I love giveaways!

I'd like to do one someday on my blog! But for now, I can enter them and share them. Here is a giveaway that Katie from When Hello Means Good-Bye is doing. The giveaway is something from Etsy seller, the r house, who makes beautiful, encouraging jewelry and is a major supporter of adoption.

Check it out and check out Katie's blog! She is one of the most positive bloggers I have ever read, especially after her heartwrenching but amazing life story!

Baked Ziti

So I haven't made a whole lot of brand new recipes to blog about lately... more of the same stuff that we've already made. We did make one or two things that we didn't like (like Tandoori Chicken... EW! Definitely not good!), but tonight I made Baked Ziti from the Clean Eating for Family and Kids book (which I highly recommend! As long as any of the other Clean Eating books) and it ROCKED. I don't have a picture because facebook changed their photo settings and now for some reason I can't get the image address from my own picture. So now I need to figure out another option.

Ok... so enough babbling and on with the recipe:

Baked Ziti (with my changes... there are some changes in the recipe itself, but I am not going to note those because I think the way I made it was wonderful)

Ingredients
*1 lb ground beef or ground turkey (I used beef)
*2 cups of shredded carrots (I did not put this in)
*1 small onion, peeled and diced
*2 cloves of garlic peeled and pressed (or 1/4 tsp of dried minced garlic)
*26 oz can of crushed tomatoes (I used 28 oz)
*1 cup of chicken or vegetable stock (I didn't have this so I used low sodium natural chicken broth)
*8 oz of whole grain penne, ziti, rigatoni (I used 12 oz of rigatoni)
*2 tbsp of fresh basil leaves finely chopped (I used 2 tsp of dried basil leaves)
*1/2 cup of fresh mozzarella (I used an 8oz bag of natural, shredded mozzarella)

Directions:
1. In a large skillet, combine meat, onions, and garlic and cook until meat is brown. Drain the fat. At the same time, in a separate pot, boil water and then put the noodles in to cook.
2. Add to the meat the tomatoes, chicken/veggie stock/broth, basil and let simmer.
3. When the noodles are al dente, drain and then combine with the sauce.
4. Put the noodle/sauce mixture into a lightly greased baking pan (I used a 9x13) and the coat with the mozzarella cheese.
5. Bake at 350* until cheese is brown.

ENJOY!

Crispy Chicken Sandwich and our menu for the week

So I will have to find a new way to put pictures on here. I was uploading them to my facebook and then copying them over to here, but with facebook's new changes in their photos, I can't get the photo address anymore.

We made a pretty yummy chicken sandwich today! My Clean Eating magazine finally started coming (HOORAY! I love it!) and you will be seeing a TON of recipes from these magazines when I get them. Today we tried the Crispy Chicken Sandwich. We used to LOVE going to Wendy's and getting a Spicy Chicken Sandwich and we have been missing having a chicken sandwiches because they are usually friend. This is as well, but it is in olive oil and it is pan fried, so it isn't unhealthy. It was very yummy! We did not like the sauce that was with the recipe, so I am not going to include it in the recipe. I dipped my sandwich into some agave nectar as I was eating it and it gave it a very sweet, yummy taste. I am the type of person who liked to dip my chicken into honey, and agave nectar is the perfect substitute.

Here is the awesome recipe from the Clean Eating Magazine, March 2011 edition:

*1/8 tsp each of sea salt and ground black pepper, divided
*4 egg whites
*1 tsp Dijon mustard
*1 cup whole-wheat panko bread crumbs (our grocery store only had regular panko, so we used whole wheat bread crumbs instead)
*1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
*4 4-oz boneless, skinless chicken cutlets, pounded 1/4 inch thick
*1 tbsp olive oil
*4 thin whole-grain sandwich buns, toasted

1. In a small bowl, whisk together egg whites, Dijon, salt, and pepper and set aside. Transfer panko/bread crumbs to a shallow pan or plate.
2. Dredge each chicken cutlet in flour, shaking off excess, then in egg white mixture. Press cutlets gently into panko and transfer to a baking tray or plate.
3. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet on medium-high. Working in batches if necessary, sear breaded chicken cutlets for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown and fully cooked. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate.
4. Toast whole-grain buns and assemble your sandwich!

We served this with baked potatoes. It was very yummy and I have 3 left to last for a few lunches this week. Yummy!

Also on our menu for the week:
Tandoori Chicken
Chicken Stir Fry
Potato Chowder (we need to see if we can find low sodium, nitrate free ham before we make this)
Chicken Cheese Steaks

Our life has been crazy and tonight's dinner

Jeff has been working some strange hours and I've been pretty tired by the time I get home, so we have either had leftovers, gone out for Valentine's Day, or gone out to grab a quick bite. For a quick bite, I like to go to Panera because they have a lot of pretty healthy foods and I can pick and choose what I do and don't want to eat to a point.

I didn't take a picture of tonight's dinner. We had turkey breast and I had mashed/smashed sweet potatoes and Jeff had mashed regular potatoes. The sweet potatoes were good, but I didn't cook them enough! They still were good.

I used for the sweet potatoes:
2 cut up and boiled sweet potatoes, 1 tsp of pure maple syrup, and about 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, as well as a splash of soymilk.

The turkey breast was seasoned with 2 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tsp of rosemary, 1 tsp of basil, 1 tsp of thyme, 1 tsp of sea salt, and 1 tsp of black pepper. I mixed them together and rubbed them on top of the skin and under the skin and then baked. It was very good!

We were missing some sort of gravy. We need to learn how to make our own because we used to use the powder gravy in the packets.

Overall, it was decent. It felt great to cook tonight.

Jeff made the menu this week and it was just too much of the same (for example chicken tacos and Mexican chicken wraps. We made the tacos but not the wraps because we weren't in the mood for it after having tacos. He loves mexican food... I don't). Next time we will make the menu together. There are a few recipes from the Eat Clean books that we got that I really have been wanting to try.

Tomorrow we are having soup my grandparents homemade. They have a tradition that every winter, when it snows a measurable snow for the first time they spend the day making homemade vegetable beef soup. It is so good! I am sure it isn't 100% clean, but I'm not asking because it is just too good! There is a lot of natural ingredients in it, so I will be a happy camper. YUM! I can't wait! Maybe we will make some bread to go with it. Depends on the time I have in the afternoon tomorrow. I have a half day but it has been so nice that I have been hitting the streets on a few runs.

Come on weekend!

A look back at Skillet Chicken Cutlets with Button Mushrooms and Peas

We made this meal last month and made it again today. It was very good! This time we actually followed the recipe and instead of using lemon pepper seasoning, we used lemon juice and salt and pepper. I think I like the lemon pepper seasoning better because I wasn't as thrilled with the lemon juice seasoning the mushrooms, but it wasn't terrible either. Once again we added peas and they were great!

Another note... I lost 8 lbs!!! I had a doctor's appt today to follow up from starting the metformin for my PCOS and the doctor was happy that I lost 8 lbs! I have another at the end of March. I really hope I lost more by then! I do have to say that it wasn't the medication that made me lost the weight. It was the clean eating and the exercising. The meds helped my PCOS symptoms and the amount of insulin my body needs because PCOS makes the body insulin resistant. There is no such thing as a magic pill! Get out there and do the work! :) I hope I keep losing!

Oatmeal Banana Pancakes

Once again no picture... they didn't look the best just looking at them so a picture wouldn't have convinced you to try it or not.

We liked them. I liked them more than Jeff did. You can't go into it thinking that they are going to be just like regular pancakes. They were a lot heavier and very sweet. I had them with pure maple syrup and it was just too sweet for me. I ended up cutting up a few strawberries to give me a bit of a tart taste with them. It came with a recipe for homemade pomegranate syrup and I think I would make it with that next time. The pomegranate would give it the right amount of tartness. I will include the recipe for it, although it has honey. I would use natural honey or agave nectar instead of the stuff with added sugar.

Ok here is the recipes, both from cleaneatingmag.com:

Oatmeal Banana Pancakes
Source: Clean Eating magazine
Makes 10 to 12 five inch pancakes, or 20 four inch pancakes

For the syrup:
1 cup Pomegranate Juice
2 tablespoons of honey

For the pancakes:
3 medium bananas (I used frozen), plus 1 sliced banana for garnish
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup rolled oats, ground to a course flour in food processor
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 egg whites, whipped to soft peaks
Olive Oil cooking spray

Whisk juice and honey together in saucepot. Bring mixture to boil over medium high heat, then drop the heat to medium. Simmer mixture and reduce it to syrup, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let syrup cool before using. (Mine thickened as it cooled.)

To make pancakes, add bananas, milk and vanilla to blender and puree until smooth. In large mixing bowl, whisk together ground oats, rolled oats, flour, salt and baking powder. Fold banana puree into dry ingredients to a form a thick batter, taking care not to overwork it. Gently fold in the whipped egg whites into batter. Heat a large nonstick griddle coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Drop 1/4 cup batter for 5-inch pancakes onto griddle. Cook until lightly browned, about 1 1/2 per side. Serve with banana slices and a drizzle of pomegranate syrup.

Steak and Farfalle Pasta

No picture... sorry.

I made steak and farfalle pasta last night for dinner. It was OK. Not my favorite. Not the worst either. I am really not a tomato sauce kind of person, but I did enjoy it. I would think that someone who likes marinara sauces would like this. I will give the recipe. I ate it before I remembered to take a picture! OOPS!

Here is the recipe, from cleaneatingmag.com:

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 cloves garlic, finely minced, divided
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 lb lean eye round steak, cubed
• 16 oz whole-wheat farfalle pasta
• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 28-oz jar or can no-salt-added crushed tomatoes
• 1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 8 oz low-fat sour cream

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prepare marinade: In a bowl, whisk together 3 cloves garlic, vinegar, Dijon, cinnamon and pepper. Pour marinade over steak cubes in another container, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (You can also leave steak to marinate overnight.)
2. Cook farfalle according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
3. Drain steak cubes and discard marinade. Heat a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet over high heat for 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-high, mist with cooking spray and sauté steak until browned on each side, about 4 minutes total. Remove steak from pan and set aside.
4. Mist same pan with cooking spray again, add onion and remaining 2 cloves garlic and sauté until brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and reduce heat to medium low. Add seasoning, basil and sour cream and combine. Cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, then mix in reserved steak and cook for 2 more minutes, until meat and sauce are completely warmed.
5. Serve 1 cup farfalle with 3/4 cup steak sauce. Garnish with an additional sprinkling of Italian seasoning, if desired.