Golden Turmeric Latkes with Applesauce

Most countries have some version of the potato pancake - I'm not sure where this one is from but it is delicious!

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/turmeric_latkes_with_applesauce.html

This meal is pretty simple except for all the bold spice flavors which makes it unique.
The potato pancake part is pretty simple with the addition of turmeric (an anti-inflammatory spice) and the use of garbanzo bean (chickpea) flour. Add in grated onion, grated potato, flour, egg and spice.

Pan fry latkes in canola oil until browned on both sides and cooked through. Meanwhile heat applesauce mixture:

Top latkes with the applesauce mixture and enjoy!

Snacks!

Well we have had several repeat meals the last couple of days so I am not going to re-post those. Thursday was leftover night, we made a meal of all the tidbits leftover from earlier in the week. Friday was date night out for Thai food. Saturday and Sunday were Indian and spinach quiche.

Today I am home and in the snacking mood, here are some of my favorites:

Starting the day off with a apple, carrot and ginger juice gives me a huge boost of energy!

White bean dip made with leftover great northern beans, garlic and salsa (served with low-salt tortilla chips):

Two sweet potatoes chopped up and roasted - I can pop these til they're all gone while watching TV:

When I crave something creamy:

My staple snack: Triscuits and peanut butter - YUM!

Broccoli and Cheese Risotto

So I love creamy macaroni and cheese with broccoli but it's usually loaded with too much fat..
This is a good alternative as it has all of the creaminess from the arborio rice and cheddar flavor I crave.

Start by simmering 7 cups of broth (I use a low-sodium bouillon). Steam the broccoli and set aside.
Saute garlic for 1-2 minutes, add 2 1/2 cups of arborio rice, 2 Tb of lemon juice and 1 tsp black pepper. Cook on medium for 2 minutes. Start adding broth 1/2 cup at a time. Wait for the liquid to be absorbed before adding more and stir constantly!

Once all of the liquid is absorbed add in your broccoli and 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese and cook on low for 5 minutes. Time to serve! I added a little more cheddar on top to add the extra flavor. Next time I will add some cumin for more flavor which goes great with cheeses.

Sauerkraut

Easy meal night...
This is such a simple yet healthy meal - if you haven't tried sauerkraut before it is delicious! I was raised on it so I may be biased. Sauerkraut is fermented cabbage, so, full of great probiotics, which are great for your digestive system.
I usually saute onion with this but I was out so I did a whole bunch of garlic instead.

Add in a bunch of chopped potato, a jar of sauerkraut and simmer until potatoes are cooked through. I add paprika and black pepper in at the end. This meal doesn't need any added salt as the sauerkraut has plenty - try and find a lower sodium version if you can.

Super filling!!

Pesto Beans and Pasta

This is a recipe from a excellent new cookbook I received at Christmas this year:

Another example of a simple ingredients creating 'big' flavor!

I did not cook the whole thing in the crockpot, just my beans.

Chop and saute bell pepper and onion:

Add in bouillon, garlic, tomatoes and a little water and simmer:

Add in cooked beans and continue to simmer while you prepare the other components:

While this is simmering on low cook your pasta. Whole wheat penne for me and corn pasta for Brent:

You can buy store-bought pesto, but it is so easy to make your own at home: basil, garlic, olive oil and some parmesan in the food processor - this is Brent's forte. Buying the basil plant at the grocery store is usually cheaper than buying the little package of leaves and you can continue to have basil as long as you take care of your plant.

 Combine pasta with bean mixture, add pesto and extra parmesan on top. This was delicious, healthy and filling!

Mexican Taco Salad

A big plate of Mexican taco salad was perfect to round out a relaxing weekend.

We were all 'beaned' out from 2 days of the chili so we left that out and added in brown rice instead.
This taco salad had:
a base of low-sodium tortilla chips,
1 red bell pepper, 1/2 onion, 5 cloves of garlic, 1 cup of frozen corn, and 1 habanero - chopped
'hot' salsa,
1 avocado,

brown rice, 

and shredded cheddar




I love using my cast-iron pan for sauteing veggies like this, it adds so much flavor!

Quinoa Salad

Last night was a potluck with friends, I made an easy meal that makes a lot!
Quinoa with Sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and corn.

Cook the quinoa 2 (water) to 1 (quinoa) for 15-20min until water is absorbed. Add in steamed corn with garlic, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, 2 Tb red wine vinegar and 2 Tb olive oil. Top with parmesan!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili with Cornbread

This is a great twist on the average chili, from the Eating Well magazine. If you are concerned about beans use this simple way to prepare them with getting most of the sugars out that can cause excess 'gas'.

The night before using them rinse (dried) beans, boil them for 5 minutes and set them aside to soak overnight. In the morning rinse them again, add to crockpot with fresh water and cook on low. Before adding them to the chili rinse them again.

Here is the recipe, I love this so much I made twice the amount so we could both have it for lunch tomorrow:

 The main changes I made were to use whole chopped chipotle chili in adobo sauce and a small amount of tomato paste instead of diced tomatoes. And no cilantro!

Well you have to have cornbread with your chili right? This is a simple recipe that tastes pretty good. I used corn flour instead of regular to make it gluten free and cut the sugar in half. All of the cornbread, pancake, biscuit mixes you buy are pretty much flour, baking powder and a whole bunch of other 'junk'. This is much simpler...

Fish and Potato Chowder

Well I planned my meals for the week based on the cold weather although it will be 60's again for the weekend.

This is a pretty simple fish, potato and corn chowder.

I sauteed 1 chopped leek with a low sodium veggie bouillon,

added a whole bunch of chopped potato, water to cover the potato and let it cook for 10 minutes.

I then added 1 can of creamed corn and 1 1/2 cups skim milk and seasoned with a little salt and lots of ground black pepper.

Once the potato was cooked through I blended a batch of soup and added it back in to the remainder to thicken it.

After that I added 1lb of rough cut wild caught cod. Cooked at a simmer for 20 minutes and Voila!