Spaghetti Squash with Garlic Chicken

Since my parents were coming to visit, Taylor and I decided we should fix something a little fancier (and maybe not as "strange" as quinoa)... and my family loves squash, so we decided this was the best bet.

I had never cooked spaghetti squash, and didn't think I had ever eaten it either - but my parents informed me that wasn't true. First thing you should know about cooking spaghetti squash: it's not easy to cut. There's also a few different ways to cook it. I baked mine (I had a bad feeling about microwaving it, especially with warnings about "Squash Explosion" possibilities) and it worked well. I followed these instructions. [ignore my ugly pan...]

We combined it with diced tomatoes and onions, salt and pepper, a little olive oil, and some feta cheese. I didn't even have a very large spaghetti squash, and it made about seven servings!


Now the recipe for the chicken, we followed exactly as we were told, but had a few problems. The breading mix wasn't dry at all, and therefore didn't stick onto the chicken very well. We used two large chicken breasts (since this was a meal for four), so we ran out of our breading (and just dipped the last few slices of chicken in Italian seasoning crumbs).

We also baked the chicken as well, since frying it didn't seem so healthy. The chicken tasted great, even if it didn't get coated quite properly. And, we finished off the meal with some pumpkin pie shakes.

 

Rating: This meal took a little more time and concentration to make, but turned out delicious!

Stacked Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas

Healthy enchiladas? Yes, please! I could've probably just eaten the roasted veggies by themselves. This recipe takes a little more prep and cooking time, but it's so worth it!

2 bell peppers, (one red, one green) cut into matchsticks
1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 small potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 medium onion, halved and slivered
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1-2 cups of green beans (optional)
Vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and black pepper
2 cups homemade or store bought salsa/pico de gallo
2 ounces baby spinach leaves (about 2 big handfuls)
9-10 corn tortillas, halved
2 cups shredded cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil a large shallow roasting pan or rimmed cookie sheet.

Place bell peppers, cauliflower, potato, onion, green beans, and corn kernels onto cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle the cumin and minced garlic over top. Add a generous pinch or two of salt and black pepper, then use your hands to mix everything together. After everything is coated well, spread the vegetables evenly in the pan. Roast for 30 minutes until vegetables are tender and begin to brown in spots. Stir or shake the pan every 10 minutes for even roasting.  Remove pan from oven and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Prepare a 9x12 baking pan with nonstick spray. Spread 1/4 cup of salsa into the bottom of the baking pan. Add a layer of tortilla halves, to completely cover the salsa. Top with 1/3 of the vegetables, a handful of spinach, and 1/3 of the cheese. Make a second layer of tortilla, salsa, vegetables, spinach, and cheese. Top with with a layer of tortillas, salsa, vegetables, and cheese. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and everything is heated through.

Let it sit for 5 minutes and cut into squares.

[Feel free to switch out the vegetables or cheese for those you like, add some beans or shredded chicken if your family prefers, or even use flour tortillas if you don't have (or like) corn.]

Rating: Another vegetable-heavy recipe, and even with the tortillas - it's healthy, and affordable!

Pumpkin Pie Shake

If you haven't figured it out already, I love pumpkin. After the last smoothie turned out awesome, I now want to try every smoothie. This recipe caught my attention, and as usual... I altered it just a little! I used slightly less healthy ingredients than it originally called for (like soy milk), and lessened the amount of ingredients so it would fit in my magic bullet!

1/4 banana (peeled, diced)
1/3 cup pumpkin puree (Libby’s)
1/3 cup FF plain yogurt
1/2 cup 1% milk (or milk of choice)
Few shakes of pumpkin spice and cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
2 ice cubes
2 packets of Splenda
Throw in some oatmeal if you want!


Mix together, and enjoy! This adds up to be about 200 calories.

Rating: The ingredients needed for this recipe will last long enough you could make this several times, which helps make it more cost efficient! And, it's decently healthy!

Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter Granola

I love pumpkin, and I love granola. And to my luck, I came across this pumpkin spice granola recipe. I changed it up a little, and it's so good! I lessened the sugary ingredients to make it healthier (and more diabetic friendly).

6 cups old-fashioned oats (not instant)

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tsp. honey

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. pumpkin spice

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp. peanut butter (optional) 

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place oats in a large bowl. In a separate smaller bowl, mix together pumpkin, brown sugar, honey, vanilla, spices, and salt. Pour over oats and mix together until everything is moistened. Spread evenly onto a large silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet (or 2 smaller ones). (If you don't have a silpat or parchment or wax paper to line the pan, you can just lightly grease it, which is what I did.) 

 

Bake in oven for about 15-20 minutes. Take out pan. Using a large spatula, flip the granola in batches. Disturb it as little as you can if you like lots of clusters. If you don't care about clusters, just stir it around as much as you please and break it up a bit with your spoon or spatula. Place back in oven and bake for about 10-20 more minutes. It will kind of depend on oven temp and how thin you're able to spread the granola on your pan(s). 

 

Remove from oven and allow to cool undisturbed. It should continue to crunch up as it cools.  Once cool, break up any clusters you feel are too large. If you want, mix in a few handfuls of chopped almonds and craisins and store in an airtight container. 

I had some granola start to burn around the edge of the pan, so I turned down the temp just a little bit. My baking time increased because I didn't have enough pans so I had to rotate and do a few batches. I didn't cluster together as much as I should have, so right now I have a big mixture of some clusters, and some loose granola. But, that's okay because I eat granola plain, in yogurt, as cereal, in smoothies, etc.

Rating: This recipe was really easy, and quick to make! Not to mention, you can eat granola with a lot of things, and it's healthy!

PB&J Wrap

I've been wanting to try this recipe for about a week now, and finally got to try it tonight, but I altered it just a little bit. It'll probably be my dessert replacement from now on :)

I used a whole wheat tortilla (even though I normally eat corn tortillas),

frozen strawberries (thawed),

half of a banana

and natural peanut butter.

I should've looked closer at the strawberries. Fresh strawberries are out of season, and therefore more expensive, so I bought frozen strawberries, but they have a lot of extra sugar added in (35g). I needed to thaw the strawberries, so I just popped 'em in the microwave for 30 seconds, and a lot of the extra juice spilled off. So, I'll probably thaw the whole container, drain it and rinse the strawberries.

This was a really good snack, but it's not as filling for as many calories it contains (about 400).

Rating: