Asian Turkey Wrap- Under 200 calories

I was getting sick of eating so many salads everyday for lunch and I wanted to try to create a healthy sandwich or wrap. I already had most of this stuff on hand so off I went to find a somewhat healthy tortilla and dressing to make a wrap with. 

These LaTortilla Factory, multigrain tortillas are only 100 calories per tortilla. They have 15 grams of fiber and 9 grams of protein!

This dressing only has 35 calories per 2T! I only use around 1 T of it. 

Ingredients:

*1 Tortilla (I like the LaTortilla Factory, Multi grain with EVOO. (See picture below)

*1-2 T of Newman's Own Lite Low Fat Sesame Ginger Dressing

*shredded red cabbage

*shredded carrots

*julienne cucumber

*small handful of fresh spinach or field greens

*2 slices of low sodium oven roasted deli turkey 

In small bowl, mix the veggies with the dressing till well coated. Spread out the veggies in the middle of the tortilla. Place two slices of deli turkey on the tortilla.  Roll the tortilla tight (I use two tooth picks to hold it together) and cut it in half and serve. Great summer wrap! 

Prosciutto, Brie and Fig Panini

So, I LOVE panini's. Pair that with three of my favorite things and OMG. There really is no recipe for this except take some fig spread, prosciutto and slices of brie cheese and place them on a crusty french roll (baquette) and place in a panini maker (Or press down on hot skillet) till it's gooey. Made these for my mom and a friend and I will definitely be making these again!!

Ju[i]cy Lucy Burger

Another recipe I found on pinterest... These were pretty good, alought I like my patties thinner and with a tad more flavoring. I think next time I make them I will use less meat per ball (making 5 smaller bugers instead of 4 large burgers) and I will use some extra seasonings... maybe montreal steak seasonings and extra Worcestershire sauce. I will also top mine with freshly diced jalapenos:)  The hubby and kids really liked them so I'll make them again like this. We served with baked beans, sauteed onions for topping the burger, and sweet potato fries. 


Here is the link of where the recipe came from. They have great step by step pictures of assembling the burgers to look at. 


Ingredients (makes 4 LARGE burgers) (1/2 burger was enough for the kids when served with sides.)

• 2 pounds Ground Beef (80% preferred), chilled
• 3 oz Frozen Spinach, frozen and crumbled
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 4 oz. Cheese (American or Fontina, or whatever you like), cut to roughly 1″ squares.
• Kosher Salt
• Ground Black Pepper
• Your favorite burger toppings
• 1 onion (sweet or red) Saute in a little butter on the stove top  (optional)

1. Preheat grill to high

2. Thoroughly combine beef, spinach, Worcestershire, salt and pepper. If the meat starts to warm up (from your hands) put it back in the fridge, you need to keep it chilled. Measure out 4 oz balls of beef mixture.

3. Roll into a ball then flatten into a thin patty on top of wax paper, about 1/4″ high and roughly 5″ in diameter. On half of the patties place 1 oz of cheese.

4. On to each cheese-topped patty, flip a second patty to cover the cheese. Pinch the edges together forming a swell in the middle. Re-cover with wax paper and refrigerate at least 10 minutes.

5. Grill chilled patties five minutes on first side, then flip, grill another two minutes. Serve on your favorite bun with sauteed onions and your favorite fixings (I used ketchup, mustard, sauteed onion and pickles.)

This was 4 oz of meat, flattened out  

Top with cheese

Top with another flattened 4 oz patty

Grill. Make sure you wait till edges start cooking through before you flip so they don't fall apart. For some reason I had a bit extra meat so I made a single smaller patty with no cheese in the middle as well. 

Had to add a Blue Moon so I could add an orange and make this a well rounded meal:)

Served with ketchup, mustard, sauteed onions and pickles on a bun. Sweet potato fries and baked beans on the side.

Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches

These were incredible and the best part was, it was super easy to make and not a ton of ingredients! I found this recipe on Pinterest... here is the blog that the recipe came from. This will definitely be a staple in my house hold. The whole family loved it. We served these on crusty french rolls with provolone cheese along side a bowl of some of the juice ("au jus") and mash potatoes and sauteed green beans.

Ingredients:
*Aprox 3lb beef chuck roast
*16 oz beef broth (1 1/2 cans)  (I only used one can)
*1 can Campbell's condensed French Onion Soup
*6 oz red wine- (I used a pinot noir (from a $9 bottle. I drank the rest with dinner:) )
*1 tsp garlic powder
*salt and pepper, to taste
*onion- thinly sliced into rings (this wasn't in original recipe... I added it because i love the onions on my sandwich. I put a ton on mine and my husband and daughter ate theirs without the onions.)
*4-6 French Rolls
*sliced provolone cheese, optional (Optional?? This makes it!!)

1. Trim most of the fat off the roast. Season beef all over with salt and pepper. Pour the beef broth, french onion soup, wine and garlic powder into the slow cooker and place beef roast into liquid.

2. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. (I just put my slow cooker on the 6 hour setting, which for my cooker it's a medium/high heat). I added the thin sliced onions to the slow cooker when there was about 2 hours left to cook.

3. Take beef out and let it rest, covered with aluminum foil, for 15 minutes. Slice beef as thin as possible (I used an electric knife). Return beef to slow cooker and cook on your lowest setting for another 20-30 minutes.

4. Lightly toast the bread and evenly distribute cheese between rolls. Divide beef onto rolls. Spoon the beef juice into bowls and serve while hot. Serve each sandwich with it's own bowl of "au jus".

Cook Roast for 6-8 hours

Remove and cover with tin foil and let rest for 15 minutes

Slice as thin as you can... I used an electric knife that helped shave it thinner than I could have with a knife

Place sliced meat back into slow cooker and turn it to the lowest setting. Cook another 20-30 minutes.

I toasted the buns in the toaster oven and then put cheese slice on both top and bottom. Place your meat (and onions if you wish) on bun. 

Serve with a bowl of au jus

Don't forget to dip each bite!!

Chicken Parm Burgers

This recipe was inspired by deals at my grocery store:) They had an awesome deal on Chicken Patties so I bought a few packs. I'd never made chicken burgers before and I didn't want to make a normal burger... it sounded too boring and dry. We love chicken parmesan so I decided to make a chicken parmesan burger (healthier than the real thing since it's not breaded or fried too!!) They turned out really good and we all gobbled them right up! I will definitely be making these again!

*4 Chicken Patties (Foster Farms sells them- 4 to a package)
*4 Buns (I bought a four pack of Sweet Hawaiian Buns... YUM!!!)
*1 Cup of your favorite Marinara Sauce (We like Prego Traditional- Heart Healthy)
*4 oz Fresh Mozzarella Ball- Cut into 4 slices (I had an 8 oz ball and used half)
*Italian Seasonings
*Nature Seasonings (or salt and pepper)
*8 FRESH basil leaves (optional- we used them because I grow it in my garden. Kids went without)

1) Defrost the patties overnight in the fridge.
2) Season both sides of patties with seasonings and preheat grill
3) Grill patties until done (time varies)
4) During last minute or two on grill- add the cheese slice to each burger. Once cheese is melted, remove from grill.
5) Place each chicken burger on bun. Top with sauce and 2 basil leaves each (if you are using basil). You can also have extra sauce on the side for dipping (My husband is a dipper!)

We served with a side salad and some fresh fruit.

Season both sides of patties

Add caption

Cut cheese slices into aprox 1/2 inch slices

take off grill after cheese is melted and chicken is cooked through

place on bun and add your sauce.

PB and Banana Pizza

I found this idea on the Cafe Moms website under the topic, "Lunch ideas to banish brown-bag blues." Another mom says she makes these and puts them in a thermos or wraps in in foil. She also packs a side cup of maple syrup or honey for dipping. I thought it sounded good, we had everything in the house I needed for it, and my kids needed something new for lunch today instead of the same ol' same ol'...
I think these would be great served for breakfast too!!

To make one pizza (8 small slices)

* 2 whole grain tortillas (I used MISSION brand Artisan Style Tortillas- Ancient Grains flavor (Made with 5 different Ancient Whole Grains... delicious blend of whole grain wheat, amaranth, millet, quinoa, sorghum and teff)
* 2 T PB (My family's favorite is Jiff Creamy)
* 1/2 banana- cut into thin slices
* 2 tsp spreadable butter
* 2 T honey or maple syrup (optional... it was great with or without! But who doesn't love to dip!?)

Spread 1T of Peanut Butter on each tortilla. Slice the banana and place slices scattered around on one of the tortillas (as shown below). Put tortillas together and spread 1 tsp of butter on the outside of each tortilla.

Heat up a skillet to medium heat on the stove top. Once hot, place tortilla pizza on skillet and cook for about 3-4 minutes per side. Take off and use a pizza cutter to cut into 8 pieces.

Dip if desired or just eat plain!!

ENJOY! Your kids will love them... and so will you!!

PB on each tortilla with the banana slices

spread butter on outside of tortillas 

Cut into 8 'slices'

This pizza didn't stand a chance in my household... especially when allowed to dip in syrup!!

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuits

This isn't really a recipe, just a simple, easy breakfast idea. In my house, we like eggs different ways. I like mine over medium and the kids like theirs scrambled and the hubby likes his scrambled well. I found that using a cupcake pan to make the eggs in works really well. First of all, they come out the size of your biscuit and second I can do some eggs scrambled and some over medium! (Just make sure you use cooking spray or butter to grease your pan well first or clean up will NOT be fun!)

*Pillsbury Grand Buttermilk Biscuits
*Eggs
*Salt/pepper
*A little milk
*Bacon (Made in skillet, microwave or oven- done to your liking... extra crispy for my household!)
*Cheese

*Make biscuits as per directions on can.

*Make bacon

*Eggs- for over easy (medium or hard), just crack egg into a cupcake pan. For scrambled- I scramble eggs, milk and seasoning in a bowl and fill cupcake pan till 3/4 full. Bake until done at 350. Flip half way. Cooking times will very depending on how done you like your eggs. Typically around 10 minutes.

*When biscuits are done, cut open and place cheese slice on bottom half. Top with egg and bacon. Place top half of biscuit on top and enjoy!

Optional- Top your breakfast sandwich with avocado, fresh sliced tomato or even some sauteed spinach!

after 3 minutes of cooking. I typically flip after 6 minutes. 

Chicken Parm Meatball Subs- By Rachael Ray

I came across this recipe and it looked delicious! It had 5 stars and tons of reviews so I decided to make it. We LOVED it!! It's one of my husbands new favorite dinners now! Thank you Rachael Ray!! The only thing I did different than her recipe was to add half the chicken stock that it calls for since reviews have said this makes the sauce better.  Click here to go to Rachaels site. For some reason this recipe is too long so scroll down for more directions and pictures.

Ingredients

• *1 1/2 pounds ground chicken 
• *1 tablespoon grill seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)
• *1 large egg
• *1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• *1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs (I only had plain on hand so I added italian seasonings to them)
• *Handful of chopped fresh parsley leaves
• *Extra-virgin olive oil, for liberal drizzling plus, plus 3 tablespoons, 3 turns of the pan
• *2 large cloves garlic, cracked from skin and split
• *1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, a healthy couple of pinches
• *1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, (recommended: San Marzano) (I couldn't find San Marzano style in the crushed so i got San Marzano whole tomatoes and took a smasher and crushed them myself)
• *1 cup chicken stock (I used 4 oz)
• *Salt
• *Pepper
• *8 to 10 leaves fresh basil, torn or shredded
• *4 (6 to 8-inch) crusty sub rolls
• *1 1/2 cups shredded provolone

• Directions

  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

  Place chicken in a bowl and season with grill seasoning. Add egg, half of the grated cheese, bread crumbs, parsley, and a serious drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil to the bowl. Mix the meat and form 12 large meatballs. Squish the balls to flatten them a bit like mini oval meatloaves. Be careful not to form the balls wider than your bread. The flattened balls will stay put on your sub, no roll-aways! Bake the meatballs 15 minutes until golden and firm. Switch the broiler on.

  While the meatballs bake, heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and garlic and cook 5 minutes then remove the cloves. Add crushed red pepper flakes then tomatoes and stir in the chicken stock. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and simmer 10 minutes, adjust seasonings and stir in the basil. Reserve a extra sauce for dipping on dinner table.

  Remove the meat from oven and loosen with a thin spatula. Turn meat balls in sauce.

  Cut sub rolls making the bottom a little deeper than the top. Hollow out a little bread and lightly toast the sub rolls under broiler. Fill the bottoms of the breads with flattened balls and sauce. Combine the provolone and remaining Parmigiano. Cover the subs with cheese and return to broiler to melt the cheese until golden.
  
  
  

  

  
  
  

  

  
  
  

  

  (I made double the recipe, therefor making more meatballs than 12)

  
  
  

  

  saute garlic in olive oil. Then remove cloves before adding red pepper flakes,tomatoes and chicken stock.

  
  
  

  

  Simmer sauce and then add fresh basil

  
  
  

  

  After meatballs are done cooking, I simmered in sauce another 5 minutes and I added some extra shredded cheese directly to the pan.

  
  
  

  

  cut rolls, take a little of the bread out of the bottoms.

  
  
  

  

  place meatballs on bottom and cheese on tops. Put under broiler till cheese is melted and bun is toasted.

  
  
  

  

  serve with extra sauce on side for dipping

  
  
  

  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  We served this with artichokes as a side. Would also be good with pasta, side salad or spaghetti squash!