I LOVED it. Then again I made it. Not sure what everyone else will think but I thought I’d share anyway. It was only Little Guy and I for dinner and he wasn’t too too impressed. He ate the chicken with some coaxing but after one bite and a nasty face I decided he didn’t have to finish his Turnup Radish Puree. My rule is one bite and he did try it with an open mind. Oh well.. as I always say.. more for me! I got two lunches out of the deal! :)

Here’s what I did. Take this one as an idea and make it your own. Measurements are all approximate.

• About a 2 cups of turnips
• About 1 cup of radishes
• About a tbsp non-fat cream cheese
• About 1 lb of boneless chicken breast cut into tender like pieces
• About 1 cup fresh parsley
• 1-2 lemons
• About 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
• Kosher Salt
• Black Pepper

Here’s my turnips and radhishes from the farm. Aren’t they beautiful?

I scrubbed and cut them in half. Placing them in a pot covered with water and boiled them over high heat. While they were cooking I made a parsley puree with the parsley, juice and peal of the lemons, and the soy sauce. I also added a bit of water to help it in the blender.

I then coated the chicken in the parley mixture and set it aside.

Meanwhile I checked in on the turnips and radishes. I waited until they were tender when pierced before removing them from the heat.

Then I put them in the food processor with the cream cheese plus some salt and just a touch of fresh ground pepper.

Once the puree was done I cooked the chicken in a skillet over medium high heat. They only took a few minutes per side and the the parsley made a great fresh crust on the outside.

I served the chicken on the puree and….

…added some Quick Sugar Snap Peas. :)

I did a quick nutritional analysis with the estimates and I’m getting this meal in at about 4 points for each of the 4 servings. It makes sense. I mean it’s just chicken with some fresh veggies! Totally satisfying though and tasted like summer to me. If that makes sense. :)

So I decided to use my unsuspecting extended family over Easter weekend as guinea pigs and I whipped up an idea I had for a few weeks. Thankfully Mom was here to make some suggestions. The result was a hit and I’ll be eating the leftovers for lunch over the next few days. :)

There is one teeny tiny problem and you may have guessed it if you’ve been reading my blog for some time. Whenever I tack on the word "Idea" to a title that means I didn’t really measure anything. I tried. I really did but making this for the very first time I just had to go with it.

I still like to share these "Ideas" and I hope they give you some of your own. I will be making this again soon and I’ll be jotting down a few notes to give you more specifics. In the mean time all you experimenters out there have fun. :)

This is what I did with as much details as I can provide…

• 1 20oz package of lean ground turkey
• 1 cup Old Fashion Oats
• 1 egg
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 inch of fresh ginger root (preferably frozen so you can grate)
• 1 8oz can of crushed pineapple
• 1 15oz can of chicken broth
• About 5 dried apricots
• Honey (I used about 1 tbsp but went by taste)
• Molasses (I used about 1 tbsp but went by taste)
• 1 sweet bell pepper chopped (I used a mix of red and orange)
• 1 red onion chopped

Preheat the broiler.

Add the turkey, oatmeal, and egg in a large bowl. Grate in 1 clove of the garlic and 1/2 of the ginger. Combine together with your hands and form the meatballs. Try to keep them on the small side.

Brown the meatballs on a cookie sheet under the broiler.

While the meatballs are in the oven, add the remaining clove of garlic and ginger root, the pineapple, chicken broth, honey and molasses to the blender. Blend on high until smooth.

By this time the meatballs should be brown. Add them to the crockpot, along with the onion, peppers and pineapple mixture. I cooked on high for about 4 hours and then lowered low until we were ready to eat, about 2 more hours. I think they were down after 3. At least that’s when I tried them. :)

I served this over rice for a dinner but we’ll be eating them straight up for the shower.

What I’ll do different next time…

• Measure, of course! That way I can do nutritional info
• Add more garlic. I’m thinking at least 2 cloves in the meatballs and 2 in the "gravy".

Any other ideas? Anyone make anything similar?

Even though the child is not a fan of mushrooms or onions he likes this meal. Tonight I ACTUALLY got him to try a mushroom and he ACTUALLY admitted they weren’t that bad. Not in words, mind you, but by facial expression. We called him on it and he just smirked. It was cute.

I hope this loooong video gives you some ideas for you family. :)

As I mentioned it i the video click here for my frozen meat trick.

Let’s start with the Moroccan Spices. Earlier today I saw a tweet from Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes and she mentioned Moroccan style seasoning. Not knowing exactly what that meant I asked her and she was nice enough to share her recipe.

• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp chile powd
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/8 tsp cayenne

I actually had all of those spices in my pantry so I decided I would whip it up and try it on some chicken I was defrosting for dinner.

Later in the day Ryan and I hit a farm stand and became mesmerized by this…

… a beautiful head of purple cauliflower. I never saw such a thing! We had to buy it. I’m glad we did! Besides tasting good apparently there’s some benefits to purple veggies.

So I roasted the purple cauliflower and sprinkled my new Moroccan Seasoning on some boneless chicken tenders. To round out the plate I simply wilted some spinach leaves in a skillet with a teeny bit of olive oil, salt and bit of the Moroccan spice blend.

It was a quick easy meal once my oven heated up. I loved the spices and chicken served over the spinach but both husband and child could have done without. They stuck with simple chicken legs. However both gobbled up the cauliflower that I simply roasted with some kosher salt.

I hope this gives you some idea for dinner this week. Try the Moroccan spice blend. It really is delicious! I’m gonna try it on popcorn and squash seeds as Andrea recommended. :)

So I paired the scallops with multicolored peppers smothered in a wonderful sweet sauce and served over rice.

The Sweet and Sour Sauce

• 1 cup crushed pineapple with liquids
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp whole wheat flour
• 1 small sweet onion diced

I whisked all of that together and added it to a large skillet with the scallops and peppers. The taste was fantastic my approach just needs some work and I’ll leave it at that. ;~P

Even though my preparation wasn’t perfect the dinner really did come out tasty and the child loved it. The husband could take it or leave it. In his defense he’s not really a pepper or scallop man, so I can’t really blame him. However, he did give me the traditional "I can see others really liking this." lol

So there you have it. I’m hoping to make it again in my NEW kitchen once I’m al moved in! ;~)

Anyway, I made the legs for "the boys" and rolled up my own chicken concoction using a few things I had in my fridge. I’m not sure I’ll make it this way again, but I’m glad I tried it. I’d like to replace the spinach with fresh herbs and possibly cook it in a red sauce. However, in a pinch this was great and I thought it might spark some ideas for you.

Warning.. this is just an idea… I didn’t measure anything.. just take the idea and roll with it. (pun intended) ;~)

• Thin cut chicken breast or regular boneless breast pounded thin
• tomato paste
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• kosher salt & pepper
• dried basil
• baby spinach leaves
• shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non stick cooking spray.

Smear the paste on the chicken. Sprinkle with spices. Top with spinach leaves and a bit of cheese. Roll. Secure with a tooth pick.

Bake for about 15-25 minutes depending on the thickness of your chicken.

I went a bit picture happy with this one. I just think it could be such a pretty dish. As you can see in my main picture, I served it with brussel sprouts and corn on the cob. Next time I’m thinking I’ll simmer them in a sauce and serve with a side of whole wheat pasta.

Remember on my about page how I mentioned sometimes I just cook for me. Well, this is one of those times. Without having to please the husband or the toddler I hit the ground running with leftovers I found in the fridge. Let me just say, right now, as I eat this. I’m SO happy I have a picky husband for the pure fact that I DON’T want to share!

OH MY! SO YUMMY!

I don’t have a "real" recipe as I literally just whipped it up. I snapped a few pictures in case it came out good enough to post, but I didn’t measure anything. So this is just an idea, you can take and run with.

First, the ingredients were a mix of leftovers, pantry items and the pomegranate the toddler and I cleaned this morning. Bear with me as I try to describe.

I had:

• leftover bulgur – The other night I made some bulgur as a side dish by sautéing some onion, peppers and carrots. Then I added the bulgur and chicken broth, brought to a boil, then simmered until done. I LOVED it, the husband and toddler, not completely sold yet, but I’ll keep trying. :~)
• leftover peas – Last night I made Baked Ham with Sweet Potatoes and Carrots with a side of peas (just like the picture!) I always make extra peas, as the toddler and I love them. So I had about a cup in the fridge.
• fresh pomegranate: The toddler and I cleaned a pomegranate this morning and I had about 1/2 leftover. The rest we knocked off in the car on the way to school. By the way, they make great snacks in the kids lunch boxes.
• pantry items: ground ginger, onion powder, garlic powder, dried parsley, low sodium soy sauce, non-stick cooking spray.

Here’s what I did…

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat, spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add the cooked bulgur and break apart, cooking for a minute.

Add the peas, stir in. Sprinkle with spices and add soy sauce. Stir, and cook for a few minutes combining the flavors. Add the pomegranate, mix in. Cook for another minute.

Remove from heat and EAT! I’ll admit it, I downed the whole batch. Seriously, it was THAT good!

Update: I posted the official recipe with a video, click here to check it out!

I have to add the husband and the toddler both enjoyed it so I’m not sure what was holding me back. The husband probably could have done without the peas but the toddler devoured his plate and asked for more!

This recipe is how I made it for my family of 3, we had no leftovers except some gravy and peas in the casserole dish. Remember this is a simply idea add more and noodles to increase the number of servings.

• 1 can of healthy request cream of condensed mushroom soup
• 1 can of peas (drained) (I wanted to use frozen but I was all out)
• 8 frozen chicken tenders (I used the ones from the Aldi’s)
• Ground black pepper
• 4 oz whole wheat egg noodles

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a large casserole dish combine the can of cream of mushroom soup with 1/2 can of water. Keep stirring until all dissolved. Mix in the can of drained peas. Place the frozen chicken tenders in the soup pea mixture and sprinkle with some fresh ground black pepper.

Now, I used frozen chicken tenders because that’s all I had. You can of course use defrosted, boneless chicken breast or even fresh bone-in chicken breast with the skin removed. Just adjust the cooking times to be sure the chicken is cooked thru as the tenders are much smaller then breasts. (although they were frozen so the time may actually be the same.

I covered with aluminum foil and baked for 50 minutes. It was perfect, the chicken came out super moist!

Towards the end of cooking (around the 40 minute mark) I removed the aluminum foil and boiled the water for the noodles.

To serve, I topped the noodles with the "gravy" in the casserole dish and steamed some broccoli on the side. Notice I only have a shot of the casserole dish before cooking. I totally forgot to snap an after shot before serving! LOL It looked the same except cooked, if that makes sense. ;~P

As for nutritional information, it’s tough to be exact as everyone will use different amount of the gravy and peas. For my WWP, I just counted the chicken and noodles points and then added 1-2 for the gravy and peas, again depending on how much you ate.