This is a great quick and inexpensive meal to make in the morning when getting ready for work and is very healthy. You get the health benefits of the oats and the cinnamon. If you use maple syrup, it is a little less refined than sugar also. You need to use the Coach Steel Cut Oats and not regular steel cut oats since they are cut differently and cook quickly.
Directions add all ingredients to a bowl with about 1″ of space from the fill level to the lip of the bowl. Microwave for 6 minutes at 40% power (On a 1000 watt microwave). Any higher setting and it might boil over.
When you get cravings for Indian food and have about 45 minutes to make this, it really tastes great and is healthy too (Low in sodium and fat). Not too much saturated fat or salt and still has a lot of flavor.
2 large boneless skinless Chicken Breast Chopped in 1 to 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 tablespoon Ginger very finely minced
1/2 tablespoon garlic very finely minced
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
1/2 onion chopped finely
2 tomatoes chopped finely
1 lemon juiced
1 sprig curry leaves (if you have them)
1 teaspoon Salt (more at the end to season to taste)
1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 teaspoon of sugar
Chopped Cilantro for topping
1 cup of water
Following ingredients will be pan roasted
1/3 cup ground roasted unsalted cashew nuts (grind in food chopper or processor)
3 Dried red chillies
1/2 teaspoon Coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon Fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds
3 Green cardamom
1 inch Cinnamon stick (or 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, don’t roast if ground just add in)
2 Cloves 1 Star anise
Directions
Add the turmeric to the lemon pour over the chicken pieces in a bowl, mix and let set while you prepare the other ingredients. Put ingredients for pan roasting in a dry pan, heat on high and roast briefly till fragrant. Then transfer to a spice grinder (or coffee grinder) and grind to a powder and set aside. Add oil and mustard seed to pan and heat till starting to pop, then add in curry leaves and onion. Fry till the onion is starting to brown then add in the tomato and cook for about 10 minutes on high till starting to disintegrate then add the ground cashew and cook cook for another 3 minutes. Now add in the ground roasted spices and cayenne pepper and stir, now add the chicken and stir again and add in water. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes till chicken is cooked through. Taste and add salt, sugar, or more cayenne pepper to your taste. Serve with rice and enjoy.
This is a great quick tasty meal that is great to make on a weeknight when you don’t have a lot of time. Definitely healthier than take out.
Ingredients
3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
6 Slices of Ham lunch meat one each (not really thin sliced)
6 slices of Swiss Cheese
Dijon Mustard
Bread crumbs
Salt
Pepper
Toothpicks to secure rolled up Chicken Breast.
Cooking spray for baking dish
Directions
Slice the Chicken breasts to make them thinner so that you can roll them. You can slice them down into thirds if the are really thick or you can pound them out flatter. After they are all sliced, sprinkle them with salt and pepper on both sides. Then put the flat side up and lay a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss cheese on top and then put a thick stripe of Dijon mustard on the cheese and roll up and secure with toothpicks, cheese side in. Now roll in bread crumbs lay in greased baking pan and put into a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, until you can see the cheese is melted and just starting to ooze out. Serve and enjoy.
This taste incredible and take 20 minutes to make. I can’t say they are the healthiest food to eat, they do have steak, cheese and flour tortillas, but you can use whole wheat tortillas and use a little less cheese to reduce the fat if you want.
Ingredients
1 1/2 lb sirloin steak, cut into strips
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tablespoon of canola oil
12 soft taco size flour tortillas
1 16 oz package of shredded medium or mild cheddar cheese
Directions
Spread steak strips on a plate and sprinkle the cumin, pepper flakes, salt, oregano, and garlic powder on the meat and mix around with you hands to coat the meat. Heat pan till hot, add oil and steak and fry over high heat till browned and cooked. Set aside and clean the frying pan and heat pan again on medium high heat till the pan is hot. Now place one tortilla in the pan spread a thin layer of the cheese, then some of the steak, and a little more cheese over the meat and put a tortilla on the top. Heat till the bottom tortilla is lightly browned and then flip over and brown the other side. The cheese should be melted. Remove from then pan and cut into quarters on a cutting board. Plate and serve with some hot sauce, salsa, or guacamole.
This is a spicy jalapeno hot sauce, but not nearly as hot as a habanero sauce. You can kick up the spiciness by using serrano peppers instead of jalapenos. You can also make it less hot by removing the seeds and pith from the inside of the peppers. Goes great on mexican food, eggs, or whatever else you want to kick up a bit.
Ingredients
6 jalapeños med to large Stems cut off
3 Seranno peppers stems cut off
1/2 onion sliced
6 cloves of garlic minced
5 sprigs of cilantro
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cornstarch
1/8 cup of white vinegar
1/4 cup of water
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp canola
Directions
Take the jalapenos and blacken the skins. You can do this by holding them over a gas burner with a pair of tongs, use a culinary torch, or put then under an oven broiler.
Roasted Jalapeno
The torch is the easiest. Now slice them and add them to a frying pan with the oil, the onion, and the garlic. Fry them on high heat till there is some brown color on the onion, but do not burn the garlic. Add the fried mixture to a food processor along with cilantro, vinegar, water and salt and grind to a paste. Pour the paste into a strainer over a bowl and press out all the liquid from the paste into the bowl. Pour this back into the frying pan and add 1/4 teaspoon of cornstarch mixed with 1 teaspoon of water, stir, and bring to a boil. Boil for about 2-3 mins and let cool. Pour the sauce into a jar and your hot sauce is ready. It will be hottest the first day but will mellow in the fridge. It will keep in the fridge for at least a month or two. (Makes 4 – 6 oz).
You are craving something spicy and want something that will satisfy your craving, but healthy. Well this is it. Easy and quick to make, and beats buying take out. Cook, Enjoy!
Ingredients
Approx 1 lb of shrimp steamed (best deveined and shelled)
In a sauce pan add butter into a pan over medium heat and melt. Then add the olive oil, onion and garlic and fry over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Now add in the cajun seasoning and cook an additional 5 minutes. While cooking sauce, put about 1/2 inch of water in a pan and bring to a boil. Add shrimp and steam just until they are pink all over with no grey spots left, then remove immediately from heat. If you cook them too long they will become rubbery. Now add the cooked shrimp to the sauce and stir till coated and serve with rice.
This has an excellent spicy flavor and is a great filling meal. If goes great with cornbread (see my cornbread recipe). For a more healthy version you can use turkey bacon or cook the vegetarian/vegan version.
Ingredients
1 1/4 cup of dried pinto beans
1 large jalapeno pepper, diced
4 pieces of cooked bacon, diced. (veg/vegan: Instead add 1 tsp smoked paprika instead of regular paprika)
1/2 pound lean hamburger (veg/vegan: Leave out, or use veggie crumbles)
1/2 of a large onion diced.
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 teaspoon salt
~1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Directions
Soak beans overnight. Cook and dice bacon and then brown the hamburger add in onion an jalapeno and fry with the hamburger for about 3-4 minutes. Add beans into pot with hamburger and cover with 1/2 inch of water cook for about 2 hours. Now add in the bacon, salt, pepper, and paprika and cook for another hour till beans are starting to split.
This is a easy to make side dish which goes great with a meal. It goes especially well with chili (See my chili recipe).
Ingredients
Cooking spray to grease pan
1/4 cup butter or margarine (1/2 stick)
1 cup milk
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
optional
1/4 cup Frozen corn (thawed)
Jalapeno diced.
Directions
Add all ingredients and any optional ingredients for variations to a bowl and mix until combined. There may still be some lumps but that is ok. Pour into greased baking pan and bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 20 mins. After 20 mins insert a toothpick and if it comes out clean it is done. Serve hot with butter.
Wow, this tastes great. It is nice to have a cold or frozen one on a hot summer day and is great for getting an extra kick of energy. Using the frozen fruit makes it into a frozen smoothie. If you will be hooked on it. It is much lower in calories than a milkshake and I think it tastes as good.
Ingredients
1/4 cup of blueberries
1/4 cup of raspberries
1/4 cup of strawberries
1/2 cup of packed fresh spinach
1 tablespoons honey (optional, depends if you like it slightly sweet or sweet)
1/2 to 1 whole banana (optional)
1/3 cup of water
1/4 cup of ice (crushed)
Add all ingredients to a blender and blend till smooth. You will not even taste the spinach, but it adds a great health benefit. You can use frozen berries if they are out of season. The banana will make it a little more creamy.
This satisfies both your craving for asian food and for something tangy and spicy. This tastes great and is pretty easy to make. You can serve it with rice, on lettuce as a salad or even over asian noodles.
Ingredients
4 tsp canola oil with additional canola oil for frying chicken
3 large boneless/skinless chicken breasts, diced into 1″ cubes (veg/vegan use sliced firm marinated tofu).
5 – 6 green onions sliced crosswise. Use white part up to where the stem turns green.
12 oz pineapple juice
5 large cloves of garlic, minced
4 tablespoons of garlic chili sauce
5 tablespoons of white distilled vinegar
6 teaspoons of sugar
3 tsp of soy sauce
4 tablespoons of water
3 teaspoons of corn startch (mix with water)
1/2 cup of corn starch for coating chicken, don’t need for tofu.
Additional oil for frying chicken or tofu.
Prep and measure all the ingredients out ahead of time. Start by frying the garlic and onion in the oil on high heat till they soften then add pineapple juice, chili sauce, vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce. Cook till boiling, then add the cornstarch and water mixture and continue cooking till it turns clear after adding the cornstarch. Pour the sauce into a bowl and set aside. Now coat chicken cubes then fry them in canola oil on high heat until crispy on the outside (Veg/Vegan: Fry tofu till crispy). For a healthiest chicken option skip cornstarch coating on chicken and just lightly fry. Spoon chicken or tofu over lettuce or rice and then spoon sauce over the top. Enjoy!
