Top of the New Year Resolution list--- Eat lots and lots of veggies and fruit. Incorporate into {almost} every meal. Vegetables were always an afterthought for me. Now that Pearce is starting to eat "table food" I really want to be a "healthy example" and to have healthy things for her to eat. I'm really liking the veggies. Here are some things I've made over the past couple weeks-
-
Mom's spaghetti sauce- but halfed the ground beef, and added chopped mushrooms, finely chopped spinach, and extra sweet onion and red bell pepper.
- Lasagna with half of the spaghetti sauce- but made a HUGE mistake by using the wheat kind of pasta noodles. that went a little overboard for me. I think it taste like cardboard, and made the whole meal gross.
-
Spinach Smoothies
- Chicken Tortilla Soup with carrots, onion, celery (recipe below)
- Chicken Stir Fry with zucchini, yellow squash, water chestnuts, celery, green onion (served with stir fry sauce and rice)
- Shrimp boil with potatoes, onion, celery
- Citrus Garlic Shrimp Linguine (DELICIOUS!) I will share this recipe the next time I make it so I can get a pic.
-
Loaded Spinach salad (hold the bacon, add extra avocado, and also small cauliflower bites)
- Big plate of salad with Romaine, yellow/red bell peppers, mushrooms, tomato, thinly sliced carrots and celery, and topped it with chunk white albacore (from a can). and used
this home made salad dressing.
But now I'm in a slump, I need to come up with some new ideas before I can start repeating these. Any ideas?
Chicken Tortilla Soup (Similar to Cafe Rio)
This recipe is a cross between one in my Huntington Beach ward cookbook and "
Our Best Bites"
2 cooked and cubed chicken breasts
3 T. olive oil
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 stalks celery diced
2 or 3 handfuls of diced carrots
4-6 garlic cloves minced or pressed
48 ounce giant box of chicken broth
1 15-oz. can chopped or diced tomatoes
2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped (and seeded)
2-3 limes freshly juiced
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
dash of cumin
dash of red chili powder
dash of cayenne
2 flour tortillas, cut in small strips
TOPPINGS:
2-3 flour tortillas, plus oil for pan frying
Avocado
Grated Monterrey cheese
chopped cilantro
a few more slices of lime for individual squeezing :-)
While the chicken breast were boiling, that's when I chopped all the veggies.
In a large stockpot, heat some olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, bell pepper, celery, and carrot and saute 4 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeno and cook a few minutes more until pepper is softened and garlic is fragrant. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, and seasonings and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for one hour.
While soup is simmering, juice the limes and set aside. Start preparing the toppings: grate the cheese, chop the cilantro, cut up avocado and fry tortillas. Right before serving, add lime juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle soup into the bowls and add desired toppings.
