Kelli's Kitchen

Tex-Mex Sweet Potato

First let me tell you how wonderful sweet potatoes, or yams are for you. They are loaded with vitamin A and C.  Also high in calcium, iron and protein.  This is a great vegetable that can kick start your healthy lifestyle.  Many of you may only think of sweet potatoes once a year, at Thanksgiving.  That's when we load it with butter and sugar to do everything in our power to make it as unhealthy as possible.  I am here to tell you that you may want to start buying them every time you go grocery shopping. You can do so many things with these guys, and there are so many recipes on the internet. You just have to Google it, and everything from breakfast to dessert recipes pop up.

 I make these for lunch a lot. It is very filling, and you can use good stuff like cheese and sour cream.  Really you can use your imagination with this, just like a baked potato.  Whatever you have in the fridge will work.

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato
Shredded cheese
Broccoli
Avocado
Green onions
Black beans
Prepared Salsa
Sour Cream

Wrap potato in paper towel, punch holes in the potato to vent.
Bake in microwave for 4 minutes, then flip the potato and bake for 4 more minutes.
Cut open potato and stuff with all your ingredients.
Yummy!

Pimento Cheese

Ahhhh, Pimento Cheese, my favorite southern treat.  It is a mix of all things good, cheese, mayonnaise and pimentos.  I fondly remember this always being around when I was growing up.  It was either eaten in a sandwich, as a finger food or as a snack.  I will admit, though my mother taught me how to make this, her pimento cheese still taste better.  I love when she makes it.  You can always get creative with this dish and add bacon, or jalapenos, etc...

Ingredients
1/2 cup cheddar cheese grated
1/2 cup monteray jack cheese grated
2-3 tablespoon mayonnaise depending on how moist you want your dip
1 small jar of pimentos with juice
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions
Mix all the ingredients together. Easy as that!

Tomato Bisque

Fortunately for me I made this soup over the weekend.  It came in handy since I was attacked by pollen on Monday, and had my first true allergy attack.  I felt awful, and this soup with some grilled cheese did help me feel better.  It was an easy soup to prepare and I can freeze the left overs for my next allergy attack. Who knew those could be so nasty.  I also made some cheese crisps to go on top.  It's also vegetarian friendly!!

Ingredients
1 tablespoon of butter
1 celery stock chopped
1 onion chopped
2 garlic gloves minced
1/2 teaspoon of thyme
1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups vegetable stock
2 tablespoon sour cream

Directions
Melt butter in a large sauce pan or dutch oven over medium heat. 
Add celery and onion, cook until onions are soft and translucent. 
Add garlic and cook for just a minute. 
Then add the thyme, crushed tomatoes and tomato paste.  Let simmer for 5 minutes. 
Finally add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. 
Turn the heat down and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Turn the heat off. Using a blender or immersion blender blend the soup until smooth.
 Stir in the sour cream slowly so not to curdle the sour cream.


Now to make the crisps. While the soup is simmering. Using grated cheese, any kind will do, place them on a well oiled baking sheet or a slip mat like the one pictured below. Bake them in the oven at 350' for about 8 minutes or until golden brown. Serve on top, or as a side treat.

Super Easy Roasted Chicken

I love the whole idea of roasting a chicken.  Chicken, when bought whole is less expensive then buying individual pieces, and usually has less water and salt added.  Plus, I think it tastes better and is juicer roasted.  My favorite part is,
left overs can be used to make more meals later in the week.  It's a win all around.  I usually serve this with some potatoes and vegetables, and it's great for a crowd.  This recipe is super easy and is basically adapted from roasting our turkey at Thanksgiving.  Make sure you thaw the chicken completely and remove the extra pieces inside before cooking.

Ingredients
1 whole chicken
1 stick of butter
1 cup baby carrots
2 celery sticks cut in fourths
1 whole onion quartered
Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper

Directions
Pre heat oven 350'. Clean and towel off the chicken and place in a roasting pan.  Place vegetables inside of the chicken and sprinkle with seasoning, salt and pepper inside and out. Slice the butter and place the pats of butter under the skin and inside the chicken. Make sure to season the inside and outside liberally with the Italian seasoning and salt and pepper.

Bake in oven for 90 minutes - 2 hours. Liquids should run clear if you poke the chicken.

Sunday Morning Quiche

This morning was the first morning we had all week that we did not have to jump out of bed and be some where right away.  I was able to wake up before everyone, enjoy the sun coming up and take my time in the kitchen.  This is very rare!  I was able to get creative and put together a quiche.  I also made bacon which never happens in our house.  The smell brought three very excited children running into the children, followed by a very happy husband.  See kids, you just give me my mornings and we would all be happy.  Instead of 6 whole eggs, I did change to egg whites.  The quiche was not as fluffy but still tasted wonderful.  My husband even enjoyed it but that may be because of the bacon and cheese.

Most recipes have you cook your vegetables before you mix with the eggs but I didn't do this because I do like my peppers and onions to have a little crunch of freshness.  But if you like, you can saute your vegetables in a little oil before you mix with the egg mixture.

Ingredients:
3 whole eggs
3 egg whites
1/2 cup Gruyere cheese
1/2 cup milk
1 small tomato diced
1/4 cup onion chopped
1/4 cup red pepper chopped
3 slices of cooked bacon chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 375'

Whisk together eggs, cheese, milk, salt and pepper.
Place vegetables onto a greased 8-inch pie baking dish, pour in the egg mixture.

Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes.

Roasted Vegetables

I know what you are thinking, what is so special about roasted veggies! Well let me tell you, they are a wonderful side dish, or a main dish thrown over pasta.  It's a hardy yet inexpensive way to make a meal healthy and tasty.  You can make these on the grill or in your oven.  I use whatever is in season, or I use the vegetables that need to get eaten before they go bad in the fridge.  Since tonight is yet another baseball game, I mixed the vegetables in with some cooked spaghetti pasta and topped with Parmesan cheese. Easy and Quick!


Today I used
1 head of broccoli
1 zuchinni
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
3 sweet peppers
Crazy Janes Mixed up Salt (you can find this by the salt at your grocers)
2 tablespoons of olive oil




Pre-heat the oven to 425'
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Slice the vegetables, and place on baking sheet. Sprinkle with Crazy Jane and olive oil. Using your hands mix the vegetables to coat with oil.
Bake for 10-15 min.

Using the grill - wrap all the vegetables in aluminum foil and place on grill for 15 minutes or until tender.

Stuffed Peppers

I am sharing my friend Bobbi's recipe today. I met Bobbi in San Diego and we became friends while surviving deployment. This may sound silly but she was my first true vegetarian friend, not your vegetarian until we go out to dinner kind, but a true all the time kind. I was amazed by her commitment and the fact that she liked to cook was even better. Her recipes for social gatherings were always wonderful and I think I asked for every recipe. This was wonderful for me since I was changing so many of my families eating habits at the time, but I am sure Bobbi thought I was crazy.    She then found herself wanting to change to a vegan lifestyle. She started slow but soon her family of four became vegan.  One time she came over to my home and made vegan cupcakes. They were wonderful and you really couldn't tell the difference.

She post most of her pictures and recipes on Instagram and they all look wonderful.  I have always looked for vegetarian and vegan recipes, mostly to give my family other healthier choices then just meat. I asked Bobbi to share some recipes with me from time to time for my blog. It's never a bad idea to try new things and look for healthier options.

Ingredients:
Raw Bell Peppers (12 mini or 4 regular)
Paring knife
Crock Pot
Tomato Sauce
Meat-generally hamburger but can use veggie meat or chicken/pork
Rice-generally white but I would suggest something a bit healthier like brown rice or Quinoa!
Salt and Pepper

Peppers:
don't cook the peppers before stuffing them, they will cook in the crock pot.
to hollow out the peppers- cut around stem with the paring knife, pull stem out and scrap/scoop/shake all seeds out.

Stuffing mix: Aim to have a 50/50 mixture between rice and meat
cooked rice- about 1 cup dry rice makes plenty of cooked rice for this recipe.
uncooked hamburger or veggie meat crumbles(u can substitute any meat.....chicken, pork
salt/pepper to taste

Cook: Stuff peppers and add to crock pot, try to stand up right then pour tomato sauce over the top to just about cover the peppers.
the small peppers only take about 1-2 hours, but the larger peppers will take longer just plan on 4 hrs. 

Italian BLT

My brother so kindly posted a comment on another blog that he wanted a recipe for grilled cheese! As funny as he is I did start to think about a grown up version of grilled cheese.  My creation turned into a fancy Italian BLT.  I figure you can't go wrong with pancetta and provolone.  I broke out some crusty bread and went to town.

Ingredients
pancetta
French bread
spicy mustard
mayonnaise
Italian dressing
provolone cheese
tomato sliced
yellow or red onion sliced
bag lettuce
butter for spreading



Start by pan frying your pancetta over medium heat until crispy, just like bacon.  Mix 1 tablespoons of mayonnaise with 1 tablespoon of Italian dressing.  Cut french bread loaf down the center and spread mayonnaise mixture and mustard on both sides of bread.  Arrange the rest of the ingredients on either side of the bread.  Close the sandwich.  Smear a little butter on the top and the bottom to help brown and crisp the outside of the roll, and brown in a non- stick pan or cast iron skillet over medium high heat.  Keep an eye on the cheese and as it begins to melt turn over to brown the other side.

You could also use a Panini press or another heavy pan to smash the sandwich down a little more. 

Chicken Taco

So, my oldest had baseball practice and my husband got home in time to take him to practice. Yipee!! I was also lucky enough that my middle and youngest wanted to go too. I had the house to myself and I was hungry for dinner. I had chicken in the crock pot all day cooking in stewed tomatoes with Mexican seasonings.  I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to make yet but I had chicken and needed to use it. I decided to make Chicken Tacos. I decided to just add my fresh veggies to the tortilla along cheese and sour cream, but if you wanted to use salsa, that would be good too.  I thought it was very tasty! My kids however wanted just cheese and sour cream.  I can understand that too.  I was just happy to make something different with chicken.

 Chicken
1 pound chicken breast
salt and pepper
1 can of stewed tomatoes in Mexican seasonings or Rotel

Put the chicken and the canned tomatoes in the crock pot frozen. Season with salt and pepper. Cook on low for about 6 to 8 hours, until the meat is falling apart. Transfer chicken to plate and shred. Reserve tomatoes to top the taco with.

Tacos
Whole wheat tortilla
Shredded cheese
Reserved tomatoes
Green or red peppers chopped
Green Onion sliced
Avacado chopped
Sour Cream

You can arrange your tacos however you want. 

Spring Salad

Ahhhhh...Spring Break! The family and I decided to take a trip to Grammy and Blues! Nothing like driving 14 hours with heavy traffic to make you re think your entire trip. Though once we arrived, we were greeted with more love than anyone deserves. A downfall to the military life is you can feel alone most days, you have no roots and your family is too far away. My husband and I were asked where we were from and we actually paused, because we really couldn't come up with an answer. It was actually comical afterwards.

Coming home is bitter sweet but you have to enjoy it while you can. Once we arrived home my mothers kitchen filled with family. Brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins.  The only way to be together is over food and drink in our family. We laugh, argue, tease, and discuss how to save the world. I was so lucky this visit to see so many of my siblings. For all our different personalities we all enjoy each other very much.  We would probably look like a circus to most people but I wouldn't change it for anything. While I was home I got to swap some recipes with my family. My sister shared this salad recipe with me and it's as simple as it gets. It taste yummy and really makes you think of spring.


Ingredients:
1 bag of salad
1/2 cup grapes cut in half
1/2 cup red onion diced
1/2 cup mandarin oranges
(I added 1/2 cup avocado since I had one around)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Poppy Seed Dressing

Line all the ingredients up just like in the picture in a big bowl, then pour the dressing on top. It is a beautiful salad. Enjoy!


This was probably the healthiest thing I ate all week!