Week of October 19, 2014

Well, my dad and sister are here for Fall Break this weekend so I’m saving our bigger meals for them (chili and casserole).  Mr. Rutledge is glad the pumpkin chili will be divided among 4 tummies instead of 2. We loved the udon soup, but I ended up needing a lot more broth than the recipe stated. As I’ve said before, I don’t really measure vegetables (the more the merrier) and required nearly double the broth. Oops! We enjoyed the salmon, too, but I served it at a dinner party so there are no pictures! Here are the other meals: 

Every day I meet with a group of dietitians (you’re jealous, right?!). All kinds of things come up, but we often discuss personal food indulges. Two of them are yankees and didn’t know what chicken spaghetti was (they also don’t understand “the higher the hair, the closer to God”). This was a staple at First Baptist Church Wednesday night suppers for me growing up – I’m referring to both big hair and chicken spaghetti. Now, my Aunt Susan (I mentioned her husband Mike last week) makes awesome chicken spaghetti. I’m sharing my recipe with you this week. I started with Susan’s recipe and lightened up (some) and added plenty vegetables. This meal still turns out to be pretty dense, so make sure and add an additional serving of vegetables on the side to balance out your meal.

I had several people ask about other meals. For lunch, I usually eat leftovers (Mr. Rutledge’s arch-enemy). For breakfast, I make breakfast for both of us on Sunday for the whole week. Lately, we have been having baked oatmeal topped with a spoonful of Greek yogurt and some fresh/frozen berries. This recipe is a combination of several I found online:

  ¾ cup of steel cut oats

  ¼ cup of flax seed, ground

  1 teaspoon of baking powder

  1 ½ teaspoon of cinnamon

  ½ teaspoon of salt

  Pinch of nutmeg

  2 cups of milk

  1/3 cup of applesauce

  1 large egg

  2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  1 tablespoon unsalted butter

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter in bottom of 8x8 glass dish and put in oven to melt. In one mixing bowl, mix dry ingredients (first 6 ingredients). In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients (milk, applesauce, egg and vanilla). Add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir. Then, pour into glass baking dish. Bake 55 minutes.  This recipe serves 6. I usually eat it with some yogurt and fresh berries. I was going to include a picture, but it does not do this recipe justice.

 

Smoky Sweet Potato Soup (1) – My sweet friend originally made this soup for me. I have no idea what cookbook of hers it came from and have not been able to find it online.  And it’s vegetarian, please don’t tell Mr. Rutledge! As a side note, this particular friend is having her first baby any day now. Please keep her and her family in your prayers!

1 ½  lbs  sweet potatoes, peeled/diced

4 carrots, peeled/diced

6 cups of vegetable broth

1 teaspoon of dried thyme

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 cup finely diced onion

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons of maple syrup

2 teaspoons of honey

1-3 teaspoons of chipotle powder (to taste) or chipotle in adobo

Fresh cilantro and baked corn chips for topping

 

In a large heavy stockpot simmer sweet potatoes, carrots, thyme and broth until vegetables are soft. Mash with potato masher if needed (I use an electric whisk to get this smooth). While these are cooking and in a separate non-stick skillet,  heat oil on medium low heat. Sauté onion and garlic until golden. Then, add to broth with syrup, honey and chipotle powder. Top as desired with cilantro and chips.

*I think this recipe could also be done in the crockpot and just simmer on low all day. Then mash up the potatoes when you get home.

 

Chicken spaghetti with steamed broccoli (2) – This remains a comfort food, but it has come a long way from Velveeta, spaghetti and shredded chicken! This meal is a little time-consuming. You can always make it this weekend and bake it off later in the week. 

½ box of Whole wheat spaghetti

1-2 chicken breasts, cooked/shredded

3 slices of bacon

1 bag shredded carrots

½ white onion, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

½ pint of mushrooms, chopped

1 can Rotel

1 can of milk or fat free mushroom soup

8 oz of low fat cream cheese, Velveeta or American cheese (your preference)

1 chipotle in adobo (spicy!)

Shredded, reduced fat cheddar cheese (for topping)

 

Pre-heat oven to 350. Boil/shred chicken if needed. Then cook spaghetti to al dente, drain. While spaghetti cooks,cook bacon in non-stick skillet then chop. Drain fat from skillet, sauté all vegetables and chipotle (if desired). Once vegetables soften, add rotel, cream of mushroom soup and cheese until melted. If this isn’t a little soupy, you’ll want to add some milk. Then, mix in spaghetti and bacon. Pour into 9x13 inch baking dish. Top (lightly) with shredded cheddar. Bake 20-30 minutes until bubbly.

 

Pecan crusted halibut, pesto quinoa (3) – Both the halibut recipe and the quinoa are new recipes for me, but I think they sound delicious. You can, of course, use tilapia as a substitute as halibut is fairly pricey (unless your dad stocks your freezer every summer!). If you have a family of 4 or more, you will probably need to add another vegetable like green beans or asparagus. If you don’t over-cook the halibut, you shouldn’t need any sauce. However, if you do (I will L), you can use the leftover mustard sauce from last week or make a quick dip with mayo/plain greek yogurt and tarragon or dill!

Turkey & raspberry sandwiches with mixed green salad (4)– My friend Jackie catered a wedding shower for me and made these delectable little sandwiches. She took sliced deli turkey, cream cheese, and raspberry jam on toasted cinnamon swirl bread, but you could use plain ol’ wheat bread, too. It was delicious! This is our quick meal this week (planned to prevent me from eating out). Make a quick salad with mixed greens, sliced strawberries, almond slivers and strawberries (Mr. Rutledge will be adding some goat cheese to this) and top with balsamic vinegar!

Lasagna (5) – Now, in this recipe I’ll be using the remaining Bolognese sauce from a few weeks back that is irking Mr. Rutledge in the freezer ;). If you are as well, be sure to edit your grocery list by not buying things with the asterisks (*) for the 5s. Also, I may make this a half and half recipe for Mr. Rutledge. My half will have sliced zucchini and his half will have regular lasagna noodles! I’m going to add the rest of the pint of mushrooms (leftover from the chicken spaghetti) and probably any other veggies around…spinach, carrots, etc). If you don’t add extra vegetables, I recommend adding some salad fixins or any easy, steamablevegetable to your list.

 

Produce

1 ½ lbs sweet potatoes (1)

4 carrots (1)

Garlic (1, 5*)

Yellow onion (1)

Cilantro (1)

Shredded carrots (2)

White onion (2)

3 stalks celery (2)

Mushrooms (2)

Red bell pepper (3)

Cucumber (3)

Mixed greens (4)

Strawberries (4)

Fresh basil (5*)

3 medium zucchini (5)

Meat/deli counter

1-2 chicken breast (2)

Bacon (2)

Halibut or tilapia 4-6 oz per person (3)

Sliced turkey (4)

1 lb ground turkey breast, venison on 93% lean beef (5*)

Dry goods

6 cups Vegetable broth (1)

Canola oil (1)

Maple syrup (1)

Honey (1)

Baked chips (1)

Whole wheat spaghetti (2)

Rotel (2)

Cream of mushroom soup- fat-free (2)

Chopped pecans (3)

Olive oil (3, 5)

Quinoa (3)

Pesto (3) – I’ll be making my own to use up my basil before it freezes!

Balsamic vinegar (4)

Almond slivers (4)

Raspberry jam or preserves (4)

Cinnamon swirl or wheat bread (4)

28 oz crushed tomatoes (5*)

Lasagna pasta (5, if desired)

Spices/seasonings

Dried Thyme (1)

Chipotle powder or chipotle in adobo (1, 2)

Salt

Pepper

Fridge/freezer

Skim Milk (2)

8 oz. Velveeta or FF Cream cheese or American (2)

Reduced fat shredded sharp cheddar (2)

Frozen broccoli florets (2)

Eggs (3, 5)

Goat cheese, if desired (4)

Creamed cheese (4)

15 oz part-skim ricotta (5)

16 oz part-skim mozzarella (5)

¼ cup parmigiano reggiano (5)