Author: Richelle Tabelon, RD

Slow Cooker Chili

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SCchili

Slow Cooker Chili

  • Servings: “6-8”
  • Difficulty: easy
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Set it and forget it with your slow cooker! I have never had great success with chili recipes in the slow cooker but this recipe worked really well. Freeze leftovers in individual containers for a quick lunch! *Adapted from Chowhound.com

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs lean ground beef
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup chili powder
  • 1 Tbsp cumin
  • 2 Tbsp canola or olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 1 green pepper, diced
  • 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 – 796ml can diced tomatoes
  • 1 – 540ml kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 cups (~480ml) tomato sauce
  • Optional topping: pickled jalapenos, drained

Directions

  1. Brown ground beef in a frying pan on the stove. Break into small pieces and cook until no longer pink. Add salt, chili powder and cumin. Mix well and transfer to slow cooker.
  2. Heat oil in the same pan. Sauté onion, green pepper, mushrooms, and garlic until softened.  Combine with the beef in the slow cooker.
  3. Add in diced tomatoes, kidney beans, and tomato sauce. Stir well.
  4. Cover and cook for 8 hours on low.
  5. To be kid-friendly, (if your kids don’t like heat!) add in jalapenos to individual serving bowls if desired. Enjoy!

Chili Garlic Pineapple Chicken Skewers

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chskewers

Chili Garlic Pineapple Chicken Skewers

Ingredients

  • 5-6 chicken breasts cut into 1” cubes
  • ¾ cup pineapple juice
  • 3 Tbsp soya sauce
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • 2 tsp chili garlic sauce
  • 1 clove garlic minced (optional)
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 Fresh pineapple cut into 1” chunks
  • Green onion (optional) as garnish

Directions

  1. Make marinade by combining pineapple juice, soya sauce, honey, chili garlic sauce, garlic, and sesame oil. Pour over chicken in a small dish or Ziploc bag, Stir until chicken is submerged. Leave in fridge for a minimum 1 hour but can be left overnight.
  2. Alternate threading chicken and pineapple onto skewers. (I find metal skewers work great but if using wooden skewers make sure you have soaked them in water first)
  3. BBQ skewers on tinfoil for ~10min or until chicken is no longer pink. Turn them as grilling (the pineapple will create a nice brown glaze). Enjoy!

 

Minestrone Soup

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Minestrone

Minestrone Soup

  • Servings: 5-6
  • Difficulty: easy
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One of the most common nutrition challenges I hear about is eating enough vegetables. One way to get more in is to make vegetable soup and freeze the extras for an easy addition to meals!

Ingredients

  • 3 Tbsp Olive oil
  • 1 white onion, diced
  • 1 celery stalk (~1/2 cup), diced
  • 1 carrot (~1/2 cup), diced
  • Optional: 1 small zucchini (~1 cup), thinly sliced
  • ½ cup green beans cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 cup potatoes, cut into small cubes
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 – 14oz (398ml) can diced tomatoes with juice or 2 cups fresh tomatoes, diced with juice
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • ½ tsp basil
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 – 14 oz (398ml) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • Optional: ¾ cup small shell pasta (don’t use if freezing because the pasta gets mushy)
  • Optional: a few handfuls baby spinach

Directions

  1. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Sauté onions, carrots and celery for ~3min. Add zucchini, green beans, potato and garlic. Cook for an additional 5 min until everything is softened.
  2. Add tomatoes, vegetable broth, spices and water. Cover with lid, bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer for 20min.
  3. Stir in kidney beans, pasta and spinach if using. Cover and simmer for an additional 15-20min or until potato and pasta are cooked. Enjoy!

Sweet & Spicy Fish Sauce

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trout

Sweet & Spicy Fish Sauce

  • Servings: ”4”
  • Difficulty: easy
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Need a new way to serve fish? This recipe is super easy and tasty! Inspired by an Indonesian sauce called Sambal Kecap and my Mother-in-law who made us something similar in the Philippines.

Ingredients

  • 1 medium tomato
  • 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 Tbsp low sodium soya sauce
  • 2 Tbsp purple onion, diced
  • 2 Tbsp sweet bell peppers, diced
  • 1 Tbsp Jalapeño, minced (or any other hot pepper depending on your heat tolerance!)

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Serve as a sauce with any fish!

Zucchini Radish Salad

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zucchini radish salad

Zucchini Radish Salad

  • Servings: ”4”
  • Difficulty: easy
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A great use for garden zucchini – just pick it before it gets too big!

Ingredients

  • 1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced into long strips using a mandolin or a vegetable peeler
  • ~4-5 radishes, thinly sliced
  • ¼ of an onion, sliced
  • 1 clove minced garlic
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup white vinegar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • Dill to taste (fresh preferred but can use dried dill weed)

Directions

Mix zucchini, radishes and onion in a bowl. Combine remaining ingredients in a small jar to make the salad dressing.  Shake well.  Pour dressing (to taste) over the vegetables.  (You will likely have extra. Store in fridge.)

 

 

 

Sweet & Sour Chicken Rice Bowls

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IMG_1680

Sweet & Sour Chicken Rice Bowls

A kid-friendly one pan meal for easy cleanup!

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp soya sauce
  • 2 Tbsp white vinegar
  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 5 Chicken breasts cut into 1” cubes
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • ~1 cup fresh pineapple cut into chunks (or 1 can of pineapple chunks, juice drained)
  • 1.5 cups uncooked white rice
  • 1 cup carrots sliced thinly
  • ½ cup each diced red and green pepper
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • ½ cup green onion thinly sliced (optional garnish)

Directions

  1. Mix together tomato paste, brown sugar, soya sauce, vinegar, garlic and optional red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Set aside.
  2. Sauté chicken breast chunks in oil in a large deep frying pan (you need a lid) over medium heat until no longer pink.
  3. Add remaining ingredients except green onion.
  4. Stir and cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook until most of the liquid is gone and rice is cooked. ~20 minutes. Garnish with optional green onion. Enjoy!

Naan

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naan

Naan

Easier than you think to make homemade!

Ingredients

1/2 c warm water (you may need a bit more)

~8g package active dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

2 1/4c all-purpose flour

1/2 c plain Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon oil (a bit more to grease the pan)

Directions

  1. In a small bowl, add the sugar, water, and yeast together. Stir to combine well. Let it sit ~10-15min. Place flour in a large bowl, make a well in the middle.  Add the yeast mixture, yogurt and oil. Knead the dough (or use a dough hook on a mixer) until smooth and shiny. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rise in a warm place for ~1hr. (The dough should double in size)
  2. Divide the dough into 8 portions and roll out each into a flat circle.
  3. 3. Heat up your frying pan (a cast iron skillet works best) over medium high heat.  Lightly oil pan and place dough on pan. The dough should puff up, bubble and dark spots appear. Flip and cook the other side. Enjoy!

 

Homemade Taco Seasoning

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taco

Homemade Taco Seasoning

  • Servings: single meal or batch
  • Difficulty: easy
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Great flavor without all the salt!

Ingredients

Single Batch:
(makes approximately 2 tbsp spice mix for 1 pound ground meat)

1 Tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp or more cayenne pepper (optional if you like it spicy!)

Make Ahead Big Batch:
(makes 8 batches of spice mix; use 2 tbsp spice mix per 1 pound ground meat or poultry)

8 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp dried oregano
4 tsp paprika
8 tsp ground cumin
4 tsp salt
8 tsp black pepper
4 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp or more cayenne pepper (optional if you like it spicy!)

Directions

  1. Combine all the spices in a bowl (store extra in an air-tight container or jar).
  2. Brown ground meat in a saucepan. Add 2 tbsp taco seasoning per 1 pound of ground meat or poultry along with 1 cup water and simmer until most of the water has evaporated.
  3. Serve ground seasoned meat in soft corn tortillas, hard shell corn tortillas or in flour tortillas along with your favorite toppings such as shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, diced onions, diced peppers, cubed avocado, beans, salsa, grated cheese, sour cream and/or cilantro. Alternatively you can use the leftovers make a taco salad out of the same ingredients.

Olive Tapenade

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olive

Olive Tapenade

A great spread if you are an olive lover! Thanks to my friend @melanieyyc for sharing the recipe...

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
  • 1/2 cup pimiento stuffed green olives
  • 1-2 cloves minced garlic
  • Drizzle of olive oil

Directions

Blend in blender until mixed but still a chunky consistency. Great with crackers or a charcuterie board spread!

 

Sheet Pan Lemon Chicken with Potatoes & Spinach

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sheetpan

Sheet Pan Lemon Chicken with Potatoes & Spinach

  • Servings: ”4-5”
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Our family loves this easy and delicious supper recipe!

Adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients

  • 6 medium red potatoes cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
  • 2 Tbsp olive or avocado oil
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 tsp salt, divided
  • 1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed, divided
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper, divided
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • 6-8 bone in chicken thighs, skin removed (or remove yourself)
  • 8 cups fresh spinach
  • Juice of 1/4 – 1/2 a lemon (to taste)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425˚F
  2. Mix potatoes, onion, oil, garlic, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp rosemary, ½ tsp pepper in a bowl until nicely coated. Transfer to a greased sheet pan (cookie sheet) Option: cover in foil for easy cleanup.
  3. In another small bowl, mix together paprika, and the rest of the salt, rosemary and pepper. Sprinkle over chicken and then place chicken in between potatoes on the pan. Roast for ~35min or until chicken is no longer pink.
  4. Remove chicken from pan and stir in spinach with the potatoes. Roast for another ~10min until spinach is wilted and potatoes are tender.
  5. Return chicken to pan and sprinkle lemon juice over entire pan. Serve and enjoy!