We love fajitas in our family! That's my hubby's go-to dish when we eat out because it's typically not smothered in cheese and can easily be eaten with corn tortillas for a delicious gluten-free, dairy-free meal. I rarely make them at home because I feel like they take too long to prepare. Until now. Just throw all your spices onto uniformly sliced chicken and veggies (which you can cut up ahead of time and store in the fridge) and bake them all together. They turned out great and everyone asked that I make them again! For those of you with more zucchini than you know what to do with, I've made these with strips of zucchini too, and they're awesome. Click over to
type2diabetes.com for my recipe. Enjoy!
Please Note: Type2diabetes.com has officially switched over to a .com from .net. Super exciting news!! I'm slowly working through updating my links. If you come across a link to the type2diabetes page that doesn't work, just replace the ".net" with ".com". If that still doesn't work leave a comment or touch base with us on our Facebook page. I will get to them all soon.
...click here for the recipe!
Here is another yummy winter squash dish, this time with acorn squash.
Acorn Squash is so delicious and has a wonderful sweetness to it. It would be great baked with a little butter and brown sugar and nothing else! Tonight though, I thought some wild rice and vegetables would make a tasty stuffing. My hubby and I always chat on the phone as he drives home from work and when I told him what I was fixing, he suggested I add some chicken sausage to the filling. Great idea! It was delicious. Enjoy!
Recipe: (Serves 4 - one half squash per person)
Ingredients:
2 small acorn squash
2/3 cup long grain wild rice
2/3 cup brown rice
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 chicken sausage links, chopped
salt & pepper
Directions:
1. Carefully cut acorn squash in half length-wise and scoop out all the seeds (you can discard the seeds or roast them for a snack later). Place cut side down on a dry baking sheet and bake at 350'F for 40 minutes.
2. Meanwhile prepare your rice. Add wild rice, brown rice and chicken broth to a small pot over medium high heat and bring to a gentle boil. Once mixture boils, reduce heat to low and simmer for 50 minutes until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.
3. In a large saucepan add olive oil, garlic, zucchini, bell pepper and celery (mushrooms would be tasty here too) and saute over medium high heat for 5-7 minutes until veggies begin to soften. Add chicken sausage and let brown.
*I used chicken sausage that is already full cooked so I just needed to heat it through and brown it. If you're using raw sausage be sure to cook it thoroughly!
4. Once the veggie and sausage mixture is heated through and the rice is cooked, combine the two in a large bowl, season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the acorn squash from the oven and, using tongs, carefully turn each half over. Using a spoon stuff the rice filling mixture into each squash half, mounding it as much as possible. You may have extra filling left but this makes a tasty side dish all on it's own or can serve as seconds!
5. Once your squash halves are stuffed, place them back into the oven and bake at 350'F for 20-25 minutes until the flesh of the squash is very tender and the tops are golden. Remove from oven and let sit 5 minutes before serving.
Here is a shot of the inside (cut in half) Mmmm.
...click here for the recipe!
This is the easiest way to prepare asparagus and have it cooked perfectly. My sister passed this recipe along to me and I love how easy it is. It's doesn't really even require a "recipe". Ready? Just take one bunch of asparagus, washed and fibrous ends snapped off, and lay it on a cookie sheet. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake in 450'F oven for 12 minutes! Done. Of course if you have smaller asparagus you'll want to reduce the cooking time slightly to ~10 minutes. Go ahead, enjoy your perfectly cooked, still crisp and bright green, yummy asparagus. Go.
...click here for the recipe!
Do you have a favorite dish that reminds you of your childhood? I have several and this is one of them. It's a recipe my Mom used to make and she got it from her friend Kathleen, hence the name. It's comforting and warm, perfect for a cold winter evening. The brown rice is full of fiber but takes awhile to cook so I like to assemble this a day in advance, cover and stash in the fridge and then bake it for dinner tonight. It would make a great side dish or in our house we serve it as the main course with a nice green salad on the side. Both our boys (ages 1 & 3) loved it and ate a ton. If you want to pump up the heat, I like adding some diced jalapeños. Enjoy!
Recipe: (Serves 4)
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked brown rice (1 cup raw prepared per package instructions)
2 (10 oz) boxes frozen spinach, thawed & drained
1 cup low fat cottage cheese (8oz)
1 small can diced green chilies
1 egg, beaten
1 1/4 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375'F. Squeeze any excess water from spinach.
2. Mix all ingredients and 1 cup of the cheese together in a large bowl until well combined.
3. Spoon mixture into an 8x8 inch glass baking dish and top with remaining 1/4 cup of cheese. Bake at 375'F for 50 minutes - 1 hour or until cheese is melted and golden.
...click here for the recipe!
My awesome hubby loves to bake and he found yet another use for our new mini-muffin tin! I love this tin (click
here to see what it looks like). As you may recall I used it to make some delicious
mini turkey meatballs awhile back, as well as muffins and now, scones. We were having fun calling them "sconies", "minis" or even "sconitas".
Just take J's original recipe found here and substitute in the fruit of your choice, here he used organic strawberries (remember you can use frozen berries too).
Then place in the mini muffin pan and bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (~9-12 minutes)
...click here for the recipe!
There is nothing like homemade bread crumbs to improve the taste of your dish and fresh homemade bread crumbs are so easy to make! This also saves money since store bought bread crumbs can be pricey. I like to use whole wheat bread, which has alot of great fiber! Save those end pieces from your loves of sandwich bread, you can stash them in the freezer in a resealable plastic bag until you have enough to make a batch of breadcrumbs.
Any type of bread (white, wheat, sourdough, rye, etc.) can be used. There's nothing wrong with combining various breads; why let them go to waste? The mixture of various breads also gives your dishes some wonderful taste! Avoid using stale bread as it makes for stale tasting breadcrumbs.
If your bread is too fresh, just bake fresh bread slices in the oven until slightly dry. You will get a better drying result in the oven rather than the toaster. Place bread piece/slices on an ungreased baking sheet, or directly on the oven rack. Allow a bit of room between pieces to dry properly. Bake in a 300'F oven for approximately 10 to 15 minutes; flip halfway through. Remove from oven and let cool.
Slice dried bread into smaller pieces and place in your food processor. Pulse about 30 seconds or until desired coarseness.
Store in an airtight container to preserve freshness. Add your homemade breadcrumbs to meatloaf, as a topping for a casserole, for breaded chicken or fish or even as a garnish on top of soup. Get creative! Let us know about your favorite recipe that incorporates breadcrumbs.
...click here for the recipe!
Our new favorite way to prepare sweet potatoes. I roasted them in the oven. Simple and delicious! Slice into wedges, toss with olive oil, dried thyme, fresh ground black pepper and a pinch of cayenne powder. Roast in 400'F oven for 15-20min (turn half way through) until knife tender and crispy.
(4-6 servings)
This picture was taken with my Droid Eris Phone
...click here for the recipe!
disclaimers
NOTE: The information on wholesomedinnertonight.blogspot.com is compiled from a variety of resources and is presented for educational purposes only. If you have questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health, please seek assistance from a qualified healthcare provider.
Although this site includes links providing direct access to other Internet sites, wholesomedinnertonight.blogspot.com has not participated in their development, and does not monitor or exert any editorial control over these sites. Please review each website for their own privacy information.
Recipes listed as gluten free assume you are using gluten free ingredients when sauces or chicken stock, etc is listed. wholesomedinnertonight.blogspot.com has no control over where you get your ingredients, and which sources/brands of individual ingredients are used in your cooking. Thus we cannot guarantee that the end product you create will be gluten-free.
*I used chicken sausage that is already full cooked so I just needed to heat it through and brown it. If you're using raw sausage be sure to cook it thoroughly!
4. Once the veggie and sausage mixture is heated through and the rice is cooked, combine the two in a large bowl, season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the acorn squash from the oven and, using tongs, carefully turn each half over. Using a spoon stuff the rice filling mixture into each squash half, mounding it as much as possible. You may have extra filling left but this makes a tasty side dish all on it's own or can serve as seconds!
...click here for the recipe!
Our new favorite way to prepare sweet potatoes. I roasted them in the oven. Simple and delicious! Slice into wedges, toss with olive oil, dried thyme, fresh ground black pepper and a pinch of cayenne powder. Roast in 400'F oven for 15-20min (turn half way through) until knife tender and crispy. (4-6 servings)
