Feeling Lazy? Grab some chicken and kale!

With a 5 year old and 3 year old, food prep is hard sometimes!

Like today, for example…two girls decided naps were not happening after an hour of &#%$ing around, tattling on each other, getting up to come tell me “something important”, etc.

So I got them both up and made them sit on kitchen chairs watching me prep for the week…slicing Brussels, marinating chicken thighs, making egg muffins…no music (much to the chagrin of me AND Alexa), no TV, no talking…you get it. Basically, NO FUN.

So…on a night when I am worn out, this recipe is so easy and delicious….

Take one bunch of kale, ribs removed and sliced..put that in a large saute pan on medium with about 2T avocado or XV olive oil, add S&P and cook down a bit…about 10 minutes and stirring every few minutes.

Then I took some frozen chicken tenders I had bought…about 6-7…and sliced them thin and added to the pan.

*I thawed by putting the bag in a bowl under some running water “restaurant style” and sliced while slightly frozen…you can always turn the heat down on the stove to accommodate.

Added about 2 T balsamic vinegar, 3 minced garlic cloves and a little more oil if needed.

Then threw sun dried tomatoes. I had taken one cup of dried ones and put them in about 2 cups water with some salt and microwaved for about 3 minutes to ‘plump’ them up.

Added and tossed, tasted, a little more S&P and some nutritional yeast and DONE!

*you can serve over some pasta if not eating #whole30 add pasta water to help with “sauce”.

I have 270+ followers?!?!

I was just messing around on my blog tonight and adding a little ‘Yelp’ review button so people can see my restaurant, etc. reviews over there and I was shocked to discover I have that many followers to my blog!  Super excited am I!!!

I am going to have to get more serious as I see that my little blog-that-could which I started to give recipe tips to my friend Jenny now far more readers that I expected.

Tonight, BTW, I made more Slap Yo Mama Chili in the Crock Pot – Winter is just made for Crock pots – don’t you think?  It was raining today and chilly outside and this just seemed like the thing to do.

Refresher on recipe –

1 T olive oil with 3-4 minced garlic cloves, 1/2 chopped red onion, 1t curry powder, 1T slap yo mama spice, 1t cocoa powder, dash S&P, pinch of crushed red pepper, 1T balsamic vinegar – let that all cook and get hot for a little bit and then add 1 lb ground beef (87/13 works great) until it starts to change color and then 1 can each of Northern White Beans and Dark Kidney Beans (both drained AND rinsed) along with about 1/2 cup stock – I used homemade veggie – and 1 LG can each of tomato sauce and petite diced tomatoes

Let that all cook for about 2-3 hours on high and 1-2 hours on low and then serve – YUM!

We had this for dinner and you can always (just like my husband, Wes) add some sriacha sauce for extra heat or sour cream or yogurt to minimize the hot.

It’s Okra Season!

So Wes and I have a garden, as many of you know, and we grow a variety of things and tend to have mixed it up over the last few years.  One thing that NEVER changes is our okra production.  After all, okra is delicious stewed, fried, (of course) in GUMBO, and now -BROILED!

Jeff has made this okra up @ mom’s house and we made it tonight to go with Turkey Meatloaf (recipe to follow) and Squash Casserole (also courtesy of our kick-ass garden).

In a small bowl, mix together the following: minced garlic (dry will work), paprika, turmeric, cumin, s&p, cinnamon.  You can add other stuff, like crushed red pepper if you like things spicier.  Take the okra and cut it in half lengthwise.  Put that in a larger bowl and toss with some Olive Oil and then the spice blend.  Lay the okra on a baking sheet and broil until they are brown.

Don’t ask me to give you measurements for the spices and don’t ask me how long to cook it – I don’t have an answer for you – until it smells right and until it is done! 🙂

Turkey Meatloaf was the following:

2 lb turkey with about a cup and a half of oatmeal, 4-5 grated carrots, 3 minced garlic cloves, s&p, 1 T sriacha (rooster) sauce, half a can of diced tomatoes, a handful of grated Parmesan cheese, 1 egg yolk, 1 t ginger – Put in a loaf pan and bake on 350 for about 25 minutes (until it is done)

Healthy meal – good for cholesterol (something I am having to watch now) and low carb!

Craving some Asian

No, not craving an Asian – that would be some Asian food!  Noodles to be exact!

Wes and I watched some random show (probably on PBS) about Soba noodles and how they are eaten all over Japan and it is the ‘fast food’ of their culture.  Been craving them ever since and wish we had a really good soba noodle shop here in Atlanta.  *Anyone know of a good place??  Buford Highway? Doraville? Hit me up with the info!*

We had vermicelli rice noodles in the cupboard and pork in the freezer, so I decided to make some Asian style noodles for dinner.

Prep for stir fry of any kind is key, things cook really fast, so you have to have all your items cut up ahead of time.  Prep has to be done prior to starting any cooking or you are screwed.

2 pork chops, thinly sliced – marinated in lime juice, soy sauce, ginger, fish sauce, rice wine vinegar

4-5 carrots, julienned on the mandoline (if you don’t have a mandoline, just cut them into 1-2 inch long matchsticks)

1 head broccoli cut into small pieces

4 sliced green onions

2 minced cloves of garlic

Heated up the wok with some sesame oil mixed with canola oil and cooked the garlic for about 2 minutes, always stirring, then the pork first – stirring constantly and cooking for about 8-10 minutes

Added the veggies and cooked for another 4-5 minutes

Added about 4-5 oz of dry vermicelli noodles into the wok stir fried that with all the other cooked ingredients.  Kept stirring and added about a 1/4 cup of shrimp stock (you could add water or other flavored stock)

Just kept cooking and stirring until it was done *actually, Wes did this part

Made just enough for us to eat it that night.  Sadly, not the best leftover food as reheating the rice noodles just isn’t as yummy as you would think it would be.

Asian Noodles

And a close up –

Breakfast for Dinner

Breakfast for dinner is just awesome.
Tonight, made Wes some chorizo and eggs that he ate in warm tortillas with a tiny bit of cheese. I enjoyed egg whites with some chicken, peppers, and onion with a little cheese.

Also had YUMMY fresh green tomatoes from our garden.

So simple and easy. Aside from Beck, any other Breakfast for Dinner fans?

Meatloaf!

So some people think meatloaf is gross.  I, nor my husband, are two of those people.  I can also say with a large degree of certainty that no one in my family is against meatloaf and do not think it is gross, but instead, quite yummy.

As I am doing WW, Stephanie told me about a good recipe for meatloaf that is 5 points per 2 slices.  I, of course, modified it.

1 lb lean ground beef and 1 lb ground turkey

1/2 c bread crumbs (usually I use oatmeal, but I am out)

1 egg white

Grated carrots, chopped peppers, chopped zucchini, chopped onion *all of these are not required and just enhance the flavor – put in whatever veggies you like or have around

about 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes or tomato sauce

1 tablespoon of that good balsamic you have in your kitchen (see previous post)

S&P

1 tsp of crushed red pepper

Get your hands in there and mix it all together and then put it in a lightly greased (spray olive oil works great here – see above link next to the balsamic) bread/loaf pan

Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes

YUM!

*We ate ours with spaetzle from GERMANY that traveled to the States in my backpack (that went over my head when I fell in the airport walking to the cab).  Luckily, the spaetzle was safe and yummy tonight!