Turkey Sausage Gravy!

We like to use our "fine china" for a lot of our meals.

Breakfast food.  It is a total downfall of mine. Everything I want to eat for breakfast or brunch ends up being centered around bread. Biscuits & gravy, french toast, pancakes...my mouth is watering just writing this post, which I probably shouldn't be writing when I am doing a program that doesn't allow biscuits & gravy! Ha!

Anyways, so if you know me, you know I am always trying to find way to make healthier versions of my favorites foods.  So here it is folks..."healthy-ish" turkey sausage gravy! 

What you need: 

Breakfast Turkey Sausage
1/3 whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 cups skim milk

I like to use my dutch oven for this recipe but a large skillet or large pot will do.  Crumble sausage into dutch oven.  Cook over med-high heat until the turkey sausage is browned and no longer pink, be sure to stir frequently. 

Grab a wire whisk, stir in flour, salt and pepper, then gradually stir in milk.  Continue to cook until mixture thickens, be sure to stir constantly. 

Serve over your favorite biscuits and enjoy!  I love to buy Trader Joe's biscuits, they are flaky and delicious. 

Chicken & Broccoli Mac

Well, it may be a new year, but that doesn't mean my kids have made a resolution to eat better! I try, but seriously, my son is so picky. I mean, we didn't have the best eating habits the first few years of his life, so I can't blame him.  He saw broccoli on his plate tonight and cried before he even let me explain to him that all I wanted was for him to try ONE bite. ONE. Stinking. Bite. There was more of a meltdown and then we got through it. 

And lately, my toddler has decided that she is no longer a meat eater. Not to mention, anything she chews that she doesn't want anymore, she spits it out...onto your hand, onto the floor, on the table, wherever, really. 

So I knew when making (in my opinion) the best healthy versions of Mac N Cheese I have had that they would beg to differ. Being the amazing mom (haha) that I am, I opted to not mix the broccoli in until after I made their plates.  

Both loved what they ate, even if there were tons of veggies left on the plate (and chicken for the toddler)!  The husband is a fan of this meal, so no complaints from him.  I opted for salad for dinner tonight, feeling a little carb loaded at the moment. 

It is a recipe from the Fixate cookbook however, I have had to modify the original due to my son's tree nut allergy.  Plus, I use a rotisserie chicken to simplify my life. So here is my version!

UPDATED: Finally! It only took almost a year from this original post to get my son to eat this WITH the broccoli in it. I set a small serving on a plate in front of him and told him he had to eat every bite and if he did, he could have a quesadilla or pbj. It worked! I did it two times now and he ate it all both times. Remember, it takes 10 exposures to a food before someone can acquire a taste for it or even want to try it...so keep placing the food in front of those picky eaters as often as you can.

Macaroni & Cheese w/ Broccoli & Chicken
{{Recipe: Adapted from Fixate Cookbook}}
Serves 8 (1 1/2C each) 

What you need: 
4oz. dry whole wheat macaroni
4tsp. organic grass fed butter (or you can use coconut oil instead) 
2TBSP. unbleached whole wheat flour
1 1/2C skim milk (or almond milk, which is used in original recipe)
1 1/4C freshly extra sharp cheddar
3C chopped rotisserie chicken breast, skin removed (or bake your own chicken breast)
6C chopped broccoli florets
1tsp. sea salt
1/2tsp. ground black pepper

Your roux should look like this...cheesy goodness! 

1. Cook macaroni per the box (do not add extra salt or oil). Set aside.
2. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat.
3. Add flour; cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, or until brown (don’t let it burn).
4. Slowly whisk in skim milk; cook, whisking constantly, for 1-2 min, or until mixture thickens & there are no lumps.
. Reduce heat to low. Add cheese; cook, whisking constantly, for 2-3 min, or until melted. 
6. Add chicken, noodles, broccoli, salt & pepper; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 min, or until heated through.
7. Serve & enjoy!! 

The final product. 

Wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year! 

 

Caesar Salad & Dressing

I don't know where you guys live but I am currently living in a sea of water and by sea of water, I mean the middle of Missouri. 

Yeah, so when it is rainy and cold, I avoid leaving my house which means I avoided getting in my boat and going to the grocery store all weekend. Mostly because 1) I don't have a boat 2) I was scared to melt in the rain and 3) I was just not feeling like getting my act together after the holidays. The struggle is real you guys.  Typically, my meal plan is done by Friday and I grocery shop by Sunday! That totally was not the case this past weekend. Oops. 

You know what happens when you aren't prepared?  You order Papa John's for lunch because you have NOTHING in the house to feed yourself or the kids. Those are the decisions you make when you are hangy and your fridge is empty! True story. I know from experience. 

So I got myself up off the couch, went shopping, got my food for the week and whipped up this amazing homemade caesar salad for dinner from the Team Beachbody blog. And let me tell you after you eat not so healthy, it just feels good to eat right! 

By the way, I am super excited for this weeks meal plan other than our date night for sushi, we are having caesar salad (yes, again, it was that good), "fried" rice, general tso's chicken, habanero chili & a couple of different pastas! I promise you, eating healthy doesn't have to be boring. I love knowing I can eat all of these foods and if I eat the right portion, thanks to my handy portion controlled containers, I will stay on track to reach my goals!  

I am sure I will share recipes so check back! In the meantime, here is the Caesar Salad & Dressing! I modified it just a bit and my recipe serves 2. 
 

Caesar Salad 

What you need: 
1 bag of precut romaine lettuce
6oz grilled chicken
4 tbsp dressing (posted below)
1/8 cup organic croutons
1/8 cup shaved parmesan

1. Cook your chicken until no longer pink or until the temp is 160 degress. I used a grill pan & just sprinkled them with a little salt and pepper. Once cooked, cut into strips. 
2. Evenly split up lettuce into two serving bowls. Place chicken on top.
3. Drizzle dressing over top (2 tbsp on each) & toss to blend. 
4. Top with croutons & cheese. 
 

Creamy Lemon Caesar Dressing

What you need:
8oz nonfat plain greek yogurt
1/4 cup real mayo
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 glove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp. anchovy paste
1 tsp. Worcestershire
1 tsp. dijon mustard
Sea salt & fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor until completely smooth/mixed.  This dressing recipe is about 8 servings but since we are having this salad again this week, I wasn't worried about having leftovers, I just threw it in a container & put in my fridge. 

Loaded Chicken Fajita Potato

I am sitting here dreaming about my meals for the week and my grocery list magically putting itself together but since it isn't happening, I decided to casually avoid it by sharing a recipe! 

I love this southwest seasoning (listed below) and use it on EVERYTHING. Like seriously, everything.  So I really enjoy finding different uses for the meat that I make with the seasoning. 

This meal was a hit in my house...well, for me and my husband.  Kids = Pickiest eaters ever. 

Loaded Chicken Fajita Baked Potato

What you need:

2 Chicken Breasts
1 Green Bell Pepper Thinly Sliced
1/2 Red, Yellow & Orange Bell Pepper Thinly Sliced
1 Baked Potato (halved) 
Salsa (I prefer Trader Joe's Chunky or just Pace Chunky)
Reduced Fat Shredded Cheese
A little fresh guac (I make my own but those little packets of Wholly Guacamole work too)
Southwest Seasoning

Southwest Seasoning:

2 TBSP chili powder
4 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregno
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp sea salt

Mix seasonings together and put in a container, there should be some left after you season the chicken! I use this seasoning for taco meat, chicken, anything really!

1.     Make southwest seasoning as noted above. Set aside.

2.     Thinly slice peppers (feel free to add whatever fajita veggies you like, onions, tomatoes, etc.).  Place them in a Ziploc with 1-2tsp of seasoning (to your taste) and shake to coat.  Set aside.

3.     Take chicken breast and rub with about 1 TBSP of southwest seasoning.  I like to cover the chicken on both sides.  Again, you can use more or less, up to you!

4.     Place the chicken on the grill and cook until no longer pink or at a temp of 160.  Once the chicken is complete, I like to let it rest on a plate covered with foil for 5 minutes before cutting into thin slices.

5.     While grilling the chicken, grill your veggies too.  If they finish before your meat, just place them on a plate covered with foil.

6.     Bake your potato in the microwave (don’t forget to poke holes in it with a fork) anywhere from 6-10 minutes depending on the size of it. You can test it with a fork after 6 minutes to see if it is done.  I cooked our potato while our chicken rested.  It worked out perfectly.

To Assemble:

Slice potato in 1/2
Place potato on plate & top with fixings! Super easy!