Days 24, 25 & 26: Broccoli, Bacon & Brussels Sprouts!

This week has flown by us! We had school activities, busy work schedules and winter weather to navigate! We ate out twice this week. Those meals were not under 500 calories so I tried to balance out with our at home meals. On Wednesday, I tried my hand at a GF chicken and broccoli Stromboli. I used GF Bisquik and my crust came out not so pretty because I'm still a novice at handling such soft dough. I tried to roll it out and fold it like a firmer wheat flour dough an it crumbled so I must confess that I just lumped everything on he baking sheet and pressed it together. My friend, Lisa, called it rustica while I called it a hot mess! She has more experience with GF dough and gave me a great pointer of treating it like a double crust pie. Roll out half the dough between piece of parchment and then lay it on your baking sheet, remove the op layer of parchment and add you desired filling. Repeat the rolling process and gently lay the dough layer over your filling and then crimp and seal the two dough layers together. Thanks, Lisa! I can't wait to try that technique!

Last night, I made a really simple meal of baked cod, potatoes and Brussels sprouts! The whole meal took less than 45 minutes from start to table. My seven year old wasn't sure of the meal because it didn't look like fish sticks and fries, but he did grudgingly eat all of his potatoes an fish.

After a long week, we've decided this will be a lay around and read, watch basketball and basically do nothing day! It will be a two simple meal day. This morning, I made breakfast burritos and tonight before the big game, nachos! The big game is IU vs, Michigan of course! The burrito recipe makes enough for 8 servings so we have enough for breakfast tomorrow!

I want to take a moment to give kudos to my husband. He has lost 2 lbs this week! Way to go, Honey!!

GF Chicken and Broccoli Stromboli:
(Serves 4)

GF pizza crust prepared per package instructions
1 pound cooked chicken, diced
1 head of broccoli
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Break up the broccoli into florets. Steam the broccoli florets over boiling water for 6-8 minutes. Set aside and let cool. Roll out dough per the instructions above. Top with chicken, broccoli and cheese. Cover with remaining dough. Bake in a 400* oven for 20 minutes.

Baked Cod:
(Serves 4; 282 calories per serving)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 medium onions, very thinly sliced
1 cup dry white wine
1 1/4 pounds cod, cut into 4 pieces
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper


Preheat oven to 400*. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until just starting to soften, 5 to 7 minutes. Add wine, increase heat to high and cook, stirring often, until the wine is slightly reduced, 2 to 4 minutes.
Place cod on the onions and sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. Cover the pan tightly with foil; transfer to the oven and bake for 12 . Uncover and bake until the fish is opaque in the center, about 10 minutes more.

Crispy Baked Potatoes:
(Serves 4; 220 calories per serving)

4-5 potatoes (equal sized)
1 grated garlic clove or 1/4 to 1/2 tsp garlic powder
chicken or vegetable broth
tiny cubes butter
minced parsley
pepper and salt

Use an ovenproof dish. Place the peeled and washed (even-sized) potatoes in there and make sure they fit snuggly together. Add the grated garlic or powder to the broth and heat it for a minute to get the flavors going. Pour hot broth in there until there’s about 1 inch of broth in the dish and sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top of the potatoes. Place a tiny slice of butter on top of each potato. Bake for 35 minutes at 350*.


Bacon and Bleu Brussels Sprouts:
(Serves 4; 166 calories per serving)

4 slices uncooked bacon, diced
1 bunch green onions, diced
4 cups Brussels sprouts, halved
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles

Cook the bacon pieces over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until just beginning to crisp. Add in the green onions and stir to incorporate before adding in the Brussels sprouts*. Sprinkle lightly with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until Brussels sprouts are golden brown around the edges and on the flat side. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of water over the top and stir until the water is absorbed into a natural sauce. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the blue cheese.

Breakfast Burritos:
(Serves 8; 345 calories per serving)

8 tortillas
6 slices of bacon, diced
1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
3 potatoes, diced
4 oz mushrooms, sliced
8 eggs
1 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
1 tsp onion powder
Salt and pepper

Wrap tortillas in foil and warm in a 350* oven for 10 minutes. Cook bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove and drain. Add the bell pepper to the hot skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes and then add the mushrooms and diced potatoes. Cook for 10 minutes stirring frequently. Add crumbled bacon back to the skillet. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, cheese and spices. Add egg mixture to the skillet. Stir gently while the mixture is cooking. Eggs will take 6-8 minutes to come together. Scoop skillet mixture onto the warm tortillas and fold them closed. Wrap in foil if they are going to be eaten on the go!