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 12

Breakfast

A bowl of Blueberry Crunch Cereal and Berry Greek Yogurt. I didn't snag a picture, because it was so early. (I had a substitute job.)

Lunch

Pasta Salad with Veggie Noodles, Parmesan Dressing, Tuna, Carrots, and Cucumbers, Orange "jello" with Oranges, and Chocolate Chip Greek Yogurt.

Dinner

Grilled Chicken Breast marinated in Tomato, Basil, Garlic Mrs. Dash, Baked Potato, and Corn.

It has been unseasonably warm here in Northern Michigan. We have been able to use the grill sooner than usual. Being able to to grill makes Low Sodium cooking so much easier. The Mrs. Dash seasoning line makes great marinades.

~Stefani =)

Waffles

We love waffles around here. We thought we had to give them up, because traditional recipes were very high in sodium. Not anymore! Thanks to the 500 Low Sodium Recipes book.

1 Cup All Purpose Flour

1 Teaspoon Sodium Free Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon of Sugar

1 Egg

3/4 Cup of Milk (the recipe says Skim, but I use 2%)

1 Tablespoon of Unsalted Butter, Melted

Any add in you desire (blueberries, chocolate chips, etc)

Mix together dry ingredients. 

Combine egg, milk, and melted butter. 

Add to dry ingredients.

Mix until just blended. Do not overbeat.

Bake according to waffle iron directions.

Yields 2 Servings. I usually double the recipe so we have leftovers. 

Each serving as about 99 mg of Sodium! 

Notes:

Make sure your eggs and milk are at room temperature. If they aren't your melted butter turns solid. 

I strongly suggest adding blueberries or the like to the batter. We had them plain and not even Knaebe's Cinnamon Apple Syrup could save them. 

Topping Ideas:
Butter (duh)
Powdered Sugar
Jams and Jellies
Syrup

The ingredients

The Flour, Baking Powder, and Sugar

The Milk, Eggs, and Melted Butter

Combine the "Wet Team" to the "Dry Team" and combine until just blended.

Add to the waffle iron.

Ta Da! I made chocolate chip this time around. The blueberry ones I made last week were really good as well.

~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 =)

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 =)

Slow Cooker Chili

We found this recipe on Low Sodium Cooking. This chili is extremely hearty. It uses stew meat instead of ground beef. You will not miss the salt in this recipe. 

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

2 Onions, Chopped

2 teaspoons of Garlic, Minced

2 tablespoons of Chili Powder
*
1 tablespoon of Ground Cumin

1/8 teaspoon of Black Pepper

1 1/2 lb of Beef Stew Meat, Cubed

2 cans of No Salt Added Tomatoes

1 can of No Salt Added Black Beans
 (optional)
8 ounces of Frozen or No Salt Added Canned Corn (optional)

*If you can get some ground Chipotle from a spice shop, then I recommend cutting the Chili Powder amount in half and adding 1 tablespoon of Chipotle.
 
Heat oil in a large skillet. 
Add onions and garlic and cook 4-5 minutes, until onions are softened. 
Add spices and beef. 
Cook and stir 6-8 minutes, until beef is browned on all sides. 
Place beef mixture in slow cooker. 
Stir in tomatoes and beans if desired. 
Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours.

The ingredients.

I am lazy and chop my onion and garlic in the food processor.

Cube the stew meat.

The oil, onion, and garlic.

Adding the beef to the pan.

Adding the ground Cumin.

Adding the Chili Powder.

Adding the Black Pepper.

This, my friends, is essential for slow cooking. It is a Reynolds Slow Cooker Liner. It makes clean up so easy. I believe my friend, Amy, introduced me to this amazing product.

Put this delicousness into.....

 this.

Add the diced tomatoes.

Stir it all together and wait 8 to 10 hours.

Pour on top of egg noodles (or rice or elbow macaroni). Top with cheddar cheese. 

This recipe is crazy simple and can be personalized in so many ways. Like green peppers? Add them. Want it more spice? Add more chili powder.

~Stefani =)

Vindaloo

We came across this recipe when we were trying to figure out what to do with some leftover pork. We recently tried it with chicken. It worked well. This is a great recipe for a quick dinner. Just put the meat in to marinate in the morning or night before and the meal will take about 15 minutes to prepare in the evening. 

Curry Paste Ingredients
2 teaspoons of Ground Coriander
2 teaspoons of Ground Cumin
2 teaspoons for Ground Mustard
2 teaspoons of Ground Cloves
1 teaspoon of Turmeric
2 inch piece of Ginger Peeled and Grated
3/4 cup of White Vinegar OR 1 cup of Vegetable Oil

Main Dish Ingredients
Curry Paste
1 tablespoon of Minced Garlic (or Grated Garlic)
1 1/2 cup of Chopped Onion
1 pound of the Meat of Your Choice Cut into 1/2 inch Cubes (Pork or Chicken)
4 tablespoons of Vegetable Oil
1 can of Diced Tomatoes, Drained
4 cups of white or brown rice
Salt and Pepper to taste


In a non-reactive bowl or glass dish combine the Curry Paste, garlic, and half of the onion.
Add the cubed meat (pork or chicken).
Coat the meat thoroughly with the Curry Paste and leave to marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Once the meat is finished marinating, heat the oil in a large skillet over low heat.
Add the remaining onion and saute.
Saute for 5 minutes
Drain the pork, reserving the marinade.
Turn up the heat and add the meat a few cubes at a time.
Toss until the meat is brown on all sides.

Saute for 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes and reserve marinade  

Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. 

Serve over hot rice.

The ingredients, minus the meat of your choice.

 Saute the onions in the vegetable oil.

 Taking the meat out of the marinade.

Adding the meat a few cubes at a time. 

 Add the tomatoes.

 Mixing the onion, meat, and tomatoes.

The finished product. Feel free to top with cheese.



~Stefani =)

Taco Lasagna

We found this recipe on Low Sodium Cooking. It has become a favorite and a go to in low sodium cooking for us.  They call is Taco Casserole, but we found that Taco Lasagna is a better description. We have changed the recipe to suit our tastes. You may find the original recipe here.

1 pound of Ground Beef

1 Onion, Chopped

1 clove of Garlic, Minced or grated

1 tablespoon of Chili Powder

1/2 teaspoon of Oregano

1/2 teaspoon of Cumin

1 can of No Salt Added Diced Tomatoes

8 oz can of No Salt Added Tomato Sauce (or No Salt Added Tomato Paste if in a pinch)

1 can No Salt Added Black Beans

12 Corn Tortillas

3/4 cup of Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Shredded (or as much cheese as you would like)

In a skillet over medium heat, sauté the ground beef, onion, and garlic until the beef is done. 

Drain off excess fat. Add tomato sauce, tomatoes and spices. 

Simmer mixture for 2 minutes. 

Place a layer of 4 tortillas in the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan that has been sprayed with non-stick vegetable spray. 

Place a layer of the beef mixture over top. 

Then 4 more tortillas. 

Then the beans. 

The final 4 tortillas and the rest of the beef mixture. 

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. 

Sprinkle with cheese and return to oven until cheese has melted.  


We like to add cheese to all the layers. We just REALLY like cheese.

The ingredients. The "Accent" in the red and white shaker is MSG. Yes, it is basically sodium, but it give it an extra something with less sodium than salt.

The beef, onions, and garlic in the skillet.

The meat with all the seasonings. Instead of a full tablespoon of Chili Powder we used half Chili Powder and half Chipotle Powder.  When I was in town I went to Goeke Produce and stocked up on fresh spices.

The meat with the tomatoes added.

Spraying the pain. (Awesome photography by my husband.)

The first layer of corn tortillas.

The first layer of the meat mixture with extra cheese.

Second layer of tortillas and the beans. The spot with no beans is mine.

The last layer of tortillas with the meat and cheese.

The finished product!

We have found that Mexican and Italian are the easiest make low sodium. With all the other flavors going on you don't miss the salt.

~Stefani =)