Chicken-Vegetable Pasta

This recipe comes from my Better Homes and Gardens Cook Healthy Today book.  It smelled delicious during prep. The taste wasn't as strong and I think there are 2 reasons. 1) I might have made too many noodles. 2) I would make more sauce & veggies next time. I think it is worth a second chance.

Ingredients
8 ounces dried penne
8 ounces asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 & 1/2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups sliced fresh shiitake or crimini mushrooms
1 medium leek, thinly sliced or 1/2 cup chopped onion
3 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup half and half or light cream
1/3 cup mushroom broth or vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
12 ounces shredded cooked chicken (about 2.5 cups)
1 cup chopped roma tomatoes
1 tablespoon finely shredded basil
1 tablespoon finely shredded oregano
Directions
Cook penne according to package, adding asparagus for the last 2 minutes of cooking; drain. Return pasta mixture to saucepan; cover and keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms, leek or onion, garlic; cook for 4-5 minutes or until most of the liquid is evaporated.

Stir in broth, half and half, salt, and pepper. Bring to boiling. Boil gently, uncovered, for 4-5 minutes or until mixture is slightly thickened. Stir in chicken, tomatoes, basil, oregano; heat through.

Spoon the mixture over the pasta; toss gently to coat. Serve immediately. Top with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Apple Flax Muffins

By the title I know you have a raised eyebrow.  They're actually pretty good, especially if you are trying to eat healthy. They make a decent snack or breakfast.  A little back story, last year I did the 10 Day Detox Diet with my friends Pete and Katie.  This works great and if you want more details let me know. On that diet no carbs or sugary foods allowed. This was tough cold turkey. These muffins were considered a treat for me. I actually made them twice through the course of my 10 days because I shared them with some folks. They're baaack!  No I'm not doing the Detox again, just trying to eat healthy.  If you're a Weight Watchers person this might equal 2 points.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 and 1/4 cup flax seed meal (or bran meal)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
Artificial sweetener equal to 3/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup liquid (flavored syrup or water)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 medium apple, chopped very finely
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional and I dont do this)
Preheat oven to 350* F. Grease a 12-muffin tin very well
Mix the dry ingredients together then add the rest
Let batter stand 10 minutes, then put into the muffin pan and bake for about 18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and muffins just barely start to pull away from the sides of the tin.

Nutritional info: Each muffin contains 2 grams carbs plus 5 grams fiber.
This picture is stolen from allrecipes.com because I didn't get a good picture of mine...

Before and After Part 2... our other accomplishments

Before

After

Before bush removal

Post shrub removal

Pre-addition of 6 foot privacy fence that went up in 1 day

Post 6 foot privacy fence addition

Before

After

Snowpocalypse... in case you missed it

Before and After

Its been a while since my last post. Since then I have been to New Orleans and Las Vegas and am now home safely with my little family.  This past weekend we (we being my husband Josh) put a closet organizer in my closet. Here are some before and after shots.  For those of you who haven't been to my house to know this, my closet is in the spare bedroom and Josh's is in our bedroom. He lived here first, made sense that he got to keep his closet. They aren't big enough to share.

Before. Im almost embarrassed to share this.

All clean!

Why the closet is all clean...

Drum rolllllll

Voila! Organized.

Much better. Just waiting for someone to come visit!

Quick Honey Garlic Pot Roast

 

This is very easy and very good. I got the recipe out of my Better Homes and Gardens Cook Healthy Today cook book. For those of you who are into organic only recipes this will not be for you. Although I'm certain you could adjust the recipe quite easily. In fact I considered trying it but given busy schedules this week and the fact that I didn't have much time to spend in the grocery store, I went the easy route.


Here goes: Quick Honey-Garlic Pot Roast
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Makes: 4 servings
305 calories, 9 grams of fat per serving

1 17 ounce package refrigerated beef roast au jus (I use 2 packages)
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 to 1.5 teaspoons bottled roasted minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups packaged peeled baby carrots, halved lengthwise
12 ounces tiny new potatoes, halved
1 medium red onion, cut into thin wedges

Remove meat from package, reserving juices. In medium bowl combine juices, honey, Worcestershire sauce, roasted garlic, and pepper. Place meat in a large nonstick skillet. Place carrots, potatoes, and onion around meat. Pour honey mixture over meat and vegetables.

Bring mixture to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender and meat is heated through. Transfer meat and vegetables to a serving platter. Spoon sauce over meat and veggies.
Serve and enjoy!

I can't finish this post without mentioning  two very handy tools. First is the Wustof Santoko knife. I use this for everything. It is very handy.

 Second is this new handy chopper tool my friend Rachel got for me (how thoughtful by the way). It's from William Sonoma and you just switch out the blade for the veggie or fruit of choice and press down. Voila! Sliced onion.  I will mention the onion requires some extra umph I had to put the gadget on the floor and push down, hard!