Fall Salads

We tried the Butternut Squash & Smokey Ham Quinoa salad a few weeks ago as a main course and LOVED it. I substituted the ham for Turkey Sausage since Mike isn't a Ham man. The other salads on the site look awesome!!

Tofu, what?!

Okay Em-here is the recipe I tried with tofu. It was surprisingly really good. Tofu is kind of tasteless and we both really liked the texture. If you're feeling bold I would recommend it.

Artichoke Pasta
1/2 lb. tri-colored pasta (or elbow macaroni)
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 lb. firm or extra-firm tofu, diced
1 (14-oz.) can artichoke hearts, quartered
1 (12-oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce

•Cook the pasta according to the package directions.
•While the pasta is cooking, sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the diced tofu and sauté for 2 minutes, then add the artichokes, tomatoes, and tomato sauce.
•Drain the pasta and combine all the ingredients.

Makes 4 Servings

Healthy yummy lunch wraps

I've been making these for Mike's lunches and he really likes them cause their tasty and not PB&J's. I like the tortilla's cause they don't dry out like bread does.

Ingredients

Whole Wheat Tortilla's

Lite Cream Cheese

Shredded Carrot

Diced Onion (I prefer Green onion)

Pepperoni

Deli sliced Chicken Breast

Mustard of Choice ex:Honey Mustard

Baby Spinach

Tooth picks

Method: Spread thin layer of cream cheese on Tortilla, (I sprinkle pepper and chili pwd. on the cream cheese for Mike) sprinkle onion down center of tortilla, sprinkle shredded carrot on entire tortilla, layer pepperoni in thin layer down center of tortilla, put chicken on top of pepperoni, spread mustard on chicken, place spinach on top and role tortilla. I use the Subway trick to role my wraps by using a knife to hold the fillings in place when I role it. If you're packing it for lunch I stick to tooth picks in it before I cut it to hold them together.

Note: I really like the Hickory Farms cranberry mustard but I only buy it at Christmas so I made my own the other day. Mix equal parts canned cranberry sauce and spicy brown mustard in a sauce pan over medium heat and mix till smooth. Mike suggested adding some horseradish. It was pretty good.

Best Healthy Breakfast

I am hoping to mostly be a beneficiary of this blog, since my cooking leaves much to be desired. However, here is an awesome breakfast--healthy, delicious, and--best of all for my family--PINK!

Oatmeal Parfaits
1 cup steel cut oats
3 cups water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
32 oz. plain fat-free yogurt
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup half-and-half (or heavy cream, if you wish to be deliciously naughty)
frozen berries

Cook the oats with the water, salt, and cinnamon overnight on low in a crockpot. Mix the yogurt with the brown sugar and half-and-half and let it sit overnight as well in the refrigerator. In the morning, layer oatmeal, yogurt, berries. (We just do one layer of each in a cereal bowl, but it would be pretty with two layers of each in a tall glass.) When you mix it all up, it turns pink, so my girls call it princess food.

Variations: We've also done this with quick-cook barley or wheat bulgur when I don't remember to set the oatmeal up overnight. They only take ten minutes in a saucepan on top of the stove.