Life on the West Side

I must admit, Merrick and I are not very good at getting in our 5 veggies a day. We’re pretty good at fruits – an apple and a pear in the lunch box, a banana for breakfast, etc. But we have a harder time sneaking in the veggies. There’s just something not quite as fulfilling as eating baby carrots pretending their strawberries dipped in chocolate. Thankfully, Mamma Pea is good at sneaking veggies in. Usually she has to sneak them in for her young children. I have to sneak them in for my adult husband. Tomayto, tomahto. So here’s her sneaky and tasty way of getting in a few extra veggies.

Spaghetti Squash casserole (adapted from PeasandThankyou)

Prep time: 30-40 min
Cook time: 25 min
Hands on time: +/- 1 hr

• 1 large spaghetti squash
  
• 2 c. marinara sauce (Ragu has some with 2 servings of veggies in them… another sneaky way to get the veggies in!)
• 1 bag of spinach
  
• 2 t. dried oregano
• 2 t. dried basil
• 1/2 c. light cream cheese
• 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1  bag broccoli florets
  
• 1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Poke holes throughout spaghetti squash. Microwave speared squash for 12-15 min. While squash is cooking, pour entire bag of spinach into a large saucepan with a smidge of olive oil, sautee. Cut squash in half lengthwise. Deseed. Scrape out the “spaghetti” with a fork and place it in a greased 9×13 baking dish. Mix spinach with spaghetti squash in baking dish. In spinach saucepan, combine marinara sauce, oregano, basil, cream cheese and Parmesan. Heat over medium heat until cream cheese has melted into the sauce, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Chop broccoli florets to preferred size (I just threw them in from the bag and they were a little too big for a bite). Add broccoli to spaghetti squash/spinach dish. Toss marinara mixture over vegetables. Top casserole with grated cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

*For added veggie goodness, add sauteed mushrooms, steamed bell peppers and cauliflower, or whatever veggies float your boat…*

And since my Mamma always said, “Eat your veggies and thank your Mother.” Let’s all go and thank Mamma Pea for being a sneaky Mom and adding more veggies into our lives.

My friend Sara is the party and hostessing queen. She always has the best decorations, best drinks and the absolute BEST appetizers. I was introduced to her famous sausage stuffed jalapenos back in January for her baby’s 1st birthday party. She was generous enough to share the recipe and I’ve since made them twice. And they are HEAVENLY. And because Sara is so generous, I’m sharing her recipe to anyone else who wants a bite of heaven (that, plus she said she got it online, so if you GTS, I’m sure you can find her recipe). They’re a perfect dish to bring to a party, or… you can just bring beer and save the jalaps for yourself.

Sausage Stuffed Jalapenos

Prep Time: 25 min
Cook time: 20 min
Hands on time: 45 min

• 1 pound ground pork sausage OR any kind of sausage – dinner, breakfast, whatever sausage you have or like OR 4-ish strips of bacon (per usual, more to taste)
• 1 8oz package of light cream cheese, softened
• 1 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
• 12-16 large fresh jalapenos, halved lengthwise and seeded (or keep some seeds in if you like it with a kick!)

Cut and deseed jalaps. Place sausage (or bacon) in a skillet over medium heat and cook until evenly brown. Drain grease. Chop sausage (or crumble the bacon). In a bowl, mix cream cheese, parm cheese and crumbled pork. Spoon about 1 TB of cheese mixture into halved jalap and place in a shallow baking dish or cookie tray. Cook in oven (or toaster oven… that’s what I did) at 400 degrees F for 20 min. Devour immediately. And if you’re nice enough to BRING them to a party, set aside at least 1/2 for yourself for when you get home…

My lovely mother is a wonderful cook and every Christmas and Easter it’s tradition that we have her famous kick-asserole for breakfast (Disclaimer: renamed by my brother. The madre does not endorse that name. It was previously called “Egg casserole”). Paired with some sticky buns, and aside from that one time the buns were burnt that we still haven’t let her live down, this combo is the best thing SINCE Christmas morning. And lucky you, you’re getting an early Christmas gift from me. Don’t say I never did anything for you.

Mom’s Famous Kick-asserole

Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 1.5 hrs
Hands On Time: ~2hrs

• 8 eggs, beaten
• 2 c. milk
• 1 package breakfast sausage, browned (more for taste preference… my SCB is a big pork guy, so we use more sausage)
• 1/2 c chopped white onion (more for taste preference)
• 1/2 c chopped green bell pepper (more for taste preference)
• 6 slices white bread, torn in pieces
• 1 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Place cubed bread in greased 9×13″ pan . Lay sausage, cheese, vegetables on bread. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, milk and spices. Pour egg mix over bread and sausage mix. Refrigerate over night. Bake at 250 for 1-1.5hrs. Casserole should be slightly brown on top and bubbly. Pair with cinnabon cake, and bellosa for a guaranteed happy Christmas/Easter/random Tuesday morning.

I’ve recently fallen in love with my crockpot. Why it took us so long to be together will always be a mystery to me. But now that we’re reunited, my stove won’t be seeing me for a while. Crock-the-Pot opened up a whole new world of delicious, load and go meals that work great for those long days when we’re both out of the house all day. Like this one. Try it immediately! You won’t be disappointed!

CrockPot Santa Fe Chicken (adapted from SkinnyTaste)

Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 10 hrs
Hands On Time: 20 min

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can corn
• 2 serrano chili’s
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 can fat free chicken broth (I didn’t have this, so I put in 1 can of condensed cream of mushroom… all you need is the liquid volume in any form)
• 1/2 chopped white onion
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)

Combine all ingredients in the crockpot except chicken. Lay chicken on top. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Adjust salt and seasoning. Add a smidge of shredded cheese (if that’s your thing… it DEFINITELY is my thing!) Serve over rice, as a side dish on chips, on tortillas, or just eat plain, as a stew. Guaranteed to make your heart (and your husband!) happy.

(According to Gina): Calories: 190 • Fat: 1.5 g • Fiber: 5.6 g • Carbs: 23.1 g • Protein: 21 g

I’m a crankster today and tired and I don’t want to work out and I won’t even tell you how many cookies I’ve eaten today… So my soul’s in the mood for some lovin. Now usually this takes the form of some chocolatey-goodness, but seeing as I already ate my weight in chocolate for the week (see: cookies), I’ve got something else that’ll soothe my cranky spirit. Thankfully, I cooked yesterday so all it took was a little zappin’ and ah bliss. Comfort food at it’s finest. AND to top it off, it’s HEALTHY comfort food with lotsa veggies! And although I don’t want to share any of my soul food, my Mamma always told me sharing is caring. And that sharing will take away a cranky pants.

So without further ado, here’s the healthy comfort food casserole in 10 easy steps, adapted from Cooking Light

Butternut and sausage pasta
Ingredients:
-1 whole butternut squash, cut lengthwise
-1 TB olive oil
-Cooking spray
-12 oz (1 bag) uncooked pasta
-1 bag spinach (*the recipe called for 4 c. chopped kale, which I didn’t have)
-2 dinner sausage links (*the recipe called for 2 bacon slices, which I also didn’t have)
-2 c. chopped onion
-5 garlic cloves, minced
-2 c. FF, low sodium chicken broth
-2 TB flour
-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (*also didn’t have… I substituted 3 chopped serrano chili’s, we like it spicy!)
-1 c. creme fraiche (*never even HEARD of it, so I omitted it)
-1/3 c. cheese (I used low fat mozz)

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 400

2. Cut squash length-wise. Put squash halves in microwave safe dish and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 8 min or until tender. Let sit for 5-10min. Then peel from shell and cut into 1/2″ chunks.

3. Boil water. Cook pasta 7 min or until almost al dente

4. Pull apart sausage into bite size pieces and saute in a large pan (with NO oil). When almost finished, drain and add spinach, onions and garlic. The remaining sausage oil should be enough to sautee the veggies, but if they start getting a little crispy, add the 1 TB olive oil

5. Bring 1-3/4 c broth to a boil in a small saucepan. Combine remaining 1/4c broth and flour in a small bowl, whisk together. Add flour mixture and red pepper flakes (or chilis) to broth. Cook 2 min or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat

6. Stir in creme fraiche to broth mixture (*This part was omitted in my version… but for a more moist casserole, you can use sour cream or milk or plain yogurt… any thicker, creamy liquid will work. I didn’t add anything, and although still delish, twas a smidge dry)

7. Combine squash, pasta, sausage/veggie mixture and sauce in a large bowl and toss gently (or just pour it all in a casserole dish and mix together with a spoon)

8. Sprinkle evenly with cheese

9. Bake at 400 for 25 min or until bubbly and slightly browned

10. Eat and be comforted, oh cranky soul.

PS although I didn’t want to work out, I couldn’t let the streak die because I was in a bad mood, so the streak lives on – 14 days!