Beef Enchilada Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Posted on December 29, 2016 by amyhindererfeltus

I love spaghetti squash – not because of how it tastes on its own, but because of how it absorbs so many other flavors so well.  It’s a great vehicle for the sauces you would put on pasta, but I like it even better roasted, then stuffed with tasty ingredients and basked again until the flavors have blended.  I’ve made a few versions of stuffed spaghetti squash, but in looking for a Mexican themed idea, I ran across this recipe for Spaghetti Squash Enchilada Bowls.  It was a great start, but I wanted something a little heartier for dinner, so I made some additions.

Ingredients (Makes 4-6 servings)

  • 2 spaghetti squash
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 lb 90% lean ground beef
  • 1 white or yellow onion, diced
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 2 bell peppers (I use 1 green and 1 red), chopped
  • 1-15 oz can of red enchilada sauce
  • 1-14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (undrained)
  • 4-6 oz of shredded Mexican blend cheese
  • Chopped cilantro and green onions for garnish

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Cut spaghetti squash in half and remove seeds and any loose strings.  Rub each half with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  3. Roast cut side down on baking dishes/cookie pans lines with parchment paper for 45-55 minutes (or until tender/flesh pierces easy with a fork).  Smaller squash are usually done at 45, but last time one of mine was larger and took the full 55 minutes.
  4. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.
  5. While squash is roasting, brown ground beef over medium high heat, breaking up with a wooden spoon.
  6. Add onion and garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes.
  7. Add peppers, enchilada sauce and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes.
  8. When squash has cooled enough to work with, use a fork to loosen/scrape the strands so that they resemble spaghetti noodles.  Spoon the beef mixture into each squash half until almost full.
  9. Top with cheese and return to oven for 15-20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the sauce is hot.
  10. Remove from the oven, scoop servings out onto plates, sprinkle with cilantro and scallions and serve!
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Cranberry Dijon Slow Cooker Pork Loin

Posted on November 3, 2016 by amyhindererfeltus

Ingredients:

  • 1, 2-3 pound boneless pork loin roast
  • 1-12 oz bag of fresh cranberries
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1/2 cup sugar (this makes a slightly tart sauce, if you like sweeter, increase to 3/4 cup)
  • 3 clementines, halved
  • 1.5 TB dijon mustard
  • 2-3 cinnamon sticks

Preparation:

  1. Combine warm water, juice from clementines, sugar and dijon mustard thoroughly.  Toss cranberries in the mixture.
  2. Place pork roast in the slow cooker.
  3. Pour cranberry mixture over the top.
  4. Top with the clementines and the cinnamon sticks.
  5. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8.
  6. Remove pork from slow cooker and slice or shred in to the size pieces you’d like.
  7. Remove cinnamon sticks and clementines from slow cooker, and stir sauce.  If sauce is thin, add 1 TB of cornstarch and mix in thoroughly and allow to thicken for 10 minutes (with slow cooker on low setting).
  8. Serve pork with sauce over the top (also amazing on top of mashed sweet potatoes!)

 

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Cranberry-Orange Relish Overnight (Refrigerator) Oats

Posted on November 2, 2016 by amyhindererfeltus

Overnight oats make for a great grab and go breakfast. You can eat them chilled or heat them up if you prefer.  I make these in these wide mouthed pint sized mason jars, but you can make them in any container that can be sealed in the fridge.

Ingredients for 4 servings:

  • 1 1/3 c almond milk
  • 1 1/3 c greek yogurt
  • 1 1/3 c old fashioned oats
  • 8 tsp of chia seeds, or chia, flax etc. blend (I am currently using the Super Seed and Ancient Grain Blend  from Trader Joe’s)
  • 12 oz bag of fresh cranberries
  • 2 clementines or 1 large orange, unpeeled, quartered
  • 1/2 – 1 cup of sugar

Instructions:

  1. Place 1/4 of each of the almond milk, greek yogurt, chia seed blend and oats in the container of your choice that seals. Mix well (with the jars, I put the lid on and shake!).
  2. Place cranberries, clementines or orange and sugar (I start with 1/2 c. and adjust if more sweetness is needed) in a food processor and process until the desired consistency.
  3. Top each container of oats with 1/4 of the cranberry-orange relish.
  4. Seal jars or other containers and store in refrigerator overnight, and up to  5 days.
  5. When ready to serve, remove from fridge, stir, enjoy! Or, if you prefer, heat and enjoy.
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Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili

Posted on October 31, 2016 by amyhindererfeltus

This is the perfect fall meal – it’s a shame it’s still 100 here, but it’s October 27, and I’m making it anyway.  Perhaps if I will it fall, it will come?  I’ll wear a sweater tomorrow.  That should help. You can’t really taste the pumpkin, but it makes the chili a great consistency – and is packed with healthy vitamins!

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound of dried black beans, rinsed and soaked according to package directions
  • 1 TB olive oil (I used a jalapeno infused one – largely because I have 12 different infused olive oils, but sadly, keep forgetting to buy the plain kind.)
  • 1 shallot, diced
  • 1 onion diced
  • 2 tsp of minced garlic
  • 2 yellow and/or orange bell peppers, or 5 to 7 mini peppers, chopped
  • 1 jalapeno, seeds, stems and membranes removed, diced (optional – but if you remove the seeds and membranes, it adds some flavor without too much heat)
  • 1 can of pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling!)
  • 1 can or bottle of the beer of your choice
  • 1 28 oz or 2 14.5 or 15 oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 4 cups of broth (chicken, or vegetable, for a vegetarian chili)
  • 1 TB chili powder
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 2 TB brown sugar
  • Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Heat olive oil in dutch oven on stove over medium high heat.

Saute garlic, onion and shallot for 2-3 minutes, until softened.

Add jalapenos and bell peppers or mini peppers, saute 2 minutes.

Add remainder of ingredients, stir well.

Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally.

After one hour, remove lid and continue to simmer uncovered for 35-50 minutes, or until beans are cooked, stirring occasionally.

Serving suggestions:

Like all chili, I like to offer a bunch of toppings – for some reason, that level of control seems to make the kids eat more.  We do shredded cheddar, sour cream or greek yogurt, green onions and salsa.  We also usually have this with cornbread.

This makes 6 generous servings.

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Crockpot/Slow Cooker Butternut Squash and Apple Soup (with optional Chicken and Apple Sausage)

Posted on October 31, 2016 by amyhindererfeltus

This recipe is my own, but the preparation I totally lifted from someone else, so I feel like I should share that – I made this Slow Cooker Blissful Butternut Squash Soup recipe from skinnytaste.com one time, and it was so easy, I decided to never make squash soup any other way – I mean, you don’t have to peel, or cut, or cube or anything.  So simple.  That recipe is delicious too.

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, halved, seeds removed

2 large apples, cored, cut into 4-6 pieces each

2 shallots, quartered

2 c of broth (veggie or chicken)

3/4 c of reduced fat coconut milk (like this one from Trader Joe’s)

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 package or 5 links of Chicken and apple sausage of the fully cooked variety – I use this one from Trader Joe’s, diced

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Place squash, apples, shallots and 2 cups of broth in slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 (right, like I’d ever remember to turn on my crockpot 8+ hours before dinner)

When squash is softened and cooked through, remove it from the crockpot, allow to cool, and remove flesh from skin.  Discard skin and return flesh to crockpot.  Add coconut milk, cinnamon and cayenne.

Using an immersion blender, blend soup until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.

Add sausage, and cook 20-30 minutes, or until it is heated through.

Serving Suggestion:

I love this soup with some blue cheese or feta crumbles mixed in.

 

IMG_4447.jpg

 

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Shrimp Mason Jar Salads with Lemon Vinaigrette

Posted on October 31, 2016 by amyhindererfeltus

Ingredients

Vinaigrette:

  • Lemon infused olive oil, 2 TB (try this amazing meyer lemon version from Queen Creek Olive Mill
  • Red wine vinegar, 4 TB (or, if you only have plain olive oil, 3 TB of vinegar and 1 TB of fresh lemon juice)
  • Dijon mustard, 1/2 tsp
  • Dried red pepper flakes, 1/8 tsp
  • Dried oregano, 1/2 tsp
  • Honey, 2 tsp

Salads:

  • Edamame, shelled (can be purchased in the freezer section of most grocery stores), 2 cups
  • Green bell pepper, 1, chopped (or other color of your choice)
  • Red bell pepper, 1, chopped (or other color of your choice)
  • Shredded green and red cabbage with carrots, like this one from Trader Joe’s, 3 cups
  • Romaine lettuce, shredded, 4 c
  • Cooked shrimp, 1 lb, tails removed, chopped
  • Juice of one lemon

Directions:

Whisk vinaigrette ingredients together in a bowl or mixing cup, then divide evenly into 4 quart sized mason jars.  I really like these wide-mouthed mason jars for mason jar salads.  I have also replaced all the metal lids on mine with these plastic ones – some of my metal ones were rusting, and 2 parts were harder to keep track of.

Layer 1/4 of each vegetable ingredient in each of the jars, bottom to top, in the following order:

  • Edamame
  • Peppers
  • Cabbage
  • Lettuce

Top jars with 1/4 of the shrimp, squeeze lemon juice over the top.  Seal jars tightly and store in refrigerator for up to 5 days.

When ready to eat, shake jar vigorously to distribute vinaigrette, and pour into a bowl or plate and enjoy!

 

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Mason Jar Chicken Salad with (Not Really Caesar) Lemon Dijon Dressing

Posted on October 6, 2016 by amyhindererfeltus

So this was actually going to be a Caesar Salad in a Jar.  But I got all my ingredients out for Caesar dressing, including anchovy paste, and noticed my anchovy paste expired in July of 2012.  Please note that I moved into this house in March 2012.  So apparently the first thing I did, was buy anchovy paste, use some, and leave it in the fridge to rot……

Anyway, I already had the chicken cooked, the lettuce and kale chopped and washed, so salads with a pseudo, almost, but not really, Caesar dressing it is!

Ingredients:

Dressing:

  • 4 TB balsamic vinegar (or other vinegar of your choice)
  • 3 TB dijon mustard
  • 2 TB soy sauce
  • Juice of one lemon
  • 2 TB grated parmesan cheese
  • 3 TB olive oil (I used lemon infused)

Using a blender, or immersion blender in a cup, or cuisinart or whatever….blend all ingredients except olive oil until smooth.  Slowly add olive oil to the mix, blending in.

Chicken:

  • 1.25 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
  • 2 TB oregano
  • 1 TB olive oil
  • 2 TB lemon juice
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients other than chicken in a medium bowl.  Add chicken and marinate for 30-60 minutes.

Remove chicken from marinade and broil for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through.

Salad:

  • 4 c kale, chopped
  • 4 c romaine lettuce, shredded or sliced thinly
  • 2 yellow bell peppers (or whatever bell pepper you have, this is what was sitting in my fridge), chopped (tomatoes might be a nice addition too, but I was out!)
  • 4 celery ribs, sliced thin

To prepare:

Divide ingredients evenly among 4 mason jars in the following order (bottom to top):

  • Dressing
  • Peppers
  • Kale
  • Lettuce
  • Celery
  • Chicken

Cover tightly and store in refrigerator for up to 5 days.  When ready to serve, shake thoroughly and dump into a plate or bowl.  Or, you know, eat on the go standing up in the kitchen out of the jar when you have 3 minutes to spare before the bus comes, like I do.

 

 

 

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White Chicken Chili

Posted on October 4, 2016 by amyhindererfeltus

Of the semi-processed variety.  I love a good chicken chili, and I’m guessing I could come up with an even better version of this using fresh tomatillos and chilies I roast myself, but really?  When the Herdez salsa people already made this salsa for me?  And the 505 people made these chilies? And other than xantham gum, I know all these ingredients and can pronounce them.  What is xantham gum anyway?  The chilies don’t even have it!

img_4423

This chili is slightly spicy – I doctor my own bowl up (more on that below), but keep the base suitable for whiners who complain about spice my lovely children and husband.

Ingredients:

1 lb of dried small white beans, sorted, rinsed, and soaked according to package directions (I do the quick soak where you bring to a boil for 2 minutes and soak for an hour.  Because I never think to do it a day ahead).

1 TB of olive oil (I used a lovely jalapeno infused one from the Queen Creek Olive Mill)

1 TB minced garlic

1.5 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs.

1 large onion, chopped

1.5 TB Mexican oregano (you can use any oregano, but I really like this one in southwestern flared dishes.  I get it at Penzey’s.)

1.5 TB Cumin

8 cups Chicken broth

1 16 oz jar Herdez salsa verde

3 TB 505 flame roasted green chiles (if you want a spicier chili, you could add more)

1-2 tsp Kosher salt

Directions:

Heat oil in large dutch oven or stock pot or chili making vessel of your choice.  Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.

Add chicken thighs in a single layer and cook 3-5 minutes on each side, or until browned.

Add oregano and cumin and stir, cook for 30-60 seconds.

Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat and simmer, covered for 1 hour.

Remove chicken, set aside and allow to cool slightly (keep chili simmering).  When cool enough, shred chicken and return to pot.  Continue simmering chili, uncovered, for 1 to 1.5 hours or until beans are softened and chili is the consistency you desire.

Serving suggestions:

Serves 6-8.

As noted above, I doctor mine up with some more spiciness – I add pico de gallo with fresh jalapenos, tabasco sauce or whatever I feel with!

I serve this with the following toppings/sides/add ins to round it out as a meal:

Cheese

Sour cream or Greek yogurt

Salsa/pico de gallo

Tabasco sauce

Red pepper flakes

Tortilla chips

 

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Weekly Meal Plan for, well, um….

Posted on October 3, 2016 by amyhindererfeltus

So sometimes, despite your best laid plans, and trying to wait on things (like not launching a blog until you are absolutely certain you’ll be able to keep up with it), stuff happens.  I have spent very little time in my kitchen the last couple weeks.  FIT4MOM of Phoenix & Scottsdale and a weekend away with some bad influences some of my favorite people got a little bit in the way of things.  But here’s the meal plan we used for the week of September 19 – maybe something will spark some ideas for you this week.

 

img_4192This is a front end loaded menu plan, as I tried to leave my fourth child husband with enough food to keep the other three fed while I was gone.  It’s also soup heavy.  Because I was dreaming of fall, which doesn’t actually come to Phoenix until November.  This both backfired on me and worked in my favor, as I came home to a refrigerator still full of the leftovers.  I’m not sure what they ate while I was gone.  But now I have a bunch of lunches frozen for myself for later.

Breakfasts:

I made my make ahead Denver Omelet Egg Muffins, so that I could freeze a couple servings for another week.  These are one of my favorite breakfasts!  Once they are made, I can have them heated up in 30-45 seconds in the morning.  I eat them plain, pop one into an english muffin as a sandwich, top with salsa…..etc.  And if you don’t like the ingredients?  The basic egg muffin works without whatever veggies, meat etc. you do like, so experiment!

Lunches:

I only needed a couple this week, because of being gone and because I had a lunch meeting one day I was in town, so I tried these Cobb Salads in a Jar with Buttermilk Ranch from Skinnytaste.  I would definitely make these again!  I would try with powdered buttermilk though – I mean for real, why does Buttermilk only come in quart containers when you never need more than 1/2 a cup for anything?

Dinners:

Monday – Chicken and Wild Rice Soup, a veggie tray and whole grain rolls.

Tuesday – Lasagna Soup, garlic bread, salad.

Wednesday – Crockpot Chicken Tacos, chips, tortillas, lettuce, salsa, cheese etc. to build as you like.  This is a huge hit in my house.  I usually make a salad.  The others mix it up with soft tacos, crunchy tacos and nachos depending on the day.

Thursday through Saturday I was gone and Sunday I came home to a clean house, folded laundry and sushi (I know, I was as shocked as you are).

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Lasagna Soup

Posted on October 3, 2016 by amyhindererfeltus

All the delicious lasagna taste, without as much work.  And this is a short cut type recipe – as I used jarred sauce.  You could certainly use your own homemade as well, or the jarred of your choice.

Ingredients:

Soup:

1 lb 93% lean ground beef
1 chopped onion
1 tsp of minced garlic
4 c beef broth
1 jar of trader joe’s organic tomato basil marinara
1 small can of petite diced tomatoes
1 TB dried oregano
2 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
4 whole wheat lasagna noodles/sheets (4 ounces dried), broken into pieces

Topping:

3/4 c ricotta
4 TB parmesan
1 TB dried basil (or if you have some fresh that would be better)
1/2 tsp minced garlic

Directions:

  1.  Brown the ground beef, breaking up with a wooden spoon.
  2. Add the onions and garlic and  saute a few minutes.
  3. Add all the dried spices, the marinara sauce and broth.
  4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for around 10 minutes.
  5. While soup is cooking, mix together topping ingredients.
  6. Increase heat and add the noodles when boiling. Cook 10-13 minutes, until noodles are done. Serve immediately.

Serving:

Divide soup into bowls, top each bowl with a portion of the topping mixture.  Serves 6-8.

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