Spaghetti Squash

Tonight I had a new, old experience. I have had spaghetti squash, however it has been about 15 years. Tonight we replaced the regular whole grain pasta with spaghetti squash. It was simply amazing. I could happily give up most regular pasta at this point. I really enjoyed it plain or with pasta sauce. I then proceeded to try it with a little olive oil and fresh herbs. It was SOOOO good. You may be wondering at this point why this is significant? The reason is compared to whole grain pasta's 200 + calories per cup where as spaghetti squash has 42 calories per cup.  Yes that is right 42 calories, and it has 2.5 grams of fiber in that one cup. That means if I want a whole plate of "spaghetti" an average of 3 cups of spaghetti squash it is only 126 calories. This is an amazing amount of food, for a very low calorie count. If you add a cup and a half of Hunts Mushroom Spaghetti Sauce it adds 150 calories equaling 276 calories for enough food for two people.

I hope you enjoy try this amazing food and find a new favorite like I did.

Jake

P.S. I forgot to let ya know how to cook it...lol

It is super simple to cook. Just pierce the skin a couple times and place it in the microwave for 6-9 minutes until the skin is soft. Then cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. Scrape the
"noodles" out of the squash and enjoy. Super simple.

High Fiber Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 c Whole Wheat Flour
1 c Whole Oat Flour
1 c Cooked Pumpkin
4 Medium Eggs
2/3 c Bob's Red Mill Oat Bran Cereal
3/4 c Fat Free Sour Cream
2 T Molasses
2 T Ginger Root
1 1/2 c Sugar
1 t Salt
1 1/2 t Baking Soda
1/3 c Dark Chocolate Chips

Place the Oat Bran cereal through either a spice or coffee grinder to a fine flour. Mix all dry ingredients. Add all additional ingredients, and mix well. Place in a prepared muffin tin.  Cook at 350 Degrees 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the muffin comes out clean.
Enjoy.

Makes 24 servings

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 24
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 132.1

• Total Fat: 2.2 g
• Cholesterol: 27.9 mg
• Sodium: 220.8 mg
• Total Carbs: 27.2 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2.6 g
• Protein: 3.4 g

Kitchen Sink Quiche

This is awesome. Admittedly not an everyday food but just amazing.

Oven Temp 350   Dutch Oven 300 deg bottom and 450 top

2 Red Garnet Yams

2 Red Potatoes

1 Leek stalk

2 Garlic Cloves

1 Small yellow onion

1 yellow summer squash

1 bell pepper

1 jalapeno

1.5 oz. Smoked Gouda

1.5 oz. Smoked Gruyere

1.5 oz. Smoked Cheddar

3 slices of bacon

2 oz. ham

3 Stalks Fresh Tarragon

1/8 c fresh chives

8 eggs

1/2 c milk

1/4 c sour cream

1/4 t fresh grated nutmeg (1/8 t if using ground nutmeg)

2 c Whole Grain Flour

1/3 c butter (softened)

1/2 t Salt

1/8-1/3 c very cold water

Heat to boiling enough water to cook the yams and potatoes in.  On a medium high burner prepare the peppers by charring the outside, directly on the burner. This takes about 30 seconds on each side. Chop the yams and potatoes into bite size chunks. Boil the yams while you are cutting the potatoes. Add the potatoes. Chop the leeks, ensuring they are clean; be sure to check under the first layer after slicing the length of the leeks. If you don’t check the leeks you will have sand in your quiche. After slicing length wise chop them into 1/2 inch sections, and add to the yams. Cook the yams and potatoes till they offer very little resistance when poked with a fork, turn off the heat and set aside when done. While the yams are boiling fry the bacon. Chop the onion, and using some of the bacon grease sauté the onions. Crush the garlic and add it to the onions. Chop the summer squash into bite size chunks, add to the onions.  Chop the peppers and sauté in the bacon pan over medium heat until they are al dente.  Chop the bacon and ham into bite size chunks, and refrigerate. Cut the cheese into small chunks, about 1/4 x 1/4 inch cubes. Strain the yams. Place the peppers, onions, bacon, ham, nutmeg,  and yams in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. This mixture will most probably smell very strong, it is supposed to. Place the veggie mixture in the refrigerator, and cool while preparing the remainder of the dish. In a medium bowl combine the eggs, sour cream, milk, tarragon, and chives. For the crust, in a bowl mix the flour and salt till fully combine, add the butter and cut in with a pastry paddle or a couple butter knives, until it resembles rough cornmeal.  Mix in enough water to make medium dough. Press the dough into a pie plate, or a Dutch oven.  Spread the cheese over the crust. Pour the veggie mixture over this, and finish with pouring the egg mixture over that. Bake in the oven 350 for 55 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes. In a Dutch oven start with 8-10 coals on the bottom and 17 on the top, and cook for 35-45 minutes and check, if it needs more time add 4-5 coals to the top, and 2-3 to the bottom. Cook this until the middle jiggles a little and the edges are firm. As you probably guessed I just cleaned out my refrigerator to put this delicious quiche together, the nice thing about quiche is it works with so many kinds of veggies, meats, and cheeses.  Try it with steak and replace one of the cheeses with blue cheese and add 2 T brown or honey mustard. Super good!!

Enjoy

Jake

Makes approximately 12 servings

						Amount Per Serving   Calories 240.6   Total Fat 13.0 g       Saturated Fat 6.6 g       Polyunsaturated Fat 1.0 g       Monounsaturated Fat 2.4 g   Cholesterol 150.8 mg   Sodium 425.1 mg   Potassium 328.4 mg   Total Carbohydrate 19.3 g       Dietary Fiber 2.7 g       Sugars 1.5 g   Protein 12.4 g

Gingerbread Cake

I love gingerbread, but since it isn't the best for you I don't have much of it. I have changed the recipe a little to make it much healthier. I like it to have a lot of ginger, if you don't like spicy food you may want to reduce the ginger by 50% or more.

Ingredients:

4 T Butter
2 Medium Eggs
2/3 c Fat Free Sour Cream
1T Ground Cinnamon
2 1/2 T Ground Ginger
1/2 t Nutmeg
1/4 t Black Pepper
1/4 c Applesauce
4 T Ginger Root Finely Grated
1/2 t Baking Powder
3/4 t Baking Soda
1/2 c Molasses
1/2 c Brown Sugar
1 3/4 c Whole Oat Flour
3/4 c Whole Wheat Flour
1 c Very Hot Water


Add all the dry ingredients in one bowl and set aside. In a large mixer bowl cream the butter, applesauce and sugar, then add the eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition. Add the sour cream and grated ginger root.  In a bowl combine the cup of hot water and molasses. Alternately mix the flour mix and the molasses with the butter mixture. When combine fully continue mixing for 3-4 minutes to develop the gluten. Pour in a prepared 8x8 pan.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. This cake is good alone or with hot lemon pudding and whipped cream.

Nutrition Info

12 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		231.8
Total Fat		5.4 g
	Saturated Fat	2.9 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.5 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	1.4 g
Cholesterol		38.6 mg
Sodium		153.9 mg
Potassium		377.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate		43.2 g
	Dietary Fiber	3.6 g
	Sugars	19.7 g
Protein		5.2 g

Thai Cashew Pepper Chicken

I made this in a dutch oven tonight at school. It was SOOOOO good.

18 oz Boneless skinless chicken tenderloin
1 package Thai rice noodles
2T Soy Sauce
5 T Hoisin sauce
2 t Sesame Oil
1/2 c Thai Sweet Pepper Sauce
1 1/2 T Canola Oil
1 c Chicken stock
2 T Corn Starch

Place oils in a fry pan and heat to medium heat. Brown chicken. While the chicken is cooking in a large bowl place the rice noodles and cover with water to soak while the rest of the mixture cooks. Mix the remaining ingredients in a small bowl, reserving the cashews. When the chicken is browned add the sauce and cook covered over med low heat for 5-7 minutes. The noodles need to soak for at least ten minutes. When the chicken is done add the noodles, and mix well, cook for five minutes. Garnish with the cashews.

Enjoy

6 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		464.0
Total Fat		16.9 g
	Saturated Fat	2.8 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	3.8 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	9.3 g
Cholesterol		54.1 mg
Sodium		651.2 mg
Potassium		186.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate		52.9 g
	Dietary Fiber	1.7 g
	Sugars	12.7 g
Protein		23.4 g

Turkey Noodle Soup

Meat from a small turkey breast.
1 large onion
4 medium carrots
1 head of celery
1/4 c butter
1 bag 12 oz Al Dente Fettuccine
1/2 - 1 gallon water
Salt as needed (I calculated at 2 Tsp)

Place the frozen young hen turkey breast in a crock pot over night on low. I usually put mine on at round eleven or midnight and then as soon as I wake up at 7 or 8 the turkey is done so I turn it to keep warm. When you are ready to cook the soup, place the butter in a large stock pot over medium heat. When the butter is melted add chopped onions, chopped carrots, and chopped celery. Saute for 10 minutes. Add 1/2 of the water, and bring to a boil. While the water is coming to a boil remove all the meat from the bone. Place drippings from the turkey in the stock pot. and the meat in the pot. Simmer for 1 - 4 hours. When you are ready to serve add water as needed and bring to a boil. Add the noodles and boil until the noodles are "Al Dente" firm but not crunchy. Serve with a roll and enjoy.

I often make my own noodles and you can use any variation of pasta you would like, or change it up with brown rice. For the brown rice it is good to cook it over night with the turkey, but if you do make sure you add enough water to keep it very moist over night, or it will burn to the bottom of the crock pot. When choosing a turkey make sure it is not pre-basted if you can to save on sodium. This is also good the day after Thanksgiving rather than the customary dry turkey sandwiches:)

Number of Servings: 15

Calories		325.1
Total Fat		13.4 g
	Saturated Fat	4.8 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	2.4 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	4.5 g
Cholesterol		91.2 mg
Sodium		449.2 mg
Potassium		487.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate		21.5 g
	Dietary Fiber	2.1 g
	Sugars	3.1 g
Protein		28.9 g