They may eat goldfish, but we don't.

I love to cook and bake. It really is relaxing for me. The catch is, it is ONLY relaxing if I have something telling me exactly what to do while I am cooking and baking. I am not the type of person who knows flavor combinations. I can't just "eyeball" ingredients. I can't even tell you if a spice is savory, has heat, or is supposed to be sweet. But I am anal enough to follow directions. I was the kid in school who never fell for the "read all the directions before starting" worksheets that our teachers used to give us to prove we don't really read all of the directions. I will read and re-read a recipe to make sure I have the step by step directions. Since I rely heavily (or only) on recipes, I utilize the internet quite a bit. Much to my Aunt CloElla's dismay, I find the internet so much better than the old fashioned cookbook because of the comments section. Usually there are one or two ways that other people have modified the recipe to make it better, and not usually in a Paula Deen "let's add more butter" kind of way.

John and I are both dedicated to healthy eating. What stresses me out is trying to get a healthy recipe on the table before Evan finishes his 22 minute show of the day or Luke completes melts into the tile floor from hunger. John and I have a stock pile of about 20 recipes that we have slightly modified to work for our family since we are working against the clock.  Most of the time we made them healthier and faster. After Luke was born, part of my daily routine was to count every single little calorie that went into my mouth. Since I was on maternity leave I became a little obsessed with calculating the nutritional information in each of our dishes. So the dishes have to be able to be cooked within 30 minutes, which is all the time we have once we get home from work, and under 500 calories a serving. A lofty goal, I know, but we are committed.

I hope as the boys get older and more independent I can explore more recipes and more options for dinner. Right now though I wanted to share a couple of our favorite dinner for all the busy moms and dads who still want to provide healthy food for themselves and their family.

This is what is for dinner tonight:

TexMex Slow Cooker Chicken

1 pound chicken cut in 1 inch strips
2 tbsp taco seasoning
2 tbsp flour
1 green bell pepper cut in 1 inch strips
1 red bell pepper cut in 1 inch strips
1 cup frozen corn
1.5 cups salsa
Cheese
Uncle Ben's Spanish rice

Mix chicken, taco seasoning and flour in crockpot until chicken is coated. Stir in peppers, corn and salsa. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Serve over Uncle Ben's rice. Sprinkle cheese on top (about an 1/8 cup of cheese per serving). Entire crockpot makes 4 servings. 1 serving equals 330 calories.
Yummy and easy!! To bump up the calories for DH, he eats his serving and a half on tostada shells or over tortilla chips. 

John's Favorite: *Disclaimer - this takes longer than 30 minutes. I cook the chicken and chop the veggies the night before.

Easy Chicken Gumbo
1/2 cup peanut oil
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup chopped sweet onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped celery
16 oz frozen okra
1 1/2 to 3 tsp Cajun seasoning
2 tsp ( I put more) minced garlic
3 (14oz cans) - I use less - chicken broth
1 pound smoked turkey sausage
1 pound cooked chopped chicken
1 pkg of Uncle Ben's Cajun rice

Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium high heat; gradually which in flour and cook, whisking constantly (very important!) for 5 minutes or until flour is chocolate colored. Carefully watch the roux so it doesn't burn.
Reduce heat to medium. Stir in onion and next five ingredients, and cook, stirring constantly, 3 minutes. Gradually stir in chicken broth (I use less than it calls for. Put as much as you like. We like it less soupy.) and sausage. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes of simmering, stir in chicken and rice.
Make approx 12 cups. Each cup is 211 calories. 

My favorite:

Tuna Cakes

2 12oz cans solid white tuna in spring water, drained well

1 ¼  cups Italian breadcrumbs

2 large egg whites

2 tsp lemon zest

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/3 cup fat free mayo

1 tsp creole seasoning

4 tbsp olive oil

Drain and rinse tuna (I just drain). Place tuna and breadcrumbs in a large bowl; stir in egg whites, lemon zest, mustard, 1/3 cup fat free mayo, and 1tsp creole seasoning. Shape mixture in 8 (3 inch) patties. Cook 4 patties in 2tbsp hot oil in a large skillet over med high heat until golden. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining tuna cakes and oil.

Each patty is 191 calories.

Eat well!