Take Your Vitamins!! Beets, Turnips, and Summer Squash

I visited my produce man this week, aka my dad, and he sent me home with his farm grown beets, turnips, spring onions, and yellow squash. After being fed either boiled or pickled beets all of my childhood, and I hated both, I have had to reintroduce myself to this hardy root vegetable. It is packed full of so much goodness. Did you know consuming beets can help prevent colon cancer? Is good for your cholesterol? Acts as an anti-inflammatory? That's just to name a few of the many benefits. As for turnips, I was able to tolerate them mashed, as that was how my mom would make them, but I feel like the good stuff gets cooked out in that process.  In an effort to add these veggies into our diets (and actually like them), I tested a few varieties. Here was my favorite dish, and it was the most simple of them all. 

Roasted Beets and Turnips

5-6 medium fresh turnips

5-6 medium fresh beets

Olive oil for drizzling

Kosher salt

Pepper

Slice off roots and tops of beets and turnips. Peel and dice. Place on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes turning once or twice while roasting. Remove when fork tender. Your heart will love you!!!

There are a million ways to prepare yellow squash. Hmmm. So my dad would slice them very thin, then flour and fry them. I'm not gonna lie, they were quite delicious. I have to have them at least once a summer that way, however, for the sake of good healthy eating, here's how I make them. 

Sautéed Squash

4-5 medium to large squash

Onions 

(I used the whites of my dad's very large spring onions)

Olive oil

1/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth

Salt and pepper

Fresh thyme

Slice squash and onions to like thickness. In a large sauté pan or heavy dutch oven, heat olive oil and add onions and squash, salt and pepper. Cook about 2 minutes; add broth and cook one to two minutes more or until desired doneness. We like them to be crisp. Remove from pan and top with chopped fresh thyme. 

I added some oven roasted chicken to this meal for protein. Why worry with something fancy, when the sides are the stars?! 

Sweet summertime!! 

Protein and the porch!!

It's all I need, well, at least for breakfast. The weather is warm and sunny and breezy, and my porch calls out to me every day. I managed to find a little piece of my morning this week to sit and have breakfast in my favorite spot with my high protein smoothie. The best part about this breakfast besides all of the health benefits...it's fast. I keep seeing posts and articles about everyone's quest for good health, especially this time of year. We try to be healthy year round, but let's face it, it's easier to be motivated when the weather turns warm, and we think about wearing those shorts or that bathing suit. Whatever motivates you, I hope you will try my high protein smoothie. There are many variations to it, depending on your taste buds. I like raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries in mine, but my husband doesn't care for the occasional surprise seed in his, so he only gets blueberries. It's fairly low in carbs, which is a good thing, but it's packed with lots of nutrition and most importantly, PROTEIN. If I don't have it, I'm thinking about what I will eat next. This will stick to you and keep you satisfied for a good long while. 

Protein-packed Fruit Smoothie

In a blender add the following:

1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt

1 cup berries of your choice (I buy frozen mixed berries or blueberries until they are in season)

1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder 

1/2 banana

1 cup fresh raw spinach

1 cup ice

*I decided to include the nutrition content for this recipe in case you'd like to know. It will vary slightly according to your choice of protein powder and fruit. Note...the carbs are mostly from the fruit, which is a good source for carbs, and morning is the best time to have them. Calories 347, Fat 1.3g, Carbohydrates 45g, Protein 44g

Here's to lots of great weather and feeling healthy!!

Warming and Healing - Chicken Soup!

I'm pretty sure God created chickens for soup making!! I'm convinced there are healing powers in all forms of chicken soup. My teenage daughter, Lauren, has been under the weather the past couple of days, and the weather hasn't even that much to brag about. It's March, and we have had cold, rainy days this week, with a little bit of snow coming down as I blog. I'm usually ready to phase out of the soup menu by now, but this week called one last time for it. In years past, this recipe has been my go-to meal to deliver to new moms and dads and to families in need of a pick-me-up. It's easy, and you don't need to cook it all day. I modified this from a Light and Tasty recipe.

Cream of Chicken and 

Wild Rice Soup

1 large onion, chopped

4 large carrots, sliced

4 celery ribs, sliced

small bunch celery leaves, chopped 

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

8 cups chicken broth

3 cups cooked wild rice (I use Uncle Ben's original wild rice)

3-4 cooked chicken breasts, cubed

1/4 teas kosher salt

1/4 teas pepper

1 can low fat evaporated milk

In a large dutch oven or saucepan, sauté onion, carrots and celery in butter and olive oil until tender. Add in chopped celery leaves for one more minute.  Add in flour and cook until well blended (about 1 minute). Slowly add broth while stirring. Stir in wild rice, chicken, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for a few minutes until thickened. Stir in milk and cook on low 3 or 4 minutes longer. Serve, and let it warm your soul. 

People will thank you!!

Share the Love...Cake Balls!!

I love chocolate! And I love my friends!! And I love my friends who love chocolate!!! When I was living in Japan, there was this recipe that everyone knew about except me, the new girl. They called them cake balls, amongst other things. Crack balls, truffle balls, cake truffles. Call them what you want, but they are something to behold. And something to share. My sweet friend and neighbor, Jody, was ever oh so kind enough to share these lovelies with me and the recipe too. I love them because every time I make them, I think of Jody and all of the dear friends I made there, and how much we loved to get together, and how we loved to get together and eat...especially chocolate. All you had to say was...cake balls...and you could draw a crowd. The recipe has been circulating for some time. So, I wanted to share it with you as well. I make them at Christmas for gifts and sometimes for birthdays. Just change out the sprinkles for whatever the occasion. Today, I used a red velvet cake.

Cake Balls

Cake of your choice (chocolate or red velvet)

One can of icing (cream cheese, vanilla, chocolate)

Almond bark or chocolate chips

Shortening

Prepare and bake cake according to directions. Allow to cool. Break cake up in large bowl and add can of frosting (I use cream cheese) and mix well (your hands are your best tools). Refrigerate until completely cool. Next roll into truffle size balls and place on sheet pan. Refrigerate again for about an hour so they are easy to dip. Melt chocolate in microwave or in double boiler (almond bark works great) and add about a teaspoon of shortening to thin mixture out a bit. Dip call balls in chocolate and place on sheet pan lined with wax paper. Decorate immediately, as chocolate dries fast. Now share!!! And enjoy some for yourself too!!


Happy Valentine's Day!!! 

Sufferin' Succotash...Feed Your Cold!!

Mark my words. I almost NEVER lose my appetite, but I have been fighting a cold (yeah, right!) or what feels more like the flu and a bad case of bronchitis for a week now, and it totally zapped my appetite. So what's that whole "starve a fever, feed a cold" thing about? How is this possible when you can't taste anything? I suppose it's just unlicensed wisdom passed down from previous generations on what the body may or may not need to fight viruses and fevers. Well, after a week on a great weight loss plan (NO FUN), I finally climbed out of my feverish state and decided to feed my cold and my weird craving. It was Succotash!! Just a side note, I hated Succotash as a kid and haven't had it since the last time my mom made me eat it. I remember huge chunks of tomatoes and lima beans. Yuck!! Well, apparently those days are of the past, because it's what I wanted when my appetite finally returned. I revamped my mom's old recipe just a bit, and my teenagers didn't even flinch when I put it in front of them. I realize this goes beyond chicken broth and hot tea, but after a week of that, I was ready for something new and clearly needed a good dose of veggies!

Succotash

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

15 oz chicken or vegetable broth

1 pint frozen or fresh lima beans

1 pint frozen or fresh corn

1 fresh zucchini, sliced

15 oz crushed tomatoes, undrained

salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the onion in olive oil and a little butter until tender. Add garlic for about 30 seconds then add in remaining ingredients and cook until zucchini is done. I added extra broth to make it more soup-like. Makes a great side dish or main dish with sausage or chicken added.

A Bite of History:

• Succotash dates back to the Great Depression.

Slow Cooker Cooking - Not Soup!!!

I love my using my slow cooker. There is nothing better than throwing in a few ingredients and walking away for the day, only to return to the most fragrant house. It almost feels like someone made dinner for you while you were gone. Almost. I decided to shake it up this week and try something besides a soup or stew in my Crock Pot. I had pork chops in the fridge. After a quick internet search, I found an old Taste of Home recipe that looked perfect and not too heavy. The best part, it was super easy. Just six ingredients, pairing applesauce and pork. Yum, my favorite!! My visit to a Virginia mountain apple orchard this fall yielded some homemade applesauce. I also canned tomato sauce from my dad's most abundant tomato crop in the summer. I was excited to put them to good use.

Slow Cooker Applesauce Pork Chops

4 bone-in or boneless pork chops

1 cup applesauce

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup vinegar

1-1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 teas cinnamon

Salt and pepper pork chops on both sides. Place in slow cooker and top with applesauce. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over pork chops. Cook on low around 6 six hours. I paired mine with baked sweet potatoes and sauteed cabbage. To keep it a quick meal after a busy day, I sauteed an onion in a little olive oil and added a bag of shredded cabbage (cole slaw mix) cooking with chicken broth for flavor. I had some applesauce left that I didn't use in the recipe, so I topped each chop with some. 

A Bite of History

• The electric slow cooker showed up around 1970 with the intention of cooking beans to perfection. It was soon after re-designed for all sorts of uses.