Recipes

Hi all,

My scale was feelin’ the love this morning and showed a .5 pound loss so I’m feeling pretty excited. Also, the emergency pants I purchased two weeks ago when none of the pants in my closet fit and I was feeling really weird hanging around the office with my pants undone, yeah, those pants, they are loose on me today. Yay!

For today, I’m aiming for about 1350 calories. Those calories include whole wheat muffins, yogurt, an apple, milk, curry beef lentil soup, chicken in a apricot demiglace, roasted red pepper and wild rice pilaf, mixed greens and a fudgesicle. Yum!

By the way, I wasn’t able to find a decent aerobics DVD at Walmart yesterday but Janelle mentioned that Chapters had a pretty good selection so I am going to go there tonight. I’m doing a pretty good job of limiting what I eat but I really need to get my ass in gear and start exercising otherwise I’ll be all wizened and limp and muscle-free by the time I get down to my goal weight. So not sexy.

Anyhoo, I thought I would post a few recipes that I’ve been enjoying. I’d love to be able to take credit for the two soup recipes but, alas, I found them in a low fat cookbook of my mom’s. The other two are all mine, baby, and I am proud!

- Leya

Curry Beef Lentil Soup
3 cups rinsed red lentils
15 ounces eye of round beef, cubed
3 chopped red peppers
1 chopped white onion
4 cups chopped carrot
4 chopped roma tomatoes
4 cans condensed beef broth
2 cans water
1 tbsp Pataks original curry paste (or to taste as people may not like it as spicy)

Combine all ingredients into a large pot. Bring the soup to a boil, drop heat and allow to simmer until the carrots are soft. This soup freezes really nicely and makes between 9 and 10 single servings. I had a hard time tracking down curry paste and lentils and eventually found them at Superstore.

Split Pea and Ham Soup
4 cups split peas, rinsed
2 cups cubed ham
4 stalks celery, halved and chopped
1 white onion, chopped
3 cups chopped carrot
4 large potatoes, cubed (I usually use 8 of the small, golden nugget potatoes so I can be lazy and leave the skin on)
bay leaves, thyme, sea salt, ground pepper to taste
onion powder, to taste
4 cans condensed chicken broth
2-3 cups water

Bring the soup to a boil, drop heat and allow to simmer until the potatoes are soft. Fish about ½ of the potatoes out of the pot, and whip them with a beater until smooth. Return whipped potatoes to pot and stir in. Allow to simmer for another 10 minutes or so (until the split peas are soft). I get about 9-10 servings. This recipe freezes well, making it convenient for lunches.

Chocolate Banana Raspberry Muffins
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup All Bran cereal
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
6 tbsp cocoa powder

Combine in a mixing bowl, make a well and set aside.

1 large egg
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Beat until frothy, then add:

1 cup plain, nonfat yogurt
¼ cup nonfat milk
4 large, over-ripe bananas
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

Beat liguid ingredients until the bananas and raspberries are nicely mashed and the mixture is smooth. Combine with the dry ingredients and mix. Line two muffin trays with medium muffin liners. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are firm to the touch. Makes 24 muffins.

Athenian Chicken with Roasted Potatoes
6 boneless, skinless breasts of chicken
6 ounces of feta cheese
1 package frozen spinach

1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
t tsp oregano
½ tsp sea salt

Combine the spice mix and set aside.

In between two pieces of waxed paper, place a breast of chicken. With a meat mallet, pound the chicken until the breast is flattened and about ¼” thick. Sprinkle 1/6 of the spice mix onto the breast. Place one ounce of feta cheese with 1/7 of the spinach on one end of the chicken and roll up, tucking in the ends. Repeat with each breast of chicken.

1 lemon
3 tbsp olive oil
¾ cup condensed chicken broth
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp dry mustard
2 cloves grated garlic
2 tsp dried oregano (or 2 tbsp fresh, chopped)
2 tsp dried basil (or 2 tbsp fresh, chopped)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 ounce feta cheese
1/7 package of spinach.

In a mixing bowl, juice lemon and combine with remaining ingredients. Wisk until honey is dissolved. Place breasts in a covered roasting pan and pour sauce over. Quarter baby potatoes and place around the chicken. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Freezing Tip:
All ingredients freeze really well. Place two rolled breasts a piece in a freezable container and then split the sauce accordingly. Take container out of the freezer in the morning and it should be thawed through by dinner. Just add the potatoes, bake in the oven and enjoy!

Calories per serving: 438 per serving (chicken) and 202 for 7 ounces of roasted potato (raw weight)