cozy cold-weather meals

hey folks!  ready for some cozy cold-weather recipes?  i've had fun jumping back into health(ier) recipe testing and have found a few winners in the past couple of weeks.  although, if i'm being completely honest, my taste buds cannot be trusted at the moment.  i'm recovering from a nasty cold which left me couch-bound for three straight days and completely destroyed my ability to taste (and smell and breathe).  so if the recipes seems questionable, i apologize.  :-)

honey bbq chicken meatballs

these honey bbq chicken meatballs were a big hit.  the homemade bbq sauce provided great flavor!  a great tip i read in the recipe was to handle the ground chicken as little as possible -- incorporate the ingredients until they are just mixed.  overworked ground chicken has a tendency of becoming tough.  (as an aside, yes, i made baked mac 'n cheese with this meal.  definitely not "diet approved," but i was sick and the temperature outside was in the single digits, so comfort food was my top priority.)

marinated kale and whipped ricotta pizza

 

here we go, pizza again.  not a low calorie food, BUT this one has kale on it!  marinated, crispy, mouth-watering kale!  so it was a fun, clear-conscience splurge.  great for the weekend!  i loved this.  like truly, madly, deeply.  my pictures are so ugly and do it no justice whatsoever.  you simply must try this marinated kale and whipped ricotta pizza.  even kale-haters (ahem, keri altland....) might enjoy this one!

slow cooker quinoa chicken chili

 

i thought this recipe for slow cooker quinoa chicken chili seemed like a bit of a gamble.  a little outside of my taste preference comfort zone... but it was really good!  very hearty, extremely filling, and super cozy for a cold winter's night.  i only added one can of black beans instead of two, and i thought it was just right.  next time, i might add a chopped onion to the mix.

spicy sausage, kale, and orecchiette soup

this spicy sausage, kale, and orecchiette soup is another superstar kale recipe.  kale is so perfect for soup because it doesn't get all mushy and gross.  the simplicity of this recipe almost scared me away because i thought it would be bland.  but no.  it was basically perfect.  definitely get the hot/spicy sausage (instead of sweet or country style)  -- it adds a lot of kick!

chickpea salad

in my search for some good lunch ideas, i found this recipe for black-eyed pea salad.  however, whilst at the grocery store, i could not find black-eyed peas anywhere.  i must have searched the canned food aisle for 10 minutes.  so after a bit of annoyance and a few black-eyed pea band jokes from my super helpful husband ;-) i decided to go with chickpeas instead.  so, i followed the recipe in the link above and substituted two cans of chickpeas... i also substituted a tiny bit of honey for the sugar (because Lent started on wednesday, and i'm officially off sugar until Easter).  i sprinkled on some feta just before i ate it.  and oh my, delish!  lots of flavor and very filling.  it keeps well in the fridge for several days, and the flavor gets better with time, so make this on a monday, and you've got lunch for the week.

chicken mozzarella pasta with sundried tomatoes

one last recipe, and no, it's not a healthy one.  but it was too good not to share.  if you're looking for a tasty splurge meal, you might want to try this chicken mozzarella pasta with sundried tomatoes.  i made this over valentine's weekend, and wow.  even my 3-year-old liked it.  i've honestly never cooked with sun-dried tomatoes before, but this recipe made me a believer!  (again, i apologize for the less-than-appealing picture... check out the link for prettier pictures of this yummy meal!)

and that's a wrap, folks!  oh, except to mention that i'm down a few pounds, but i think that has more to do with my illness than my eating habits.  i'm still trucking along and trying to make good choices... one step at a time. :-)

happy cooking, folks!

here we go again...

oh man, you guys.  i'm struggling.  the holidays? -- they ruined me.  like, in the most delicious way possible.  :-)  i was totally prepared to gain back a few pounds, and i even considered it to be entirely worth it.  "i'll just work it off in january," i told myself.  "no big deal."  but what i did not anticipate was how difficult it would be for me to get back on track.  here we are at the first week in february, and i'm still making horrible food choices.  i feel sluggish and frumpy and all around disappointed in myself.

i hate these vicious cycles.  but the worst thing i can do is to let it defeat and define me.  so, we get up and try again.  here are two good things i've been working on:

• i've been very consistent about getting on the treadmill at 5am each morning.  AND i've been running for longer periods of time.  so that's something.
• steve and i have starting doing yoga together in the evenings (using the Yoga Studio app).  isla joins in too (when her attention span allows... other times she just sits and laughs at us when we get into unusual positions), so it's been fun to make this into a family event / comedy act.

what i really need to focus on now is putting better food into my body.  and the mindless snacking has got.to.stop.  so it's time to count calories again and to eat more veggies and lean proteins and less processed stuff, etc., etc.  you know the drill.  i've tried a lot of disappointing recipes in the past month, but there were a few winners.  allow me to share...

chipotle chicken sweet potato skins
these were INCREDIBLE.  the sweetness of the potato + the chipotle heat + the sharp melty white cheddar was winning combination.  a little time consuming (mostly to bake the sweet potatoes), but otherwise easy to assemble and well worth the time investment.  the leftovers heat up nicely in the toaster oven, which hey, whaddaya know?  i'm eating the leftovers as i type this. :-)

honey glazed salmon
this is hands-down my new favorite way to prepare salmon.  honey-crusted salmon topped with a browned butter lime sauce.  let me say that again: browned butter lime sauce.  amazing.  go easy on the butter sauce if you're worried about calories, but it's SO GOOD.  with a heaping pile of veggies, i think you'll be ok.

roasted cauliflower pizza
i guess the nutritional value of a pizza is debatable...  but this pizza contains cauliflower.  roasted cauliflower.  and we know of my love affair with roasted vegetables.  can't get enough!  so this meal is a bit of a splurge in the calorie department, but it's loaded with flavor.  yuuuuummm.

here are a few other highly recommended recipes that i failed to photograph:

• pizza roasted chickpeas -- my first ever cooking attempt with chickpeas, and i was super impressed!  these were great!  can be served as a snack, a side, or (if you have a family that refuses to try them like mine did) as a whole meal for yourself. :-)
• kale salad with meyer lemon vinaigrette -- oh yes.  this was great.  a new favorite, as far as lemon vinaigrettes go.  and don't worry if you can't find meyer lemons!  just add a splash of orange juice in with your lemon.
• kale salad with warm cranberry vinaigrette -- another winning kale recipe in my book.  LOVED the warm vinaigrette!  and shallots!  i adore shallots.  let's put shallots in ALL the food!

so there you go.  time to whip myself out of winter hibernation mode and get focused!  hopefully by "going public" again, i'll feel a little more motivated to make good choices.  bathing suit season is just a few months away... let's do this!