It's been a year of "NEWLYWED" blogging and the motive of my blog remeains the same! Document first time experiences cooking new recipes and old for my wonderful husband in our new, and FIRST, home!
Getting Healthy in an Affordably Delicious Way
Welcome to The Newlywed Chef! My goal and desire will always be healthy and budget-wise cooking. If you aren't a follower yet, please become one! Always feel free to e-mail me recipes that sound good to you, and I will cook them! Or, e-mail some family favorite that you want posted for others to try, and I can do that as well, as long as its healthy, AND budget-friendly.
Enjoy the site, cast a vote in the poll, and come back each day to check for new recipes!
I know the majority of you will look at that title and think I've gone out on a limb with the Indian cuisine, and that's okay. But, this is TAME. I've had some heavily influenced Indian meals, and this was not one of them. This is just a TASTE of Indian spice with turmeric and ginger (staple spices of Indian cuisine!)
I hope you'll try this! It's so easy, so healthy, and as always, so delicious. Don't skip out on the yogurt slaw!
Preheat oven to 475°. In a large bowl, mix together 1/2 cup yogurt, garlic, turmeric, ginger, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add chicken; toss until well coated.
Transfer chicken to baking dish and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of breast (avoiding bone) registers 160° , 25 to 30 minutes. Mine was done at 30 minutes
Meanwhile, peel apple; coarsely grate into a medium bowl. Add cilantro and remaining 1/2 cup yogurt; season with salt and pepper. Serve sauce alongside chicken, with rice, if desired!
Loved this yogurt sauce! We put it right on top of our chicken, but you could just dip if you prefer!!
These are absolutely incredible. I found this recipe about a year or so ago on eatingwell.com. They are a little involved, I just want you to know that up front, but they are well worth the effort! Please note, all herbs can be substituted with dry herbs as long as you HALF the amount I used! For those of you with herb gardens (cough cough AMY)- go for the real thing!
Now, let me also say, this is BEST served over spaghetti (duh, like spaghetti and meatballs!)- but I ran out of time and was too lazy to dirty another pot, so, we had them plain! MAKE THE PASTA! So worth the full effect! Here we go:
Start by making your sauce:
1 medium onion finely diced
4 garlic cloves finely minced
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes (fire roasted if you can find them)
3 T tomato paste
1 large chipotle in adobo sauce, minced (if you like it HOT, add 2: Amanda Tucker ONLY USE ONE)
2 tsp fresh chopped oregano
1 sprig fresh rosemary
Salt
1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves
Saute your onion for about 5 minutes, or until it turns translucent. Then add in your garlic and cook 1 more minute.
Add remaining ingredients (except basil!) and cook for 10 minutes and let liquid get thick!
Meanwhile, work on making your meatballs:
1 lb ground turkey (or chicken) meat
1 slice of whole wheat bread pulsed into crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup finely shredded carrot
1/2 cup finely diced onion
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 T minced fresh parsley
2 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves
1 egg lightly beaten
1/2 tsp salt
Lots of fresh ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients and form into small balls. It should give you about 12 if you make them the right size!
Pop them in the oven (ON BROIL) for 10 minutes.
Once they come out, well browned, and mostly cooked through, add them to your sauce!
*If you are making spaghetti, start it at this point!*
Let meatballs cook while pasta is cooking. Cover them. Remove sprig of rosemary and throw in your fresh basil.
Once spaghetti is done, drain, and then add to large pot with meatballs and sauce. Serve and garnish with fresh Parmesan and chopped parsley
This is a dinner that I made when we had our first house guests. I just got around to remaking it this week! It is actually from one of my Rachael Ray Cookbooks.. yes, I actually opened one of them!
I actually added an easy spinach side dish to this meal when Amanda and Carter were over, but i was too lazy to go all out for just Nick and I, but I'll post the recipe if you want it!
First, let me walk you through the spaghetti squash! For those of you who have never heard of it, or seen it, it is an oval squash, yellow on the outside, and when you cook it, it SHREDS itself apart like spaghetti noodles!
First, you'll want to slice it in half and seed the squash. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and then place squash in the pot, flesh side down. Boil about 20 minutes and then remove. (For this recipe, reserve 1/4 cup of your cooking liquid)
Once its cooled enough to the touch, take a fork and shred the flesh out:
You should be able to get it all the way to the skin:
See that? You use it ALL! Then, just add to a medium sized bowl, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, your reserved cooking liquid, LOTS of fresh ground pepper, salt and 2 t of Olive Oil. Serve it up!
If you don't think this looks good, get an opinion from Amanda:
Onto the Peppery Pork Chops! These are awesome, and so easy!
All you need:
4 boneless pork loin chops, about 1inch thick each
Salt and Pepper
2 T Olive Oil
1 small-medium yellow pepper, sliced
1 small-medium orange pepper, sliced
3 sweet cherry peppers, sliced (find these jarred near the roasted red peppers)
1/2 cup white wine or chicken broth (mainly used to de-glaze your pan!)
2 T chopped flat leaf parsley (optional)
Salt and Pepper both sides of your chops
Cook in 1 T of your oil in a skillet over medium-high heat about 5-7 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Remove from skillet, and set aside
Now, add a little more oil to your pan and throw in your bell peppers. Saute about 5 minutes, then add your cherry peppers. Cook about 5 more minutes and then add your white wine, or chicken broth to get all the yummy parts stuck on the bottom of the pan!
Once most of the liquid has been re-absorbed, pour pepper mixture over your pork chops and garnish with the fresh parsley!
Enjoy :) This is a keeper! And, yes, I know you cannot see the pork in this picture, but its just because of all those healthy veggies covering it up :)
This is a good one! Easy and quick to throw together! Not too much to it. Just throw and go! Now, of course, I didn't get a good picture, but I have a GREAT reason. I made this at 7am so that my husband would have dinner while I made the opening day of ECLIPSE. So, sorry if you are motivated by pictures, but believe me, this is EXTREMELY tasty!!
Combine the following:
1 bag (or head) of lettuce of your choice (romaine, butter, etc.)
1 8 oz can mandarin oranges, drained
1 pkg of grilled chicken strips (pre-cooked)
1 cup of Chow Main noodles
1 cup of snap peas, cooked to al dente
1.5 cups cooked and shelled edamame
1/2 red or yellow bell pepper chopped or sliced
(You could easily add almonds to this!)
Kraft Light Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing
Add dressing to individual servings, because you WILL have leftovers :)
This recipe was inspired by my lack of diversity in my lunch menu. Everyday I take the SAME lunch to work and it gets depressing by mid-week. I initiated the change at the grocery store by deciding I WOULD attempt to make a healthy chicken salad to put on a sandwich or on top of lettuce! I'd call it a success, but, see for yourself! I actually should say, TRY for yourself, because, my picture doesn't really do it justice!
Its healthy OF COURSE. Minimal mayo! Maximized on the benefits of Greek Yogurt which has multiple health benefits (and lots of protein!)
Here you go:
2 cups of cooked chicken (shredded or cubed)
1 T light mayonaise
1/4 cup Greek Yogurt (I use reduced fat)
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1/3 cup finely diced granny smith apple
About 20 red grapes sliced in half
1 tsp lemon rind
1-2 T lemon juice
1 T honey
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Fresh tarragon (can use dried)
Fresh basil (can use dried)
Fresh parsley (can use dried)
You could add almonds (I forgot)
You could add about 1/4 tsp of ground corriander
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well! If there are other ingredients you would like to add, just go for it! Like i said, almonds would work great, maybe some finely diced onion!
Another option would be to send it through a food processor for a smooth consistency. If you do this, save the grapes and apples for last. You will want them whole :)
Most of the ingredients are right in the title for you! No guess work involved! I got this recipe from a friend in the office! These were SO easy, but SO VERY delicious! Even Nick was surprised by how much he liked them!
Don't skip out on these! Great side dish option!
Ingredients
1.5 pounds of brussel sprouts (I got 2- 1lb bags of frozen)
2 T Olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup dried apricots finely diced
1/3 cup pistachios, chopped
Directions:
If you are using frozen brussels, add about 1 cup of water and sprouts to a pan. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook for about 8 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water immediately.
If you are using fresh, bring the water to a boil FIRST, then add sprouts and cook the same way until just tender. Probably more like 3 minutes!
Then, heat your oil in a large skillet. Add all ingredients and toss together for about 5-6 minutes!
This was a recipe straight out of a South Beach cookbook that I borrowed from my mom! The picture looked SO good in the book, that I had to make it!
You know... its that same way you feel when you see MY pictures, right!? HAH! Mostly kidding! But on a more serious note, this dinner is easy, its healthy, and its affordable. Are you sick of hearing that yet? I do need to showcase one of my newest Pampered Chef Items. You will see it after the "finely chopped onion" step!!
Ingredients:
-8 oz whole wheat penne pasta
- 2 t Olive Oil
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
-3 cloves of garlic, minced
-1/4 tsp sea salt
-1/8 tsp black pepper
- 3 sweet cherry peppers, diced
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
-1 large zucchini, shredded
- 3-4 oz feta cheese (goat cheese would work as well)
-1/4 cup fresh basil, sliced or chopped
And We're Off:
Here is my new chopper, and look at my nice evenly chopped onions!
Anyways,
Heat 1 tsp of your oil over medium-high heat. Add your onion and garlic, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring often until onion is soft.
Add the rest of the oil, your sweet peppers, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook. Remove from heat, but keep warm.
Now, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserving 2 tablespoons of pasta cooking liquid, drain pasta.
Meanwhile, prep your tomatoes and zucchini (if you haven't already!)
Add pasta, reserved pasta cooking liquid, zucchini, cheese, tomatoes, and basil to skillet with peppers and onions; toss to combine.
Cook over medium heat until pasta is just heated through and cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Season with additional pepper to taste and serve warm.
