Penne Rosa with Mushrooms

Ingredients:

16 oz. penne
Cooking spray
4 cloves of minced garlic
1 pinch crushed red pepper
8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups fresh spinach
1/2 cup chunky spaghetti sauce (I used a jarred sauce)
1/3 cup plain, fat free yogurt
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions:
Cook penne according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
In large skillet with a lid, heat pan over medium-low heat. Spray pan well with cooking spray. Add garlic and red pepper, cook for 2 minutes or until garlic begins to soften. (Don't get in a hurry and have your pan too hot. Garlic burns quite easily!)
Add mushrooms to the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes or until mushrooms begin to release their water.
Turn up the heat to medium-high and cook for one to two more minutes. Remove from heat, add spinach and cover skillet. Let the spinach wilt for two minutes.
Remove the lid and put the skillet back on low heat. Add penne, greek yogurt and spaghetti sauce to the skillet. Stir until everything is mixed well. Heat until just warmed through. Stir in parmesan cheese. Enjoy!


We got about 10 one cup servings at 203 calories per serving. If you feel you'd like more sauce just add in a little more yogurt and pasta sauce until it's like you like it. Of course that will change the calorie count some. Enjoy!

Chinese Sweet Corn and Crab Velvet Soup (Eating for IBS Cookbook w/ personal modifications in parentheses)

Ingredients:
6 cups chicken broth
2 cans creamed corn
2 tbs. Cooking sherry or mirin
1 tbs. Sugar
1 slice fresh ginger, minced (we used ginger in a tube found in the produce section - 2 tsp.)
4 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 cup crab meat (we substituted 2 cups -about 1/2 lb raw 150 count shrimp)
2tbs + 2tsp corn starch
Water
(Dried onion powder, celery salt, salt and pepper to taste)

Instructions:
Mix corn starch with just enough water to make a runny liquid. Set aside. Heat up chicken broth. Add corn, sherry, sugar and ginger. Bring to a boil. Drizzle in egg whites while swirling the soup with a spoon. You want the egg whites to form long strings as they cook. Add crab. If subbing raw shrimp, give them time to cook before proceeding to the next step (maybe 8 minutes). Stir in corn starch mixture. Allow soup to thicken. Add seasonings to taste. Serve over rice.

Mexican Turkey Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

1 - onion, chopped
2 - large carrots, peeled and sliced
2 - stalks celery, chopped
3 - cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 - mirlitons (chayote squash), chopped
8oz. - cooked leftover chicken or turkey, chopped
8 cups - chicken broth (or water and bouillon)
2 - cans diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp. - chili powder (more or less to taste)
1/2 tsp. - cumin (more or less to taste)
1/2 tsp. - turmeric (more or less to taste)
cilantro (I use dried)
1/8 c. - lime juice



Instructions:

Saute all veggies in a soup pot until they are just starting to soften. Add chicken, broth, canned tomatoes and chili, cumin and turmeric. Stir, cover and simmer until veggies are tender. Sprinkle cilantro and stir in lime juice. Adjust spices to taste. Enjoy! Sorry my spice measurements are kind of vague. I had a tiny helper in the kitchen and I don't know how much she added before I noticed her helping Mommy!

Chicken, Spinach and White Bean Quesadillas

Yields about 12 half cup servings of filling

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups seasoned, cooked and diced chicken breast meat
1 tbs olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup red bell pepper, diced
1 banana pepper, diced (we used some pickled ones we had on hand)
A pinch of red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper
1 clove of garlic
1 (heaping) tbs all purpose flour
3/4 cup chicken broth (we used water and a boullion cube)
4 cups fresh baby spinach, stems removed, coarsely chopped (we used a 10 oz. package of frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and moisture squeezed out)
1 15.5 oz can of white beans (navy, great northern, cannellini)
Cooking spray
Flour tortillas (burrito size)
Shredded cheese
Diced avocado
Sour cream

Instructions:
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.
Add onion, red bell pepper and banana pepper.
Season with crushed red pepper flake and salt and pepper.
Sauté until veggies have softened, about 6-8 minutes.
Add garlic and sauté for another minute.
Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and story to combine.
Cook while stirring for several minutes to cook the raw flavor out of the flour. Whisk in chicken broth and stir until thickened.(when it bubbles that's as thick as it's gonna get)
Add spinach and continue cooking til it's wilted (if using fresh).
Stir in cooked chicken and beans. Remove from heat.

Spray a large skillet or griddle with cooking spray.
Heat over medium-high heat.
Place one tortilla on griddle or pan and spread cheese over tortilla.
Spread chicken bean and spinach mixture over one half of tortilla.
Flip the empty half over the spinach mixture.
Cook until golden and crispy on both sides.
Remove from heat and cut into slices. Top with avocado and sour cream. (Though they don't need toppings!) Enjoy!


Thanks to othersideoffifty.com for this delicious recipe!

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Super simple breakfast!

Ingredients:

1/2 banana
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
3/4 cup vanilla almond milk (or vanilla soy milk)
A few shakes of pumpkin pie spice (or a dash each of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger)
4-5 ice cubes

Instructions:
Put all ingredients in a blender. Run on "Crush Ice" mode first (or pulse) until the ice is broken up. Then blend until smooth. Enjoy!


*I found that the smoothie needed more spice and needed to be sweetened a little more with honey or sugar or agave, but that was my personal taste. The kids liked it as it was so taste and see! :)

Leek and Veggie Soup

Ingredients:

8 medium leeks (Trimmed to just the light green and white parts), chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 head of cauliflower, chopped
1-2 small crowns broccoli, chopped
2 ribs of celery, chopped
2 small boiling potatoes washed and diced
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
6 cups chicken stock (half cup more if you choose to omit the wine)
1/4 cup all purpose flour


Instructions:

Slice the leeks, then wash them in a large bowl of water, agitating them well. Lots of dirt gets in all those layers! Drain them well in a colander.

Melt butter in your soup pot. Add leeks, onion, cauliflower, broccoli, celery and potatoes. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until slightly softened, about 8 minutes. Add flour and sauté 2 to 3 minutes more. Add wine and stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Use a stick blender to blend directly in pot or transfer to blender in small batches to break up the veggies. BE CAREFUL WHEN BLENDING HOT FOODS! Serve with rice. The longer it sits, the more the flavors marry and the better it is!

Veggie Lo Mein

Ingredients

1 lb. lo mein noodles (usually found in the 'ethnic' food section of the store)
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. sesame oil
2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced (depends on how much you like garlic!)
1 inch chunk fresh ginger root, peeled and minced (buy fresh! You'll be glad you did!)
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1 cup coarsely shredded carrots
1 1/2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini
Green onion tops, chopped
Soy sauce to taste
White pepper to taste

Cook lo mein noodles according to package directions until slightly tender but still quite chewy, about 2 minutes. Drain and rinse, then spray or drizzle noodles with oil. Run your fingers through them to separate the strands and distribute the oil. This will help keep them from sticking together. Set aside.

Heat the vegetable oil and sesame oil in a wok over high heat until it just smokes. Add the garlic and ginger and stir fry just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the noodles and stir fry until golden. Remove noodles from wok and set aside. Add the vegetables and stir fry until crisp-tender. Add the noodles back to the wok and cook until they are just tender and have absorbed the liquid from the vegetables. (If the veggies don't seem to release any liquid add a little water before putting the noodles in.) Stir in soy sauce and white pepper to taste and serve.


Tip: Be sure to prep all the veggies before hand. You don't want to be caught needing them and they're not ready!