Free 5 Day "Crocktober" Challenge Group

It's that time of year again!  "Crocktober" is the time of year where we want to eat warm, hardy food and we have zero time to cook because of all the fun school events and upcoming holidays :) Luckily we have you covered with a great, free challenge group created to support you during this busy time!

Team Tenacity is hosting a free five day Crock Pot challenge group starting October 10th with recipes and a shopping list.  It is a great opportunity to help your whole family to eat a little healthier in a quick and easy way.

Click here to join!

Mini Salsa Meatloaves

These mini salsa meatloaves are great to add to school lunch or for a family dinner.  You can make them ahead of time and have them ready to eat!

Mini Salsa Meatloaves

Adapted from Kraft Canada

Ingredients:

• 1-1/4 cups Mexican Cheese, divided
• 1 cup thick and chunky salsa, divided
• 1/2 lb. ground turkey
• 1/2 lb. ground pork
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onions
• 1/4 cup quinoa
• 1 egg

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400ºF. 
2. Reserve 3/4 cup cheese and 1/2 cup salsa for later use. Mix remaining cheese and salsa with remaining ingredients just until blended. 
3. Press into 12 muffin pan cups sprayed with cooking spray; place on foil-covered baking sheet. Use back of spoon to make indentation in centre of each meatloaf. 
4. Bake 20 to 25 min. or until done (160°F). Top with reserved salsa and cheese; bake 3 min. or until cheese is melted.

Slow Cooker Taco Chicken

This tasty chicken is a great protein topper for more than just tacos!  Put in on a salad, on some quinoa, in a whole wheat pita...ANYTHING.  I love slow cooker recipes that I can quickly throw together and forget while it cooks.  Plus, it always leaves my house smelling yummy!

Slow Cooker Taco Chicken

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Cup Water
2 Tbls Homemade Dried Onion Soup Mix (see below for recipe)
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp coriander
6-8 cloves garlic, smashed
1 Tbls dehydrated onion
Juice of 1 lime
Salt, to taste
Chipotle hot sauce, to taste

Place all ingredients except for lime, salt, and hot sauce in slow cooker and cook 5-6 hours on low, or until chicken shreds easily with a fork.  When done, shred the chicken and sprinkle with lime juice.  Taste and season with salt and hot sauce to taste.
(Adapted from 400 calories or less with Our Best Bites)

Homemade Dried Onion Soup Mix

1/4 Cup dried minced onion
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.  Use in place of store bought soup mix packets or store in an airtight container for later.
(Recipe from 100 days of Real Food)

Beef & Butternut Squash Stew

Hearty Beef & Butternut Squash Stew

(recipe from 21 Day Fix Extreme eating plan)

This stew was AMAZING!  I had to control myself to only have one bowl, and couldn't wait to have it as leftovers.  So much flavor with healthy ingredients.

Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
1½ lbs raw lean beef stew meat, boneless, cut into cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
½ green bell pepper, chopped
½ red bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cherry tomatoes or 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 cup organic beef broth
1 bay leaf
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground black pepper (optional)
2 cups cubed butternut squash
¼ cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Instructions
Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat.
Add beef; cook, stirring frequently, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until beef is brown.
Add onion and bell peppers; cook, stirring frequently , for 4 to 5 minutes.
Add garlic; cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute
Add tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, salt and pepper, bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low, cook, covered, for 40 minutes.
Add squash; cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 - 12 minutes, or until sauce has thickened and beef is fork-tender.
Remove bay leaf; serve topped with parsley.

One serving = approx 1-1/4 cups each
Container equivalents = 1 green, 1 red

Quick Spaghetti Squash

I had a lot of people wanting this one...
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You will be happy to know it is super simple!!
Tonight my boys were wanting spaghetti, one of their favorites that we don't make as often as I should.
I used to make everything from scratch and add all the ingredients in the crock pot all day. 
The only problem with that is I would forget to start it before 10 am .

So as a busy on the go mom, I started to tweak it and use very few ingredients.
The boys love real noodles, So I buy quinoa noodles or veggie noodles for them. And I have mine on spaghetti squash. 
Spaghetti squash is just something no one else in my family enjoys, no matter how many times I have them try it. But I love it! So I always have lunch for the next day with the other half. I don't mind not sharing this one.

You don't need hours in the kitchen to do this. And you don't need to use an expensive jar full of sugar and salt and other ingredients list that I can't pronounce either. I stopped buying ready to go sauces a few years ago. They just add way too much crap to it. I like to know and control what I put into my body. 
So I always have this meal in the house, ready to go for those rainy days like today.

What you will need
1 small spaghetti squash, better for portion control and cooks faster
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1/2 can of diced tomatoes
4-5 TBS of Italian seasonings of your choice
1 tsp garlic powder or 2 garlic cloves
1 lb of lean ground chicken ( you can use lean turkey, lean hamburger, steak)

Here is what I did tonight

Microwaved the whole squash for 3 min this softens it up just enough to cut in half without chopping off your fingers!
Then I take half of it,clean out the seeds and place in a glass dish with lid, add a little bit of water to the bottom for moisture and nook again in the microwave for 3-5 min with the lid on; depending on the size.

The squash should easily shred into noodle like strands, shred it up with a fork; then add your spaghetti sauce, place back in the microwave uncovered for 3 min to let the sauce soak in. Stir it up let it sit for just a bit for the flavors to soak in and serve it with salad or a side of steamed broccoli.

This can also be done in the oven. You can also add fresh herbs, onions, and so many different fresh ingredients, I love too add diced zucchini. 

If you try this or have any ideas, ingredients or tips you want to add; please comment below, take a picture and tag me in it when you try this!

Healthy Meatloaf Recipe

Healthy Meatloaf Recipe

I grew up on Meatloaf, it fed our family of 12 easily! We all loved it and thought it was amazing. It was probably one of the healthiest meals we had throughout the week. Smothered in ketchup with a side of green beans and mashed potatoes and we were in Heaven!

But, when my healthy mommy gene kicked in, I started tweaking almost every recipe I could find! This led to five and half years of trial and error with lots of flops and burnt results. But once I found something that worked and the family liked; It became a staple that I make over and over and over again. Each time I make a recipe I change up a few things so we don't get bored. I truly like to cook BASIC, super BASIC ...I am NOT a cook, I don't enjoy it that much either. I do love serving healthy meals though! It really does make me the proudest when I control the nutritional value of what is on my family's plates as we sit down to eat.


Just don't judge me for the Chex Rice cereal for breakfast this morning...its Friday

Before I share my tips and ideas on how to make your healthy meatloaf, know that NOT everyone in my family loves it. My husband won't eat ground turkey or chicken, although he is not a fan of meatloaf either. So I make this for Lunch. I prep a BIG batch and the boys and I eat it for our lunches. It packs well in their school lunch boxes.

Now, lets think about the traditional meatloaf and its intention. It was a way to make meat go further. So instead of using "cheap" meat, I use ground chicken and turkey, which is healthier than "cheap" meat and is known to cost less than leaner grass feed beef. So instead of adding "crap" to my meat to make it go further, I add healthy foods that will keep you fuller longer. When I first tweaked this recipe I used oatmeal instead of bread crumbs (have you ever looked at the ingredients on the back of the bread crumbs you buy? I dare you to go look if you have some on hand). Also, I don't add any sauces.




What I do add is an egg or two depending on how big the batch is. Then, I dice up any veggies on hand that I have, super small other wise your meatloaf will fall apart.  I love to grate up zucchini and carrots. I also like to add minced, onion, garlic, mushrooms, peppers. .The veggies help add moisture and flavor to the meat. You can create so many different flavors. I like to use "Mrs Dash- no salt added" seasonings. Sometimes we make it more of an Italian style meatloaf with a can of tomato sauce and other times I add a Mexican spin to it by adding cilantro and a can of hatch green chilli peppers or you can use fresh peppers if you have it!


Cooking with Turkey and veggies is going to give off more juice/liquid so I drain that about half way through baking. I cut into it to see how close it is to being done.I love to turn the broiler on for the last 5-10 to crisp up the top too.


The Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350

In a mixing bowl add in no particular order:

• 1 lb of lean ground turkey or chicken
• 1 small zucchini (grated)
• 1 garlic clove (crushed)
• 1/2 small red onion (chopped finely)
• 2 med size mushrooms (chopped up small)
• 1 can of fire roasted chopped green chilli (don't drain)
• hand full of fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp of cumin
• 1 egg
• 1-2 tsp of Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime

Bake in a loaf pan on the center rack at 350 for 15-20 min till firmed up, you don't want to over cook it or will get dried out. If you cut in the center and it is not done add an extra 5 min and check again. 
The last 5 min I turn the broiler on and brown up the top. Enjoy!

Let me know if you try this recipe, tell me what you think. Or if you have any "flavor" suggestions I would love to hear about it. Tuna Sweet Potato Muffins coming up Next with K.I.S.S. Recipies

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