Hearty & Healthy | Ranch Panzanella Salad with Roasted Chicken

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

Winter is almost here and big salad for dinner might sound a bit out of season. However, I’ve tossed together a fabulous entrée salad for Litehouse Foods that will have you crawling out of hibernation during the calendar’s cooler months. My Ranch Winter Panzanella with Chicken is inspired by bread salad renowned in the Tuscan region of Italy that most often features sun-ripened tomatoes, lettuce and basil drizzled with a vinaigrette. However, my sweater-weather version of this signature seasonal course includes chicken breast along with roasted winter vegetables caramelized to sweet, earthy perfection — and finished with a creamy Greek yogurt ranch dressing. Baby Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, red onions and spinach are all in the mix, but swap out or add to the robust medley with any favorite ingredient — most root vegetable will win raves.

Roasting vegetables is super easy. Coarsely chop up potatoes, squash, onions, Brussels sprouts, carrots or whatever hearty veggies you love and top with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt. Roast for 30 minutes in a 400 F degree oven, stirring halfway through.

Mmm, you don’t want to miss the full recipe for this salad. Visit the blog at Litehouse Foods for all the delicious details.

Ranch Winter Panzanella with Chicken

Ingredients

½ loaf (about 8 ounces) day-old French or Sourdough or Rustic bread (cut into 1” cubes)*
4 Tbsp olive oil (divided)
4 Tbsp dried Italian Herb Blend (divided)
2 teaspoons coarse sea salt (divided)
1 10-oz package frozen cubed butternut squash
1 lb fresh baby Brussels sprouts (halved)
1 large red onion (peeled and cut into 1” chunks)
1 lb pre-cooked chicken breast (cut into large chunks)
1 cup packed fresh spinach leaves
½ cup Greek-yogurt based or light Ranch Dressing

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Add bread cubes to large bowl. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the Italian Herb Blend and 1 teaspoon of the salt.

3. Toss together to coat bread. Spread out on rimmed baking sheet and bake uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Remove from oven to cool on paper towel. Keep oven heated.

4. In large bowl, add cubed squash (okay if still frozen), Brussels sprouts, and onion. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons Italian Herb Blend and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Dust off crumbs from crouton baking sheet and spread out vegetable mixture in single layer. Roast uncovered in 400 F degree oven for 30 minutes, stirring gently halfway for even cooking.

5. Remove vegetables from oven and let cool down for approximately 15 minutes. Add prepared bread croutons, cubed chicken and spinach to pan; toss together. Transfer to serving platter and drizzle with Ranch Dressing or serve on the side. Best served warm or at room temperature.

*tip: frozen French bread is very easy to cube

{Green} Giant Taste! Cauliflower & Green Chile Tamale Bites Recipe + #Giveaway

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

It’s a very familiar scene. I’m in the midst of preparing a holiday dinner (or even a weeknight supper) and family and friends begin congregating in the kitchen to see what smells so good and make diversionary chit chat. It’s not that I don’t want to visit with them, because I most certainly do! But, at the same time I am totally aware of their ulterior motives – and that is to get their greedy hands on a pre-dinner sample.

My husband calls it “quality control” and my three teenage boys don’t even bother explaining away this blatant devouring of the dinner rations. Forget about sneaking tastes on the sly; mounds of shredded cheese, meticulously sliced fruit, chopped nuts and other ingredients intended for the night’s recipe disappear right off my cutting board. In all honesty, I’ve been the guilty party as a guest in other folks’ homes . “Oh, do you think that roast is done yet or should I add a little more salt and pepper to those mashed potatoes? I’ll just have a small taste, if you don’t mind – thank you very much!”

However, with a little pre-planning, it’s easy to whip up a first course that will tide everyone over until the main dish is ready. My stash of frozen Green Giant vegetables has become not just a reliable source for healthy side dishes, but also nutritious ingredients for hors d’oeuvres. If you’ve read the blog more than once or twice, you may have noticed I love me some southwestern cuisine – the smoky flavors and spicy heat turn even the mildest-mannered menu into a boot-stompin’, chop-smackin’ experience. My recipe for Cauliflower & Green Chile Tamale Bites with Chipotle Crema will keep even the most ravenous rustlers satisfied and out of the main dish until the dinner bell is rung. It’s also a festive and flavorful offering to bring along to a casual holiday party – the host will totally be high-fiving you at the door!

An easy snack to make, these mini muffin-esque appetizers use Green Giant’s boxed Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce, a surprising low in fat and calorie product that is endorsed by Weight Watchers® with a 1 PointsPlus™ value per ½ cup serving. The creamy dip that accompanies these Cauliflower & Green Chile Tamale Bites is mindful of fat and calories as well – it’s simply fat-free sour cream blended with lime juice and ground chipotle powder.

Cauliflower & Green Chile Tamale Bites with Chipotle Crema Recipe

Ingredients:

1 box (10 oz) Green Giant® cauliflower & cheese sauce
½ cup cornmeal
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
¼ cup chopped roasted Hatch green chiles (or 4-oz can green chiles)
1/3 cup grated Colby Jack cheese
¼ cup bacon crumbles

Chipotle Crema:

1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon ground chipotle powder

Heat oven to 375°F. Generously grease or spray 24 mini muffin cups with cooking spray. Cook cauliflower as directed on bag for minimum time. Let cool for 5 minutes and coarsely chop cauliflower.

In medium bowl, mix together cornmeal, flour, milk, eggs cumin and salt with whisk or fork until blended. Stir in cauliflower and cheese sauce, green chiles, cheese and bacon. Divide mixture evenly among cups, filling ¾ full.

Bake 16 to 18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and tops are light brown. Cool 5 minutes. With thin knife, loosen sides of bites from pan; remove to cooling rack.

Meanwhile, mix sour cream, lime juice and chipotle powder in small bowl until smooth. Top each warm bite with mixture or serve on the side.

Makes 24.

Looking for more veggie inspiration? Check out all the other appetizer ideas from Green Giant. And, don’t forget to enter my giveaway – one winner will be sent three coupons for a free Green Giant Steamers product (11 – 12 ounce bags). It’s so easy to eat healthy when you can steam vegetables right in the microwave. Choose from a variety of delicious, low-fat, 100% natural sauces or your favorite plain vegetables.

****This was a sponsored post and I was compensated for my time. However, all opinions and recipes are completely my own.****

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Showy Sides | Sweet Potato Skillet Stack Recipe

Posted on November 30, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

I’m going to keep this short and sweet (potatoes)! In addition to the Bourbon Cranberry Apricot Relish, one of my other contributions to the family’s Thanksgiving feast was this delicious dish – Sweet Potato Skillet Stack with Sriracha Orange Sauce. So pretty to look at and easy to make – you use the same skillet to roast the potatoes and simmer down the sauce on the stove top. Slicing the potatoes into nearly paper-thin slices is the most tedious detail, but it’s made much easier with a mandolin (watch your fingers) or food processor slicing attachment.

Sweet Potato Skillet Stack with Sriracha Orange Sauce Recipe

4 pounds sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
sea salt to taste
4 ounces orange juice
2 tablespoons coconut sugar
1 teaspoon grated ginger root
2 teaspoons. sriracha
¼ cup chopped green onions, including green tops
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1) Preheat oven to 375°. In small microwave-safe bowl, melt butter and then mix together with olive oil; set aside.

2) Peel sweet potatoes and, using a mandolin or sharp knife, slice crosswise into very thin slices (1/8” to 1/16”).

jennifer fisher thefitfork.com slicing sweet potatoes

Slice potatoes as thinly and evenly as possible using a sharp knife, mandolin or food processor.

3) Coat bottom and sides of 12-inch cast iron skillet with two tablespoons of the butter-oil mixture; reserve the rest. Arrange the sliced sweet potatoes in concentric stacked rings until the entire pan is filled. Sprinkle tops with sea salt.

jennifer fisher thefitfork.com sweet potatoes skillet

Ready for the oven

4) Roast potatoes for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the middle of the potatoes are tender and the tops begin to brown and crisp. If potatoes were sliced on the thick side or packed very tightly, they may take longer to cook. Remove from oven.

5) In small bowl, stir together orange juice, coconut sugar, ginger and sriracha sauce. Drizzle mixture over potatoes and bring to boil over medium-heat on stovetop. Lower heat and continue to simmer for approximately 5 minutes or until orange juice mixture is reduced to a thicker state. Sprinkle tops of potatoes with green onions and parsley and serve warm.

Serves 8.

I have sweet potatoes coming out my ears! Due to the holidays, they’ve been on sale for 25 cents a pound at my grocery store. Needless to say, I’ve been picking up a couple pounds every day “just in case.” Good thing I have a lot of favorite sweet potato recipes to finish off my stockpile. Check out all this yam-y yumminess:

Southwester Sweet Potato & Chickpea Soup

Spicy Beef & Sweet Potato Samosas

Jamaican Beef & Sweet Potato Kebabs

Baked Spicy Sweet Potato Chips

Oh, F-word | Bacon-wrapped Salmon Kebabs with Sriracha-Orange Glaze for Dinner

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

Oh, F word. And by “F word” I mean fat. Seventy two hours into my quest to eat 180 grams of healthy fat a day for 10 days is proving harder than I imagined. I’m doing this as a fat-loading phase of a marathon nutrition plan. I’ve had avocado, almonds and eggs. I put real cream in my tea. I was thinking whole plain Greek yogurt would be yummy, but am finding it actually hard to find at the grocery store. Everything is marketed as fat-free, low-fat, reduced-fat or I-can’t-believe-its-not-fat! I did find one large carton of yogurt that had nearly half its calories made from creamy goodness, but the expiration date was looming. Conspiracy!

Eggs, avocado and cheese only got me 1/9th of the way to my 180 gram fat goal.

I was planning a fabulous beef dinner crisped up in rendered fat, but keep forgetting to pull the roast out of the freezer. That will happen this weekend, but I still needed dinner inspiration for tonight. With salmon and bacon on hand, it didn’t take long to realize that these two high-fat proteins would pair up like fine wine and Cheetos (really, try it). With salmon rich in heart-healthy polyunsaturated Omega-3 fatty acids and the bacon sputtering with a hefty dose of (one might argue) less-healthy saturated fats, it only took a mere bamboo skewer to bring together these two opposing forces of dietary fat. You can call the fat combo “naughty and nice” or you can call it “yin and yang,” but why not just make this recipe for Bacon-wrapped Salmon Kebabs with Sriracha-Orange Glaze and call it a damn good thang?!

Bacon-wrapped Salmon Kebabs with Sriracha-Orange Glaze Recipe

8 ounces wild-caught sockeye salmon, skin off
6 slices of hardwood smoked bacon
Zest from one orange
Juice from one orange
¼ cup tamari
1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
¼ cup orange marmalade (all-fruit, no added sugar)
6 6-inch bamboo skewers

1) Soak bamboo skewers in water for at least 10 minutes to prevent burning.Cut salmon into 6 equal-sized strips. Thread onto skewers. Wrap skewered salmon with one slice of bacon.

2) Heat grill pan to medium-high heat. Pan grill kebabs for approximately 4 minutes on each side (including sides), for a total of approximately 16 minutes or until bacon is crisped and salmon cooked through.

3) While kebabs are grilling, prepare glaze by adding juice, tamari, Sriracha and marmalade into a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for approximately 1 minute, stirring once, or until heated through.

4) Remove kebabs from heat and brush with glaze. Sprinkle with orange zest. Use any remaining glaze on the greens, noodles, rice or whatever you are serving*

Serves 2.

When I made the greens, I just kept the rendered fat from the bacon in the pan because I (ahem) wanted it. But, drain off if you wish.

I served these Bacon-wrapped Salmon Kebabs with a version of my Kicked-up Orange Cashew Kale. Heck yeah, the cashews add a little extra crunch and healthy fat. Instead of kale, I used a 10-ounce bag of mixed greens (turnip, collard and mustard). By the time it cooks down, that big bag (which isn’t all yet in the pan above) serves just the two of us. Convenient because I still can’t get my kids to eat cooked greens; pretty sure I wouldn’t as a teenager either.

Happy Fitsgiving – Stretching & Smoothies!

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

Don’t you hate that feeling of being so full you can’t move? I have a few yoga moves that are the perfect postprandial way to keep from feeling stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey. A little stretch here, a little deep breathing there and then, viola, things get moving right along, so to speak. Visit my guest post to get step-by-step instructions on the seated twist, child’s pose, bow pose and upward pose.

Visit CorePower.com to learn about these Thanksgiving yoga moves.

After these yoga moves, go for a walk or play tag with the kids in the front yard — in no time you will have worked up an appetite for my Apple Cider Cinnamon Smoothie, a recipe I developed for the Core Power Protein Drink blog. Please go check out their site to get the full recipe, you don’t want to miss this super-yummy seasonal sipper!

Apple Cider Smoothie made with Core Power Protein Shake.

Also, now through December 2nd, Core Power is hosting a Happy Fitsgiving contest. Just show Core Power how you are staying on top of your fitness goals this holiday season by sharing your favorite winter workout or healthy Thanksgiving recipe. Use hashtags #FitsGiving and #CorePower and post on Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. They’re giving away a case of Core Power protein shake to one lucky pinner, and I’m have a feeling the winner could very well be you fit friends.

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