Spanish Rice

Adapted from here.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. oil
1 c. chopped onion
2 carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 c. uncooked white rice
2 c. water or chicken broth
1 c. salsa
1 tsp. vegeta
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 c. fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Heat the oil on medium-high in a medium saucepan.

2. Add onions and carrots. Saute 4 minutes.

3. Add rice and garlic. Saute 5 minutes or until the rice is a light golden brown color. Make sure to keep stirring to prevent it from burning.

4. Add salsa and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to simmer for 20 minutes.

Zucchini Cakes

Yields 10 cakes

Ingredients:

cooking spray
2 c. peeled and shredded zucchini
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large egg
1/4 c. reduced-fat Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. yellow cornmeal
1 tsp. vegeta
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 c. fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Toss the zucchini with the salt. Let is sit in a bowl lined with a paper towel to draw the moisture out. Let it sit for about 30 minutes. Squeeze out any moisture in the zucchini.

2. Combine the rest of the ingredients with the zucchini.

3. Heat a large skillet to medium-high. Spray with cooking spray.

4. Drop 2 Tablespoon of zucchini mixture per cake and cook until golden brown on each side. About 8-10 minutes total.

Spanish Rice

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 c. rice
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 oz. green chiles, diced
8 oz. tomato sauce, low sodium
1 c. water or chicken stock
1/4 c. fresh cilantro
2 tsp. vegeta
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. oregano

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan on medium-high. Add rice and toast for 15 minutes.

2. Add onions, garlic, green chiles and saute for 5 minutes.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked.

Potato & Onion Hash

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 large potatoes, diced large onion, diced
1 tsp. vegetable oil
2 tsp. vegeta
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. kosher salt

Directions:

1. Peel and wash potatoes. Pat dry. Chop into cubes.

2. Heat the oil on medium-high in a large saucepan. Add onions. Saute 3 minutes.

3. Add potatoes and the rest of the seasonings.

4. Saute until the potatoes are fully cooked, about 25 minutes. Keep stirring to get a golden crust on all sides.

Spanish Quinoa

I never cooked quinoa but we eat couscous all of the time and I thought it would be fairly similar to that and it really was. It has a little longer cooking time than the couscous but tastes just as delicious. The fact that it's a healthy.

We need to do grocery shopping so I didn't have a lot to work with. I decided to make it a Spanish style quinoa side dish. It was really good! You can really add anything you want to this. Next time I'm going to do it with roasted veggies.

I found that the quinoa retained a lot of heat when it was cooked and it stayed really hot the entire time we were eating it. It was really good! I hope you like it was much as we did. I served it with seasoned grilled chicken and a simple side salad.

Oh and if you have a health market area in your grocery store look for it there. You can just get a little bit to try it and it's probably cheaper.

This makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 c. quinoa
1 c. water
1 onion, diced
1 tomato, diced
1/2 c. fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1 lime, juice of
cooking spray

Directions:

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Spray with cooking spray and saute onions for 5 minutes. Add garlic and tomatoes. Saute another 5 minutes.
2. Add all seasonings and quinoa. Saute 2 minutes.
3. Add water, bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. 
4. Simmer until all of the water is evaporated (mine took about 25 minutes instead of 15). If it's taking too long uncover and turn to high. Keep stirring so it doesn't burn.
5. Turn off heat, add lime juice, stir. Let it sit for 5 minutes covered. 

Spicy Grilled Zucchini

If you don't want these to be spicy leave out the cayenne pepper.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 large zucchini, cut 1/4 inch rounds
• 2 tsp. vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. vegeta
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Toss the zucchini rounds in the oil and coat well. Add all of the seasonings, make sure to cover all of the pieces evenly.
2. Skewer the zucchini rounds on a metal skewer or on soaked bamboo skewers.
3. Grill on high, 3 minutes on each side.

Simple Side Salad

Ingredients:

1 small head red leaf lettuce, bite sized pieces
1 small red onion, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
2 Tbsps. distilled white vinegar
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

Combine all ingredients right before serving. Eat right away.

Mexican Slaw

Ingredients:

2 c. red cabbage
2 c. cabbage
1 c. salsa
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. sriracha
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

Shred cabbage. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to eat.

Delicious Couscous & Tilapia

This recipe is a healthier version of a pasta side dish in my opinion. We had it with grilled tilapia and it was sooo good together. However, chicken would be awesome too....

If you are a vegetarian you could add some grilled veggies or tofu  to make it more substantial as a main dish or a cold couscous salad.

Ingredients:

for couscous

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter (I see I can't believe it's not butter)
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. vegeta
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 medium tomato, diced
2 1/4 c. chicken stock, low sodium
1/4 c. fresh cilantro
1/4 c. fresh parsley
2 Tbsp. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 c. couscous, uncooked

for fish
1 1/2 lbs. tilapia
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. vegeta
2 tsp. paprika
aluminum foil
vegetable oil

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat vegetable oil and butter on medium-high heat. Saute onions for 4 minutes.

2. Add garlic, seasonings, and tomatoes. Saute 10 minutes.

3. Add chicken stock, parsley, and cilantro. Bring to a boil. Add couscous, stir to mix up. Turn off heat, cover and let sit for 5 minutes.  Easy peasy!!!

For the fish:

1. Sprinkle all of the seasonings on both sides of the fish. I like to cut my fish in half to help with even cooking.

2. Lay a layer of aluminum foil on your grill and lightly grease it with vegetable oil. 

3. Grill on high for 4 minutes on each side. You can also do this on the stove top in a saute pan. (of course leave out the foil and just use 1 tsp. of vegetable oil) 

Chloe LOVED the couscous!

ENJOY!!

Fried Rice

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 c. white rice
2 c. water
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/ onion, diced
3 green onions, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. vegeta
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. sriracha
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 c. frozen peas
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds

Directions:

• Boil pasta in a medium saucepan. Add rice, reduce to simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.
• In a large saucepan heat butter and oil on medium heat.
• Add onion, green onions, and carrots. Saute for 6 minutes. Add garlic and seasonings. Saute for 2 minutes.
• Move the veggies onto one side of the pan. Add eggs and let fry before you break them up into bite sized pieces.
• Adjust heat to high.
• Add rice, sriracha, soy sauce, peas, and sesame seeds.
• Stir well and saute for 2 minutes.

Baked Fries

This is a pretty simple baked fries recipe. It's so much healthier than the fried stuff you will find.

They are perfectly seasoned and crispy! Yum!



Serves 2-3


1½  lbs. Idaho Potatoes
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. vegeta
salt to taste

Directions:

1. Peel and wash the potatoes. Pat dry.


2. Cut fries 1/4" thick. Try to have them all the same size for even cooking.


3. In a medium bowl combine fries, oil, and all of the seasonings except salt.


4. Lay in a single layer on a greased sheet pan lined with foil.


5. Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes. Turn fries over. Bake for 15 more minutes.


6. Salt to taste as soon as they get out of the oven.

ENJOY!