Clean Eating Monday - Chicken and Barley Stew

Another soup/stew for me this week. I am so glad I have the opportunity to put together a list of go to soups and stews for the fall. 

This recipe from Clean Eating Magazine is a new favorite of mine. It is really simple to put together and is truly filling. The original recipe called for sour cream, but I don't like sour cream plus I'm not sure how "clean" it is, so I didn't add it.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Barley Stew

Ingredients

32 oz low-fat, low-sodium chicken broth

1 tbsp garlic, minced

1 tsp garlic sea salt (I used regular sea salt)

1/2 tbsp thyme

1/2 tbsp basil

1/2 tbsp cilantro

1/4 tbsp dill

2 bay leaves

1/2 tbsp fresh ground black pepper

12 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed (uncooked)

1/2 cup uncooked black-eyed peas, rinsed and picked through

1/2 cup barley

1 medium sweet onion, cubed

20 oz potatoes, peeled and cubed

10 oz carrots (3 large), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices

Instructions

1. Fill a slow cooker with broth, 8 oz water, garlic, herbs and pepper. Add chicken, black-eyed peas and barley, then layer onion, potatoes and carrots over top. Liquid should just cover vegetables. Do not stir.

2. Allow to simmer, at least 4 to 6 hours. Remove bay leaves and stir before serving. Spoon 1 cup into each bowl. Makes 8 servings.

Enjoy!

Clean Eating Monday - Tuscan Bean Soup

When I started out with my clean eating diet, I originally wanted to learn some soup recipes. I used to always keep several cans of soup in my pantry for when I got sick, but canned soup, canned anything really, is a big no-no! So, I knew I needed to learn a few go to soup recipes that I could make and freeze for when I got sick or just wanted a bowl of soup.

After searching Pinterest, which is a great source of clean eating recipes, I found a great recipe for Tuscan Bean soup. I changed the recipe a tad, by eliminating the ham, which I don't eat, and cutting the amount of garlic in half. 

Since I got rid of all of my canned food, I decided this recipe would be a great time to learn how to cook dried beans. I had never cooked dried beans before, so I had no idea that they expanded. It was quite a shock in the morning when I looked in my pot of beans and they had almost doubled, meaning I had a TON of beans. It turned out great, though.

This is a great, simple, crockpot soup recipe, and perfect for the beginner clean eater.

Clean Eating Monday - Mashed Cauliflower

I am really not a fan of cauliflower, so when someone told me about this I was very hesitant to try it. Let me just say, it is amazing! In just a few minutes, you'll have a much healthier side dish than mashed potatoes.

Mashed Cauliflower

Ingredients
1 large head of cauliflower
4-6 tbsps of plain Greek yogurt
Ground black pepper to taste

Directions
1. Rinse and separate the cauliflower into florets.
2. Boil cauliflower florets for 10 minutes or until tender.
3. Place florets in a food processor or mixer.
4. Add 4 tbsps of Greek yogurt and pepper to taste.
5. Blend cauliflower, yogurt, and pepper for a few seconds. If not creamy enough, add another couple of tbsps of yogurt and blend a few more seconds until smooth and creamy.

Makes 6 servings

Clean Eating Cooking - Peanut Butter Chicken

Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Turkey Meatballs

Today, I thought I'd share a super simple and really yummy recipe that I made last weekend for a Super Bowl party, Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Turkey Meatballs. 

You might have seen this recipe before, but I thought I'd share it anyway for those who need a cheap and easy party snack. 

Ingredients:
1 10 oz. bottle of Heinz chili sauce
1 16 oz. jar of grape jelly
1 bag of Aldi turkey meatballs (28 meatballs)
You can definitely double up this recipe if you are having a larger group, or use regular meatballs instead of turkey ones.

Directions:
1. Combine chili sauce and grape jelly in a bowl. Whisk mixture until all of the lumps are gone.
2. Place frozen meatballs into a crock pot. Pour mixture over meatballs, stirring until all of the meatballs are covered.
3. Cook meatballs on low for 5-6 hours.
4. Turn crock pot on warm or low to serve meatballs directly from the crock pot.

These meatballs were really great and were a huge hit at the party, as was my football crock pot that I picked up several years ago at Walmart. Unfortunately, I don't think this crock pot is available anymore in stores, but you might be able to find a used one today on ebay.

Football cookies and goodie bags

This weekend started the NFL playoffs. And although my team isn't in it this year, boo to the Steelers, I'm still watching some of the games and definitely rooting for anyone who is playing the Ravens. :)

A few years ago I took part in my first fantasy football league. For fun, I made my group some football cookies and goodie bags. I thought this would be a good week to share the tutorials with you. 

I got the idea for the goodie bag, here. I know it looks nothing like my bag, but that is what inspired it. I just tweaked it a lot to fit in with the whole football theme! Plus, they were super simple to make.

Football Goodie Bags

Materials:
Green lunch or goodie bags
White scraps of paper
White paint pen
White ribbon
Foam football shapes or footballs cut out of brown paper
Hole punch
Glue

Instructions:
1. Cut two strips of white paper and glue them onto the front of the bag, leaving some room at the top for the ribbon.
2. Mark the yards along the top of the bag with the paint pen. It isn't accurate, but that is okay. :)
3. Draw the football laces on the foam football with the paint pen and glue to the front of the bag.
4. Stuff your bag full of goodies!
5. Hold the bag closed. Punch two holes in the top of the bag and thread the ribbon through. Tie a bow.
See! Super simple!!!

Each goodie bag also included a football shaped cookie and some other chocolatey goodness. When I came across some super cute football cookies on Pillsbury.com, I just knew these were the perfect cookies.

Football Cookies via Pillsbury

Ingredients:
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookies
1 container (1 lb) chocolate creamy ready-to-spread frosting
White decorating gel

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Freeze dough 30 minutes.
2. Cut dough into 1/4-inch slices. With floured fingers, shape each dough slice to form football. On ungreased cookie sheets, place slices 2 inches apart.
3. Bake 7 to 11 minutes or until set and golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
4. Spread frosting over cookies. With white decorating gel, draw laces on each football.

They were super easy to make, but the decorating was not so easy. I used Wilton's fondant icing writer and it got clogged about every three cookies. It was okay though, because the entire time I was decorating them I was laughing thinking of Ace Ventura and Ray Finkle. . . "Laces Out"!

The girls on my fantasy football league really enjoyed them. I hope you will too!

Vampire Cookies

For those who follow along on my blog or my Twitter feed, you know that I recently had to buy a new AC/heat unit for my house. And for anyone who has had to do this, you know just how expensive it is. I mean really, really expensive!!! I've had to tighten the purse strings a lot, which has forced me to give up some things that I really didn't want to give up. One of those things is HBO and True Blood. :(

It pains me to know that the new season starts Sunday and I won't be watching it. But, for those of you who are counting down the minutes to the new season, I thought I'd share a simple and fun vampire recipe to get you in the mood for some Bon Temps vampire fun!

Materials 
Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix

Wilton red decorating icing

Lip shaped cookie cutter

Good and Plenty (white)
Toothpick

Directions

1. Mix sugar cookies according to directions for cutout cookies.

2. Roll dough until 1/4 inch thick. 

3. Cut cookies with lip shaped cookie cutter and place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Cook sugar cookies according to directions for cutout cookies.

5. Let cookies cool completely then cover with red icing.

6. Using a toothpick, draw a line through the red icing to separate the top and bottom lip.

7. Place two white Good and Plenty candies (the fangs) under the toothpick line.

There you have it! I think even Eric and Bill would enjoy one of these. :)

Cranberry Nut Bread

I thought I'd share with you a yummy recipe for cranberry nut bread to get you looking forward to the long Memorial Day weekend! Enjoy!!!

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the cranberries and walnuts, and stir to coat with flour. Mix together the egg, oil, orange juice, and orange zest. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture, and stir until just blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack, and cool completely.

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I'm in the process of transferring my tutorials and recipes from my old blog to my new one, so please bear with me while I get everything where it needs to be!