Category: Easy Preparation Meals

Adaptable Recipes, Dinner, Easy Preparation Meals, Makeover Monday Meals

Makeover Monday Meal Quick and Easy International Edition

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Many people are experimenting with new flavors and trying out recipes to make meals a little less boring and repetitive. That’s great on the weekend or on a holiday when you have time. Trying that during your busy work week is something else altogether.

Fortunately, most supermarkets and grocery stores’ produce sections offer many of the usual suspects when it comes to building flavors such as onions, shallots, garlic, and bell peppers, diced, chopped, and ready to use. For this recipe, most people have curry, turmeric, and ginger powder in their spice racks. If you want to add the yellow curry paste to the mix for an added kick, you can find it in the international aisle of your supermarket, or you can order it online.

This ginger curry coconut shrimp recipe also contains coconut milk, which can also be found in most stores. Just be sure to get unsweetened coconut milk, creme de coconut is great for Pina Coladas, but it’s not right for this recipe.

Another ingredient, riced cauliflower can be found in steam-in bags in the frozen section. All of this comes together to make a healthy and easy Monday night meal that you can make in thirty minutes.

This recipe is easily adapted for vegetarians, and vegans, and is gluten-free. The recipe is fairly straightforward. You can adjust the seasoning to fit your taste.

 

Ginger Coconut Curry with Vegetables over Cauliflower rice.

1 large or 2 small shallots, diced finely

1 tablespoon of freshly grated ginger or 1 ½ tablespoon of ginger powder

4 cloves of garlic, minced

½ teaspoon yellow curry paste, optional

½ teaspoon turmeric

1 ½ tablespoon curry powder, or to taste

1 medium red bell pepper sliced into strips and halved

1 medium orange bell pepper sliced into strips and halved

½ a large green bell pepper or 1 small green bell pepper sliced into strips and halved

1 can of light or full-fat coconut milk

1 package of snow peas or sugar snap peas

Juice of 1 lime

2 teaspoons coconut sugar

1 can (14-ounces) of crushed or whole peeled tomatoes

1 pound of large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Vegetable oil

Chopped cilantro, optional to garnish

1 package of frozen riced cauliflower prepared according to the directions on the package.

In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil until it shimmers. Add shallots and sauté until they begin to soften. Add the ginger and garlic, and cook until fragrant. Add the bell peppers and continue sautéing. Then add the curry, turmeric, ginger powder (if you didn’t use fresh ginger), yellow curry paste if using, and stir in the coconut milk. tomatoes, followed by lime juice and coconut sugar. Allow it to simmer for five to eight minutes. Add the shrimp and the sugar snap peas. If it seems too thick, you can add a little water. Cover and let it simmer on low for an additional six minutes or until the shrimp has cooked through. Serve over cauliflower rice. If you’d like top with chopped fresh cilantro and serve.

Makes 6 servings.

To make vegetarian or vegan- omit the shrimp.

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Adaptable Recipes, Dinner, Easy Preparation Meals, Makeover Monday Meals, Summer Cooking Delights

Makeover Monday Meals- Salad Edition

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The one thing most people can agree on is salads. The fact is a salad encompasses much more than just lettuce. By definition, a salad is a cold dish of various mixtures of raw or cooked vegetables, usually seasoned with oil, vinegar, or other dressing and sometimes accompanied by meat, fish, or other ingredients.

Salads fall into the following principal categories:

  • Green salads
  • Vegetable salads
  • Salads of pasta, legumes, or grains
  • Mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood
  • Fruit salads

Salads are versatile and easy to prepare. Instead of picking up a pre-made salad for a light weeknight dinner, this recipe takes less than thirty minutes to make and some of the ingredients are pantry staples you already have on hand.

This pasta salad takes advantage of summer’s bounty of tomatoes, paired with black olives, fresh basil, and mozzarella. Moreover, it’s adaptable for low-carb lifestyles, vegans, vegetarians, and those with gluten sensitivities or Celiac disease.  You can even add more veggies like broccoli and red bell peppers, or whatever other vegetables you like.

We have included a recipe for a homemade dressing that takes no time to make and can be kept in an airtight container in the pantry.

 

Caprese Style Pasta Salad

1 box of tri-color penne or rotini style pasta prepared according to directions, rinsed then cooled. (gluten-free tricolor or regular penne or rotini pasta)

1 bottle of Italian dressing or homemade 4 Seasons Style Italian dressing

1 can of medium black olives, drained and sliced

1 package of cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in halves

1 package of whole milk or part-skim mozzarella, diced into medium size cubes (vegan mozzarella)

Extra virgin olive oil

A bunch of fresh basil

 

Add the cooked pasta, black olives, and tomatoes to a large bowl, then toss them together. Add the mozzarella, then drizzle enough olive oil to coat over the mixture, then lightly toss together while adding the Italian dressing. How much you use is up to you.

Roll the basil leaves together and cut them chiffonade style. Add to the pasta salad and toss with two spoons to get the bail distributed throughout the salad. You can serve the salad immediately or if you have time,  cover and let it chill in the fridge.  This pasta salad gets better with time.

Savory Saver recipe for Copycat Good Seasons Garlic and Herb Dressing

2 Tbsps Garlic Powder ·

1 Tbsp Sugar ·

2 tsp Salt ·

2 tsp Dried Parsley ·

1 tablespoon Dried Basil ·

1 ½ tsp Onion Powder ·

½ tsp Dried Mustard …

½ tsp Black Pepper

¼ tsp Dried Oregano

¼ tsp Dried Thyme

¼ tsp Celery Seed

Ingredients for Making Dressing

2 Tbs Dressing Mix

2 Tbs Water

¼ Cup White Vinegar

⅔ Cup Neutral Oil (Canola, Vegetable, Safflower, Grapeseed or Peanut)

Instructions

Mix all dry ingredients in a small bowl.

Store in an airtight container.

To Make Dressing

Put 2 Tablespoons of the dressing mix in a Salad Dressing Shaker or Small Mason Jar.

Add 2 tablespoons of water and ¼ cup of white vinegar to the shaker.

Close Shaker and shake up well to mix and dissolve the ingredients.

Add oil to the mix and shake again until fully combined.

To Make the Carb-free version of this salad, spiralized 1 large or 2 small zucchini. In a lightly salted boiling water pot, add the zucchini noodles, and cook for 1-3 minutes. Remove from the pot, drain in a colander, and run cold water over the noodles. Set them aside and let them cool before proceeding with the recipe.

For a Vegan version of the pasta salad, you can use a vegan mozzarella. Miyoko’s Creamery makes a vegan mozzarella, there are also Great Value, Earth Grown, and Violife versions of vegan mozzarella, that are available commercially either in stores or ordered online.

Adaptable Recipes, Dinner, Easy Preparation Meals, Makeover Monday Meals, Quick Springtime Menu Ideas

Makeover Monday Meal- Dinner Edition Soup for Springs on for Spring

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It’s officially springtime, a time of renewal when our landscape begins to awaken from its winter slumber. However, early spring is a little different, especially in March, the month that comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. The temperature in early spring is on a bit of a rollercoaster. Some days it feels like spring, and other days are cool and cold in some cases.

What kind of meal can you make that is both light and comforting at the same time. This Italian Wedding soup is just the ticket. It’s not heavy, yet it’s filling and tasty. This original recipe comes from the Eating on a Dime blog. The genius of this recipe is the number of ingredients you can buy ready-made frozen meatballs and you can use pre-chopped onions, carrots, and celery to save time. The use of a slow cooker or, Crock-Pot is key to just how easy the soup is to make.

Just put the ingredients together in the morning, set your cooker, and head off for your day ahead knowing that all you have to do is add the pasta and spinach when you get home. In twenty minutes’ time, dinner is ready.

We have adapted the recipe for vegan and gluten-free diets. The substitutions are in the parenthesis.

Notes:

This recipe can be doubled and tripled easily. It freezes well in an airtight container for up to three months.

 

 

Crock Pot Italian Wedding Soup Recipe by Eating on A Dime adapted by Still A Chick Lit

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 6 hrs

Total Time: 6 hrs 10 mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

 

Servings: 6

 

Ingredients

1 pkg frozen chicken meatballs 24 oz (or plant-based frozen vegan meatballs )

1/4 onion chopped

3 large carrots chopped

2 stalks celery diced

3 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

8 cups unsalted or low-sodium chicken broth or unsalted chicken stock (8 cups unsalted vegetable stock or low-sodium vegetable broth)

1 1/2 cup orzo pasta (gluten-free orzo pasta)

4 cups spinach chopped

1/2 cup parmesan cheese optional to top (Vegan parmesan cheese block like Violife)

Instructions

Place everything but the orzo and the spinach in the crockpot.

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

15-20 minutes before you are ready to stir in the orzo and the chopped spinach.

Cook until the pasta is soft.

Serve immediately with fresh parmesan cheese.

 

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Dinner, Easy Preparation Meals, Food Glorious Food, Healthy Food Makeover, Living Your Best Life North of Forty and Fifty Plus, Makeover Monday Meals

Makeover Monday Meal- Soup’s On Edition

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Most of the country has been enjoying a longer Indian summer than usual. However, fall is beginning to make its presence known with temperatures beginning to dip all across the country. Although many are sorry to see the warmer temps go, I enjoy the cooler temperatures. Sleeping weather is also a perfect time to enjoy a nice bowl of soup.

Squash is available year-round everywhere, but there are seasons when certain varieties are more plentiful. I love the hearty gourds like acorn and butternut squash.  Both are versatile and can be used in many recipes. This Makeover Monday puts the spotlight on butternut squash soup.

This soup has been on my fall and Thanksgiving table for many years. The recipe is very simple, and you can adjust the ingredients according to your flavor palate. It’s a wonderful combination of roasted butternut squash, sweet onions, and ginger.  To make it even easier, you can buy butternut squash that’s already prepped. It’s a time saver.

This recipe is vegan/vegetarian, low-carb, and gluten-free.

Total Time: Approximately 1 hour 

Active time: 15 minutes Estimate

Inactive time: 45 minutes

Butternut Squash and Ginger Soup

2 large butternut squash (Cut in halves and seeded) (or 2 packages of pre-cut butternut squash)

4 medium sweet onions, rough chopped

1 small fresh ginger root (peeled and minced)

3 tablespoons Canola oil

Virgin Olive Oil

4 ½ – 5  cups Unsalted Vegetable Stock

Preheat oven to 375-degrees.

Split the butternut squash in half and take the seeds out. Line a large sheet pan with foil. Place the squash on the pan, skin down, and drizzle olive oil until the squash is coated. Place it in the preheated oven and roast it for 45 minutes to an hour. When you can easily pierce the squash with a fork, take it out and let it cool to room temperature.  Once it’s cool enough to handle scoop the softened squash into a bowl.

In a Dutch oven or large soup pot, heat the canola oil over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the onions. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook until the onions are soft, then add the minced ginger, and cook until the onions are translucent.

Add 1 cup of the vegetable stock and the squash. Using an immersion blender, blend the onions, ginger, and butternut squash. Add the remaining vegetable stock, one cup at a time, blending well after each addition. Cover, and let simmer on low heat for ten minutes. How thick or thin the soup is up to you. If you like a thinner soup, add more stock, if a thicker soup is to your liking, add less.

Tips

  • You can save money buying fresh butternut squash and cubing it yourself. Split the squash in half, and then into quarters. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the skin, then cut into medium-sized chunks.
  • You can use unsalted or low salt vegetable broth
  • You can also use unsalted chicken stock or broth to add a little more depth to the soup
  • How much ginger you use is up to you. Remember, you can add more ginger, but you can’t take it out. If you use a bit more than intended and it has a little too much bite, you can a little applesauce to add a bit of sweetness and tamps the spiciness down.
  • If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a blender. Be careful to do it in small batches, and make sure the mixture isn’t too hot to avoid making a mess.
  • You can store the soup in the fridge for up to 11 days
  • This soup freezes beautifully in an airtight container for up to three months.

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Adaptable Recipes, Easy Preparation Meals, Food Glorious Food, Healthy Lifestyle Choices, Makeover Monday Meals, Slow Cooker

Makeover Monday Meal- Dinner Edition

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This Monday meal is just right for autumn and football season. When the temperatures drop, this chili will warm you up without weighing you down. It also comes together fairly quickly. Serve the chili alone, topped with cheese or over rice. It also goes well with guacamole and chips.

This is a family pleaser and perfect for Monday Night Football.

The recipe includes adaptations for vegetarians and vegans. It’s also gluten-free and high protein.

 

Chicken Chili by Still A Chick Lit

 

 

4 small or 3 large sweet onions, diced (Vidalia or Texas sweet)

2 green peppers, medium-diced

3 red peppers, medium-diced

1 orange pepper, medium-diced

1, yellow pepper, medium-diced

1 can low-sodium red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can low-sodium pink kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of unsalted chicken stock or broth

3 cans Campbells tomato soup

3 tablespoons chili powder, or to taste

1 pound ground chicken (or ground turkey)

1 pound ground chicken breast (or ground turkey breast)

3 tablespoons Canola oil

Add Canola or vegetable oil to a large pot over medium heat. Add your diced onions and peppers. Saute for 8 to 10 minutes. Add ground chicken and chicken breast in, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cover and let cook through, stirring occasionally.

When the chicken is no longer pink, add the chili powder and stir well. Add the beans and tomato soup. Mix well. Lower the flame and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

 

Vegan Substitution

  • 2 Packages of vegan ground meat
  • 1/4 cup to 1/2 unsalted vegetable stock or broth

 

To Make Using a Slow Cooker

  1. Cook the ground chicken separately in a skillet until cooked through. Set aside. Clean the skillet and add the onions and peppers. Cook until the vegetables are just beginning to soften. Remove from the heat.
  2. Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a slow cooker with the beans, tomato soup, seasoning, and chicken stock.
  3. Cover and cook on high until chili has thickened, about 4 hours. Or cook on low for 6 hours.

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