Suzie's Chile Verde

Another reason I love the Jorgensen Family Cookbook is because my Aunt Pam submitted many of my Aunt Suzie's recipes. When I was in high school, we lived really close to Aunt Suzie's, and so I had the privilege of trying a lot of her amazing meals. This is one of those -- and one of my favorites (I believe the stuffed bell peppers recipe was also hers).

Suzie's Chile Verde

• 2.5 lb pork shoulder roast (anywhere between two and three pounds is great)
• 15 oz can great northern beans, rinsed and drained (I like more beans in mine, so I used a 28 oz can of pinto)
• 14 oz chicken broth
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 can diced green chilies
• 1 can green Chile Verde sauce (THIS is what I use)
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 16 tortillas
• Cilantro
• Sour cream
• Cheddar cheese
• 1-2 limes

Spray large skillet with nonstick cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add pork; cook until browned on all sides to sear in juices. 

Combine pork, beans,chicken broth, onion, green chilies, Chile Verde sauce, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper in a slow cooker.

Cover and cook on high 6-8 hours. Gently shred meat inside slow cooker using two forks. 

Serve on tortillas and garnish with cilantro, cheese, sour cream and lime. 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 238 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 379 Calories from Fat 178

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 19.8g 30%

Saturated Fat 7.7g 38%

Cholesterol 61mg 20%

Sodium 524mg 22%

Total Carbohydrates 30.1g 10%

Dietary Fiber 8.3g 33%

Sugars 5.9g

Protein 20.2g

Vitamin A 59% • Vitamin C 12% Calcium 11% • Iron 18%

Nutrition Grade C+

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

• High in vitamin A

(The calories are based on a serving size of one tortilla and 1/16 of the meat mixture. I usually eat two of this size "serving," I just forgot to input it that way in the calorie calculator. Just multiply by two).

It doesn't achieve the highest nutrition grade (I'm not entirely sold on the nutrition grades anyway, but I think they're a good indicator of whether or not you should eat something often), but it sure is tasty and easy to make for guests. 

I could eat this all day long. In fact, I ate some of last nights leftovers about 10 minutes ago. Yes, it was indeed before 10 a.m. (In my defense, I did get up at 5:30 a.m. this morning. It's lunch time in my head). 

Baby on the move

If you're a toy -- or anything that captures Peyton's attention, for that matter -- you'd better watch out. Peyton's a mover now (Yikes!), and a pretty quick one, at that.

Since Monday, he's been scooting all over the apartment ... getting into things, discovering the TV has buttons ... it's clear we haven't baby-proofed well enough.

So here's the proof:

There are others where you can see him moving really well across the floor, but they're a little too long. Maybe I'll post more if I can get the movie editing software to work =)

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Last night we had some friends over and this is what I made. Dan and I loved it ... hopefully they did too =)

I was actually a little surprised at how healthy this was ... and oh, was it good! I thought this dish was great for entertaining because it looks so pretty and summery.

The recipe came from the Jorgensen Family Cookbook I mentioned HERE. The cookbook says it belongs to my Aunt Pam, but I'm pretty sure she got it from my Aunt Suzie =)

This was prior to baking, but I was cutting it close on time. The only difference is that the cheese would be melted  =)

Stuffed Bell Peppers

• 6 green bell peppers (I used 4 green, one yellow and one orange since that's what we had)
• 1 lb ground beef or turkey (The nutrition facts below are for beef)
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2/3 C brown rice (The recipe calls for white rice, I used brown ... just make sure you cook it extra long if you use the brown)
• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 15 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 C Colby-jack cheese, grated (I think cheddar would also be great ... the recipe calls for Parmesan, but I thought the Colby would taste better)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the tops off peppers and remove seeds. Parboil for 3 minutes in boiling water (For those of you who would need to look up what "parboil" means [yeah, that was me], it means to partially cook in boiling water. Basically, just submerge the peppers in boiling water for 3 minutes and then pull them out and let them cool). Cool. 

In a large skillet, brown meant and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Add rice and tomato sauce. As rice cooks and absorbs liquid, add water as needed and cook 20 minutes or until rice is tender. 

Spoon meat mixture into pepper halves and place in baking dish. Pour diced tomatoes over top and top the whole thing with sprinkled cheese. 

Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes. 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 376 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 324 Calories from Fat 80

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 8.9g 14%

Saturated Fat 4.0g 20%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 76mg 25%

Sodium 491mg 20%

Total Carbohydrates 31.0g 10%

Dietary Fiber 5.3g 21%

Sugars 10.3g

Protein 29.4g

Vitamin A 93% • Vitamin C 278% Calcium 11% • Iron 24%

Nutrition Grade A

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

• High in manganese
• High in selenium
• Very high in vitamin A
• High in vitamin B6
• High in vitamin B12
• Very high in vitamin C
• High in zinc

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce & Meatballs

This was my first attempt at making spaghetti sauce from scratch ... and, if I do say so myself, it was amazing. I pulled the meatball and sauce recipe from HERE, but I tweaked it a little bit. Mostly, I just substituted fresh herbs and tomatoes for dried/canned. I'll give you my recipe below.



Homemade Spaghetti and Meatballs

Meatballs

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 3 Tbsp fresh parsley
• 1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1 egg, beaten

Sauce

• 3/4 C chopped onion
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 C olive oil
• 5 tomatoes, diced
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 oz tomato paste (1 can)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh basil, shredded
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder and beaten egg. Mix well and form into approximately 20 balls. Store, covered, in refrigerator until needed.


In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent. Stir in tomatoes, salt, sugar and bay leaf. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 90 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, basil, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and meatballs and simmer 30 minutes more. Serve over 1 lb cooked whole wheat spaghetti noodles.


We were having company the night I made this ... and I didn't quite have time to let it simmer the full 90 minutes. I let it simmer about 30, then I added the meatballs and let it simmer another 30. It still turned out great! 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 341 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 642 Calories from Fat 162

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 18.0g 28%

Saturated Fat 3.8g 19%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 99mg 33%

Sodium 1210mg 50%

Total Carbohydrates 81.8g 27%

Dietary Fiber 10.2g 41%

Sugars 11.6g

Protein 38.7g

Vitamin A 30% • Vitamin C 40% Calcium 11% • Iron 42%

Nutrition Grade B

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Taco Salad Bowl

This is my own version of a taco salad ... and it's surprisingly healthy and delicious! This is our go-to meal when we're short on time. It's also very filling.

• 2 whole wheat tortillas
• 3 C romaine lettuce, shredded
• 15 oz black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 C salsa
• 2 tsp Ranch dressing
• 1/4 C cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/8 tsp chicken bouillon

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion until they begin to brown. Stir in black beans and chicken bouillon and cook until thoroughly heated.

Press each tortilla into a large cereal or soup bowl. Add 1 1/2 C lettuce to each bowl. Split the beans, onion and garlic between the two bowls. Top with cheese, avocado, tomato, salsa and ranch.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 570 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 635 Calories from Fat 278

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 30.9g 48%

Saturated Fat 6.5g 32%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 16mg 5%

Sodium 1212mg 50%

Total Carbohydrates 80.0g 27%

Dietary Fiber 22.5g 90%

Sugars 7.6g

Protein 23.6g

Vitamin A 21% • Vitamin C 34% Calcium 30% • Iron 40%

Nutrition Grade B

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

• Low in cholesterol
• High in dietary fiber

Homemade Granola

This is my own recipe for granola. I pulled what I liked from a lot of different recipes and created my own ... and I LOVE it. This is delicious. My favorite way to eat it is with vanilla yogurt, topped with frozen fruit. Right now, my fruit of choice is blueberries. We got a great deal on blueberries last week, so we bought two mini-pallets and froze them all. Yummy.

• 4 C rolled oats (old fashioned)
• 1/2 C almonds (I throw mine in a blender for a couple pulses to chop them up. You can also just use the pre-sliced/slivered)
• 1/2 C pecans, chopped
• 1 C dried cranberries (Last week, I used a dried berry medley. It was really good)
• 1/2 C unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• a pinch of salt
• 1/3 C vegetable oil
• 1/4 C honey
• 1/2 C brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp vanilla

Combine oats, almonds, berries, coconut, cinnamon and salt in a large mixing bowl. 

Bring oil, honey and sugar to a boil in a sauce pan. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract (remember to do this! The vanilla will splatter and burn you if you don't remove it from the heat first!). 

Pour mixture over dry mix. Stir until coated. 

Spread mixture over a baking sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Granola should be golden brown when done. Let the granola cool, then break into chunks. Store in an air-tight container.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 61 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 251 Calories from Fat 118

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 13.1g 20%

Saturated Fat 2.7g 13%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 16mg 1%

Total Carbohydrates 30.7g 10%

Dietary Fiber 4.1g 16%

Sugars 11.8g

Protein 4.6g

Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 2% Calcium 3% • Iron 8%

Nutrition Grade C

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

• No cholesterol
• Very low in sodium
• High in manganese

Bad points

• High in sugar
• Contains alcohol

Slow Cooker Minestrone

This recipe is dedicated to Nicole Bywater. Nicole: I'm very sorry I spaced sending you this. I miss you. Come to Texas, please.

This recipe came from HERE, but I add a lot more veggies substitute beans for the pasta. I'm giving you my version. If you want the website's, click the pic or the link above.

• 4 C chicken broth
• 4 C tomato juice (I use tomato sauce or paste; whichever I have on hand. Tomato sauce is 1 part sauce to 2 parts water, paste is 1:4)
• 1 Tbsp dried basil leaves (If you want to go fresh, dried herbs are usually 3x more potent; this would be 3 Tbsp fresh basil)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 3-4 carrots, sliced
• 3-4 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 C mushrooms, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 15 oz diced tomatoes (1 can, I sometimes use a couple fresh tomatoes ... again, depends what I have on hand)
• 15 oz kidney beans (1 can)
• (optional - 1 lb browned sausage)
• 1/4 C Parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker except cheese. 

Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours.

Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese. Makes about six servings. 

Nutrition facts do NOT include sausage.  

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 540 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 349 Calories from Fat 29

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 3.2g 5%

Saturated Fat 1.1g 6%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 4mg 1%

Sodium 1437mg 60%

Total Carbohydrates 59.6g 20%

Dietary Fiber 13.8g 55%

Sugars 12.2g

Protein 23.6g

Vitamin A 130% • Vitamin C 77% Calcium 16% • Iron 35%

Nutrition Grade A

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

• Low in saturated fat
• Very low in cholesterol
• High in dietary fiber
• High in manganese
• High in phosphorus
• High in potassium
• High in thiamin
• Very high in vitamin A
• Very high in vitamin C

Bad points

• High in sodium

I really like this recipe for a few reasons: 

1. It's in the crock pot. Practically any crock pot recipe is a great recipe because labor is minimal, quality is high ... you get the picture.
2. It's super healthy -- just check the nutrition facts above.
3. Bake a fresh loaf of wheat bread and you have yourself a cozy, delicious meal that's great for company or just your family. 

Enjoy!