Quinoa Salad

I was looking for a healthy side dish to go with my veggie burger tonight. I decided to use up the leftovers in my fridge and came up with this salad. The ingredients were already prepped so it took only a minute to throw together. It was so satisfying! Next time I plan to have this as my main course along with some grilled chicken.

Here's what I used:

1/2 cup cooked quinoa, cooled

1/2 cup cooked frozen peas, cooled

Assorted chopped veggies (mushrooms, celery, red onions, sweet peppers and tomatoes)

1 tbsp Renee's Gourmet Spring Herb Italian Dressing

Simply combine and enjoy!

Renee's Italian Dressing is one of my favourites. One tablespoon has just 20 calories and 2 grams of fat... and it tastes great! It is gluten free, dairy free, egg free and has no added sugar, artificial flavours or colours. It must be refrigerated so you won't find it in the salad dressing aisle. It is stored in the refrigerated section typically near the produce.

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Low Fat Chicken Casserole

There is something very comforting about casseroles during the cold winter months. The trouble is, casseroles are often loaded with calories and carbs (probably why they are so comforting in the first place!) I decided to search for a healthy alternative and discovered this recipe. It is excellent! It will definitely be going into my regular meal rotation.

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup all purpose gluten free flour

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp oregano/Italian herbs

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

4 large carrots, chopped

4 medium potatoes, chopped

1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup white wine

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Combine flour, pepper and herbs then coat the chicken in the flour/herb mixture. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and brown both sides of the chicken breasts. Remove and set aside.

Add the vegetables to the pan along with a few tablespoons of the broth and cook until vegetables begin to soften. Add remaining chicken broth and wine. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.

Put the chicken breasts into a roasting pan. Pour the vegetables and liquid over the chicken and cover. Cook for 45 minutes in the preheated oven.

Recipe adapted from LowFatCooking.About.Com

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Potato-Dill Salad

This potato salad is so simple but it's one of my favourites! The fresh dill is key. I've served this a few times when having friends over for dinner and they all wanted the recipe. It is a perfect side dish for a summer barbecue and can conveniently be made a day ahead (the longer it chills, the better it gets!)

I always double the amount of potatoes that was called for in the original recipe. There was too much dressing otherwise.

Ingredients:

2 lb baby potatoes, cut into quarters

1/2 cup low fat mayo

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

Fresh ground sea salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 cup chopped green onions (about 2)

Directions:

Boil the potatoes about 15 minutes, or until cooked (be careful not to overcook them). Drain and allow them to cool.

Once the potatoes are cool, prepare the dressing by combining the mayo, dill, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Then in a larger mixing bowl, gently toss the dressing, potatoes and green onions until well coated. Cover and refrigerate for several hours, or until chilled.

Recipe adapted from Kraft Canada

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Cabbage Roll Casserole

It recently dawned on me that I have never made cabbage rolls…and the more I thought about them, the more I wanted them! I understand that making cabbage rolls can be time-consuming, so I decided to start with a simpler version. This met all of my expectations! All of the delicious flavour of cabbage rolls with very little work. The original recipe called for beef, but I have always associated cabbage rolls with pork so I decided to modify the recipe and it turned out perfectly. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground pork

1 medium onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Fresh ground salt & pepper, to taste

1-14oz can tomato sauce

1 can water

½ cup uncooked basmati rice

6 cups shredded cabbage (approx 1 lb)

Directions: Brown pork, onion, garlic, salt and pepper in a frying pan. Drain the fat. Add tomato sauce and water to the pan. Bring to a boil and stir in rice. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Place 3 cups cabbage into the bottom of a casserole dish and cover with half the pork/rice mixture. Repeat the layers and bake, covered, at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. It may be refrigerated before baking. This makes 8 servings (1 cup each).

Recipe adapted from the Best of Bridge, Grand Slam Cookbook

Approximate nutritional information per serving (1 cup):
Calories: 205
Carbs: 19 g
Fat: 7 g
Protein: 14 g
Sodium: 64 mg
Fibre: 3 g

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Warm Apple Slaw

I found this recipe in a parenting magazine. I had seen Bob's team on Biggest Loser make something similar in a cooking challenge (and it happened to be the winning dish) so I had to try it. The cabbage and apples worked well together, and complimented the grilled pork chops perfectly.

The best part of this recipe, aside from being low-calorie, is that it didn’t take much time to make - and if you buy a bag of shredded cabbage there is very little prep work. Great for a week night!

Ingredients:

1 tsp margarine

1 or 2 tbsp olive oil

1 apple, cored and cut into 12 slices (they said to peel it but I didn’t)

1 medium onion

1 lb shredded cabbage

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste (they also said to add caraway seeds but I didn’t have any so I left them out)

Directions:

Melt a small amount of butter or margarine in a frying pan. Add the apple and brown a couple minutes on each side (don’t overcook – should still be firm). When those are done, transfer them to a plate.

Add small amount of oil to pan and sauté onion.  Add cabbage and cook for another minute or so. Add apple cider vinegar and chicken stock and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes until the liquid has reduced and the cabbage is tender. Add the apples and serve immediately.

Recipe adapted from Canadian Family magazine.

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Turkey and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Appetizer

I had some peppers to use up over the weekend so I went through my pantry in search for ingredients to make stuffed peppers. I'm currently enjoying the leftovers as I type this up...my experimentation was a success!

Ingredients:

Main Course

4 bell peppers, sliced in half length-wise and seeded (use sweet mini peppers if making appetizers)

1 lb extra lean ground turkey

1 tbsp olive oil

1 ½ cup cooked quinoa

1 – 28oz can crushed tomatoes (I used about ¾ can)

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ tsp ground cayenne pepper

Freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste

½ cup of your favourite salsa

¼ cup grated cheese (Parmesan, mozzarella, cheddar, etc)

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat oil in skillet. Add turkey, onion, garlic, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper and cook until turkey is lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in tomatoes, cooked quinoa and salsa.  Stuff peppers with this mixture and bake for 20 minutes. Top with cheese (optional) and bake for 5 minutes more. Serve immediately.

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Beef Stew

My mother-in-law makes a great beef stew - this is very similar to hers and is one of my favourites. I love that you don't have to worry about being exact with your measurements. Just throw what you have into the pot and you're good to go! It also freezes very well.

Ingredients:

Approx 3 pounds stewing beef, cut into bite-sized pieces

Gluten free flour (approx 1/2 cup, rice flour and all-purpose GF flour work well)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tbsp canola oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 cups low sodium beef broth

2 cups water

6 large potatoes, peeled and chopped

6 large carrots, peeled and chopped

1 cup frozen peas or corn

Directions:

Coat beef in flour, add some salt and pepper. Heat oil in large pot and begin to brown the onions. Add the beef (and any leftover flour that was used in the coating) and brown the meat. The more generous you are with the flour, the thicker your gravy will be. Stir the meat often with a wooden spoon while browning to help prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Once the meat is browned, add the beef broth and water. The meat should be covered completely so add additional broth or water if necessary. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally to make sure it isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pot too badly.

Next add the carrots and potatoes and cook for 45 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add the frozen peas or corn in the last five minutes and salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 8 servings (1 cup each).

Approximate nutritional information per serving:
Calories: 522
Carbs: 60 g
Fat: 14 g
Protein: 40 g
Sodium: 313 mg
Fibre: 7 g

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