healthy Archives - Life's Tidbits

12Aug 2014

{Recipe} Szechuan Green Beans with Ground Turkey

by Nicole ⋅ 1 Comment

Growing up green beans were always called string beans in my house. Or at least that’s what I think they were called as each time I go to say green beans my brain desperately wants to say string bean. STRING BEANS, STRING BEANS, STRING BEANS! Okay I think I got it out of my system. =)

Oddly enough I have a few fond memories of cooking with string green beans. I’m standing in the kitchen next to my grandmother (or mother) snapping off the ends of the green beans and eating a few along the way! Green beans are one of those things I can eat cooked or raw.

But back to the recipe …

Do you ever have one of those days where you defrost meat and then none of your go-to recipes sound appealing? I’ve been having that happen to me frequently as of late. The other week I decided to defrost some ground turkey for dinner. Shepard’s pie, taco salad, turkey meatballs and a few of my other easy recipes felt just well ‘over-done’ … get it?! I’m so funny – well probably not, but I couldn’t help myself.

So yeah, anyways, it was time for something new, easy and healthy! I was browsing Pinterest while contemplating dinner. After doing a quick search-a-roo on ground turkey I had a few contenders. The husband and I really enjoyed this new meal. One of the best parts … it’s a ONE pot meal so relatively easy cleanup.

Recipe inspired by The Lemon Bowl

Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey
4 garlic cloves – grated
2 tsp ground ginger (or 1 tbs fresh grated ginger)
1 lb green beans – trimmed
½ cup chicken broth
1 tbs corn starch
3 tbs soy sauce – low sodium
2 tbs rice vinegar
1 tbs chili sauce (more or less to taste)
½ tbs sesame oil

Instructions
Serving Size – 4

Pre-heat a large wok or frying pan over high heat and spray with non-stick spray. Add the ground turkey, garlic and ginger. Break up the turkey and cook until browned.

In a small bowl, whisk together chicken broth, corn starch, soy, rice vinegar and chili garlic paste.

Once the turkey is browned, add in green beans and broth/soy mixture. Cover and let simmer on low for 5-10 minutes. Stir occasionally so the sauce doesn’t burn. Add in the sesame oil. Cook an additional minute or two then serve.

Serve with Israeli couscous or rice.

This recipe has definitely grabbed a spot in our dinner rotation! What’s an easy recipe you are digging lately?

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21Aug 2013

{Recipe} Taco Salad

by Nicole ⋅ Leave a Comment

I was on the search for taco seasoning from scratch when I found the recipe below. I like the seasoning you can buy at the grocery store in the package, but I felt it had to be easy enough to make from spices we already had in the house. This recipe is SUPER easy to make and is perfect for dinner as well as lunches! All in all the recipe is very healthy. I ate A LOT of taco salads when I was doing the whole wedding / weight watches diet a couple years ago. Although I got a little taco salad’ed out in 2011 it is still a go to dinner in our house every couple of weeks.

Ingredients:
Salad
1 can Black Beans
1 pkg Ground Turkey

Taco Seasoning –
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you want it)

Directions:

This recipe makes about 5 servings. Here’s all you’ve got to do …

Make your salad. I use romaine lettuce, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion and cucumber.

Brown your ground turkey (you can also use ground beef if you want). Meanwhile combine your spices in a small bowl and put the black beans in a pan to cook/warm on the stove top. Once the meat is browned add the taco seasoning and about 1/4-1/2 cup of water. Mix the spices, water and turkey well. Allow it to simmer until most of the water has evaporated or been absorbed by the meat. Drain the beans once heated through and add them to the turkey.

I like to portion out the salad first and then scoop the turkey/bean mixer on top. Serve and enjoy! I always serve the salad with corn chips. The husband and I both like to crumble a few of the chips over the salad for a little extra crunch/salt/yumminess.

What are you having for dinner tonight??

Happy Cooking!

If you enjoyed this post, please add your tidbit by commenting below. Don’t forget you can follow us on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

15Jan 2013

Tasty Tuesday – The Perfect Roast Chicken

by Nicole ⋅ 1 Comment

I have a little bit of an obsession with Food Network. If there isn’t a show recorded on DVR that I want to watch, Food Network is my next go-to channel, followed by HGTV. Food and home improvement … you can clearly see where my passions lie. One day while blogging and watching Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten was cooking her “Perfect Roast Chicken“. I quickly made a mental note that I must make this dish. An opportunity quickly presented itself and I adapted the recipe just a little. This dish is well … absolutely DELISH!!!

Not only is this recipe super yummy, but totally falls within the healthy cooking/eating category. WIN WIN!!! And just to add one more log to this amazing fire (yeah I’m horrible with analogies, but I try!) it is also a pretty cheap dinner menu item that will impress!! So I hope you enjoy the Tasty Tuesday recipe this week.

Ingredients:

1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme (and/or rosemary)
1 lemon, quartered
1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted (can be substituted with olive oil)
2 large yellow onions, thickly sliced
4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
4 Yukon Gold Potatoes cut into quarters

When you get the chicken home remove the chicken giblets and pat the outside dry, salt it inside and out, wrap it and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Preheat the over to 425*. Place the onions, carrots, potatoes and some thyme in a roasting pan.

Pat the chicken dry and liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, lemon, and all the garlic.

Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper.

Tie the legs together with kitchen string. Place the chicken on top and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken cover with aluminum foil for about 15 minutes. I suggest putting this in a bowl, because the juices will seep out of the chicken as it rests. I did this on a cutting board the first time and literally juice all over the floor and my dog, Sophi, was seriously pleased about this!!!

Allow the vegetable to continue cooking. Slice the chicken and place it on a platter with the vegetables. I like to pour some of the juices over the chicken/veggies. The rest of the juice/gravy put in a gravy boat … I promise your guests will appreciate it! This serves about 4 people.

Happy Cooking!

Tag Archives: Healthy

{Recipe} Szechuan Green Beans with Ground Turkey

{Recipe} Taco Salad

Tasty Tuesday – The Perfect Roast Chicken