Low Sodium Fajita Marinade

We found this in our favorite low sodium cookbook "500 Low Sodium Recipes" by Dick Logue. This marinade is simple and delicious. We use it on chicken and beef.

1/4 cup of Olive Oil*
1/4 cup of Red Wine Vinegar
2 teaspoons of Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 teaspoon of Black Pepper
1 teaspoon of Cilantro**
1 teaspoon of Cumin
1 teaspoon of Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon of Dried Oregeno

 *I use a mixture of Fustini's Cilantro and Onion, Fustini's Chipotle, and plain Olive Oil
**Instead of Cilantro I use the Fustini's Cilantro and Onion Oil

 Mix ingredients together and use to marinate chicken or beef for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. 

The original recipe has 2 teaspoons of Lemon Juice and Lime Juice respectively. 

In the summer we marinate whole cuts of meat and grill them. In the colder months we cut the meat into bite size pieces first, marinate, and toss it in a pan.

White meat for Stefani.

Dark meat for Joshua.

We serve them in tortillas (flour for those not on Low Sodium diets and corn for those on LoSo diets) with cheese, sauteed onions, salsa, corn, and ranch dressing. If you are a pepper lover you can saute green and/or red peppers to add to your fajita. 

The only "heat" in the recipe is the Cumin and it is more smoky than spicy. So, all those who are leery of spicy food there is no need to fear. 

This recipe has 17mg of Sodium versus the McCormick brand Fajita Seasoning with 250mg of Sodium. I can say that I do not miss the salt at all. 

We hope you enjoy this surprisingly easy recipe.

~Stefani =)

What I Ate Wednesday: Week 14

Breakfast

Chocolate Chex. So not healthy, but I was wanting something easy. 

Lunch

Leftover Roasted Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy. I was really wanting some comfort food on Monday night. Luckily, I planned ahead and took a chicken out to defrost over the weekend.

Dinner

Meatballs, Spaghetti, and a Salad with Parmesan Dressing, Cheese, and Croutons. I made a CRAZY amount of meatballs. Good thing they freeze well.

On a side note...Would you please pray for my best friend, Carolyn, and her family? Her father recently ended his battle with cancer. Just five months after her mother died. Their hearts are heavy with grief. Thank you.

~Stefani

P.S. Coming Soon....What I Ate in Disneyworld. =)

What I Ate Wednesday: Week 13

Breakfast

A bowl of Blueberry Crunch Cereal. 

I had to eat something quick, because Josh and I were headed to Petoskey to go grocery shopping and pick up some vacation items.

Lunch

1 Arby's French Dip Sandwich and 2 Mozzarella Sticks. I totally forgot to take a picture before I inhaled this meal. Since we were in Petoskey and had coupons we had Arby's. We only spent $11 for 2 Beef n Cheddars, 2 French Dips, and 1 small Mozzarella Sticks.  I took on of the French Dips home for another meal.

Dinner

Mac n Cheese n Burgers with Taco Seasoning. Pinterest inspired this twist on our homemade Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper. It was pretty good. Definitely jazzed it up a bit.

~Stefani =)

What I Ate Wednesday: Week 9

Breakfast

A bad for me Cinnamon Roll and Berry Greek Yogurt. I have been wanting a cinnamon roll for about a month. I finally bought some.

Lunch

Salmon Pattie and a Salad with Cucumbers, Celery, Croutons, Cheddar Cheese, and Parmesan Dressing.

Dinner

Eye of Round Roast, Stove Top Stuffing (clearly NOT Lo-So), and another Salad.

 ~Stefani

What I Ate Wednesday Week 7: Valentine's Day Edition

I continue to fight the cold I have had since last week. I woke up this morning feeling much better.

Breakfast

Low Sodium Chocolate Chip Waffle

Lunch

Grilled Cheese. Not terribly exciting, but great sick food.  

Dinner

We went out to Woodwinds for their fancy buffet for Valentine's Day. It was nice not having to think about dinner since I wasn't feeling well.

Photo borrowed from the Woodwinds Facebook Page.

 Photo borrowed from the Woodwinds Facebook Page.

It was a good Valentine's Day despite being sick. Josh does a great job of making me feel loved all year round.

~Stefani =)

Super Bowl 2012

We decided to have a repeat of last year's Super Bowl party this year. We invited two couples from church, Gary and Bev and Mary Kay and Don. There was crazy amounts of food and alcohol for just 6 people. 

The Menu

Low Sodium Chili (you can find the recipe here.)

Low Sodium Cornbread 

Low Sodium Spinach Dip 

Lil Smokies in Low Sodium BBQ Sauce

Brownie Cupcakes

Sangria 

Our Guests Brought

Shrimp Cocktail

Cheese Spread and Crackers

Sugar Cookies

Spinach and Artichoke dip

And lots and lots of beer

The cornbread was a first attempt. It could use some work, but the result was pretty good. The Spinach Dip was all Josh. It tasted FANTASTIC! It was just like the Knorr soup mix recipe, but lower sodium. I made my famous Sangria. It is crazy simple to make and is always a crowd pleaser.

Sangria

1 cup of Orange Juice

1/4 cup of Lemon Juice

1/4 cup of Lime Juice

I cup of Sugar

I bottle of Red Wine (semi-sweet, semi-dry, or dry) 

Fresh Fruit (apples, strawberries, and blueberries work well)

Mix the Orange, Lemon, and Lime Juices with the Sugar. Then add the wine. Mix well. Add the fruit and chill.

Notes on the recipe:

The Lime juice can be left out.

Wine suggestions: If you live in Michigan-St Julian Red Heron. If you live in Missouri St. James Red Velvet.
Letting it chill overnight equals wine soaked fruit. 

Yummy!

Brownie cupcakes. Thanks for the idea Pinterest! The lighter ones are lower in sodium than the darker ones.

We hope you enjoyed your Sunday night. Football or no football.

~Stefani =)

Mac 'n' Cheese 'n' Burgers

This recipe is basically a homemade Hamburger Helper. It is from Rachael Ray's book Just in Time.

1 Pound of Rotini or Penne
1 Tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Pound of Ground Beef
3 to 4 Tablespoons of grated onion and juice
4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) of butter
3 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
1 Cup of Chicken Stock
2 Cups of Milk (whole or 2%)
2 Cups of Cheddar Cheese
Black Pepper to taste
Up to 1 Tablespoon of Dijon Mustard

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook al dente.

While the pasta cooks, heat a nonstick skillet with EVOO over medium to high heat.
Add the beef and cook until brown, breaking it up.

Add the grated onion with its juice and pepper to the skillet and combine.

While the meat browns, heat a saucepan over medium to medium-high heat.

Add the butter and melt. 

Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute.

Whisk in the stock and milk.

Season with pepper.

Bring sauce to a bubble, then cook for a few minutes to thicken.

Stir in the mustard.

Add the cheese a few handfuls at a time, stirring in a figure 8 motion as it melts into the sauce.

Drain the pasta, then return it to the hot pot. 

Add the beef and cheese sauce to the pasta.

Stir to combine. 

The ingredients.

Brown the beef in the skillet.

Add the onions.

Melt the butter.

Add the flour to the butter.

Add the stock....

then the milk.

Add the cheddar cheese.

The completed cheesey goodness.

Combine the pasta, beef, and cheese sauce.

The completed dish.

We added turkey bacon to the top. Yum!

~Stefani =)

Italian Wedding Soup

Joshua is always wanting hearty soups. This one does the trick. Especially, since I make the meatballs a little on the large side. We found this recipe in our Taste of Home Casseroles, Slow Cookers, and Soups book. The same book with the famous corn chowder recipe. This soup is great for a crowd, because it makes a large quantity.   

1 egg

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs (I used Panko, because they are lower in sodium)

1 small onion, chopped

3/4 teaspoon of salt, divided (obviously, I left this out)

1 1/4teaspoon of pepper, divided

1 1/14 teaspoon of garlic powder, divided

2 pounds of ground beef

2 quarts of chicken broth (I use homemade to lower the sodium)

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 1/4 cup cooked medium pasta shells

In a large bowl combine the egg, cheese, bread crumbs, onion, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder (I used fresh garlic). 

Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 1 inch balls (or make a heartier size)

In a dutch oven, brown meatballs in small batches; drain. 

Add the broth, onion powder, and remaining salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the meatballs; bring to a boil. 

Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes. 

Stir in pasta and heat through. 

 The ingredients.

The egg, cheese, bread crumbs, onion, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of garlic. When a recipe calls for onion and garlic I just put them both in the food processor to chop. It makes life much easier. 

Crumble the ground beef over the mixture.

Mix it all together.

Make meatballs and fry them in a dutch oven or large pot. 

Add the broth/stock to the same pot the meatballs were cooked in along with the onion powder, and remaining salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the meatballs; bring to a boil. . 

Add the meatballs to the boiling broth. Heat at a simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add the pasta and heat through. 

 Served with some Parmesan cheese if you so desire. 

The recipe calls for spinach, but I am not a fan. I have tried it over and over again, but I can't make it stick. 

~Stefani =)

  

What I Ate Wednesday Week 3

Breakfast
Low Sodium Waffle with butter and Apple Cinnamon Syrup from Knaebe's and Jennie-O Turkey Sausage.

The Waffle recipe is from the book 500 Low Sodium Recipes that we got for Christmas. We made them for the first time on Saturday. We may do some tweaking to the recipe, but they were pretty good.

Lunch
Homemade Lasagna and Garlic Parmesan Toast with ciabatta bread from our local grocery store.

The Lasagna recipe was from the 500 Low Sodium Recipes cookbook. I used our Marinara sauce.


Snack
I needed an afternoon snack. I found leftover Peaches and Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce from a dessert we had a couple nights ago. 

Dinner 
Italian Wedding Soup. There will be a post coming later on this recipe. It was a hit at church.

Dessert
Cheesecake Pudding and Michigan Blueberries that were in the freezer.

This edition was way more exciting than previous editions. Doing this week by week has encouraged me to become more creative.


~Stefani =)

What I Ate Wednesday

This is a popular thing to do with people who have food blogs. I thought I would give it a try. The premise is to post what you ate on Tuesday on Wednesdays. I can't guarantee that it will always be healthy.

Breakfast

I am addicted to Chocolate Chex. It is so wrong, but feels so right!

Lunch

I made grilled cheese with Tom's Market (the local grocery store) cibatta bread with cheese that is terrible for you. You know, the creamy fake stuff. No, I did not feed this to my husband.

Dinner

Spaghetti and Meatballs with Marinara and Salad with Parmesan Dressing. For the meatballs I used ground beef and ground pork. My husband enjoyed the combo. I am not a huge pork fan.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this first "What I Ate Wednesday".

~Stefani =)

Thanksgiving 2011

We celebrated Thanksgiving about a week early with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. This year I made the entire Thanksgiving feast. I also roasted my very first turkey. Everything turned out quite delicious. If I do say so myself. Although, all the yums I heard around the table also verified the deliciousness. 

The Menu
Turkey
Gravy
Mashed Potatoes (real of course)
Stove Top Stuffing (It is just plain yummy)
Green Bean Casserole
Corn Casserole
Whole Berry Cranberry sauce
Grands Biscuits
Knaebe's Apple Pie

Corn Casserole is my husband's grandmother's recipe. I'm not a huge fan, but I understand there are just some foods that just "make" it a holiday. My "makes it a holiday" food is oyster stuffing. I opted not to make it this year. I haven't quite mastered it yet, so I decided not to mess with it. I think it was the first Thanksgiving I haven't had it. 

All in all it was a great Thanksgiving spread. The cooking went smoothly. I was actually ahead of schedule. 

Here's some pictures of the food. (I didn't get a good one of the whole turkey.)

This is the apple pie from Knaebe's Apple Farm. It was as delicious as it looks. I have another in the freezer for a future time. Next year, I am buying them out of pie.

 The amazing gravy. I think the fat separator gadget I bought really helped. 

The only whole bird shot. I was so busy making the above gravy. 

The spread.

The bird all carved up.


On actual Thanksgiving Josh and I had a beef roast. Yeah, I know, weird. But it was just the two of us. 

The Menu 
Eye of Round Roast
Mary Kay's Mac n Cheese (She graciously brought some by)
Green Bean Casserole (made with no sodium cream of chicken)
Brownies

The feast.

My plate. Yum!


We hope you had a great Thanksgiving with family and friends.

~Stefani =)