Ingredients:
- 1 Can tuna
- 2 Cats and/or Kittens (can be 1 to 1 ratio)
- 1 Enclosed shower space
- 1 Box of Band-Aids (for you)
- 1 Bottle of Cat Shampoo
- 1 Bottle of Human Shampoo or large bar soap
- 1 Bottle Anteceptic (for you)
Serves 8.
Ingredients:
- 16 oz whole wheat pasta, uncooked, such as penne, shells, elbow, or rigatoni
- 4 qt. water
- 1 cup fat-free plain yogurt
- 1/2 packet of Ranch dressing mix
- 1 cup salsa (heat to taste)
- 2.25 oz can of sliced black olives, drained
- 10oz can of corn, drained
- 1/2 cup shredded fat free cheddar or soy “cheddar” flavor cheese
- 1-1/2 cup shredded or diced chicken or cubed baked tofu for vegetarians
Serves 4 – 6.
Ingredients:
- 3 lbs eye round oven roast, trimmed of all visible fat
- 2 cups fresh green beans, rinsed
- 16oz baby bella mushrooms, rinsed
- 2 large potatoes, washed and cubed
- 1-1/2 baby carrots, rinsed
- 1 packet onion soup mix
- 12oz Diet Coke
You know how annoyingly frustrating it is to use a knife to cube raw chicken. There’s just something about the raw meat that just does not want to slice easily even if you’ve gotten the 95% fat free version. Not to mention, it’s messy to handle and you end up with chicken juice all over your cutting board.
Now, you could cut it when it’s partially thawed, so it’s still solid enough to cut without the slip and slide on the cutting board, but then you end up with frozen finger tips.
A friend shared with me the neatest trick back when we used to go on our weekend cooking sprees together.
Purchase a new pair of cutting shears (scissors) to be kept solely in the kitchen and dedicated for the sole purpose of using with meat. After you’ve thawed your meat, simply hold the chicken breast to be diced over the bowl or pot or pan it’s going to and cut, letting the pieces fall into the desired cooking gear. This process goes fairly quickly and very unmessily and no cutting board to wash!
Serves 6.
Ingredients:
- 1-1/4 lb. skinless boneless chicken breast, cubed
- 3-4 cups low-fat chicken broth
- 2/3 cup pearl barley
- 1/3 cup quinoa
- 3 cups fresh mixed summer vegetables
- 1 cup corn
- 15oz canned diced tomatoes with chiles
- Italian seasonings to taste
Whether you’re looking for a new healthy snack, a crunchy topping for your boring dinner salad, or something new to experiment in the kitchen with, Just Tomatoes, etc! is just the thing!
Just Tomatoes, Etc. products are all natural and organic. Unlike other brands of dried fruits and vegetables, they have no salt, no sulfur, no fat, no sweeteners, and no preservatives. In fact, the only difference between what is in the container and what is in your produce section or garden is the absence of water. According to their own website, “Just Tomatoes, etc! dehydrated fruits and vegetables are vine-ripened (or tree-ripened), hand-picked at peak condition, washed, cut and then placed in specially designed dehydrators and dried at low temperatures to preserve color, flavor and nutrients.”
I have thoroughly enjoyed the Just Veggies blend, the Just Mushrooms, and the Just Tomatoes as snacks and salad toppings. I’m looking forward to finding more in our local “health food”-type store, but you can order them online at Just Tomatoes, etc! if you can’t find them locally. They also have recipes and tips for their large selection of healthy products.
Happy crunching!
The one thing that always gets me when I’m watching those cooking shows on the Food Network is how easy and quick the professionals make mincing fresh herbs into tiny barely recognizable bits. I have neither the patience nor the skill for such a task, but I have discovered a little trick to help simulate the process in my own amateur way.
Wad the herbs to be minced into a small, bunched pile on your cutting board. Then take a pizza cutter — yes, a pizza cutter — and quickly roll it over and through the herbs in multiple directions, re-wadding and bunching as you go until you have a pile of freshly minced herbs.
Now, the trick is to use a good quality metal pizza cutter. Don’t get one of those Dollar Store plastic gizmos that won’t cut through a warmed up frozen pizza. You need a nice, sharp, cuts-through-lasagna metal pizza cutter for this sort of operation. ( I recommend purchasing from a kitchen-ware store or a kitchen-ware catalog for best quality.)
