Healthy Fall/Winter Stew *Lauren Perry*

I am on a SUPER strict diet right now to lose weight. I have been doing a lot of research on recipes and healthy eating habits. I made up this stew and it was just so delicious, Brian flipped over it. We served it with garlic Melba toast and cooked cinnamon apples, a total fall dish :) Anytime I make or come across a healthy recipe that is yummy, I will post it as well.

Brian is on the diet too, so this recipe is 2 servings. You are more than welcome to double the recipe if you have company or if you want to freeze half of it for another day.

Ingredients

200 grams of extra lean stew meat
1 1/2 cups of low sodium broth (I used organic vegetable- it only has 2 grams of sugar per 1 cup of broth)
2 TBS red wine vinegar
2 stocks of celery chopped
1/3 of a white onion chopped
1/2 of a regular sized tomato chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
small handful of parsley chopped
garlic powder (a few shakes)
ground cumin (a few shakes)
chili powder (a few shakes)
onion powder (a few shakes)
fresh ground pepper
sea salt (I grind this)

Extra add-ins (I am limited to my veggie add in's right now, but extra add in's that are Weight Watcher approved are- 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms, 1/2 cup frozen corn and 1/2 cup diced carrots)

saute garlic, meat, and veggies in vinegar
add broth and bring to boil- then reduce to simmer
add seasons to taste and let simmer for 30 minutes
if it needs more liquid or is a little too spicy, add 1/2 a cup of water

This is high protein, very very low carb, low sodium (because of the sea salt), the seasons added have no sugar, and its high in vegetables.

Garlic Melba toast is yummy, high in fiber and grains and low in carbs/fat

For the apples you dice 2 apples, add to a bowl and throw in some lemon juice, a few shakes cinnamon, and like 6 stevia drops (these are sugar free sweetener drops that you get at a health food store) and then you saute them and serve them warm. You can serve the apples with a non-fat vanilla yogurt or a homemade granola or just eat them plain like I do.

Get your Canning on!

SPAGHETTI SAUCE

1/2 bushel Tomatoes
3 Green Peppers chopped
3 Large Onions chopped
1/4 c. Salt (more or less given on your taste)
2 C. Vegetable Oil
2 T. Oregano
2 T. Garlic Powder
2 T. Basil
1 1/2 c. Sugar
8 small cans Tomato Paste

*Put Tomatoes in boiling water until the skins split. Peel the skins off and chop up and put in a pot. Add other ingredients and stir well. Simmer for 2 hours to blend all the spices and soften the peppers and onions. Let it cool and then put in Ziploc Freezer bags or other containers and Freeze.

* I got my tomatoes peeled and then put them in my Vitamix. It was awesome! Then I poured everything into my big Roaster Oven and got it to a boil and then simmered it on low for 2 hours. It worked out great! Super Easy, and VERY yummy. Great thing to make with all those tomatoes.


SALSA

9 Qt. Chopped Tomatoes (about 1/2 a bushel)
12-24 oz. Tomato paste (depending on how thick you like you salsa)
2 T. Cummin Powder
3 T. Oregano
2 T. Fresh Cilantro
Put into a large bowl and stir
In a pot add the following ingredients;
4 C. Chopped Peppers (no seeds)
5 c. Chopped yellow Onions
1/2 c. Jalapeno Pepper (no seeds)
6 cloves garlic or 6 T. Minced Garlic
2 C. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 T. Black Pepper
3 T. Salt
*Simmer all of these ingredients on the stove until onions and peppers are tender. Then mix this mixture with the tomato mixture.
Put into bottles. I steam can them for about 20-25 minutes.
*This is REALLY Yummy. It tasts fresh but is nice because it's bottled and stays good longer.


APPLESAUCE

Choose your favorite type of Apple. Last Year I did Golden Delicious and this year I did Gala. They were both great.
This year I peeled the apples and then just used an apple cutter and put the apples in a pot with about 2 inches of water in it. Steam until the apples get soft. Then, I put the soft apples in my Vitamix and blended until I got the consistency I wanted. I like it a little chunky but my daughter doesn't. Then I poured the blended apples into a pot on the stove. The recipe calls for 1/4 c. Sugar per pound of applesauce. I try to do the least amount of Sugar possible. I had 35 pounds of Apples and used I think 3 cups of Sugar for all of that and it was great. I like to use it for baby food so the least amount of Sugar the better. Add Sugar to the blended/ Mushed apples and stir on the stove until it comes to a boil. I let it boil for about 5 minutes stirring constantly. Then I put it into jars and steam can it for 20 minutes. It is SO yummy and So easy. This has become my new favorite thing to can. You can add Cinnamon and Sugar to it too. My cousin puts a fireball (hot jawbreaker) on the top of hers before she seals them and likes that. My kids just prefer plain old applesauce.

Last Year I left the skins on the apples. I cut them with an apple cutter and then steamed them until soft. Then, the ideal thing is to use a strainer that separates the skins and the apple. I have an attatchment for my kitchenaide that worked great, but the VitaMix was the best. Or you can just mush them yourself with a potato masher or whatever else you want to use.

Happy Canning!

RED-AND-WHITE MOSTACCIOLI

by: Liz Edmonds- The Food Nanny

• 1 pound uncooked mostaccioli or other tubular pasta
• Alfredo Sauce (p. 71)
• 1 (26-ounce) jar meatless spaghetti sauce
• or 3 cups homemade sauce, divided (see Note)
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• RED-AND-WHITE MOSTACCIOLI (“little mustaches”)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook the pasta according to package directions; drain.
3. Meanwhile, prepare sauce of Fettuccine Alfredo (omit the pasta).
4. Spread a thin layer of spaghetti sauce in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Layer
half the pasta, half the Alfredo sauce, half the spaghetti sauce, and
11/2 cups of the cheese. Repeat the layering with the remaining pasta,
Alfredo sauce, spaghetti sauce, and cheese.
5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake about 30 minutes or until it is hot and
bubbly.

Serve with a tossed green salad and Italian or French bread.

Note: You may use meat sauce or meatless; I prefer meatless. When I make my
own spaghetti sauce (p. 62 made meatless), I often double the recipe so I can
freeze half of it to have on hand for this recipe. But purchased sauce is almost
as good.

ALFREDO SAUCE:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 pound uncooked fettuccine

FETTUCCINE ALFREDO
1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Mix in the cream
cheese. Stir in the cream and garlic powder. Increase the heat and bring
to a boil. Decrease the heat and simmer, stirring often, while you cook the
pasta. If the sauce needs additional thickening (for example if you're serving
it as a dipping sauce without pasta), you may sprinkle in flour, 1 teaspoon at
a time. Cook and stir for desired consistency.
2. Cook the fettuccine according to package directions; drain.
3. Stir the Parmesan cheese into the sauce and season with salt and pepper
to taste.
4. Toss the sauce and the pasta in a large bowl and serve immediately.
Serve with a tossed green salad and hot French bread or bread sticks.
Variations:

For Chicken Alfredo, stir-fry bite-size chunks of chicken in 1 tablespoon olive
oil until cooked and add to the sauce.

If you’re a seafood lover, toss the sauce with cooked medium shrimp or
chunks of crab.

Sugar cookies in a pan

(i took this picture off my favorite new food blog www.thegirlwhoateeverything.blogspot.com, but this isn't her recipe but the same thing. I promise this one is terrific! Next time, I might even add a little nutmeg.)

If your like me ... you love sugar cookies but don't love rolling them out. So... here is your new solution and trust me they are absolutely DIVINE!

1 cp. butter soft
1 8oz. package of cream cheese
1 1/2 cp sugar
1 egg
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 3/4 cp. flour

Grease and flour cookie sheet. Bake 375 for 20 minutes. Blend ingredients dry w/ dry, wet w/ wet etc.

Cream cheese frosting

1/2 cp butter, soft
4 oz. cream cheese, soft
3 1/2 cp powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
splash of milk

Frosted Blondie- too good to keep a secret!

1 cp. butter softened
1 cp. brown sugar
1 cp. white sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 cp. Flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cp. quick oats

Cream together butter and sugars. Mix in vanilla and eggs. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix. Spread in greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Frosting

1/4 cp. butter, soft
3 ounces cream cheese
2 cps powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
milk

Beat ingredients together adding a small amount of milk to acheive the right consistency. Frost cooled bars. Slice and serve.