What's for Dinner?

Like most moms,the job of what's for dinner can be a bit overwhelming. How do I balance what's important to me:
* the need for lots of veggies
* variety and spice
* healthy proteins
* "clean" menus (no preservatives, nothing artifical or packaged or processed)
* gluten free (we have celiac disease)

I am also struggling with the conundrum of cooking low calorie for myself while trying to see how many calories I can add to my kids meals (they need as many additional calories as I can get them right now).

Then add in convenience, expense, and time.

Today was a great success in all of the above ways, so I wanted to take a few minutes to post the recipes so you can share them with your family!

Thai Curried Veggies with Quinoa (from the Cozi website)
Ingredients
1 cup quinoa
2-3 Tbsp cooking oil
2-3 cups vegetables, fresh or frozen, or your choice
¾ cup Trader Joe's Yellow Thai Curry sauce (I used the red version)
suggested vegetables: canned chickpeas (drained and rinsed), slice onions, fresh spinach, frozen green peas, diced cauliflower,broccoli, mushrooms, thinly sliced carrots

Preparation
1.Prepare quinoa according to package directions. Set aside. I use 25% vegetable broth when I cook the quinoa to give it additional flavor.
2.Heat oil in large skillet and saute onion over medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until onions begin to soften. (I use coconut oil....it is supposed to be the best)
3.If using hard, raw vegetables like carrots or cauliflower, add them next and saute until just softened (3-5 minutes).
4.If using frozen vegetables, saute for 3-5 minutes until full defrosted and warmed through.
5.Add chickpeas (if using) and stir until warmed through.
6.Add the sauce and bring the curry to a simmer.
7.Serve over quinoa or rice. It is great topped with toasted coconut and diced peanuts.

I made this after school but before we went to the gym. I just dumped it in my crock pot to keep it warm until we were finished working out. The house smelled great and everyone ate it. It was also great today for lunch!

When I went to Henry's, they had their boneless, skinless chicken tenders on sale, so i grabbed 3 packages. I threw two in the freezer and used one to make two dinners. I had both made and ready to go in just 25 minutes!

Chili Verde in the crock pot
Can of pinto beans
Small can of diced green chilis
3 cups chicken broth
additional water
1 lb boneless, skinless breasts or chicken tenders
1 t cumin
3/4 t dried oreagno
1/8 t. cloves
1/8 t. cayenne
1 t minced garlic
1 t salt
2/3 cup onion (I sauteed mine before adding...either way is fine)
Other items after cooking: Tortillas, salsa, monterey jack or pepper jack cheese

Throw in the crock pot and let it cook all day! Depending on how much water you use, you can serve it as a soup or heat up some corn tortillas and serve as chicken tacos. Yummy and so easy!

Meal #3:
Peanut Chicken
Cook 1 cup basmati or jasmine rice. While it cooks, prepare peanut sauce. As chicken simmers, saute some spinach with garlic and cut a fresh pineapple into wedges.

You can cook ahead or have the entire meal ready in 20 minutes!
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes
1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 garlic cloves
1/2 t. salt
14 t. crushed red pepper
1 t ground cumin
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1 pound chicken tenders
1 t. olive or coconut oil

In blender on high speed, blend tomato juice, cilantro, peanut butter, garlic, salt and crushed red pepper until pureed.
Mix cinnamon and cumin....stir in chicken tenders.
In nonstick skillet or wok, heat oil over heat until hot. Add tenders and cook, turning, until browned.
Pour peanut butter mixture and diced tomatoes over chicken, heat to boiling. reduce heat to low; simmer uncovered, 5 minutes to blend flavors.

Serve over a bed of rice with fresh pineapple and sauteed spinach!

Happy Eating!!!

It's the little things...

Today is a beautiful day for many reasons. First, the sun is shining and it's warming up! We've had so much rain over the past few months that our usually sunny skies have been hidden behind streams of rain and dark, stormy clouds and cold temperatures (yes, it's all relative...cold here is anything below 60...call me a weather snob).

In truth, I enjoy the break from the endless days of sun...they give me a reason to cuddle up with the kids, watch a movie, or work on an indoor project without feeling like we should be on a bike ride, swimming in the pool or hiking through the parks. I love stormy clouds and weather, and I miss the storms we used to have while growing up in Oklahoma...loud claps of thunder, strong winds, and even an occasional hailstorm. It's just not the same here in California.

But, hey, today's the day for the kids to get outside and play! Our big gift this year was a 14 foot trampoline in the backyard...bounce, bounce, bounce out that energy! They have more energy than I know what to do with, and they start bouncing off the walls when trapped inside for longer than say, 10 minutes? So having the opportunity to get out and play makes the day just BEAUTIFUL!

Here's a photo of the boys on the trampoline eating their favorite snack...frozen blueberries. Just yummy frozen blueberries by the bowlful! The only downside is their stained hands and faces. A small price to pay for a bowl full of happiness and health!