Nutrition Note - 1

Cooking Oils


You cannot completely avoid oils when cooking in the kitchen.  But, not all oils are created equal, and not every recipe you'll read requires the kind of oil that is listed.


When it comes to oil, vegetable oil is really one of the worst oils to be using.  If you have to use a heavy oil for cooking, try subbing out canola oil instead.  Its really ideal to use coconut oil, sunflower seed oil, or olive oil when cooking, and is especially easy to substitute out when cooking something at a high or medium heat setting.  


Nut/seed oils and olive oils have omega-3's in them, which can increase the amount of good cholesterol you have, making them "heart healthy".  I sub out olive oil for virtually every recipe I use...because if I have to ingest oil, it might as well have some kind of benefit.


These oils DO have a higher smoke point than vegetable oils--a smoke point is about what it sounds like--the point at which an oil is heated so much that smoke is created.  When oil is heated to that point, it begins to create harmful compounds that are then absorbed into the body.  Some of these compounds are even considered carcinogenic.  Do NOT over heat your oil!  The general rule is the lighter the oil and the "cheaper" it is (some chemicals are added to cheaper brands of cooking oil), the lower the smoke point will be.  


Another note--it IS possible for oil to "go bad", or get rancid.  Its a good idea to keep your oils in tightly sealed containers, in either the fridge or a cool, dark pantry, to avoid this from happening.

Perfect Porkchops

These are my husband's all-time favorite meal.  They have the perfect amount of tanginess and sweetness, and very minimal preparation.  My son will even eat a whole chop by himself, which I consider a serious success.  These are great when you have time for cooking, but just don't feel like doing much.


Ingredients

• 4 bone-in porkchops (you can use boneless chops, but they won't be as tender)
• 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Place all the porkchops in a baking dish and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Set aside and make your sauce.

Mix all of the remaining ingredients in a small bowl until well combined.  Spoon about half the sauce over the tops of the porkchops, making sure they are evenly covered.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, turn the chops over and spread with the remaining sauce.  Return to the oven for another 30 minutes.  

These chops are juicy, sweet and delicious.  One of our easiest and favorite dinners!

Personalized Pizzas

I've heard just about every quick recipe for pizzas out there (or so I'd thought until last week)--english muffins, tortillas, biscuits, etc.  This was my mother-in-law's idea for a quick lunch--and it is the quickest, tastiest personalizable pizza recipe I've ever come across.  Thanks, Mom!


Seriously, this takes about 10 minutes from start to finish--amazing for a snack or quick meal.  Plus, they're small, so its very easy to individualize them to your liking.  We made ours with pepperoni, bell peppers and onions, but you can use whatever pizza toppings you like.  Recipe is 4 servings.




Ingredients

• 4 complete hamburger buns
• About 1/2 cup pizza sauce
• About 1 cup shredded cheese
• Pizza toppings of choice, finely chopped

Using a rolling pin, flatten each side of the buns to about half their original thickness.  Too thin will burn easily, so don't go over board!  Toast the buns in the toaster.

While you're toasting the buns, chop up the toppings of your choice (or if you have veggies prepped ahead of time, this makes the process even shorter!)  These are about how much toppings we used for our pizzas...about half a small onion, half a bell pepper and just a handful of pepperonis.

Place the toasted buns on a nonstick or greased baking sheet.  Top each bun with about 2 teaspoons of pizza sauce and spread evenly.  Top with shredded cheese and then toppings.  You may have to do them in batches, depending on how many you are making, but they take virtually no time to cook, so it isn't a big deal.

Put the pizzas under the broiler for about 2-3 minutes, or until cheese is melted. They only need to be in long enough for the cheese to melt and the pizza to be heated through, so it doesn't take long at all.  If you leave these in for even a minute too long, they WILL burn.

 Ta-da!  The results...as you can see, we had a few casualties to the broiler, so really keep an eye on them.  Best, easiest mini pizzas I've ever made.

Crockpot Spinach and Beef Lasagna

I'm a HUGE fan of crockpot meals.  They usually require minimal preperation, and almost always result in great food that tastes like you slaved over it.  This is a variation on a Betty Crocker recipe for a crockpot lasagna that my boys love.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cans (each 15 oz.) tomato sauce
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 2 cups shredded skim mozzarella cheese
• 15 oz. container part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• rinsed baby spinach
• 10-15 uncooked lasagna noodles

Cook beef and onion in a skillet over medium heat until meat is browned.  Drain, then move to a bowl and stir in tomato sauce, basil and Italian seasoning.

Mix half of the mozzarella, the ricotta and Parmesan cheese in a separate bowl and set aside.



Spoon a quarter of the meat mixture into the crockpot.  Top with enough noodles to cover, broken into pieces so they fit.  Top this with half of the cheese mixture.  On top of the cheese, layer as much baby spinach as is to your liking, completely covering the cheese.  Top with another quarter of the meat mixture.  Repeat with a layer of noodles, rest of the cheese, layer of spinach, and another quarter of the meat mixture.  Top off with a final layer of noodles and the rest of the sauce. 

I know the layering is complicated--and honestly, you do not HAVE to layer it in this way, but it looks prettier when you cut into it.  Really, layer meat, cheese, spinach and noodles as you like, I say.  :)

Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours, or until the noodles are tender.  Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese and cover long enough for it to melt, usually 5-10 minutes. 

Makes enough delicious lasagna to feed a family of four and have enough leftovers to enjoy again the next day.  Yuuuummy!

Time Saving Tip - 1

I've read many, many times that one of the easiest ways to save time during the week when it comes to meal prep is by taking one day to cook all of the meals for the week and freeze them.  Well you know what...if I'm looking for a time saver, chances are I don't have a whole day to stay in the kitchen in cook, and if I DO have the time, I'd rather spend it doing something else.

So far, this has been one of the best time-savers I've discovered, when it comes to food prep.  While I don't have one full day available to cook meals for the week, I do have a free hour or two every once in a while.  I utilize it by prepping ingredients for meals that I plan at the beginning of the week.

There are a lot of ingredients that we use typically in a week, that require chopping, slicing, etc. (Including snacks for my son, who is a fruit/veggie nut).  I find that I spend most of my time cooking cutting/chopping things up, so this really saves a tremendous amount of time.  By dicing up, in bulk, things like onions, bell peppers, carrots, celery, apples, melon, etc. you can easily save time without sacrificing an entire day. 

Plus, this day happens to be my son's favorite day of the week (prep day)...I let him stand next to me and gorge himself on melon while I cut things up to put in tupperwares/baggies.  Just cut up ingredients you know you will use during the week and save them for later.  Then, all you need to do is dig out the tupperware later and ignore your knife block. 

Voila!  My son's snacks for the week, cut up and ready to go!


Besides cutting up fruits and veggies, I also sometimes cook rice in bulk ahead of time.  Just anything you can cook ahead in just an hour or two of free time--it helps, trust me!

No-Bake Cookie Dough

Not the healthiest snack, but this one makes a great indulgence every once in a while, especially if you're one of those people who loves to lick the spoon while making cookies.  Its also really easy and fast!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter (softened)
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• rainbow sprinkles (optional)

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar until fluffy.  Mix in the vanilla.  Add the flour, 1/3 cup at a time, stirring each time, until batter reaches cookie-dough consistency.  Mix in desired amount of rainbow sprinkles, for some color.  If the cookie dough is too dry for your liking, you can add water one teaspoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.  Best eaten straight from the bowl, while PMSing and watching Grey's Anatomy.  Enjoy!

Incredibly Easy Jerk Chicken

This is a recipe from my Taste of Home cookbook (which I adore) that has been modified slightly, and is definitely a crowd pleaser in our house (the kids love it, because its sweet).

A warning, this one doesn't take long to actually assemble and cook, but DOES need to be marinated for 2-3 hours for best results.  This is not a problem for me, but if you're looking for a meal that can be completely assembled and finished in 30 minutes, this is not the one.

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved  (we use pre-cut chicken tenders)
• 1/4 cup olive oil (you can almost half this, if you'd like)
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce (reduced sodium if you have it)
• 1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (this can be omitted if you don't like spice, but we hardly notice)

In a large, ziploc baggy, combine all of the ingredients except the chicken, and seal and shake to mix.  Add the chicken breasts to the baggy and turn a few times to coat.  Refrigerate 2-3 hours, turning once.

Coat a grill/Foreman grill/skillet with cooking spray.  For the healthiest (and I think best tasting) results, use the Foreman grill.  Drain and throw away any unused marinade.  Grill chicken (covered and evenly spaced) over medium heat until a meat thermometer reads 180 F, or the chicken juices run clear (I generally fine that this takes 7-10 minutes with the Foreman grill, depending on the thickness of the chicken).

The outside of the chicken should look about like that ^^ with lots of nice, crusty brown goodness caramelized on both sides.  We have to do this twice to cook both chicken breasts, but it still takes less than 30 minutes to cook everything.  This is the final result...

YUMMY!

The first time I made this, I served it with brown rice cooked with the tiniest bit of fennel seed, and mixed with grilled pineapple and chopped macadamia nuts--but hubby wasn't a fan, so we haven't had it that way since.  It was a delicious side, though, if you so desire!