Ingredients:
3 lbs lean (at least 90%) ground turkey
1 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk
sprinkle light garlic salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon Marinara Meat sauce
1 tablespoon pepper
2 eggs

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 400F. Line 13x9-inch baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. Mix all ingredients.
3. Shape into 1 1/2-inch meatballs and place 1 inch apart on sheet.
4. Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes or until no longer pink in center.
5. Drizzle favorite sauce over meatballs and serve!

Ingredients:
1.25 lb lean (at least 90%) ground turkey
1/2 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Marinara Meat sauce
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 egg

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 400F. Line 13x9-inch baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. Mix all ingredients.
3. Shape into 1 1/2-inch meatballs and place 1 inch apart on sheet.
4. Bake uncovered for 18-24 minutes or until no longer pink in center.
5. Drizzle favorite sauce over meatballs and serve!

I am very excited about this recipe! Several years ago, Andrew and I went to North, an Italian restaurant in Tucson and ordered their Not Your Typical Chicken Lasagna. We instantly fell in love with it. The light, brothy consistency is different from the usually thick, saucy, baked, cheesy lasagna recipes.When we returned to North, they had redone their entire menu and removed it! Since then, we have dreamed of this lasagna and Googled it numerous times, hoping to find a semblance of it, with no such luck! A couple of weeks ago, while battling a desperate craving for this lasagna, Andrew remembered the name of the dish and Googled: Not Your Typical Chicken Lasagna, North (something we should have done before, right?!). To our surprise, we found a video of North's Executive, Chef Peter Lindquist, sharing the lasagna recipe! This little video is a gem! We used it as a guide, but we added a couple things that were omitted in the video, like how to cook the chicken. We are so excited about this recipe and hope you enjoy it too.

Ingredients:
2 cups mushroom
1 cup leaks
2 cups spinach
parsley to taste
cherry tomatoes to taste
1 tsp garlic
4-5 chicken breasts
chicken broth to taste
white wine to taste
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp butter
sliced Parmesan cheese to taste
1 box lasagna pasta sheets (recipe works best with smaller pasta sheets, rather than the traditional rectangular sheets)
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Getting Started! 




Directions:

1. Boil chicken with salt and pepper. Once chicken is fully cooked, string and set aside. Option to cook chicken in small cubes and sear until slightly golden.

2. Boil pasta and set aside.

3. In a small skillet, cook leaks in 1 table spoon of butter and set aside.

4. Cook mushrooms and garlic in oil until golden. Add parsley and leaks to mix and sprinkle salt and pepper. Add 1-2 cup vegetable stock, 1 tablespoon of butter and wine. Lastly, add chicken and spinach and mix.

5. Heat vegetable broth in microwave.

6. For each serving plate, do the following:

• In a bowl, place 1-2 sheets of pasta. 
• Add a couple scoops of chicken/vegetable medley on top of pasta. 
• Cover with a 1-2 sheets of pasta.
• Pour hot vegetable broth over serving until it covers 1 inch of the meal. 
• Sprinkle fresh Parmesan cheese and tomatoes to your liking and serve! 

Ingredients:
2 cans 15oz low sodium garbanzo beans
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons crushed garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil (add more for softer consistency)
2 red bell peppers
1/2 cup lemon juice

Optional:
1 roasted Serrano pepper, diced and blended or red pepper sprinkled to taste. For a supremely spicy recipe, add both!

Directions:
1. Remove seeds from bell peppers and slice into 3-4 large slices. Place peppers on a cooking sheet and broil about 5 inches away from broiler. Broil for 5 to 10 minutes or until the outer skin on the red peppers is charred.

 
2. Once skin is charred, remove and let cool for 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, drain garbanzo beans and slowly add to food processor. Begin adding olive oil and crushed garlic to food processor. Add salt, pepper, cumin and lemon juice to mixture.

4. Peel the charred skin off the peppers, slice and add all but two slices of the roasted pepper to blender and blend for 1 minute.







5. Remove hummus mixture from blender . Finely dice the two remaining pieces of red pepper and place on the center of the hummus. Serve with fresh veggies or whole wheat crackers!

Have a Thanksgiving potluck, Holiday party, or school bake sale coming up? Give these muffins a try! I make these muffins every year during the holiday season. You can check out my previous post--Whole Wheat Pumpkin muffins--for the batter recipe, and a healthier option, of course:).  However, if you have a sweet tooth, or you simply want to impress your guests, this sugar coating recipe is a great option.

I made these muffins last week for a Thanksgiving potluck and they were a success. The best part about these muffins, is that even though they are sweet, they are whole wheat! So after carving into that juicy turkey, and tasting all the great Thanksgiving sides, your guests won't feel too guilty about indulging in a tasty desert!


Ingredients:
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour (King Arthur)

I love pizza. My only problem with ordering pizza is how little control I  have over the variety and quantity of the toppings. If you are a picky eater, a health nut, or just enjoy the smell of homemade pizza, you MUST try this easy recipe.

This is a great activity to do for a dinner party; each guest can create their own pizza and pair it with a red or white wine. It can also be a fun birthday party idea for kids; kids can create faces and fun designs with their toppings. Lastly, this is a great romantic date idea; it's interactive, sensual, and fun!


Ingredients:
1 pack Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough (they also sell regular pizza dough)
marinara sauce to taste
buffalo mozzarella cheese or regular skim mozzarella Cheese
Optional toppings: turkey, pineapple, basil, tomato

*Add any additional toppings of your choice.

Ingredients:
4 Bananas, peeled
Reduced Fat Jiff Peanut Butter
Optional: Pretzels, coconut 

Directions:
Slice peeled banana into small circles. Layer peanut butter on top of the slices and cover with another slice of banana. Place banana bites in the freezer and serve cold! 

Optional: If you want to add more crunch and flavor, add a pretzel at the bottom of the bite and sprinkle lightly with coconut. Enjoy!

If you are a peanut butter lover, you will LOVE this treat. It can a healthy desert, pre-workout snack, or school snack for kids! The frozen banana and peanut butter tastes like ice cream, but without the guilt! It can also be served at room temperature for a more traditional banana peanut butter treat. 

Ingredients:
1 red onion
1 box of cherry tomatoes
1 teaspoon garlic finely chopped
fresh basil
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
garlic salt
pepper
1 loaf long French bread, sliced

Directions:
1. Chop tomatoes, red onion, garlic and basil and combine into a medium sized bowl.
2. Add red wine vinegar and oil.
3. Add garlic salt and pepper to your taste.
4. Bake bread at 350 degrees for 5-8 minutes.
5. Place tomato mix on each slice of bread and serve!

*This Bruschetta tomato mix is also good with the Papas recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 onion
2 medium tomatoes
1 seedless serrano pepper
cilantro
garlic salt
pepper
lemon pepper seasoning
2 limes

Directions:
Dice tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and serrano pepper. Add crushed tomato sauce and drizzle limes, salt, pepper and lemon pepper seasoning. Serve chilled with whole wheat chips!

Ingredients:
5 chicken breasts
a 14.5 oz diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 1/2 boxes of 32 oz reduced sodium chicken broth
15 oz low sodium black beans, drained
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 large red onion, chopped
1 chili serrano pepper, chopped
2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
4 limes
cilantro
3 teaspoons garlic powder
group pepper, to taste
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
garlic salt
1 bag of whole wheat tortilla chips

Healthy toppings:
Skim mozzarella cheese, cilantro, plain greek yogurt (sour cream replacement) and avocado

Directions:
Heat chicken broth and water (add more or less water depending on the quantity you are making). Add garlic salt, ground pepper, cumin, and chili powder to mix. Add diced chicken and chili serrano peppers and limes. Stir tomato paste and can of diced tomatoes and beans. While the soup simmers, chop vegetables and add to soup. Cook at a low temperature for 45 minutes, or until vegetables are soft. Taste for seasoning, and if necessary at more. Dip whole wheat chips into each serving and sprinkle cilantro on top.

Ingredients:
1 small red onion, quartered
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/2 pounds flank steak
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
1. Slice one-quart of the onion and dice the rest of the onion. Mix onion with vinegar, oregano, and garlic. Combine 1/4 of mixture with the sliced onion and set aside.

2. Sprinkle both sides of steak with salt and pepper and prick well with a fork. In a large zip up bag combine steak with the 1/4 of marinade and marinate for an hour or overnight.

3. Heat broiler and cook steak with remaining marinade and onions for 4-5 minutes per side. Let cool and serve!

Ingredients:
4 teaspoons of garlic minced
3/4 cup light olive oil
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
4 fillets salmon




Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, mix garlic, olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, lemon and parsley.
2. Line a glass baking dish with tin foil and place fillets on top. Coat fillets with a thin layer of butter.
3. Drizzle marinade on salmon. Cover fillets with tin foil.
4. Preheat fillet to 350 degrees and cook for 10-15 minutes (thin fillets) 20-25 minutes (thick fillets).

Ingredients:
3 sweet potatoes
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon



Directions:
Peel and chop potatoes. Boil at a high temperature for 30 minutes. Drain and smash potatoes. Add butter, honey, cinnamon and salt.

Ingredients:

black pepper
lemon pepper seasoning

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking dish with tin foil. Rinse potatoes and pat dry. Add olive oil, garlic salt, pepper, paprika and lemon pepper. Bake for 40-45 minutes, tossing potatoes in between. Remove from oven and add Thyme and 1 tbsp of butter. Serve!

Ingredients:
2 (15 oz ) cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 (15 oz ) cans black beans, drained and rinsed