Recipe Spotlight: Beef and Cabbage

During the month of March, cabbage is a popular vegetable that can be found on sale at the grocery store. Cabbage is closely related to broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.  Cabbage is typically found in many salad mixes, but is also great in soups or roasted in the oven.  It is low-cost and can keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Adding one head of cabbage to one pound of ground beef can really stretch your food budget.  This recipe makes a healthy and satisfying meal.  Try adding other veggies you have on hand such as canned, diced tomatoes, chopped carrots, and onions.

Beef and Cabbage

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

1 whole green cabbage, cut into bite-size pieces and washed

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pound lean ground beef

Non-stick cooking spray

Garlic powder, salt and pepper

Optional: hot pepper flakes

Directions:

1.       Chop cabbage and onions. Set aside.

2.       In a large skillet, cook the ground beef on medium heat until browned.

3.       Drain the fat. Set beef aside.

4.       Spray skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Cook onions on medium heat until soft.

5.       Add cabbage to the onions and cook until cabbage starts to brown.

6.       Stir the beef into the cabbage and onion mixture.

7.       Season with garlic powder, salt and/or pepper. Add hot pepper flakes to cabbage if you like it spicy.

Gather all of the ingredients.

Wash and chop cabbage and onions.  Set aside.

In a large skillet, cook the ground beef on medium heat until browned. Drain the fat from the beef and set aside.

Spray a separate pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Cook onions on medium heat until soft.

Add cabbage to the onions and cook until cabbage starts to brown.

Stir beef into the cabbage and onion mixture.   Season with garlic powder, salt and/or pepper.  Add hot pepper flakes to cabbage if desired.

Enjoy!

Recipe Spotlight: Chicken Waldorf Salad

Apples are in season in the fall!  Try this recipe for Chicken Waldorf Salad and serve it for lunch or for dinner. Crunchy apples and celery, lettuce, dried cranberries, cooked chicken, and nuts, make this salad a quick and delicious meal your family can enjoy together!

Chicken Waldorf Salad
Servings:  6

Ingredients: 

3 red or green apples, washed 
3 tablespoons orange juice
¾ cup reduced fat mayonnaise
¾ cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins (or dried cranberries)
2 teaspoons curry powder (optional)
2 stalks celery, washed and chopped
½ sweet onion, chopped
2 cooked chicken breasts, chopped

Directions: 

Assemble all ingredients.

Rinse the apples, celery, and onion with water.

Peel the onion and chop.

Remove apple cores and chop with the peel included.

Toss the chopped apples with orange juice.

Place all ingredients except the mayonnaise in a bowl.

Add the mayonnaise to the other ingredients and stir together.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Recipe Spotlight: Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Carrot Packets

 
Summer is just around the corner! Have a plan for weeknight dinners even when you have a busy schedule.  Find quick, easy dinner ideas that don’t take a lot of time to prepare and cook, so that you can enjoy the warm weather and the extra daylight with your kids.  A quick dinner meal at home gives you more time to go outside and play in the evenings!  Try our Chicken, Sweet Potato and Carrot Packets for dinner one night this week.  Kids will love this healthy meal and it’s quick and easy – with little clean up!    

Chicken, Sweet Potato and Carrot Packets
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
2 boneless chicken breasts, each cut in half to make 4 pieces
2 sweet potatoes, washed, peeled and cut in thick slices
4 carrots, washed, peeled and cut in thick slices
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Cooking oil spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  
2. Spray 4 large pieces of foil with cooking oil spray.
3. Place 1 cup of vegetables on each foil piece and top with 1 piece of chicken.
4. Sprinkle seasoning on each piece of chicken. 
5. Fold foil to make a packet. Place on baking sheet and bake in oven for 30-45 minutes until chicken is cooked through. 

Gather all of your ingredients.

Wash the sweet potatoes and carrots. 

Peel the sweet potatoes and carrots.

Once the potatoes and carrots are peeled, cut them up.

Spray the aluminum foil with cooking spray.

Add 1 cup of vegetables on each piece of foil.

Top vegetables with one piece of chicken.

Sprinkle Italian seasoning on each piece of chicken.

Fold foil to make a packet.  Place on a baking sheet and bake in the
oven for 30-45 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

Remove from foil packet and serve!

Recipe Spotlight: Berry Good Pizza

 

There is only one more week until school starts back for the kids and you may need to find something fun for them to do.  Let them help make a pizza!  Not just any pizza but a fruit pizza!  This is a great treat for kids to enjoy and they can add their favorite fruits too!  Berry Good Pizza can also be a healthy dessert option after meals.

Berry Good Pizza
Serves 6

Ingredients
100% whole wheat pizza crust or 12-ounce can of refrigerated pizza dough
1/4 cup apple butter
6 large strawberries, washed and sliced
1/2 cup blueberries
Cinnamon (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. If using dough, roll out pizza dough to desired size and thickness.
3. Place crust on a baking sheet.
4. Spread the apple butter over the crust.
5. Arranged the strawberries and blueberries as desired on the crust.
6. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon if desired.
7. Bake on the center rack of the oven for about 15 minutes or until the crust is brown and crisp.
8. Serve with a glass of low-fat milk or cup of yogurt.

Gather all of the ingredients.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Wash strawberries and blueberries.  Slice strawberries.

Spread apple butter over the crust.

Place strawberries and blueberries on top!  Bake for 15 minutes
or until crust is brown and crisp.

 

 

 

Cut pizza into 6 servings. Serve with low-fat milk or yogurt!

Recipe Spotlight: Confetti Apple Slaw

 

Are you looking for a healthy side dish to bring to a picnic this summer?  Then this Confetti Apple Slaw is the perfect dish for you.  Whether you are meeting friends for an outside gathering or sitting down at the table with your family, Confetti Apple Slaw is a healthy option everyone will love!

By using fruits, vegetables, and other simple ingredients, this recipe puts a healthy twist on an old classic.  Try out this recipe and add more fruits and vegetables to your meals!

Confetti Apple Slaw
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons orange concentrate, defrosted
1 apple, washed, unpeeled, cored and diced
1/2 head cabbage, washed, cored and diced
1 small red onion, washed and finely chopped
1 red or green sweet bell pepper, washed, seeds removed and chopped
3 Tablespoons raisins
1 Tablespoon reduced-fat mayonnaise
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together juice concentrate and diced apple.
2. Add cabbage, onion, pepper, and raisins.
3. In a small bowl stir together mayonnaise, yogurt, mustard, paprika, and pepper to make dressing.
4. Add vegetable mixture to dressing and mix well.  
5. Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Gather all of your ingredients.

Wash and dice all fruits and vegetables.

In a large bowl, stir together juice concentrate and diced apple.

Add cabbage, onion, pepper, and raisins to apple mixture.

In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise, yogurt,
mustard, paprika, and pepper to make dressing.

Add dressing to vegetable mixture and mix well. 
Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Recipe Spotlight: Veggie Quesadillas

Whether you have a large family or a small one, it's important to have quick, healthy meals in your recipe bank for busy weeknight dinners.  Veggie Quesadilla's are an easy kid-approved meal that the whole family will love.  They are a great way to get veggies, whole grains, and calcium on the plate.  The best part is they are easy to make and taste great the next day.  Try making these Veggie Quesadilla's for your family this week!

Veggie Quesadilla
Serves: 4             Makes 2 quesadillas

Ingredients:
1 small zucchini, washed and chopped
1/2 broccoli head, washed and chopped
1 green bell pepper, washed, seeded, and chopped
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
1 carrot, scrubbed and shredded
4 8-inch whole wheat tortillas
1/2 cup low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup salsa
Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Spray pan with cooking spray.
2. Cook vegetables on medium heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove from pan.
3. Spray pan with cooking spray again.  Place tortilla in the pan.  Add half of the vegetables and half of the cheese.
4. Place the other tortilla on top.  Cook on medium heat for 4-6 minutes or until the cheese starts to melt and the bottom tortilla starts to brown.
5. Flip quesadilla.  Cook for 4 minutes or until tortilla browns.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 to make another quesadailla.
7. Cut each quesadilla in half.  Serve with salsa. 

 

Gather all of the ingredients.

 

Wash and chop zucchini, broccoli, bell pepper, onion, and carrots.

 

Add all chopped veggies to the pan.  Cook on medium

heat for 4-5 minutes or until tender.

  

 

Remove the veggies from the pan and set aside.

 

 

Spray the pan with cooking spray again.  Add the tortilla
to the pan. 

 

 

Add half of the veggies and half of the cheese to the tortilla.

 

Place the other tortilla on top of the veggies and cheese.

  Cook on medium heat 4-6 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Flip quesdilla and cook 4 minutes or until tortilla is brown.

 

Cut each quesadilla in half and serve with salsa!

Recipe Spotlight: Fruit Salad with Jicama

 

Fruit salad make the perfect addition to a late-summer barbeque.  The sweet, juicy flavors of fresh fruit can be eaten as a side dish, a dessert, and even part of breakfast in the morning.  Creating fruit salad in the kitchen is a great way to let kids try new fruits.

Try a tropical fruit salad with jicama, mango, kiwi, papaya, and watermelon. Some of these fruits may not be familiar to your children.  Let your child help prepare them in the kitchen and they are more likely to give the new fruits a try.  Let your child help wash and mix the fruit together, checking out the different textures and smells.


Fruit Salad with Jicama
Serves: 6

Ingredients: 
1 jicama, washed and sliced in thin strips
2 cups watermelon or cantaloupe, cut in cubes
1 mango, washed, peeled and cut in cubes
1 papaya, washed, peeled and seeded, cut in cubes
1 kiwi, washed, peeled and cut in cubes
1/2 lime, juiced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder


Directions:

1. Add fruit to large bowl.
2. Sprinkle the lime juice over the fruit.
3. In a small bowl, mix the salt and chili powder.  Sprinkle mixture over fruit.
4. Chill in the refrigerator before serving.

Gather all of your ingredients!

 

 

 

Peel the jicama and then cut into thin strips.

 

Peel the kiwi and cut into cubes.

 

 

Remove the seeds from the papaya, peel and cut into cube pieces.

 

Cut watermelon in half and then cut cube pieces.

 

 

 

Cut mango in half, remove the pit and cut into cube pieces.

 

 

Add cut up fruit into one large bowl.

 

 

 

 Now it's time to add the additional ingredients to the salad.

 

 

Squeeze juice from 1/2 lime onto fruit.

 

 

 

 

In a small bowl, mix together salt and chili powder.  Sprinkle on bowl of fruit.

 

 

 

 

 

Place in the refrigerator until chilled!