Goat Cheese and Arugula Pitas

First of all... I'm obsessed with the flavor combination of goat cheese and arugula  AND their versatility for add-in, toppings, and meals!

I'm the only one eating the arugula and goat cheese so I've enjoyed them in a salad for lunch with added pear chunks and a balsamic vinaigrette.  Actually mixed with any fruit would be lovely.  A simple but nutritious lunch on the go or a side to compliment a toasted sandwich.

Okay... back to reality from goat cheese and arugula dream land.  These pitas are super easy and make a great weekend breakfast for those who prefer savory to sweet or even for lunch.  They are filling and oh so satisfying.

Ingredients:
2 - 3 tbsps of Goat Cheese crumbled
3/4 to 1 cup Organic Arugula
1 Pita
Balsamic Vinaigrette for drizzle
1/2 tsp (or less) of  Organic EVOO

You know I'm a dumper from way back so these measurements are my best guess.  My mom and grandma are the guilty parties for teaching me how to prepare meals this way.  Ha ha.  I miss them so much.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Place Pita on cookie sheet and brush the EVOO on one side and then flip over

Place your arugula in the center of the pita and flatten a little, top with the goat cheese crumbles, then drizzle the balsamic vinaigrette on top.

Place in the 350 degrees oven and then bake for 10 minutes for a crunchy and savory breakfast, lunch, or snack!

I cut mine in thirds with a pizza cutter and served it with a side of organic whole cranberry sauce.

Oh my delish... was that nice topped on part of my pita.  I saved it for the last piece as sort of making it the sweet tart finish.

Enjoy!

Your turn! 

How do you eat your goat cheese or arugula?

Win-Win Lasagna - Tracy Style

This recipe really is win-win for lasagna!  I mean it's lasagna!  So there's the first win.  The 2nd win goes to the low carb half!

Yummy goodness!

Lasagna was planned for the weekend, but I never got around to making it.  So here we are Monday at 5pm, just walked in the door from my lovely commute, and started supper.

Have you ever noticed that when you are cooking something that needs some serious multi tasking, that the phone rings?  It was my brother!  I rarely get to talk to him and I wanted to but I had 2 strikes against me.  1st strike: my battery on the cell phone was at 2%, so it was a waste to try to answer.  2nd strike:  I was right at that crucial moment of the lasagna assembly.  The crucial moment where you grate the side of your hand along with your mozzarella.  OWIE!!

Well, I guess I needed something to give me a 2nd wind.. Nothing like pain to do it.

I must note, that I really don't know how to assemble lasagna, so I guessed.  I also didn't have the time to google a "how to", so here's to winging it.  It was "delicious" as honey said.

Win-Win Lasagna
Ingredients
1 lb ground meat (I used organic ground chicken) crmbled and cooked - seasoned with Italian seasoning, one garlic clove, and about 1/2 cup of marinara sauce
3 cooked lasagna noodles
1 zucchini (organic zucchini is amazing... just sayin') sliced
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1 egg (beaten)
grated parmesan and romano cheese
block of mozzarella cheese to shred (maybe 2 cups?)
1/2 red onion coarsely chopped
1 jar of marinara sauce (I used Walmart's Wild Oats organic)
Italian seasoning
1 large garlic clove

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Assembly:
Put about 3/4 cup of the marinara on the bottom of a glass baking dish to keep the pasta from sticking.
Cut cooked lasagna noodles in half horizontally.  Then cut one of the noodle halves in half lengthwise.  Place 2 of the halved lasagna noodles on the sauce and then 1 of the lengthwise cuts next to them.  On the other side, put half of your zucchini to sub for noodles.  See below.

Top with meat crumbles and 1/4 of the chopped red onion.

Top that with the ricotta blend (1 1/2 cups ricotta, 1 egg (beaten) and italian seasoning blend.

Top with a bit of sauce and some shredded mozzarella.

Do another layer of pasta and zucchini

Top with meat crumbles and the rest of the chopped red onion

Sprinkle some grated parmesan and romano cheese and sauce.

Final topping is the rest of the shredded mozzarella cheese!

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and brown cheese for 10 minutes.

Let stand for 10 minutes or so...

Low carb half

Enjoy the yummy goodness!

Any recipe requests?

Chicken Parmesan Dinner with Low Carb Side Options

This is one of my most requested dinners.  Honey is not picky and eats everything I make, but every now and then he asks for something specific, so I do my best to come through.

This is on the simple side, since I love simple things.  =)  I don't bother with breading the chicken.  This not only saves on carbs and calories but also saves on the mess.

Another great thing about this dinner is that I'm cooking for 2 but this makes enough for 4 servings plus a little extra for someone's lunch the next day.  Leftovers rock!

Simple Chicken Parm
Ingredients:
1 lb package of organic boneless skinless chicken breasts
block mozzarella cheese to shred(you can use pre-shredded, but we don't because of the added junk it has)
1 jar of organic tomato sauce (I think Walmart's brand is wild oats or something like that)
1 small can of tomato paste
garlic fresh or garlic powder
Italian seasoning blend
grated Parmesan cheese

Caprese Salad Side
fresh tomatoes sliced
sweet onion sliced
mozzarella shredded
basil
balsamic vinaigrette

Additional Sides (optional)
Dreamfields pasta for honey
Zoodles for me (organic zucchini)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spoon some of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a glass backing dish.  Add the chicken breasts and top with a little more sauce, garlic (fresh or powder), italian seasoning, and grated parmesan cheese.  Cover with foil and bake for about 20 minutes.

Put the sauce in a small pan, add a can of tomato paste, season with garlic, italian seasoning, grated parmesan cheese, and of course WINE (just a little) and heat on low.

Then I went and had a glass of wine on the deck because it was gorgeous outside!  You can do something productive if you want.  

After about 20 minutes, start boiling the pasta water and prepare the sides by slicing the tomatoes and onions, shredding the mozzarella cheese (enough for your caprese salads and to top the chicken breasts) and give your veggeti a workout with some organic zucchini.

Once you get the pasta in the boiling water (about 1/2 the box), pull the chicken out and top each breast with mozzarella.  Put the chicken back in the oven uncovered.

When the pasta is cooked, drain and the put back in the pan and add some of the warm tomato sauce.

Microwave the zoodles for 1 minute on high.

The cheese on the chicken should be yummy, gooey by now and slightly browned.  YUM!

Time for presentation:

Assemble caprese salad on side of plate, alternating tomato and onion.  Top with shredded mozzarella cheese, pink salt and pepper, basil (if you have it) and drizzle balsamic vinaigrette on top.

Add your pasta or zoodles and chicken breast.  Top with warmed sauce as desired.

low carb option with zoodles

Enjoy!!

Egg Roll Bowl Recipe

Egg Roll Bowl

photo by Tracy Hilbun

This is pretty easy, although not super fast, to make.  I also like the short list of ingredients.

Ingredients:

Large bag of slaw mix (5 servings size).  I used the mix that has the red cabbage and carrots in it.

1 large onion coarsely chopped

1lb of ground turkey sausage (or ground meat of choice – pork, chicken, beef maybe?)

2 tbsp rice vinegar

2-4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

In a large skillet, brown the ground meat on medium heat.  (I used ground turkey sausage because I didn’t have ground pork or chicken.)   After the meat is browned, set it aside and use the drippings to cook the chopped onion pieces until they are soft (I like mine a little browned).   **Because I used ground turkey sausage, I did not have any drippings left in the pan but I did have some stored bacon drippings from Christmas, in the fridge. 

When the onion is ready, add the bag of slaw mix to the skillet.  Still working on medium heat, gently stire the mixture occasionally for about 20 minutes. 

photo by Tracy Hilbun

Once the slaw is cooked, add the ground meat back in the skillet and then add the rice vinegar and soy sauce.  Stir gently to mix.  Then set to low heat and let this simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Photo by Tracy Hilbun

Your low carb, yummy dinner is now ready. 

Enjoy!

Photo By Tracy Hilbun

Honey, did ask for some of the left over brown rice, from Saturday’s meal, to eat with his and a bit more soy sauce.  But I didn’t have a fortune cookie for him.  

**Disclaimer:  This is not my original recipe.  It’s how I made a version of the recipe.  Not sure who originated it as there are so many versions out there with Paleo version, Trim Healthy Mama, and another diet plan that’s a secret as an egg roll in a bowl.

Simple Roast Turkey Recipe

I think I'm like totally late.. um... by 4 days..

Oh! well.  I hope you had a fabulous and blessed Thanksgiving.  I cooked and cooked and cooked.. and... then I cooked, with some cleaning in between.  I ended up being exhausted and having sore feet and calves for 2 days... but it was worth it.

My turkey came out fabulous!  I'm so proud of myself.  I had never hosted Thanksgiving on my own before.  My mother always did it and then after she passed away, and some years before she passed away, we went to my brother's and celebrated with his in-laws.  We also went to my sisters a few times.

This year I invited my family to our new to us home.  This was a big deal to me as this is my first home (not an apartment or living with my parents) since my first marriage.  I haven't had a home of my own since my daughter was 2 years old (she's now 21)... so I was a bit excited, to say the least, to host Thanksgiving at our new home.

Everyone was invited!

My mother-in-law and my brother-in-law came along with my lovely daughter.  Life is good.


Although exhausting... dinner was nice and yummy.  Everyone said they enjoyed it and I'd like to believe it.  Below is my turkey how to... I know I  had to look this up on the net, so maybe you will find this helpful for Christmas or future holidays.

Dinner:
turkey
gravy
crockpot mashed potatoes
sweet bacon dressing (I should put this recipe on the blog!)
cornbread dressing
green bean casserole
corn
everything italian bread
cranberries
2 frozen pies (pecan and pumpkin)  - I totally ran out of time for scratch and I am not a great baker.

Roast Turkey
Ingredients:
Whole Turkey (defrosted per instructions)
1 Stick of REAL butter - I use Kerry Gold
1 apple - quartered
1 orange - quartered
1 Sweet Onion - quartered or cut in smaller pieces
2 Stalks of celery - quartered
Seasonings of choice:  I used garlic powder, onion powder, and pink salt.

Chicken broth for simmering the giblet package in the neck.  

I purchased a 15.08 lb turkey from Ingles... at  $ .57 a lb, I got a heck of deal on this bird.  It was a Honeysuckle too!  (no antibiotics and awesome)

I defrosted for 3 days in the fridge, but did need to soak it about 30 minutes in cold water the night before and the morning of to assist in defrosting.

I pulled the giblet pack out of the neck area and the package in the turkey's hiney and put them in a pan with some chicken broth and simmered all morning for the gravy.

I stuffed a quarter stick of KerryGold butter in the neck

I stuffed a half a stick of the butter in it's hiney with a quartered apple, a quartered orange, an onion cut up and 2 celery stalks cut up.

I rubbed the rest of the butter, about a quarter of a stick, all over the bird and sprinkled with onion powder, garlic powder and some pink himalyan salt.

I cooked at 325 degrees for 15 minutes a pound.  It was done in 3 hours and 45 minutes.(160 degrees ish... as it continues to cook on the counter... fully cooked is 165 degrees).. then I pulled it out and let it rest while I baked the sides for about 30 - 45 minutes...

It was juicy and lovely.

photo and cooking credit

Tracy Hilbun