Easy Dinner Ideas & Healthy Recipes

3 Bean Chili with Meat

September 17th, 2012

Happy Plate

Fall is approaching us! My favorite food for the cool breeze crisp air weather, CHILI!

I made a 3 bean chili this time with ground beef which was so easy and delish!

3 cans beans … I used Kidney, Navy and Black

2 LARGE cans diced tomatoes

2 cloves garlic minced

1 lb browned ground beef

salt and pepper to taste

chili powder to taste

1 tbsp onion powder

Louisiana hot sauce to taste

Combine all ingredients and cook until thicken

Be sure to brown your ground beef and DRAIN the fat!

All the spices are up to you so make sure you are tasteing your creation! You can always add but never take away

Top with cheddar cheese, sour cream and chopped raw onion !

ENJOY! and keep warm

Buffalo Wings and Blue Cheese Dip

September 17th, 2012

Happy Plate

Football season is upon us! Beer goes with football and wings go with beer! I try to find a healthier way to eating so here is a better way to making one of your favorite bar foods

2 lbs chicken wing

1 cup Louisiana wing sauce

1 tsp melted butter

All you do is cook the wings in the oven at 400 until crispy and cooked through on a lined baking sheet.

Already is better bc its baked and not friend!

No need to season, the sauce has all the flavor

When wings are cooked, toss in the wing sauce and butter … All done! How easy!

Next you need a dipping sauce … typically blue cheese

I bought a small wedge of blue cheese but only used 1/2 in this dip … other half i can add to salads

crumble then add to a cup or sour cream (low fat) and about a tablespoon of white wine vinegar

Crack pepper on top and mix… so easy and way healthier than buying a bottle. you can also use plain yogurt.

I also cut up a potato into thin wedges and popped them int he oven as well with a little salt and pepper and sprayed with PAM cooking spray.

ENJOY the game and food

Make it a pasta dish!

August 30th, 2012

Happy Plate

Any dish you create can be turned into a pasta dish! I recently posted about shishkabobs, my thought was, what’s next?

Add pasta! Pasta makes a meal more filling

Instead of BBQing toss in a pan on the stove and mix with pasta.

Shrimp, zucchini, home grown cherry tomatoes, garlic, red pepper flakes, olive oil, lemon … that’s all you need!

Feel free to add a splash of white wine or whatever other ingredients you’d like.

please share and ENJOY!

Quick and Easy Shishkabob

August 30th, 2012

Happy Plate

My favorite thing to do in the summer is GRILL! Favorite thing to grill? Shishkabobs!

As you already know, I love Weber grills seasoning and recently I can across and buy one get one deal :::HEAVEN:::

Easy tip for shishkabobs …

Take all your ingredients, I chose cleaned shelled shrimp, mushrooms, SWEET onions, and zucchini

toss in a bowl with olive oil and your favorite seasoning! i chose Weber grills veggie blend.

screwer and cook! shrimp are simple to cook they change in color

if you want to serve with a baked potato wrap a smaller potato (quicker cooking time) in foil, with cracked salt and pepper and a tsp of butter

ENJOY!

Homemade Marinara Sauce

August 28th, 2012

Happy Plate

This was one hot summer! Our tomato plants were out of control! For the first time every I made sauce with my very own home grown tomatoes! Its amazing how little sauce you get when using 15 tomatoes

I first boiled water and place the tomatoes in and wait for their skin to pop …. making them easier to peel

Mean while i chopped up half an onion and garlic with a little red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and parsley

Once the tomatoes pop, remove from water and run cold water over then so they’re easier to handle.

Remove skin and chop and add to other ingredients … feel free to add fresh basil or whatever other seasoning you like

I then used a hand mixer to liquefy everything, feel free to leave chuncky!

Bring all ingredients to a boil, adding a drizzle of olive oil and wine if you’d like

I added a little Italian seasoning

Hope you enjoy as much as I did!