Mama Kolz's Summer Breakfast Scramble

The zucchini in the garden are loving our weather. And I'm loving the zucchini. Here's what our children had for breakfast this morning. Feel free to substitute things you may have in your pantry, garden or refrigerator for what I listed. This is your scramble! I can make it Trim, Healthy, Mama friendly, and add bread and jam for my children who are not eating on a diet plan. This would be an S meal on the Trim Healthy Mama plan.

My favorite chickens lay colored eggs. If you don't live near farms -- check your farmers market for the healthiest eggs you can find. Our farmer friend has silly, cheerful chickens who are let out of their pen each morning (where they are safe from Mama Foxes feeding their young kits) to peck at grass and weed seeds and bugs and fruit and watermelon rinds and all the trimmings from the farm wife's vegetables. They look a lot like bowl of eggs.

I use a huge skillet, probably 14 inches across. I add some butter or coconut oil, about a tablespoon, and let it melt on low while I'm chopping a large zucchini into very small dices. I pretend I'm a chef on TV, and I use my bright orange handled Rachael Ray knives that Farmboy bought me for my birthday a few years ago. It's great fun to be me sometimes! In fact, I had so much fun with the basic set, that my husband then bought me this for Christmas - Cool but affordable Japanese Santoku chef knife.



But I digress. After I toss the zucchini into the hot oil or butter, I finely dice a red or white super sweet onion. We grow the candy sweet variety, but do the best you can with the local sweet onions -- the sweeter they are -- the better breakfast tastes. Put 1/2 of the onion into a zipper bag or a storage container an keep it in the refrigerator for another day or the freezer if you're not cooking again soon and toss the second half into the zucchini. Soften and allow the veggies to turn a little golden, and then add in 1/2 cup of diced ham, or a chopped tin of SPAM, TREET, or other canned brand of luncheon meat. I've also used leftover meat from dinner, chopped sausage, or even bologna, salami, etc.  You want about 1/2 cup for flavor. If your meat isn't very flavorful, then a teaspoon of mince garlic is very nice to add. Sprinkle the veggies with some garlic salt or sea salt, and toss it about in the pan, then put the lid on for a moment while you crack open 8 large eggs into a bowl, whisk until smooth, and then pour over your cooked meat and veggies. Stir gently, turn the heat to low, and gently fold inward until the scrambled eggs are done to your likeness. I put the lid on before I think they're finished cooking, and turn off the heat, and get the breakfast plates ready. When I return the eggs are perfect. Scoop into 4-6 portions and serve your family with a smile. I love to top our Summer Scramble with a hearty shredding of Romano cheese made from our goat milk, but a bit of a parmesan cheese wedge, cut off with a fruit peeler into a few curls, makes this very special!

1 T butter or coconut oil
1 large zucchini, small dice
1/2 sweet onion, small dice
8 large free range eggs, whisked
1/2 cup cooked meat of your choice:  sausage, salami, Treet, Spam, Ham, or leftover meats
3 good shakes of Real Salt
Garlic salt to taste

Optional: Curls of Parmesan or Romano cheese for garnish

Melt oil of your choice in a large skillet 10-14 inches diameter. On medium high add zucchini and onion and soften the veggies, then add cooked meat and heat through. Pour in whisked eggs, turn the heat to low,  stir to the center gently when curds form, and right before they look finished and dry enough, turn off the heat and put the lid on. Serves 4-6 depending on how large your zucchini may be.  Excellent served with toast with Dutch Apple Pie Jam. That recipe will follow.


Today the children ate theirs with 3 cherry tomatoes from the garden on the side, and their scramble made with Spam, zucchini, red candy sweet onion, alongside a slice of bread with butter and homemade Dutch Apple Pie Jam. It's a good meal, any time of the day! Enjoy summer while you can.

Greek Meatball Gyros with Tzatziki Greek Yogurt Cucumber Sauce)

Greek style MEATBALLS -- Trim Healthy Mama (THM)

2 pounds of lean ground meat, beef, pork, turkey , venison -- whatever you have on hand
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
salt
pepper
fresh grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon oregano leaves
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
2 eggs
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Add dry oats, salt, pepper and spices to your Vitamix or Blendtec and pulse 1-2 times. That makes an oat binding flour, seasoned, of course. Add onion, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, and blend again until you have a smooth mixture with no chunks. Now add meat and just pulse quickly to incorporate meat, but don't overblend. 

Place it all into a bowl and mix by hand to make sure it's all evenly incorporated . Don't worry if it looks mushy or runny, it just needs to lay about in the refrigerator for an hour or 30 minutes in the freezer (but don't forget it for much longer or ICE!) Preheat your oven now to 375*.

Use a click release small diameter icecream or portioning scoop and form iquickly nto 1 inch diameter meatballs or use a teaspoon and it goes slower.

Put them on an oiled cookie sheet, not touching. bake for 20ish minutes, at 375*. Cut one in half to be sure it's cooked through, as your cooking time will vary with density of your meatball and choice of meat. If you prefer, you can make this into 20 flatter patties, and use them to make a Gyro sandwich. This makes about 60 meatbals..

These can be Meatball sandwiches, spaghetti and meatballs, or my personal favorite:  Gyro style sandwich: Greek meatballs in a wrap, with lettuce, tomatoes, a little red onion, and topped with Tzatziki sauce. Use a THM plan approved wrap, like half a Joseph's Lavish, or a Low carb whole wheat Mission wrap, or a Joseph's pita, and it's delicious.

If you don't have lettuce or cucumbers, you can drizzle some garlicky greek yogurt, add grilled onions and peppers, chop up some cilantro like this photo. But I do highly recommend the Tzatziki sauce.. you'll love it. PS your kids can eat pitas, and stuff this in regular ones, but do stick with the Joseph's low carb pitas for slimming!

Tzatziki Sauce (Greek yogurt and 

cucumber sauce or salad or dip)

2 Cups thick Nonfat Greek Plain Yogurt
Take a pita or wrap, smear with some of this lovely thick dip, and then add some meatballs (room temperature is fine too) some tomato wedges, some lettuce and onion, and fold in half and enjoy!

2 cups of small dice peel-on cucumbers (prepare by sprinkling with 2 tsp. salt, and put over a colander to drain out extra water, and top with a heavy plate topped with a can of food to weight it down for 30 minutes)
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 finely minced or crushed garlic clove (or 1/2 tsp. powdered dry garlic)
Juice of 1/2 a lemon (1.5 Tablespoons from a jar may be subbed)
1 tablespoon of fresh chopped dill weed, or 1 Tablespoon of chopped fresh mint, or use a pinch of crushed rosemary plus a pinch of dried basil plus a pinch of dried dill weed if you don't have the fresh herbs.
 Drain the salted cucumbers, and sprinkle with the herbs you chose, and the garlic. drizzle the lemon juice over the top, and then gently fold in the yogurt. Cover and chill in refrigerator. After it has chilled, stir again and taste the sauce to see if it needs more salt and pepper. Some people use up to 3 cloves of garlic which can make this very spicy. This version is milder, but suit your own taste.

Trim Healthy Mama- Swimming Rama Chicken in Peanut Sauce

Don't be daunted by the seeming length of this recipe it's 20 minutes prep, 20 minutes of cooking the dish, and some of that can be made ahead. If you like, skip down to the peanut sauce portion, make it ahead, and store it for a couple of days in the refrigerator, then heat it back up after you've browned some chicken strips and steamed some vegetables.That's a good piano lessons or soccer practice night speedy dinner, if you ask me. Brown rice or quinoa can always be cooked ahead in chicken broth and reheated in the microwave as a side dish for growing bodies or those who need extra calories.

Peanut sauce is hearty and filling and It's quite versatile. At our house it  works nice as a dipping sauce for chicken strips on a stick, or poured over a bowl of stir fried veggies and scrambled egg strips. 

The ingredient you may not have in your cupboard is available in most Asian sections of your supermarkets, labeled fish sauce. Its salty and pungent, and made of anchovies, but it flavors the peanut sauce deftly, and substitutes fall short. I'll put up a salad dressing for steak salad, that you will use more fish sauce in, so you won't feel like you're doing a one time purchase. I predict your family will ask for this one again and again.

Thai Swimming Rama chicken with cabbage and spinach

Feeds my family of 8 (3 teens, 2 parents, 3 littles)

2 (10 ounce) packages fresh spinach or 1 family size  fresh spinach (this is about 10-12 cups raw leaves but makes only 1.5 cups cooked and packed)

1 medium head (about 2 lbs) of thinly sliced but not shredded cabbage. Think egg noodle width, not coleslaw. You may use green, napa, bok choy, savoy, red cabbage, or whatever you prefer, but you'll need at least 5 cups of sliced cabbage.

During gardening season I will slice up a couple of red sweet bell peppers (capsicum), or shave thinly a few carrots, for extra color and variety

Or you may substitute thinly sliced broccoli or brussel sprouts, or cauliflower for a part of the six cups of sliced veggies to go with the 10 cups of spinach. 

3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, sliced crosswise into 1/2 inch wide strips 

Peanut Sauce
2 T coconut oil, refined is fine (divided for 3 uses)

1 cup onion, finely chopped

6 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup peanut butter, unsugared
4 Tablespoons fish sauce (yes, you need this!)
2 teaspoon paprika, I like the smoky style
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups coconut milk, unsweetened (or if nut allergic use chicken broth)

4T Truvia sweetner or Xylitol as desired (or micro-sprinkles of stevia to taste to equal this) (You will be adding lime later, so sweeten up!)


1teaspoon or so of gluccomannon or xanthan gum to thicken


2 squeezed limes  or ~1/4 cup lime juice

Directions:
Toss chicken strips with salt and pepper (start with 2 tsp. salt & 1/2 tsp pepper) and with 1 teaspoon smoked paprika. Set aside while you heat the oil over medium high heat in a large dutch oven or very large skillet or wok.

Heat 2 teaspoons of coconut oil until it's glistening and pan is hot, then toss in half the sliced chicken, and cook until browned on edges but not necessarily cooked through. You will cook more in the end. Set aside in a bowl and add 2 tsp. more coconut oil into the hot skillet and toss in the remaining half of the raw chicken. Cook until browned, and nearly done. Add to the bowl of the browned but raw chicken.

To the hot skillet you cooked the chicken in, please add the remaining 2 teaspoons of coconut oil. Drop in the finely diced onions and mince the garlic into it, taking care not to burn the garlic. Cook and stir occasionally, 2 minutes until the onion is tender, reducing heat at the end to medium. 

Now add your 1 cup of peanut butter to the onions and stir in fish sauce, sweetener to the equivalent of 4T of sweetness, and gently stir in the coconut milk, and add one more teaspoon of paprika, and a pinch of red pepper flakes or cayenne to taste. My children prefer tiny bits of cayenne, here. Get your whisk ready, and sprinkle one teaspoon of gluc or xanthan gum  over the top of the peanut sauce and whisk whisk whisk until completely smooth.

Now add your mostly, but not completely cooked chicken, to the hot peanut sauce. Let simmer, covered, on low, for the 5-8 minutes as you prepare the vegetables. 

Heat on medium high heat a large wok or frying pan with a lid. Toss in 1/4 cup of hot water, wait for it to boil, then add the sliced head of cabbage and pour on 1/4 cup of water and several good shakes of real salt. Stir a quick bit, then top with the lid. Let steam on med-hi for 5 minutes, adding 1/4 cup hot tap water at the 2 minute mark if needed to keep steam. Check for tenderness at the 5 minute mark, and add the spinach leaves, push down, cover again, and let the spinach wilt for 2 more minutes. 

Swimming Rama Chicken in Peanut Sauce

Give spinach and cabbage strips a quick toss with tongs to mix them up a bit, Taste to see if you need salt and pepper, and distribute the mixture to a large platter, making a nest to put the Chicken and peanut sauce upon.
Taste your long simmered peanut sauce and chicken. Does it need more salt? Pepper? Cayenne? Now pour in the 1/4 cup fresh lime juice, give it a stir, and taste it again. Does it need another tablespoon of sweetener to balance out the sauce? It should have a balance of salt, acid, sweet, and a little hint or more of spice. If it's just right, then ladle your chicken and sauce right onto your nest of cabbage and spinach.



Optional Garnishes: If you like,  this is where you may garnish it with 1 cup of chopped peanuts, 1 finely slivered skinny red hot pepper, or cilantro-coriander leaves, a handful of raw mung bean sprouts, or all four.

Serve with 1/2 cup of broth-cooked quinoa or brown rice as S helpers, because this is definitely an S meal. Or just enjoy it on your veggies and call it delicious, because it is!

Winter Pumpkin Stew with Sausage - THM

THM - Sausage and Pumpkin Winter Stew

This delicious winter stew has a combination of flavors that work so well together that you'll wonder why you didn't grow up with this for dinner every Thursday night during the winter. The second time you make this (and there will be!! ) you might want to double the batch and freeze some for a quick dinner night.

Don't be afraid of the unusual, they may turn out to be your favorites. I bought a bag of radishes on the advice of a friend and was timid about making them for my family. We always ate them cold and raw growing up, but this recipe, like several other new ones I've tried, cooks them until tender and gently flavored, like a potato. Really!! My children now love them, and come back for more. Toss some in your next pot roast and you'll see what I mean. Low in carbs, and satisfyingly delicious.

Your choice of 1 (12 ounce) roll pork or turkey sausage (try Italian or breakfast or maple flavored sausage) OR

1 pound of venison or other lean bulk sausage (turkey, chicken, wild game meat) of your choice

1 diced onion2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. basil leaf, dried1 tsp. sage or poultry seasoning
2 cups fresh mushrooms, chopped2 cups zucchini or yellow summer squash, small diced OR
2 cups of diced pink radishes

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin OR
1-3/4 cups of winter squash or pumpkin puree **

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup heavy cream or thick coconut milk
1/2 cup water if necessary1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg


Directions: 
Brown sausage, drain, then add the onion, garlic, basil, mushrooms, zucchini, and and sauté until tender. Try the radishes at this point -- see, yummy and not bitter at all!!
 
Add pumpkin to this mixture and mix well.
 
Then stir in the broth and mix well. If necessary add 1/2 cup of water to thin to the consistency you prefer. Add more water as necessary.
 
Simmer 20-30 minutes. Right before serving, add the nutmeg, then stir in 1/2 cup of cream of your choice. Top with a splash of hot sauce in the servings of those who crave the heat.
Makes 6 hearty servings of delicious winter superfood.** (Bake a squash or pumpkin, scoop out the flesh, puree until smooth with a stick blender or in a blender container, then measure 1-3/4 cups). Use the rest to make pumpkin pie smoothies or puddings or muffins.

Trim Healthy Mama would count this as S for satisfying. 

www.trimhealthymama.com sells the book that inspired me and my weight loss. As mothers of large families, they knew how to keep a real budget and feed the family as well as inspire them all to be healthy.

Trim Healthy Mama - Asian Lettuce Cups

Quick Asian Lettuce Cups - Trim Healthy Mama

This can be put together quickly with ground meat, store bought shredded carrots, prepackaged coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage), or your food processor. A quick toss of raw peeled cubes of butter nut squash into the food processor will have this ready in no time! Then a quick stir fry, and you're ready to eat. Fabulous flavor, fiber, and figure friendly fun!

1 pound ground meat --use lean ground pork, chicken breast, turkey, grass fed beef, venison or other lean meat
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped green onion or scallion
2 small cloves garlic, pressed or minced
3 Tbsp. tamari or soy sauce
1 Tbsp. water
2 tsp. truvia sweetner, or sprinkles of pure stevia extract

1 T coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil for sauteeing
2 cups cabbage, shredded (1/2 small head or use pkg'ed preshredded)
1 Tbsp. of water
2 cups shredded peeled butternut squash or other raw winter squash or carrots (3 large raw) - not low carb

Iceberg lettuce, Romain Lettuce, or Other lettuce to make cups or wraps. Butter lettuce makes easy little cups too.

Directions:

Combine the ground meat, green onions, water, soy sauce,  sweetener, pepper, garlic, and water.  Marinate for 1/2 hour or add 1/4 tsp. meat tenderizer (unseasoned) and wait 5 minutes. 

Add oil to pan, heat.  Stir in meat mixture. Cook until meat loses its pinkness, but not quite done.  Remove from pan. 

Sauté vegetables in a small amount of oil for 2 minutes, then add the water, and cover and cook for 2 more minutes. Taste a shred of squash to see that it's crisp-tender (al dente).   Add meat and heat through to finish cooking.  Cayenne pepper, hot curry powder mix or red chili peppers may be added to make it spicy for the adventurous eater. Serve piled into crisp lettuce cups, or serve with crisp leaves of lettuce for diners to roll up their own like a soft taco. Quinoa or brown rice cooked in broth is nice served alongside.  This is excellent with a Quick cucumber salad. Recipe included below.

Quick Cucumber Salad.

Peel a large cucumber or leave zucchini unpeeled, slice into matchsticks or rectangles, and set aside. In small bowl, stir 2T truvia into 2 T. of vinegar of your choice. Add 1 tsp. real salt or celtic salt. Stir until crystals all dissolve, add 1/4 tsp. powdered ginger, and pinch of turmeric. Stir well, and toss with match stick cucumbers. Match cut Radishes may be added if desired.  If desired a sprinkle of cayenne powder may be added to the dressing. This can be eaten right away.
The book that inspires me is by Serene Allison and Pearl Barrett. Trim Healthy Mama: No More Fads!: A Common Sense Guide to Satisfy Your Cravings and Energize Your Life (Kindle Locations 8923-8938). Above Rubies.  www.trimhealthymama.com

Trim, Healthy, Mama Harvest Treats - Pumpkin Cheesecakes

 Pumpkin Cheesecake Tarts - Trim, Healthy Mama  S 

Harvest Treats

CRUST for the tarts
3/4 cup almond meal, almond flour, or home ground almonds
1.5 T melted butter or coconut oil
1.5 T  Truvia sweetener
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp allspice

FILLING:

• 1 pkg. (8 oz.) Greek yogurt style cream cheese or Neufchatel cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup  canned 100% Pure Pumpkin or cooked butternut, or other winter squash from your garden
• 1/2 cup granulated Truvia plus a few sprinkles of pure stevia extract powder (I use Trader Joe's) -- to taste1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or use  1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. ginger, 1/8 tsp. allspice, pinch of nutmeg)
• 2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt, plain, unsweetened, mixed with 1 tsp. Truvia
• 1/4 cup Sugar Free Hershey's Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, melted with 1 tsp. coconut oil or butter

PREHEAT oven to 325*. Line a 12 hole muffin pan with paper or aluminum foil liners.

COMBINE almond meal, spices, sweetener and butter in small bowl. Press scant tablespoon onto bottom of each of prepared muffin cups. Bake for 5 minutes.

BEAT cream cheese, pumpkin, sweetener, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until blended. Add eggs; beat well. Pour into muffin cups, filling 3/4 full.

BAKE for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack. Remove tarts from pan; refrigerate. Right before serving garnish the tarts with sweetened yogurt, and a drizzle of melted sugar free chocolate chips.

 Place morsels in small, heavy-duty plastic bag. Microwave on HIGH (100%) power for 20 seconds; knead. Microwave at additional 10-second intervals, kneading until smooth. Cut tiny corner from bag; squeeze to drizzle over tarts.

 The following recipe was adjusted to make it low carb and Trim, Healthy, Mama -- friendly. You can learn more or order the book for your family at www.trimhealthymama.com or see their page on Facebook.

http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/28492/pumpkin-cheesecake-tarts/detail.aspx?cmp=FB_recipe_10-07-13

Trim Healthy Mama - Kolz Garden Pizza Casserole

Kolz Garden Pizza Casserole (made with Venison or Grassfed Beef)

I used the inspiration from www.trimhealthymama.com 's "Pizza Casserole" which is an "S" in their diet plan. S for satisfying, yet trimming.


Brown 2 lbs. of venison or grass fed beef (which should be lean and have nothing to drain off, if not, then drain please). Add some garlic salt to taste, and a good pinch of celtic or REAL salt with minerals. Spread 1/2 of this meat as a layer of ground, cooked meat in the bottom of a large casserole dish (13x9 works for me).  Top with a thin layer of no-added-sugar Pizza or Pasta sauce that you prefer. You can even use alfredo sauce here, if you like, and add a little extra garlic -- that's my favorite.

Now sprinkle the whole lot of it with dried basil, oregano, and some garlic powder.

In the same skillet saute 2 onions***, a finely diced green pepper, a zucchini (shred or finely dice), until onions are clear, softened and veggies are nearly tender. It will cook more in the oven. You may add mushrooms if your family likes them too!


Sprinkle the cooked veggies on top of the sauce. Now add chopped olives if you like, sprinkle lightly with shredded mozzarella or farmer cheese. Top with turkey pepperoni now.

Use the rest of the ground meat for the next layer, and add a thin layer of your sauce again. Top the sauce with a thin layer of mozzarella cheese again, and sprinkle with more pepperoni scattered on top. Or diced bacon. It's your call. Bake at 400*  for 20-30 minutes, to heat all the way through, which should crisp your topping and warm up all the cooked veggies.

If you find your oven on the fritz, you can cook on the stove top, and then assemble into your crockpot, and leave it on low until you're ready to eat, which will melt the cheese!

You may include a layer of cooked spaghetti squash on top of the hamburger, to make this recipe even more hearty and filling. Just leave out the zucchini in that variation. I think your family will really like it.

****For speedy prep, just put a de-seeded bell pepper, 2 peeled onion, and zucchini into the food processor and bzzt until it's shredded up, and fry them in olive oil until tender, and you're almost done with this recipe.

Consider some of these combos:  Chicken and onions and peppers and alfredo sauce with spaghetti squash; beef and sausage and peppers and onions with marinara sauce and zucchini; beef and garlic and green chiles and cumin and green salsa instead of pasta sauce, topped with chorizo instead of pepperoni.







The book that inspires me is by Serene Allison and Pearl Barrett. Trim Healthy Mama: No More Fads!: A Common Sense Guide to Satisfy Your Cravings and Energize Your Life (Kindle Locations 8923-8938). Above Rubies.  www.trimhealthymama.com

Trim Healthy Mama - Swiss Chard Pockets with sausage and turkey

My camera is out of commission, so this is not my photo, but our stuffed swiss chard pockets looked eerily similar. Just picture the toddler helped me pour the spaghetti sauce over the top in our 13 x9 casserole pan. Thank you.

Swiss chard cooks tender rather quickly, so it doesn't require the long cooking that cabbage rolls would. My family likes sausage so that's a natural marriage in our household, to include sausage and ground turkey as a filling for swiss chard pockets.

Ingredients:
16 swiss chard leaves (large)
1 large sweet onion, chopped small
1 pound turkey or venison sausage (breakfast or Italian style)
1 pound ground turkey, plain
1 quart of marinara or spaghetti sauce, no sugar added please
1 8 oz. can Hunt's tomato sauce (this is natural, no sugar added)
2 tsp. oregano leaf, dried or few tablespoons chopped fresh leaves

Preheat oven to 375* F, or Gas mark 5 for my European friends.

Wash and dry the swiss chard leaves, and cut the large celery like stems off, and mince the stems and set them aside.

Saute' in a non-stick pan your sausage and ground turkey meat, the onion, the chopped chard stems, then season it all with garlic salt or minced garlic and celtic salt. When meat is cooked through, add canned tomato sauce and oregano, and stir to combine. Taste to be sure it's well-seasoned.  Cook a little longer to dry the mixture up a bit, so it's not too loose. Divide the meat mixture into 16 servings, roughly, so that you can fill each leaf.

Use cooking spray to coat 13x9 or similar baking pan. On a large cutting board or dinner plate lay out the raw swiss chard leaf, and spoon a narrow allotment of sausage mix into the leaf, fold or roll, seam side down and lay it into your pan. The food police do not live at your house, so just get them stuffed and folded and filled. Repeat 15 times, then sprinkle the rolls with a little salt and pepper, cover the pan of rolls with the quart of spaghetti sauce, wrap tightly with aluminum foil or other lid, and bake in oven for 1 hour until rolls are fall apart tender.

This dish has enough sauce that you'll be pondering serving it over mashed potatoes for those with high metabolisms, or faux-tatoes (creamed mashed cauliflower) for the rest of us, or even 3/4 cup of steamed quinoa. It's very good any of those ways. You can have this delicious dinner guilt free, and even top it with parmesan cheese if you like.

This is low fat, and has a reasonably small amount of carbohydrates, which would be an E food for the THM plan.

Buffalo Chicken and Veggie Bake (Trim Healthy Mama)

My friend Dianna, mother of one of the cutest redhaired child I know besides my own, was preparing the dish that inspired this "Trim, Healthy, Mama" re-make of The Loaded Potato  and Chicken bake. When I entered her home I said what smells so good? I looked at the recipe and said Seriously -- that sounds delish.

I'm trying to keep normal blood sugars and lose a few pounds so I made some carbohydrate reducing choices, and I think you'll find them delicious!

Living not far from Buffalo, NY at times, I insist that authenticity requires diced celery to mimic the traditional accompaniment to wings served in that fair city. It's baked with the chicken to give an interesting but not overwhelming note to the dish. In further interest of authenticity, you might want a  little blue cheese crumbled over the dish, on your plate.

Buffalo Inspired Chicken and Veggie Bake

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or boneless thigh meat, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 (16 oz pkgs) frozen cauliflower,thawed or 4 cups of chopped cauliflower florets, diced 1/2-inch.
• 1 large zucchini or other summer squash, diced into 1/2 inch cubes (about 2 cups total)
• 1/3 cup olive oil  
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 1 TBS. paprika 
• 2 TBS. garlic powder 
• 6 TBS. Franks Red hot sauce, or other tangy Louisiana style sauce or substitute milder pepper sauces 

Topping:

• 1 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded. (I cut this down from 2 cups)
• 1 c. turkey bacon, diced and fried crispy
• 1 c diced green onion
• 
  

Preheat oven to 500F for high heat roasting. In a large bowl mix together the olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika,garlic powder & hot sauce.  Add the cubed vegetables and stir to coat. Strain the  veggies with your slotted spoon into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish, leaving behind the marinade for the chicken you're going to add in a minute.

Put the chicken into the leftover marinade, and set aside for the next few minutes while you fry the turkey bacon.  Stirring every 10 minutes, bake the veggies until they're crispy & browned on the outside. It may only take 20 minutes.  While the veggies are cooking, heat a medium skillet and dice one pound of turkey bacon into small cubes. Stir regularly until crispy.

Check the oven. When veggies are brown around the edges and crispy looking, remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400F.  Top the cooked cauliflower and squash with the raw marinated chicken leaving behind any un-absorbed marinade.  Add the diced celery at this point to the chicken and give a quick stir. Discard the marinade.

Bake at 400*F for 10 minutes until chicken is nearly done, and then sprinkle the casserole with the shredded cheese, the diced turkey bacon, and the diced green onions. Return to oven for the final five minutes, which will melt the cheese and heat the toppings through. 

This is delicious served with a big green salad for the whole family, with a side of mashed or potatoes for those who need to have extra carbohydrates, and perhaps a small slice of .Trim, Healthy, Mama approved sourdough bread to sop up some of those juices. Some ranch dressing or extra hot sauce might be wanted at the table, or as the locals do, add Blue Cheese Dressing!

If you're interested in keeping your hunger at bay, feeding your whole family more healthy, and losing a few inches around your middle, this might interest you --- http://www.trimhealthymama.com/

Learn more about making gradual, reasonable changes in the way you eat and feel, here.   http://www.stacymakescents.com/change-your-life-become-a-trim-healthy-mama

Here's the original recipe: http://cooklisacook.blogspot.com/2012/03/loaded-potato-buffalo-chicken-casserole.html

Trim Healthy Mama! Cabrini Greenie Casserole

I revisited this recipe - Cabrini Greenie Casserole, after starting the Trim, Healthy, Mama Plan -- because it took just a little adaptation to be trimming and slimming and still delicious. I hope you give it a try. If you prefer, you can skip the pasta and make a side of Zucchini ribbon noodles and pour the sauce over the top rather than bake it, or you can use a Gluten Free option if your family is Gluten Intolerant, rather than following the THM plan. However you make it, I'm sure it's going to be a favorite. <3 KelliSue

I made this Greenie dinner tonight, after adapting it to my pantry and provisioning.  It is so delicious.  I'm posting the original Cabrini Spinach recipe, and then the alterations I made so you can make one or both or even your own version. I reduced the fat in this dish by cutting out one cup of cheese, switched up the frying fat to coconut oil which raises your body's ability to burn your energy, and used low fat sour cream.  Extra sharp cheese has reduced or no lactose, which gives us here a little dietary wiggle room here in using sour cream in a dish. You can substitute Greek Yogurt for 1 cup of the sour cream without affecting the flavor and you'll increase the protein. THIS is a One-Pot wonder!

KelliSue's Cabrini Greenie Casserole - with my apologies to the Junior League
1 16oz. or so box of rotini - I use Dreamfields brand rotini, (with 5 grams available carbs) cooked in well-salted water until barely tender, drained
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil
3 cups of chopped cooked swiss chard, stems finely chopped, or spinach, drained
2.5 to 3 cups of shredded extra sharp cheese or your favorite
1 diced onion
1 cup of diced mushrooms (I used foraged wild mushrooms)
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed - sprinkled with season salt
2 cups of sour cream (low fat works perfect here) or Greek Yogurt for even less fat
6 grinds of freshly ground black pepper
For those following the THM plan please grind up some On Plan bread crumbs from Joseph's lavash bread or pitas, etc.,
For those not on this plan Panko style bread crumbs work well.


In a large bowl, stir together cheese, sour cream, pepper.  Pour the not fully cooked, hot drained pasta over the top, and gently combine. Meanwhile, saute  the onion, mushrooms, and chicken in 1/2 cup of coconut oil or  When the chicken is cooked through and the onions are softened, combine with the pasta mixture and place in a 9x13" casserole dish. Top with a layer of Panko style bread crumbs, and spray with butter flavored or coconut oil spray.   Bake uncovered at 400*F for 30 minutes.  The breadcrumbs get nice and crunchy and the casserole becomes one delicious pan of cheesey melty goodness.  Makes 8-10 servings.  The original calorie count is below. I'm sure my version was improved! You can keep this vegetarian by omitting the meat. 

My family's reaction to this casserole, which goes nicely with homemade bread by the way, was "make this one again Mom".  My husband liked how delicious it was, and was happy that the chard came from the garden.  As for me - I like one dish meals.  You might want to put in 1 lb. kielbasa, cut into coins, instead of the chicken breast, or use some leftover ham cubes another time.  This wasn't an expensive dish, using garden produce, 1 box of pasta, 1 lb. leftover or planned over meat, 3 cups of shredded cheese, and a .99 pint of low fat sour cream.  I'll be blanching swiss chard and putting it in the freezer so we can enjoy this one again in the deep freeze of the winter months in Upstate New York.

KelliSue Kolz


Cabrini Spinach
Recipe From: Creme de Colorado by The Junior League of Denver


9 oz spaghetti, broken into pieces, cooked al dente and drained
1/2 cup butter, melted
20 oz frozen spinach, cooked and drained (2 boxes cut-leaf spinach)
4 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese
1/4 lb mushrooms, sliced
2 cups sour cream
1/4 cup diced onion
1 dash dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4tsp freshly ground black pepper

In a large bowl, stir together all ingredients. Place in a 9x13" casserole dish. Bake uncovered at 350oF for 45 minutes. Makes 8-10 servings.
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 461 Calories; 33g Fat (63.8% calories from fat); 18g Protein; 24g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 85mg Cholesterol; 458mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1-1/2 Grain(Starch); 1-1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 5-1/2 Fat.