Easy Sloppy Joe Recipe

When I ran the school lunch business, this was a very popular dish. The kids really liked these Sloppy Joes. I really liked them as well! In my opinion this Sloppy Joe recipe tastes so much better than making Sloppy Joes with the canned sauce. These are super simple to make. Enjoy!

Sloppy Joes
Yield 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound 93/7 lean ground beef
1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
1 (6oz)  can tomato paste
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon brown mustard
6 whole wheat hamburger rolls

Preparation:

1. In a large skillet, over medium heat, brown ground beef until completely cooked. Drain.
2. Add can of diced tomatoes and chilies, tomato paste, ketchup, brown sugar and mustard. Stir and combine well.
3. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for five minutes, until sauce thickens.
4. Serve on hamburger rolls.

A Healthier Chicken Pot Pie

I was looking for a Chicken Pot Pie lower in fat and calories than a traditional pot pie. I found a recipe in a Cooking Light magazine that looked like it would fit the bill. I made that pot pie recipe but I found it a little lacking and bland. I ended up making the recipe again but this time I swapped out some veggies and added some seasoning. I am very pleased with the end result. Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie
Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound potatoes peeled and cubed
1 cup fresh diced carrots
1 stalk celery sliced
1 red onion, diced
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into bite size pieces
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
2 cups low sodium chicken stock
1 prepared pie crust (I used refrigerated to save time)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add potato, carrot, celery and onion to pan; sauté about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken; sauté about 5 minutes or until lightly browned, and fully cooked stirring occasionally. Stir in flour, salt, pepper and thyme sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly.
3. Slowly add stock to pan, stirring constantly; bring to a boil. Cook about 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring occasionally.
4.  Spoon mixture into a 2 1/2-quart glass or ceramic baking dish. Top with dough and press down on edges to seal.
5. Cut slits in dough to vent. Bake at 450° for 30 minutes or until crust is golden and internal temperature reaches a minimum of 165 degrees F for 15 seconds. Let stand 10 minutes before service.

Note:

• You can also use smaller ceramic dishes (16 oz ramekins work well) and make individual pot pies

Bruschetta Recipe

About seven years ago I had a slight obsession with Bruschetta. Every time I went out to dinner I ordered Bruschetta as an appetizer. Call it research....as I took everything I learned in sampling Bruschetta and then created a Bruschetta recipe I love. Enjoy!


 Bruschetta

Ingredients
12 fresh roma (plum) tomatoes, diced and drained In a
1 1/2 tablespoons smashed and chopped garlic
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1 cup fresh basil leaves roughly chopped
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 head of Roasted Garlic Recipe is located on this blog in Side Dishes, Posted on October 3, 2013 link: http://yipsonfoods.blogspot.com/2013/10/roasted-garlic-recipe.html

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 thinly sliced french or Italian baguette

Preparation

1.  In a large bowl combine tomatoes, garlic, shallots, basil, lemon juice, sea salt, pepper and olive oil. Refrigerate.
2. Combine the roasted  garlic and 1/4 cup olive oil.
3. Brush the garlic and olive oil mixture on bread and lightly grill the bread.

Notes:

• For best results make the tomato mixture minus the basil the night before serving to let flavors marinate. Drain out most of the extra liquid and add the basil about an hour before service.
• I use a char grill on medium heat to grill the bread it takes about 3-5 minutes, George Foreman Grill could be used to grill the bread or the bread could be placed under a broiler.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

Here is another great Autumn recipe! These Pumpkin Muffins are really super moist and tasty. On top of the muffin is a nice light cheesecake layer and finished with some crumble topping. The recipe makes about fifteen muffins. I actually made a dozen muffins and then made a mini loaf of Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread....which was equally as good as the muffins.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

Ingredients:

Cheesecake Topping

1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons brown sugar

Crumb Topping
4 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
5 tablespoons brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter, softened

 Muffin Batter

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour 15 muffin cups.
2. To make the cream cheese topping: In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until soft. Add egg, vanilla and brown sugar. Beat until smooth, (there will be some small lumps of cream cheese that is ok) then refrigerate.
3. For the streusel topping: In a medium bowl, mix flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut  in butter with a fork or pastry blender, until crumbly. Set aside.
4. For the muffin batter: In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl combine eggs, pumpkin, canola oil and vanilla.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix together until smooth.
5. Place pumpkin mixture in muffin cups about 2/3 full. Then add one heaping tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture on top of the batter, avoiding the sides as much as possible. 
6. Sprinkle on the crumb topping.
7. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Stir Fried Lemon Grass Chicken

This is a recipe for a pretty easy and very flavorful stir-fry. When making this stir fry I always cut everything ahead of time and then just toss together. If Haricot Verts are not available I use fresh green beans. I also use lemongrass paste instead of fresh lemongrass. There is a link for the paste below the recipe. Enjoy!

Lemon Grass Chicken Stir Fry

Serves 4, 1 cup portions

Ingredients

1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons low sodium chicken stock
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon Sambal Oelek (fresh chilie paste)
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 tablespoon fresh Lemon Grass or Lemon Grass paste
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 cup sliced red bell pepper

1/2 medium red onion, sliced

8oz Haricort Verts, trimmed 

1 pound thinly sliced boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 Thai chile, diced

1 package (8 oz) brown rice noodles

Preparation

1. Prepare Rice Noodles according to directions on package. 
2. Combine first 5 ingredients. 
3. Heat a large wok or large skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil; swirl to coat. Add lemongrass and garlic; stir-fry 30 seconds. 
4. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon; place in a small bowl. 
5. Add bell pepper, red onion, and haricot verts to pan; stir-fry 2 minutes. 
6. Remove vegetables from pan with a slotted spoon; add to lemongrass mixture. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. 
7. Add chicken in a single layer; cook 2 minutes or until browned. 
8. Add Chile to pan; stir-fry 2 minutes or until chicken is done. 
9. Stir in stock mixture and vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until sauce begins to thicken. 
10. Serve over rice noodles.

Link for Lemon Grass:

http://www.gourmetgarden.com/au/product/view/Lemon-Grass

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My New Favorite Quiche Recipe! Spinach, Mushroom Bacon Quiche

I was in the mood for quiche the other day. I had some fresh spinach, bacon and mushrooms and decided that together they would make a really good quiche. I was completely right. This was the first spinach based quiche I have eaten that used fresh spinach. It is so much better than using frozen spinach. The consistency was perfect, not too runny, which happens sometimes when using frozen veggies in quiche. This recipe is really tasty and so easy to make. I think I might invest in a quiche pan next. I saw some nice ones at Amazon and posted the link below.

Spinach, Mushroom, Bacon Quiche

Ingredients
6 large eggs
1½ cups heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 cups packed fresh baby spinach, stems removed
12 ounces bacon
3/4 cup of quartered  baby bella mushrooms
1½ cups shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
1 (9-inch) refrigerated pie crust


 Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Place crust in pie plate or quiche dish. Set aside.
3. Combine the eggs, cream, salt and pepper in a large bowl and beat until fully combined and slightly thickened. Set aside.
4. In a large pan over medium heat cook the bacon until crispy. Drain fat and reserve 1 tablespoon bacon fat.  Dice bacon into small pieces. Set aside.
5. Place the one tablespoon of reserved bacon fat in the same pan that was used to cook the bacon. Increase heat to medium high sauté the mushrooms until slightly browned about five minutes.
6. Layer the spinach then the mushrooms and bacon on top of the crust. Sprinkle the cheese over the mixture.
7. Pour the egg mixture on top.
8. Gently mix the filling around  to spread out the cheese.
9. Bake for 35-45 minutes until the egg mixture is set and golden brown.

Chocolate Mint Cookies

Years ago I was reading a magazine. The magazine had a recipe for a cookie that tasted like a Girl Scouts Thin Mint Cookie. The crazy thing was the cookie was not a cookie at all. The cookie was a Ritz Cracker dipped in minted chocolate. I tried making the cookie and it tasted so good I ended up putting the cookie in my holiday cookie baskets. I received so much great feedback about this cookie. No one could believe that this cookie was actually a cracker covered in minted chocolate.

This has to be one of the best tasting and easiest cookies I make.

There are so many versions of this cookie recipe online. I am posting a basic recipe that uses chocolate, mint and Ritz Crackers. I have read where people have used  melted Mint Andes Candies and Ritz Crackers. I also have read where people use chocolate wafers instead of the Ritz Crackers but again I have always stuck with the basic recipe since it is so AMAZING.
 Enjoy!

 Ingredients:
1 pound chocolate (dark, semi sweet, or milk chocolate)
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
72 Ritz Crackers

Preparation:

1. Melt chocolate on a double boiler, in the microwave or in a slow cooker.
2. Stir in mint.
3. Dip crackers into chocolate. Flip cracker to coat both sides. Scrape or shake off excess chocolate. Place cookies onto waxed paper. Refrigerate until chocolate hardens.

Notes:

• The two best ways I found to dip the crackers is to drop the cracker into the chocolate and flip it with either a fork or tong then pick it up out of the chocolate using whatever utensil you used to flip the cracker.
• I garnished these with some white chocolate, tinted green. I then piped the green chocolate over the cooled cookies.
• Other garnishes could be sprinkles or crushed mint candies. These should be added onto the cookies before the the chocolate hardens.

Pumpkin Soup with Chili Cran-Apple Relish

This is a very simple Pumpkin Soup recipe. I found this recipe on the Food Network website. It is a recipe by Rachael Ray. I totally understand why it had a five star rating and over 270 reviews. It is soooo good. I made a couple slight modifications and clarified some of the steps but, nothing too major, it was really great as written. The only suggestion I would add is to make more relish. It really makes the soup! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Soup with Chili Cran-Apple Relish
Serves 4 entree size soups or 8 appetizer size bowls

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 bay leaf
2 ribs celery finely chopped

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning or 2 teaspoons ground thyme
2 teaspoons hot sauce
6 cups low sodium chicken stock
1 (28-ounce) can pumpkin puree
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Relish:

1 crisp apple, such as McIntosh or Red Delicious, finally chopped
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation:

1. Heat a soup pot or dutch oven over medium to medium high heat. Add the oil and melt the butter.
2. Add bay, celery, and onion. Season the veggies with salt and pepper. Cook 6 or 7 minutes, until tender. Add flour, poultry seasoning or thyme and hot sauce, then cook flour a minute. 
3.  Whisk in chicken stock and bring liquid to a light boil.
4. Whisk in pumpkin in large spoonfuls to incorporate it into the broth. Simmer soup 10 minutes to thicken a little. Add in cream and nutmeg. 
5. Reduce heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve. 
6. While soup cooks, assemble the relish: combine apple, onion, lemon juice, cranberries, chili powder, honey and cinnamon. 
7. Serve soup in with a few spoonfuls of relish.

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

I found this recipe on the McCormick website years and years ago.I made a few modifications to adjust to my tastes. This is so simple to make, low in fat and calories. I really love this recipe. I have tried many other Jambalaya recipes but nothing comes close to this. Enjoy!


Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya
Serves 8, 1 cup servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast cut into one inch cubes
1 pound mild turkey sausage cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 medium red onion, chopped into a large dice
1 medium red pepper, chopped into a large dice
2 celery stalks, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 medium tomato, chopped into large dice
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
2 bay leaves
1 cup long grain rice
1 3/4 cup low sodium chicken or vegetable stock

Preparation

1. In a dutch oven heat oil over medium high heat. Add chicken and sausage and cook for about seven minutes, until chicken and sausage is browned. Remove from skillet and drain excess oil.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion, pepper and celery cook for about five minutes, until onion is softened.
3. Stir in tomato, Cajun seasoning and bay leaves.
4. Return chicken and sausage to dutch oven. Add rice and stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about 25 minutes, until rice is tender. Stir occasionally. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Notes:

• This spice level in this dish is medium. If you would like mild only add one tablespoon Cajun and if you would like spicy add an additional teaspoon or two of Cajun seasoning and a spicy turkey sausage.
• If you use brown rice the cook time needs to be increased by about 15 minutes. 
• If you would like you can use a green bell pepper, I happened to have a red pepper in my CSA box so I used red, it looks a little more colorful!
• I use either chicken or vegetable stock....what ever I have on hand, both taste equally great

Apple Coffee Cake with Crumble Topping

 I had originally seen this recipe on the Food Network. The recipe was from Emeril. I lightened it up by using light sour cream, reducing the butter and eliminating the caramel sauce. This is a very good crumb cake! It has a very light texture and tastes really, really good warm.
Enjoy!

Apple Coffee Cake with Crumble Topping

Cake:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup light sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups peeled, cored and chopped apples

Crumble Topping:
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.In a large bowl, cream together 1/2 cup butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating after the addition of each. Add the sour cream and vanilla, beat until combined.
2. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
3.  Fold in the apples.
4.  Pour into the prepared baking dish, spreading out to the edges.
5. To make the topping, in a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter, and mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the cake.
6. Bake until golden brown and set, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.

Simple, Weeknight, Low Fat Lasagna Marinara

I will admit this is not my absolute best Lasagna with Marinara Sauce. My absolute best Lasagna takes over three hours from start to finish to make and it is also much higher in fat and calories. With that said I reserve that Lasagna for very special occasions.

This recipe is a good solid Lasagna recipe which is pretty easy to make and great for a week night dinner. It only takes about 15 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to bake.

Lasagna Marinara
Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded part skim mozzarella cheese, divided (about 6 oz)
1/4 cup fresh shredded Parmesan cheese, divided (about 1 oz)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
24 oz marinara sauce 
4 teaspoons minced garlic
9 whole wheat lasagna noodles

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a small bowl combine ricotta cheese, parsley, oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese and egg.
3. In a medium bowl combine marinara sauce, basil and garlic.
4. Carefully break the lasagna noodles to about 7 1/2 inches in length, discard unused pieces.
5. Coat an 8x8 pan with cooking spray. Place 1/2 cup marinara sauce on bottom of pan. 
6. Place three noodles across the top of sauce. Top the noodles with 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1/3 of the remaining sauce. Repeat the noodles, cheese, sauce process two more times ending with sauce. 
7. Sprinkle top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
8. Bake for 40 minutes, until lasagna reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F for 15 seconds. Heat broiler and place lasagna under broiler for 2 minutes until cheese is melted and golden brown.
9. Let stand 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Notes:

• For the marinara sauce I use the homemade marinara sauce recipe I placed on this blog. I make the sauce in bulk and freeze it. You can use any low sodium marinara sauce.
• I do not boil the lasagna noodles I put them in uncooked, I use Healthy Harvest by Ronzini
• To save even more time you can layer this the night before and store covered in the refrigerator. Then all it takes is popping it in the oven the day for an even quicker dinner.

Pumpkin Cookies...A Treat Which Celebrates Fall

This Pumpkin Cookie recipe is unbelievable. The cookies combine all the spices and flavors I associate with fall. The texture of the cookies is soft and cake like...it almost reminds me of a muffin top! I added am icing recipe to go along with the cookies. I think they taste just as good without the icing drizzled on...I ended up making half the cookies with the icing and half without. It seems like half the people who tried the cookies liked the icing on top half preferred the cookies without icing. Either way for a really tasty fall treat you cannot go wrong. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cookies
Makes Three Dozen

Ingredients

Cookies:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing:
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons milk
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


 Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar. Add the pumpkin, egg and one teaspoon vanilla. Mix until creamy.
4. Slowly add the dry ingredients, stirring constantly.
5. Drop the dough by the tablespoon on an ungreased cookie sheet. Space the mounds of dough about an inch apart. Slightly flatten the tops.
6. Bake for about 15-18 minutes, until golden brown.
7. Cool cookies and then if desired drizzle with icing.
8. To make the icing combine the confectioners sugar, milk, butter and vanilla until creamy.

Notes:

• To drizzle I usually just place the icing in a sandwich bag and snip off one of the corners on the bottom. I then gently add pressure to the bag causing the icing to smoothly come out the corner I snipped off.
• For the picture I adding a slight touch of orange to the icing.

Roasted Garlic Recipe

Roasted Garlic is one of those things that just has so many uses.
Some of my favorites are:

• Spread on warm whole wheat French bread for AMAZING garlic bread
• Mixed with Marinara Sauce for a Roasted Garlic Marinara
• Mixed with Hummus for a yummy Roasted Garlic Hummus
• Tossed with Orzo for Roasted Garlic Orzo

Roasted Garlic

Ingredients
1 medium head of garlic
1 tablespoon  olive oil

Preparation

     1. Preheat oven 400 degrees F.
     2.Cut 1/4 to 1/2 inch off the top of the bulb of garlic to expose the cloves. Place garlic on foil with
        exposed cloves facing up.

     3. Drizzle with olive oil and close the foil lightly around the garlic. Place in a small baking dish and bake
         for 30 minutes, until garlic is golden and cloves are soft.

 4. Once garlic is cooled cloves can be peeled out of the skin or if using it for a paste the garlic can be    squeezed out by squeezing from the bottom to the top.

Notes:

•  If making several bulbs at once a cupcake tin works well.
•  I really like the Whole Wheat Demi French Bread at Target for Garlic Bread....It toasts up nicely and  still stays soft on the inside. I also find it works well on the grill for grilled Garlic Bread.