Sweet Pepper Tuna Cucumbers

I do best with a protein-rich diet when I'm trying to lose weight and I wanted to incorporate a generous dose of veggies, so I threw this together for lunch. It's certainly nice to look at, and it shares some qualities with a really good canape recipe given to me by my friend Melissa.

Sweet Pepper Tuna Cucumbers
2 mini sweet peppers, sliced

1 very large cucumber, sliced
1 small can of Tuna, drained
1 1/2 T low fat cream cheese, softened
1 rounded t capers
1/2 t minced onion
1/2 t chili powder
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t pepper

In a bowl, mix together the drained tuna and softened cream cheese, add capers and onion, then add in all the spices and mix until thoroughly blended. Drop the blended mixture onto cucumber slices, place one slice of sweet pepper on top, then garnish with more chili powder for extra flavor and color if desired. Chill in the fridge until cold, then serve.

Ratings from the Experts*: My hubby's not a big tuna fan, so I took the burden upon myself to eat every last one of these as I sat here writing this post. What a burden it was... I kid, I kid! I give this a solid 9/10 for the fact that it's a tiny bit salty but I think that could be remedied by simply washing the capers and rubbing them off before adding to the mix. But the mix itself was a good blend. The chili powder really gave it a nice flavor and brought it all together.

Cheese and Turkey Stuffed Mini Peppers

I have been recovering from abdominal surgery, so I haven't been able to cook much at all (Dr.'s orders... I promise!) Instead I've been stuffing my face with far too much food generosity from my in-laws, and eating out more than I should since I haven't felt much like cooking. I've gained about 5 lbs I think and I've about had it... so it's back on the healthy eating bandwagon today so I don't feel so much like an overstuffed Italian sausage. These little beauties are my new obsession (the peppers, that is). They are Mini sweet bell peppers and they are so great for me since I love bell pepper but can't ever seem to use a whole pepper in a dish. And they also make gorgeous little finger food like this!

I wanted a pop of protein, so I grabbed some cream cheese and roasted turkey lunchmeat from the fridge. The following is the result.

Cheese and Turkey Stuffed Mini Peppers
2 T. Cream cheese
3 mini peppers
2 slices, thinly sliced oven roasted turkey (Land o' Frost is what I used)
1/8 t. garlic salt
1/4 t. Italian seasoning

Slice the tops off the mini peppers and remove any seeds from the interior. Cut the slices of turkey into three portions and stuff one portion in each of the three peppers. In a small bowl or measuring cup, mash together cream cheese with the seasonings until well blended. Smear generous amounts of cream cheese mixture into the peppers on top of the turkey, be sure to fill them to the top! Now, enjoy.


Ratings from the Experts*: 10/10 from me, for snacking it's a filling, healthy snack that packs a healthy protein punch in addition to a nice serving of veggies.

Savory Egg and Cheese in Ham Cups

I saw this recipe on Pinterest (surprise), and knew I had to try it for its simplicity and versatility alone. It's virtually like choosing ingredients for an omelet, but a whole lot easier and prettier to cook. I don't think there are enough fingers in the world to count how many times I've tried to flip an omelet and screwed it up- so then said dish suddenly morphs into Crumbled-Omelet-in-a-bowl, my specialty. These turn out pretty as a picture with no effort at all. They are so versatile too. Want broccoli? Extra cheese? Even cooked sausage added? Go for it!

I'll share what I came up with for ingredients simply for the fact that it was delicious and perfectly seasoned for our taste. A couple of notes: I used two slices of ham for the cups to ensure the cup was thick enough to hold the egg sufficiently; I sliced the veggies I used very thinly so they cooked well and didn't disrupt the texture too much.

Savory Egg and Cheese in Ham Cups
Smoked ham lunch meat (two slices for every cup you want to make)
Eggs (one egg for every cup)
red bell pepper, sliced thin and into small pieces to sprinkle into the cups
minced onion, fresh or dried
Monterey jack w/roasted red pepper cheese, cut into small chunks just larger than shreds (this ensures some of the chunks of cheese will sink into the egg and cook throughout)
garlic salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Spray your muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In your muffin pan, place 2 slices of ham lunch meat over each muffin tin and press down into the cup until the ham forms a little cup. Next, crack open one egg into each ham cup. Season the egg, then add your sliced and minced veggies. Place the pan in the preheated oven for about 5 minutes or until the eggs are set just a bit. Pull them out and add the chunks of cheese on top of each cup. Put it back in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or just until the egg white looks cooked. Leave in longer if you want harder-cooked eggs.

Ratings from the Experts*: 10. Perfect. Easy. Fantastic flavor. Perfect portion sizes. They also freeze and reheat well and are great for taking in the car if you want something portable, just be sure to wrap them in a paper towel or saran wrap after heating.

Day 12: Veggie Beef Chili

I was craving something different and had a bunch of veggies to try to use up before they went into the moldy abyss, so I decided to slice, dice and throw them into the slow cooker. I ended up making a nice, lean healthy chili with organic ground beef, squash, corn, and celery.

Veggie Beef Chili
What you'll need:
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1 medium zucchini squash
3 stalks celery
1 can Sweet Corn
1- 4oz can Tomato Paste
4 oz. Spaghetti Sauce
3 T. chili powder
2 T. basil
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. onion powder
2 c water
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

Lightly brown the beef in a skillet (don't overdo it or your meat will end up dry once it's been slow-cooked for hours). Next dice the celery, then slice squash into halves then making 1/4" slices. Throw the veggies and beef into the CrockPot with the tomato paste, (be sure to drain the corn). Add in 2 c of water and 4 oz. spaghetti sauce and mix well. Lastly, add in the chili powder, basil, garlic, pepper, and onion. Mix very well. Set the cooker to High for 2 hours. Check squash every so  often to ensure it is softening. Once squash is soft, but not so tender it falls apart, turn the cooker off.

Serve topped with the shredded cheese of your choice.


Ratings from the Experts*: Pending. I tasted last night just after cooking it and found it delightful, but until I eat a full dish, I'm going to hold off judgments. UPDATE: Hubby gave it a strong 8/10. He ate it all in fact... for lunches at work. I'm told it was good. I wouldn't know since I didn't get any. (Yes. That is a hint of sarcasm you're detecting.)

Day 5: Easy Peanut Butter Chicken

Thanks to a hectic day of a whiny toddler and a lab draw appointment, I was not much in the mood for spending a bunch of time in the kitchen. We tried something very similar to this dish before, but I found this recipe via Stephanie O'Dea's Blog, "A Year of Slow Cooking" and I couldn't be happier with how simple it is to throw into a CrockPot and leave it be, and yet it still tastes like you slaved in the kitchen for hours to make it!

(Easy) Peanut Butter Chicken

What you'll need:

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, cut in chunks 

1/2 cup natural peanut butter (creamy or chunky, your choice)

1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 lime, juiced

1/4 cup soy sauce (use gluten free--La Choy or Tamari wheat-free)

1/2 cup chicken broth

It's suggested to use a 4-quart slow cooker, but you can use larger. Put the chicken into the bottom of your pot and add the peanut butter. Toss in the vegetables and cumin. Squeeze in lime, and add soy sauce and chicken broth. Stir as well as you can to combine (the peanut butter will be clumpy, and that's just fine). Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for about 4 hours. (Or if you have a larger cooker like I do, expect it to be done quicker! I have a 7 qt. crockpot. I set mine on High and it was done in just under 3 hours.)

Rating from the Experts*: 10/10 from Hubby! He loved it and actually found it delicious with no complaints. I give it 10/10 as well. Easy to make and awesomely good! Paired wonderfully with rice/vermicelli mixture.

Day 1: Recipe 2- Crusted Baked Summer Squash

I had a quandary...four yellow summer squash that were soon to be nearing the dark moldy abyss. I didn't know what to do with them since I just cooked their stuffed counterparts last week, so I started looking up recipes online and found a couple that I liked the sound of. Never being a fan of steamed squash (not enough flavor) I was looking for something easy but different. I came across Southern Baked Yellow Squash on Allrecipes.com but something was missing from the equation. Here's what I came up with.

Crusted Baked Summer Squash
What you'll need:
4 yellow summer squash
2 egg whites

1 c dry bread crumbs

1/2 c Parmesan cheese, grated

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/2 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the ends off the summer squash and cut into 1/4" thick medallions. Boil squash in a large saucepan for 12 minutes, covered. Squash should be soft and pliable when done. Drain, then mix in 2 egg whites, making sure squash are well coated.

In a large freezer bag, toss in bread crumbs, Parmesan, flour, oregano, salt, and pepper and shake until well mixed. Once mixed, empty squash medallions into the freezer bag and shake until all the medallions are well coated with the mixture. Empty bag contents into a greased 9 x 12 baking dish and distribute into a thin, even layer. (It won't look pretty, but I promise, the taste is worth it.) Bake for 1 hour until browned on top.

Here's the finished product. Now you see why that's not at the top of the post. Ha!

Ratings from the Experts*: for squash 9/10. I might try adding some onions next time but it's got a very full-bodied flavor.UPDATE: This does not save well. It's best to eat in one meal. The breadcrumbs tend to get soggy when refrigerated.