Christmas Scent

Tis the season for your house to smell Christmas-y!  Here is a quick and easy way to fill your house with the best scents of the season without shelling out big bucks at Yankee Candle or Williams-Sonoma.  Yesterday I made breakfast, which included bacon, eggs, and biscuits.  Long after the kitchen was cleaned, the bacon smell was still hanging around.  So, I threw together a batch of Christmas scent, put it on the stove, and within 15 minutes the bacon smell was replaced by citrus and spice and everything nice!

Christmas Scent

Ingredients:

One large navel orange
25-30 whole cloves
Cinnamon stick(s)
Handful of fresh cranberries

Peel your orange in a spiral motion, so you end up with a couple big curly pieces.  Then take your cloves and stick them through the orange peel. 

Place the cloved orange peel, cinnamon, and berries in a pot and fill 2/3 full with water. 

Simmer, uncovered, over low heat.  When water gets low, keep adding more, and your Christmas Scent will last all day. Enjoy!

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

Reasons why this recipe is great:

• Easy to make
• Low calorie - each roll has around 225 calories and 5 grams of fat
• Leftovers freeze and reheat well
• It's super cute

 Serve with a green salad and that's dinner! 

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

Ingredients:

9 cooked lasagna noodles (I make a couple extra in case one breaks)
10 oz frozen chopped spinach
15 oz fat free Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 egg, lightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste
28 oz light spaghetti sauce (or can of crushed tomatoes)
1 cup light mozzarella

Preheat oven to 350.

To thaw spinach:  Place frozen spinach block in a clean kitchen towel, and put the towel into a bowl.

Microwave for 3-5 minutes.  Once it's done, twist it in the towel and wring out all the liquid into the bowl so the spinach is dry (it's gross - looks like swamp water).

In a large mixing bowl, combine spinach, Ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper.

Ladle about 1 cup of sauce into a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Lay out your cooked noodles on a piece of wax paper or on a large cutting board.  Take about 1/3 cup of cheese mixture and spread it evenly over each noodle.

Then roll.  Place each seam-side down in the baking dish.

Ladle remaining sauce over noodles.  Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over the top.

Cover with foil and bake 40 minutes.  Enjoy!

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

This recipe is from Southern Living's December 2011 issue.  It's especially awesome because it makes enough for TWO casseroles!  One to eat now, and one to put in your freezer to pull out on some frazzled Wednesday when you are too busy to make dinner.  It's also dressed-up enough to entertain with.  Some notes and tips:

• Don't be scared of the butter.  It's only 3 Tbsp in TWO big casseroles, so per serving, the butter content is, like, microscopic.
• For the bread crumbs, I had just hollowed out a loaf of sourdough to make a bread bowl, so I took the scooped out bread and pulsed in the food processor for a few seconds, and it made perfect, soft crumbs.  Another way I've done this is tearing up regular slices of bread and pulsing in the processor. Or, you could always use store bought bread crumbs.  I've never tried panko in this, but go for it if that's what you've got on hand. 
• For the chicken, I cooked two lbs of boneless skinless chicken breast in the crock pot in water on high for six hours.  Then I removed from the crock pot and shredded/chopped.  It made about five cups. 
• When you're ready to use the casserole you've frozen, let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.  Toast almonds.  Bake casserole covered at 350 for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake 1 hour or until thoroughly heated.  Then top with 1 cup cheese and almonds.  Bake 5 minutes more.  

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

1 (2.25 oz) package sliced almonds
2 (6.2 oz) packages Uncle Ben's quick cooking long grain and wild rice mix
2 medium onions, chopped
4 celery ribs, chopped (I left this out)
3 Tbsp butter
5 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (I use the low fat, low sodium version)
2 (8 oz) cans chopped water chestnuts, drained
1 (8 oz) container sour cream (I use reduced fat)
1 cup skim milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 cups shredded cheddar ( I use 2%)
2 cups soft fresh bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350.  Bake half the almonds in a single layer 5 minutes until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.  Prepare rice according to package instructions (there are special instructions on the box for preparing both boxes at once).

Meanwhile, melt butter in large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and celery, and saute 10 minutes.

Stir in chicken, next six ingredients, rice, and 2 cups cheese.

Spoon mixture into two lightly greased 11 x 7 baking dishes.  Top with bread crumbs.

Cover one in aluminum foil and freeze.  Bake the other at 350 for 35 minutes.  Top with 1 cup cheese and toasted almonds.  Bake 5 minutes more.  Enjoy!

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal

I don't know if you're aware of this or not, but a ton of foods that are marketed for breakfast are pretty much glorified cookies.  I know, sad news, but it's true.  Muffins, scones, croissants, and even most seemingly-healthy granola bars share basically the same nutrition stats as Little Debbie's.  Would you start your day with one of those?  I doubt it.

Now, that doesn't mean you have to eat something that tastes like cardboard for breakfast.  The solution?  Baked Oatmeal!  Even though it tastes like a cookie, but it's actually a super healthy way to start your day.  The oats and pumpkin have tons of of fiber to fill you up, and the flax seeds add a little heart-healthy fat.  As the recipe is written, each serving has less than 200 calories.  You could lighten it up even more by using egg whites or egg substitute, or you can sub something for the brown sugar.  You can make this for breakfast on the weekend, and have leftovers to last all week!

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal

3 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp flax seeds (optional)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs (or use egg whites/egg substitute)
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 cup pumpkin
Garnish:  chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray 9 x 9 square baking dish with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, baking powder, flax seeds, salt, and spices.

In a second bowl, combine eggs, pumpkin, and milk.  Stir or whisk until well blended.

Stir wet ingredients into dry.

Once combined, mixture will be very thick. almost like an oatmeal cookie batter.  Spoon into baking pan.  Then sprinkle on your chopped nuts, if you wish.  I had about 4 or 5 pecan halves left, so I just used those.

Bake 45 minutes or until set.

Makes 9 servings.  Enjoy!

Chicken and Dumplings

Pretty much every time I eat at Cracker Barrel, I order the Chicken and Dumplings.  They have such a rich and creamy consistency, and a wonderful, almost peppery flavor.  I always assumed they are pretty high calorie, though, so I considered them a splurge.  They have to be bad for you, right?  I have been conditioned to believe the following food maxims:

Cream based = butter/cream/fat is the main ingredient = high calorie = pants too tight
Broth based = chicken/beef stock is the main ingredient = low calorie = can still fit in pants

For the most part, these rules are true.  BUT the Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings are an unlikely exception!  The creamy consistency comes from slow-simmering dumplings in herb-infused chicken stock, causing them to partially dissolve and thicken the stock.  You'd swear there was a stick of butter in here, but there's not even a teaspoon.  Shocking?  Maybe.  Delicious?  Definitely!

Chicken and Dumplings

2-2.25 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 large white onion, cut into big chunks
1 clove garlic, peeled and quartered
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh parsley
1 tsp black pepper
Juice of half a lemon

Dumplings:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk (I use skim)

In a large stock pot, combine 8 cups water, chicken, 1 tsp salt, onion, garlic, bay leaf, parsley, and 1 tsp salt.  Cook over medium heat for about an hour, uncovered.

With a slotted spatula or spoon, remove chicken, and skim off all the onions and herbs.  All you want remaining in the pot is the broth.

Discard everything but the chicken.  Keep broth at a simmer over medium to medium low heat.  To the broth, add the remaining 1/2 tsp salt, pepper, and lemon juice.  Cut or pull the chicken into bite size chunks.

To make the dumplings, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Mix well.  Add milk.

Combine until dough just comes together.  Don't overmix or dumplings will be tough.

Let dough rest 10 minutes. Then roll out to 1/2 inch thickness on floured surface.

Use a pizza cutter to slice into dumplings.  Mine were around 1 inch x 1 inch.

Drop dumplings into broth.  Dumplings will swell, then will partially dissolve to thicken the sauce.  Cook 25 minutes.

Once sauce is thickened and dumplings are cooked through, stir in the chicken.

Give the mixture a final stir to combine.  Serve immediately.  Enjoy!

Hamburger Soup

This is a recipe that I got from my Mom.  It's one of the things she consistently made for us as long as I can remember.  I think the only thing I have changed here is the addition of the onion.  Mom left that out because my sister didn't like onion (still doesn't - she's crazy!), but I had to put some in there because I love the flavor it gives the ground beef.  Plus it just seemed wrong browning ground beef without it.  You can change up the veggies to suit your preference, but try using the seasonings as listed:  sugar, salt, and pepper.  I have tried adding different seasonings in the past, but it somehow takes away from the classic simplicity of the original taste.  Another tip:  don't junk it up with a bunch of fancy crackers.  If you must add some crunch, go for just a few plain saltines.  But I eat mine plain.  I guess I always have.

Hamburger Soup

1.25(ish) lbs lean ground beef or ground sirloin
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 29 oz can tomato sauce
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup water
1 small can peas, drained
1.5 cups frozen sweet corn (or use canned, drained)
1/2 cup diced carrots (or use canned, drained)
1 potato
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown ground beef with diced onion.

Once browned, reduce heat, and add carrots.  Cook until carrots have softened (5-10 min).

In a large stock pot, combine tomato sauce, tomatoes, water, peas, and corn.  Heat on medium, stirring often.

In the meantime, poke some holes in your potato with fork.  Microwave for about 5 minutes, or until it's cooked through.  Once cooled enough to handle, cut into bite size chunks.  The peel on my potato started coming off, so I went ahead and peeled the whole thing to avoid pieces of peel floating around the soup.

Next, add your ground beef to the tomato mixture.  I did not have to drain mine since it was lean, but if you use ground chuck, you will want to drain the fat off.  Stir in potatoes.

Cook for another 10 minutes or so, until soup is very hot, but not quite boiling.  Serve immediately.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Another thing I love about fall is all the pumpkin-y treats.  The Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks are one of my favorites.  I rarely have them though because they leave me with that hungry-but-fat feeling.  You know what I mean.  It's that feeling of, hey, I just consumed 550 calories from a $6 coffee drink, but I'm still hungry because I haven't even eaten anything yet.  Blah.  Which leads me to my at-home version.  Each one is around 100 calories, is delicious and pumpkin-y, and best of all, you can still eat some actual breakfast along with it.  It's best enjoyed on a crisp autumn morning, on a mountaintop veranda overlooking a colorful landscape of changing trees.  Or while sitting at your computer.  Whatever.  It's good either way.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

2 cups skim milk
3 Tbsp canned pumpkin
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 Tbsp sweetener of your choice (honey, stevia, splenda, etc)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup coffee
Garnish:  Fat Free Whipped Cream, pumpkin pie spice

Combine milk, pumpkin, spice, sweetener, and vanilla in a small saucepan.  Heat 10-12 minutes over medium heat, stirring often, until foamy.

Remove from heat.  Add hot coffee.  Pour into two coffee mugs.  Garnish each with whipped cream and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.  Makes two servings.  Enjoy!