus to the pan and cook until tender-crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain the pasta and asparagus, reserving 3/4c of the cooking water.

3. Set the same saucepan over medium heat and heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Return the pasta and asparagus to the pan then add the reserved cooking water. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, Boursin cheese, dill, and the 3/4tsp of lemon pepper and toss to combine. Stir in the pine nuts. Season with kosher salt and lemon pepper, to taste.

4. Divide the pasta between bowls and serve! Makes 3-4 servings which equals leftovers. Sweet!

From Bride and Groom: First and Forever

Enjoy!

Recipe Box: Gingery Butternut Squash Soup

October 7, 2013 by vfreile

Autumn is my favorite season.

I love the cooler, crisp weather, the vibrant hue of fall leaves, my birthday and pumpkin everything.

But it also means some of my favorite fresh veggies are in season. It’s time to pick apples fresh off the tree at your local apple orchard. And to rejoice the return of the butternut squash.

Here’s my favorite fall soup recipe, adapted from my favorite cookbook Simply in Season. It’s beyond simple and absolutely delicious.

What you will need:

2 medium onions (chopped)

2 Tbsp. fresh ginger (peeled and minced)

2-3 apples (peeled, seeded and chopped)

1 butternut squash (peeled, seeded and cut into cubes)

4 cups vegetable broth

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

parsley

Chopping the onions

Sauté onions in a large pot with in 1 Tbsp. of olive oil. Sprinkle in a little salt and pepper. (cook until onion is translucent.)

All of the butternut and apple!

Add apple, butternut squash and veggie broth to pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until squash and apples are tender. (It takes about 25 minutes on my stove.)

Mash, mash, mash!

If you like chunky soup, use a potato masher to mash the apples and squash (like me!) OR you can purée in blender until smooth.

Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley. Enjoy!

Mmm, dinner!

What’s your favorite harvest meal? Are you a butternut squash fan like the chicks? Tell us about your fave fall recipes in the comments!

Recipe Box: Roast Chicken and Veggies

August 8, 2013 by Meridith

For a long time, I was not the “cook” in our house. Originally when we first bought our house, the cooking responsibilities fell on to Jay because he knew how. I didn’t. We were both fine with this.

However, when I became a stay at home mom, and he started working longer hours the responsibility shifted more to me. It was terrifying and awesome simultaneously. When we got married a dear friend gave us the Bride & Groom First and Forever Cookbook, which is where I originally got this recipe. I’ve tried my hand at all sorts of recipes and this one has stuck around for quite some time!

It is more time intensive than labor intensive. You can prep the veggies before preheating the oven and there’s no rushing around with this recipe (unlike others, in which you have five things going on at the same time and need to get them all done in a particular order. You know the type!). What I particularly like about this recipe is that I usually have most of the ingredients in my house – I only need to pick up the chicken on shopping day.

Ingredients

3 carrots, cut into thirds
6 small red new potatoes, quartered if large
1 medium yellow onion, cut into 6 wedges (we love the veggies so I usually up this to 2 onions – if you have the room in your pan, do it up!)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, or olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 chicken (3 to 4 pounds)
1 lemon, quartered
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Put the carrots, potatoes, and onion in a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. Toss the vegetables with 1 tablespoon of melted butter or olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the vegetables to the edges of the baking dish so the chicken may rest in the middle.

Remove the neck and giblets from the cavity of the chicken and discard. Rinse the bird under cold running water and pat dry. Put the chicken, breast-side up, in the center of the baking dish. Brush the chicken with the remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter or oil. Season generously salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the lemon quarters and rosemary sprigs. Put the garlic cloves under the chicken to prevent them from burning.

Roast for 45 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven. Using tongs, tilt the chicken, pouring the juices from the cavity onto the vegetables, and shake to coat. Your house will be smelling absolutely amazing at this point.

Baste the chicken with the pan juices. If the bird is browning too quickly, cover with aluminum foil. Continue roasting until the chicken is a deep golden brown and the juices run clear when the tip of a knife is inserted into the thigh joint, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh, away from the bone, registers 170 to 175 degrees F, 30-45 minutes more, depending on your oven.

Transfer the chicken to a platter and let stand for 10 to 15 minutes before carving. Using the back of a spoon, mash the garlic and squeeze some lemon into the pan juices. Toss the juices with the vegetables. Carve the chicken (okay, I’m not at this point in my life yet. Jay still carves the bird) and serve the vegetables alongside.

The recipe says that it serves two but if you’re liberal with the veggies, the chicken meat can easily feed at least four. Bon appetit!

Recipe Box: Oriental Cold Noodles

July 23, 2013 by bec2point0

It’s been the summer of cold salads in my house. The heat has been unbearable, and the only thing I like less than cooking hot food is eating hot food. Because yuck.

I’ve been all about Pasta Salad and Potato Salad and Quinoa Salad and Fruit Salad and Garden Salad and Mexican Veggie and Bean Salad (future recipe post to follow) and… I think you get the picture. I get up super early on Sundays, before the heat hits, cook and prep large batches of a couple of salads and then eat them all week for lunch or with dinner. This has been working out great in terms of time management and having healthy food at the ready, but flavor-wise, things had gotten a bit boring.

Until this Sunday.

In search of some flavor in my salads, I turned to the internet, and after a couple of searches for ‘cold dinner ideas’, I found the following recipe on LaaLoosh (an invaluable resource for healthy, and specifically Weight Watchers friendly, recipes).

Oriental Cold Noodles (adapted from LaaLoosh)

Ingredients

1 12 oz. package Whole Wheat Spaghetti
1 large cucumber, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup cilantro, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 ½ tsp sesame seeds
Juice from 1 lime
Instructions
Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain, and rinse with cold water. Place in a large bowl. Toss in cilantro, cucumbers and carrots, and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, vinegar, lime juice, garlic, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, and sesame oil.
Pour dressing over noodles and toss to combine. Top with sesame seeds.

Cover and place in refrigerator for at least 1.5 hours.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s), Cooking time: 15 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 6
PER SERVING: 231 calories; 3.5g fat; 41g carbohydrates; 6g protein; 2.5g fiber

Recipe Source: LaaLoosh

Now, I’ve never met a recipe I didn’t want to tweak, but I stayed very close to the original on this. The only changes I made were to add some scallions and to usage Whole Wheat Spaghetti instead of Soba Noodles (because I had it on hand). Also, I measure nothing. Ever.

The result?

Ooooooodles of Noodles

BOOM. FLAVOR EXPLOSION IN MY MOUTH.

You guys, this was SO good. Aside from cutting veggies, the prep work was very minimal. And aside from the 20 minutes of boiling water and cooking pasta, I didn’t have to turn on the stove. WHICH MAKES ME VERY HAPPY.

This and some diced chicken breast were my lunch on Monday, and the rest will be a side dish for the Turkey Teriyaki Meatballs I’ll be making for dinner one night this week. You know, if it lasts that long.

If you’re a Weight Watcher’s member, I calculated this differently than the website did. Mine came up to 4 Points Plus for 6 servings or 7 Points Plus for 4 servings (I went with four servings because I was HUNGRY!)

So, whip yourself up a batch and set them aside for the next hot night. Which is surely imminent. SIGH.

When it’s hot out, what’s your go to cold dinner? Help Bec out. Her family is ready to mutiny if she serves sandwiches one more time.

Recipe Box: Aunt Martha’s Strawberry Pie

July 7, 2013 by vfreile

I love strawberries. They are my favorite summer treat. Strawberry jam, strawberry scones, strawberries with cream, homemade strawberry ice cream, … the possibilities are endless!

My dear Aunt Martha makes an incredible summer berry pie. Heck, her desserts are amazing. PERIOD.

After I shared homemade pie pics earlier this summer, Aunt Martha encouraged me to also share her simple recipe, which we both regularly tweak. I should note, while it’s lighter than most pies, it’s definitely not considered low-fat. It’s a treat.

To make the graham cracker crust, combine one packet of crushed graham crackers with 3 Tbsp. sugar and 3 Tbsp. of melted butter. Firmly press mixture into 9-inch pie pan and BAKE at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Set aside to allow crust to cool.

Dice 1 quart of strawberries. Cut them small. For real. It takes longer, but it’s worth it.

Boil 1 cup of water, 2 Tbsp. cornstarch, 1 cup of sugar. Mix well. Once it’s clear, add one small box of strawberry jello mix. Let boil a few minutes. Move entire pot to the fridge.

While jello mixture cools in fridge for 10-15 minutes, place diced strawberries in the graham cracker shell.

Pour the jello mixture over the berries and spread it evenly without overflowing the sides of the crust. Move the pie back into the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours. I usually let it chill for 3-4 hours before I dig in.

The pie falls apart on me if I dig in too early. Doesn’t bother me since it all goes down the same. But if that’s something you care about, note that it will likely crumble if you don’t let it properly chill.

Serve with whipped topping. I use light cool whip, but any whipped topping will do.

Dig in and enjoy! Hope you all like this pie as much as we do!

What’s your favorite homemade summer treat?

Recipe Box: Green Smoothie

June 29, 2013 by beewhobabbles

My husband loves to buy bottled smoothies. You know, the ones with 27 grams of sugar per serving? They make you think you’re drinking something healthy, because there’s some fiber content and a bunch of fruit on the wrapper and maybe it even says “FIVE SERVINGS OF FRUIT” or something crazy on the front of the bottle. And they taste really good. And, hey! Fruit! Five servings, even! And as much sugar as five cookies.

I asked him if I could make some healthier smoothies at home, hoping I’d find one or two that he liked better, or at least almost as much, as his store-bought drink. He agreed because he loves me and he knew I was going to make him try them anyway.

Luckily, I quickly found one that we all love. This smoothie is so versatile- I’ve used greek yogurt to up the protein and I even added peanut butter the other day (which was DELISH). I’ve used kale when I didn’t have spinach, and sometimes I skip the honey if my bananas are very ripe. J drinks it for breakfast; I love it after a workout; the girls have it as a pre-dinner treat.

photo(24)

Green Smoothie
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

2 cups vanilla almond milk
4 cups fresh spinach, packed into the measuring cup
2 bananas
1 tablespoon honey

DIRECTIONS

Place all ingredients into blender and puree on high until smooth. Serve!

Very slightly adapted from Weelicious

Do you make your own smoothies? Share your faves with me!

Recipe Box: Tomato and Corn Pizza

May 23, 2013 by Meridith

Brooke is our resident recipe sharer, so it’s only natural that I first heard about this delish pizza from her. A couple of summers ago I was searching for new recipes and Brooke came to the rescue with a boatload of recipes, including this one.

Okay, it was three recipes. Does three constitute a boatload? Let’s pretend it does.

Ingredients

I’ll chime in with my notes after each.

3 small plum tomatoes, sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 (14-oz.) package prebaked Italian pizza crust – the Boboli Wheat is pretty rad but really, anything will work. Anything that is pizza crust, that is. Don’t try using cardboard. That would be bad. Sidenote: someone in college actually attempted to warm pizza and didn’t remove it from the cardboard box before putting it in the oven. That was a mistake.
Parchment paper – this isn’t absolutely necessary, as I have made the pizza sans parchment paper. But it does help reduce stickage.
1/3 cup refrigerated pesto – this can be homemade or jarred, I’ve used both and both taste delicious. However, I don’t use 1/3 cup. I just use as much as it takes to cover the pizza crust. Actually, maybe I do use 1/3 cup and don’t know it. Hmmmm.
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels – fresh, frozen, whatevs!
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese – that’s a fact. I really do use 1/4 grated Parmesan. Measured and all.
1 teaspoon sugar
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced

Preparation

Place tomato slices on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; let stand 20 minutes.
While you’re waiting for the moisture to drain from the tomatoes, pre-heat your oven to 450°.
My goal is to dirty up as many dishes as possible to give the illusion of more work for me. I’m sure my husband is on to this.My plan goes a little something like this:
- Plate to cut the tomatoes
- Plate to slice the mozzarella – my mozzarella has no salt added, which I suppose is good since I just did the Salt and Pepa (Slide, Push It!) to the tomatoes. The package says that it’s easy open. But don’t believe their lies, because it was not.
- Bowl to mix together corn, Parmesan, and sugar
- Measuring cups! Measuring spoons! Mixing spoons! NO UTENSIL LEFT BEHIND!
Place pizza crust on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet; spread with pesto (however much or little you’d like).
Bake at 450° for 14 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden. While you’re waiting for the pizza to cook, snack on leftover tomatoes. YUM!
Remove from oven. Try not to shove directly in mouth to avoid burning oneself (trust me on this one) and enjoy!

The original recipe is on MyRecipes.com but I made some modifications.

Recipe Box: Mexican Quinoa

April 10, 2013 by beewhobabbles

I have a confession. Since Easter, I’ve consumed boxes (Yes, you read that right. Boxes.) of Girl Scout cookies and a good portion of the Easter candy in our house. And maybe some left over from Valentine’s Day too.

Why, you ask? Well, part of it is because I gave up cookies and candy for Lent, and I suppose I went a little overboard making up for lost time. The other reason is that I’m pretty stressed out at the moment, and when that happens, I want some sugar. Or a lot of sugar, apparently. Ahem.

I like sweets. I love to bake. One of the reasons I began running was so I could continue to eat dessert (and drink wine) without having to buy bigger clothes. Moderation is definitely key though, so it was time to toss out the candy and make some smart food choices again.

I ate my last Thin Mint on Sunday, and resolved to get back to healthy eating this week. I stocked our kitchen with good-for-me snacks, such as Greek yogurt (I prefer plain with my own fruit added), almonds, berries (picked by me and the girls), carrots (easy to grab-and-go) and other fresh produce. I also filled our dinner menu with simple meals of lean protein, whole grains and veggies.

One of those is a quinoa salad that’s a cinch to prepare, super filling and has quickly become one of my favorite healthy meals. I LOVE Mexican food, so this is the perfect quinoa dish for me.

Mexican Quinoa
Makes about 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

2 tsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped
1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed well and drained
1 1/4 cups vegetable broth
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juices
1 cup frozen corn (or kernels cut from 2 cobs of corn)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 quarter of a lime, juiced

To finish:
Shredded cheese, sour cream (or Greek yogurt), salsa and/or avocado.

DIRECTIONS

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and jalapeños to the pan and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the the quinoa, veggie broth, beans, diced tomatoes, corn, and salt to the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Simmer for about 25 minutes, or until the liquid is fully absorbed. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice. Serve as desired with cheese, salsa, avocado, and/or sour cream.

Source: Annie’s Eats

Do you have a go-to healthy meal or snack? Please share it with me in the comments! More importantly, what is your favorite Girl Scout cookie? (Mine are Caramel deLites, AKA Samoas, AKA the greatest cookie ever.)

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