Crock Pot Chicken and Barley Soup

I’ve had a bag of barley in my pantry for some time now.  I kept meaning to make a chicken and barley stew recipe that I found online.  Late this week I came down with a cold, and here it is Saturday and I’m still feeling crappy.  I looked in my pantry and decided to give the barley a whirl.  I just used items I had on hand.  Here’s what I did:

–  4 cups fat free chicken broth

– 1/2 Cup organic pearled barley

– 1 bag frozen mixed veggies

– 1/2 bag frozen onions

– 2 cloves of garlic

– 3 frozen chicken breasts (thin cut)

– 1 tbsp basil

– 2 bay leaves

Cook the garlic and onions in EVOO till fragrant and translucent.

Assemble all other ingredients in crock pot.  Cook for 3 hours on low.  Enjoy.

Low in fat, high in fiber!

Sunday Dinner: Blueberry Empanadas

Last week I made this Empanada recipe featured in Cooking Light.  The whole family raved…they were tasty.  I was left with remaining frozen pie crust, so I searched the web for some inspiration.  It dawned on me that I had a bag of frozen blueberries in my freezer, leftover from a brief smoothie phase I experienced.  I found this recipe from an actual blueberry farm, with a few substitutions:

• Cut the Granny Smith apples
• I used a package of cranberries and walnuts (the kind used as salad toppings).
• Instead of regular butter, I used yogurt butter (Brummel and Brown).
• Serve warm with a side of ice cream!

Linbo’s Blueberries Recipe #36: Blueberry Empanadas Printer-friendly

2 cups blueberries
1 cup finely copped, pared tart apple (such as Granny Smith)
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash salt
12 each 4 1/2 inch pastry round
1 tablespoon butter
Cinnamon-sugar for dusting 

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine apple, walnuts, sugar, flour, cinnamon, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl and mix well. Gently fold in berries. Place 2 tablespoons berry filling on half of each

4 1/2” pastry round, leaving about 1/2 inch along edges. Fold the other half of pastry over filled half, moisten edges and seal by pressing with fork. Repeat this procedure until all rounds are folded and sealed. Combine 2 tablespoons sugar with 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Brush each empanada with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Bake on greased cookie sheet 18 – 20 Minutes or until golden brown.

Easy Easter Frittata

I whipped this together this morning as we celebrate a very adult Easter (no egg hunting, Easter baskets, or dyeing eggs…yet).  Pretty, delicious, and nutritious!

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup low fat milk
• Olive oil cooking spray
• cup of bagged spinach, rinsed
• cup of asparagus tips
• cup of mushrooms (any kind would work)
• dash of salt and pepper
• dash of nutmeg
• 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese (part skim)

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350.
• Spray olive-oil cooking spray in a small casserole dish.
• In a large bowl mix together 6 eggs, half a cup of milk, spinach, asparagus tips, mushrooms, salt, pepper, nutmeg.
• Pour into casserole dish
• Top with mozzarella cheese
• Bake for 40 minutes, or until dish is firm

Serve on a pretty dish with a cup of coffee or, if you remembered to go to the Beer store before you woke up on Easter Sunday, Mimosas. : )

Hoppy Easter!