I knew joining a CSA would be a good way to get me over the hump with some of the more intimidating veggies and in the first week it already is!

I made a huge salad with greens I would have never bought, tried kohlrabi for the first time and now I am cooking with rainbow chard. Scratch that… WE are cooking with chard. That’s right "WE!" Last night’s dinner was a collaboration between Little Guy and I. We were home alone for dinner and decided to play. :)

The result was a healthy vegetarian pasta dish that both him and I LOVED! Let me show you how we made it… And I do mean SHOW you.. I went picture happy again. ;)

• 6 oz of cooked whole wheat pasta (we used bionaturae Organic Whole Wheat Chiocciole)
• 2 tsp olive oil (10g)
• 1 small sweet onion chopped
• 3-4 cloves of garlic minced
• 1/2 lb Rainbow Swiss Chard washed
• 15oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1-2 pinches of salt
• 1/2 tsp drid basil (plus more to taste) and/or fresh basil leaves
• 1 15oz can of great northern beans drained and rinsed
• Parmesan cheese (optional)

Put on a pot of boiling water and cook the pasta according to the package.

Wash the chard. It’s so pretty, isn’t it?

Chop it up a bit and seperate the steps from the leaves. We are going to cook them at different times since the stalks will take longer.

Heat the 2 tsp of oil in the pan over medium high heat. And yes that is 2 tsp, can you see it? Coats the pan nicely without drowning everything in oil.

Add the onion and the garlic. I love having a helper!

Add the chard stalks.

The pan may start to get dry as the onion and garlic cook. That’s ok. Add the can of diced tomaotes.

I plucked some baby basil leaves from my garden if don’t have any, no worries we’ll be adding dried in a bit. :) Add a pinch of salt

Add the leaves of the chard and…

…stir until they start to wilt. (I had SUCH a great helper!)

Add the beans.

At this point we tasted it and thought it needed some more basil. We added 1/2 tsp and another pinch of salt.

Add the cooked and drained pasta and…

… again stir to coat.

It should look like this…

As soon as all ingredients are well mixed, serve! We liked it with a little Parmesan cheese. Honestly, I was shocked at how good it was AND that Little guy ate a whole serving! Don’t tell the husband, but dude… we eat MUCH better without him. ;)

To my surprise… it was a complete hit! Everyone like it and I got tons of compliments. I guess people could have just been being polite but I think these pictures say it all…

Before party…

After Party…

They devoured it!

I love when this happens. It makes me feel good to feed good healthy food to people. Sure I could have bought fatty ground beef and simply mixed it according to the manwich package but that’s no fun. ;) Why not veg it out? It stretches the meat, adds vitamins and volume while making it lighter and more flavorful. It’s a win-win in my book!

• About 1.25 lbs (20oz) lean ground beef (at least 90%)
• About 1.25 lbs (20oz) lean ground turkey (at least 90%)
• 1 large Vidalia Onion diced
• 3 stalks of celery diced
• 1 medium zucchini diced
• 2 green peppers diced
• 1/2 bag baby spinach chopped
• 1 15.5 can Manwich
• 1 15oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 6oz can tomato paste

Brown the meats with the onion and all the veggies. I started with the meats and onion in a large stock pot and then cut the veggies in order adding them and stirring them in the pot.

Transfer the browned meat and veggies to my slow cooker, add the manwich, tomatoes, and paste. Cook on High for at least an hour and then lower to low for the party.

You could add the manwich, tomatoes and paste directly in the stock pot and heat through. Then just keep it on simmer until ready to serve.

I served with a variety of rolls. Some people were even eating it straight up!

I’m not going to do Nutritional Info because honestly I have no idea how many servings it is. I fed about 13 people but everyone took varying amounts. For my fellow Weight Watcher friends I’d count a half of cup as 2 points but that’s just based on "Roni Math" it’s not scientific at all.

Well Saturday I was determined NOT to eat out again. So in the afternoon I pulled out the trusty crock pot and made up this quick meal. To my surprise the husband LOVED it. I was shocked as he normally hates slow cooker meals AND I tried a completely different spice combo, for us anyways.

Here’s what I did…

• 1 small sweet onion chopped
• 1 cup brown rice (180g)
• 1 15oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 15 oz can of chicken broth
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp all spice
• Pork Loin (We used 2 about a pound each)

Put all ingredients in the crock pot.

Turn on high.

Wait 3 hours.

Eat.

Seriously, that was it. the rice was perfect. If it cooked any longer I think it would have been glue but the 3 hour mark was ideal.

If you want to make this on a day you will be away longer then 3 hours, I’d use a timer. I’m not sure of the time on low or how the rice would turn out. You Crock-pot veterans out there will have to chime in.

Here’s a little before and after cooking shot.

No nutritional info on this one. It will depend on your pork loin size. I got around 6 servings from it and enjoyed the leftovers at lunch today. :)

Oh and I have to add that the next day I made homeamde sauce and meatballs and today I have lean burgers cooking on the George Foreman. I’m on a roll! ;)

I’m going to write up how I made them this evening but I may change a few things next time. Not quite sure what yet, this is one of those ‘wing it, use what you got on hand’ type of meal ideas. :)

• 1 large head of cabbage
• 2 cups of cooked brown rice (I just used one of these
• 1 lb (16oz) extra lean ground turkey, raw
• 6 cloves of garlic minced
• 1/2 of a large sweet onion diced
• 1 small zucchini diced
• 1-2 cups baby spinach chopped
• 2 stalks of celery diced
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp dried parsley separated
• 2 tsp dried basil separated
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 can of condensed tomato soup
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• Kosher Salt & Pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut the core out of the cabbage and cook for 5 minutes. This will help loosen the leaves. After 5 minutes run under cold water.

Combine the brown rice, ground turkey, garlic, onion, zucchini, spinach, celery, 1 tbsp parsley and 1 tsp basil until well mixed.

Carefully separate a leaf from the cabbage head.

Place about 1/2 cup of the turkey/rice mixture in the middle.

Fold the sides in like a burrito.

Roll.

Place in a deep baking dish.

Repeat until you run our of filling or cabbage leaves. You should get about 12. I actually ran out of leaves and used the rest of the filling in a pepper I had in the fridge. :)

Once the baking dish is filled with "piggies" mix the tomato soup, diced tomatoes, and the rest of the dried spices with a bit of water to thin it. Pour over the piggies, cover and bake for an hour in a preheated 350 degree oven. You may want to baste now and then to help keep everything moist.

Serve with the tomato soup mixture drizzled on top and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper.

Here’s the approximate nutritional info for how I made them above.

As for the corn muffin topping I used the Golden Corn VitaMix Corn muffin mix from Vitalicious. They send me products from time to time to try and review. This is one of my favorite VitaTops and the mix is just as good. I guess you can call this my "semi-homemade" idea. Of course you can make your own topping or use a different mix but the nutritional information may be different. Note: Vitalicious is a sponsor of my weight loss blog, Roni’s Weigh. If you want to try their products be sure to use RonisWeigh in the promo code field for 10% your order.

• 1 medium sweet onion chopped
• 8 oz lean ground turkey raw (99% lean the best)
• 1 jalapeno pepper diced small
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp dried cilantro
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 large green pepper chopped
• 1 large red pepper chopped
• 1 medium sized zucchini chopped
• 1 can (15oz) diced tomatoes undrained
• 1 small can (6oz) tomato paste
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 egg whites
• 5 oz of water
• 1/2 package Golden Muffin VitaTop mix (185g of the mix)

Heat a medium-large pot over medium-high heat and spray with a bit of non-stick cooking spray. Add the onion with a bit of salt and pepper and cook until just turning transparent. Add the ground turkey and break apart while browning. Stir in the chili powder, cilantro, cumin and garlic powders. Lower the heat to medium.

While the turkey is cooking chop your veggies and add them to the pan as you finish. Once all the veggies are mixed in add the can of diced tomatoes, tomato paste and cocoa powder. Continue stirring to incorporate all the ingredients. It will be thick and may take a few minutes.

Once everything is well combined lower the heat to medium low and continue to cook uncovered for about 20 minutes.

While the chili is cooking prepare the mix. In a large bowl whisk the egg whites and water until just frothy. Weigh out half of the corn muffin mix (185g) and add it to the egg white mixture. Stir until just combined.

Pour the chili into a casserole dish, around 9×7 inches. Spread it evenly to fill the dish. Now plop the corn muffin batter on top of the chili spreading it like you would ice a cake. You should have just enough to cover the chili. Sprinkle with a bit of chili powder.

Now you can bake immediately but I actually made it ahead and baked about 2 hours later in a preheated 400 degree. Bake until the corn muffin mix is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 30 minutes.

Remove it from the oven and let it cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting.

As for the nutritional information, I’m shocked! I had to double check it as the servings are a nice size but the calories are pretty low. If anyone wants to double check the numbers I’d appreciate, I’m a bit skeptical but excited! lol

Scroll below video for the recipe.

• Batch of Turkey Meatballs made small (at least 30)
• 10oz Whole Wheat Elbow Pasta uncooked
• 1/2 small sweet onion diced
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• 8oz can of tomato sauce
• 15oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2-1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp dried parsley

Prepare the Turkey Meatballs according to the recipe making them a smaller size. You should easily get about 30. Broil the meatballs for about 5 minutes to help them stay together.

Prepare the pasta according to the package.

In a large skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray over medium high heat, add the onion and garlic. Cook for a minute then add the broiled meatballs.

Stir in the can of tomato sauce and diced tomatoes with about 1/2 cup water (add more if it gets too thick.) Add the garlic powder, basil and parsley. Bring to a boil. Then lower to a simmer and cover. Simmer for at least 10 minutes even longer if you have the time. The meatballs will start to soak up the sauce a bit.

By this point your pasta should just about be done. Add the cooked pasta to the skillet. Stir to coat everything. Cover again until ready to serve.

Check out my other “Beef-a-Roni-ish” ideas…

• Rainbow Turk-a-Roni
• Simple Beef-A-Roni with Peas

Now I’m not going to claim I know anything about Moroccan food. I’m not even sure I could find Morocco on a map! All I know is the flavors of that recipe intrigued me. So I used what I had on hand and whipped this up in about 10 minutes. I’m not kidding, from pot to bowl in 10 and it was tasty! Different. But tasty all the same!

Toddler and husband wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole. However, little man was quite obsessed with my oranges.

So at least I got that in is belly while preparing the dish. Hey… every little bit counts. :)

• 8oz extra lean ground beef
• 1 small sweet onion chopped
• 3 gloves garlic minced
• 1 tsp dried cumin
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cans (15oz) diced tomatoes
• 1 orange peeled and chopped (keep any juices)
• 2oz Whole Wheat Couscous
  (56g)
• 1 can Butter Beans (Large Lima Beans) drained and rinsed

In a medium-large pot brown the ground beef with the onion and garlic. Add the cumin, oregano and cinnamon. Coat everything and let the flavors merge.

Add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes (with juices) into the pot. Bring to a boil while peeling and chopping the orange.

Add the orange pieces. Bring back to a boil.

Stir in the couscous. Cover and reduce to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the Butter Beans and stir. Cook for another 5 minutes until ready to serve.

So as always, take the idea and run with it! :) I’m totally please with how it came out.

• 2 cups (or a 15oz can would work) of our favorite chicken broth or stock (I used some turkey stock I had frozen from thanksgiving)
• 1 15oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 15oz can kidney beans drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dried cilantro
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tbsp lime juice
• 2oz (55g) whole wheat couscous (I buy RiceSelect Organic Whole Wheat Couscous)

Toppings

• 1 avocado cut into slices (about 25g for each serving)
• 3/4 oz fancy shredded mexican cheese blend (about 5g for each serving)

Place all the ingredients in a pot except avocado and cheese. Bring to a bowl. Then cover and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minute until couscous is soft.

Scoop into 4 bowls (each about a cup) top with avocado slices and cheese.

Note: this is the first time I’ve eaten avocado like this and I have to admit it was AWESOME! Produce Pick coming soon on the awesome fruit I was avoiding for some reason. :)

Note x2: Here are two more pics. I couldn’t decide so I let the toddler. He picked the main was as the "best". :)

Note x3: Can you also tell I didn’t know what to call it?

Anyway the dish is called Red Rice. I never heard of it before but I’ve eaten similar meals. My mom used to make something close to this with peas (which I would have added but he does’t like them) and rice.

All I had to work with when figuring out the idea was rice, tomatoes and some kind of meat. I decided on sausage as I thought it would add the most flavor but you could easily make this with chicken breast even, dare I say leftover turkey this week? :~) As always take it and run. The liquid to rice ratio is perfect and although this makes enough to serve a small army, it freezes well.

Oh! and if you’re curious, the husband and toddler both enjoyed it. I guess my food cheating paid off. :~)

• 1 small sweet onion chopped
• handful of baby carrots diced (3oz)
• 1 package turkey sausage (20oz – 6 links)
• 2 large green bell peppers chopped
• 1 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice (285g)
• 1 can diced tomatoes (15oz)
• 1 small can tomato sauce (8oz)
• 2 cups water (16oz)
• 1 can kidney beans drained & rinsed (15oz)
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp chili powder (cut back if you don’t want too much kick)
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• non-stick cooking spray

Spray a large pot with non-stick cooking spray and start by sautéing the onions over medium high heat. Add the diced carrots.

Remove the casing from the sausage. Simply take a knife and slice longways. It should peal right off. Plop them into the pot and break apart with a wooden spoon while browning.

Once the turkey is browned add the peppers. We are holding off on them as to not overcook and get too mushy. Add the brown rice and stir to coat everything.

Add the can of tomatoes and tomato sauce. Use the 8oz tomato sauce can to add to can-fuls of water (2 cups). Add the beans, paprika, chili powder and parsley. Bring to a boil then cover and lower to a simmer.

DO NOT TOUCH it for 25 minutes. I scream as I’m famous for ruining dishes because I can’t wait then I peak and let out the heat. Leave it alone. It will be fine if it’s over your lowest setting and the rice will come out nice and fluffy. Well, as fluffy as brown rice and come. :~)

After 25 minutes, remove cover, stir, turn off heat and let site for a few minutes before serving.

What’s a girl to do?

Hit her pantry of course!

Armed with those "healthy" Ramen noodles and a couple of stock items I whipped this up. Oh my! So yummy and super filling!

• 1 package of Choice Ramen Noodles chicken
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp dried cilantro
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 can pinto beans rinsed and drained (15oz)
• 1 can diced tomatoes (15oz)

In a medium pot place the dry Ramen noodles (break if you want they do tend to clump together). Top with the can of diced tomatoes and 1/2 cup of water.

Crank the heat up to high. Leave alone while you sprinkle the top with the chili powder, cilantro, cumin and 1/2 of the seasoning packet (done to reduce sodium.)

Start to stir the noodles. They should start getting soft and break apart. After 3-4 minute drop the heat to medium. Add the drained pinto beans. Stir in really trying to break apart the noodles.

Cook for another 1-2 minutes. Serve!

I sprinkled a bit of dried cilantro and fancy shredded Mexican cheese blend. So YUMMY!

A soup I had a few weeks back at a little local place inspired this dish. They had a stuffed pepper soup that was just simply amazing. It was comfort in a bowl. Such a simple idea, take the flavors and ingredients of stuffed peppers and turn it into a soup!

So that’s what I did, my way of course. Yet again, the husband and the toddler weren’t feeling it. The husband at least tried it but it’s just not his type of meal. It has to be exceptional if I put everything in the same pot. He prefers his dinners separated in neat protein, veggie, starch sections. Whatever, I now have 6 homemade lunches so I’m happy!

• Medium onion diced
• Salt & Pepper
• 8oz lean ground beef (at least 90%)
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 3 bell peppers chopped (I used 1 each of red, green and yellow)
• 1 can stewed tomatoes (14.5 oz)
• 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
• 3 cups beef or chicken broth
• ½ (100g) uncooked brown rice
• Dried parsley for garnish
• Non-stick cooking spray

Spray a large pot with non-stick cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, sprinkle with salt & pepper and allow them to sweat for a few minutes. Add the ground beef and brown.

While the beef is browning, chop the peppers, and puree the stewed tomatoes in the blender.

Once the beef is brown, stir in the chopped peppers and the diced tomatoes. Let the flavors mix a bit.

Add the pureed stewed tomatoes and chicken broth. Add the rice and crank the heat up to high. Bring everything to a boil then cover and reduce to a simmer. Continue to simmer for about ½ hour.

Serve!