Simple Zucchini Pasta

Last night I was so thankful to come home and realize I had all the food for a simple, healthy meal for my family. I remember when I first learned of using zucchini as the pasta instead of noodles and my first thought was, brilliant!! Easy way to get your vegetable for the meal and super easy. All you need is a food processor or a spiral slicer like this one, Saladacco Spiral Slicer to turn your zucchini into pasta "noodles". No need to cook, eat the zucchini raw! Open your favorite organic pasta sauce, maybe add some veggies or meat and you have your meal. I have a freezer packed with wild game so I sauteed some elk sausage, added the sauce. Meal done in 20 minutes and the whole family loves it.

Enjoy!! You won't even miss the real pasta noodles!

Cooking For A Living

Not only have I gone back to working five days a week, but I cook at my job for 18 people and I am already finding that some days coming home and cooking healthy for my family can be a struggle. Like any job, there are good days and days that are hard. On a day where I have more challenges with a recipe like, having enough food for everyone or having pots/pans that will accommodate a recipe that has been tripled or quadrupled, the last thing I want to do is come home and cook again. This has always been my biggest fear.

 I LOVE what I do at my day job and now it is my job for my family to discover and create recipes that are healthy and easy to prepare even on days when I'm just not feeling it! I've decided to start blogging about how I am feeding my family in hopes of inspiring other busy families who work hard and are tired at the end of the day to provide healthy foods for the ones they love.

Yesterday afternoon I looked in my fridge and saw I had almost everything to make a big, yummy salad. As I made a short list for New Seasons I decided to pick up some salmon patties to complete the meal. Not only was it delicious and healthy but I only spent $8 to feed the three of us and I felt good about what was on the table. Cooking healthy doesn't have to be time consuming and expensive, it just takes a little bit of planning. So here are a few tips to get started:

1. Shop in your fridge or cabinets first. I always do this so I can make sure I use all the fresh produce I have before it goes bad. This helps to cut down on waste and the food bill.

2. Keep it simple. A lot of days I provide just a hearty serving of a vegetable and a protein. You don't have to get crazy and have a plate full of 3 or 4 different foods to make a complete meal.

3. Cook once, eat twice. I LOVE doing this because it is a great feeling to come home and know that I already have a healthy prepared meal in my fridge for my family and I don't have to cook again. Choose recipes that reheat easily and that can  be doubled.

I hope these tips are helpful. Look for more recipes to come as I continue on my quest.

Cheers!

Italian Veggie Wraps

Here is my adapted version of EatingWell.com's Italian Vegetable Hoagies. I made changes, of course, especially on my quest to find healthy recipes I can cook in a few hours to feed 18 hungry, hardworking individuals for lunch. Instead of using a baguette I chose to use wraps, which worked really nicely since the veggies are really saucy from the balsamic dressing. I also added turkey/ham to the wrap for extra protein. Here is my version:

Serves 4

1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion, separated by rings
1 14 oz can artichoke hearts, rinsed and coarsely chopped
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 t dried oregano
4-6 wraps of choice (depends on how much you fill them)
2-3 slices provolone cheese, halved
2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
1/4 cup sliced pepperoncini, (optional)

Place onion rings in a small bowl and add cold water to cover. Set aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
Combine artichoke hearts, tomato, vinegar, oil and oregano in a medium bowl. Drain the onions and pat dry.
To assemble the wraps: place half slice provolone, several slices of meat of choice, scoop of artichoke tomato mixture, onion, shredded romaine and pepperoncini if using. Wrap up the tortilla and serve immediately. Yum!

Curried Chicken-Mango Salad

This is one of my favorite chicken salads, made really easy if you use a store-bought rotisserie chicken or you can use chicken breasts. Easy to double or triple to feed a crowd. I prefer to serve it over fresh romaine lettuce but you could also serve as a sandwich or a wrap. Enjoy!

Makes 4 main-dish servings.

1 store-bought rotisserie chicken (2 lbs) or 3 chicken breasts
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
2 T mango chutney, chopped
1 T fresh lime juice
1 t curry powder
1 large ripe mango, peeled and finely chopped
1 medium stalk celery, finely chopped
1 medium Granny Smith apple, cored and finely chopped
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1 head leaf lettuce, separated and rinsed

Remove skin from chicken; discard. With fingers, pull chicken meat into 1-inch pieces. Or if using chicken breasts, cook them and dice into small pieces.
In large bowl, with wire whisk, mix yogurt, mayonnaise, chutney, lime juice and curry powder until combined. Stir in chicken, mango, celery, apple and cilantro until well coated. Serve salad on a bed of lettuce leaves.