Vegging Out.

I have been on a personal mission to get my family to eat more vegetables. This has been no easy task, and they haven't been too happy about my enthusiasm towards this matter- except the baby- she'll eat almost anything. After a few attempts of healthy eating, little complaints started rolling in. Complaints over vegetables- now isn't that silly? I decided it was time for me to get sneaky. For the last few weeks I have been mixing in all sorts of veggie goodness into meats and soups, salads and sweets - smiling with pride- feeling oh so creative... Shredded carrots and squash are well hidden in sauces. Peppers, spinach and celery are too! HA! They hadn't even noticed the added flavor until tonight. Tonight I got caught. I had just finished shredding a HUGE mound of carrots to mix into the ground turkey when I heard my husband in the kitchen. He questioned the orange stack. I confessed...

-H O W E V E R -
Dinner turned out really good. Even the naysayers thought so. I think it was all the extra vitamin A. Point for me!

I am going to keep on being sneaky. It is for a good cause after all...

Need some ideas for your own family? Keep on reading.

1.Homemade spaghetti sauce
While I am cooking the meat (we use ground turkey) I add in shredded carrots, zucchini, onions or peppers. They are hidden by the sauce and aren't easily detected. This idea also works really well in meatloaf too.

2.Breakfast scrambles My family loves scrambled eggs, so I take this opportunity to add in a little handful of extra vitamins. Onion, pepper, spinach and mushrooms can be diced small enough to not attract too much attention.

3. Soups
I like to make soups and stews, and I have found that I can add spinach and it will not be easily detected. Spinach shrinks in size when cooked, and I will often add a few handfuls of fresh spinach leaves to quite a few of our dinners.

4. Stirfrys.
I use stirfrys as an excuse to showcase my family's most tolerated vegetables. Works every time.

Easy weeknight recipe...

How can you resist a warm, tasty, home cooked meal that needs only five ingredients, and has a cheap price tag? I know I can't!

For some reason (ahem... Ezra) we always have a large abundance of tortillas at our home. I came up with this recipe to conquer the last of the tortilla pile, and it ended up being quite tasty. Try it tonight if you dare!

I call it...(drum roll please)

Chicken Enchilada Casserole (original. I know)

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts (cooked)
12 white corn tortillas (cut in half)
1 can diced tomatoes (drained)
1 envelope enchilada seasoning
2 c. Colby jack cheese (shredded)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350. Place cooked chicken in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, move to separate bowl. Add tomatoes and package of enchilada seasoning to food processor, puree. Line round baking pan(greased) with abt. 8 corn tortillas. (Overlap if necessary). Spoon 1/3 sauce over corn tortillas followed by a layer of chicken (1/2) and cheese (1/3). Start process again. 8 Tortillas, sauce, chicken, cheese. The last layer should be 8 tortillas, sauce, cheese. If you like, you can top the dish off with some sliced green onions or sliced olives. Bake for 15-20 mins. We like to top off our enchiladas with a little sour cream and a side of black beans and lime. Enjoy!

My price-tag for this dish: $ 5.70

Oooo... Spicy!

Every once and awhile Ezra and I like to add some spicy elements to our dinner. Last night we made chicken curry -delicious! It ended up being a bit too spicy- but I found a quick fix for that. If you are looking for something new to try... try my "Kickin' Chicken Curry"!

Ingredients:
6 boneless chicken thighs (large cubes)
3 large baking potatoes (large cubes)
6 carrots (large dices)
4 stalks celery (chopped)
1 can chickpeas
1 large handful sliced spinach
4 tbsp curry powder (heaping)
olive oil
1/4 c. brown sugar
4 cloves of garlic (peeled and smooshed)
corn starch

Directions:
Place 1 swirl of olive oil in frying pan. Add chicken and garlic cloves. Cook on med-high until chicken is done. Turn off heat. Add curry powder, and coat chicken. Combine all remaining ingredients and chicken mixture in a large stock pot. Add enough water to pot to cover the ingredients, and mix.Turn heat to high and cook for 40 minutes, or until potatoes are soft. To make the mixture thicker add cornstarch (abt. 2 tsp)and water together in separate bowl to make a thin runny paste. Add to curry mixture. Continue this process until desired thickness is reached. If the curry is too spicy add brown sugar. I think it gives it a nice touch. We like to serve our curry over rice. Enjoy!!