On the bootcamp buddies core board they had a thread for the five favorite recipes. I couldn't help adding to it! I came up with SEVEN so far!
Here they are:
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Here are some of my favorite recipes (and I cook a lot!) (there may be more than 5 here!)
Greek Lentil Soup
1 1/2 cups dried red lentils
2 cups onion, diced
1 TBSP garlic, minced
1 TBSP fresh oregano, minced
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup lemon juice
6 cups vegetable broth
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes (or 2 cups fresh, seeded, diced & chopped)
4 cups fresh spinach, rinsed and drained, and CHOPPED
salt and pepper to taste
Soak lentils in 8 cups boiling water in large bowl. Cover and let stand 20 minutes, then drain and set aside.
Spray large pot with Pam and saute onion and garlic over medium-high heat until soft, approx. 4-5 minutes. Add oregano and bay leaf; cook 1 minute.
Deglaze pan with 1/4 cup lemon juice and reduce until nearly evaporated. Add broth and tomatoes, bring to boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf.
Stir in lentils and simmer until lentils are soft but not mushy, about 10 minutes. Add spinach and cook 1 minute to wilt; season with salt and pepper.
Makes about 7 cups.
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Stuffed Cabbage Casserole (*****)
NOTE: Grandma and I LOVED this recipe. I'll be making this again and it was soooo easy!).
1 pound of 96% ff ground sirloin
1/2 cup instant brown rice
1 can of tomato soup
1/4 cup of water
4 cups of cabbage or cole slaw mix (there are 4 cups in one bag of cole slaw mix)
1 large onion chopped
1 clove of garlic minced
salt and pepper
preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Brown the sirlion. Drain. Mix everything else into the sirloin. Pour into an ungreased casserole dish and cover. Bake for 45-60 minutes.
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Chicken and Broccoli with Penne
Chicken and Broccoli with Penne (I put in my modifications below. *****)
2 lb of boneless skinless chicken breast cut into strips
1 bag of broccoli (cut up broccoli florets that you microwave in bag)
1/3 - 1/2 box whole wheat pasta (depending on how much pasta you want to eat)
Minced garlic - add as much as you like.
A little bit of chicken broth (about 1/4 cup or less)
Olive oil
Cook pasta in a large pot as directed on box. While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil (about 2 tablespoons) and garlic in another skillet for about one minute. Add chicken and cook until browned then combine with cooked broccoli, cook for another couple of minutes. Add a little chicken broth to get the garlic off the bottom of the pan and to give it a nice flavor. I only added about 1/4 cup or less. Drain pasta and add a bit of olive oil (about 2 teaspoons). Add chicken and broccoli to pasta and stir.
I usually top with fat free mozzarella (or use veggie shreds) for a delicious Core dinner. I make this a LOT for lunch and scale down the portions.
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Pumpkin Cookies
These ROCK. The original recipe says for 1 cup of sugar but you really only need 1/2 that so I made the modifications below:
Pumpkin Cookies (and they are almost core w/ the exception of the brown sugar splenda!! Of course they are only core if eaten in moderation!). (*****)
1/4c splenda brown sugar and 1/4c reg splenda
1 egg
1c unsweetened applesauce
1tsp vanilla
2 c oat bran (I used 2 c. fast cooking oatmeal)
1tsp baking soda
1tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1tsp ground cinnoman
1/4tsp nutmeg
1c pumpkin
Preheat oven to 350, mix all together and spoon onto sprayed pan, bake 10-15min, cookies are not hard, they are moist, soft cookies. YUM!!! The original recipe spreads as they bake but this one does not but they are great!
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Briana's Teriyaki Burgers (This was modified by myself. Joe gave it 5 stars) (*****)
INGREDIENTS: (Serves 4)
1 pound ground beef (use extra-lean for less
fat)
2 tablespoons soy sauce—low sodium
A little bit of salt and liberal grinding of pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup quick cooking oats
1 egg
Worchestershire sauce
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS: Pre-heat oven or grill. Mix meat, soy sauce, salt, pepper, ginger, oats and egg. Shape ground beef into 4 nice-sized patties,
each about 1/2 inch thick. Splash worchestershire sauce on each patty. Grill patties until desired doneness.
NUTRITION per serving: 220 Calories; 14g Total Fat; Trace Dietary Fiber;
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This was the BOMB. I couldn't believe how good this was:
Core Stuffing
1 cup barley, cooked
1 coup couscous, cooked
.5 cup mushrooms, sliced
.5 cup onion, sliced
.5 cup celery, sliced
.25 cup carrots, finely minced
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
.5 teaspoon rubbed sage
salt & pepper
Cook the barley and couscous per package directions but using FF
chicken broth instead of water. Set aside to cool. Spray a hot
nonstick skillet lightly with nonstick spray and add mushrooms. When
mushrooms begin to release water, add all remaining ingredients and
saute just until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms have
started to brown. Pour this into the grain mixture and blend. Let cool
enough to handle and stuff into the bird to bake or roast. -- I baked
mine outside the bird and it was wonderful.
Instead of cooking this with the bird, we put this in the oven at 400
for 30 minutes and it cooked down really nicely.
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This in the best beef recipe. My husband requests this about every other week.
Mongolian Beef I
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (add pts very minimal spread over recipe!)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound beef round steak, cut into thin strips
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch (add pts )
- 1/2 teaspoon white sugar (use splenda)
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided (use olive oil)
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced
- 1 bunch green onions, cut into 2 inch pieces
DIRECTIONS- In a medium bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, and minced garlic. Stir in beef strips. Let stand for at least 10 minutes.
- In a separate small bowl, mix together water, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch, sugar, and red pepper flakes; set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or skillet over high heat. Cook and stir beef in hot oil for 1 minute; remove, and set aside. Heat remaining tablespoon of oil in the same pan. Saute carrots and white part of green onions for 2 minutes. Stir in green parts of the green onion, and saute for 1 minute. Stir in sauce mixture and beef. Cook and stir until sauce boils and thickens.
