Spicy Salmon and Veggies

Soooooo I was looking at the recipe I took this from and realized I actually totally changed the flavor and spice and made a super spicy version!!! Lol But hey, we are cleansing right now and I needed something full of flavor and filling and this more than hit the spot. Please note: it is SPICY!!!

I adapted the recipe from Fitness Magazine: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/quick-recipes/dinner/dinner-in-20-easy-healthy-dinner-recipes/?page=3

Differences? I used red pepper instead of chili powder. I also added some cilantro because it rocks and I wanted a "cooling" factor to the spicy marinade.

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Spicy Salmon and Veggies

Nonstick cooking spray

1 big lime squeezed
4 garlic cloves - minced
2 tsp. red pepper
2 tsp. cumin
1/8 c. chopped cilantro
2 tbsp. olive oil
2-4 skinless salmon fillets

1 1/2 c. frozen corn, thawed
1/4-1/2 Red bell pepper, sliced thin
1/4-1/2 Yellow bell pepper, sliced thin
1/4-1/2 Orange bell pepper, sliced thin
1 Serrano pepper, sliced thin, seeds removed
1/2 small red onion, sliced thin
Dash of onion powder and garlic powder
Freshly ground black pepper


Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cover a big baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. (Easy clean up, for the win!!)

In a small dish, mix the lime juice, garlic, red pepper, cumin, cilantro and oil. Dip the filets in the mix and place on the baking sheet.

In a medium bowl, toss corn, peppers, and onion. Pour the rest of the marinade over the veggies, toss, and spread on the baking sheet. Dash some onion powder, garlic powder and black pepper over the veggies for some extra flavor.

Place baking sheet in oven for 10-15 minutes until fish is cooked through and veggies are starting to brown. Serve and salivate!

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Much hotter than I expected but I ate it and liked it! Heck, we even convinced Alice to eat some ... With the promise of a Muscle Ball for dessert. It worked and she ate it! I'm good with that!

Challenge-Friendly: YES!

Santa Fe Crockpot Chicken

This is by far one of my favorite throw-n-go crockpot recipes lately! I will admit I tried it on the stove top to save time one night and it was totally sub-par in comparison. There is something about letting it simmer all day that adds that extra to the flavor of the chicken. Take the 5 minutes to throw it together before you head out the door and your taste-buds will be loving you later!

I adapted this from Skinny Taste: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/02/crock-pot-santa-fe-chicken-425-pts.html?m=1

Ah how I love Skinny Taste! But I generally forgo the cheese and, even though brown rice is a perfectly acceptable option, this is going over spinach tonight so I'm not doubling up on carbs (since, yes, corn is a carb!). I think most of you know I'm pretty carb conscious when I eat at home. Now, dinner out with any of you and you might see me opt for stuff I generally don't eat everyday so don't give my cheeseburger the evil eye since I probably haven't had one in a few weeks! LOL Let's get cooking ....

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Santa Fe Crockpot Chicken

2-4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 can black beans
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies (or 2 large tomatoes diced)
1 c. frozen corn
1/2 Red Onion - diced

14 oz. of water mixed with 2 tsp. chicken broth starter (or use 1 can low sodium chicken broth)
2 tsp. Onion Powder
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
2-4 cloves of Garlic - minced
1 tsp. cayenne pepper

Optional: chop up peppers like jalepeno or Serrano. The original calls for cilantro which is an awesome addition if you have on hand.

Season the chicken with the onion powder, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. Set aside. Mix everything else in the bottom of the crockpot. Place seasoned chicken on top (submerge a little if possible). Set in High 6 Hours or Low 10 Hours.

Shred chicken in the pot an hour before serving and crack lid so some moisture cooks out. Serve with brown rice or lettuce wraps. Warning: will be wet!

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I love this stuff! And it freezes well, makes a great salad the next day with a little hot sauce ... Simple and easy! If you need it spicier, add more cayenne or some red pepper flakes.

Challenge-Friendly: YES! Mmmmmmm

Shrimp Stir Fry

I sooooo fail at getting recipes up lately so please forgive me! After posting this pic on FB and realizing I have like 2 minutes while watching crazy monster children run around my living room, I thought I would try to accomplish the impossible and type this out real quick.

Recipe is adapted from Skinny Ms.: http://skinnyms.com/shrimp-stir-fry/

I didn't have hoisin sauce and cornstarch so those weren't even necessary IMO. I cut down the honey amount, added stir-fry veggies and mushrooms when I added the snow peas. The flavor was exactly what I wanted tonight! Perfect!

Note on honey: Honey and I have come to an understanding. Many friends have turned me on to the allergy relief benefits of ingesting local honey so I'm feeling pretty good about my use of honey over agave for most things again. Healing properties! Can't beat that!

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Shrimp Stir Fry

2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp Braggs Liquid Aminos
1 Tbsp honey (local and raw if possible)

1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
(I used water and added 1 Tbsp of my broth starter)

8-10 oz. medium frozen shrimp

4-6 green onions - sliced
1/2 pound fresh snow peas (trimmed, and ready to use)
(Optional: stir-fry veggies, mushrooms, ect.)

2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 Tbsp minced fresh gingerroot (I started buying the tube kind from the herb section at the store!)

Red pepper flake for garnish

(optional) Serve over cooked brown rice, Soba noodles or brown rice noodles.

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In a small bowl, combine first 3 ingredients whisking until smooth; set aside.

In a wok or large non-stick skillet, stir fry shrimp in 1 tsp sesame oil and 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth; about 5 minutes for frozen shrimp or until shrimp turn pink.

Remove shrimp with spoon an add directly to the mix you just made up. Set aside.

Add green onion directly to liquid in skillet/wok and stir fry for about 3 minutes.

Next add the snow peas (and other veggies) and stir fry for 3-5 minutes until peas are crisp-tender.

Add garlic and ginger root; cook a few more minutes.

Add sauce/shrimp mixture to the wok/skillet, bring to a simmer. Sprinkle with red pepper flake and serve.

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Loved it! Light and easier than I thought is was going to be.

Challenge Friendly: Max only. Unless you use chicken or fish, and then eating for Cleanse with brown rice and veggies (no mushrooms) is perfect!

Crockpot Sesame Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I was totally not feeling it today but I was motivated enough by a clean kitchen counter to make my family food for dinner! So I took the easier route and dragged the crockpot out, chopped veggies, defrosted chicken and let it go. Yummy yummy yummy! The house was smelling awesome and it tasted pretty awesome.

My quicker trick today: Tastefully Simple's Toasted Sesame Teriyaki Sauce. Now, I never just pour a full bottle of a sauce into anything anymore so note that a bottle of this awesomeness will last me through 4-8 meals depending. And why am I ok with using TS pre-made "stuff?" Because they use all natural ingredients and no craptastic preservatives ... So using a little of this leaves me with very few qualms!

BTW I totally preferred this over the other Sesame Crockpot Chicken I had made a few posts down. More flavor even with using just a little of the TS sauce. Plus I didn't add grains to this so that helped.

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Crockpot Sesame Chicken Lettuce Wraps

2-4 big boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
Dash of Red Pepper

2 cups tri-colored peppers chopped
1/2 red onion chopped

1/8 c. Tastefully Simple Toasted Teriyaki Sauce
1/2 c. Water

1/8 c. peanuts (non-salted)
1-2 tbsp. sesame seeds

4-6 big lettuce leafs of your choice

Set the crockpot to low cook 8 hours. Chop up the veggies and place in the pot. Sprinkle the spices generously over the chicken breasts and place on top of the veggies.

Mix the teriyaki sauce with the water and pour into the pot. Sprinkle in the peanuts and sesame seeds. Cover and cook. No reason to really stir. You may need to add a touch more water towards the end to keep it moist and move everything around to keep it from sticking.

Shred the finished chicken with two forks while in the pot and mix everything together. Serve in big lettuce leafs. I added broccoli-cut cole slaw mix and rice noodles for some texture and crunch!

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Yummy for sure! I made the mistake of thinking I picked up organic lettuce but instead picked up organic white cabbage ... Needless to say I dumped the stuffing out, added regular lettuce and enjoyed LOL Note to self: don't go grocery shopping for dinner essentials when you aren't having a "with it" day!! Ugh, yes next time it will be lettuce or big ole romaine or something ... Not cabbage leaves. It looks pretty but the cabbage leaves are tough.


Challenge Friendly: Yes. No rice noodles, especially on the cleanse.

Suz's Awesome-Sauce Pumpkin Pie

Sooooooooo it's Thanksgiving! And as much as I would LOVE to give y'all a "healthy pumpkin pie" alternative ... yeah, that's not going to happen. Maybe next year when life isn't in 100% overdrive I might stop, think and PLAN just a bit better, but, this year, there was no room for TIME. So you get my awesomeness in the form of good-ole-not-so-good-for-you-pumpkin-evilleness!

My stepmom asked me to bring pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. No biggie. I've made it before. BUT I can't just MAKE any old pumpkin pie (i.e. right off the label recipe). I have to THE BEST PUMPKIN PIE EVER. Because that's how I roll. So I meander on over to my Pumpkin Board on Pinterest to find what I would assume to be the most awesome recipe ever ... and out of the 73 pumpkin inspired recipes I have pinned, not ONE was a pumpkin pie. Oh, the irony! So I had to search Pinterest and found some awesome ideas. The best being adding brandy to the filling (mmmmmm alcohol!) and plenty of ideas for spices, etc. This is what I ended up with.

(Pic to come ... when I cut and "dollop" for presentation!)

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Suz's Awesome-Sauce Pumpkin Pie


2 Pillsbury Deep Dish Ready-to-Bake Pie Crusts

2-12 oz. cans Evaporated Milk (Used fat and cholesterol free version)

4 large eggs

1-29 oz. can Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. all spice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. raw (Michigan) clover honey (thank you, Mom, for the reminder!)
2 tbsp. Brandy

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Put frozen pie crusts on counter to thaw while you mix the filling.

Mix everything from the Pumpkin down to the Brandy together in the bowl.

Crack eggs and mix in separate bowl. Slowly pour and mix eggs into the Pumpkin mix bowl.

Crack open cans of Evaporated Milk and slowly stir into the Pumpkin/Egg bowl. Mix well until fully incorporated. Pour into pie crusts until full. (I always pour the extra filling into a Pyrex bowl and cook it as my "test bowl" ... because I hate waste LOL)

Place pies in oven and cook for 15 minutes on 400. Turn heat down to 325 degrees and cook 40-50 minutes until done.

Cooking Tip: Wrap aluminum foil around and over the edges of the pans to help avoid "burning" that happens on the outside. I had no clue! That was a Pinterest suggestion! I cooked them with the foil on for about 45 minutes and then removed for the rest of the cycle.

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As it is Thanksgiving I feel it neccessary to give thanks for all those things I do and don't give thanks for while everyone else verbal-vomits graciousness all over FB (not really because I actually do love reading the daily thanks; it gives me perspective!).

This year I am thankful for my little family whom I am working to secure the future of everyday. I'm thankful I found work that I love and loves me back without limitations, condemnation or restraints. I'm thankful for those two monsters who rule my waking and evening hours because they have changed me in enormous ways. I thankful for my success driven partner who may rant and rave BUT I know we both are moving towards greatness side-by-side and without his passion (and his ass-kicking) I would never be where I am today. I am thankful for all my families; both friend families and blood families because everyone who touches my life influences my vision of the future and without that vision I would not be moving towards my true self. I am thankful for learning to DREAM again after all these years. I am thankful to have each and everyday to wake up to and KNOW it has the potential to be GREAT because I know I am capable to make it great.

Enough gush, let's get to the pumpkin goo! I AM IN LOVE! Seriously I have never made a better mix EVER. I hope my family feels the same tomorrow <3

Challenge Friendly: HELL NO. Because sometimes I just need to enjoy the holiday ... with one slice of pie instead of three.

Garlic Lemon Shrimp and Pasta

Omg omg omg I'm in love! This turned out sooooo much better than I expected! I think next time I might add some extra red pepper for more kick, add the shrimp in later (as I reflect in the recipe below) so to not over cook it, and definitely add more baby spinach. This was a hit with everyone but Birdie (who is slowly becoming an undeclared vegetarian boooooo).

And sorry for the craptastic pic but I wasn't planning on making this a Forktacular recipe until it turned out so freaking awesome!! And it was Awesome ... and now I want more ... like right now.

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Garlic Lemon Shrimp and Pasta

2 cups small pre-cooked/shelled shrimp, thawed

Marinade:
6 cloves of garlic, pressed/minced
Juice from 2 lemons
1/4 red onion diced
1/8 c. EVOO
1 tsp. coriander
1 tbsp. sweet basil
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. red pepper flakes
1 tbsp. agave

2-4 servings of whole grain spaghetti or pasta of choice
1-2 cups of fresh baby spinach

Put all the marinade ingredients in the processor or blender and mix well. Pour over shrimp and let set 2-24 hours.

Remove shrimp from marinade. Place marinade, pasta and a cup of water in pan and cook until pasta is almost done. Add in shrimp and cook until done. Add spinach and cook until warmed and limp. Serve. Add Parmesan for some extra flavor.

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By now, I would think y'all who read my recipe ramblings understand I like combining steps when possible; like adding the pasta directly to the marinade to cook! Not only does it save a pan and a step, but it flavors the pasta, which I love.

This time I cooked the shrimp from the beginning ... Not the best move as I overcooked the shrimp ... But it was still yummy! Next time: doing it this way AND adding more red pepper for sure!


Challenge Friendly: NO. Shrimp are bottom feeders so definitely not for Cleanse. As a healthy-eating meal, yes, this is a good alternative. A friend suggestion chicken today and I say go for it! Keep your pasta serving in check!

Sweet, Tangy Sesame Crockpot Chicken

So I found this recipe via Pinterest and The Comfort of Cooking Blog.  I am allllllll for yummy Asian dishes. I'm also allllllll for crockpot meals because I can prep that sucker and not have to worry about trying to create dinner out of thin air at 5pm when the kids are starving, Dave isn't home yet, and I haven't had time to do the dishes!

(Side note: I want a freaking dishwasher ASAP! I'm tired of living without one.)

Of course, I couldn't do just as the recipe told me to ... because that would mean I wasn't sticking with a "healthier" version AND I hate extra steps like making rice later so I threw everything together to cook AND I wanted to be good since I have 3 days left in my 24-Day Challenge. So I did good! And don't judge, but yes, I used raw honey ... life will go on! I couldn't justify using a whole cup like the original recipe so what I did use was my compromise.

I have to say, after making the "sauce" I am totally reminded of Asian BBQ and OMG we aren't telling Dave it's BBQ (since he hates BBQ) BUT he is going to eat the crap out of this ... I hope. I'm totally excited to dive in to this later.

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Sweet, Tangy Sesame Crockpot Chicken

2-3 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
Shake of Sea Salt on each side and Black Pepper. I also threw Garlic Powder on the meat for good measure.

Sauce:
1/2 c. Diced Onions
1/4 c. Raw Honey
1/4 c. Liquid Aminos
1/4 c. Organic Tomato Paste (about 3 oz. so half of a little can)
3 cloves Garlic - pressed
1 tbsp. Red Pepper Flakes
2 tbsp. Sesame Oil (or EVOO)
1 tbsp. Sesame Seeds

Base:
1 c. Brown Rice
1 c. water
Any frozen veggies you have left in the freezer. I used about 2 cups of Stir Fry Veggies I had sitting around and waiting to be used.
1 tsp. Ground Ginger

Throw your Base ingredients into the crockpot and sprinkle the ginger powder over it. There was no ginger in the sauce recipe so I added some to the base just because I LURVE ginger.

The seasoned chicken goes on top of the base.

Mix up the "sauce" and spoon on top of the chicken. That's it! I'm cooking on High for 4 Hours because my chicken was still partially frozen but cook it alllllll day for even better results but add extra water so it doesn't dry out.

Garnish with diced green onions.

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The verdict? Good but I should have taken the extra step of doing everything separate. Since it all cooked together, the sauce ends up mixed in with rice and veggies which is fine but it doesn't look as pretty as my predecessors. LOL The flavor is fine but slightly unexpected due to the tomato paste addition. I can't imagine it would be better with ketchup though. I think I might either cut the tomato paste to 1/8 cup and maybe up the honey to 1/3 cup. Not too shabby! Next time I will definitely do the rice and veggies right before I serve so the chicken gets the whole sauce flavor!


Challenge Friendly: YES but only for Max. You don't need the extra sugars during Cleanse. In fact, you probably don't need the extra sugars anyway ... so let's list this as a MAYBE ... only if in dire need of a dish ... and you happen to have everything you need sitting around ... LOL