*sigh*

Sometimes I just get into these blah funky moods. So instead of throwing myself a pity party I decided to lock myself in the kitchen. Well… there’s no lock but you get my point. :) I find cooking just an outlet for me anymore. I’m happiest in the kitchen. I really am.

Anyway… since it was only me and little guy for dinner I decided to do something with the Red Quinoa I bought at the Trader Joe’s the other day. I’ve never seen it before. If you are new to Quinoa check out my old Food Find about it. It’s new for me as well.

Last night I mixed it with some skillet veggies, topped it with feta and bit of green tabasco.. oh.my.word! TASTY! and so so simple! Little guy wasn’t impressed, he’s a bit intimidated my Quinoa but I’m working on him! ;)

• 1/2 cup uncooked Quinoa
• 1/2 sweet onion chopped
• 1 medium zucchini chopped
• 1 bell pepper chopped
• 1 tsp dried cumin
• 1 tsp dried cilantro
• 1 oz crumbled Feta Cheese
• Green Tabasco to taste

Bring the Quinoa and 1 cup of water to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, cover, reduce to a simmer and LEAVE IT ALONE for at least 15 minutes. I have a hard time with this leave it alone thing, can you tell?

While the Quinoa is being left alone ;) we’re going to make the skillet veggies exactly like we did for the Skillet Veggie and Feta Tacos.

Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add the onion and cook for at least 2 minute so that the onion just starts to burn.

Toss the onion around a bit and then add the remaining veggies.

Sprinkle with a bit of Kosher salt and pepper. Toss to coat everything and then cover. Don’t touch it for 2 minutes.

After 2 minutes uncover, add the cumin and cilantro. Toss to coat everything and cover again for 2 more minutes.

Once the 2 minutes are up you should have something that looks like this…

By this time your Quinoa should be about ready. It should look like this…

Shut off both burners and mix the cooked Quinoa with the veggies. Split into two equal portions around 2 cups each. Top each with 1/2 oz of feta and a dash or two of Tabasco, if you like.

YUM! I just ate my leftover portion for lunch. It’s wonderful at room temperature!

FULL DISCLOSURE: I have partnered with ATHENOS Feta to serve as one of ATHENOS Change for the Feta Bloggers. I am compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes blogging about my cooking experiences with ATHENOS Feta. I have also been compensated for the food purchased for my Change for the Feta creations. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. Click here to see all my Feta Ideas!!

Who knew you could scrape out the guts of a zucchini, mix it up with a few simple ingredients and BAM! having a filling and tasty dish!

The feta mixed with the tomato paste making a creamy pizza type of sauce and the Zucchini was cooked just soften enough to hold the filling. It was really tasty!

• 1 medium to large Zucchini
• 1/4 cup (34g) ATHENOS Tomato Basil Feta
• 4 tbsp (66g) Tomato Paste
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp (5g) Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Sprinkle of Parsley

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

Cut the Zucchini in half longwise. Scoop out the inside using a melon baller or tablespoon.

Chop any large zucchini pieces that you scooped out and place in a mixing bowl with the feta, tomato paste, garlic powder and oregano. Mix well to coat everything. The tomato paste and feta will start to combine.

Put the zucchini mixture back into the zucchini boats. Top with the parmesan and parsley. Bake for 25 minutes. Longer if you like a softer zucchini.

Here’s a close up!

FULL DISCLOSURE: I have partnered with ATHENOS Feta to serve as one of ATHENOS Change for the Feta Bloggers. I am compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes blogging about my cooking experiences with ATHENOS Feta. I have also been compensated for the food purchased for my Change for the Feta creations. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. Click here to see all my Feta Ideas!!

Last night I decided to make up just enough for me. I had some small whole grain soft taco shells and that feta cheese calling my name. Normally I use a bit of mexican cheese blend when I make something like this but I have to admit, I liked the creaminess the feta added.

The secret to the veggies is to bring them just to the point of burning. It makes a GREAT flavor and turns otherwise plain veggies into an amazing tasty dish.

• 2 slices sweet onion chopped
• About 1/4 cup zucchini chopped
• About 1/4 cup yellow squash chopped
• About 1/4 cup pepper (I used a red one) chopped
• 8 grape tomatoes halved
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Kosher Salt
• Black pepper
• Non-stick cooking spray
• 2 small whole wheat taco shells (I use Trader Joe’s brand)
• 1 oz crumbled Feta
• green chili sauce

Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Add the onion and LEAVE IT ALONE! For at least 2 minute so that the onion just starts to burn.

Toss the onion around a bit and then add the remaining veggies.

Sprinkle with a bit of Kosher salt and pepper. Toss to coat everthing and then cover.

Now… you will be tempted to open the cover. Don’t touch it for 2 minutes.

After 2 minutes uncover, add the basil and parsley. Toss to coat everything and cover again for 2 more minutes.

Once the 2 minutes are up you should have something that looks like this…

Some of the veggies will be scorched, the flavors will have all mixed and now you are ready to make you delisious tacos!

Warm the shells either in a skillet or in the microwave for a few seconds. Split the veggie filling between the two shells.

Top with the feta, about half ounce on each.

Now you could add a bit of salsa or tabasco but my favorite is Green Pepper Sauce it’s got a great flavor with just enough heat.

Enjoy!

Again, the nutritional info will vary slightly depending on your taco shells. The ones I use are from Trade Joe’s. They are whole grain/low carb and only 45 calories each.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I have partnered with ATHENOS Feta to serve as one of ATHENOS Change for the Feta Bloggers. I am compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes blogging about my cooking experiences with ATHENOS Feta. I have also been compensated for the food purchased for my Change for the Feta creations. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. Click here to see all my Feta Ideas!!

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.

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.

"Apparently all I had to do was shove a beer can up a chicken’s a$$ to get him excited about dinner!"

I may have been wrong. I’m not sure if it was the can of beer or the fact that I was serving him meat on a bone.

He was just as excited about tonight’s dinner and I even served couscous. You all know how much he hates couscous, right? lol

In all seriousness, he love it. Even asking me what spices I used. He NEVER asks me what spices I use. I don’t think he knows what spices are!

The toddler? Well, he ate with minimal complaint. A win in my book. :)

Here’s what I did. . .

Chicken Breasts

• 3 bone in chicken breasts
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp onion powder
• Kosher Salt
• Ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl mix the cumin, coriander and onion powders.

Remove the skin from all or some of the breasts. I always remove mine. Why? Well let’s take a look. . .

Nutritional information from SparkPeople.

That’s almost half the calories simply by removing the skin. Not to mention the fat! Yikes!

Place the breasts in a baking dish and season with the salt and pepper. Sprinkle on the spice mixture.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until internal temp is 165. Mine were perfect at 43 minutes. I pulled them out and let them sit for 5 minutes.

10 minutes before the chicken is done start the couscous. . .

Veggie Couscous

• 2-3 slices of a large sweet onion diced
• 2 carrots diced
• 2 stalks of celery diced
• 1 small zucchini diced
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 cup chicken broth (4oz)
• 1/2 cup whole grain couscous, dry (110g)

Heat a medium pot over medium heat. Spray with non stick cooking spray and cook the onion for a few minutes while dicing the carrots. Add the carrots, then celery, then zucchini.

Sprinkle with the cumin and coriander (subtle tie in with the chicken). Add the broth and bring to a boil.

Add the couscous, turn off the heat and cover. Fluff after 5 minutes.

I also served with some frozen broccoli. It was a perfect meal for the 3 of us with just enough leftover for a lunch. :)

For my Weight Watchers friends, I’d count this (1 breast and 1/4 of the couscous) as 8 WWP. That’s just my estimate, I don’t have it in me to post nutritional info this evening. Sorry. :(

The idea was to make a light meal. What I call a summer "steak" using fresh veggies and extra lean ground turkey. I had some Swiss Chard from a recent farmers market trip but you can easily swap it for some fresh spinach. This was my first bunch of chard and I’m liking it. It’s a hardy green that has a BUNCH of health benefits. I’m just happy I got my family to eat it as I know they would never go for it straight up.

It was a success! well… sort of. The toddler declared he didn’t like "the chicken" but he ate it without much argument. The husband also ate it without any complaints. I’m not sure it was what he expected when he asked for a meat and potato meal but it passed. :)

The Garden Turkey Steaks.

• 1 small zucchini diced small
• 40g of swiss chard (it was about large 3 leaves) chopped small
• 1/2 of a small onion diced
• 1 glove garlic diced
• 1 egg
• 12 oz extra lean ground turkey
• 1/2 cup (40g) old fashioned oatmeal
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried cilantro
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• Kosher Salt and pepper

The Gravy

• about 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 tbsp whole wheat flour +
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp dried cilantro
• 1/4 tsp thyme

Hand mix all the Turkey Steak Ingredients together and form 4 large patties. You could make 6 smaller ones but I didn’t have the pan space.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Once the pan is hot add the patties and cook 4-5 minutes a side until brown.

While the patties are cooking whisk together the gravy ingredients. Remove the patties from the pan and deglaze with the gravy mixture. Bring to a boil. If it’s not thick enough whisk in a bit more flour. Lower to a simmer and add back the patties. Cook for an additional 10 minutes flipping once to coat the ’steaks’.

I served with my mashed potatoes and a side of broccoli. Leftovers are packed for lunch tomorrow! :)

You’d think, considering I started and run a site called GreenLiteBites I’d seek solace in healthy wholesome food but no. This week I’ve eaten out at least 3 times, ate almost an entire bag of Dorritos and my "handful" of M&M’s were more like cups. So yesterday in the middle of my disaster zone…

…I decided to find comfort NOT in the quick, mindless, junk food munch but in the satisfaction of preparing a healthy meal from scratch. Amazingly the processes of scouring my empty fridge and pantries for what I had on hand and finding a creative way to put it all together was much more of a stress release for me.

I can’t promise many new ideas in the coming weeks but I will try to use my current situation to challenge myself. If I don’t, I see a lot fast food in my future and although the husband would be ecstatic I want to treat my and the kid’s (the toddler recently celebrated is 4th birthday) bodies a just little better then that.

So on to this idea! For some reason I have a gross of zucchini in the fridge. It’s actually the only fresh veggie in there. I also had ripening grape tomatoes, a small chink of onion and some REALLY old garlic. This is what I came up with…

• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 tsp olive oil (4g)
• 1-2 slices of a sweet onion chopped
• 1-2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 carrot diced
• about 10 grape tomatoes halved
• 1/4 cup uncooked quinoa (42g)
• 1/2 cup of our fav broth (water would work but you many want to add bouillon for flavor)
• Dried parsley your fav dried spices (optional)

Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh with a spoon or melon baller. Chop the flesh and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a medium sized pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion starts to get transparent and garlic just starts to brown. Add the diced zucchini guts, carrots and tomatoes. Cook for a few minutes allowing the flavors to merge and the veggies to soften a bit.

Stir in the dry Quinoa. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the quinoa absorbs most of the liquid.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a small casserole dish with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle the zucchini with some kosher salt and your favorite spices (totally optional.) I used garlic powder, onion powder and a bit of chili powder.

By this time the quinoa should be about done. Scoop the mixture into the zucchini boats. You will have more then enough, just pile it in there. Top with a bit of dried parsley and bake uncovered for about 15 minutes allowing the zucchini to soften and the stuffing to dry out just a bit.

Enjoy!

Anyway, this is good. I’ve made it twice this week as a quick meal for myself. It’s super tasty and a cinch to prepare. You can’t go wrong.

• 1/4 cup dry bulgur (40g)
• 1 tsp olive oil (5g)
• 1 thick slice of sweet onion chopped
• 1 carrot diced
• 1/2 of a small-medium zucchini chopped
• 1 inch fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

Prepare the bulgur according to the package. It’s a 1:2 bulgur to water ratio. So for our 1 serving of bulgur, 1/4 of a cup, you need 1/2 cup of water. Bring the water to a boil, add the bulgur, cover and remove from heat. Should take about 15 minutes. The longer you soak the softer it will get.

Once the bulgur is to your liking, heat the tsp of olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Add the onion, carrot and zucchini. Grate in the ginger. (My ginger secret… I buy a root, cut it into 1 inch chunks and then freeze. Makes it super easy to grate. )

If there is any water left in the bulgur drain it. Add it to the skillet. Stir in the tbsp of soy sauce and cook for a few minutes allowing the flavors to merge.

Enjoy!

Here’s the recipe!

• 1/2 sweet onion
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 lbs lean ground turkey (8oz)
• 1 bell pepper chopped
• 1 small-medium zucchini chopped
• kosher salt and pepper
• 1 8oz can tomato sauce
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1 package of Whole Wheat Pizza dough
• 4 oz fancy shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. Brown with ground turkey with the onion and garlic. Add the chopped pepper and zucchini. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes while you prepare to work with the dough.

Sprinkle you counter or cutting board with a bit of whole wheat flour. Separate the dough into 4 equal parts.

Add the tomato sauce, basil and oregano to the skillet. Stir and lower heat to medium-low. Let it simmer while you prepare the dough again.

Roll out the dough into rectangles. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Lay one of the rectangles on the cookie sheet. Scoop about 2 ladlefuls of the turkey mixture in the middle. Top with 1 oz of cheese and fold over to create a long skinny stromboli. Place a few slits on the top.

Note: They will be hard to move so making them on the sheet with be a big help.

Once you make all four. Place in the oven for 15 minutes. Once finished let sit for 5 minutes before cutting.

EAT! :)

To my surprise… He liked it!

Although after the picture taking session a mom/som battle of epic proportions began. After about 4-5 bites he declared "I’m Full."

"OK" I said, as I don’t like to force him to eat past fullness. However, I save the plate and if he returns (in a reasonable amount of time) and asks for a snack I make him finish his meal first. Well, that’s exactly what happened yesterday. About 10 minutes after leaving the table he asked for candy. I told him he needed to finish he lunch first. (side note: I only gave him half a portion although kept the full portion in his pictures.)

Without going into all the nitty gritty details, the next hour was SHEER torture for mom and child alike. I wasn’t giving in and either was he. He’d ask, I put the plate on the table. He’d cry. I told him he didn’t have to eat it IF he wasn’t hungry BUT he wasn’t getting any candy until he did. Tears, yells, and cries later a majority of his lunch was gone and he TOTALLY forgot about the candy. LMAO So whole grain pasta, zucchini, carrots and chicken eaten and NO candy. I chalk that up to a win for mom. ;~P

Anyway, I’m still marking it as toddler approved as he never stated he didn’t liked it and when I asked him if he did he said yes. Which makes the whole mom/son battle completely illogical. KIDS! *sigh*

• large boneless chicken breast (about 8oz) cut into chunks
• thick slice of sweet onion chopped
• handful of baby carrots (about 3oz) sliced
• half of medium zucchini chopped
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 3oz whole wheat angel hair pasta

Put a pot of water on high and bring to a boil for the pasta

Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Brown the chicken with the onion and carrots. Add the zucchini. Lower the heat to medium.

Whisk the soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, oil and chicken broth together. Set aside.

Stir the chicken and veggies. By this time your water should be boiling. Add the pasta. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until desired doneness.

Drain the pasta and plop on top of the skillet. Pour the soy sauce mixture on top. Work the pasta around the veggies and chicken, it will want to clump together. Keep stirring until they are well mixed up. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes.

Serve!

Now let me tell you about the video so you know what to expect if you want to watch it. It’s long. The toddler shows up about 5 minutes in and he’s, ummmmm, all toddler. It’s about the only way I can describe it. This video is truly a look at how we make dinner most nights, disheveled and unorganized. But FUN! it worked out in the end. Everyone actually enjoyed this meal, husband included. I was quite surprised. If you remember the husband has that whole fruit/dinner thing. It is a sweet dinner. :)

So if you have an extra 20 minutes… enjoy laughing at me trying to be a patient mom. If not scroll down for the recipe.

• 4 oz whole wheat Orzo Pasta (I buy a case here and it’s lasts forever! Stores well too)
• 2 boneless chicken breasts (approx 1 pound) cut into chunks
• 1 can pineapple slices packed in their own juice (20 oz) cut into quarters with 1/2 cup of the liquid saved
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp whole wheat flour
• 1/2 sweet onion diced
• 2 large bell peppers (1 red & 1 green is fun!) cut into large chunks
• 1 small-medium zucchini sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 inch of ginger root
• non-stick cooking spray

Prepare the pasta according to the package

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray and brown the chicken.

While the chicken is browning open the pineapple can. Take 1/2 cup of the pineapple juice and whisk with soy sauce, vinegar and flour. Set aside.

Cut your veggies.

One the chicken is completely brown remove from the skillet and set aside. Return the skillet to the heat, spray with a bit more cooking spray. Add the onion, peppers and zucchini in that order allowing some time in between for the onion to get soft. Add the pineapple. Stir. Grate in the garlic and ginger.

Raise the temperature to high and add the pineapple juice mixture. Stir. It should start to thicken.

Add the cooked chicken. Cooked orzo and stir for a minute or two merging the flavors.

Remove from heat and serve!