Red pepper and Turkey sausage spinach salad w/ Red Potato fries and healthy Chipotle Dip!

Here is another one of my... I'm down to the bare bones in my fridge, what can I come up with... Type of recipes! I love these type of recipes, because they're almost always fantastic!!

1 Bag of freshly rinsed spinach leaves

1 Fresh red pepper

2 Links lean turkey sausage

Handful of dried cranberries

Kraft Basil parmesan vinaigrette dressing

6 Red potatoes

1/2 C 0% fat plain Greek yogurt

1 Tbls Reduced fat Chipotle Mayo

2 Tbls Olive Oil

Sea salt to taste

Lawry's Seasoning salt

Pepper to taste

The Salad!

Start by pre-heating on med/high heat your pan with 1 tblsp EVOO

I personally have an issue with casing on just about anything, so I actually remove my sausage from the casing and fry in the olive oil. Slice red pepper in long thin strips and add to the almost cooked sausage. Reduce heat and allow to cook until tender. Add sea salt to taste.

Once cooked, cut sausage into smaller pieces.

Add spinach to bowl. Top with sausage, red peppers, and vinaigrette. Sprinkle dried cranberries on top!

The Fries!

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Slice potato in to long thin strips. In bowl, drizzle potatoes with EVOO, sea salt, pepper, and seasoning salt. Place on baking sheet. Bake for approx. 25 minutes or until golden brown.

The Dip!

The dip!! It's so incredibly easy and absolutely devine! Just mix 1/2 cup greek yogurt with 1 tblsp chipotle mayo and mix! See for yourself how absolutely yummy it is with almost no guilt!

Happy Eating!

Yum!

Sweet Apple Chicken Sausage Pasta with Cucumber and Onion

I know what you must be thinking.... YUCK! How could that even taste good at all?! Let me tell you... My husband is one of the pickiest eaters of ALL time and is never afraid tell me if something doesn't taste good!

This recipe is picky husband APPROVED... not only approved, but he loved it!!

1 box angel hair or thin spaghetti Barilla whole wheat pasta noodles

2-4 Sweet Apple Sausage All Natural Sausages (Fully cooked) 

1 small onion

2 Tbsp EVOO

1 Cucumber

1 1/2 Tsp Italian Seasoning

Dash of red pepper flakes

Sea Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Boil pasta as directed on package adding a little sea salt to the water like normal. Slice sausages length wise and across in many small pieces. Add 1 Tbsp EVOO to saute pan and heat to Medium High heat. Add Sausages to saute pan along with chopped onion in length wise pieces along with chopped cucumber. Saute until onion is carmelized, cucumber is soft, and sausages have a nice slight char. Take pasta off the boil, drain, and add the other tbsp of EVOO, italian seasoning, and small dash of red pepper flakes.

Place pasta in bowl, top with sausage mixture, and Enjoy!!!

Tostada Salad

If you love Tostada's... You're going to LOVE this Tostada salad!

We had tostada's for dinner one night, so the next night I still had everything for Tostada's, but was ready to mix it up a bit! Here's a much healthier version with all the flavor!

1 Bunch of Romaine lettuce washed and chopped

Queso Fresco crumbled

1 can refried beans

 Tostado shells

1 Avocado

Dollop of Mayonnaise

Add washed, chopped romaine to large bowl

Break Tostada shells in to smaller pieces; add to salad

Slice avocado and add

Crumble queso fresco into salad

For each bowl add a dollop of refried beans and mayo on top

Enjoy!!

I will remember you... And smile...

After reading Heaven is for Real I decided I wanted to find a way of giving a happy memory to such a terrible loss. When we lost Buddy after having him for 13 years we planted a beautiful dogwood in the front yard of our new home in memory of him and every time the tree buds or the leaves are so healthy and green it brings me a happy memory of my sweet Buddy.

The more I thought about it, I realized how much I love plants, especially flowering ones. There were these two terribly ugly plants right beneath a window in the front landscaping of our home. I've been wanting to rip them out forever, but never had anything good in mind to replace them with so just left it be. After our sweet baby went to heaven I felt it would be fitting to replace those two plants with one large beautiful plant. Especially fitting because, those two plants were directly beneath the window of what would have been our second child's bedroom.

I went to Linton's who happen to have a huge sale this time of year and found a Red Heart Rose of Sharon. The garden associate informed me that these plants require lots of sunlight(perfect for the front of our home) and bloom each year at the end of summer/ early fall. What's special about that you're wondering? Late summer/early fall is when our second child went to be with Jesus in heaven.

I consider it a great honor to know that we have a beautiful baby in heaven looking down on us...

Each year when your plant blooms, I will remember you, and smile...

Chicken Avocado Lettuce bowl

So light yet filling... You won't be disappointed!

1-16oz bag long grain white rice
Freshly chopped cilantro
1 carrot, sliced into small, thin strips
1 lb organic chicken breasts
1 avocado
1/2 lemon
1 Bunch long romaine lettuce
Red pepper (Opt)
Onion
1 Tbsp Olive oil
Red pepper hummus or original

Cook rice according to instructions on package. Once cooked add cilantro, sliced carrots, and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Saute chicken in olive oil. Break 1-3 leaves off bunch of lettuce and rinse. Lay flat on plate or shape into a bowl. Spread thin layer of hummus, rice mixture, chicken, avocado, and top with dollop of hummus. Raw or sauted peppers and onions on top is also the perfect addition! Yum, yum!!

Skinny Naked Burrito

This is husband and son approved... Delicious, natural, and almost excites you to get on the scale!

1-16oz bag long grain brown rice (Or enough to feed your family)
1-19.75oz can whole black beans
1 Red pepper
1 Avocado
1/2 an onion
All natural red pepper hummus
1/2 lemon
1 whole carrot
Approx 1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp Olive oil

Cook rice according to package instructions. Simmer beans on low heat about 10 min. Chop pepper and onion, add oil to pan, and saute about 10 min until onion is carmelized. Slice carrot into thin strips and add to rice once rice is cooked. Add fresh cilantro and squeeze lemon into rice mixture. Slice avocado into small strips. Plate first the rice, then add beans with a small amt of bean juice to soak into rice, top with onion and pepper mixture, avocado, and a dollop of hummus! Yum, Yum!!

Not so healthy tasting Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oh my goodness... Once you make these you will never again make the original, bad for you, chocolate chip cookies! These are so amazing and leaves you feeling guitless! I found this recipe on the back of a generic bag of chocolate chip cookies and evolved it into my very own "healthy" chocolate chip cookie recipe!
I have yet to find a good replacement for the butter, but using real butter is much better for you than margarine!

1 C real butter
3/4 C Organic cane sugar
3/4 C light brown sugar and/or Dark amber agave nectar (half light brown sugar and half agave)
2 eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
2 1/4 C white whole wheat flour (unbleached, not enriched)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
...

Bag of semi sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 375. Cream together butter and sugars... add rest of wet ingredients. Mix dry in seperate bowl and slowly add together. Add chips and bake for 7-10 min! Yum yum!!