A New Spaghetti Sauce

You know me, always looking for more veggies. This time, I had a whole ton of stuff in the fridge getting ready to go bad, and DH is out of town so it had to be something that the boys would eat. I figured pasta is the easiest thing for them, so I'd just go with sauce that would last a while.

I had to make it at 9pm the other night. We got home late and the ground turkey had finished defrosting so I couldn't leave it until the next day. That means I got to try it right after it was done, but the boys had to wait until the next day. I was ready to eat it like soup, it was so good. It got two thumbs up from the boys too.

I sautéed 5 large florets of cauliflower, a bunch of baby carrots and 6 oz of spinach with some oil and almost 2 tsp of minced garlic. Once the spinach was all wilty, I added in 9 roma tomatoes, quartered and sautéed for another few minutes.

I threw all of that into the Vita-Mix and added about 2 cups of water. It was so super full, but the Vita-Mix was still able to handle it. Everything was ground up into a nice smooth soupy mixture.

Then I fried down a pound of ground turkey. I might have thrown in some onion too if it wasn't so late. I sucked out all the grease and then added the veggie puree, along with 2 tablespoons of sugar, a cup of red wine, 2 tsp of basil and a tsp of salt. I simmered it all for about 20 minutes (although I couldn't put the lid on because the pot was too small).

When things got a little foamy, I had to skim off the top from the sauce. After the 20 minutes, I added two cups of mozzarella and stirred until it was all melted and combined. Last was a cup of whipping cream (it makes the sauce stick to the noodles so much better).

Next time, I need to use a bigger pot. If it weren't for the 9 tomatoes about to go bad, I think the pot would have been fine. The boys had the sauce over pasta. I finished up the spaghetti squash. It was all good. (Except my first try with spaghetti squash and it was still really crunchy.) I will definitely be making something like this again.

Amazing Spinach Salad

I keep thinking of posting this recipe, but I always convince myself - who really likes salad anyway? But maybe you've been looking for a good salad to try. Maybe you've been hoping for something a little different. Maybe you've wanted to add more salad to your life. Maybe your plain iceberg lettuce has needed a pick me up.

Well, I have the recipe for you. I'm sort of on a kick of this salad. I've been making it for myself a couple times a week. My husband has his own special salad mix, but he likes this dressing. So, use what you want and let this inspire you. Eat Salad!

First off, The Dressing
Juice about 3 lemons into a shakeable container. Pull out all the seeds and throw them away. Add a teaspoon of minced garlic, a couple sprinkles of salt, about 1/2 teaspoon of truvia, and up to a teaspoon of the herb of your choice. (I've tried once with basil and once with rosemary.) Look at how much liquid you have and add in approximately the same amount of sunflower oil (so now your liquid is doubled). Put the lid on and shake it really well. Voila. Dressing.

And my salad base contains:
About 3 large handfuls of spinach, ripped into bite size pieces.
A bunch of baby carrots
Half an avocado, cut into bite size pieces
One apple, peeled and sliced
Some parmesan flakes
Some crumbled up sweet potato chia seed tortilla chips.

I drizzle on about 3-4 tablespoons of dressing for this much salad. I recommend putting on the dressing and tossing, before you put the chips in. This much salad serves just me for lunch or dinner. As a side dish, you could probably stretch it out to 3-4 people.

Meatball Stew

It's hard to believe I ran out of chicken this week. I had it all planned that I'd make some more plain chicken and potatoes because they boys went so wild over them last time, but alas it was not in the cards. I found some teriyaki meatballs in the freezer from Costco, but they're a little on the spicy side for the boys so they don't care for them plain. I decided to try stew and it turned out really good. The boys gave it a 4ish star rating. They didn't really want to eat it a second time, but managed the first time just fine.

I modified according to our tastes from this recipe. It was simple, fast, and smelled fantastic in the crock pot.

Crock Pot Meatball Stew

About 1-1/2 packages of meatballs (I think I used about 36 oz of the teriyaki ones)
8 smaller size white potatoes, cut in one inch cubes
1 onion, diced as small or large as you like
1-1/2 packages of the really small baby carrots
1 can tomato sauce
2 tsp Better Than Bouillon Beef Flavor
1/2 cup red wine
2+ cups water
1 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbls flour

Put the meatballs, onion, potatoes, and carrots in the crock pot. In a separate bowl, combine the tomato sauce, Better Than Bouillon, wine, and garlic. Add enough water to make approximately 4 cups total. Stir until combined and then add to the crock pot. Cook on low for about 7-8 hours. During the last hour, mix the flour with about a 1/2 cup of water and stir it into the crock pot.

Quinoa Risotto with Roasted Cauliflower

I didn't even try to get my kids to eat this. But sometimes there's cauliflower in the house and you just want to do something with it. I've been thinking about risotto for a while and decided to experiment. I found a couple recipes, including one for the roasted cauliflower risotto (that I loved for the sliced almonds) and a different one for quinoa risotto with different veggies. Here's what my hands came up with. It turned out very yummy. I think it'll go on the 'make again' list.

Quinoa Risotto with Roasted Cauliflower

Doesn't it look so pretty?! Fair warning: red wine
makes the risotto sort-of brownish

1 head of cauliflower

1/2 an onion, diced

2 Tbls butter

1 Tbls Better Than Bouillon

1 cup wine

4 cups water

A little bit of oil

1 cup raw sliced almonds

1-1/2 cups uncooked quinoa, rinsed

1 cup parmesan cheese

1-1/2 cups shredded cheese

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Wash and dice the cauliflower. Make all the flower parts no larger than 1"x1", slice the stalk parts even smaller but in a separate pile. Put the florets on a cookie sheet, pour some oil over them and mix it around. Add salt and pepper. Cook on the top rack of the oven for 5 minutes, then sprinkle the almonds on top and cook for about 15 minutes. Take out of the oven and let cool while you work on the rest.

While the cauliflower is cooking, mix up the water with the Better Than Bouillon in a measuring bowl for later. Melt butter in a 4qt pot. With the heat around medium, add the onion and cauliflower stalk pieces. Cook until the onion is wimpy. Add the quinoa and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add the wine and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the wine is mostly dissolved. Pour in about a third of the water mixture and keep cooking. Cook about 5 minutes and then add another third. Stir pretty constantly and keep cooking. After you've added the last third, it'll take about 5-10 minutes for the mixture to get thicker, but it won't look like all the water is dissolved. The quinoa is cooked enough if it's pretty clear except for a little curl of grain.

Add both cheese and stir until they're well combined and melted. Dish up a bowlful and put a large scoop or two of the cauliflower and almonds on top. These amounts look like they'll make about 4-6 full sized main dish meals.

Calabacitas

A friend passed this recipe on to me ages ago during the time of Facebook notes. I don't know where she got it from. She says it's a traditional New Mexican dish. I'll post her original recipe at the bottom, but I make quite a few modifications to my recipe. My family doesn't really care for spicy, so I rarely add the green chilies listed in the original recipe. You can skip the bacon, but everything is better with bacon.

My version of Calabacitas

6-8 slices of bacon
2 Tbls butter
1 medium size onion, chopped
3-5 medium sized summer squash, diced to 1/2 inch cubes (I normally use zucchini and yellow squash) (I've also made this recipe with broccoli and carrots instead of squash)
2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups shredded cheese

Cook the bacon however you prefer. I have a microwave plate for bacon. Set it on a paper towel covered plate to cool and then crumble when it's cool enough.

While you're working on the bacon, melt the butter in a large pot/skillet. Add the onions and cook until it's almost translucent. Keep the heat around medium and add the squash and corn. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, covered, until the squash is slightly tender. Reduce heat to low and add the heavy cream. Simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes to let the flavors combine and the sauce to thicken slightly. Stir in the cheese until it's melted then add the bacon. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Calabacitas (Original recipe)

• Six slices of bacon, diced
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• One medium sized onion, chopped
• Three to four large summer squash, cubed into bite sized pieces (zucchini, pattypan, yellow squash, etc.) - about 5-6 cups of cut squash
• Two cups of whole kernel corn, for best results, cut straight from fresh corn (about 3 ears) however frozen is fine if it's not in season
• 3/4 cup roasted, peeled, mile to medium-heat green chilies (two Trader Joe's cans)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup shredded cheese, cheddar or monterey jack or a mixture of both

In a large skillet over medium head, brown the bacon. Once browned, remove to a waiting paper towel, leaving the bacon grease in the pan. Add butter and onion. Wilt the onion until almost translucent before adding the squash, corn and chilies. Cook for about eight to ten minutes until the squash is almost tender. Add the heavy cream, reduce heat to low and simmer slowly for fifteen to twenty minutes to allow flavors to combine and to thicken slightly. After simmering, add cheese, stirring to melt, and bacon. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

#1 Comfort Food

There's always things like stew or chili or chicken noodle soup as comfort food, but growing up my favorite was always Cream Turkey. Not it's real name, not even a real, written down recipe. But it was always my favorite. A creamy sauce, lots of turkey, all poured over buttered bread. And if mom and dad were feeling especially like messing up the comfort food, add peas.

Now that I'm the grown up, I only remember to make this every now and then, but it's always a hit with the boys. Short Stuff eats an adult-sized serving and the Small Person is still on a half serving, but there's never any complaining. Mr. G. prefers it with corn and peas, so he gets a little side dish to pour on top.

We only used to have this near Thanksgiving when there would be fresh turkey, but now that Costco sells pre-cooked turkey breasts, we can have it anytime. A batch of this uses half a Costco turkey breast and will make at least two meals for the four of us.

Cream Turkey

1 stick butter
2/3 cup flour
2 cups water w/Better Than Bullion
4 cups milk
half a Costco pre-cooked turkey breast, sliced into 1/2 inch cubes
sliced bread
butter for the bread
frozen peas and corn (if desired)

Melt the butter in a medium pot. Add the flour. Stir until it's made a nice solid paste with the butter. Keep stirring and cooking for about a minute. Add the chicken stock (water and Better Than Bullion) and milk to the pot all at once. Stir constantly (in a figure eight shape) while cooking on medium to medium high heat. Keep cooking and stirring until the sauce starts to thicken. It should start to look like white gravy. (Don't get impatient. Give it time - probably about 5-10 minutes.) When it's close to gravy thickness, add the turkey (and the corn and peas if that's in your plan) and keep it on the heat (and stirring!) until the turkey is heated though - another 5 minutes maybe.

If you have a second person, you can toast and butter the bread while you're cooking the sauce, but do not skimp on the stirring. If you have to, just wait until it's all done cooking and off the heat, then take care of the bread. Once the bread is toasted and buttered, lay it flat on a plate and ladle out a scoop or so of the sauce and turkey onto each slice of bread. Sometimes a little salt and pepper on top can be extra nice but not necessary. Use a fork and knife to cut into bite-sized pieces so you can soak up plenty of sauce on each piece of bread.

Chicken And Dumplings

So, I still haven't actually convinced my kids to willingly eat this one, which is so disturbing because I practically begged for chicken and dumplings when I was growing up. I usually only get a batch of mixed veggies thrown in but in my quest to add more greens I ground up a whole package of spinach this time and it turned out just fine. Besides the whole "completely green" broth, you'd never even taste that there's spinach.

Easy Slow-Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

2-3 chicken breasts, diced (not cooked)

1/3 cup flour

frozen mixed veggies

baby carrots

6 oz raw spinach

1 tbls Better Than Bullion 

1 roll Pillsbury biscuits

Put the veggies, carrots and chicken into the slow cooker. Sprinkle the flour on top. Push the whole wad of spinach into the Vitamix and add enough water to get up to the four cup line. Throw in the Better Than Bullion. Turn on the Vitamix and process on High for 15ish seconds, until you don't see any clumps of spinach. Pour into the slow cooker. Add another cup of water to the Vitamix and swish around to get the last of the spinach, then pour that into the slow cooker as well.

Now here's the hard part. If you're feeling so inclined, you could make your own dumplings and drop them into the slow cooker. I'm usually in a hurry so I grab the Pillsbury biscuits, open the container, cut small pieces directly into the slow cooker using scissors. Or hire some little people to do your cutting. Try to get the pieces to land all across the top of the mixture (not just clumped in the middle).

Cook on high for 4-6 hours. The dumplings will be all along the top so be sure you scoop servings out all the way to the bottom of the crock pot so everyone gets some dumplings.

Sweet Potato Burritos

I don't even remember where I got this general recipe from. Someone passed it along ages ago and I make it every now and then. Sweet Potatoes are not a common food for me so I'm glad to get a little variety into my life. This is just filling for a burrito, so you can throw some spinach on top, or a dollop of plain greek yogurt (or sour cream), even some olives or salsa.

Sweet Potato Burritos

2 tbls butter
3 sweet potatoes
1/4 cup-ish of almond milk
1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
3ish tsp of cilantro (I use 3-4 cubes of the frozen Dorio stuff)
2 cups cheese

First scrub the sweet potatoes, poke them all over and microwave until they're soft (possibly 12-15 minutes). Let them cool down if you want (so you don't burn your fingers), then peal off the skin and mash the meat in a bowl.

Melt the butter in a skillet and then add the sweet potato mash. Stir around and add the almond milk - enough so the sweet potatoes are a little fluffier but not runny. Add the black beans and cilantro. Stir until heated through. Finally add the cheese and keep stirring until it's all incorporated and nicely melted.

Use it to fill whatever burrito-y thing you feel like: tortillas, lettuce wraps. Even grab a bowl and use it as dip for chips. My favorite is wrapping in a tortilla with spinach on top and some plain greek yogurt. If I remember, I'll throw on olives too. Sadly, my kids refuse this mixture altogether and after forcing the issue once (and having a child with a tummy ache later), I decided the beans and sweet potatoes are not the thing for my kids. Maybe one day their palette will mature.