Chicken Nuggets with Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:

2 Skinless Boneless Breasts
2 Eggs
Paprika
1 Cup of Italian Bread Crumbs
3/4 Cup of Wheat Flour
1 Package of Brussels Sprouts
1/3 Bag of Waffle Fries
Salt and Pepper
Canola Oil

How I did it?

First pre-heat the oven to 425, and then if possible pre-heat a toaster oven to the temperature set on the waffle fry bag. For me this was set to 400.
Then cut the bottom 1/8 inch of each brussels sprout off. This will allow you to peal the outer most layer of the sprout off without any effort. I peal the first layer which is dark green so that the light/bright green leaf is showing. Once this is done cut all of the brussels sprouts in half. After they are all cut in halves then pour a little bit of canola on the pile and rub them so that all of them are covered in a thin glaze. (Use as little canola as possible for health, it is better to use to little at first then to much.) Once this is done sprinkle salt and pepper to taste on both sides. I use just enough pepper to tell that there is some pepper on it and even less salt.
Next you want place all of the brussels on a baking tray round side down. Then prep the chicken and wait for the oven to pre-heat. For the chicken nuggets slice the chicken breasts into bite size-two bite size pieces. Then take two eggs, crack them into a bowl and beat them. After that take a zip-lock bag and combine about a teaspoon of paprika, the bread crumbs, and wheat flour. (If I have it on hand I add in some chicken rub to give it a little zing.) Once this is complete take out a frying pan and get it ready on the stove.
At this point the meal is closing in on complete and the waffle fries as well as the brussels sprouts should be in the oven. The package of fries I used called for 20 minutes. When the brussels sprouts go in they are going to be in for 10 minutes and then flipped over and another 10 minutes. If your oven holds high temperatures well they will have a slight browning to them at this point. If not...like mine I sometimes leave it in for longer or turn on the broiler for about 3 minutes to brown the tops.
Back to the pan. I put just enough canola oil into the pan to cover the entire bottom. Then I turn it onto medium heat. At this point I place the chicken pieces first into the eggs and then into the zip lock bag. A little shake to the bag ensures that the entire piece of chicken is covered with breading. Then place the pieces into the pan. Depending on the thickness of your nuggets and the heat of the stove it takes about 5-8 minutes on each side. If I want to add some browning to the chicken and crisping up the breading when the nuggets are finished cooking I turn up the heat to high and brown it in the canola oil.
After all this is complete place the chicken nuggets on some paper towels to cool and pat them in order to take out extra oil. Then simply make a plate and enjoy some home cooked happiness.

Fish w/ Spicy Rice

Ingredients:

2 Tilapia Fillets
1 Handful of Baby Carrots
1 Can of Green Beans
1 Can of Black Beans
1 Cup of Rice
Mojo
Olive Oil Spray (or PAM or what ever preferred)
Season Salt Breading Mix
Crushed Red Pepper
Pepper

How I did it?

First preheat the oven to 400. (I used my toaster oven for this.) Then drain most of the water from the can of green beans. After that place it and the baby carrots into a small baking dish, and mix them together.
Next take 1 cup of rice, 2 cups of water, some crushed red pepper and combine them into the rice cooker. (If you don't have a rice cooker you can place it on a stove on low using tin foil with a couple of small wholes for the lid.) For the red crushed pepper I used about 1/3 tablespoon, but if you adverse to not liking spicy food less is more for you.
After the rice is on the stove then place the green beans and carrots in the oven. Keep an eye on this while it cooks, because if there wasn't enough can juices left then you will need to add some water or it will dry out.
The next thing to do is place the canned black beans in a small pot and place it on the stove with the burner on low. These beans come fully cooked so this is only warm them for the meal.
Then spray some olive oil onto a pan and turn the stove to medium. Place the Tilapia into pan and begin watching it. I like to play with it in the pan to make sure that it doesn't start to stick to the pan. One way to counter act this is to place some water in the pan as well. The water will evaporate and you don't lose much. Once the fish looks cooked half way through I flip it over and add in some Mojo. I am liberal with Mojo, because it will evaporate out of the pan as well. (Mojo is tangy so use to a level of your own taste.)
While the fish receives its finishing touches, take the vegetables out of the oven and sprinkle season salt breading mix on them. I use just enough to have sprinkles across the whole top.
Once the fish is done stir the vegetables once more and serve. Then simply enjoy.

Cottage Pie

Ingredients:

1-1/2 Potatoes
1/2 Head of Cauliflower
1 lb. Ground Turkey
1 Frozen Bag of 'Mixed Vegetables'
Season Salt
Italian Seasoning
1 Handful of Pealed Garlic
1 Packet of Taco Seasoning
Small Dab of Butter

How I did it?

First cut the potatoes into cubes and place them into water to boil. (You may want to skin the potatoes for texturing, but I like the skin so I don't.) Then cut a head of cauliflower in half and trim the large stalk and leaves off of it. (basically anything not white) Then place the the cauliflower in a pot for steaming and leave the stove on high.
Once those two things are on the stove, pre-heat the oven to 400. Then pull the mixed vegetables out of the freezer and place them on the counter. After that mince the pealed garlic and put aside for later use.
Once this is done put the ground turkey into a large pan and place the stove on medium-high. As the turkey begins to cook make sure to break it up into small pieces so the meat is spread out instead of in large chunks. Then add very little Season Salt to taste and a couple of dashes of Italian Seasoning.
When the turkey is about 3/4 cooked add in the garlic, taco seasoning and the frozen vegetables. (Ground turkey doesn't hold a lot of flavoring, so you can flavor at your descreation.) Then continue to stir this until both the turkey is fully cooked and the vegetables are mostly thawed.
By the time all of this has taken place the cauliflower and the potatoes should be finished steaming/boiling. These are both done when a fork can easily pass through them. At this point strain the potatoes and put them back in the pot, and take the cauliflower out of the steamer and place it in with the potatoes. Then place a small dab of butter into the pot and mix using a mixer or a hand masher.
Then place the meat/vegetable mix into a baking dish and spread it out so it is evenly dispersed through the dish. After that place the potato/cauliflower mix on top of it and spread it out evenly as well. If you want use a fork to create peaks in the top mix to create browning on the tops and a nicer look.
This will go into the Oven for about 20 minutes. The way to tell that it is finished cooking is the tops or top will start to brown. Then just Eat and Enjoy!

Butternut Squash

Ingredients

2 Steaks
1 Bundle of Broccoli
1 Butternut Squash
1 Handful of Fresh Peeled Garlic
Pepper
Olive Oil

How I did it?

First I set the oven on 450 degrees. Then I Peel the skin off of the butternut squash. While this seems easy butternut squash is really really hard. So when working with it use a really sharp knife so it is only kind of hard to work with. Once the skin is peeled then cut the squash in half long ways. This will give a spoon like shape.
After that use a spoon to scoop out the inside string like stuff and seeds. Then proceed to cut up the squash into small cubes. Once this is done put it into a a baking dish.
Now it is time to mince the garlic. Once the garlic is cut nice and small add to the squash. Now sprinkle some pepper on top of the dish.
The next step is kind of tricky and will take a couple of tries to get exactly right. Now poor on just enough olive oil to coat the ingredients. This uses a lot less then someone would expect, so my suggestion is to use 1/3 what you think it will take and go from there. Once the oil is poured on then mix all the ingredients together by hand, and place the dish in the oven. This will take 60-75 minutes to cook depending on how hot your oven is.
When there is about 30 minutes left, I turned on the grill. I then chopped the broccoli and threw it in a pot to steam it. On my stove broccoli normally takes about 20 minutes to steam, and I like my steak rare so that takes me about 15 minutes.
Once everything then place on plates and serve. When it comes to the squash, it should turn from a light orange to a dark orange when it is fully cooked. You can also add some parmesan cheese on top of it when there is 10 minutes left if you so desire.
Enjoy!

Tilapacualinoa or Lazy Man's Dish

Ingredients:

1 Head of Cauliflower
2 Tilapia Fillets
1/2 Cup of Quinoa
Fresh Grated Mozzarella Cheese
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Splash of Lemon Juice (Fresh is always better)
Olive Oil

How I did it?

This meal came about with a severe feeling of wanting to be lazy. First prep the quinoa. (You can find how to do this in my other posts. I will soon be making posting that is a how to on common ingredients that I use.)
Then trim all of the greenery off of the cauliflower. Cut up it up and toss it in a large frying pan. After that place some water into the pan, throw it on the stove on high. (Note you can leave the stems but get rid of the large stalk.)
While the cauliflower cooks on the stove place the tilapia in a small bowl. Put a splash a lemon juice and some pepper on top of each tilapia. What I like to do is put the first fillet in the bowl, then put a little bit of lemon juice and pepper on one side. I then flip it over and do the same to the other side, then place the other piece on top and repeat. This is just to give it some flavoring, and when using fresh lemon juice it will actually start cooking the fish.
Watch the cauliflower as it cooks in the pan, as it will probably be necessary to add more water once or twice to the pan. Cook the cauliflower alone in the pan until it is tender and easily falls apart.
Then add the tilapia into the pan with a small amount of water. At this point it will be necessary to continually stir the food in the pan. As the tilapia cooks it will begin flaking apart and mixing throughly throughout the cauliflower. Once all of the tilapia is cooked, add in the quinoa and a small amount of olive oil.
Continually stir the mixture as the all the water evaporates out and the oil starts to brown the food. Once it is "fried" to a nice golden brown turn off the burner and mix the grated mozzarella into the mix.
This isn't the fanciest meal or most astetically pleasing meal to cook, but it is fast easy and I normally cook it with left over quinoa. Most of my recipes call for 1 cup of quinoa because that is 2 servings worth, but in reality a 1/2 cup goes a long ways. This makes the meal a really easy quick meal, that is still healthy. Just make sure not to go overboard with the oil, that is the enemy in this meal.
Enjoy.

It Has Been Awhile

I haven't been posting, but I have been cooking. Look for new recipes starting tomorrow :)

Spaghetti Squash and Meat Sauce

Ingredients:

1 Large Organic Spaghetti Squash
2 Organic Jars of Spaghetti Sauce (I use Mushroom Flavored :P)
2 Organic Carrots
1 Organic Green Pepper
1/2 Organic Yellow Onion
Handful of Organic Mushrooms
Handful of Organic Peeled Garlic
2 Stalks of Organic Celery
1/2 Pound of Organic Grass Feed Ground Beef
3 Hot Italian/Spicy Organic Turkey Sausages
Season Salt (Orange), Pepper, Italian Seasoning, Crushed Red Peppers to taste
Splash of Salt
Slow Cooker

How I did it?

First I cut up the celery and carrots as into very small pieces. (This is so when cooked the sauce has vegetables with out them being over bearing.) Then toss them into the slow cooker.
Then proceed to cut up the onion and greed pepper into cubed pieces. Toss them into the slow cooker as well.
Slice the mushrooms and add them in as well.
Then take the garlic and before cutting it up place some salt on top of it. (The salt will soak up the garlic juices and flavor it throughout the whole sauce.) Mince the garlic as small as possible and put it into the slow cooker.
Here's where there is a variance, if you are cooking this in a shorter time (3-4 hours) put the sauce in the with the vegetables and turn the cooker onto high. If not continue without turning it on.
Then put a slice down the turkey sausage and squeeze the meet out of the intestine holding it together. Take this meat and the ground beef and put it into one pan on high and begin cooking. While it cooks make sure to pay attention and break up the chunks. The smaller the pieces of meat the more it will spread out into the sauce. While it is cooking I like to season it with a little bit of season salt. (Sometimes I cook the beef first and season it then add in the sausage.) Make sure not to use to much as it is a form of salt.
Once the meet is cooked place it in the slower cooker and add the sauce. Use about a 1/5 filled sauce bottle/can to wash out each bottle and place it into the slow cooker as well. This will cook out over time.
Then add pepper, crushed red pepper (to give it spice), and Italian seasoning to taste. I use a good amount of red pepper as I like the sauce to have a fiery after taste.
Place the slow cooker on low and forget about it for about 6-8 hours.
About a hour before wanting to eat bring a large pot to a boil. Poke the spaghetti squash 4-8 times and place the whole squash in the boiling water. Let the squash boil for 40 minutes. This gives it an adante spaghetti texture.
Take the squash out of the water and let it cool for a few minutes. Once it can be handled cut of the top and bottom, then slice down it long wise. Use a spoon to pull all of the seeds and web like grains out of the squash. (This area will look like any other squash inside.) Then using a fork slide it along with the grain of the stands to make it fall apart into a pasta looking form.

Then serve and enjoy. I over served the portion in the picture, but it isn't as bad as one would think because it is mostly vegetables. This recipe creates a very large amount of amount of sauce and squash and it can easily serve 6-8 people or 4 really hungry college kids.

Steak Yumminess

Ingredients:

1 Large and Thick Organic Grass Fed Steak
1/2 Organic Yellow Onion
1/2 Head of Cauliflower
1 Package of Organic Sliced Shitake Mushrooms
1 Medium Sized Organic Potato
1 Small Dab of Butter (I use Smart Balance Light)
1 Handful of Organic Fresh Peeled Garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste
Small amount of Organic Olive Oil
Aluminum Foil

How I did it?

First I pre-heat the oven to 400. (Actually I have a George Foreman Baker because it heats the house up less.) Once the oven is heated, form some Aluminum Foil into a cup like shape. Then put in the garlic and just enough olive oil to barely cover the garlic. At this point close off the top and place it on a small cooking tray in the oven. (A muffin pan can be used as a little pod holder.)
After that pull out the steak and lightly salt n' pepper the outside on both sides. The salt will seal the juices in while cooking and the pepper is to taste. I recommend letting it sit for 5-10 minutes before putting it on the grill. (I usually just use as little salt as possible as I love red meat.)
Then wash and cut the potato into cubes. Place it in a pot and turn the stove onto high. Then cut a head of Cauliflower in half and trim off the leaves. Place this in another pot on a steamer and turn the stove to high. (I over fill the cauliflower pot because it will be steaming for a long time.)
Turn the grill on. (I place it on high as I like my steak bloody and red with a seared outside, but the cooking of the steak will be up to you.)
At this point take a few minute break. Its hard to over boil the potato and the longer the cauliflower is steaming the softer it will get.
Take the shitake mushrooms and place them in a large pan with some water. Throw it on the stove and place it on high. While the mushrooms heat up cut the 1/2 onion into long slivers.
Once the water is half way gone place the onions into the pan. Then as the water is almost out place a small dab of butter in the pan to flavor the mushrooms and onions. Put the stove on medium. At the same time place the steak on the grill. With my grill it takes about 5 minutes each side, with a 1/3-1/2 inch thick steak. That'll leave the middle hot and almost raw with an outside grilled to perfection.
Once the butter melts continue to mix the pots contents. During this part drain the cut up potato and put it in a bowl with the cauliflower. They should both be so soft that they fall apart. (Don't forget about the steak.)
Pull the garlic out of the oven. It should have been in there for somewhere around 35-40 minutes. Make sure the it falls apart. If you have a food processor toss it in there and make a garlic sauce with the oil. If not (like me) put the garlic and oil into the pot with the potato and cauliflower. (Don't forget you still cooking the mushroom mix stiring it.) Mix until the whole bowl is one solid consistency. You may add some salt and pepper to flavor. If I'm not behaving I like to put some Season All (the orange one) in for some flavor. Once the mushroom mix and steak is cooked to your liking take then serve and enjoy. I cooked the mushroom mix on medium for about 5 minutes making sure to not let it burn and to mix it.

Strawberry and Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

1 Bag of Organic Spring Mix Salad
1 Large Organic Carrot
1 Handful of Organic Strawberries
1 Handful of Organic Raw Almonds
1/2 Handful of Flax Seeds
1 Handful of Organic Mushrooms
2 Stalks of Organic Celery
Feta Cheese
1 Large Tomato
1 Handful of Organic Salad Olive
Chicken Rub
2 Organic Cage Free Medium Sized Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

How I did it?

First I cut up the chicken into small cubed pieces. Then I splashed a small amount of rub onto chicken and spread it evenly across the chicken. Set it aside to sit for now.
Take the carrot and peel it. Slice the carrot long wise and then into small pieces (1/4 - 1/2 inch long). Then cut up the celery up into small pieces. Add these onto the spring mix in a large bowl.
Chop up the mushrooms and set them aside. Then slice the strawberries into 4th's, and toss them into the spring mix.
Break or cut the almonds and throw them into a small pan with the flax seed on medium in order to brown them. (Make sure to cover the pan, because flax seed will pop out of the pan when it gets hot.)
Put the chicken in a large pan on medium-high and begin cooking the chicken. Once the chicken is cooked put the mushrooms in with it, and a small amount of water in to steam the mushrooms.
Cut up the tomato and add it to the spring mix.
Then add to the spring mix the olives, chicken, mushrooms, almonds, flax seed, and some crumbled feta. Mix it all up and enjoy the salad.

I served this with some feta cheese, but I would recommend an Asiago and Parmesan cheese mix. A small amount of balsamic vinaigrette or some Italian dressing makes a great topping for this salad.

Garlic Stuffed BBQ Chicken and Cabbage

Ingredients:

2 Organic Skinless Boneless Chicken Breasts
1/2 Head of Cabbage
3 Carrots
1/2 Container of Organic Sliced Mushrooms
Handful of Peeled Garlic
1/2 Cup of Brown Rice
1/2 Cup of White Rice
Handful of Flax Seed
1/4 of Yellow Onion
Original BBQ Sauce
Sea Salt
Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil

How I Did It?

First I sliced the 1/4 yellow onion into 1 to 1/2 inch pieces. Then I put both style of rice, a pinch of salt, the flax seed and onion into a rice cooker. I put 2 1/3 cups of water in the cooker.
Then I peeled and sliced the carrots. I put these and the mushrooms into a medium sized pot and started steaming them.
At this point I chopped the garlic. How much garlic to use is again to taste, but I used a large amount. The garlic was chopped in half's, the first half was chopped finely and thrown in a small pot. The other half was chopped with a small amount of salt on it (to soak up the garlic juices) and placed in a bowl.
The garlic in the bowl was chopped as finely as I could manage with a knife. (If I had a food processor I would have used it in order to finish the job.) At this point I then mixed the garlic in the bowl with BBQ sauce.
Now slice the fattest end of the chicken breast (use the end not butterflying or longways) and carefully without creating another whole cut the inside of the chicken. Try to make the cut as deep as possible and close to the edges as possible. After that with my hands I spread the garlic/BBQ sauce throughout the inside of the chicken.
After that was complete I used plain BBQ sauce to rub around the outside of the chicken. Turn the grill on to medium.
Now take the olive oil and put just enough of it in the small pot to cover the garlic. Then turn the burner on to high. (Do not cover)
At the same time grab a large pan with tall edges and fill it half way with water. And turn it to high.
Put the chicken on the grill and turn it down to low or medium-low.
Now cut the cabbage into long strips.
Once the garlic starts to brown dump the small pot into the large pan and add the cabbage. (Do Not Cover)
You may add salt to taste, I chose to stay away from salt.
(This step can be skipped if you want to use more oil buy browning the garlic and the large pan and then adding some water and the cabbage to that pan. If done this way white wine or vinegar can be in place of or with water to give the cabbage a sweater taste.)
Continually Stir the cabbage and garlic mix, and in about 10 minutes time go turn the chicken over. At this point dump the steamed steamed vegetables in with the cabbage. If they are not completely soft yet do not worry as they will finish cooking with the cabbage.
Then continue cooking the vegetable, cabbage and garlic mix until all of the water has evaporated.
The Chicken usually takes about 10 minutes on each side for my grill, but it will be up to you to keep an eye on it.

This was a good tasting meal. I was able to get in plenty of vegetables, flax seed, and the garlic in the BBQ sauce gave a sweet and tangy type flavor. It seems complicated but when done in the order written it goes fast and you can easily move from one thing to the next.

Turkey Burger and Fries

Ingredients:

1 Package of Organic Ground Turkey
1 Green Pepper
1/2 Sweet Onion
1 Small Package of Organic Mushrooms
1 Sweet Potato
1 Package of Dried Onion Soup
1 Egg
Feta Cheese (to taste)
Hand full of Flax seed
Small dollop of butter (Smart Balance Light)
PAM 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil

How I did it?

First preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Then cut the sweet potato into either wedges or slices.
Place the slices on a baking tray. After that either spray or brush on olive oil (I used PAM) on both sides of the slices, and add pepper (and/or salt) to taste.
Place the sweet potato in the oven. This cooks for 20-25 minutes and requires flipping half way through.
Then mix the ground turkey, dried onion soup, egg, flax seed and small crumb lings of feta cheese. (I grill so at this point I preheat the grill to medium.)
Cut up the green pepper, onion and mushrooms.
Put the burgers on the grill.
Finally saute the vegetables with the dollop of butter, and if necessary use some water to help cook the vegetables before the butter sears the vegetables.

This all takes 30-40 minutes from start to serve.

VCQ - 15 Minute Dinner

Vegetable Chicken and Quinoa
Simple, Tasty and Fast :)

Ingredients:

2 Small Organic Cage Free Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 Bag of California Blended Organic Steam Fresh Frozen Vegetables
1 Can of Rotel Tomatoes (I used medium spice)
Small Handful of Pre-Peeled Garlic (use to your taste I'm a garlic nut)
Large Handful of Flaxseed
PAM 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 Cup of Quinoa
Italian Seasoning
Handful of Flaxseed

How I did it?

(Optional) Soak Quinoa in water for 15-30 minutes in order to soften the outer shells up. This helps the texture become more like couscous.

First cut chicken breasts into small cubes. (I made them into pieces small enough to fit them and a vegetable cutting onto a fork without over stuffing my mouth.)
Then spray a small amount of PAM in a large pan. Place chicken in the pan and turn the stove on to medium.
Next place 1/2 cup of Quinoa in a small pot with 3/4 a cup of water and some Italian Seasoning for flavor. (Quinoa is like rice where it will pick up the flavor of what it is cooked with. Salt is usually used but I avoid salt when possible.)
While watching the pot to start boiling, place the steam fresh vegetables in the microwave for heating.
Once this is complete start chopping up the garlic.
When the Quinoa starts boiling, turn heat down to simmer. This should simmer for 10-12 minutes, and then taken off the burner.
Once the chicken is cooked all the through add the vegetables, flaxseed, garlic and Rotel. At this point turn the burner up to high and make sure to continue to stir the contents. In a short amount of time, the water that is in the Rotel will be evaporated, and dinner is ready to serve. Simply fluff the Quinoa with a fork and make a plate.

This provided a very filling meal, that is healthy, easy and less then 20 minutes from prep to cooking to eating.