Fall is in the air...

Beef Stew
Recipe is my own

Today was the kids first day back at school and although it was in the 90's today it felt like fall was around the corner. So I decided it was the perfect day to make beef stew. It also didn't help that the rotisserie chicken I bought yesterday to use in recipes this week had a fly in the container and dead stuck to the chicken. AWESOME!  So beef stew it was! I also made it in the crock pot so that it wouldn't heat up the house on this hot day. 

 Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
1 lb of stew beef
1/2 of an 8oz container of sliced mushrooms
2 pieces of celery chopped
3 medium potatoes diced
1 medium onion diced
5 cloves of garlic chopped
1/2 large leek (diced)
1/2 bag of baby carrots chopped
1 cup red wine
1 cup veggie broth or water
3 tablespoons of flour and 1/4 cup red wine

 I like to cut the beef up into bite sized pieces.

 Add oil to a pan and get it hot. Add beef to the oil and brown well.

 Chop garlic and add to the crock pot.

 Dice the onion and add to the crockpot

 Once the meat browns add it to the crockpot

Chop celery and add to the crockpot

Chop the carrots and add to the crockpot

 add 1/2 the container of mushrooms (i chopped them a little bit)

 Chop 1/2 the leek and add to the crockpot

 Cut the potato into bite sized pieces

Give everything a stir and add in the broth or water.

Next add in the wine. Allow to cook for 8 to 10 hours on low.

5 minutes before serving mix the 3 Tablespoons of flour with the 1/3 cup of wine and mix well so the flour doesn't clump. Add it to the beef stew and mix it well. Add in some salt and pepper for taste and let it sit for 5 minutes. 

 So how does Beef Stew fit into the 21 day fix?

1 Red for meat, 1 yellow for potatoes, 1 green for carrots, onions, leeks, and mushrooms (its probably not quite a full green) and I also counted it as 1 orange (because of the sauce, when things have a sauce to them, I sometimes think of them like a dressing. This could be completely off, but sometimes you have to take a guess at it) I also would count it as 1 teaspoon because of the olive oil in it.

1 Red, 1 Yellow, 1 Green, 1 Orange, 1 Teaspoon

Burrito Bowls

Burrito Bowls

Recipe courtesy of Melissa d'Arabian photos are my own. 

This recipe is so good that I made it two weeks in a row. Once for our family and once when friends came for dinner. This is so easy because you throw it in a crock pot, make your pico de gallo and you cook your rice and then set out toppings. My kids love this as well because then they can build their bowls with what they want. So what do you need? 

Ingredients: 

For the crock pot pork

1 boston butt roast - around 2 lbs. 

1/2 tsp Oregano

1 tsp cumin

salt and pepper

1 medium onion chopped

1 jalapeno diced (the seeds and white ribs inside of the jalapeno are where the spiciness comes from, so if you want flavor and very little spice just remove them, or add a little for a bit of spice) 

1 medium orange, cut in half. 

olive oil

5 cloves of garlic (cut in half) 

For the Pico de Gallo

2 medium tomatoes

1 jalapeno (again remove as much spiciness as you want) 

1 small onion

1/3 cup cilantro

1 avocado

1 lime

olive oil

salt

pinch of sugar

For the Rice

1 cup brown rice cooked in a rice cooker or on the stove (cook 1 cup of rice for 4 people) 

1/3 cup cilantro

lime

1 can of black beans rinsed 

Toppings: 

green onioins

plain greek yogurt in place of sour cream

cheddar or montery jack cheese

lime slices if wanted

The first thing you want to do is get your pork into the crock pot. Rub 1 teaspoon of olive oil on all sides of the boston butt. Next use 1/2 tsp of oregano and 1 tsp of cumin and rub into the meat on all sides. Lightly salt and pepper and place into the crock pot. 

Next you are going to chop the onion, jalapeno and garlic and place them over the meat. 

Slice the orange and squeeze the juice over everything. Throw the pieces of orange into the crock pot, put the lid on it and let it cook on low for 8-10 hours. If on high cook 4-6 hours depending on the size of the meat. Your house is going to smell SO GOOD!

About 1 hour before you are ready to eat, you can get your rice cooking (I used a rice cooker) 

Then you will want to make your Pico de Gallo- 

finely dice your onion and place into a bowl. 

next slice your tomatoes and remove the seeds, then dice the tomato and place into the bowl

Dice the jalapeno as well and add to the bowl. Add a pinch of sugar (it helps bring out the sweetness of the tomatoes) and season with salt and pepper. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil. 

Dice the avocado and add it to the rest of the mixture in the bowl. 

Add in the cilantro and then squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lime over it and give it all a good mix. Put it in the fridge until ready to eat. 

Once the meat is done it is going to pull apart really easily. Put it onto a plate, leaving the juice and shred it with a fork so it is all broken apart. 

 Place 1 Tablespoon of oil into a pan and let it get hot. Medium high is a good temperature.

 Add the shredded meat to the pan and spread it out. You are not going to stir it. You want it to get nice and crispy brown on one side. 

 You can see here how it is nice and crisp on one side. This is typically called carnitas.

 Once it is nice and crispy, you are ready to start building your burrito bowl. 

Add cilantro into your rice (you can also add in the black beans if you want to) 

Now lets build our bowl. 

 Place 1 yellow container of rice and beans into a bowl. 

 Add 1 blue container of cheese

 Fill 1 green container with Pico de Gallo and put half of it over the cheese. 

 Top with 1 red container of meat

 add the rest of the green container of pico de gallo then top with a spoonful of greek yogurt. 

This meal is really filling, and seriously DELICIOUS!!

 So what containers do you count this as:

 1 Yellow,1 Blue, 1 Green, 1 Red  1 Tsp

Pork Tostadas

Pork Tostadas

Picture and recipe courtesy of Lauren Buczkowski

Sometimes you just feel like something easy and quick for dinner that doesn't take a lot of prep time. Tostadas are something that can be very versatile. You can make them with fish, you can make them with pork, you can make them with turkey or chicken. This is one I made with pork. It is such a simple recipe and a good, filling meal. It is also something that you get to cook all day in a crock pot and forget about. 

Pork loin is something that you can buy really inexpensively. It usually comes in large portions as well, allowing you to freeze part of it for another meal. Buy them when they are on sale. 

Ingredients: 

·       6” corn tortillas (I like to use white corn tortillas) 

·       1 lb pork loin roast

·       ¾ cup apple cider vinegar

·       2 Tablespoons honey

·       ½ cup water

·       Salt

·       Pepper

·       Garlic 2 cloves minced

·       Tomatoes

·       Avocado

·       Plain nonfat greek yogurt 1 cup

·       Cilantro 1/4 cup

·       Chives 1 tablespoon

·       Cheddar cheese

·       Limes

Place the pork loin into a crock pot. Lightly salt and pepper the pork loin. Add in apple cider vinegar, honey, 1 clove of garlic and water into the crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. 

When the meat is done, use two forks to shred it and then let it sit in the liquid until you are ready to serve. 

Get your toppings ready: Cheddar Cheese, chop tomatoes, dice avocado, Slice limes. 

To make the sauce to go on top of the tostadas, mix yogurt, remaining garlic clove, Chopped cilantro, chives, salt to taste and the juice of 1/2 a lime. 

Heat broiler and place tortillas onto a baking pan. Spray with cooking spray. Place under the broiler and watch them because they can burn quickly. Usually only cook for a minute or two. Flip them over and toast the other side. 

To put them together use 2 tortillas, 1 red container of meat, 1/2 blue of cheese split between the two, 1/2 blue of avocado, top with tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of sauce (one for each tostada) Sprinkle with cilantro if wanted and a squeeze of lime. 

Here is how I would count this meal: 

1 Red  (for the meat and sauce) 1 Blue, 1 Yellow

You don't use enough tomatoes to count it as a full green container.  

Crockpot Minestrone Soup

Crockpot Minestrone Soup

Above picture and recipe courtesy of skinnytaste.com

I am going to be honest, I am not a huge fan of veggie filled soup... I am more of a chowder/thick soup person. (Like baked potato soup) However this one is one I really love. This is not a typical summer recipe for me, I usually don't make a lot of soup in the summer, just because it is so hot. I also only make this recipe when I have Parmesan rind. So my husbands grandmother is 94 and has not been feeling well. She thinks I am the most amazing cook in the world and I try every few weeks to make her a meal. She loves soup, and this soup is her absolute favorite. So that is why I made it yesterday. I kept a little for myself for lunch today. 

So minestrone soup is a classic Italian soup and is very hearty with white beans, tomatoes, zucchini and pasta. It cooks down with the rind of pamesan which infuses the flavor throughout the soup, giving it a richness that is delicious. 

Here is what you will need: (A few things not pictured, but noted below, I had to change it up a little) 

 You will need:
                     

• 1 (15 oz) can white beans, drained, rinsed (cannellini or navy) (not pictured above) 
• 32 oz container reduced sodium chicken broth or veggie broth
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1/2 cup diced celery (Not pictured above) 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (28 oz) can petite diced tomatoes (i used (1) (14oz can of diced tomatoes and the rest were fresh cherry tomatoes I cut up) 
• Parmesan cheese rind (optional) (I keep these in my freezer when i have used up all the cheese) 
• 1 fresh rosemary sprig
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil (not pictured) 
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley (not pictured)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt and fresh black pepper
• 1 medium 8 oz zucchini, diced
• 2 cups chopped fresh (or frozen defrosted) spinach, kale, swiss chard whatever you prefer.  (I did not use greens because it can change coumadin levels and his grandmother is on coumadin) 
• 2 cups cooked small pasta such as ditalini or elbows (al dente)- use what you have on hand, try whole wheat pasta as well. 
• This is also good with ground turkey or make little mini meatballs, chicken would also be good added to this soup to add in some protein. 
• extra parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)

                     
Step 1: Turn crockpot on low. Drain and rinse beans and put into a blender or food processor. Add in 1 cup of broth. Blend well. Add mixture to the crockpot, followed by the remining broth. Add in basil, parsley, bay leaves, rosemary, parmasean rind, salt, and pepper.

 Next add in your tomatoes. Give it a good stir. 

 Step 3: Chop up your onion, carrots, celery, and mince your garlic. Add oil to the pan and saute veggies until soft. Around 8-10 minutes.

Transfer veggies to the crock pot, mix it all together and put the lid on and cook on low 6-8 hours. Forty minutes before you are ready to serve, add in your zucchini and greens (spinach, kale, or swiss chard) Let it cook for 30 minutes. At this time you can also cook your pasta, so it will be ready to serve with the soup.

To serve: add 1 yellow container 3/4 full of pasta (preferably whole wheat) to your bowl. (remember you used a can of white beans in this, so don't fill your yellow up completely. The beans will count towards some of your yellow also. Top with 1 Green container of soup. Get lots of good veggies in your container. Add a little broth if needed. Top with Parmesan cheese. Remove the Parmesan rind from the soup (this tastes amazing, but the added calories of eating it do not fit into the plan)

This soup is a great way to add in some green containters. It is filled with good veggies. I also don't tend to count broth in my containers. I figure the amount of broth used, fills in the gaps between the veggies in the container. (i used veggie broth) I may be incorrect in this thinking, so if anyone knows the answer to this please let me know.

I would count this as follows:  1 Yellow, 1 Green, 1 Blue, and 1 tsp.
** if you were to add in chicken or turkey meatballs, then I would also count it as a 1 Red

Crockpot Braised Short Ribs

I have always wanted to make short ribs but have never done them. I saw some delicious looking short ribs at our store and decided it was time to try. This recipe came from here at Fifteenspatulas.com. I only did a tiny bit of editing for this recipe. 

Here is what you will need: 

Good olive oil 

short ribs (i realized that mine were boneless, next time I will get bone in for added flavor) I ended up only using 1 package. 

1 softball sized yellow onion

1 piece of celery

1 or 2 carrots

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp thyme

1 cup red wine

1 cup beef broth

2 Tablespoons of honey

salt and pepper

The recipe is simple. 

1. put olive oil in a pan on medium high heat- aproximately 2 tsp. 

2. salt and pepper the short ribs. 

3. Once the pan is hot put the ribs into the pan (there should be a really good sizzle going on) 

4. While these get golden brown chop up the onion into slices, the carrots and the celery and place into the crock pot on low heat. 

5. Flip the short ribs on each side and make sure it gets browned all the way around. (you are not cooking them, just getting color and sealing in the juices. ) 

6. Sprinkle thyme over the veggies and put the bay leaf into the crockpot. 

7. Place the short ribs over the veggies. 

8. Mix the wine, beef broth, and honey together, mix it to dissolve the honey a bit and pour it over the meat into the crockpot.  

9. Cover and cook on low 8-12 hours. (I did about 9 hours and they were perfect) They will be tender and delicious and absolutely fall apart. 

I am serving mine with Trader Joes 10 minute barley. (on the side of the package it tells how to make it into risotto by slowly cooking it with chicken broth.) Then i will add parmasean cheese. 

I will also sautee some zucchini and squash with garlic, rosemary and a little olive oil and then do a side salad. 

This dinner will count as the following containers

2 red (i am eating 2 servings of beef, you can do one if you want) 1 yellow, 1 blue, 3 green, 1 orange, and 1 tsp. 

This is how it looked after slowly cooking all day.