Healthy Comfort Food

The weekend before last my husband and I went to Newport, Rhode Island for a little getaway and on our last day there, we found D Kelley Fine Used Books. (please see my first post for details on our used bookstore excursions) I found a great selection of books by my favorite romance authors and I picked up a great cookbook for my collection that is filled with slow cooker recipes (Best-Loved Slow Cooker Recipes) from soups to stews and side dishes to main dishes.

This past Saturday I felt like making a dinner that would be good comfort food so I thought I would try the slow cooker 'Turkey Mushroom Stew' (slightly adapted to make healthier - ex. substituting half and half for fat free milk). I served the mixture over biscuits (recipe follows) with a side of freshly cooked green beans and dill mashed potatoes.

Turkey Mushroom Stew Ingredients
Serves 4
1 lb Turkey Cutlets, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 boiling onion, chopped
2 tbsp green onions, minced
1 8 oz. package of sliced mushrooms
2-3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup organic fat-free milk
1 tsp dried tarragon leaves
1/2 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
1 cup frozen petite peas

Step 1 - Layer turkey, onions and mushrooms in slow cooker (repeating the process once) Cover and cook on Low for 4 hours. When time is up, remove turkey mixture to a bowl and set aside.
Step 2 - Blend flour into milk until smooth, pour into slower cooker. Add tarragon, salt and pepper next. Return turkey, mushrooms and onions to slow cooker. Stir in peas. Cover and cook for 1 hour on High setting or until sauce has thickened and peas are heated through.
Step 3 - Serve mixture over the top of an open biscuit

Biscuit Ingredients
Yields 12-15
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
4 tsp baking powder
3 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening (Crisco 0 Grams Trans Fat)
1 egg
2/3 cup organic fat free milk

Step 1 - In a bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt with a whisk. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Step 2 - In a small bowl, beat egg and milk. Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened.
Step 3 - Turn dough onto a sheet of parchment paper coated with flour, knead 16-20 times. Push dough to a 3/4 inch thickness and cut with a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Step 4 - Bake at 450 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Mashed Potatoes
When I don't feel like taking the time to peel potatoes but want mashed potatoes, I use the instant potatoes from Barbara's Bakery - they are made from whole, unpeeled Idaho® potatoes and only contain potato flakes and citric acid. I find them in the health food section of our local Hannaford. I like to add in dried dill weed and a bit of ground black pepper to taste.

Banana Walnut Muffins

Yesterday I had bananas that were a tad on the too ripe side for adding into my cereal in the morning....so I thought I would make some banana walnut muffins. I completely adjusted a recipe I found to make it healthier, but they definitely don't taste like anything is missing. I especially love eating them the day they are made because they keep the fresh baked crispiness on the outside and are moist and soft on the inside.

Ingredients
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 ground flax seed
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp margarine, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2-3 mashed ripe bananas
If bananas are large, 2 should be plenty, but adding more is ok

Yields 12 Muffins
I made 11, think I overfilled some

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Step 1 - Grease muffin tins or line with paper cups
Step 2 - Spread walnuts on a baking tray and toast in oven 8-10 minutes. Set aside when done.
Step 3 - In a bowl, mix together both flours, flax seed, baking powder, and salt. Side Note: when I don't want to sift, I just mix the dry ingredients with a whisk
Step 4 - In another bowl, blend together margarine, sugar and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs. Add mashed bananas and beat until combined.
Step 5 - Stir dry ingredients into banana mixture just until flour disappears. (over mixing leads to tough muffins) Lightly stir in nuts.
Step 6 - Spoon batter into muffin cups and fill to the top. Bake 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Baked Cod Filets

This is one of my favorite ways to prepare fish. It's easy and quick for any night of the week. If there are leftovers, I like to reheat the fish in the microwave the next day for lunch and add some cocktail sauce on the side for dipping.

Ingredients
1 16oz package of frozen cod filets (thawed)
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1 tbsp. melted margarine
1 tsbp. lemon juice
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Serves 2-4 (based on size of filets)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Step 1 - Combine parsley, melted butter, lemon juice, and breadcrumbs in a bowl, mix to blend.
Step 2 - Lightly spray a glass baking dish with cooking spray before adding in fish. Top each fish filet with a layer of the parley mixture, lightly press down.
Step 3 - Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

The vegetables I served the fish with:
Baby carrots cooked in a skillet with water and sprinkled with dried oregano.

Baked Turkey Breast Cutlets

This dish is not only healthy, but very tasty with hardly any clean-up when cooked on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The breading gets crispy and the turkey stays moist and tender.

Ingredients
4 Turkey Breast Cutlets (ex. Shady Brook Farms, MSG and gluten-free)
1 cup Breadcrumbs (Ian's Panko Whole Wheat variety)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 tbsp. fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 large egg white
3 tbsp. honey dijon mustard
flour for dredging

Serves 4
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Step 1 - In a shallow dish, mix together breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley, and pepper. Set aside.
Step 2 - In another shallow dish, beat egg white with mustard.
Step 3 - In third dish, add flour. Dredge each turkey breast cutlet in flour ... then dip in egg ... then add to breadcrumb mixture, making sure to cover completely and pat so breadcrumbs adhere. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Step 4 - Place in oven and bake about 30 minutes or until turkey is cooked through, turning over once halfway through baking time.

This dish was served with:
Steamed Broccoli and Rice

Quick and Easy Marinara Sauce

This recipe makes a nice thick sauce that can easily be served over pasta with or without meatballs. I served our dinner with a mix of whole wheat and regular spiral pasta. For vegetables, I cooked a chopped red pepper and frozen green beans with some water in a skillet and added a dash of salt and pepper.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
1 28oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1 8oz. can of no salt added tomato paste
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tbsp. sugar ...not necessary, but helps to balance out the flavors between the tomatoes & wine
2 boiling onions, chopped
4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup white wine ...I used Pinot Grigio
baking soda
Parmigiano Regiano ...if desired to sprinkle on pasta and sauce

Step 1 - In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the chopped onions in olive oil until tender and translucent.

Step 2 - Add in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, garlic, oregano, basil, pepper, sugar, and wine. Add in just a dash of baking soda (I have found that this helps reduce the acidity of the tomatoes and you won't suffer from that little bit of heartburn that can sometimes occur after having a dinner with tomato sauce). Blend with whisk until the sauce is smooth. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Note: This sauce can easily be modified - you might consider adding in a chopped green pepper, some mushrooms, even substituting the dried oregano and basil for the fresh herbs.

Meatballs with Mushrooms and Red Wine Sauce

Some nights I like to take the time to make a dinner for my husband and myself that tastes like one you might eat in a restaurant (minus the butter and cream that's almost always guaranteed to be in your restaurant meal). When these whims hit, I turn to The Newlywed Cookbook by Robin Vitetta-Miller. Tonight I based our dinner on a combination of two of Robin's sauces and added my own spin to create a scrumptious dish.

Meatballs
1 pound mix of ground veal, pork and beef
1 boiling onion, chopped
1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried basil
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
1 egg

Sauce
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 8 oz. package of sliced mushrooms
I buy Dole pre-cleaned ones, but I always re-rinse them under cold water
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 cup beef broth
I buy Health Valley, available in both fat free and no salt added fat free - contains no msg or artificial ingredients
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup red wine
I had Reserve Tapestry on hand

Preheat oven to 360 degrees F
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, coated with cooking spray (helps to prevent the meatballs from sticking)

Step 1 - In a large bowl, combine meat, onion, bread crumbs, spices, parsley, salt, pepper and egg. Mix well (I like to use a fork). Form mixture into sixteen 2 inch meatballs.

Step 2 - Place meatballs on lined baking sheet, evenly spaced and bake for 20-25 minutes until done.

When there is about 10 minutes left of cooking time for the meatballs, it's time to start preparing the sauce.

Step 3 - In a medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add mushrooms and sauté for about 5-7 minutes or until tender and the juices start to be released.

Step 4 - Add the cooked meatballs to the mushrooms and add the thyme. Stir to coat the meatballs and mushrooms. Add the beef broth and simmer for 3-5 minutes.

Step 5 - Dissolve cornstarch in the red wine and add to skillet. Stir together and simmer until sauce thickens.

I like to serve the meatballs and sauce over pasta (whichever kind you like will work), and sprinkle on some grated parmigiano regiano cheese.


This dish is perfect to serve with Sautéed Brussel Sprouts. Simply heat a little olive oil in a small skillet, add in some frozen brussel sprouts, sprinkle with some ground pepper and sauté until tender. You may need to add in some water from time to time if there is too much sizzling happening and the brussel sprouts start to stick to the skillet. Sometimes, when time allows, I will toast some nuts in the skillet first, set them aside, and then sauté the brussel sprouts. When finished cooking, toss with the toasted nuts. Slivered almonds or pine nuts go well with this leafy vegetable.

Pork Burgers

Here's a recipe that I created last week when I wanted to make burgers for dinner but realized I only had ground pork in the refrigerator. After gathering the ingredients I had on hand, these burgers turned out great. My husband and I couldn't wait to have them again the next night. Let me know what you think if you get a chance to make them (I apologize in advance if some of the measurements aren't exact, sometimes I tend to just throw things together and realize after that I should have made a note of the amounts used).

1 lb. Ground Pork
1 garlic clove chopped
1 tbsp. water
1/4 cup or less honey dijon mustard
2 tbsp. chili sauce
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp ground thyme
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
1-2 slices of swiss cheese cut into small squares
1-2 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
2-3 tbsp. grated cheese (ex. I used parmigiano regiano)

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl (I use my Tupperware Thatsa Bowl), if the mixture is still a little dry to form into patties, you can add in more mustard or chile sauce to your liking. Press down mixture evenly in bottom of bowl and divide into 4 equal sections. Form each section into a firm ball and then flatten and shape into a patty. Place each burger onto a skillet coated with olive oil. Cook until no longer pink.

Tastes great when served on slices of organic artisan bread (I used a multi grain loaf). Much better than traditional burger buns since most of the ones I've seen tend to contain high fructose corn syrup, preservatives to retain spoilage, and worse.