Happy Thanksgiving!

Six hours of cooking followed by 15 minutes of chowing down.  Or maybe that's just Thanksgiving dinner with my family.  I am happy to be running in the "Turkey Day 5K."  The idea is that you burn off calories, and then replace them by triple later on when you eat.  In the spirit of the meal, I came up with two possible scenarios- figure out which one's going to leave you awesomely content vs. crap-tacularly stuffed.

Meal 1:
-1/2 cup homemade green bean hotdish
Mix 4 cups fresh/frozen green beans with 1 can fat-free cream of mushroom soup.  Slice and broil a raw onion until deeply browned.  Bake in a casserole dish until heated through.
-1/2 cup fresh cranberry sauce
Stir 1 bag fresh cranberries with 2/3 cup sugar and 1 cup OJ.  Heat to slow boil and cook until thickened.
-1/2 cup stuffing
Um, just read the instructions on the box of Stove Top.  Bonus points if you add chopped onions, celery, carrots, etc (the more veggies to bulk it up, the fewer the calories per serving).  Bonus points if you find whole wheat stuffing.
-1 cup sneaky mashed potatoes
Scrub some red potatoes (or potato of your choice), cut into quarters, and add to large stockpot of boiling water.  Boil for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile cut up a head of cauliflower into 3" chunks.  Add to boiling potatoes.  Cook both until tender.  Drain.  Add 4 oz Neufchatel cheese (or ff cream cheese) 1/3 cup skim milk.  Smush together with a potato masher (or use a stand mixer for creamier texture).  Optional- add chives or garlic.  Again, more veggies = lower cals per serving.
-4 oz roasted white meat turkey
Be sure to remove that baggie of guts before baking!
-1/2 cup pumpkin pie pudding (see earlier post for recipe)
It's our family's m.o. to use Reddi-Whip on most all desserts.  God forbid we use Cool-Whip.  Mmm...aerosol cream.
 

Dum-da-dum!  Calorie total: 700 calories.  Splurge?  Yes.  Insane?  I will use the lovely dietitian phrase "it's okay in moderation!"

Contrast that with meal #2:
-1" slice Ocean Spray jelly cranberry sauce
I'll admit that this was my absolute favorite part of the meal as a kid.  My brother and I would fight over who got to dump the can out.  It makes such a great 'thup-thup-thup' noise as it wiggles out of the can's ridges.  But sound effects aside, the homemade version has a richer texture, and far less sugar.
-1/2 cup green bean hotdish
We're talking the full-fat mushroom soup plus gobs of processed crunchy fried onion bits.  Pass the...fat?
-1/2 cup stuffing
Soooo...no changes here really. 
-1 cup mashed potatoes
Prepared with 2% milk and butter adds a lot of unnecessary fat.
-4 oz dark meat turkey with skin
Bleh- skin?  Really?  I get that it's acceptable to eat poultry skin, but I can't get over the idea that it is fatty epidermis.  
-Generic pumpkin pie
Most everyone I knows just relies on Cub or Baker's Square, because pie is difficult to get right.  So why bother?  Make the pudding version 'cause it's all the pumpkin-y custard-y filling that's the best part anyway.

Whomp whomp!  Meal #2 calorie total: 1,130.  To put this in perspective, you'd have to go walk 11 miles to burn that off.  Or spend 3 straight hours jumping rope.  Or spend 12 hours vacuuming your home (should this appeal to you, let me know.  We can arrange something).

With that said, enjoy your meal!  Savor the food, package up the leftovers, and feel good about your choices! 

  

Best soup EVER

Or at least "best soup right now."  A few weeks ago I roasted a chicken (ta-da!) and ended up with a Ziploc bag full of chopped up leftovers.  I decided to whip up a chicken wild rice soup, and the result is worth sharing.


Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients:
-1 26-oz can fat free cream of mushroom soup
- 10-oz can fat free cream of chicken soup
-1.5 cups skim milk
-1 yellow onion, chopped into 1/2" pieces
-1 cup carrots, chopped into coins
-1 cup corn
- 110.75-oz can cooked wild rice, rinsed and drained
-3-4 cups cooked chicken, shredded (the roasted chicken leftovers were awesome, but you could use canned or even bake some frozen chicken breasts)
-pinch of rosemary
-pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Bring water to boil in a small pot; add carrots and cook for 10 minutes.  Continue cooking and add onion.  Cook until both are tender, but not mush.
2. Meanwhile in a large pot or Dutch oven, combine soup, milk, corn, chicken, wild rice, rosemary, and pepper.  Depending on your consistency preference, you may want to add more milk.
3. Add cooked carrots and onion.  Cover and heat to low simmer for 10 minutes (scrape the bottom every few minutes).
Nutrition facts (serves 8): 275 calories, 28 g carbs, 5.5 g fat, 28 g protein

It was during the onion-slicing step that I remembered I still have my old college chemistry lab goggles.  Cry-proof chopping!

Plus they make me look super cool!

Do not try this at home

There are plenty of sweets I can confidently steer clear of: ice cream?  I'd scream!  Danish?  You wish.  Pie?  I cannot lie- I'd rather die. 

But I cannot resist a good bar.  Especially if it's a center edge-less slightly-underbaked piece.  When I found a recipe from Shelly on CookiesandCups.com, I thought it looked like a good dangerous Saturday baking project.  The original recipe called for marshmallow fluff, but I swapped that out for caramel. 

PB & Caramel Blondie Bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 cups coarse chopped peanut butter cups (10.5 oz bag) (I used dark choc Reese's minis)
• 1/2 cup caramel from a jar (like Smucker's)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
3. Cream butter and peanut butter together.
4. Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy.
5. On medium speed add in eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
6. Stir in your baking soda, salt and flour until just combined.
7. Fold in your chopped peanut butter cups.
8. Spread the batter in your prepared pan.
9. Drop you caramel randomly on top of the batter and swirl in with a knife.  Baked for approximately 30 minutes.  The center might seem underbaked, but it will set as it cools. 





So there you have it.  Delicious.  I won't even both calculating the nutrition facts, because, well, sugar + fat make for a super high calorie count.  Enjoy in moderation (if you can...).

"I'll have some of that man meat."

It is such a stereotype of guys to assume they're all just into grilling and eating mass amounts of wings, ribs, and beef.  Well the thing about stereotypes is they are often based on truths, and my husband certainly falls into this category.  He received a smoker for his birthday and on Saturday he attempted to smoke for the first time.  He dug my two pork loins from the deep freeze (eww- uh I mean literally here).  Direct quote: "if I'm going to screw up, I want it to be on something that's not that awesome." 

Now doesn't this look like your idea of a fun Saturday?

Yes honey, you tend to your meat.  I'll be warm and cozy in the kitchen pretending to not eat every 3rd Reese's peanut butter mini cup I'm chopping for a new recipe.  Ignore the rotting pumpkins and leftover gardening junk on our deck.  'Fraid we're "those kind of neighbors."  The end product was pretty tasty actually.  However we learned something- smoked pork = ham.  We enjoyed a nice ham dinner with some roasted Yukon gold potatoes sprinkled with olive oil and Cajun seasoning.

Winter's Return

Well it's about TIME that the radio station started playing Christmas music.  How else can it be guaranteed that come actual Christmas day I'm good 'n' sick of Chestnuuuuuuts roasting on an open fiiiiire? 

With shorter days and longer nights I plan on using my slow cooker to my full advantage.  I had success a few weeks ago with baked pork chops and came across a similar recipe only they're cooked in a crock pot.  Perfect.  In the 60 seconds after I walk through my door at the end of the workday I can chuck the junk mail in the trash recycle bin, kick off my shoes, and plop some hot food on my plate. 

Slow Cooker Pork Chops

2 tablespoons cooking oil (vegetable, canola) 

4 pork chops (I had 5 in my package)

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (or whole wheat flour)

1 large onion, sliced (go for 2!)

2 (10.75 ounce) cans lowfat condensed cream of mushroom soup

2 cups skim milk

1. Trim the fat off your chops.  Heat the oil in a skillet. 

2. First dunk the chop in the egg, coating both sides.  Then transfer to a shallow bowl containing the flour.  Once coated, place in the skillet and cook until browned on both sides.

3. Repeat with all your chops.

4. Dump the soup and milk in your slow cooker and stir until the lumps have dissolved.  Place the browned chops in the mix and top with the onion. 

5. Cook on low heat for 8 hours. 

Okay- this may look like onion-topped barf, but it is delicious.  My Christmas gift to myself might have to be some photography lessons. 

Reason #87 why I love my husband:

He voluntarily picked out these buns at the grocery store. 

Breakfast of Champions

No, it is not "Little Chocolate Donuts" despite what John Belushi may have proclaimed (points if you know that reference).  I've read recipe variations of this breakfast for awhile and it tends to be my Saturday morning go-to.  It's easy, cheap, and super healthy.  No donuts involved.
Step One:
Pour 1/3 cup instant oats in a bowl.

Step Two:
Add 1 Tablespoon of wheat or oat bran.  Ew, why?  Because it's tasteless and adds fiber.  Don't even get me started on why we should all be eating more fiber on the regular (ha, like that pun?).

Step Three:
I like to take a small handful of bran flakes and crush them up.  Adds a bit of different texture.  It's totally optional though (but seriously you should do it).

Step Five:
Add about 1/2 a tablespoon of ground flaxseed. Ew, but why?  If you're not a big seafood eater, ground flaxseed is a great way to get your omega-3 fatty acids.  Someday I'll post about why we love these in case you don't yet know why you should be loving your omega-3's.

Step Six:
I'll wrap it up here- we're at the point where you can really add whatever the heck you want.  Some ideas:  Chopped walnuts.  Raisins.  Dates.  Cranberries.  Chopped apple.  Banana.  Pumpkin.  Cucumber.  Kidding.  I like to add 2 tsp brown sugar to sweeten it up a bit.

Laaaaast step:
Add milk.  I like my almond milk, but really whatever will work.  Cook it and eat it hot.  Don't cook it and eat it cold (this is how I like it- I've heard that this is similar to European "muesli").  I make big batches of this stuff, dry, and keep it in the refrigerator (gotta refrigerate the flaxseed).  But either way you eat it, you're giving yourself a great source of fiber, whole grains, and heart-healthy fat.  Be a self-proclaimed champion.

Sunday Football Day

Game day menu: roasted chicken with roasted potatoes, carrots, parsnips, baby cabbages, and homemade cranberry-apple sauce.  Not your typical Vikings-watching-lazy-nap-on-the-couch-day meal.  Fresh from our baking class the day before, I was feeling adventurous.  Everyone should know how to roast a chicken, right?  We had gone to the Minneapolis farmer's market the day before (last time for the season- sad) and picked up the carrots, parsnips (new to me), and baby cabbages.  The vendor also was selling brussels sprouts, which were my first choice, but told me that the baby cabbages taste sweeter.  And they're just adorable.  It was probably the cuteness factor rather than the promised taste that made me fork over my $3. 

Step One:
Open up chicken.  Remove baggie of guts.  Rinse of chicken.  Make chicken wings do a little dance.  Pat dry.

Step Two:
Set chicken on wire rack of a roasting pan.  Put 2 Tbsp butter up chicken's...ah...cavity?  Yes.  Drizzle about 1-2 Tbsp olive oil on chicken and rub in with about 3 teaspoons each poultry seasoning, and pepper, with a few pinches of salt.  Loosely cover chicken with tin foil.  Place in a preheated oven at 350.

Step Three:
Meanwhile, wash & peel/chop/slice whatever veggies you want (keep in mind that the smaller you chop the veggies, the faster they'll cook).  Dump in a bowl and pour 1-2 Tbsp olive oil over and mix so all veggies have just a light coating of oil.  Spread out on a rimmed foil-lined pan.  Since the veggies will only take about a half hour and the chicken will cook for over an hour, go ahead and clean up the mess you just made.  Or go catch up on "Real Housewives of Atlanta."  Your call.

After the chicken's baked for about 45 minutes, go ahead and stick in your veggies.  Since I didn't have enough room on my baking sheet for the carrots, parsnips, and onions, I dumped those in the bottom of the roasting pan to cook themselves in the chicken drippings.  Chicken drippings = fat, so this is not a low-cal way of cooking veggies.  Be warned.  You can also remove the tin foil so that now the skin has a chance to brown.

The chicken is finished when the internal temp reads at least 165 degrees, at around 1 hour 15 minues.  Veggies are done when browned (you might want to flip them halfway through cooking time). 

While the chicken cooled a bit, I whipped up a cranberry apple sauce.  Complicated?  Naaah.  Dump a package of fresh cranberries into a smallish pot.  Add 1 cup OJ and 2/3 cup sugar.  Stir over medium-high heat.  I think this is fun to make- it's like the fruit equivalent of Rice Krispies- the cranberries burst & pop as you cook them.  I decided to toss in about a cup of chopped apples too.  Cook until mixture becomes bubbly, thick, and all the cranberries have bursted.  Serve hot or cold.

There you have it.  Awesome lunch, plus 2 days worth of leftovers + 2 cups of shredded chicken bits to freeze.  I think this is the culinary equivalent of a touchdown, plus the bragging dance in the endzone.  Too bad I forgot to add the sugar to the pumpkin pudding I made.  Penalty flag.