Kat's Ham & Bean Soup

SOURCE: I based this on another recipe I was told about but tweaked it to make it my own.
Servings: LOTS
Prep Time: 20-30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes but it can simmer for hours
Scott's Rating:
Katherine's Rating: 10 out of 10

Ingredients:

• 3 slices of bacon, chopped
• 1 ham steak, chopped
• 2 cups sliced Conecuh sausage
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 6 cans navy beans, drained
• 32 oz. chicken broth
• 1 cup instant mashed potatoes
• 1 huge heaping teaspoon butter

Directions:

• Saute bacon, ham, sausage, onion, and garlic in a large pot.
• Add beans and chicken broth to the pot and cook for at least 30 minutes.
• Add the mashed potatoes (add more if you want it thicker) and add the butter.
  
• Cook until sauce has thickened.

Tips:

• The soup is great just by itself but I have also served it over rice which is yummy!
• Make some fresh made corn bread or beer bread to go with it... Wow is all I can say.
  

Katherine's Stir Fry

SOURCE: I made this one up myself!

Servings: 1
Prep Time: 5-10 min.
Cook Time: 10-15 min. total
Scott's Rating: NA (he didn't try it)
Katherine's Rating: 9 out of 10

Ingredients:

• 1 skinless, boneless chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
• Nonstick Cooking Spray
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 2 Tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce
• 1 tsp Minced Garlic
• Garlic Powder
  
• Seasoning Salt
  
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
  

Directions:

• Steam broccoli until bright green (almost done)
  
• Spray skillet with Nonstick Cooking Spray and cook chicken on medium high heat seasoning with minced garlic. Set aside.
• Heat olive oil on medium high heat. Add green onion and mushrooms. Saute until soft.
  
• Add chicken, broccoli and soy sauce to skillet and stir.
• Season as needed with a little garlic powder and seasoning salt. But be careful of the salt since the soy sauce itself can be quite salty.
  

Serving: 1

MY REVIEW OF THIS RECIPE
This was a fantastic dish. The flavors were great but even better, I could triple this dish and serve it over rice for my family. I have always loved stir fry so am surprised it took me until now to try it! It was relatively simple though I'm not a big fan of cutting up chicken. I may buy the chicken tenderloins next time so I don't have to cut as much.

My only advice on this is to be careful with the salt. Remember, you can always add a little after it's all done but you can't take away!

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

SOURCE: Based off of a recipe I found on www.mymedifast.com

Servings: 1
Prep Time: 5-10 min.
Cook Time: 10-15 min. total
Scott's Rating: NA (he doesn't like mushrooms)
Katherine's Rating: 10 out of 10

Ingredients:

• 2 Small Portobello mushroom caps
• 6 oz. 97% fat free ground turkey
• 1 Tbsp Roasted Garlic Oil
• 1/2 cup diced green pepper
• 1 diced green onion
• Spices to taste (garlic seasoning, italian seasoning, seasoning salt)
• 1 Laughing Cow Cheese Wedge
  Nonstick cooking spray

Directions:

• Clean mushroom cap by removing the stem and cleaning the gills.
  
• Lightly spray both top and bottom with nonstick spray.
  
• Put in oven on broil for about 5 minutes.
• Heat oil in skillet.
  
• Add green pepper and onion and saute until tender. Remove from heat.
  
• Add turkey to pan and brown. Add spices to meat during cooking.
  
• Add cooked veggies to meat (limit to 1/2 cup total).
  
• Add cheese wedge, stir until melted.
  
• Pour meat mixture over mushroom caps.
• Put in hot oven to heat through.
  

Serving: 1

MY REVIEW OF THIS RECIPE
This was an excellent dish! I absolutely loved it. This will be something I will probably make every 1-2 weeks as a treat. I can't wait to have it again but since I had it last night, I suppose it'll have to wait at least a week. Can't wait!!

Italian Stuffed Peppers

SOURCE: Time Savor Gourmet

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cook Time: 25-30 min.
Scott's Rating: 6 out of 10
Katherine's Rating: 7 out of 10

READ REVIEW - I made changes to this recipe

Instructions as given on Time Savor Gourmet:
Ingredients:

• 4 small bell peppers, about 1/2 cup equivalent each
• 1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 cup mushrooms, diced
• 1 cup zucchini, diced
• 1 T Time Savor Gourmet Tuscan Fantasy
• 1 T Time Savor Gourmet Viva Italiano
  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Wash and dry the peppers.
• Cut the top 1/2" off the pepper horizontally to create a cup. Remove the seeds and rinse.
• Set peppers in a 9 x 9 baking dish.
• In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients.
• Divide the mixture equally into four parts and stuff into the peppers.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, until meat is thoroughly cooked.
  

Serving: 1/4 of this recipe is 2 green options

MY REVIEW OF THIS RECIPE
I've made this recipe twice. The first time I didn't like it too much... it was rather dry and without a lot of flavor. So following the recipe above, I would only give it maybe a 5... possibly even a 4. The second time I made it, I replaced the zucchini with petite diced tomatoes and I added a tablespoon of TSG Garlic Gusto seasoning. This made it much better though I still had to add a good bit of salt to the finished product.

Low Carb Home Fries

Servings: 1
Prep Time: 5 min.
Cook Time: 15 min.
Scott's Rating: 6 out of 10
Katherine's Rating: 10 out of 10

Ingredients:

• 1 cup thinly sliced radishes
• 1 chopped scallion
• non-stick cooking spray
• seasoning salt
• garlic

Directions:

• Cook radishes and onion in a pan with the non-stick cooking spray until they are translucent and brown around the edges.

Serving: 2 green

MY REVIEW OF THIS RECIPE
I had my hopes up that this would taste more like potatoes than it did... not that it was bad, it was actually pretty good. But potatoes they weren't. That being said, it kind of satisfied that texture thing I've been missing by not having carbs. They were very similar to potatoes cooked the same way. A couple of warnings/suggestions: 1. Be careful not to use too much non-stick spray. You don't want them soggy. 2. Don't cook them too high. I cooked them on medium high but I think they'd have done better at a little lower temperature... I was just hungry so in a hurry for them. :) I really did like these enough that I will have them again. Scott tried a bite and says he'd eat them if I made enough for the family next time.

Roasted Garlic & Sun Dried Tomato Chicken

SOURCE: Time Savor Gourmet

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 5 min.
Cook Time: 30 min.
Scott's Rating: 6 out of 10
Katherine's Rating: 7 out of 10

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb. boneless chicken breasts
• 4 tsp Time Savor Gourmet Roasted Garlic Oil
• 2 T Time Savor Gourmet Tuscan Fantasy Seasoning
• 1/4 cup Sun Dried tomatoes, minced (not in oil)
  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken in an oven-safe baking dish.
• In a small dish, combine oil, seasoning and tomatoes.
• Drizzle mixture over chicken.
• Season with salt & pepper to taste.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, until chicken is thoroughly cooked.
  

Servings: 4

MY REVIEW OF THIS RECIPE
Well, I liked this recipe but with one complaint. The Tuscan Fantasy Seasoning has a kick! I don't mind a little spice but wow. The flavor was okay but the spices really kind of overwhelmed it. I will make it again sometime soon but will have to use a different spice. I have an Italian seasoning that I love so may try it.

Pan Seared Pork Loin with Portobello Mushroom Sauce

SOURCE: Time Savor Gourmet

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 15 min.
Cook Time: 20 min.
Scott's Rating: 7 out of 10
Katherine's Rating: 7 out of 10

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 lb. Pork tenderloin
  
• 2 T Time Savor Gourmet Rockin' Ranch Seasoning
  
• Fresh cracked peppercorn
  
• 1 1/2 cup Portobello mushrooms, sliced into think strips
  
• 1 cup chicken broth
  
• Nonstick cooking broth
  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season pork tenderloin with Rockin Ranch and peppercorns.
• Spray a large oven safe skillet with nonstick cooking spray.
  
• Heat over high heat and cook the pork for 1 minute on each side, until it is browned, but not thoroughly cooked.
  
• Put the pork on a plate and set aside.
• Place the pan back over high heat. Spray the pan with cooking spray.
• Add mushrooms and saute for one minute. Add the broth and reduce the heat to simmer.
• Let it simmer for 5 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by half.
• Place the pork back in the pan with the mushrooms. Put in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until pork has reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
• Remove from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing thin.
  
• Serve with mushroom sauce.

Servings: 4

MY REVIEW OF THIS RECIPE
I was so excited to try this recipe. I love pork tenderloin and had never cooked it so could not wait! I really did like the recipe but it wasn't as good as I had hoped. It may have been because it was my first time making it so I will probably try again. We had leftovers tonight since the kids didn't eat with us so we'll have it again tomorrow which I wouldn't do if it wasn't good. So though my rating isn't too high, I would still recommend it to others.