Zesty Meatball Soup

First off, I apologize for not posting for so long. James and I began Body for Life which requires me to work out daily (except Sunday). So I've been cooking healthy, just not posting the healthy things we've made.
This recipe is sooo yummy. We loved all the flavor it has. It's also fairly fast & cheap because it makes tons! I saw the recipe on the back of my Zesta whole wheat saltines box and decided to give it a try. I hope you will make this because it is healthy and so tasty. I adapted the recipe to not require using a dutch oven because honestly, who uses that daily in the kitchen?!

1 egg beaten
10 saltine crackers(whole wheat)finely crushed
1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp fresh parsley (or dried)
1/4 tsp pepper
1 lb. lean ground beef
2 small zucchini, chopped(2 cups)
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 cans(14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes (with Italian seasonings)
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce (with Italian seasonings)
1 can (14 oz) reduced sodium beef broth (or 1 3/4c. water + 2 bouillon cubes)
1/2 c. uncooked dry small shell pasta

1.In a large bowl combine egg, crackers, cheese, parsley, and pepper. Add ground beef. Mix well. Shape into thirty six 1 inch meatballs.
2. Spray a pyrex 8 x 11 pan. Cook meatballs in a 350 degree preheated oven until no longer pink in the center. (I put mine in the oven and took them out and into the soup when the pasta was tender. So however long that is.)
3.In a large deep skillet cook zucchini and onion until tender (in a small amount of olive oil... if you like). Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato sacue, beef broth, and pasta. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 8 minutes or until pasta is tender. Stir in meatballs. Heat through.

Parmesan Chicken French Bread Pizza

Thanks to Laura Larson, my mom, I can make pizza and salad in under 15 minutes for under $5! (Can you tell that she had 8 children?!) She never had time to make pizza dough and never had the money to buy the dough or Boboli crusts, so instead she made us french bread pizza. Maybe it was a favorite at your home too... I flavored it up a bit with a few things I found in my fridge, but I honestly only spent $2.50 at the store tonight, buying a loaf of french bread and mozzarella. That's it. So see what you have and create your own. It has always been one of my favorite "Mom Meals". Look at all the veggies you can pack into your family's diet. Enjoy!

1 loaf of french bread
1 small can of tomato or spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese
1 chicken breast, grilled in garlic & olive oil, chopped
Toppings:
I used sun dried tomatoes, onion, red bell pepper, spinach, a little low fat ricotta cheese,
and Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Cut the french bread loaf in half, lengthwise. Spread on the seasoned tomato sauce, sprinkle on the cheese, add the chicken & toppings, and sprinkle with Parmesan. Put it in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese melts and the edges are golden. While the pizza cooks, chop vegetables & make your salad. Ta-Da! Dinner in a snap!

Thai Peanut Sauce

We love Thai food! Especially Thai food from our favorite resaruant in Orem, Bangok Grill. Mmmm... So GOOD! But now that we live in Salt Lake, we can't exactly stop by regularly, so on a very tired night, James made me this Pad Thai & Peanut Sauce with Rice. He made up the Pad Thai chicken off the cuff, but he did follow a recipe for the Peanut sauce. So here it is. I loved it and thought others should try it. I'm thankful for the great diversity of food and cultures around the world and for a wonderful husband who cooks well!

4 teaspoons canola oil,
1/2 cup minced red onion,
2 tablespoons minced garlic,
1/2 teaspoon hot chili pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar,
1/3 cup peanut butter,
1 cup of water

In a blender, combine oil, onion, garlic and hot chili pepper; blend for 1 minute. (James skipped that step because we like chunky texture.) Empty the mixture into a saucepan and place over low heat until the mixture starts releasing aroma. Add peanut butter and mix well over low heat. Add water and let it simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened. Stir in vinegar and sugar; continue to simmer for another 1-2 minutes. Taste and add more vinegar and sugar if the mixture does not have the sour and sweet taste.

Place sauce in a shallow plate for satay dipping or pour over fresh salad.

Honey Pear Crisp

I need to return my C is for Cooking book to the library tomorrow, so I thought, "Lets do one last Sesame Street recipe just for fun!" This Honey Pear Crisp is very yummy and inexpensive, but I'll tell you the honest truth... The crisp stuff on top of the apple or pear was the best part of it all. I could eat I pan of just that... but that would not be guilt free, now would it. Darn! If you like apples or pears, I think you'll really enjoy this recipe. Once again, it is a kids recipe so it's easy and fast and tastes great with Low fat cool whip or a titch of vanilla ice cream.

1/2 cup uncooked oats
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
4 peeled, ripe pears, halved & cored
(instead of pears, you can substitute apples)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp honey
Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Coat a 9 in pie plate with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, use a fork to stir together oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until well mixed. With your fingers, work in the butter until a crumbly mixture forms.
3. Place the pears in the pie plate, cut side up.
4. Sprinkle the pears with lemon juice. Drizzle with honey.
5. Crumble the oat topping all over the pears.
6. Bake until pears are softened and topping is crisp and lightly browned, about 25 minutes. Let stand for at least 15 minutes. Spoon into individual dessert bowls. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream, if you like.

Me-Love-Mini-Meat-Loaves

After eating this little meal all I can say is, "More Mini Meatloaf!" These small meat loaves cook in muffin cups and are done in half the time. I enjoyed them so much. We had our friends, Tia & Merrick over for dinner and they too thought it was "tasty". Although they aren't the prettiest things you've ever seen, they are kid friendly. Of course, their recipe comes from the Sesame street C is for Cooking book. I think your little ones would especially enjoy them. They're so simple and fast that the kids can help and I believe the total cost was under $5 for this meal. Not bad. If you buy ground turkey or very lean beef, then pretty darn healthy too, thanks to the added oatmeal and grated carrot inside.

1 egg
1 pound ground meat
1 cup uncooked oatmeal
1 onion, grated
1 carrot, shredded
1/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Additonal ketchup for topping (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly coat 8 muffin cups with vegetable oil or cooking spray.
2. Crack the egg in the bowl. Then in the bowl, combine the meat, oatmeal, onion, carrot, ketchup, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. With clean hands or a wooden spoon, mix until well-blended.
3. Divide the mixture up into 8 equal sized balls.
4. Place a ball of meat into each muffin cup and press down lightly. If you like, brush the top of each mini loaf with ketchup.
5. Bake until meat loaves are no longer pink in center, 20 to 25 minutes.

Crunchy Oriental Chicken Salad

Who doesn't love Ramen?! Ask any of my neices or nephews, they'll tell you it's awesome. This recipe comes from good ol' Betty Crocker. The salad is so fast and flavorful and best of all... cheap! The dressing is homemade and is much less fattening than most dressings, but I must admit, thanks to the Ramen, the sodium is a bit high. It has a very fresh, lite taste with just the right amount of crunch. True confession... One night after eating this for dinner, James and I were in the kitchen washing dishes. I went to clean the large glass serving bowl this salad was in, when I saw that there was some dressing left in it. Impulsively, I put the large bowl to my lips and chugged the last of the vinaigrette. James stared at me with shock in his eyes and a dropped jaw and said, "Did you really just do that?" We both started laughing so hard we could barely breath. Oh, lovely! That's how yummy it is!

2 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 pkg. Oriental flavored Ramen noodles
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups cooked chopped chicken
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, if desired
4 medium green onions, sliced
1 bag coleslaw mix (or 16 oz. cabbage, sliced)
1 can mandarin orange segments, drained

1. In large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in seasoning packet from soup mix. Break block of noodles into bite size pieces over skillet; stir into butter mixture.
2. Cook noodles 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in sesame seeds. (Unless you're like me and don't have any... it tasted great without them.) Cook about 2 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, until noodles are golden brown; remove from heat.
3. In large bowl, mix sugar, vinegar, oil, and pepper. Add noodle mixture and remaining ingredients; toss. Serve immediately to preserve the crunch of the noodles.

The Healthiest Happy Meal

Moms out there, this recipe is for you! I know your kids probably don't love some of the fancy, gourmet foods on this blog. They just want chicken nuggets and fries. So I went to my library and checked out the greatest cookbook for kids called C is for Cooking (created by Sesame Street & Food Network Chefs) The recipes are created or approved by a registered dietitian, so they're good for kids bodies. It's only 9 to 10 bucks on Amazon.com, which tempts me to buy it. The recipes are made for kids not only to eat, but to help cook. They didn't have a fry recipe, so I added in a Paula Dean recipe to complete the meal. I hope you like it. It was so easy and fun to make that even my 4 month old baby helped to crush up the saltines. So fun! I hope you love it too. It makes a lot!

Grover's Little & Adorable Chicken Nuggets

24 saltine crackers (I used whole wheat saltines)
1 lb. thin sliced chicken breasts
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp mayo.
1 egg white
2 tsp. honey mustard

1. Preheat the oven to 400. Lightly grease a large cookie sheet.
2. (Kids) Place the crackers in a plastic ziplock bag and zip the bag. Now gently pound on the bag with your fists to crush the crackers into fine crumbs. Pour the crumbs onto a large plate. Set aside.
3. Cut the chicken breast into 1 1/2 in squares. Sprinkle evenly with salt.
4. (Kids) in a large bowl, stir together the mayo, egg white, and honey mustard until well mixed. Add the chicken to the mayo mixture and gently toss to coat the chicken pieces.
5. (Kids) Gently press each piece into the cracker crumbs until the nugget is covered all over. Transfer the nuggets to the greased cookie sheet.
6.Bake the nuggets until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
McDonald's chicken nuggets have 38 ingredients, many of which are synthetic. These have 6 ingredients and other than the 1 Tbsp of mayo and little salt, they're very good for you.

Paula Dean's Sweet Potato Fries:

2 to 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4 in long slices, then 1/4 in wide strips
Olive oil for tossing
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
Line a tray with parchment. In a bowl toss sweet potatoes with just enough oil to coat. Sprinkle on seasonings and toss again. Spread sweet potatoes in a single layer on prepared baking sheet, being sure not to overcrowd. Bake until sweet potatoes are tender and golden brown, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

*These are so much better for you than regular fries because you use sweet potatoes, which have tons more nutrients than potatoes, and because you bake them in small amounts of olive oil instead of deep fat frying them in oil that often contains trans or saturated fats.

Abby Cadabby's Magic Golden Zucchini Coins:
6 small, thin zucchini or yellow summer squash or a combination
Salt to taste
1/3 c. grated Parmesan Cheese

1. (Kids) Use a plastic knife to slice each zucchini into 1/4 in thick rounds.
2. In a large saucepan, steam or boil the zucchini until barely tender, 4 to 6 min. Drain in a colander and set aside to cool slightly.
3. Preheat the broiler.
4. (Kids) Place the zucchini in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle each "coin" with a tiny pinch of salt and some Parmesan cheese.
5. Broil the zucchini until just golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

*James, my husband, is a 27 year old kid and just loved these. They are so simple and fast and flavorful too!