Oven Baked BBQ Ribs 

We love ribs in our family, but the weather is getting colder and it is getting harder to grill.  Thanks to a great recipe from Rocco DiSpirito and The Dr. Oz Show we can have ribs all year round.  

The recipe calls for Liquid Smoke.  I googled alternative for this, since I couldn't find it anywhere, and found out that smoke paprika or chipolte powder are good substitutes.  The recipe called for smoked paprika anyway, so I added 2 extra teaspoons.  If you want to kick up the flavor add chipolte poweder or cayenne pepper. 

First salt and pepper the ribs.

Mix smoked paprika, red wine vinegar and ketsup together in a bowl.

Coat the ribs with the sauce.

Cut up onions and garlic.  Place it over the ribs. 

Tightly secure foil, place on a cooking sheet.  

Bake at 425°F for 1/2 hour and then lower to 275°F for another hour, until meat is tender. 

I brushed the onion and garlic to the side and broiled the ribs for 10 minutes to make them crispy.  

They were so juicy.  

I wish I made 2 racks! 

Link to BBQ Rib Recipe

Stuffed Bell Peppers, Onion, Eggplant, & Acorn Squash

Have you heard of Meatless Monday?  Meatless Monday is a movement to get people to cut out meat once a week.  On the Meatless Monday website they list health and environmental benefits of reducing your meat consumption. 

Link to Health and Environmental Benefits  

Here is an example of the benefits taken from the website, "Going meatless once a week may reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also help reduce your carbon footprint and save precious resources like fresh water and fossil fuel."

 I wanted to join in on the movement this week, so I made a recipe that was delicious and meat free. I adapted the recipe from Pinch My Saffron. My version is completely vegetarian, no meat. It was so fun, but challenging to make.  The challenging part was carving out the eggplant and acorn squash.  I wanted to make sure to get as much eggplant and squash as I could without ruining the adorable bowls.   The fun part of course was eating them!  

Ingredients:

1 medium green bell pepper 

2 med red peppers

1 medium onion

1 medium round eggplant

1 medium acorn squash
1 cup quinoa
½ cup green split peas, rinsed
1 teaspoon minced garlictomato paste

fresh lemon juice 

1t parsley  1t chives
1t tarragon
1/4 teaspoon cumin 
extra-virgin olive oilkosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Link to original recipe on pinchmysaffron.com

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

Using a knife cut off tops of peppers and remove seeds and ribs, reserving tops.  Cut off top of onion, eggplant, and butternut squash; make little cavities in the center with a paring knife, leaving ½ inch of meat from vegetable.  

Chop and dice the insides from the eggplant and squash.  Chop and dice the 2 red peppers.  Set aside.

In a small pot, add yellow split peas and 2 cups water. Bring to boil and add a pinch of salt.  Cook for 30 minutes over med-low heat. Drain in colander and set aside.

In a small pot, add 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups water, bring to boil. Cook for 10 minutes, until al dente.  Drain in colander and set aside.

In a large skillet, add ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon garlic, eggplant, squash, red peppers, and ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper.  Cook over med-high heat until tender. Add green split peas, tomato paste, 4 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 cup of hot water, and herbs. Stir well and continue to sauté over medium heat, 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and add quinoa and stir gently. 

Using a spoon, stuff vegetables with mixture and place in a baking dish. Brush with extra-virgin olive oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.

In a small mixing bowl, add 2 cups hot water, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 4 tablespoons lemon juice. Pour mixture into bottom of baking dish to just cover the bottom.

Bake until the vegetables are very tender and the filling is heated through.  Baste after 30 minutes. Remove the bell peppers from the baking dish after 1 hour, set aside.  Pop the dish back in the oven and continue to cook stuffed squash, eggplant, and onion for another 30 minutes.

Juice Bar

Carrot Apple Ginger

Kale Apple Spinach

Ruby Red Grapefruit and Orange

I had fun this morning making up new juices to try.  Check them out...

Carrot Apple Ginger

 6 carrots 

2 cored apples

1/2 inch ginger

The ginger makes this tangy and delicious! 

Kale Apple Spinach

2 cored red apples

2 carrots

2 handfuls of kale

2 handfuls of spinach

All you taste are the juicy apples!

Ruby Red Grapefruit Orange

2 Ruby Red Grapefruits

2 Oranges

Peel the fruit, but try and keep as much white skin (which is called albedo).

Cookie Doodle iTunes App

Looking for a new app for your kids.  This app is a home run and only costs 99 cents.  It lets you make cookies without any mess. There are even recipes that you can follow.  My son and I made the gingerbread cookies together.  He read the recipe on his itouch to me.  Then I added the ingredients to a bowl and mixed the dough.  He added ingredients and mixed the dough on his itouch at the same time.  

It is a great way for children to learn how to follow a recipe. 

           

Check out the Cookie Doodle preview on iTunes

Chocolate Chip Brownies

YUM, YUM, YUM!  My oldest son took one bite and said, "Now this is something to blog about!"  My first recipe with Stevia and it was a hit.  The brownies are light and fluffy.  I do think that the chocolate chips helped the brownies' sweetness.  If you are a sweet tooth, just add extra chips.  This is a great recipe because it uses 1/2 whole wheat flour and 1/2 all purpose flour.  It also uses 1/2 Stevia and 1/2 Sugar in the Raw.  It is wonderful healthy dessert.  

Link to Chocolate Chip Brownie Recipe 
(you will find it under desserts on the left hand side) 


My substitutes for this recipe were:
1. skim milk for buttermilk
2. 1/4 cup apple sauce for oil

Beef Stroganoff

Beef Stroganoff is one of my husband's favorite meals.  Ellie Krieger offers a great healthy alternative for  this somewhat heavy meal.  She substitutes Greek yogurt for sour cream to help lighten it up.  Serve it with some peas and edamame or green beans.  

Link to Beef Stroganoff Recipe

What is Stevia? 

 I was in the grocery store recently shopping for sugar and found myself staring at all my choices.  I have heard a lot about Stevia lately.  Mostly that it is a natural sweetener.  I didn't know if I should use it as a complete substitute for sugar.  Eat Drink Better recently shared a great article about Stevia.  Which helped me understand it's uses.  I am going to try in my baking this weekend.  Stay tuned! 

Link to the article below...

Stevia has been around for centuries, but it’s only recently that it has gained much recognition as an alternative sweetener.  What is Stevia, and how do you use it?

Stevia is a natural sweetener made from the leaves of the Stevia plant. It comes in powder extracts, liquid form or Stevia leaves (fresh or dried).  Some countries have accepted it as a food additive or sugar substitute while others consider it as a dietary supplement.  It’s basically like sugar, adding sweet taste to food and drinks.  But that’s also where their similarity ends – its sweet flavour.

It has zero calories, zero carbohydrates and zero GI (glycemic index). So it’s effective for those with diabetes or hyperglycemia, though if you suffer from diabetes or hyperglycemia, as with adding anything new to your diet, it would be wise to consult your doctor first before you use Stevia. Unlike sugar, Stevia is natural, healthy and even offers some health benefits.  Just how great is Stevia for our health?  Well it’s:

• Anti-bacterial
• Anti-septic
• Anti-microbial
• Anti-oxidant
• Anti-glycemic
• Anti-hypertensive

It’s natural and promotes general health and wellbeing that’s why it’s becoming more popular as a sugar alternative.

Stevia in Cooking and Baking

You can use Stevia in cooking and baking just like sugar, with some caveats. In baking, you may need to use half Stevia, half sugar for some recipes. Since many forms of Stevia can be much sweeter than sugar, you often will need to use a lot less to pack the same sweetness punch. Most store-bought Stevia sweeteners will tell you what ratio to use. Dried Stevia leaves can be 10-15 times sweeter than sugar, so if you’re cooking with the dried leaves, you’ll want to start off with a small amount and flavor to taste.

• Enhances flavour. Stevia’s sweetness can bring out food’s flavors, like sugar does
• Non-fermentable, so not suitable for making fermented foods and drinks.
• Heat stable or heat resistant
• Water soluble, just like sugar
• Does not brown in baked goods like sugar does. If you want your baked good to brown, you’d want to use half Stevia and half sugar (or another sweetener, like honey or maple syrup).

Some people notice an “aftertaste” with Stevia. Mixing it with sugar or another sweetener, like honey or maple syrup, makes a big difference here.

Products that contain Stevia such as tea, tablets, toothpaste, mouthwash, food, beverages, etc. can help you improve your health and lifestyle.  What’s even better: Stevia has been developed by many companies using excipients that ensure that its taste is as close to cane sugar as possible so you will not miss your daily sweetness intake, but without the adverse affects of cane sugar.

On Skin, Face and Hair

Not only is Stevia good for your insides, but you can use it in DIY beauty recipes! Here are a few tips to get you going.

• Can be used as a natural cosmetic ingredient or applied as a facial mask, which tightens skin and smoothes wrinkles
• Helps heal skin problems like dermatitis, eczema, acne , itchiness, seborrhea and blemishes
• Rapidly heals skin cuts, scratches, blemishes and lip sores without leaving scars
• Treats scalp problems like dandruff when used daily
• Constant use leaves lustrous and healthy hair

Other useful information about Stevia

Stevia contains several all-natural nutrients, such as chromium, magnesium, manganese, potassium, selenium, zinc, Vitamin B3 and more.  It’s being used in drinks, teas, candies, ice cream and other consumer products by companies and countries around the world.  It shows no toxicity risk and poses no threat to one’s health and only has positive health claims. After more than 60 years usage in Japan, for example, no adverse reactions or findings have been recorded against Stevia.

Stevia provides us with a better alternative to processed sugar and artificial sweeteners. I guess that’s the best proof that Stevia is good for our health.

Sources (pdf alert!):

• Health Implications of Stevia – Anti Hypertensive – Anti Glycemic
• Health Implications of Stevia – Anti-Bacterial
• Health Implications of Stevia – Anti-Microbial
• Health Implications of Stevia – Anti-Oxidant

Arugula, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza 

and 

Cheese and Pepperoni Calzone

Pizza night 2 ways...
Sometimes you have to give in to his and her meals.
I love whole wheat and veggies.
The boys love pepperoni.
Which one do you like?

Arugula, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza 

This pizza came from Eilie Krieger's cookbook So Easy.  I love that she used whole wheat tortillas for the crust.  So quick and easy.

First saute the red onions in a little olive oil until they are golden brown on the edges.
Caramelized onions make this pizza irresistible!

Then add the arugula and cook until wilted.  

Place cooked arugula and onions on a whole wheat tortilla and top with feta cheese.
Cook for about 10 minutes or until the crust is crispy.

This is a great meal or even a wonderful appetizer.  Yum!

Link to Arugula, Caramelized Onions and Feta Cheese Pizza


Cheese and Pepperoni Calzone

Busy day today, so no time for homemade dough.  I picked this fresh dough up at Trader Joe's.  

Spread out dough.

Add filling:

fresh tomato sauce with oregano and basil added to it

pepperoni

mozzarella cheese

Fold dough and seal it with a fork.

Cook at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until dough is golden brown. 

Turkey and Rice Soup

I should really call this soup Junk Soup.  I added anything I could find in my fridge. It was a great way to get rid of some vegetables before they went bad.  This is hearty and healthy.  

 Perfect way to warm up on a chilly fall day.  

Ingredients

2 t olive oil

1 onion peeled and chopped

 8 cups low sodium broth

2 stalks celery chopped

2 carrots chopped

2 handfuls of cabbage chopped

1 handful of arugula chopped

2 t thyme

2 t parsley

Leftover turkey

1 can white beans drained and rinsed

1 cup arobio rice

Salt and Pepper

Directions

In a large pot add olive oil and cook onions until tender.  Stir in celery and thyme.  Stir in carrots, cabbage, and arugula.  Add turkey, stock, rice, parsley and bring to a simmer.  Cook until vegetables and rice are tender.   Season to taste.  

Fruit Salad

When I was growing up one of my favorite things was fruit cocktail.  

My mom would get it for special Sunday breakfasts.  There were nine kids, so we would fight over the maraschino cherries.  It was such a treat to get one in your bowl.  I wonder what food memories my boys will have when they are adults.  

I try and make a fresh fruit salad once a week.  It barely lasts 2 days in our house.   It is nice to take out with every meal.  We all love it.  Try and add more fruit to your meals.  

Garlic Turkey-Broccoli Stir Fry

With the left over turkey from yesterday I was looking for a quick, light dinner.  Health.com offers a great meal that you can prepare and cook in less than 15 minutes! I served my stir fry over quinoa. The qunioa actually took 20 minutes to make, so get that boiling first.

 Grating in some fresh ginger gave this dish the perfect punch of flavor.  

I also added edamame and tri-colored pepper. 

Afraid it would be too spicy for the boys, I eliminated the crushed red pepper. 

If you aren't cooking with quinoa yet - START! 

Health Benefits of Quinoa

Link to Garlic Turkey-Broccoli Stir Fry

Thanksgiving Sides-  

 Homemade Apple Stuffing and 
Garlic Mash Potatoes with Greens and Rosemary

We are lucky to be traveling to visit family this Thanksgiving.  That also means that we don't have to cook!  So we made a turkey dinner with all the fixings last night.  I want to share 2 delicious recipes in this post: Garlic Mash Potatoes with Greens and Rosemary and Homemade Apple Stuffing.  

Garlic Mash Potatoes with Greens and Rosemary

The recipe came from NPR.  Who would have thought I would be getting recipes from NPR?  This a good one, so try it.  You make the mash potatoes very similar to how you normally would, but you sauteed greens (I used kale) with garlic and rosemary first and then add them to the potatoes after they have been mashed.  This recipe calls for vegetable broth instead of butter.  You don't even miss the butter.  

Link to Garlic Mash Potatoes with Greens and Rosemary Recipe

Homemade Apple Stuffing

(adapted from an Eating Well recipe)

• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 cups onion, chopped
• 2 cups diced fennel bulb
• 1/4 cup minced shallot
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh sage
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
• 8 cups stale baguette, preferably multi-grain cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3 apples, ripe but firm, chopped
• 1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• PREPARATION
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
  2. Heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, fennel and shallot and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add apples, sage, thyme and rosemary and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Transfer everything to a large bowl and gently stir in bread and parsley,  Add broth; toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the stuffing into the prepared baking dish; cover with foil.
  3. Bake for 40 minutes; remove the foil and bake until the top is beginning to crisp, 25 to 30 minutes more.

I bought 2 small loaves of 9 grain bread. 

I had to toast my bread because it was fresh, not stale.  

Saute the fennel, onion and shallots.  

Yum!