Late Summer/Early Fall Dinner

So, we've been working on this special diet for about 3 weeks and it seems to be doing the trick for Russell We're going to keep at it and hopefully decrease the need for meds!  I'm going to try to get better at posting my recipes that get the thumbs up from both Russell and me.

As always, I'm terrible at measuring so my measurements are usually approximate.

More recipes to come but I'll start you off with these two!

Curried Butternut Squash and Chickpeas with Jasmine Rice and Asparagus

Why this rocks: packed with vitamins and protein and low in calories, this meal is filling and well-rounded.  It's Indian-inspired flavor is exciting and is an easy step away from your nightly "no-brainer"

Ingredients:
1/2 lg. butternut squash
1/2 yellow onion
1 pkg Tasty Bite seasoned Chickpeas (these are already seasoned they are so yummy)
1-2 lg carrots
1T garlic
pinch of salt
1tsp yellow curry spice blend
1/2 can chicken broth
1 c. Jasmine rice
asparagus (however much you think you can eat...this replaces the salad part of your meal)

Instructions:
1. follow instructions to prepare the jasmine rice (I love this rice because it's very light and fluffy and takes half the time to cook as regular rice)
2. chop carrots, butternut squash and onion into bite sized pieces and saute with garlic, when it begins to soften add salt and curry spice blend
3. add chickpeas and stir together with chicken broth.  add chicken broth in small batches so that it doesn't make the food soggy
4. while butternut squash mixture is cooking, prepare asparagus by trimming the ends LIGHTLY coating with olive oil, salt and pepper and putting into a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes
5. serve dish as pictured, yields 4 servings.

Note: We discovered half-way into dinner that the curry has red pepper in it.  Russell's diet says no pepper flesh.  Keep this in mind if you're supposed to steer clear of peppers.

Grilled Peaches with Cinnamon and Honey

So simple and so delish!!

Why this rocks: This dessert is super easy to prepare and you can put in on to cook right before you sit down for dinner.  It's warm and satisfying- like cobbler without the added sugar and calories!  Not to mention the vitamins you get from the peaches and when you use local honey you're going green and possibly building up your immunity to seasonal allergies!

Ingredients:

1 peach per person halved, peeled and pitted

cinnamon
honey

Instructions:
1. Heat your grill or grill pan to a medium- medium high heat
2. sprinkle the flat side of each peach half with cinnamon
3. place peaches flat side down onto the grill pan.  Do not move them around or flip them or they won't have pretty grill marks.
4. Cook for approximately 10 minutes.
5. Remove peaches from the heat and lightly drizzle with honey.
This dessert can be eaten alone or with ice cream or sorbet.  I thought raspberry sorbet would be a great accent!

Yum!  Eat up :)

...and that's all!

Fast Easy Dinner (much healthier than the last recipe)

This is a great meal to serve to last-minute guests. It looks like you spent a long time cooking (but you didn't) and it's relatively healthy. It'd say total prep/cook time is 20 minutes. I call it....

Ravioli with Chicken and Sauce with Roasted Asparagus and Tomatoes

( creative huh?)

You'll need the following:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

salt, pepper, garlic powder

1 can tomatoes (doesn't matter if they're whole or diced)

1 stick of butter

minced garlic 1 T? more?

cracked black pepper

premade raviolis from the freezer or refridgerator section

8 small, campari tomatoes (or other mid to small sized tomatoes)

1 bunch of asparagus

a little bit of mozzerella

shredded parmesean cheese

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

bread crumbs

Preheat oven to highest setting

1- put water on to boil for raviolis

2- prepare chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder on both sides and put in pan on medium heat

3- in a saucepan, melt butter with minced garlic, add tomatoes with juices and cracked pepper (to taste)

4- prepare veggies: use a jelly roll pan covered in foil that is sprayed lightly with cooking spray, on half of the pan put the asparagus, try not to pile it up. The flatter it lays, the more evenly cooked it will be. Slice the tops off of the tomatoes and a thin slice off the very bottom just so they will sit still on the pan. lightly drizzle olive oil over asparagus and tomatoes, cracked pepper and salt (lightly on those as well). For the tomatoes, pour a tiny amount of balsamic vinegar on the tops of each tomato followed by a bit of mozzerella and a sprinkle of breadcrumbs.

5- turn the chicken

6- pop veggies in the oven

7- add ravioli to boiling water

8- here's where I get really technical so read carefully- watch all of the stuff above til it looks done. While you're waiting, it's a great time to set the table and clean your work area.

9-for the last 2 minutes of veggie cooking, switch the oven over to broil to give everything a little brown crisp (not burnt, just a little color)

10- just before everything else is finished, remove sauce from heat and blend- I use an immersion blender. If you do not have one, use your regular blender. Just be sure to give the sauce time to cool down and blend it in small batches. If you're wondering why, refer to my previous blog post with the picture of our kitchen post soup blend.

11- remove chicken from heat and dice

12- plating- place raviolis on plate followed by dice chicken on top and tomato sauce. Place asparagus and tomatoes on plate

13- Serve it up! Ta-Da!

I made some really great cookies last night...but I don't have time to share the recipe.

...and that's all :)