Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Apparently I let time slip by a bit too long - two weeks since my last post? Whoops! My apologies!

Now back to topic...Chicken Lettuce Wraps. It's what we had for dinner! I've been trying very hard to stick to a pretty strict diet, since I live with Type 2 diabetes. Random foods set off my blood sugar, and some foods don't seem to have as much of an effect, but one thing is for sure - if I mix carbs with protein, I don't "spike." So I've been making an effort to keep my fruits to earlier in the day, have my carbs at lunch, and have fewer carbs at dinner, with lots of good, lean protein and lots of veggies!

In perusing Pinterest (one of my late-night recipe searching addictions), I found a recipe for PF Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps. Sounds good, right? They were!

All my ingredients in place!

Here's the recipe, including the items I added:

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lb. ground chicken (I diced 3 chicken breasts)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced (I used 6 cloves)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger
• 1 tsp. Sriracha, or more, to taste
• 1 (8 oz.) can whole water chestnuts, drained & diced
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 head butter lettuce

Everything is cooked together at pretty much the same time, though the recipe says to cook the chicken first...alone. I tried it that way, and I think had it been cooked with all the sauces, onions, etc., then there would have been a better flavor within the chicken. Perhaps even let all the ingredients hang out together for an hour or so before cooking. Then the chicken would really take on all those other wonderful flavors. 

Once the chicken is all cooked, it's then served in the butter lettuce leaves. No breads, no rice, just lettuce. I think a little bit of rice would have been delicious with this, too...I thought about making some, but I was hungry!

The finished product!

I also have to add - my husband asked, mid-meal, if I took pictures of my food for the blog. Of course I did! I have a few ideas stacked up, so I'll have to get caught up! Some lemon blueberry bread sounds like a wonderful treat for the office next week...and a great subject for another blog!

Banana Nut Bran Muffins...A Childhood Favorite

When I was a child, I remember the phases of the banana: too green to eat, yellow but not quite ripe, perfectly ripe, and black. The only negative phase was the first, and one of the best, the last. Black bananas represented time to make banana nut bran muffins. I realize they're "bran muffins," but they're so moist and delicious, it doesn't matter.

I'm trying to swap out some ingredients in recipes for a bit healthier options, so one of the key ingredients that I swapped out was the flour. Instead, I pulled out my food processor and some old fashioned oats. A few seconds later, I had ground oats.

Oat "flour"

So here's the recipe I've followed since as long as I can remember:

• 2 cups bran (found in the bulk section of grocery stores)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 overripe bananas
• 1/2 cup nuts (chopped)
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup flour (or ground oats)
• 1/2 cup sugar (or all-natural applesauce)
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/4 cup molasses (measure the oil first, then measure the molasses)

Add in the first 6 ingredients, and pulse in the food processor to moisten the bran and the milk. Then add the rest of the ingredients, inlcluding raisins if desired (I always desire raisins in mine!). Divide into sprayed muffin cups (up to 3/4 full), and bake at 400* for 20 minutes, then check for doneness. Cool for 5 minutes, remove from the muffin tin, and then put into a plastic bag while still slightly warm. Typically makes 12 muffins.

Banana bran muffins baking away!

These are moist, dense muffins, and are sweet, but not overly sweet. The sugars from the banana really make these wonderful, and they're not so "bran" that they're dry or obviously "healthy." For me, it's just a perfect mid-morning snack at work. Just enough, not too much, and full of all sorts of goodness! 

Hope you enjoy these!

Slow Cooker Korean Beef Tacos

While wandering Pinterest one evening (I'm an electronic recipe hoarder), I saw a recipe for Korean beef tacos, cooked in the slow cooker. SO good...

Yesterday, I prepped the "sauce" that the beef would be cooking in: onions, garlic, jalapeno, soy sauce, brown sugar, fresh ginger, and rice wine vinegar...oh, and the beef. Can't forget that. Then in the last 30 minutes of cooking, coleslaw mix was added to the beef. Coleslaw mix is so underrated, but it's quite a versatile item! And easy to make without having to buy the store-bought mix. C'mon - it's just thin sliced cabbage and grated carrots. Easily done.

All the ingredients in the pot! Now to let it sit for 8-10 hours on low...

The sauce for the beef prepped the day before, ready to go with directions and all!

Mondays are my longest days at work (typically, but this week I'm covering for a coworker while she's on vacation, so I have a LOT of long days this week), so throwing something into the crockpot that was healthy, fresh, and ready to go when I got home from was was absolutely ideal. The prep took me maybe 20-30 minutes yesterday, and then less than 5 minutes this morning. Then this evening, it shred so easily, and that was it. Tortillas, some fresh cilantro, and that's it. Dinner. 

My only recommendation for future Korean tacos would be to make a vinegar-based pickled salad with the cabbage, carrots, onion and fresh cilantro. It did need a little crunch, but overall, so delicious. I'll definitely do this one again!

The finished (delicious!) product!

Through the Generations

I have a strange item that I love to hang onto after family members have passed: their recipes and cookbooks. Not just what the recipes are, but the actual recipe itself, in their own hand. It's a weird connection between the generations before me, and those that will follow. My son will be able to read out and use recipes written in his great-grandmother's hand, or his great-great-grandmother's hand. It's an odd thing to keep, but I'm somehow drawn to them.

My grandmother Dorothy's old cookbooks 

with hand-written recipes in the front cover 

My grandmother Anna's recipe box. The front ones are hand-written,

but the back ones came in the Betty Crocker box set.

I'm quite proud that my great-grandmother, Elsie Ryan, had her recipes published in a cookbook. It may have been the church cookbook, but still...she's been published! 

A well-loved, much-used cookbook 

Great Grandma Elsie's brownie recipe - hands down the best!

My great-grandmother was known for her persimmon bread, my great aunt for her persimmon cookies, my grandmother for her pies, my mother for...well, you're getting the point. Cooking, recipes, and having a focus on quality food for our families has been part of our lives for generations. My great-grandmother would chop walnuts for persimmon bread with a hand-crank nut chopper, and would bake hundreds of loaves of bread (each batch called for 1 cup of nuts...that's a lot of chopping). Even now, it feels wrong to make persimmon bread or cookies without using a hand-crank chopper for the walnuts. I was lucky enough to find the same style chopper in a thrift store in Eureka, CA for $1.50. Well worth the memories, and doing things "right."

Plus, how fun is it to flip through old cookbooks and see what was considered mainstream meals at that time? It might be even more fun to give some a try. 

Pan Seared Brussels Sprouts - A Pinterest Experiment

In addition to being a foodie, I'm most definitely a recipe hoarder, and there's no better way to amass a random variety of recipes than...Pinterest. I'll speak more on my collection of cookbooks and family recipes in another post, but tonight, the recipe is from the interwebs.

My cousin saw me "pin" a recipe for Pan Seared Brussels Sprouts, and suggested that it be used for a coming blog. So here we are - I even happened to have all the ingredients at home, including those mini-cabbage like vegetables.

Here's what I needed for tonight's adventure, and the swaps/additions I did:

1 lb. brussels sprouts, stem removed & cut in half
2/3 cup fresh cranberries (I used dried cherries)
1/3 cup gorgonzola cheese (I swapped for blue cheese)
1/3 cup pecans
1 cup barley, cooked per the instructions on the package
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

I started the barley first, since the package said it took 45 minutes to cook, then prepped my sprouts, and gathered everything else. About halfway through cooking the barley, I added the oil to the pan, and then threw in the sprouts and the cherries (I thought I had cranberries, at least dried ones...I was wrong). I let that cook for about 8-10 minutes on medium, seasoned with salt & pepper, then tossed in the pecans. Next time, I'll likely toast the pecans first - then they have a little extra crunch, and the flavors are just that much more amazing. At that point, I also added some bacon...not part of the original recipe, but looking at the other ingredients, it sounded like it would fit (and it did!).

Cooking away - before the additions of the maple syrup, vinegar, barley & blue cheese.

Once the sprouts, cherries, bacon and pecans were cooked, the maple syrup and balsamic go into the pan. At that point, it's darn near done. Luckily, by then the barley was done, so I tossed that into the sprouts. To top it off, a sprinkling of blue cheese.

All done, just without the blue cheese

I have to say, SO AWESOME. I'm glad I added the bacon - it adds a little extra punch. And next time I think the barley needs to be seasoned a bit more. I ended up having just this for dinner, and I bet if it needed to be altered to accommodate a gluten-free diet, quinoa would be a wonderful substitute.

I'd recommend this recipe...it was good, filling, and easy. SO easy. Bon Appetit!

The final product!

Clean Comfort

I guess for lack of a better term, I'm a foodie...bordering on food addict. There are some foods I simply cannot have in the house, since I'll eat it ALL before I stop. A pint of Ben & Jerry's? A serving is when my spoon reaches the bottom of the carton.

One of my absolute favorite comfort foods: spaghetti. One of my absolute favorite breakfasts: COLD leftover spaghetti. Yes, I have weird food cravings. Go ahead and judge. I don't really care for cereal at all either. And on the rare occasion I do eat it, I eat it dry. No milk, nothing, just the cereal...the non-sugared cereal. But back on track.

Earlier this past weekend I made a batch of turkey meatballs (they were gluten-free, too for the gluten sensitive out there). So of course, on tonights menu was spaghetti and meatballs. The only part NOT made from scratch was the whole wheat linguine.

So on the stove I had fresh Farmer's Market zucchini sauteeing in a tiny bit of EVOO and pepper, my homemade tomato sauce and homemade turkey meatballs, and the pasta all simmering away.

My tomato sauce is actually from last year, from tomatoes that I grew in my own garden. Though many recipes say to peel them, I didn't bother. I didn't bother seeding them either. I simply cut off the stem portion, cut them into chunks, and tossed them into a big pot along with lots of chopped garlic, diced onion, oregano, and lots of fresh basil. So simple. And everything was fresh. I made another batch of sauce recently with the following:

• 7-8 large tomatoes, cored, then cut into chunks
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 bunch of fresh basil, removed from stems and chopped
• 6-8 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 large zucchini, grated 

I let it all cook down for a few hours, and then let it cool. At that point, I used an immersion blender to get everything the same texture. The zucchini was thrown in there as an added veggie bonus. My husband won't typically eat zucchini, but he likely won't notice that it's in there since I stuck an immersion blender into the pot and pulverised it! Plus, zucchini really has no taste, and it's so low in calories, that it's just an added bonus. 

Another strange thing: in the past week, I have walked away from my dinner plate with food still on my plate after only one serving. My plate STILL had food on it. More than once. It's a weird feeling.

So tonight, it felt even better knowing I made clean comfort food, and then stopped eating when I was full. It's a weird feeling, but I think I like it!

"He who fails to plan is planning to fail"

Winston Churchill said it darn right when he said, "He who fails to plan is planning to fail." I had my first "oops" this week when I left the house for a meeting this morning, and realized halfway there that I would be gone for a few hours, and hadn't brought a snack. BIG no-no. Only after I got home did I realize that I had a small bag of roasted almonds with me the entire time. I had planned ahead a while ago, and simply forgot today.

With that now behind me, I made sure to start my meal planning for the week. That includes making hte list of dinners for the week, moving proteins out of the freezer and making sure they're defrosted and prepped, cooking a few of the proteins and so on. I tend to focus on my protein first, since that seems to be the hardest part for me to figure out each night. And since I have a plan ahead of time, it makes life SO much easier.

In addition, on nights that I work later, I plan for simpler meals. I work part-time for my church, and then part-time as the Administrative Director for a nonprofit children's residential summer music camp (Sierra Mountain Music Camp, iSMMC.com), plus I have a 16 month old son. That's enough to keep ANYONE busy. Mondays and Wednesdays are my longer days, so for this week, Monday is spaghetti & meatballs. WHAT?? Yes, that's what I said. Whole wheat pasta with homemade, no sugar added spaghetti sauce and scratch-made turkey meatballs, seen below.

My recipe for turkey meatballs is pretty simple - ground turkey breast, one egg, herbs (I used "Butt Rub"), one grated zucchini (sneaking veggies in there!), garlic, onion, salt and pepper. I then used a cookie scoop to create equal portions, rolled them out, browned them in a little EVOO, and finished them in the oven at 350* for 15 minutes. Simple. 30 meatballs done, ready for Monday's dinner, and for later this week.

I have to share last night's dinner as well - grilled whole wheat veggie pizza. SO GOOD. I cheated a bit, and used a pre-made dough, but it made it easier on me. The dough I purchased is from Winco, and is only $1.49, plus it's whole wheat. I rolled out the dough with a little corn meal, then heated up the grill. On it went for about 3-4 minutes on one side, then I inverted it, brought it inside, brushed it with EVOO, and added thinly sliced zucchini, cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced purple onion, crumbled feta, and a bit of leftover grilled chicken (optional). The crust was thin, crispy, and everything was so good. In the future, I'd put down aluminum foil perhaps after the toppings are on, so then the toppings can "cook" while crust doesn't burn. Other than that, so yummy, so fresh.

So it's back to the meal planning for the week - so far we're good through Wednesday, so there will be more to come! Tomorrow night is spinach salad with boiled eggs, red onion, and cucumber. Simple dinner for Sunday night, plus that gives me more time to prep for the week. I've noticed on the nights I have more time, it helps to prep for more than one meal that night, so then the pressure is taken off of the busier nights.

And the best part, I am NOT planning to fail. I'm planning to succeed.

Why "Life Starts in the Kitchen"?

One of the hardest steps in starting this blog: What in the world do I name it??

Every single family event that I can remember, celebration, gathering, whatnot...more often than not focuses itself in the kitchen, and on the food. I can remember, and cherish the memories, of going to my Grandma's house on Christmas Eve, and the life that surrounded her kitchen, her dining room tables (yes, PLURAL), and the traditions that surrounded it. There were always snack stuffs around the BIG dining table (the one that sat 16), and then in the kitchen you could find my aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, friends...nearly everyone who wasn't watching football.

Grandma's kitchen, Christmas Eve

Once dinner was ready, Grandpa would carve the turkey with the electric knife, turning that turkey into ground turkey, and then the buffet line would begin. It was typically a potluck style, since my mom is one of six kids, and in my generation, there are 17 of us, 8 of whom are married now, and now, there are 9 in the next generation, my son included. So, it's a BIG family, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I love it.

We'd all sit down in our appropriate seats, and often, there was a kids' table, or two, plus an extended dining table. There was one year that about 33 people came for Christmas Eve dinner, and the tables made a reversed "L." It was one for the recordbooks.

After dinner, a team of dish-takers and dish-washers would begin their duties, some carrying, some washing, some drying. In addition, the next round of food would be making its way to the limelight. Someone would start brewing the coffee, the pies would come out, and when I was a child, someone was in charge of taking pie orders: apple, berry, or mince. And my Grandma's pies were AMAZING. One thing I do take pride in is in making my own homemade pie crust from SCRATCH. My mother taught me, her mother taught her.

This past October, my Grandma passed away at the age of 89, so we had our first Thanksgiving and Christmas without her. When it came time to do dishes, I broke down into tears. I was with my husband's family, and it was just me doing dishes. No dish-takers, no dish-washers, no pie-order-taking children. I missed the life in the kitchen, even though it was a different kitchen.

I've always been drawn towards the recipes of family members, especially those written in their own hand. It's like there's a part of me with them, in the kitchen. I have the exact same nut grinder as my Great Grandmother, and use it each time I make persimmon nut bread or persimmon cookies, even though it's more labor intensive. I have my Nana's cookie recipes in her own hand. It's like having them nearby, linked by something that really hasn't changed that much - cooking in the kitchen.

With that, I strongly believe Life Starts in the Kitchen. Every family event, family gathering, every day - the kitchen brings life together, and creates such wonderful memories. Oh, and some darn awesome food, too.

The Routine of Making Preparation a Routine

Each night, right after dinner, I've made a dedicated effort to create a new routine: prepping my breakfast and lunch for the next day, and planning out the following night's dinner. Last night, I even sat down with my trusty little "What to EAT" note pad, and planned out meals for the rest of the week.

Somehow, I felt calmer knowing exactly what was coming, and exactly what I'd need in my kitchen to get through the rest of the week. Many nights, there has been a battle of "What do YOU want for dinner?" "I dunno, what do YOU want?" So now there's no question. Just action. Tonights dinner cooked in the same amount of time that it took me to empty the dishwasher, and even managed to clean up the kitchen...a little. In my defense, we were out of town for 9 days, and just got back Sunday. Add in the cold I'm battling, and you get a wreck of a house. 

Luckily, on Monday after I did a massive grocery shopping trip, where I barely went down a single aisle, and instead ended up walking mostly the perimeter of the store, I came home and prepped a bunch of food, including tonight's dinner: grilled teriyaki chicken (it has been marinading since Monday), steamed wild rice blend from the Korean market nearby (LOVE that store!), and steamed broccoli. So good...so SIMPLE. I didn't use the sweet teriyaki sauce my husband loves, but watered down a saltier version, added TONS of fresh chopped garlic, and then let it sit for two days, flipping the bag around about 2-3 times per day to ensure that every bit of chicken soaked in the flavor.

Even after making dinner (and of course, eating it), I made sure to take some time to continue with my nightly routine. So tomorrow's breakfast is ready, my coffee is set to be brewed, and my lunch and snacks are prepared, packaged, and ready to go. I'm making preparation a routine. Tomorrow's dinner is even figured out, as seen on the "What to EAT" notepad. Have I mentioned I love that thing? It makes meal planning a BREEZE! There's even space for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. 

Feel free to post questions, or if there are any topics you'd like me to cover. I'm open to suggestion! I'm also now posting onto my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/lifestartsinthekitchen). Wow...looks like I'm really doing this! Ready, set...GO!

Conquering the Cold

This past weekend, we wrapped up our 20th season of Sierra Mountain Music Camp (www.iSMMC.com - yes, I'm plugging camp for our 21st season already!). And true to form, I wore myself out, worked long hours (probably too long), and now, am feeling the effects: sore throat, congestion...yep, a cold. That dreaded "I brought this upon myself cold."

So despite starting to feel sick, I made a conscious effort when I made my dinner tonight. I figured chicken noodle soup might not be the best option right now, especially since I would love to have more noodles than anything else. At that point I realized - hot and sour soup. I first tried it about 6 months ago, and LOVED it, and have since made it a few times at home. Simple ingredients, I can add protein and veggies, and it's quick. I found a recipe online at AllRecipes.com, and quickly started altering it. I tripled the mushrooms, doubled the egg, added three big handfulls of spinach, bamboo shoots, green onions, and tossed in about 1/3 cup of leftover carnitas. It's perfect. Though, not exactly "hot" in the spicy sense, but it'll cut the bill for comfort in a bowl. Plus it's not processed, fake, or junk. It's delicious, and took maybe 20 minutes to make.

Yesterday, I made Greek chicken pasta salad, and had that for lunch...so...freaking...GOOD. It had overnight to sit in the red wine vinegarette, the onion and garlic were fragrant, but not overpowering, the tomatoes added a little acidic bite, the chicken was lemony/garlicky...just good. I think had I brought more with me, my coworkers may have grabbed a fork and dug in.

I made a concerted effort this morning to pack my meals, my snacks, and my beverages. In the end, I stayed ON TRACK ALL DAY. Protein shake in the morning, pecans for a morning snack, Greek chicken salad for lunch, turkey and string cheese with a handful of oven-roasted almonds for afternoon snack, followed by the delicious hot and sour soup. The bag I brought to work was nearly overflowing with food, mostly snacks: veggies, hummus, string cheese, turkey, roasted pecans and almonds, mixed berries, and iced tea. I think I took up nearly an entire shelf...but that's ok!

So on the list for tomorrow? Leftover hot and sour soup for lunch, there's plenty of snacks available at work. For dinner, I'm thinking the chicken I started marinading yesterday with some brown rice and steamed broccoli. 

Oh, and kicking this darned cold!!

Time for a Kickstart

You name it, and chances are that I've tried it. I've been fighting this same battle for as long as I can remember. In high school, I'd have only an orange, carrots, and a Diet Dr. Pepper for lunch, and for a few years I was vegan. In college, it was SlimFast. Since then, it has been Weight Watchers, South Beach, gluten-free, high protein, low carb, diabetic, and...and...and.

A few months ago, I was urged to sign up for Moms in Training with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. With them, and their trainers, I successfuly completed my first 5k, and have done 2 others, and have signed up for a few more. Despite moving more, watching what I eat...no change on the scale. For lack of a better word: FRUSTRATING. 

One of the trainers from MNT (Moms in Training) urged me to start a 24 day challenge which is definitely...a kickstart. I signed up, and I start Thursday (I have to wait for some items to arrive). So starting then, it'll be shakes in the morning, and supplements. Plus my own snacks and food for the rest of the day. 

Since we've been gone for the past week, I had to go to the grocery store today, but luckily had my new handy-dandy grocery list. Never before have I left the grocery store with such a full cart and going down so few aisles. Translation: I shopped the perimeter of the store. Lots of produce, lean meats, bulk items like lentils, almonds, pecans, and even some bran to make banana bran muffins (I'm going to tweak my recipe).

After unloading the car, I started my list of what to make for the week. As my trainer says, meal planning is KEY. So far today, I accomplished the following:

1. Oven roasted almonds (350*, 15 minutes)
2. Toasted pecans with smoked paprika (stovetop)
3. Greek chicken pasta salad: whole wheat penne, chicken (marinaded in EVOO, lemon juice, rosemary, thyme, oregano and garlic), olives, feta, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and red bell pepper tossed with a red wine vinegarette (EVOO, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, oregano). (See the first picture)
4. Crockpot carnitas:trimmed pork shoulder, taco seasoning, water; 6 hours on high, then shredded; served with sauteed red bell pepper and onion, cilantro, and a little bit of shredded cheese and light sour cream (see the second picture)
5. Prepped chicken for later this week - it's marinading in a low-sodium teriyaki sauce with TONS of garlic
6. Cooked down mixed berries with lemon rind and enough cornstarch to thicken, and put them into single serving cups

Something needs to change, and I like to eat. Strike that...love to eat. And luckily, I really enjoy cooking. Not so much the dishes, but it's worth it.

So follow me on my journey. I'll share food ideas, meal planning, and my journey. And since I have a cute little kid, he'll probably sneak in here somehow, too!

Now to track my dinner (I use MyFitnessPal), and get my food and snacks laid out for tomorrow! No excuses, no "cheat" days. Today is the first day of a BIG journey. Let's take the first step together.