Grilled Cheese & Vegetable Soup

Food Category: PG, High-5
Difficulty: Easy

Grilled Cheese

• whole wheat, whole grain bread (I bought mine fresh from the local bakery!)
• I can't beleieve it's not butter - light
• Provolone, extra sharp cheddar, monterrey jack
• garlic powder

Vegetable Soup

from the fridge:

• corn on cob
• celery
• carrots
• onion

from the freezer:

• leftover: mashed potatoes, peas, corn, some kind of meat, mixed veggies (corn, baby carrots, asaparagus), more mixed veggies (broccoli, carrots)
• prepackaged frozen spinach
• leftover gravy

from the pantry:

• can tomoato paste
• can beef broth

season with salt, pepper, garlic & onion powder, basil

Here's a note about my Freezer Ziplock Veggie Bag: for leftover veggies that would otherwise be wasted, I toss them into a frezer bag. By not tossing that last little bit of peas/carrots or potatoes or the leftover grilled veggies, you can fill up a freezer bag fairly quickly. The veggie bag can be the foundation for the best soups you will ever make.

Leftover potential: This meal is actually leftovers in action. Soup will keep in the fridge for a few days. I suppose you could freeze the soup (if no potato chunks or pasta), but I won't. Those veggies have been hanging out in my freezer long enough as it is.

Breakfast

Category: PG, Southern Comfort

Difficulty: Easy

Breakfast for Dinner or Brinner

reduced fat Jimmy Dean sausage

Pillsbury frozen Southern Style biscuits

scrambled/pan fried eggs

Kartoffelpuffer

fresh fruit: pineapple, apples, green/purple grapes, oranges, banana

If you are fortunate enough to live in Germany (or close enough to shop there on occasion) you are in luck with the Kartoffelpuffer. You should be able to find them in the freezer section at any old grocery store. They can be cooked by pan frying or heated in the oven. Traditionally, they are served with apple sauce or a garlic sauce that is a cross between Ranch dressing & a creamy garlic sour cream-ish dip.

Kartoffelpuffer mit Apfelmus (Potato Pancakes with apple sauce)

I'm close enough to Germany, that I have the frozen kind ready to rock-n-roll in the oven. I do need to figure out how to make these from scratch for when I can't just buy them at the source. I've seen a few Omas make them at fests & have a pretty good idea what needs to be done. I promise I'll experiment soon & post a recipe/technique.

Kartoffelpuffer at a fest. Just one more reason to live in Germany.

If Kartoffelpuffer are out of the question because you live in Texas, hash browns make a decent substitution.

If (& I mean IF) you can limit yourself to one biscuit, 2 sausage patties, one egg & one kartoffelpuffer, you won't be doing excessive damage to the thighs. Fill up on the fresh fruit, not the sausage.

Leftover potential: biscuits, sausage & kartoffelpuffer can be reheated for tomorrow's breakfast. Extra fruit can be frozen and eventually make a reappearance in fruit smoothies.

Asian Salads

Food Category: Bum Lovin', High-5
Difficulty: Super Easy

Asian Salads

The Salad Part:

• mixed salad greens
• spinach
• pineapple (fresh or canned)
• mandarin oranges
• cucumbers
• shredded carrots
• sliced green onions
• sugar snap peas
• shredded cabbage
• tri-color bell peppers

The Protein Part:

• tuna, I highly recommend Starkist Tuna Creations Sweet & Spicy
• or seasoned chicken breast

The Good Stuff:

• sprinkle of cashews
• sprinkle of sesame seeds
• sprinkle of ride noodles
• Newman's Own Sesame Ginger Low Fat Dressing

And, because you are being so darn good for dinner, how about some dessert?

Peaches & Cream

• slice/wedge two fresh peaches
• add to heated butter & brown sugar (as little as possible) in a non-stick skillet
• cook until yummy
• add splash or two of brandy or amaretto & cook alcohol down
• sprinkle with cinnamon
• serve warm over low fat vanilla ice cream or yogurt

SuperFood Note: spinach, red/yellow peppers, tuna & yogurt (even the frozen kind, if it has live cultures) are all SuperFoods that help fight again cancers & heart disease

Leftover potential: leftover salads are totally yuck & leftover dessert? what's that?

Turkey Enchiladas & Spanish Rice

Food Category: PG
Difficulty: Moderate

Turkey Enchiladas

shredded turkey or chicken meat seasoned with:

• garlic powder
• onion powder
• chili powder
• cumin
• sauteed onion/garlic

grated cheese (extra sharp cheddar & monterrey)

12 corn tortillas
enchilada sauce

I created the sauce with:

about 1/2 can of tomato paste, chicken granules seasoning, chili powder cumin,
Adobo seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder,
2 T cornstarch & enough water to get to the consistency of tomato sauce

To assemble, either roll up like enchiladas are supposed to be or layer & stack in a casserole dish. I rolled turkey/cheese into the tortillas, covered with sauce & topped with cheese. Baked at 350F for 45-60 mins.

Enchiladas were served with:

side taco salad (Fritos & Fat Free Catalina dressing are a must!)
Spanish Rice

To make the rice:

sautee 1/2 chopped onion in evoo (& tri-color bell peppers, optional)
add 2 cups of regular UNcooked rice
continue to sautee both rice and onion until rice is golden brown & fragrant
add 2 cloves of fresh minced garlic
add 2 cups of water seasoned with:

• adobo or Spanish rice seasoning
• 1 packet of Sazon
• 1/2 can tomato paste
• cumin

bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to very low. Cook for about 20 minutes or until almost all the water is absorbed.

I don't really have a good recipe or technique for making enchiladas because I rarely make them. Man even had to ask if they were burritos. Not sure what that was all about. Maybe we've been away from Texas for a weeny bit too long? Anyway, I've been on a mission to clean out my freezer so that I can defrost it & needed to use up some turkey (this was leftovers from a whole grilled turkey). I had the ingredients to make the red sauce, not a can of enchilada sauce or the ingredients to make a green chile sauce that would be more traditional with turkey/chicken enchiladas.

You can also add corn (fresh, frozen or canned) & any type of beans to the rice. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't, it just depends on what's around.

If you make your side salad big & serve with 2 enchiladas & a serving of rice, this meal is not bad on the tushy.

Leftover potential: straight-up leftovers only

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches

Category: PG-13, High-5
Difficulty: Easy

Cheese Steaks

sautee tri-color peppers in evoo for a few minutes
add sliced onions & continue to cook until translucent & yummy
remove veggies from pan & sit aside

cook 3 servings of sirloin beef steak in the skillet
add any of the following to beef up the flavor:

• Worchestshire sauce
• steak sauce
• hamburger seasoning
• salt/pepper
• garlic powder

When the meat is cooked, add the veggies back to the pan.

Build sandwiches with meat/veggie filling & provolone cheese, preferrably on bread/rolls that have been lightly toasted on a stove-top grill.

You can also toss open-faced sandwiches into an oven with only the top burner on to make the cheese all bubbly & delish.

Serve with:

• Side Salad
• carrot & celery sticks, sliced cucumbers
• individual bags of chips

The prepackaged beef steaks have quite a bit of sat fat. I always cook the meat and remove as much of the fat as possible - either by draining, rinsing with hot water and/or patting with paper towels. I use 3 servings of meat to make 4 sandwiches. The more veggies: onions/peppers, the less meat needed to fill a sandwich.

I can only get full-fat provolone. Maybe you can find reduced-fat and save a few calories.

I also make my Philly Cheese Steaks with worthless white bread steak rolls or a French baguette. If you are looking for a healthier alternative, I'm sure you can find a higher fiber roll (especially if you are in the States).

The more veggies in the sandwich & the bigger the side salad, the healthier the meal. 3 cups total of sauteed onion/peppers, salad and raw veggies equals the 5-a-day requirement.

If you stick with individually packaged chips & limit yourself to one bag, this meal is not that bad calorie wise.

Careful with the meat, cheese, chips & salad dressing. Especially if you aren't planning on a food porn night.

Leftover potential: Any leftover meat/veggie mixture can be used for omlettes, quesadillas, fajitas, stirfry or frozen & tossed into soups later.

Leftover Night

Man is working late tonight & I fell face first into a Mexican potluck for lunch today. So, striaght-up leftovers it is.

Laze-E heated up chicken & rice from the other night & MiniMe had tortilla soup. I'm still regretting that second brownie I had at lunch and haven't eaten anything (so far!). Not that I need to. But if I do, it will be tortilla soup.

MamaFry (Hi Tammy) made a comment about cooking the chicken and rice using brown rice. It turned out great, but needed a longer cooking time. Which made me think that this recipe would work great in a crockpot - and dinner would be ready when you walked in the door after work.

I've been checking on a blog lately A Year of Crockpotting & just now looked to see what sage advice she could offer. Low & behold, she made Chicken & Brown Rice in the crockpot for Tuesday's meal & posted about it on Wednesday. I guess everybody is eating the same thing this week. Her recipe is a little more involved than dumping in cream of something soups, but she's aiming for a gluten-free menu. Looks like you can cook my "recipe" on low for 8 hours.

If anyone tries this, let us know.

Tortilla Soup & Cheese Quesadillas

Food Category: High-5, Bum Lovin', PG-13
Difficulty: Easy

Tortilla Soup

sautee onion, celery, tri-colored peppers & sliced carrots until tender crisp
add chicken broth (homemade, canned or flavor granules)
bring to a boil & add remaining ingredients, your choice as to which ones & how much:

• zucchini & yellow squash
• beans (pinto, black, kidney)
• corn (canned or frozen)
• green chiles (to taste, remember they are flavorful)
• crushed or diced tomatoes (or Rotel if you skip the chiles)
• leftover peas, green beans & mashed potatoes work well with this soup too
• leftover fajita meat & chopped up grilled veggies
• leftover chicken or turkey

seasonings/spices:

2 cloves of freshed minced garlic
cumin
chili powder
roasted red pepper seasoning
Sazón (1-2 packets)
salt/pepper
onion & garlic powder
envelope of taco seasoning if you don't have the other stuff in your kitchen

Cook the soup on low until veggies look good to you. You may also finish this up in the crockpot.

I usually make this soup broth-based to keep the calories down. The beans add the most calories, but it's all good carbs & fiber. You can add cheese/velveeta to the soup based on personal preference. Leftover fridge/frozen mashed potatoes thicken up the soup, but with added calories.

When serving the soup, top with crushed tortilla chips (like Tostitos), shredded cheese (we like cheddar & pepper jack), sour cream & fresh cilantro. Certainly, the toppings add lots of flavor, but pack quite the punch to the fat/calorie content (thus the PG-13 rating). You have been warned.

I'm making a double batch of this soup to cover us for dinner tonight & a Mexican Potluck tomorrow. Soups are usually better the next day, so it's not like the Potluck people are getting the scraps. I'll just reheat in the crockpot.

Cheese Quesadillas

Laze-E won't touch my soup & Man will want something more Manly.

These will be simple quesadillas, only slightly more difficult than nuking the flour tortilla & cheese. Spray tortilla with olive oil & heat on a med-hot skillet. Flip, add cheese, fold over. Flip to the other side and serve.

Leftover potential: This soup does well in the fridge & freezer. The most flavorful way to reheat quesadillas is by wrapping in foil and tossing in a toaster oven. Microwave works too, but only use half-power.

Oven Baked Chicken & Rice

Food Category: Southern Comfort, PG
Difficulity: Easy

Chicken & Rice

3 cups of uncooked rice (not Minute Rice)
1 can (reduced fat) cream of mushroom soup & one can of water
1 can French onion soup & one can of water
add water to total about 4 cups of liquid
pour into a casserole dish (I used my 9X13 stoneware)
one piece of chicken per person
dot with pats of butter (or not)
cover with foil
bake at 350-400 until done

I made this with 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (had one leftover) with all the visible fat removed. You can use dark meat & bone-in, but defintely use skinless to cut back on the bad fat.

I cooked the dish at 350F for about an hour, then turned it up closer to 400F for about 20 mins. I have a small European size oven & your cooking times may vary. Start checking on doneness (texture of the rice and temperature of the chicken with a meat thermometer) at about 45 mins.

Chicken and rice was served with:

corn on the cob (this happened to be fresh)
sauteed asparagus (frozen) seasoned with evoo, lemon juice, salt/pepper, lemon herb seasoning

If you cut back on the butter & practice portion control, this can also be a weight friendly meal - as far as overall calorie consumption. And, yes, we eat carbs.

I happened to wash this meal down with a nice glass or two, I lost count of Spätelese, but iced tea works, too (for any & every meal, in my opinion).

Leftover potential: the rice dish heats up nicely in the microwave to eat as straight-up leftovers. I don't recommend freezing because the texture of the rice gets all funky. For leftover veggies, there's always the option to freeze them & add to soups later.