Italian Lamb Stew - For One

2 sm. lamb chops

1 med. carrot

1 red potato

1 sm. onion

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4 oz. good beer

4 oz. good red sauce

1t-1T Italian seasonings

fresh ground salt and pepper

Some day, I have hopes of going vegetarian, or maybe even vegan.  Yet, for now, the craving for a little really good quality meat is still something I still contend with a couple times a week.  I deal with this by trying to buy meat that's healthy and has been humanely raised.  Today, I had lots of vegetables, cooked and raw as well as some of that Really Loaded Cornbread I made yesterday.  However, now, it's 'dinner' time and the craving just wouldn't leave, so. . .I'm making my own tiny little pan of lamb stew!  Mmmm. . .  Living alone, I often will throw something together, just for one serving, so if this looks good to you, extrapolate. . Make it for 3 or 4 or 6!

Trim all the fat off the lamb, cut the vegetables into the appropriate size for their cooking time.  Mix up the sauce, pour it over everything in the pan, cover and simmer.  Beer is what I have currently.  Red wine would be great, as would Vodka.  Even white wine, which I usually have here, but I need to grocery shop!  That'll be tomorrow.  This involved almost no prep time, and went from stove to plate in about 20 minutes.  Good, healthy food doesn't have to take a lot of time.  Nor does it need to be expensive, which is how many view lamb.

At our grocery store, there's a small section in one of the frozen food 'bunkers' where meat that's getting close to its 'sell-by' date is marked down, and frozen.  These two chops cost me $3.70!  Be Resourceful!  Be Creative!  Happy Cooking! . . .Lin

Chile Cilantro Lemon Rice

1c long grain white rice

½t Trader Joe's Chile Lime seasoning

1±T butter

1 lemon - zest & juice (I didn't have lime :-( ) 

2c water

½-1c finely chopped cilantro leaves and stems

Sauté the rice, seasoning and butter to wake up the flavors and brown the rice a bit.  Add the zest and water.  Simmer, steam and when the water is almost evaporated, add the lemon juice and cilantro.  Cover and remove from the heat.  Let stand a while before serving.  Shown here with a simple green salad (with mango-chipolte dressing) and a pan-seared, butter, white wine and A-1 sautéed steak. . .Lin

Greens And Seeds

2c chopped asparagus

1-2c chopped frozen broccoli

½c sunflower seeds

a little water

1T± butter

salt and pepper

a little grated cheese

Steam the vegetables, covered, for a few minutes.  Uncover and continue to cook until water evaporates.  Top with a little cheese (and seasoned breadcrumbs if you want).  Often, this is exactly what I crave!  It was such a good dinner . . .😋. . . Lin

Tuna Steak with Savory Sweet Potato

1 med. sweet potato - chopped

a little water and butter

finely ground salt and pepper

1-2t coconut sugar

3 lg. cloves of garlic - minced

1 lg. purple shallot - sliced

1 sm.-med. tuna steak

The sweet potato was cooked in a small pot with the water, butter, seasonings and sugar.  Simmered about 7 minutes before adding the garlic and shallot.  At that point, turn off the heat, cover and let stand to steam and caramelize everything.  In a small pan, melt 1T butter until it begins to brown.  Add the tuna steak and let it sear for a couple minutes on each side.  Serve with a little drizzle of your favorite sauce.  Today mine was Thai Chili Mayonnaise with Cilantro Chutney.  Oh this was SO good!  It all came together in less than 15 minutes from start to finish. . .Lin

Vegetable Tuna!

I found a wonderful Asian Market in my travels last week.  They sell little cans of Vegetable Tuna there.  I bought a few.  It's just tuna with a little bit of potato, peas, corn and chopped carrot that cook up during the canning process.  Nothing too unique or different.  

Today it sounded good though since I'm feeling really tired and run down from all the activity of this past week.  I started by steaming a big sliced carrot and a sm.-med. chopped Vidalia onion in a little butter and water.  When that was almost evaporated I drained the oil off the vegetable tuna and added it to the pan.  It seems to be helping.  Energy is returning!  Another quick and easy, way to get a good solid hit of protein when you need it, for breakfast, lunch or dinner. . .Lin 

A Big Salad Mix

"Hard Ingredients" - - Ready to be made into A Salad!

I've been calling these 'Lettuce Mixes' for years now, but that goes back to a time where I was using a couple types of lettuce and maybe one other ingredient like cabbage or spinach.  Today, there's no way I can just call this a lettuce mix.  A Salad Mix is best when made with only 'hard' ingredients, such as what are listed below.  When done right, these will keep for up to 5 days after washing well then spinning dry in a good salad spinner.  I've mentioned mine several times.  They don't have to be expensive.  

Mine is a Progressive Salad Spinner, available at Bed Bath and Beyond * and Walmart for under $10.00!  (They're also available at Amazon, however, Amazon charges twice as much.)  I've had a couple different ones over this years and this is by far my favorite.

Today's mix, shown in the photo above, consists of: romaine, cabbage, onion, radish and carrot as 'Hard Ingredients.'  Don't add wet or mushy ingredients like hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocados, etc., until just before you're serving a salad.  To this basic mix, for an early dinner tonight, I added: cucumber, and for protein: lentil sprouts, small red beans, cashews, and cubed parmesan cheese.  I splashed on a little Mango Chipotle Vinaigrette dressing that really woke up the flavors.  It was delicious! 😋 . . .Lin

Stirred Eggs with Beans, Sprouts and More Beans

These are a combination of 'fancy' French Lentils I bought at our local Whole Foods Co-Op, here in Duluth, MN and plain brown ones from the grocery store.  I liked that the French Lentils were small and such an interesting teal color.  Are they better than the brown ones you buy in the dried bean section of your grocery store?  I don't think so, but it was fun mixing them together to sprout.

I can't say enough good things about Sprouted Lentils!!  They're very high in protein, fiber, they add so much freshness and crunch to everything you serve them in or with!  Their mild, Peppery Flavor is my favorite of all the sprouts.  I put them in tossed salads, vegetable casseroles, mix them into scrambled eggs, a little ground meat-egg-seasoned bread crumbs-cream and spices to make an interesting burger.  SO many ways to use them!

This is another quick, easy high-protein, breakfast-lunch-or-dinner with lots of vegetables.  The red beans, tomatoes and sprouts were first on the plate and warmed in the microwave.  I simmered the frozen, skinny green beans. (then drained the cooking liquid into a bowl to combine with dry food for my dogs later today)  A little butter, salt, pepper and they're ready.  



The eggs were cracked into some hot butter in a pan, stirred, seasoned with Trader Joe's Chili Lime Seasoning, flipped and plated.  All ready within 10 minutes.  Be Creative!  Do a little kitchen prep, and you'll always have ingredients for Quick Healthy Meals anytime you want them 😉. . .Lin

Avocado Corn and Bean Salsa with Chili Lime Chicken

1 can corn - drained

1½c small red beans

2 minced shallots

2 finely minced garlic cloves

1 diced onion

1 lemon - juice and zest

1½ diced avocado

1 bunch of chopped cilantro

Combine everything in a small bowl.  Refrigerate for an hour before serving to blend the flavors.  Stir gently, then serve with chips, as a garnish over chicken or fish, or as a side dish or salad.  Shown here with my quick. . .

Chili Lime Chicken

1-2# chicken breast meat

butter and olive oil

Trader Joe's Chili Lime Seasoning*

sour cream and water

Sauté the chicken - fast - in a cast iron pan, in very hot butter and oil. After turning the first time, season the chicken with the Chili Lime Seasoning.  Continue to turn, season and brown.  When the chicken is done, remove from the pan, then stir in a little sour cream and water in about a 1 / 1 ratio.  Stir with a wooden spoon, keeping the heat fairly high, to incorporate all the brown bits in the pan.  Pour this over the chicken when serving, as a browned sour cream gravy.  I garnished this with a few cloves of pickled garlic. . .Lin

A Quick Healthy Dinner

This plate is made up mostly of things I bought at The Northern Waters Smokehouse, here in Duluth, MN. Their wonderful Kimchi is much milder than the traditional Korean version, but still tangy and spicy with just the right amount of chili, garlic and ginger.  A little Smoked Salmon Pate' with a sprinkle of grated parmesan and a side of Seasoned Black and Red Beans.

Kimchi-Brussels Sprouts, Eggs and Jerky

7 Brussels Sprouts

1 small sweet onion

1T butter

Kimchi - medium hot

2 Jumbo Eggs

beef or turkey jerky 

~ Cut the sprouts in half, wedge the onion, then simmer together, in a little water.  As the water evaporates, add butter and Kimchi.  Cover and let steam-simmer 5 minutes.  Plate this, cover and start your eggs - cooking however you like them.  Serve this with a side of jerky.

I had a serious sugar craving late last night and way overdid it!  I was immediately tired and crashed for a full 8 hours.  Sugar coma??  This morning I was incredibly shaky.  PROTEIN!  I know eggs and a little meat, along with lots of water, can really help, so this breakfast was perfect. Regarding Kimchi - There are incredible probiotics, vitamins and other nutrients in naturally fermented foods!  Sauerkraut, Kimchi as well as naturally fermented pickles.  Read the labels.  Naturally Fermented Pickles are those with no vinegar added.  They're often more expensive since the curing process takes longer and is a bit more labor intensive, but so worth it!

This plate came together in about 12 minutes.  Take the Little-Bit-of-Time it takes, to create healthier food options for yourself and those you love. . .Lin

A Quick Hit of Protein, Vegetables and Good Fat

4 thin slices of Black Forest turkey

4 thin slices of Keeeygold Dubliner Irish cheese

¾-1c medium spicy Kimchi

½ avocado and 4 cherry or grape tomatoes

Okay, okay, yes. . .this has lunchmeat. . .  I buy some, very rarely, to go with slices of cheese when I know I'll need a quick, serious hit of animal protein.  Lunchmeat is full of chemicals and sodium, is NOT a healthy choice 😐 I needed something for a 6-7 meet-up I have with a new walking-running I'm joining tonight.  (YEA!!! - I'm SO excited!!!)

I remember from YEARS ago when I was running regularly, that in the mornings, I need to eat an hour before a run.  My body burns through food very fast at that time of day, and if I didn't eat at just the right time, I'd run out of energy, and be starting, half way in.  For a running group we were in in the '80's and '90's, at 6pm, I had to eat around 3pm.  Anything later and it felt like I was running with a bean bag stuck in my gut!  So my metabolic rates seriously slows down in the late afternoon.

This plate went together in 7 minutes 😀 Fix it quick - and try to keep it healthy! . . . Lin

Stirred Eggs and Vegetables

2 jumbo grass-fed-pastured chicken eggs

a big, big handful of kale - chopped

assorted heirloom or sliced beefsteak tomatoes

Himalayan pink salt, fresh ground pepper and chili lime seasoning

Steam the kale, covered in a little water for 10-15 minutes.  Drain, butter and season on the plate.  Slice and arrange the tomatoes.  Meanwhile, as the kale is cooking, heat up a pan with a little butter, when it sizzles, crack in your eggs.  Season, then stir gently until they're done the way you like.  Plate and serve.  This is a serving for one, but of course, can be doubled, tripled, etc., depending on how many you're cooking for.

Remember, this category of recipes - Quick Healthy - Less Than 30 Minute Meals - isn't time-of-day-specific.  Think out of the box!  This would be great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. . .Lin

Dill-Mustard-Ranch Tuna Steak and Vegetables

1 6oz. tuna steak

1 med. sweet potato

1 sm. bunch of asparagus

Sauce: 1 part ranch dressing, 1 part seedy-grainy mustard, a good amount of dried dill weed - combine in a small bowl

Scrub and cut potato into ½" crosscuts.  If there's too many for you, give a couple to your dog! 🐶 They love sweet potato - roasted as a dried dog treat, as well as raw.  They're probably not picky about preparation, and these are an excellent source of nutrition for our fur-buddies.

Sear-cook the cross-sections on medium high heat, seasoning, after flipping, with a little fresh ground sea salt with garlic, coarse ground pepper and a couple pinches of organic cane sugar.  Sear tuna steak in some hot butter, cooking about 3 minutes per side, depending on desired doneness and thickness of the steak.  Mine was almost 1½" thick, and after a total of 6 minutes, searing on pretty high heat, it was medium rare.

This was an excellent piece of tuna, so it was like eating it two ways.  Seared and flavorful outside and basically, sushi in the center!

Steam the asparagus in a little water, drain and season.  After cooking the sweet potatoes, I wiped out the pan then put the tuna in the same hot pan with a little fresh butter.  Plate, sauce the tuna and feed your hungry body!  This is for one serving but ingredients can easily be extrapolated, according to the number of people currently hanging out with you.  This entire plate happened within 20 minutes, from start to finish.  Eating really healthy doesn't have to be time or labor intensive.  Also. . .This doesn't have to be a Dinner or a Lunch. . .I would, and often have, eaten this sort of thing for breakfast!  Be creative and Have Fun! . . .Lin