Week of September 28, 2014

I have a confession to make. I burned the frittata. My good friend Megan has fallen in love with the frittata, but I clearly cannot cook them. Everything else turned out pretty yummy! I LOVED that black bean soup. I’ll be doubling the recipe next time and using leftovers for lunch. Take a look at last week – don’t worry, I did NOT photograph the burnt side of my frittata. The quinoa bake did not look appetizing (not pictured), but it was a comfort food for sure!

Onto areas of confidence (far away from frittata-making)… Rumor has it I’m a dietitian. As a dietitian, I hear a lot of funny misconceptions every day. This week I heard:

·         “You can’t have grapefruit with insulin.” I don’t even know from where this lie stemmed.

·         “Brown sugar is better for diabetics than alternative sweeteners.” Sure alternative sweeteners aren’t fantastic, but diabetic comas from uncontrolled blood sugars are much more serious.

·         I also had the pleasure of hearing a long and boring rant about what makes a good snack.   Snacks should really be pretty low calorie by definition. Most people will limit the actual total of calories they consume if they will mix food groups as well. For example, if you are a “good” when you are hungry and have an apple you will be hungry (again!) in 15 minutes. The second time around, you might grab some chips and cookies and your carb-loading will continue until dinner. However, if you will sacrifice some calories for nuts, low fat cheese or small natural nut butter to add to that piece of fruit, you’re snack will satisfy your hunger a lot more.

Bolognese sauce over spaghetti squash (1)- The sauce is a crockpot recipe. It makes a pretty big batch. Freeze your leftovers for future lasagna. This recipe calls for parsley which I think is a little useless, so I’ll probably use basil instead. If you have a picky eater (Mr. Rutledge) at your house, you can always cook a whole grain pasta in lieu of squash. You can bake the spaghetti squash for half your life or follow these simple instructions to microwave it in about 12 minutes! If your family is bigger, serve with a side of broccoli or a nice garden salad (remember to try a balsamic in place of your dressing)

Pulled pork stuffed poblanos with roasted corn (2) – For this recipe, I’ll be using the pulled pork I have in the freezer from a couple of weeks ago!  I’m going to cheat and use Schwan’s southwest corn. If you aren't a cheater, mix a bag of frozen corn, chopped bell pepper and onion and roast in your oven while the stuffed peppers cook!

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix together pulled pork, 1 cup of salsa, ½ diced red onion and 1 clove of minced garlic. Slice each poblano pepper length-wise and scrape out the seeds. Then, stuff each half of poblano with pork mixture. In a glass baking dish, make a single layer of stuffed peppers (pepper side down) and cover with foil. Bake about 10 minutes until the peppers begin to soften. Remove from oven, top with grated cheese. Recover and bake additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Loaded sweet potatoes with lemon garlic zucchini (3) – Now, Mr. Rutledge hates sweet potatoes. He will be having a plain’ ol spud. However, these sound amazing to me! I am too lazy to re-stuff these baked sweet potatoes, so I’m going to mix the toppings and put on top of my spud once I’m ready to eat. I’m adding in the zucchini as a side to lighten up the meal a bit. For the zucchini, cut into bite-size pieces and layer on a baking sheet. Then, sprinkle with fresh garlic and the zest of one lemon. Roast these for the last 20-30 minutes of your potatoes cooking. 

Chicken enchilada quinoa bake (4) – We are trying quinoa again. You had to buy a big ol’ bag, didn’t you? If you didn’t like the quinoa, you can be a weeny and use rice instead, but I insist you use brown rice! This meal is a one pot meal and these make my heart happy. Mr. Rutledge will love this meal because it squeezes three cheeses into one dish. If you desire a lighter fair, cut down on the cheese.

Cajun salmon, roasted cauliflower and edamame (5) – I told you my freezer was full of fish, right? We prefer red or silver around here. Wild pacific salmon is a great source of omega 3 fatty-acids! This is my second favorite salmon recipe! Remember, don’t over-cook your salmon!

Turn oven onto 400 degrees. Sauté ½ onion, bell pepper and a couple cloves of garlic. Set aside. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place salmon skin side down on foil. Sprinkle lightly with Cajun seasoning. Spoon sautéed vegetables over the fish. Top with lemon slices. Fold foil over into a packet. Next, rinse and chop cauliflower. Layer cauliflower on a greased baking dish. If you liked the zucchini earlier in the week, top the cauliflower with some olive oil, garlic and lemon zest/juice and put into over to roast (will take about 35 minutes). Once the cauliflower has been cooking about 10-15 minutes, pop in your salmon. Follow package for edamame.

Produce

½ spaghetti squash per person (1)

Fresh broccoli or salad fixins (1-alternate)

2 white onion (1, 4, 5)

1 red onion (2)

1 bell pepper (2, 5)

Garlic (2, 3, 5)

2 celery stalks (1)

2 carrots (1)

¼ c. fresh parsley or basil (1)

1 poblano pepper per person (2)

1 Zucchini per person (3)

3 Lemons (3, 5)

Medium sweet potato per person (3)

2 honey crisp apples (3)

Sage (3)

Cilantro (4)

Avocado (4)

Cauliflower (5)

Deli/Meat counter

4 oz pancetta (1)

2 lbs of lean beef/turkey breast (1)

Pulled fork (2) – or leftovers from freezer

Bacon (3)

4 oz goat cheese (3)

1 large chicken breast or ground chicken (4)

Salmon (5)

Dry goods

Whole grain pasta (1-alternate)

¼ c dry white wine (1)

2- 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes (1)

Olive oil (4)

Quinoa (4)

1 can of black beans (4)

1 can of chopped green chilies (4)

16 oz enchilada sauce (4)

Spices and seasonings

3 bay leaves (1)

Salt, pepper

Nutmeg (3)

Cinnamon (3)

Chili powder (4)

Cajun seasoning (5)

Refrigerator/Freezer

Butter (1)

½ cup half & half cream (1)

Salsa of your choice (2)

Frozen sweet corn kernels (2)

½ cup of shredded cheddar (4)

1 cup of jack cheese (4)

Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt (4)

Cotija or queso fresco (4)

Edamame in the shells (5)