Recipe: 30 minutes or less: Paprika Chicken

You may have figured out that when it comes to cooking I'm all about (1) quick and (2) easy.  Yes, I'd also like to get "yummy" out of my meals and this one delivers on all 3.

When I got married, I got gifted several cookbooks from The Pampered Chef - one of our favorite recipes out of the 29 Minutes or Less cookbook is Paprika Chicken & Egg Noodles.

I'll share the recipe in it's entirety along with the changes I made in parenthesis.  This is a great recipe because you're constantly moving in the kitchen and before you know it - bam done!  I'm also able to get 85% of the dishes done before the meal is ready (a favorite bonus perk of mine).

Ingredients:

• 8 oz green beans (I've used both fresh & canned - my guys prefer canned).
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I use maybe 1/3 of a pound and use chicken breast meat)
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt (I just shake the shaker a few times)
• 1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper (again, I just shake the shaker a few times)
• OPTIONAL: 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I do use this and I don't tolerate spicy food well, so non-spicy food eaters should be ok)
• 8 oz mushrooms (I do presliced from the store because I'm lazy)
• 1 medium onion (I have never used an entire onion in a meal before - I use 1/4 of a medium onion for this)
• 3 tbsp butter, divided
• 8 oz uncooked egg noodles (one bag of noodles makes two meals!)
• OPTIONAL: 2 tbsp snipped fresh dill (I've never used this)
• OPTIONAL: sour cream (I've never used this)

Steps:

1. Bring salted water to boil.  If using fresh green beans, cut diagonally into 2-in pieces, set aside.
2. Lightly spray skillet with vegetable oil; heat over medium high heat 1-3 minutes or until hot.  Meanwhile, dice chicken into 1-in pieces; sprinkle with paprika, salt, black pepper & cayenne pepper, if desired.  Cook 5-7 minutes or until centers of chicken are no longer pink, stirring occasionally.  Remove chicken from skillet, set aside.
3. As chicken cooks, cut mushrooms into quarters (or if you're me, wash some dishes).  Cut onion in half lengthwise, then into 1/2-in wedges (I cut mine to the point I can put it into my food processor and let it do the work).  Add 1 tbsp of butter to skillet.  Cook and stir mushrooms and onion over medium high heat 5 minutes or until golden brown.
4. Meanwhile (by meanwhile, I usually do this before I start the chicken on step 2 above), add noodles to boiling water and cook 2 minutes.  Add green beans and cook uncovered, 5-6 minutes or until noodles are cooked to desired tenderness.  Carefully remove 3/4 cup of the cooking water for use in sauce.  Drain noodles and green beans using colander.
5. Add chicken and cooking water to skillet; stir to loosen browned bits from bottom of skillet.  Cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until sauce is thickened and chicken is heated through.
6. Meanwhile, toss noodles and green beans with remaining 2 tbsp butter.

The recipe says to serve by putting the noodles/green beans on the plate and then topping with chicken/vegetable mixture - however, I've taken to mixing everything together in one pan as I feel that gives the overall meal a better flavor - feel free to serve it however you'd like!  If you'd like to use dill and/or sour cream, the recipe states to add it as a garnish to each individual plate.

Pictures of the magic happening:

Haha, those bottom few show: (1) that I can do dishes while I cook; (2) proof kids will eat it too and (3) the finished yum yum product.

Share links to your favorite 30 minutes or less recipes below, I'm always looking to try new things.

Bon appetit!

Don't wash your chicken!

So I recently came across this article by Newsworks: Drexel food safety experts on a mission to stop cooks from washing chicken.

Let me just start by saying: EWWWW!!!  For your added entertainment, I'm also linking this awesome graphic they have: Germ Vision.

I can honestly say this valuable cooking lesson has NEVER been communicated to me EVER.  I have always rinsed my chicken off after removing from the package to de-gunk it before cooking.

After reading this article (and especially viewing the graphic), I will forevermore be a person who does NOT rinse their chicken prior to cooking.  Straight in the pan with you pollo!!

Did this gross anyone else out?!

PS - As a side note, I basically wiped by entire sink and counter region (plus cabinets and floor) with high grade cleaner.  Chicken and it's associated nastiness freaks me out, lol.

High protein, low-carb diet plan

A few weeks back my co-worker mentioned he was going to start a high protein, low-carb diet.  I said "what the heck, I'll do it with you!" because I know it's easier when you have support and someone doing the same thing you're trying to do.

First off, a bit about my dieting background.  Basically, I'm a horrible dieter.  In the past, I've tried South Beach and Jenny Craig 2-3 different times.  I had like zero success on South Beach - with Jenny I had success, but the program (and food) are super expensive.

Now, I'm not ridiculously overweight - according to the BMI chart for my height (5'5") I should weigh somewhere between 115-145 to be in the normal zone.  Before starting this diet I weighed 150 lbs - the main reason I was at that weight was due to having my son and never being able to figure out how to balance eating right & working out since he came along.  When I got pregnant I weighed about 135 lbs - so compared to some mamas only holding onto 15 lbs wasn't so bad, but I knew I would feel better and enjoy life more if it was gone.  My original goal when I started this diet was to get back to 135, but since it's been going so well, my new goal is 130 - smack in the middle of my healthy BMI zone.  If it goes REALLY well, then I may try to knock another 5 lbs off after that as room to "float" between weights.

Some background on my eating history - I'm generally an everything in moderation kind of girl, though I will admit my Italian genes get the best of me sometimes because I LOVE pasta (and basically any dessert ever invented).  I also had a really bad soda habit (like REALLY bad) as I was drinking 3-4 Mountain Dews a day when I started.  Honestly my bad soda habit was another reason I was motivated to try this diet - I "knew" I was basically putting poison in my body every time I drank one, but I just couldn't seem to help it.  I thought I needed the caffeine to get through the day - turns out, I was wrong.

And FINALLY - my results thus far: it's been 3 weeks since I started this diet and I've lost 8 lbs, my goal is 10 lbs in a month, which will be the best dieting results I've ever seen on any diet.  I will keep you apprised as I continue on my dieting journey and when I (hopefully) reach my goal.

My reasoning as to why this diet works - with a lot of diets you can have things "in moderation" - that often leads to trouble because you're simply not satisfied.  With this diet, there is none of that - there is only "don't eat/drink that" and then "now eat as much of this stuff as you want".  Now this may sound even more difficult to accomplish, but surprisingly it wasn't (for me anyways) - it was easier to give something up completely then to be "allowed" to have a smidge of the amount I would normally eat.  This has also allowed my body to detox and honestly now when I have a small bite of something I shouldn't, I really don't want any more (usually because it's something processed).  I will admit - you do need to have decent willpower over yourself and what you put in your body.  If you don't, you will not be successful.  I still have to buy snacks, bread, chips, rice & pasta in my house because I'm feeding others - BUT I don't eat any of it (not yet anyways... you'll see, once you reach your goal, you can start reintroducing items).

Ok so the diet itself - my co-worker and I are using the following book: Neris and India's Idiot-Proof Diet: A Weight Loss Plan for Real Women

The basic premise is high protein, low/no carb, no sugar, no caffeine ... and yes, no alcohol (but only for the first 2 weeks).  Don't be discouraged about the no sugar thing - see my post (COMING SOON!) on these yummy no carb/low sugar desserts I've made (and eaten!) while on this diet.

The diet starts out by recommending a lot of supplements mainly because during the first two weeks your body will be detoxing - I'm not going to lie, yes - you will feel it.  Your energy levels will wan a bit and, if you're like me, you may get horrible headaches for 3-4 days.  This is your body purging all that sugar/caffeine you've been constantly putting it for however many years.  The only supplements I'm taking are: a good multivitamin or prenatal, fiber pills and whey protein powder (start with 2 lbs to find a flavor you like, I also add 3-4 ice cubes to mine to froth it up a bit - more milkshake like).  I have a new love of protein shakes, they're yummy and very filling - they're great for me too because I generally just don't like having a glass of milk (I'm using a chocolate flavor and my shakes taste like malt shakes, so yummy!).

The hardest part of the diet for me thus far has been the 3-4 days of horrible headaches I had while my body was detoxing.  I powered through it and honestly, that has been some of the biggest motivation for me not to cheat on the diet - I know one soda or one cupcake and I may have to go through a few days of that again when I get back on track - yea ... no thanks.  Since I started this diet 3 weeks ago I have only had water (flavored with Crystal Light) or milk (with my protein shakes) to drink.  That's it.  At work we have free soda for employees, but it hasn't been that hard for me to avoid it - I keep a two quart jug in the non-soda fridge and keep it full of Crystal Light.  After I lose a few more pounds, I'm going to start trying water infusions of natural fruits to wean myself off the Crystal Light (which is also all fake), but I just don't like plain water much.

Ok - so now you're like "c'mon get to the good part!" - well here is "the plan" more or less for the first two weeks.  If I see comments below that it's working for people, I'll add a post on what to do after the first two weeks.  For the most part, I'm sticking to the original two week plan until I more or less hit goal.  After two weeks you're supposed to start re-introducing items into your diet again now that you've detoxed your body - but I'd prefer not to hit a plateau until I'm closer to goal.

So here's what NOT to have in your home (if you can help it - however DO NOT eat any of these items):

• Cookies and chocolate bars
• Any cold drink that isn't water
• Any hot drink that isn't decaf tea or coffee - or herbal tea
• Anything containing sugar (check the label - weird things contain sugar like mayo and balsamic vinegar)
• All pasta
• All potatoes and potato-based products including those containing potato flour (which is found in frozen meals)
• Anything containing wheat (i.e. flour) whether it's sweet or savory
• Any oil that isn't olive or peanut
• Any fruit (just for the first two weeks - to eliminate sugar from your body)
• Any legumes (lentils, chickpeas and the like)

OK - here you go, this is what you CAN eat (and eat as much as you want!):

• Meat - any kind including roasts, ham, bacon, pastrami, salami, steak, chicken, sausages (quality only, cheap ones all full of bready fillers).  Check that bacon isn't cured with sugar.
• Eggs - the book says organic free range eggs only, but I've been eating regular eggs
• Fish - any kind you like, in whatever format (this includes canned tuna)
• Mayo (just make sure it's not loaded with sugar)
• Olive oil & peanut oil - hazelnut oil too!
• Whatever vinegar you like aside from balsamic
• Peanut butter with no added sugar - again book stresses organic, but I use JIF
• Heavy cream (yes, for real!)
• Butter (again, yes for real!)
• Herbs and spices
• Sea salt & black pepper
• Nuts - any kind provided they're natural with no added sugar; however if you have a habit of putting an entire jar of nuts away in one sitting - skip the nuts
• Any vegetables you like - excluding potatoes, carrots, corn and peas (too carby at this stage).  The best vegetables for the diet (and in general) are green, leafy ones.  Also, eat onions in moderation.
• Avocados
• Lemons & limes
• All sorts of cheese
• Mineral water - or any kind of water

LASTLY - do not buy low-carb products, no bars, no shakes - nothing.

Diet day 1:

• Weigh yourself first thing in the morning after you've pooed (if you need to)
• Take measurements (I skipped this step)
• Now go!

Golden rules:

• Drink at least 8 large glasses of water a day.
• You must have breakfast, lunch & dinner.
• Eat a combination of good fats & protein at every meal.
• Don't make the mistake of thinking that "dieting" means "low-fat".
• Have a couple of handfuls of salad leaves or other leafy green veg every day.
• Get off your backside at least once a day (more below).
• Take your supplements (I'm kind of meh on this point).
• Only weigh yourself once a week (if I'm honest, I do it daily, but only count Sunday's weigh in as weight lost - I don't care about fluctuations in ounces).
• Use a tape measure as well as the scale

It's that easy - you're not restricted on the amount of food you intake as long as it's from the above list of approved items.  Honestly, I'm pretty sure my stomach has shrunk because I don't eat nearly as much as I used to and protein seems to keep me fuller, longer.  

Last note: exercise is necessary.  I'm not talking 2 hours at the gym everyday, but 30 minutes of speed walking around your neighborhood at least 5x a week isn't completely un-doable (especially if you have kids or a dog).  The protein in your body will help you loose weight even more quickly if you can get your heart rate going.  I've been either going for a light (less than 1 mile) jog around my neighborhood or throwing my 27 lb son in his Ergo baby carrier and power walking the same distance.  In 2 days with following the diet and taking a walk with my son, I lost 1.5 lbs.  Yes, I am in love with this diet.

Since the list may make it seem kind of hard to figure out what to eat, I am including a sample "week" below of what I've been eating, I like to mix it up.

Sorry for the longest post in the history of blogging, but I've had people asking me how I'm doing it - well this is how.  If you give it a try - please let me know how it goes for you!!  Feel free to share this post with your friends.

MONDAY:

• Breakfast: protein shake
• Lunch: sandwich meat & cheese - I roll them so they look kind of like cheese sticks.  I use a variety: turkey, ham, salami and I love muenster cheese.
• Snack: handful of almonds
• Dinner: taco salad (beef, seasoning, lettuce, tomato, cheese)
• Water intake: 8-12 glasses everyday (water will help keep you full!)

TUESDAY:

• Breakfast: two scrambled eggs with cheese & 2 sausage links
• Lunch: cheeseburger (no bun) and side salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, cheese)
• Dinner: artichoke chicken (baked chicken with rosemary seasoning topped with artichokes & Parmesan cheese) and green bean casserole
• Dessert: protein shake (hey - they taste like malt shakes, why not?)

WEDNESDAY

• Breakfast: protein shake
• Lunch: leftovers from dinner from either Mon/Tues
• Snack: handful of almonds
• Dinner: beef casserole (no noddles for me) - beef stew chunks, mushrooms, onion soup, can of cream of mushroom soup in crockpot for 7-8 hours - I cook egg noodles for my boys, but I just eat the beef stew straight.
• Dessert: slice of carb free pumpkin/praline pie

THURSDAY:

• Breakfast: two scrambled eggs with cheese & 2 slices bacon
• Lunch: sandwich meat & cheese
• Snack: handful of almonds
• Dinner: beef kabobs - sirloin beef, onion, green pepper, cherry tomatoes - I made a side of rice for my boys and I just ate a kabob

FRIDAY:

• Breakfast: protein shake
• Lunch: I splurged and went to TGI Fridays - ordered a cheeseburger (no bun) and a side of broccoli, yummy!
• Dinner: Baked chicken breast with seasoning and green bean casserole (I made a big batch on Sunday to use as a side whenever I needed one)
• Dessert: Low-carb cheesecake

I would recommend not introducing these fun, low-carb desserts until after the two week detox window.  It's really not as hard as it sounds.  When I'm in a pinch and craving something sweet at home, I honestly usually have a chocolate protein shake and that takes care of it (I wasn't kidding when I said they were yummy) - I get my chocolate fix.  If I'm hungry and my eyes are grazing to what's "easy" because I don't feel like cooking something, I'll usually have a cheesestick or a hotdog with ketchup (make sure low sugar) - I buy the higher end angus beef hotdogs, not the ones full of filler.  You can do this.  Have the supplies in your fridge and pre-cook or pre-prepare - it really helps you stay on track.  On Sunday, I made a batch of green bean casserole to last me through the week and sometimes I just heated up a bowl of that as a snack because it was quick.  It helps to have stuff readily available when you just want a small snack (because that's when you can get into trouble).

Wishing you all the best of luck!!!  Let me know how it goes!

PRODUCT REVIEW: Infantino Squeeze System & Homemade applesauce recipe (and fruit purees for the toddler)!

A little over a week ago, my friend Shary posted on her blog Atta Mama about using the Infantino Squeeze System to make baby food purees.  Up until this point I had only ever heard of the Baby Bullet which just seemed like a hot mess to me.  I so wish I had the squeeze station when my son, Bryce, was eating baby food - it truly is wonderful.  My son is now 22 months and up until this week I had been giving him Peter Rabbit Organics puree blends.  I love these for him - they're quick, easy, HEALTHY, and relatively mess free (unless your child throws it on the ground and steps on it or turns it upside down and gives it a sturdy shake - yes, I've been there); however they run me an average of $1.40 a pouch.  Ouch when he eats 1-2 a day ...

To better understand the remainder of this post, I highly recommend you read Shary's blog post and watch the Infantino demo video (just click video on the squeeze station button).

Yesterday was my first experimentation with the Squeeze Station and it did not go so well - I mixed blueberries, stawberries & banana however I had to figure out I needed to add water to get to the consistency where I could get it into the pouch.  Basically out of 1/4 cup blueberries, 1/2 cup strawberries and 1/2 a banana I got 2 1/2 pouches - I'll be refining my methods for the next go.  Tonight however I made homemade applesauce using a recipe from All Recipes (my go-to recipe website).  Below are the ingredients to make homemade applesauce (including my modifications to the All Recipes one) as well as my results with the Infantino Squeeze System.

Ingredients:

• 4 apples - peeled, cored and chopped
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/8 cup white sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

In a saucepan, combine the apples, water, sugar and cinnamon and heat over medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until apples are soft.  After cooling, mash with fork (or mashed potato masher if you have one).

You can find the secret to peeling apples here.  This is the way I did it and I was able to peel 4 apples in about 5 minutes.

After cooling, I put mine in the food processor which also got it to a good consistency - though I was purposely pureeing to use the Squeeze Station.

One lesson I learned from my failed berry pouches was that I shouldn't 100% trust the measurement lines on the squeeze station tubes as I had overfilled a pouch and it had oozed back out (and basically squirted my son in the face when he went to eat it), so I used my measuring cup tonight and measured 4 oz before transferring to the squeeze tubs (each pouch holds 4 oz).

The main lesson I learned tonight is that if you have excess liquid in the squeeze tube, when you apply pressure using the plunger - it may/will leak out around the pouch valve.  This wasn't a huge deal for me because the squeeze station has a bottom that caught the excess fluid and I was able to easily rinse it before I started on my next pouch - it was just an unintended side effect and a learning lesson for the next time I make pouches.  You need the right consistency to make it liquid enough to squeeze into the pouches, but not too much liquid or you may make a slight mess.

See pictures below demonstrating my progress.  All in all, I love this product - it's easy to use, I made a very minimal mess and it's kind of like using a blender, if you rinse everything right away there isn't much cleanup involved.

Disclaimer: I was not requested to review, nor was I compensated in any way.  The thoughts expressed above are mine and were observed firsthand.

Easy carb-free meatloaf dinner for family

I'm all about easy dinners that allow me to spend more time with my family while dinner is in the oven.  Prep on this meal takes all of 10 min, then bake for an hour - cool & serve.  Feel free to modify the recipe in any capacity and let me know any tips/tricks you've tried.

Ingredients:

• 1 - 1 1/2 lbs hamburger meat
• 1 egg
• 1/2 onion - chopped/diced relatively finely
• 1/2 cup milk
• salt, pepper, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, oregano to taste
• 1/3 cup ketchup (topping)

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except ketchup.  Mix by hand.
3. I use a stoneware 5x9 loaf pan so I don't need to grease it, but if you're using a metal loaf pan: lightly grease and then pack mixed ingredients into loaf pan semi-firmly.  Expect concoction to be quite moist due to the milk and lack of breadcrumbs, but the majority of extra liquid will evaporate in the oven.
4. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.
5. Remove from oven carefully and drain excess grease.  Top with ketchup.  Allow to cool 5-10 minutes, then serve.  Goes well with pasta, rice or just vegetables.  Also good with provolone cheese and made into sandwiches.

• For onion chopping, I used my food processor I use to make my son's purees, but I also have the Pampered Chef food chopper.  If you have to do it manually with a knife, add about 5 more minutes to total prep time.

Here's where I got the original recipe that I modified: All Recipes