It.was.WONDERFUL!

No dirty looks. No questions. No arguing. No dealing. I simply cooked what I wanted and enjoy a pretty, healthy, vegetable filled meal.

Is it sad that I like to cook for myself? I mean, I’d love a family that was more adventurous but since they aren’t I look for opportunities like tonight to experiment. It makes me happy. :)

• 1/2 sweet onion diced
• 2 carrots diced
• 2 celery stalks (with leaves) diced
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric (You can skip if you don’t have it)
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (84g)
• About 2 cups baby spinach loosely chopped
• 2 bell peppers (I used yellow)
• kosher salt

Preheat oven to 425 Degrees

Heat a pot medium pot over medium-high heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray and saute the onion, carrots and celery with a pinch or two of salt. Continue cooking and stirring for a few minutes until the onion softens and look a little transparent.

Add the curry and turmeric. Stir to coat everything. Then add the water and quinoa. Bring to a boil then cover and lower to a simmer. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile. Half the peppers longways and remove the seeds. Place in a casserole dish and sprinkle with a bit of salt.

When the quinoa is done, mix in the spinach. It should start to wilt immediately. Then stuff the peppers sprinkle with a little more salt and pop in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Here’s a few more pics because they are so darn pretty!

And even though the little guy didn’t eat them he was fascinated by the photo taking. :)

Aaaa…. HA!

Simple breaded chicken! It’s a favorite of mine. There’s just something about "fried" breaded things dipped in ketchup. ALWAYS fun. :)

So these are pretty basic but I spiced them up a bit. For me there is just something utterly more satisfying with a bit of flavor. Of course you can use any of your favorite spices to change it up a bit.

• 1 boneless chicken breast cut into bite size pieces (about 8oz)
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour (30g)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp chili power
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 ground mustard seed

Place all the spices in a quart sized and mix together.

Salt and pepper the chicken pieces. Place in the bag and shake until well coated.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. Cook the chicken about 4 minutes a side. You may have to lower the heat to medium to prevent burning if the pan gets too hot .

Serve with a spat of ketchup! :) I’m counting the whole recipe as a serving because it’s all I ate but you can split it into two. Just half the nutrition info.

For me, I pulled out a chicken breast this morning so it would be defrosted when I got home from work. I had no idea what I was going to do with it but I knew it was better then coming home to nothing.

Thankfully this idea popped into my head on the drive home. I had curry. I had yogurt. I had peas. So why not? :) It was tasty, spicy, satisfying and totally something I could not get away with for the family but I knew I’d love it. And I did.

• 1-2 slices of onion chopped
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into pieces
• Kosher Salt & Pepper
• 1 tsp red curry Powder
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp coriander powder
• 1/8 tsp ground red pepper (or to taste)
• 1/2 cup fat free plain yogurt
• 1 cup frozen peas

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray and brown the chicken with the onion. Sprinkle with the spices. If you only have curry, that will work. I just happen to have the others on hand.

Once the chicken is brown and almost cooked thru, lower the heat to medium-low and add the yogurt. You don’t want to boil the yogurt it just bring to a simmer. Cook for about 5 minutes while stirring and coating the chicken. Then add the frozen peas. Cook until the peas are warmed thru.

Anyway, I decided to use it to make this quick lunch. It’s simple but super tasty and you can really use the "Curried Turkey" anyway you like. Top you favorite salad greens like I did or brown rice, even quickly cook up some bulgur.

• 1 thick slice of sweet onion chopped
• 4oz extra lean ground turkey raw
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp red curry powder
• 1/4 cup (60g) of kidney beans
• non-stick cooking spray

Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray and add the chopped onion. Leave it alone for a few minutes, allowing the onion to brown a bit. When the onion is a bit transparent with some brown edges add the turkey and break apart while browning. Once the turkey is brown (grey) add the tablspoon of vinegar and curry. Stir to coat the turkey. Stir in the kidney beans.

Now top your greens! Simple right? :)

I was just going to make some homemade hummus but upon inspection of my almost barren cupboard I discovered no Chickpeas. Just an old can of Butter Beans.

Butter Beans are just canned large Lima Beans. they have a fairly dry texture but “smoosh” up very easily. They tend to be what most kids have in there head as “Yuck beans!” but for some odd reason I always liked them. Even going as far a serving them cold to the toddler when he was younger as finger food. He used to eat them, now? not so much.

So the idea was just a high protein filling dip of sorts for the two vegetables I did have in the house, carrots and peppers. I LOVED it with the carrots, the peppers? I ended up eating them plain. Honestly, I’d make it again, but I’d chose hummus over it if I had the choice. I guess I NEED to start stocking chickpeas! ;~P

• 1 15oz can butter beans rinsed and drained
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 3 tbsp fat free unflavored yogurt
• 1 tsp red curry powder
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp onion powder

Put every thing in a bowl and blend, mix, or in my case smash. My blender broke and I don’t have a food processor so I used my hand potato masher and a fork. Worked like a charm!

So with my spice cabinet and a leftover zucchini in hand I whipped this up. You could use it as a side dish, as the taco “meat”, or my favorite, filling for a quesadilla. I’ve made 2 since Friday with the leftovers!

• Thick slice of sweet onion diced
• Small zucchini diced
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp curry powder
• 1 can of black beans drained and rinsed
• 2 tbsp salsa
• Non-stick cooking spray

Spray an medium pot with non-stick cooking spray and warm over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes until they start to soften.

Add the zucchini and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Cook for a few minutes then spinkle with the spices. Stir in the beans and salsa.

Lower the heat and stir occasional until ready to serve.

Now, I am in no way a hummus guru and this recipe does not use all the traditional hummus ingredients but for a quick homemade meal or party snack this works great!

The texture, the hint of sesame flavor and the bite of garlic are perfect and you can spice it up as much as you like. Even the husband liked it! I almost fell off my chair! He’s just not a hummus type of guy.

• 1 can of Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained and rinsed
• 1-3 cloves of Garlic (depending on taste- I used 2 and boy can you taste it!)
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• ¼ – ½ cup of vegetable broth or fat free chicken broth or even water
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp curry powder (more to taste-this just gives a nice hint)

Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor with only ¼ cup of the broth. Blend until smooth adding more of the broth to help consistency if you need too. You may have to help it with a stir now and then you want it thick.

Serve with whole-wheat pita and veggie slices, use in wraps, smear on whole-wheat crackers. You can really do anything with it and it sure is great for a parties!

I was a sweet potato late comer. For some reason, as a child I thought I didn’t like them. I didn’t even try them until I was pregnant. Looking for nutritious foods, I read up on the good old sweet potato. Full of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, high in fiber, low in calories what more can you ask for?

I mostly eat my sweet potatoes one of two ways, straight up baked or like below. When I bake them, I eat them plain, skin and all, with just a bit of salt and pepper. I find the flesh of the potato super moist and just perfect. However, when I cut and bake them in fry pieces a little curry powder does wonders!

And yes, the toddler and I LOVE dipping them in ketchup!

• 1 Sweet Potato cut into strips
• Non-stick cooking spray
• Kosher Salt
• Curry powder

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and coat with non-stick cooking spray.

Spread the cut sweet potatoes on the cookies sheet. Spray the tops with non-stick cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and curry powder.

Bake for 30 minutes turning once during cooking.