Making Healthy Choices Monday

When buying canned vegetables be sure to buy the low-sodium or no salt added versions. This way you can better control how much salt goes into your food. 

Honey Roasted Red Potatoes

The original recipe said these potatoes only took 35 minutes to cook, but they actually took more like an hour (which made me late for mutual) so I'm changing the cooking time. If you have the time to cook these they are definitely worth the wait!

1 pound red potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces

2 tablespoons diced onion

2 tablespoons butter, melted

3 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons dry mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat in 11x13 in baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a small bowl, mix the melted butter, honey, mustard, salt, and pepper.  Place potatoes and onion in a large bowl; drizzle sauce over potatoes. Mix around until all potatoes have been covered in sauce. Put potatoes in a single layer in the prepared dish.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 45-60 minutes. Stir potatoes around every 15-20 minutes so they don't get dry. You can also broil the potatoes for the last 2 minutes to get a crunchier outside.

Serves 4. Ready in 1 hour.

Lemon Chicken & Veggies

I tried this for the first time tonight and we all really enjoyed it.

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1 package (9 oz) hollandaise sauce mix

1 tablespoon lemon juice

4 tablespoons butter, divided

1/4 cup chicken broth

2 cups shredded carrots (I sliced my carrots into thin rounds)

1 package (9 oz) fresh baby spinach

1. In a large resealable bag, combine flour and lemon-pepper. Flatten chicken to 1/2-inch thickness. Add chicken one piece at a time, and shake to coat.

2. Prepare sauce according to package directions. Stir in lemon juice. Meanwhile in a skillet, saute chicken in 2 tablespoons butter for 4-6 minutes on each side. Remove and keep warm.

3. In the same pan, add chicken broth, stirring to loosen brown bits. Add carrots and remaining butter; cook for 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add spinach; cook 3-5 minutes longer or until spinach is wilted. Serve chicken with sauce and vegetables.

Serves 4. Ready in 30 minutes.

Broiled Parmesan Tilapia

Here is a great recipe that can help you eat more fish. It's very easy to make and only takes about 10 minutes!

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 1/2 tablespoons light mayonnaise

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon dried basil

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon celery salt or 1/4 teaspoon celery seed

4 servings of tilapia

1. Preheat your ovens broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise, and lemon juice. Then add rest of ingredients. Mix well and set aside.

3. Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat 2 minutes. Turn the fillets over and broil for 2 more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to cook over the fish.

Ready in 10 minutes. Serves 4.

Making Healthy Choices Monday

Eat more fish! It has very little fat and is so good for you! There are great fish recipes out there that can help hide the fish taste of you don’t like fish. If you buy fish without any bones it’s much easier to eat. 

Chicken with Mushrooms

"You can serve this over pasta or rice."

3 cups sliced mushrooms

1 garlic clove

4 skinless, boneless, chicken breast halves

2 eggs, beaten,

1 cup seasoned bread crumbs

2 tablespoons butter

6 oz mozzarella cheese, sliced

3/4 cup chicken broth

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large skillet, cook half of the mushrooms and garlic until mushrooms are soft. Then place into a 9X13 inch pan.

3. Dip chicken into beaten eggs, then roll in bread crumbs.

4. In skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Brown both sides of chicken in skillet. Place chicken on top of mushrooms, arrange remaining mushrooms on chicken, and top with mozzarella cheese. Add chicken broth to the pan.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until chicken is cooked.

Creamier option: You can mix a can of cream of mushroom soup with the broth, and mushrooms. Pour over the chicken and mushrooms in pan. Put cheese on top of everything.

Serves 4. Ready in 45 minutes.

zucchini & Pecan Saute

"The pecans add a nice sweet, crunchy flare to the zucchini."

3 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup chopped pecans

1 pound fresh zucchini, sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add pecans; cook and stir until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove pecans from skillet.

2. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the skillet, and melt. Add zucchini, salt, and pepper and saute until soft. Toss with pecans and cheese. 

Serves 4. Ready in 15 minutes.

Slow-Cooked Steak Fajitas

1 (1 1/2 lb) beef flank steak

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes 

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 medium onion, sliced

1 medium green pepper, julienned

1 medium sweet pepper, julienned

1 teaspoon minced fresh cilantro

12 flour tortillas

sour cream, optional

salsa, optional

1. Thinly slice steak across the grain into strips; place in a 5-qt slow cooker. Add tomatoes, jalapeno, garlic, coriander, cumin, chili powder, and salt. Cover and cooke on low 6 hours. Add onion, peppers, and cilantro. Cover and cook 1 hour longer.

2. Using a slotted spoon, spoon about 1/2 cup meat mixture into tortillas. Add sour cream and salsa if desired.

Makes 12 fajitas.