Roasted Chili Garlic Asparagus – Quick, Easy and Wow!!!

Tags

low sodium, Roasted Chili Garlic Asparagus, side dish, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian

I sprained my ankle last week and it’s still hurting, so I’ve been trying to keep my meals pretty easy. I need to keep off my feet as much as possible! Last night I made chicken and mushroom risotto in my pressure cooker, yum!!! I thought this roasted asparagus recipe would be a quick and simple accompaniment to the risotto and it was a great add! The tender asparagus was bursting with flavor; fresh, garlicky with a little spice!

Chili Garlic Asparagus

2 tbsp olive oil

1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces (cut off the bottom inch or so of the stalks and discard)

1/2 tsp red chili flakes

2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In an oven safe skillet, pour in olive oil. Add asparagus and toss, so coated with oil. Sprinkle on chili flakes and garlic and toss. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. You can cook them more or less depending on the texture you like. These came out pretty soft, but not mushy.

Enjoy!

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Turkey Chili in the Pressure Cooker – A Revelation for me!!!

Tags

chili, ground turkey, low sodium, low-fat, Pressure Cooker

I’m one of those weird foodie women that loves getting kitchen equipment as gifts. My wonderful hubby bought me this 8 quart pressure cooker for Christmas this year. My son-in-law has been singing the praises of these things and I’ve been wanting one, so my wish has been granted! Last night I used it to make Turkey Chili and wow, just wow!!! My recipe wasn’t really any different that what I’ve used in my slow cooker or dutch oven on the stove, but the flavor was so much better! Every bite was full of flavor! The meat and beans were infused with the wonderful flavors of the tomato, garlic, onion and spices. It was just so delectable! That being said, I was also able to still keep the fat and salt levels to a minimum. Win! Win!

So if you’re like me an new to the pressure cooker scene, here is a great starter recipe for you! My friend, Lisa, also received one and requested some tips, so here you go my friend!

I’ve also given some choices i this recipe, so if you’re missing some ingredients you don’t have to buy new things and you can play with the spice level. While I added quit a few spicy ingredients, I found this recipe to still be on the mild to medium side.

Turkey Chili in the Pressure Cooker

Makes 4-5 servings

1 pound Extra Lean or Lean Ground Turkey

1/2 large or 1 small red onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp ground chipotle chili pepper or more chili powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (Leave out to reduce heat)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp dried oregano

14 oz can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup beef broth

14 oz can dark kidney beans, rinsed and drained

14 oz can black beans or more kidney beans, rinsed and drained

4 oz can diced green chilies

8 oz can tomato sauce

2 tbsp tomato paste (Tip: I find most recipes call for these smaller amounts, so I buy the tube of paste, not so many of the cans)

2 tbsp Frank’s Red Hot Sauce or a hot sauce of your choice (You can leave this out to reduce heat)

Optional, but yummy toppings: sour cream, diced green onions, shredded cheese

My pressure cooker has a non-stick pot, so I just sprayed it with some cooking spray to start. If your’s doesn’t have a non-stick pot you will want to coat well with oil. I then used the meat (or saute) function to cook the meat, onion and garlic until the meat was lightly browned and onion was tender. Next add all the remaining ingredients and give a stir. Close and lock your pressure cooker. Set to high and let it get fully pressurized then lower heat to low pressure and cook for 15 minutes. I then let the pressure escape naturally and then opened and served.

The whole thing took about 30 minutes and tasted better than slow cooked chili of the same recipe.

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash and Zucchini Soup – Another Low Sodium Choice

Tags

Butternut Squash, crockpot, low sodium, slow cooker, soup, vegan, vegetarian, zucchini

I’m still on my quest to make tasty, low sodium meals for my inlaws. In cooking for others, in addition to my own brood at home, I’ve found the slow cooker to be an immense help! I load it up in the morning and let it cook all day and by dinner time, I’m still up for cooking dinner for our household. Today’s meal was a delicious, hearty squash soup that would be a great autumn meal! I love the warm, fresh flavor of butternut squash and that beautiful orange color makes for stunning soups! This recipe is very low sodium. You can add some, if that’s not an issue for you, but this was pretty tasty as is. As I always like to say, play with your food! This soup is a perfect opportunity to play with your herbs and spices.

I didn’t happen to have any carrots on hand, but those would have been a great add to this soup! This recipe coud easily be adapted to be vegan friendly.

Butternut Squash and Zucchini Soup

2 zucchini, thickly sliced

1 medium butternut squash, cubed

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2 large white onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, mince or pressed

2 tsp garlic and herb Mrs. Dash

1 tsp Table Blend Mrs. Dash

2 tsp fresh thyme, removed from stems and chopped

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp cardamom 

1/4 tsp Chinese five spice

5 cups chicken or vegetable broth (I used some of my homemade chicken broth, so I know there was no salt)

1/2 cup fat free half and half

Add all ingredients except the half and half to your slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until all veggies are tender. Add half and half for the last 15 minutes of cooking time. I have an immersion blender, so I used this right in my slow cooker pot to blend this up and make it a smooth texture. You can also transfer to a blender or food processor in small batches and blend until smoot. As always, be extremely careful when transferring and blending hot liquids. Hold that lid in place, so hot liquid doesn’t explode into your face!!!

Be careful and enjoy!

15 Bean Soup – Keeping it Lean and Low Sodium

Tags

15 Bean Soup, heart healthy, low sodium, low-fat, pork, slow cooker, Slow Cooking

Lately I have taken up the challenge of cooking low sodium meals. My mother-in-law, who has congestive heart failure, just had open heart surgery. She’s not yet well enough to cook for herself, so I’ve been trying to help out. She is supposed to eat less that 2000mg of sodium a day; that’s one teaspoon!!! Eating out or even pre-made food from the store is basically out of the question if you’re going to meet this goal. Making meals that help her meet this goal has definitely been a learning experience! This 15 bean soup has been one of my favorite meals thus far. While keeping the salt level low, it still had lots of flavor, was packed with fiber, was lowfat and was also easy to make. Of course, you can always add more salt, if that is not an issue for you, but in case you are also looking for low sodium, great tasting foods I’ll give the recipe as I made it.

I wanted to add some meat to add to the heartiness of the soup. I looked to see if I could find a low sodium sausage. I was not successful! Even the sausages that said they contained “30% Less Salt”, less than what??? A salt lick??? So I kept scouring the meat section. Ham hocks? Nope! And then I found some unseasoned pork tenderloin that was cut into small pieces, like stew meat. This did the trick! If you can’t find this in your store, you could always buy a tenderloin and cut it up into bite size pieces yourself.

15 Bean Soup

1 pound unseasoned pork tenderloin, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 large onion, diced

1 20 oz bag 15 bean soup mix, found in bean section of grocery store

1/2 of seasoning packet included in bean soup mix (Even with the whole packet the sodium level in the whole recipe was only 70 mg, but I decided to only use half and add some other seasonings)

8 cups water

1 – 14.5 oz can of reduced salt diced tomatoes (luckily most tomato products come in reduced salt versions)

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic and herb Mrs. Dash

Juice of 1 lemon or 3 tbsp of bottled juice

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

Pepper to taste

Spray a frying pan with non-stick spray and brown pork over medium high heat. When almost browned add the onions and saute until tender and meat is browned. Add meat, onions and all other ingredients to a slow cooker, give a stir and cover. Cook over low heat for 8 hours.

As mentioned above, if you’re not watching your sodium some added salt would be a good add.

Enjoy!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup – An Easy, Healthy Version of a Family Staple

Tags

Carrots, Chicken Noodle Soup, healthy, low cholesterol, low sodium, low-fat, oregano

I know it’s summer, but it’s never the wrong time for a good bowl of soup! My in-laws have been having some health issues, so we’re trying to stock up their fridge and freezer with some easy, healthy meals. My father-in-law loves soup, so I figured I would make some Chicken Noodle Soup. What is more comforting than a big bowl of delicious, homemade chicken noodle soup??? My goal with this batch was to keep the sodium and cholesterol to a minimum as my mother-in-law is on a cardiac diet. That is one of the joys of cooking from scratch. You’re in control! And it is possible to keep fantastic flavor and make a healthy meal!

I used lots of herbs and fresh ingredients to give this soup plenty of flavor. Of course, if you’re not watching your sodium you can add more salt, but I found this to taste great without much.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

6 cups low sodium, fat free chicken broth

3-4 medium size carrots, finely chopped (I used my Pampered Chef chopper to get the fine chop quickly)

1/2 large white onion, finely diced (I’ve also used leeks in the past. These add a really nice subtle flavor)

1 tbsp fresh or dried oregano

1/2 tsp thyme

1 tsp tarragon

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 garlic cloves, diced or pressed

1 tsp garlic and herb Mrs. Dash

16 oz whole wheat fettuccine noodles or rotini pasta

Put all ingredients, except pasta in a slow cooker and give a gentle stir. Cook on low for 6 hours. Gently remove chicken breasts to a cutting board and use two forks to shred them, then add back to the slow cooker. Add pasta and cook an additional 15-20 minutes until pasta is cooked. This soup freezes well if you want to save it for later.

Enjoy!