Attempting Green

February Meal Plan 2

attemptinggreen — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 03:56:56 +0000

Happy Valentine’s Day!! I did not include a recipe in this week’s menu that is very romantic but if you need something special try Red Pepper Soup with Shrimp Scampi or maybe just and easy but special dessert of Banana’s Foster. If you really want to go over the top check out last week’s Cocoa-Almond-Coco Cake it was so good I had to give half of it to the neighbors so I would not eat the whole darn thing!

This week I am cutting my meal plans down to 5 meals; plus a breakfast. I have been making 6 meals a week and we have been blessed with an overabundance of leftovers. Also, some evenings we just are not hungry enough for a full blown meal so we have salad, eggs, or something smaller. So here we go!

Recipes February Meal Plan 2

Shopping List Feb Meal Plan 2

Monday: Mexican Polenta Pie

Tuesday: Off

Wednesday: Wild Rice with Hazelnuts, Carrots, and Artichokes

Thursday: Honey Ginger Shrimp with Quinoa

Friday: Off

Saturday: Buffalo Mac

Sunday: Rosemary Dijon Chicken

Breakfast: Breakfast Pudding

Snack:

Breakfast Pudding

attemptinggreen — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 03:18:28 +0000

Tastes like butterscotch pudding with and extra punch of nutrition from the Cream of Wheat
2 servings
Ingredients:
2 cups 2% milk
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup uncooked Cream of Wheat cereal
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon butter (optional)
Preparation:
Place milk, cereal, sugar, eggs and salt in a saucepan. Mix well. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and cook 5 minutes, stirring often. Add butter and remove from heat. Stir and serve.

Nutrition facts Cal: 434, Pro: 18g, Carb: 62g, Fat, total: 12g

Mexican Polenta Pie

attemptinggreen — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 03:15:18 +0000

6 Servings
A good way to use up the crumbs at the bottom of a bag of tortilla or corn chips!
Ingredients:
¼ cup cornmeal
2 cups water
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 (15-16 oz.) can chili beans, drained
¾ cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese
⅓ cup crushed corn or tortilla chips
Preparation:
1. Heat oven to 375°. Grease pie plate (9- x 1¼-inches). Mix cornmeal, water and salt in 2-quart saucepan. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly; reduce heat to medium. Cook about 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until mixture is very thick; remove from heat. Quickly stir in egg. Let stand 5 minutes.
2. Spread cornmeal mixture in pie plate. Bake uncovered 15 minutes. Spread beans over cornmeal mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and corn chips. Bake uncovered about 20 minutes or until center is set let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

Nutrition facts Cal: 185, Pro: 8g, Carb: 25g, Fat, total: 7g, Chol: 50mg, Sat.fat: 3g, Fiber: 3g, Sodium: 470 mg

Wild Rice with Hazelnuts, Carrots, and Artichokes

attemptinggreen — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 03:12:53 +0000

4 servings
Ingredients:
2 cups wild rice (approx. 6 cups cooked)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
6-8 fresh artichoke hearts, halved or 10-12 good quality canned artichokes
½ cup roasted hazelnuts
4 carrots; cut into julienne strips
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons lemon Juice
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
Salt and pepper
Preparation:
1. Cook rice: Rinse thoroughly. Add to 3 cups boiling water, salted to taste, in a heavy saucepan. Return water to boil; stir. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 45-50 minutes or just until kernels puff open. Uncover, and fluff with a fork. Simmer 5 additional minutes. Drain any excess liquid and keep warm
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet and gently cook the onion and garlic until soft.
3. Add the artichoke hearts, hazelnuts, and carrot and cook over high heat until lightly browned. Then reduce the heat and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until the carrots are slightly soft.
4. Stir in the soy sauce and lemon juice and season will with salt and pepper. Stir in the worm rice and cilantro. Adjust the seasoning to taste and serve the rice hot or warm.

Nutrition facts Cal: 397, Pro: 10g, Carb: 57g, Fat, total: 15g, Sat.fat: 2g, Sodium: varies by amount of seasoning

Honey-Ginger Shrimp and Slaw with Quinoa

attemptinggreen — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 03:10:40 +0000

4 Servings
Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
4 tablespoon honey
4 tablespoon grated ginger
½ c lime juice
⅛ c olive oil
12 ounces shrimp
6-8 cups broccoli slaw
Preparation:
1. Cook quinoa according to package directions.
2. Whisk together honey, ginger, lime juice and olive oil; sauté with shrimp in a skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes.
3. Add broccoli slaw and sauté for another 3 minutes. Top quinoa with slaw and shrimp.

Adapted from All You, JANUARY 2011: Honey-Ginger Shrimp and Slaw with Quinoa

Buffalo Mac

attemptinggreen — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 03:07:40 +0000

8 Servings
Ingredients:
1 pound fusilli or rotini
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon celery seed, crushed
2 teaspoons paprika
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 celery ribs, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2½ cups 2% milk
½ cup Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wings Sauce
8 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
¾ cup crumbled blue cheese
½ cup plain bread crumbs
Preparation:
1. Heat broiler. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boiling. Add pasta and cook 8 minutes, or as per package directions; drain.
2. Meanwhile, season chicken with ½ teaspoon of the celery seed, 1 teaspoon of the paprika and the salt. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown chicken, 3 to 5 minutes, until cooked through; set aside. Lower heat to medium. Add celery to same skillet; sauté 4 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside with chicken.
3. In saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Sprinkle in flour and mustard powder, whisking for 2 minutes. Pour in milk and sauce, whisking until it boils. Simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cheddar, ½ cup of the blue cheese and remaining teaspoon paprika.
4. Add pasta, celery, garlic and chicken. Place in a broiler-safe dish.
5. Microwave remaining tablespoon butter for 30 seconds. Stir in bread crumbs and remaining ½ teaspoon celery seed; sprinkle over dish with remaining ¼ cup blue cheese. Broil 2 to 3 minutes, or until browned.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving: Cal: 581, Pro: 35g, Carb: 56g, Fat, total: 24g, Chol: 94mg, Sat. fat: 13g, Dietary Fiber: 3g, Sodium: 987mg

Family Circle, Jan. 2012: Buffalo Mac

Rosemary-Dijon Chicken with Baked Potatoes

attemptinggreen — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 03:02:53 +0000

6 Servings
Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon rosemary leaves, crushed
¼ teaspoon white pepper
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, flattened
6 potatoes for baking
Preparation:
1. Mix all ingredients except chicken in large glass or plastic dish. Add Chicken; turn to coat with marinade. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours but no longer than 24 hours.
2. Heat oven to 400°. Scrub potatoes, prick skin with a fork and either rub with olive oil or wrap individually with foil. Place directly on rack in oven. If no using foil lace a pan on the rack below to catch any moisture. Bake 40 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, Spray 13- x 9- x2-inch baking dish, with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken in pan. Add to the oven 20 minutes after the potatoes have been in and bake uncovered about 20 minutes or until juice of chicken is no longer pink.

Nutrition facts for Chicken only: Cal: 220, Pro: 30g, Carb: 2g, Fat, total: 10g, Chol: 95mg, Sat.fat: 3g, Fiber: 0g, Sodium: 190 mg

Baby It’s Green Outside!

attemptinggreen — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:30:27 +0000

The Sun The Sun The Sun is shining in Cleveland today, and yesterday! Which starts my mind swirling with garden ideas. We moved to a new home last year and I am starting from scratch on my garden. I am a little scared and a lot excited. Our last home had a garden started for me and I was able to add on to it. I grew Garlic, peppers, tomatos, onions, herbs, beans, potatoes, flowers, squash, and more. I also did it as organically as I could and it worked well. We were in a rural Minnesota farm area with excellent soil, but the people there were life long farmers and fertilizer and pesticides were a way of life. So much so that when my son built our compost bin, the neighbor tore it down when we weren’t home. He said it was ugly and on his property. Ugly maybe, on his property…nope. Anyway that Compost Bin provide my garden with magical properties. Those around me would complain about bugs and slugs, I had none. I also used companion planting to keep certain bugs away from certain plants. I also used NO FERTILIZERS and NO PESTICIDES. I plan to do this in my new garden as well, but now I have a new challenge with the planning portion. First things first, we will be building our compost bin soon and I can’t wait to share the building process on this blog. Next, I am reading about Permaculture and I will be attempting to plan our garden with this concept in mind. For more info check out: Gaia’s Garden, Second Edition: A Guide To Home-Scale Permaculture by Toby Hemenway or the Cleveland based group Green Triangle

Our Garden planning process, for our 1/2 acre lot, is going to be at least a 5 year building process, starting this year with a 2-3 fruit trees, 2-3 rasied beds, bird and bat houses, and maybe a berry bush or 2. I also have plans for cold frames, a chicken coop, a small vineyard, and I have no plans yet, but I would like to incorporate catching rainwater in a pond an using it to help sustain the vegetation. I would love feedback, comments. and blogs to visit on these ideas

Time to go make Seafood Chowder

February Meal Plan 1

attemptinggreen — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 01:02:17 +0000

I am back in my comfort zone this week with these recipes. Seafood is on sale this week so I have a couple of seafood recipes. I still must add my little disclaimer that I have not made most of these recipes. I will be put my comments on the top of each recipe after I make them. Enjoy!

Shopping List February Meal Plan 1

Recipes February Meal Plan 1

Monday: Seafood Chowder

Tuesday: Stuffed Portobellos with Orange Vegetable Purée

Wednesday: Shredded Cuban Pork Sandwiches

Thursday: Chicken with Lemon, Parsley and Orecchiette

Friday: Day off

Saturday: Crispy Fish Sticks & Veggie Chips

Sunday: Jalapeno Steak and Mushrooms

Dessert: Cocoa-Almond-Coco Cake
Breakfast: Puffy Apple Omelet

Puffy Apple Omelet

attemptinggreen — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:55:09 +0000

Serves 2
Once all the ingredients, bowls and utensils out these are easy to make. We make these on a Saturday morning as the kids wake up slowly and often over a period of 2-3 hours each kid makes his own omelet when he gets up.
Ingredients:
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
¼ Tsp. baking powder
2 eggs, separated
1 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 Tbsp. sugar

Topping Ingredients:
1 large tart apple, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp. sugar
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

Preparation:
1. In a small bowl, combine, flour and baking powder.
2. In another small bowl, whisk the egg yolks milk and lemon juice. Stir in dry ingredients and mix well; set aside
3. In medium bowl, beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time on high until stiff peaks form stir into yolk mixture.
4. Pour into a shallow 1 ½ qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange apple slices on top. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over apples.
5. Bake uncovered, at 375 for 18-20 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. 6. Cut in half. And serve

½ omelet equals: Cal: 249 Fat: 5g Pro: 9g

Taste of Home’s Healthy Cooking Dec 2011/Jan 2012: Puffy Apple Omelet