Shepards Pie

My mom is a wonderful cook.  Growing up, there were many things that I didn't like that I really like now.  One of the meals that I remember most and is a comfort food for me is Shepards Pie.  I love it.  My kids love it.  I don't remember if this is the exact way my mother made it or not, as she follows recipes exactly.  I, on the other hand, throw in a little of this and a little of that, following the basic recipe.  This is a meal that can be made ahead of time, or within 20 min. of when dinner is suppose to be on the table.  Its warm, delicious, and very versitile.  Substitute whatever veggies you have on hand with what is in this recipe.  It will be delicious...its the sauce that makes this so yummy...my Ryan will eat just about any veggie as he doesn't really notice them.  :-)

Brown ground turkey.  I use just a little bit, like 2 cups total, the original recipe says to use a 1 lb.
Add one can tomato soup, a dash of Worchestershire suace, 1/4 cup brown sugar, a shake of oregano, salt and pepper.  Mix up and sit to the side.

Make 4-6 cups mashed potatoes and sit to the side.

Take a 8X8 baking dish and add 1 can green beans, 1 can corn.  Spread evenly.  Pour the saucey meat on the veggies and spread evenly.  Top with the mashed potatoes.  Sprinkle with a little cheese if you like, place in a 350 degree oven for 15 min to heat everything evenly and serve.  Quick, easy and yummy.

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Salad

I love Cafe Rio's sweet pork salad.  I don't love the price of $10 + extra if you add on anything such as sour cream or guacamole.  I have searched the web over and read many reviews on different peoples recipes.  I finally found one that I thought would work, took out of it what I didn't think I"d like and it was perfect.  I got it off of a blog called Familyfavorites.com.  Here is what I took from theirs.  Enjoy!


Pork
5 lbs. boneless pork.  Marinade overnight in 2 cups Coke and 1/4 cup brown sugar.  Sounds wierd, I know.
Next day, take your pork out, place in clean crock pot, add in 24 ounces coke mixed with 1/2 cup brown sugar and cook on high for about 1 1/2 hours.  Drain liquid when done and pull pork apart.  Return to crock pot and add the following blended mixture:  24 oz coke, 16 ounces enchilada sauce (spicy if you like spicy pork), 1 can green chilis.  Pour over pulled pork and cook on low for 2 to 3 hours.  Your done.  Enjoy.


Black Beans
I soak 2 cups black beans overnight, and then cook them the following day, starting in the morning, as they take a long time to get soft.  If you have a lot of water in them when finished, drain a little.  Add 1 cup tomato juice, 2 tsp. cumin, 1 tsp onion powder.  Mix and let rest until time to eat.  You can continue to simmer on your lowest setting on the stove if you'll be eating within the hour.


Rice
Add 3 cups chicken broth and 2 cups brown rice and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer, cover and they should be done in about 40 min.  Add 1 cup tomato juice, 2 cloves minced garlic.  Stir and let rest until time to eat.


Salsa (my way anyway)
2 diced avacados
6 diced tomatoes
1 diced onion
Cilantro to taste.  I like a lot.


Cilantro Dressing
1 cup fat free mayo
1 cup milk with 2 Tbs. Vinegar (unless your fancy and you have some buttermilk...I never do.)
1/2 bunch cilantro
2 TBS Ranch dressing Mix or a packet, whichever you have
2 TBS lime juice
You can add tabasco sauce if you'd like to make it spicy, but I say yuck to that.


To assemble, have your tortilla hot and ready.  Place in a pin tin or on a plate, scoop out some yummy sweet pork, add your beans and rice, top with a handful of romaine lettuce, add the salsa, use a cookie scoop to plop on some sour cream and quacamole and sprinkle with tortilla strips.


You can put out the dressing in a gravy boat and let everyone have all they want.  Its nice that for once you don't get charged .50 to have a little more.


Cost wise was around $30 for all my groceries, certainly not $10 per plate.  This fed 4 adults and made 8 burrito style dinners (the kids didn't want the salad on it and it was a whole lot easier to serve that way.  We fed them and then got them the heck out of the kitchen so we could enjoy the meal.)  Steve then got to enjoy 2 days of left overs.  Perfect dinner and perfect leftovers.  I hope you enjoy like we did, and add your own style to enjoy it even more!

Easy Quick Carmel Popcorn

I love popcorn with a good movie, or a good movie with great popcorn. :-)  I am traditional...I open a box labeled "popcorn."  I take out the bag, remove plastic and place in Microwave for three min. and TA DA...popcorn.  I usually buy the 94% fat free.  If I ate it all the time I'd probably buy a machine and pop it fresh,   but...its a once or twice a month treat.  I love caramel popcorn but hate the stickiness in my teeth, hands and the amount of time to make it, bake it and break it.  I found a recipe that is quick, easy, and has me enjoying caramel popcorn in less than 10 min.  Its not sticky after a few min. cooling, and it tastes even better the next day.  What I like best about it is that is not overpowering...very light.  Enjoy!

The following is what I have found to be enough for my family of 4 to enjoy:

2 bags of popcorn, or about 10-14 cups of your own fresh popped corn
Place popcorn in a very large bowl.  On the stove top, in a small pot, put one cube of butter, 1/4 cup karo syrup and 2 TBS brown sugar.  Bring to a boil on medium/high for about 3 min.  Stir continuously.  Remove from heat, let cool about 1 min and add 1 tsp vanilla.  Slowly pour over popcorn while mixing.  Mix completely, let sit about one min, divide into your bowl and serve.  Its delicious, promise.

Whole Wheat Veggie Pizza

I love pizza.  But, recently, with our diet changes, the pizza from Pizza Hut and others make me feel sick.  I am guessing it is the oil in them.  I'm not sure, but whatever it is, it makes me glad that I have my Mom's homemade dough recipe that is the best I have ever come across.  Her sauce is also very yummy.  My friends in high school used to ask me to ask my mom to make her pizza.  Thanks mom for sharing this recipe with me, my friends and now whoever reads this blog.  You'll need to plan this dinner ahead, as you need time for the dough to rise.  Enjoy!

1 1/4 C water with 1 TBS yeast and 1 TBS sugar.  Let sit for about 5 min.  Add 1/2 C butter, softened and 3 cups flour.  You can use any combination of flour.  I use 1/2 of each.  Mix and make into a nice soft ball, cover and let rise.  If you are pressed for time, you can use right away, but letting it rise for at least an hour is best.  I have even let it rise for 3 hours before.  It made it go just a little farther.

Use with your own sauce or the one below (I suggest the one below.)

1 can Tomato Soup
1 can 8 oz tomato sauce
2 TBS brown sugar
2 good sqeeezes of ketchup
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
a few shakes of Garlic powder and onion powder
1/4 c pinapple juice, but only if you already have some on hand.

Mix all together in a pot and simmer for 30 min or so.  Yummy!

Acorn Squash w/ Maple Syrup

 In the fall, we go to the Farmer's Market to enjoy getting fresh vegetables and pick out a pumpkin for the kids carving fun.  The colors are vivid and the air is crisp and fresh.  On one stand sits a variety of squash.  You know the ones I 'm talking about...bumby, small, odd shaped and very colorful.  I had always assumed they were just runts of the litter.  Squash ment for decorating only, as thats about all they could be used for.  I was wrong though, and am happy to report that Acorn squash is definitely ment for eating.

Acorn squash is green, looks like an acorn, and is very heavy.  I had no idea there was wonderful, edible food inside, until I was ready through a magazine and came across this recipe.  Steve had purchsed a few of these vegetables earlier in the week, much to my eye roll when I told him to enjoy eating his "weights."  Turns out that they are so good.  They are a little hard to cut through, but inside is quite a bit of food.  Steve baked his with absolutely nothing on them, and they were pretty good, a little sweet, and a nice smooth texture.  Andrew and I had the ones from the recipe below, and they were wonderful.

One Acorn squash is enough to feed two people.  Its actually more than enough.  Use it as your main course. Its a beautiful presentation and is sure to not disappoint.  This recipe was for four of us.  Do the following:

Cut the Acorn squash, lengthwise.  Remove seeds.

Spray a little butter around the edges and middle.  Take about a TBS of brown sugar (you could use less, but I wouldn't suggest more) and sprinkle it around the sides and a little in the middle.  Gently press down on it to ensure it will stay on the squash.  Take about a TBS of maple syrup (I used sugar-free) and drizzle it onto the squash.  Place a bit of tinfoil around each squash and place in a shallow pan that has a little bit of water in it.  Place in a 350 degree oven for 45-60 min.  Remove from oven when its soft when a fork is placed into it and carefully remove the tinfoil.  Let cool for about 5 min before serving.  We would spoon up a bite, dip in slightly in the syrup "puddle" and then take a bite.  It was so good and such a pretty piece of dinner!  This is defeinatly one that I would make for guests when I want to look fancy.  I served this with a left over oil-free stir fried rice recipe.  We were very full at the end of the meal, and cost wise, I would estimate it be about $1.50 a plate.  This ones a keeper. :-)

Pumpkin Bread

I love the pumpkin bread at Great Harvest.  It is so good and oily.  The chocolate seems to melt in my mouth.  It is also almost $4 per loaf, which I'm not a big fan of.  I had a 1/2 can left over pumpkin mix from my husbands last nights creation, and so I used what I already know with my banana bread, and mixed up two loaves of pumpkin heaven.  Goes great with apple cider and a good movie.  I suggest everyone try it!

Ingredients:
-1/2 c butter
-2 eggs
-1 c brown sugar
-1/2 c white sugar

Mix these items together until creamy and add the following:
-1 1/4 c white flour
-1/2 c whole wheat flour
-1 tsp. baking soda
-1 tsp cinnimon
-1/2 tsp. nutmeg
-1/2 tsp. salt

Mix these items together and then add 8 oz canned pumpkin and 1/2 c water and 1 cup chocolate chips.  Mix and pour into 2 bread loaf pans.  Bake about 30 min. at 350.  Yummy Yummy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know, they are not healthy. But, if your going to have a cookie, do it right. Stay away from the Oreos and Keeblers that have who knows what in them that makes up a cookie. Make them yourself and give most of them away. Nothing says your a great neighbor better than a plate of freshly made cookies. It only takes about 25 min. to mix up the batch, wait for them to cook, and transfer one to your plate.
These are very soft and chewy. The secret is to take them out of the oven when they look like they are not done. Seriously, check after 6 minutes and there after every minute until they are just slightly brown around the edges; take them out when you think they should bake for one more minute. Makes about 3 dozen.
I have family members who make different desserts with the effort to reduce calories. My sister has a brownie recipe that calls for Diet Coke. My mom adds bran to chocolate muffin mix. My brother makes a sugar-free cheesecake. I'm all about calorie reduction. But when it comes to desserts, I have the opinion that if your going to eat it, eat it. But just eat one, or half a serving, or just one bite. Remember your going to give most of them away anyway, right? Here is a fabulous recipe I found in a Martha Stewart Living magazine. It has been my staple for years.

Mix 1 cup unsalted butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup brown sugar and 2 eggs in a bowl until you get a smooth texture. Add 2 1/4 cup of flour, 1/2 tsp. baking soda and 1 tsp of salt. Combine and then add 2 tsp. vanilla. Empty a pkg. of semi-sweet chocolate chips into the batter and hand mix in. Place onto cookie sheet one drop at a time and bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 min. Cool on a rack if you can keep your kids out of them long enough to do so. Pour yourself a cup of milk and enjoy a moment with your family as you laugh about the bit of chocolate that shows on your teeth when you smile. A cookie won't kill you, but all the cookies might. Keep yourself in check and enjoy your life.

Brown Rice Chili

Its a happy day when your teen-ager walks into the kitchen, lifts the lid off the pot and happily says, "Hey, we're having rice!" Rewind 6 hours earlier to me standing in the middle of the kitchen, opening the refrigerator for the 4th time as I try to figure out what I should make for dinner. I have started thinking about dinner in the mornings while the kids eat breakfast. It has really cut down on my stress when 3 pm rolls around. I had left over rice, kidney and black beans I had been cooking for what seemed like 2 days, some veggies and a few bread sticks. Chili, I thought. It's cold outside and this might hit the spot. I haven't had chili without the goodness of beef in it, so this recipe was a new experience. It turned out really good, a little more spicy than I like, but Andrew claimed the left overs for his lunch at school. Could there be a better ending to a Sunday? Here is the recipe in all its teen-ager glory:

Ingredients:

3 cups kidney beans

1 c black beans

2 cups water that the beans have cooked in

1 c chopped or canned tomatoes.

1 medium onion, chopped small

1 green pepper chopped

2 cups brown rice<

2 tsp. cumin

1/1 tsp. chili powder

1 beef bullion cube

2 Tbs. brown sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

If you used canned beans, don't rinse first and add 1 or more cups of water to the consistency that you like. Also, if you like a more vinegar chili, add it at this time. I don't care for the flavor, and Steve easily adds it to his own bowl. Add all the ingredients into a crock pot, turn on the lowest setting and your done until dinner. Do return an hour or so later and stir to mix up the beef bullion cubes. Let the flavors meld for about 4 hours. I served mine with breadsticks. Back in the day I used to think I had to plop on some sour cream and sprinkle with cheese. The flavors are so good in this that you won't even know your missing the added fat. You probably won't even get the question of, "Where's the Beef?"

Ryans meal was a plate with a pile of rice, a pile of beans, and a breadstick. Compromise yes, but he left the table eating what I made for dinner and he didn't even cry!

Pumpkin Soup

I've wondered for years what good is a pumpkin for other than carving? Are they actually edible? I noticed while Andrew carved his pumpkin this year that he kept popping pieces into his mouth like M&M's. He loved it! After carving a scary face into what is essentially a piece of fruit (they have seeds, making them part of the fruit family) he cut up a chunk and put the pieces into the steamer and then enjoyed some more of the "unedible" food.

I've used banana and butternut squash for years as a soup. So, I thought, why not pumpkin. Fresh pumpkin, not that canned stuff that resembles Gerbers. If you are really feeling Martha Stewartish, scoop out your pumpkin with care so you can pour your finished product back into the pumpkin for a beautiful center piece. I plan on doing this for Thanksgiving. I'll take a photo and post when accomplished. I saved the seeds and roasted them in the oven to use as a garnish. Go get your pumpkin and lets make some soup!

Ingredients:
About 4 lbs. of Pumpkin (or squash)

1 lg. Onion
2 TBS minced garlic
1 Yellow or Red Pepper
8 Cups of Water w/ 8 cubes of beef or chicken bullion cubes

Any seasonings you like. I used salt, pepper, basil, and nutmeg.

Directions:

Take pumpkin and spread it out onto a baking

pan. Add your onion and peppers that have been cut up into pieces. Salt and pepper to taste. Place in 400 degree oven and roast for about 20 min.

Remove from oven and let cool about 5 min. Place in blender, a few pieces at a time, with a little bit of water. Dump pureed pumpkin into the boullion water and turn on low to simmer for an hour or so to blend flavors. With your last mixture of pumpkin add the minced garlic and cilantro and nutmeg to blend. Add other seasonings as desired. While the soup is simmering, you can roast the pumpkin seeds. Rinse your seeds well and spread onto a baking pan to dry. I usually get out my blow dryer and set it too low to speed up the process. Spray with butter and, using a basting brush, spread on Worcestershire sauce, sprinkle with a lot of salt and then place in oven that is set at 250 degrees. They take about 30-40 min. Yummy!

Monster Pancakes

Saturday mornings. As a child, it brought pancakes, waffles, eggs, and home made maple syrup. At the time, I didn't have an appreciation for the home made stuff. I wanted it to come in a plastic container like at my friends house. I appreciate it now, although I rarely make it home made, as we need a sugar free variation for Andrew. I loved waking up to the smell of the fragrance that only pancakes can bring. It wasn't every Saturday, but enough for me to think about it nearly every time I make them for my kids. A good friend of mine makes a delicious variation of the pancake. She uses eggs as her base and bakes it up to a crisp. My boys love them, in all their glory; crispy, chewy and delicious. From the time you pull out the eggs from the refrigerator to when you are putting the first bite into your mouth, its only about 30 min. Mix it up, and while its baking, sit down with your kids and smile and laugh while you wait to enjoy a warm breakfast together.

Ingredients:

6 Eggs

1 C Milk

1/2 C white flour

1/2 C wheat flour

1 TBS brown Sugar

1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

Dash of Salt

1/4 C Melted butter

Directions:

Place 1/4 c butter in a 9X13" pan and place in an oven and preheat to 400. Mix everything together with beaters except for the eggs. And them last, and mix them in by hand until incorporated...you don't want fluffy eggs. Cook 20 min at 400 Degrees. It will puff up in some areas, which is the part my kids love. This is why we call them "monster" pancakes. Variations: add Cinnamon, pumpkin spice, vanilla. We put maple syrup, fruit, cinnamon and sugar or jelly on top. Depends on what we have in the fridge.

This serves about 4. Goes perfect with a fruit smoothie.

Smoothies For Ice Cream

"Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having your ice cream fall from the cone."-Jim Fiebig.

Ice Cream has been a favorite of treats for a long time running. It's smooth, creamy, cold, and comes in so many varieties you'll never run out of ways to try it. But, unless you spend $6 a cartoon for the "milk, cream, eggs and sugar" kind, you get a cold mound of a bunch of words I can't pronounce crammed into a container that will eventually end up in your stomach. Even with the other, its full of fat. As Brian Regan, a favorite comedian says, "hey guys, come'mere...look, I put down the serving size of ice cream as a half-a-cup. I did it as a joke, but they're going out that way." 1/2 a cup is a joke, and I have never known anyone who sticks to that size.

Instead of ice cream for movie night this Saturday, try one of these smoothies instead. I make mine in a BlendTec blender. I cannot say enough good about this blender. Its worth every penny. Stuff you couldn't imagine would blend, blends. No fight, no 5 batches, just put it in, hit blend and it does what you had hoped. I use my blender for soups, to puree sauces, it whips real whipping cream in a matter of seconds, chops nuts, and of course, makes smoothies that are cheap, good and healthy. You can pick them up on eBay pretty cheap, or a specialized kitchen store for around $300. Insanely expensive, I know, but if I had to choose between it and a dishwasher, I'd enjoy a smoothie after I finished washing my dishes by hand. Heres my recipe. :-)

Directions

Take one banana, 1 1/2" slice of pineapple, 2 cups of ice, 1/4 c water, 2 packets stevia, 2 tsp. vanilla and put them all in a blender. Push blend. Pour into glass, top with real whipping cream. As you sip the sweet tasting goodness known as a healthy treat, smile knowing that you might have seconds tonight, and it's okay!

So easy a cave man can do it! My boys LOVE these smoothies, and rarely ask for ice cream anymore. We use whatever fruit we have. Steve likes banana and pears. I am looking forward to winter smoothies, as Oranges are finally cheap. I love oranges in combination with just about any fruit. The only fruit I don't like blended are apples. But be creative, try something new, and before long, you might be off ice cream too!

One more thing, just a quick cost comparison. An ice cream shake, regular size, on the way home from the video store for a family of 4 will cost you on average about $12. A cartoon of ice cream from the store will use the entire cartoon and provided you don't add any extras but the ice cream, will cost you anywhere from $4-$6 depending on brand. A fruit smoothie, 16 oz. for a family of four will cost you about $3. Eating fresh fruit as a delicious treat? Priceless.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

My mom used tomato soup for just about everything, I swear. It was a base for pizza sauce, meatloaf, dinner, lunch...I have clear memories of going through tomato soup like nothing else. I use it often now too, and have made up a speggetti sauce that honors the tradition of the Merritts love of Campbells....umm umm good. It takes a bit longer than opening a jar of Prego, but, as always, is well worth the small effort. Make sure it going to cover up Whole Wheat Pasta.
Ingredients

1. 1 8 oz Can of Tomato Sauce
2. 1 small onion chopped
3. 1 green pepper chopped
4. A few Sweet Basil leaves or Dried Basil will do
5. 1 1/2 T of Worcestershire Sauce
6. 1/4 C Brown Sugar
7. 1 C cooked Italian Sausage...this isn't a must, I used it because I had it, but the sauce tastes really good without it too.
8. Salt and pepper to taste

Banana Bread Goodness

I love banana bread. I get giddy when I see bananas going bad. Ryan comes in at a close second as a fan. This morning I awoke to 6 bananas begging to be mixed, baked and eaten. This recipe is the best I have found, and after adapting it to my own tastes, it is, of course, THE BEST BANANA BREAD EVER! I figure if I'm going to make the effort, I might as well make a big batch. This recipe will make 4 loaves that are 6"X4" and about 2" high. Add some spray butter and you've got one yummy treat. Again, I'm slowly adding wheat flour to our diet, so I used 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat flour.
INGREDIENTS

1. 4 c Flour (1/2 of each kind)
   
2. 2 tsp Baking Soda
   
3. 1/2 tsp Salt
   
4. 1 c White Sugar & 1 c Dark Brown Sugar
   
5. 2 eggs
   
6. 1 c butter, or you can use 1/2 c Butter and 1/2 c Applesauce
   
7. 6 going bad bananas

Mix with beaters butter and sugars together. Add eggs and mix. Add flour, soda, salt and mix. In a seperate bowl, mix up bananas, just until combined and add into your other mixture. Use beaters and mix until barely incorporated. I like to add chocolate chips, 1 cup for a batch this size.

Heat oven to 350 degrees and bake bread around 30 min. All ovens vary, so watch it after 20 min to see where yours is at. I was able to cook all 4 loaves at once.

From when I pulled out my recipe to when I was holding a slice in my hand was 1 hour. Pretty fast for a great warm treat. The boys will be so excited to have something yummy to enjoy as they tell me about their day at school. I love being a Mom!

Almost Healthy Pancakes

Isn't it amazing that we have a society in which cake topped with grease and sugary brown substance has made it big as a "get your morning started right" breakfast?!? I, for one, love the pancake. I prefer it slightly cold. My husband likes them with peanut butter. My kids love them. Over the last few times I have served them, I have been adding wheat flour in place of white. This morning I am up to half wheat, half white. Soon, we'll be going the full monte. Add some fresh fruit for syrup, and what we have is some "Almost Healthy Pancakes."

INGREDIENTS

1. 1 c White Flour & 1 c Wheat Flour
2. 2 tsp. Stevia Sugar
3. 1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
4. 1 tsp Baking Soda
5. 1 1/2 tsp Salt
6. 2 Eggs
7. 1 c Milk
8. 1 8 oz Plain or Vanilla Yogurt

Mix ingrediants all together in one bowl with a whisk until smooth. From pulling out my bowl to start to ending with a smooth batter took me 5 min. 3 sec. I used a stopwatch. Didn't take much longer than dumping that premix stuff from Western Family and the taste is well worth it.
Heat your pan at a low medium to cook these. Recipe will make about 10 4"X4" pancakes. Add blueberries, bananas, or whatever fruit you like to add some variety.

Syrup

1. 1 C of blueberries/rasberries/strawberries...whatever you have in any combo
2. Mirowave w/ a little sugar and lemon juice for about 2 min.
3. Puree in blender or with a hand mixer
   My boys combine the maple with fruit syrup and love it!
   
   

Salmon Stroganoff

First glance at this recipe made me think of a thick creamy mushroom sauce that was drowning meatballs in white enriched flour pasta, with a nice thick slice of french bread. Its what I grew up with, and a close friend of mine makes it weekly for her family. But, with our new life style of trying to eat healthy, I tweaked the recipe a bit and came up with what you see below. The original has you coat your fish in flour and milk, fry in oil and add a lot of butter. I skipped all that, added the beans for good measure and had a meal that both teen-ager and husband alike enjoyed. The 9 year old even ate it (though I had to seperate the fish, rice and beans into seperate piles.) Health nuts around the world will tell you to incorporate fish and brown rice into your diet at least once a week, if not two. Here you can kill two birds with one stone. :-)

1. 12 oz. Salmon
   
2. 3 C. cooked brown rice
   
3. 2 C. Beef Broth
   
4. 2 TBS fresh dill chopped. Yes fresh. Its worth it
   
5. 1/3 C. chopped Green Onions
   
6. 1 C. Chopped Mushrooms
   
7. 1/2 c. Kidney Beans.
   
8. 3/4 c sour Cream
   
9. Salt and pepper to taste

Cook Salmon in a separate pan and set aside. Spray a little Pam in pan, add fresh dill, onions, mushrooms and kidney beans with a little bit of beef broth and saute for about 2 min, then pour remaining beef broth in. Add in sour cream, mixing gently...place fish in the veggies mix and let simmer to mix the flavors together...about 5-8 min. Scoop out rice onto each plate so you'll know your portion, place fish on top, spoon out the veggies and sauce mixture and top the salmon. That's it. Yummy, Healthy, Fast. No tarter sauce, no fries. I served this up with a pineapple banana smoothie. We didn't even miss the bread. With my brand of rice and sour cream, total calorie count was 330.


Tips and Tricks

1. Don't use Minuet Rice. The real stuff has more substance to it, cost less and is better for you.
   
2. Real Dill costs about $2, and you can use it on potatoes, chicken and rice.
3. Make your own broth. 1 cube w/ 1 cup boiling water. One jar is around $3 and will make about 10 cups.
   
4. You can substitute white onion for green, black beans for kidney. Be creative. Don't be afraid to try something new.