Italian Wedding Soup

1 lb ground turkey or beef
1/2 c bread crumbs (or 1 slice stale bread chopped )
1/4 c grated Parmesan
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
4 c chicken stock
4 c water
1 TBSP olive oil
2 large carrots, shredded
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 bunch escarole, washed well and chopped
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper, to taste

Mix the first 5 ingredients together. Form into 1/2" meatballs and set aside.

In a soup pot or dutch oven, heat oil and add carrots, onions, garlic and bay leaf. Saute until softened.  Add stock and water and bring to a boil. 

Add meatballs, one at a time to stock. Stir frequently when you initially drop meatballs to prevent them from sticking together. Cook 10-15 minutes and add escarole. Reduce heat to low and simmer another 15 minutes.

Spinach Stuffed Chicken

4 chicken breast halves
1 TBSP olive oil
MDP's seasoning
4 c fresh spinach
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
4 slices ham
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 plum (roma) tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 c milk

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 8x8 glass casserole dish with cooking spray.

Pound chicken to 1/4" thickness. Drizzle both sides with olive oil and sprinkle both sides with MDP's seasoning.

Layer 1 slice of ham, 1/2 c spinach, and 1/4 c cheese on each breast leaving the last 1" untopped. Roll tightly and secure the end with a toothpick.

Top chicken with tomato slices. Place chicken breast in baking dish and cook for 30 minutes, uncovered. Combine milk, soup, and last 2 cups of spinach, finely chopped. Pour over the chicken and bake another 30 minutes.

Serve over rice, pasta, or noodles.

Pumpkin Ancho Chili

Dried Ancho Pepper

2 c chopped onions
1 c celery
3 garlic cloves
1 lb ground beef, turkey, chicken or thinly sliced chicken breast
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
3 c kidney beans
3 c black beans
1 c pureed pumpkin
2 TBSP agave nectar or turbinado sugar
3 bay leaves
3 whole allspice
1 TBSP chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
pinch nutmeg or generous grating of fresh
1 dried ancho chili pepper

Brown meat in a skillet sprayed with cooking spray. Pull core from ancho pepper and put in a small saucepan. Cover with water, and simmer over low/medium heat.
Add meat and remaining ingredients to crockpot. Once pepper softens, puree in a blender or food processor and add to crockpot.

Cook on low setting in the crock pot for 6 hours, or low heat in a stock pot for 2 hours.

STATS (makes 12 servings)
227 calories, 34g carbs, 3g fat, 17g protein, 10g fiber,  327 g sodium

Shrimp Stir Fry

1/2 box (8 oz) angel hair pasta
2 c broccoli florets
1 lb asparagus spears, cut in half
1 bell pepper (red, orange, or yellow), sliced
1 bunch green onions cut into thirds
1/2 head cabbage, shredded
1 medium zucchini, cut into thin strips w/ vegetable peeler
1 large carrot, cut into thin strips w/ vegetable peeler
1 lb raw shrimp peeled w/ tails removed
1 dried ancho pepper
2 TBSP peanut butter
1/2 c apple juice
1/4 c reduced sodium soy sauce
5 cloves garlic
1" piece of ginger, grated
1/4 tsp curry powder
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 TBSP olive oil
MDP's Seasoning


Tear top out of pepper and remove seeds. Place in a small saucepan, and cover with 1" water over medium heat.

Sprinkle shrimp with MDP's seasoning and set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside in pasta pot.

Heat 1 TBSP of olive oil in a large skillet or Wok on high heat. Saute broccoli, carrot, asparagus, peppers and bottom third (whites) of the scallions about 5 minutes, only turning once halfway through. Put vegetables over pasta.

Heat 1 TBSP of olive oil in skillet. Saute cabbage, zucchini, and remaining scallions (greens) about 3 minutes until wilted, turning once halfway through. Add vegetables to pasta.

Sear shrimp in skillet until golden on both sides.

In a food processor, combine ancho and liquid, peanut butter, apple juice, soy sauce, curry, peppers, garlic and ginger until smooth. Pour sauce into skillet with shrimp and stir to release the brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Cook 1-2 minutes longer and pour sauce and shrimp over pasta and vegetables. Toss well to combine.

This makes a HUGE pot of food and feeds 8-10. Made exactly, 1/8th of the pot has 285 calories and 7g of fat. Not bad at all.

Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole

4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/2" thickness
2 apples, peeled and cut into 8ths
1/2 c walnuts
1/2 c craisins
1 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP real maple syrup
juice of 2 lemons
salt and pepper
ground nutmeg or fresh grated

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a glass casserole dish with cooking spray.

Line bottom of the casserole with: sweet potatoes, apples, crasins, and walnuts. Squeeze lemons over dish, then drizzle maple syrup and olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste (I like to grate a lot of whole nutmeg down all over the dish).

Cover with foil and bake 1 hour, or until potatoes are soft.