Category Archives: Veggies

Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Posted on May 19, 2014 by four sweetie pies

Good morning fellow foodies!

Here’s a quick and light dinner option. There are a lot of yummy, crisp veggies and the dish came together so fast! Isn’t that what we all need on busy weeknights!?!? Everyone at my house loved it and it will definitely be making a comeback to the Barhorst Menu soon :)

Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients

1 pound ground turkey

1 heaping tsp cumin

1 heaping tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

3 TBL soy sauce

1 TBL peanut butter

drizzle of bottled teriyaki, I like to keep a bottle of “Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki” on hand in the fridge for summer grilling

Boston lettuce for the wraps, washed and leave leaves whole

1-2 TBL chopped fresh ginger

1-2 TBL chopped garlic

1-2 cups bok choy (chopped)

1-2 cups shredded carrots

1-2 cups sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup ramps (wild leeks or any other onion you have)

1-2 cups red pepper, chopped

small can of water chestnuts, chopped (fyi water chestnuts are not a tree nut)

Sprigs of cilantro for serving

Optional: chopped peanuts for serving

Directions

Brown the ground turkey with the garlic, ginger, onions and mushrooms. Drain if necessary, but with the low-fat ground turkey there is usually not much to drain.

Stir in the cumin, chili powder and red pepper flakes. Add the soy sauce, peanut butter and teriyaki sauce and mix to combine. Add all the veggies, notice that the measurements are a little vague, but it’s really personal preference. I like a lot of veggies and less meat, but it’s purely your choice.

Cook until veggies are slightly tender and heated through. If you feel you like your wraps a little saucier, add a couple more splashes of soy and/or teriyaki.

Serve meat and veggie mixture with the lettuce leaves. Top with reserved cilantro and/or chopped peanuts. Enjoy!

Happy Monday all :)

How to use all those CSA veggies?!

Posted on May 14, 2014 by four sweetie pies

Good afternoon friends,

Wondering how to use all those spring veggies from your CSA (Consumer Supported Agriculture group) or the local farmers market? Here’s an idea-a giant salad with sautéed veggies, chicken and an egg! It’s packed with protein and filling. It’s no secret that I love to eat and sometimes a cold salad for lunch just isn’t as satisfying for me. I love salads that have a “warm” component. They’re more filling and keep you running throughout the afternoon.

This takes a couple minutes, but it’s well worth it :) The recipe is really free-form. Use what you have, what is fresh and what you like!

Spring Salad with Sautéed Chicken, Veggies and a Farm-Fresh Egg

Ingredients

lettuce

chicken breast

mushrooms

ramps (wild leeks)

red pepper

asparagus

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

low-fat feta cheese crumbles

egg-fresh from the farm if you can, the flavor is so much more intense!

Directions

Wash and place lettuce on your plate. Salt chicken and saute in a splash of olive oil. Set chicken aside. Add chopped mushrooms, ramps (or any onion) red pepper, asparagus to pan and quickly stir fry until slightly tender. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar and stir to incorporate. Allow to slightly absorb. Arrange your veggies and chicken over your lettuce. Prepare your egg sunny side up, over easy or poached so the delicious buttery yolk can drip down over your veggies, add to top of salad. Sprinkle with feta and enjoy! There are so many yummy flavors going on here, I don’t even feel the need for salad dressing. Save the calories and have some dark chocolate later :)

Bon Appetit!

Quick and Easy Asparagus Soup

Posted on May 27, 2013 by four sweetie pies

Happy Memorial Day weekend my friends!

A “Quick and Easy Asparagus Soup” recipe to use up the abundance of asparagus from my CSA this week. This recipe is pretty basic, but could be jazzed up with sautéed mushrooms, bits of ham or bacon or some Parmesan crisps.

Ingredients

2 pounds of asparagus, chopped into bite-size pieces

1 TBL light canola oil spread

1 sweet yellow onion, diced

3 cloves of fresh garlic, minced

1/2 cup of dry white wine

3 cups of fat-free chicken broth

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp Better Than Bouillon chicken base (a great product for jazzing up soup recipes)

1/4 cup low-fat cream cheese

Instructions

1. In a medium-sized soup pot, melt the canola spread and add the onion and garlic. Saute until onion is tender about 5 minutes. Stirring occasionally.

2. Add white wine and cook until mostly evaporated.

3. Add chopped asparagus and the chicken broth. Season with salt (and pepper if you’re a fan) and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and cook for about 20 minutes or until asparagus is tender.

4. Add cream cheese.

5. Using an immersion blender, puree until desired thickness. I tend to like mine not completely liquefied. You can also wait until the soup is cooled a bit and process in your regular blender.

6. Enjoy! A generous 1 cup serving is 4 WW PointsPlus

Happy Spring cooking :)

* Recipe adapted from http://www.skinnychef.com

“Mom, are you eating weeds?!”

Posted on May 22, 2013 by four sweetie pies

Good morning friends! Yes, I am eating dandelion greens this morning! I am a proud member of my local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Farm, called Sandhill Family Farms. Each week from spring through fall I get a weekly basket of fresh, locally grown beautiful veggies! I try to make a game out of trying to figure out how to use everything each week so my waste is minimal. Each week I get a nice variety of items, some familiar some not. Last week, we received dandelion greens, a member of the chicory family. As many of you know, I have a love of sauteing greens, like spinach, chard, etc and serving over my favorite farm fresh eggs. So, today I put another spin on that and sautéed my dandelion greens.

It is actually pretty basic. Here’s what I did:

1/4 tsp bacon grease

1 tsp ham squares

bunch of dandelion greens

fresh chopped chives

I put the bacon grease in my non-stick pan and saute the ham bits, add the greens and saute until slightly wilted. I can hear the gasps through the computer! Yes, bacon grease bad for you, BUT its a very small amount and on the rare occasions that we do have bacon, I keep a small container under my sink to collect the grease. My kids think it’s totally gross, but this habit goes back long ago from my childhood when my babysitter, Irene, used to save the bacon grease to make homemade Chex Mix, which I still do today too! Put the greens on your plate and use the pan to cook your eggs to your liking. I prefer either sunny-side up or over-easy so you get that nice runny yolk to dip your toast into. Top with the fresh chives. Again, I urge you to try farm fresh eggs if you have the chance to, they are absolutely superior in taste.

I served my eggs and greens with my favorite Angelic Bakehouse Sprouted Bread. My favorite bread is low-cal, packed with whole grains, protein and is only 1 Weight Watchers PointsPlus per slice!!!! Give it a try, you’ll be happy you did!