Stirrin' It Up With Stacey

Happy Wednesday!

Today I am sharing a recipe that I came up with to incorporate more healthy eating into our diets.

This recipe was something I just threw together at the last minute but we all loved it so I wrote it down. Then I went to my computer to check some emails etc... I found and email from Taste of Home and saw that they were looking for recipes that used spinach. SO I promptly sent in this recipe. It has been published in the Country Woman Magazine Feb/Mar 2010 issue.

Popeye Corn

1 pkg. frozen corn (16oz.)

1 pkg. frozen chopped spinach

(thawed and squeezed dry)

3/4 cup sour cream

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce

In a 1 1/2 quart microwave safe dish, combine all ingredients.

Microwave uncovered, on high for 5 minutes. Stir; cook 2 -3 minutes

longer or until heated through. Makes 6 servings.

Each 2/3 cup serving has 138 calories, 6 grams fat, 3 grams fiber, 5 grams protein.

You can really save yourself some fat and calories here

if you use light sour cream or plain lowfat yogurt.

I use plain yogurt interchangeably with sour cream.

Another way I have been getting my veggies in is to eat broccoli.

I steam it lightly and then I use a sprinkling of lemon juice

and a bit of Parmesan cheese. It is so yummy that sometimes

I find that it is all I want for my lunch.

This past weekend I participated at church in a program we call "Meals To Go".

About every 4-6 months we get together at the church in the kitchen and we prepare a ton of meals. They then go into the freezer portioned out so that they will feed a family of four. Any time there is a need for a meal whether it be some one is sick or has had surgery or a family member is in the hospital. Or frankly in this economy if they just plain old need a few meals to get them through the week. The meals are there in the freezer for the taking. The idea came about while we were struggling to figure out who would do the calling and organize some one to put a meal together and to deliver it to the family in need. It was not so much of a problem getting someone to do it but it was a struggle to get a meal prepared and have it to them at a decent time by the time most of our women got home from work.

So the brain storming began...

And before long we came up with the idea of having a cooking day and freezing the meals and having them available on an as needed basis.

We always make Homemade Chicken noodle soup. And I must say it is the best soup I have ever had. I think it is because we have so many beautiful loving women come by to stir the pot! Then we make 2 -3 other dishes. At first we were making lasagna. We soon realized that it was costly and very time consuming, then we decided to do a chicken and rice casserole that was a great choice. We have made meatloaf, we just mix it all up and throw the mixture in the individual meat loaf pans and freeze it. Then it can be baked fresh at home. We make Chili, and this time we decided to make Spaghetti and meatballs.

The spaghetti and meatballs was so easy. We prepared the noodles as usual, made a huge pot of marinara and used frozen meatballs. I am seriously thinking about doing some for my house and throwing them in the freezer for busy nights.

This past weekend was the best we have ever done. We feel like we were efficient and got a ton of meals made up. We started at 10 am and were done by 3 pm. Usually we are just dragging by the time we leave but this time we were feeling just fine.

The menu this time included chicken noodle soup, chili and spaghetti and meatballs.

we froze 19 spaghetti and meatball dinners,

15 bowls of chili

and 29 bowls of chicken noodle soup.

This is generally a womens event at church, however we had our first man join us this weekend and he said it was more fun than the men's breakfasts! We are starting to have more interest and we generally have about 10 women join us, for the day. I have to tell you it is more than just making meals for people in need it is a time to build relationships and get to know one another better. We have sooo much fun!

Well, I hope I have left you with a recipe to try and some inspiration this week.

Until next week, blessings to you and yours,

Stacey

Stirrin' It Up With Stacey

Today I will be sharing a recipe for

Turkey Tetrazzini

This is a something I was really craving and it was an easy casserole to make. I made it for Sunday lunch. I prepared it Saturday afternoon and then I pulled it out of the fridge to come to room temp before we left for church in the morning. I wanted it to heat through quickly when we got home!

1/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil (You can use vegetable oil if you want to)

6 stalks of celery diced

1 large onion diced

3 cloves garlic minced

1 pkg. fettucini, linguini, or spaghetti noodles

1 stick butter

1/2 cup flour

3 cups chicken broth

2 cups milk

4 oz. cream cheese

2 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 2/3 cup shredded cheese (I used monterey Jack but parmesan would be delicious)

4 cups cooked chicken or turkey breast chopped

1 bag frozen peas and carrots thawed

2 cups bread crumbs

In a large pot bring some water to boil, stir in your noodles and cook until done. Drain, rinse, set aside. Mean while in a pan heat oil and stir in the celery, onion, and garlic, saute until tender.

set aside.

In the pot you used for the pasta, melt the butter stir in the flour and cook until browned. Stir in the broth, milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened. Reduce the heat to low and Stir in the cream cheese, and shredded cheese. Melt completely. Stir in the chopped chicken or turkey and bag of peas and carrots. Turn off heat.

Grease a 9x13 baking dish and preheat the oven to 375* F. Place a good layer of the cheesy mixture in the bottom of the dish, layer the pasta on top, and then cover in the remaining sauce.

NOTE:This made enough for me to use a 9x13 inch dish and a 9x9 inch dish.

Sprinkle the top with bread crumbs and bake for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly.

I served this with a nice green salad. The kids loved it, the kids' friends loved it. Even the picky ones and my hubby loved it. IT WAS YUMMY! And a great way to use up left over chicken or turkey. I used turkey. Most of the recipes I came across used mushrooms but knowing that I was having guests I left out the mushrooms. People can be funny about mushrooms you know! Especially kids.

I hope you all enjoy this as much as we did and let me know if you decide to try it!

Until next week blessings to you and yours,

Stacey

Stirrin' It Up With Stacey

Hello Everyone!

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.

Life has just barely started to slow down for us, Praise the Lord!

I have to tell you that through the busy season I have a few foods that I fall back on when I am in a hurry. The first is an incredibly tasty, hot sandwich. And it is super quick to make.

Hot Roast Beef and Cheddar Sandwich

8 oz. deli sliced roast beef

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup French's French fried onions

hamburger buns

1. chop up the roast beef into small pieces, place in a bowl.

2. toss in the cheese and the onions

3. mix well.

4. microwave until the cheese is melted, you might need to stir half way through.

5. place a scoop of the mixture on a bun and serve immediately.

this will make about 4-6 sandwiches depending on the size.

I really like these with mustard!

I Have decided to go healthy!

The newest thing we are doing around the house is a lot of dried fruit! Cranberries, Figs, Apricots, served with cheese is a great snack. The kids love the figs and apricots as much as anything else and there is no prep involved. If you happen to have a WINCO foods near you they have a wonderful selection of these items as well as nuts.

We are also using a lot more WHOLE grains. I made up a large batch of waffles for the kids and put them in ziplock bags in the freezer. They can then get them out on their own and pop them in the toaster. What I did different this time was to mix in some 10 grain pancake mix with the regular. I did about a 1/2 and 1/2 mixture. The kids loved the flavor. I serve them with a little bit of buttermilk syrup and small dollop of low fat sour cream. I intend on eventually using 100%, 10 grain pancake mix. If you want to make French toast and freeze it that works just as well.

My crockpot is one of the best appliances I own! I make homemade refried beans, and then we use the beans to make burritos all week long. AND you absolutely can not beat the taste! If you are having a Mexican dinner and you want to impress your guests these are the beans you want to serve!

Refried BEANS

In a crock pot

place 2 cups of dried pinto beans that have been sorted and rinsed (this should take less than 5 minutes)

next you can add 1 onion rough chopped. you can add bacon if you want to, or left over ham.

Season with a little bit of garlic powder 1 tsp., 1tbsp. of salt, and I use the knorr brand tomato and chicken bullion 1/8 cup.

fill the crock pot with water and let cook on low for 6-8 hours.

THIS LAST STEP IS IMPORTANT!

during the last hour of cooking in a small frying pan or sauce pan, combine 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup flour and cook over medium heat until browned. Pour into the bean mixture and let thicken. (It will spatter a bit so stand back and stir it in right away. Make sure it is completely mixed in.)

I serve this with rice, or with a pork roast that I have cooked until it falls apart and we make it into tacos with corn tortillas and pineapple salsa.

If you decide to use corn tortillas they need to be softened with a bit of cooking spray on a griddle, over low heat. They only need to be heated for about 30 seconds.

If you ever have any questions about the items I have posted please feel free to contact me and I will make sure to answer your questions.

Well until next time,

I hope you all have a blessed Week!

Stacey