02
Jan 2013

Bulgogi (Seared Korean Beef)

January 2, 2013 By 2 Comments

Korea on the brain.

It’s so strange how it has crept into my memory in a ferocious way.
It was a hard year in my life.
And so long ago.
It was the only time I can say I felt depressed or like I didn’t belong.
And yet, the things I saw, the food I tasted, the smells I took in (good ones and not such good ones) made a lifetime impression on me. As hard as the year was, my beautiful seven kindergarten students filled my heart with so much happiness and they were the inspiration for my own language school, Futura Language Professionals.

My little boys have been begging to watch the videos over and over of them singing. They love looking at the pictures of my tiny apartment and seeing the soldiers at the DMV.
I am ready to go back. To face Seoul with fresh, happy eyes.
I am so grateful for the kind people I met there that took me into cozy tea  houses and introduced me to food I truly enjoyed. Bulgolgi was one of those things. This is my take on it-not traditional I know, but still Korean inspired.
I am grateful for my year in Korea, so incredibly blessed for the experience to be a minority, to be out of sorts. It’s made me more compassionate and more grateful.

And it still makes me giggle that the one sentence I can say is, “맥주 둘주세요 (maegju duljuseyo)” Two beers please.
Seriously that’s all I got—What does that say about me?!

Anyway, I made this Bulgogi {Korean Seared Beeff}. It’s not traditional, but it’s inspired!

Want the recipe? Find me today at Culinary.net!

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26
Dec 2012

Chicken & Spinach Pizza

December 26, 2012 By 13 Comments

pizza3I love, love, love Christmas! Even when I was a kid I would save all my lunch money for the whole year to be able to buy Christmas presents. I have never cared much about what I receive, but nothing makes me happier than finding that perfect gift for someone. I start shopping in the summer when I take my first international trip in June, picking up cool jewelry and coffee and storing it under my bed to be joined along with many other gifts collected over the next six months.

This time of year is also insane-bustling about, making sure that everyone is thought of, considered. –Cooking up food for gifts, for parties, and preparing for hosting the Christmas Eve celebration.
So in between all of those events, I need simple-As simple as it gets.

And that’s why on a busy weekend night, when Andy was traveling to boot, I created this Chicken and Spinach Pizza for my boys.

pizzalove2
It took no time at all and was delicious and healthy enough that I will be making it again this week—for sure.

I know, you see a lot of pizzas from me, but isn’t it a great testament that you can still eat pizza and be healthy?!

Cheers!

Bree

pizzaslice

Here’s What You Need:
1 already made pizza crust (Very thin crust)
Handful of baby spinach cut into strips
2 Chicken and Spinach Sausages, sliced (I prefer organic but Target has a good one too)
½ tsp Penzey’s chip and dip seasoning*
¼ tsp minced garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
4 Cheese Italian Blend shredded cheese
pizza4

Here’s What You Do:
Preheat the oven to 450 Mix approx. 2-2.5 TBS of extra virgin olive oil with the minced garlic and the seasoning. Spread over the pizza crust. Top with spinach and then the sausages as well as a light sprinkling of 4 Cheese Italian Blend shredded cheese. Bake for about 8-12 minutes or until golden brown.

*Feel free to sub in another spice if you don’t have this one on hand.

Kid Tip:
See this pic? My kids liked it –chicken, spinach, and all!

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05
Dec 2012

The Skinny on MSG, A Recipe & a Giveaway!

December 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Do you know those little packets?
Of Ranch
For Tacos
Or Chili?

Or how about those tasty Knorr soup mixes?

Well, they all have one thing in common: Monosodium glutamate or more commonly known as MSG.

Though MSG is approved by the FDA this common flavor enhancer must be listed on food labels because of it’s controversy.
According to the Mayo Clinic many people experience “MSG symptom complex” which may include headaches, sweating, weakness, fluttering heart beats, chest pain, nauseau, weakness….

Um…No thanks for me. No thanks for my kids.

This is ANOTHER reason I am so excited about my new Mexican Dinner Starter product. It is 100% vegetable based and truly 100% natural. You will never have to use one of those artificial taco packets again to have delicious, tasty, and most importantly fast tacos!

Check out the recipe for some awesome Chicken Tacos below!
{By the way, the Dinner Starters are slated for manufacturing the first week in January. Woo woo!}

Speaking of natural, I always think that taking vitamins and also giving vitamins to your kids is part of a healthy, natural lifestyle–A compliment to healthy eating.
That’s why I was thrilled to try Pure Matter’s vitamins and so were my kids. They literally beg for their children’s gummy ones!


Dani at Pure Matters was incredibly generous to give away a YEAR SUPPLY to one lucky reader. Simply:
1.LIKE Skinny Mommy on Facebook: www.facebook.com/skinnymommyllc
2.Enter to win the giveaway: Click Here

Now for the Awesome Chicken Tacos I told you about….

Here’s What You Need:Serves 4
1 jar Skinny Dinner Starter: A la Mexicana
1lb organic ground chicken
Olive oil
Optional toppings: Tomatoes, cilantro, plain yogurt, avocado, baby spinach, shredded sharp cheddar
Organic corn taco shells or soft tortillas

 Here’s What You Do:
Preheat a pan drizzled with extra virgin olive oil over medium high heat and then add the chicken. Break it up, cooking until it starts cooking through and beginning to brown. Stir the Skinny Dinner Starter: A la Mexicana and add it to chicken along with ¼ of water and heat through for about 10 minutes or so. Build your tacos just as you like!

Kid Tip:
Your kids will love these as the flavor is very sweet and tangy instead of spicy. Tacos are a great way to add in veggies.  You can do this by stirring in baby spinach into the chicken mixture the last few minutes of cooking. They won’t even notice

Good luck with the contest-It’s a great deal!

XO,

Bree

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12
Nov 2012

Ham & Cheddar Biscuits (With a dash of Spinach!)

November 12, 2012 By 4 Comments

Back in the day (Ie: pre-kids) I read Bon Appetit religiously.
And actually made the dinners.
Three course dinners on Monday night.
Who knew then what a luxury that was?!
I am pretty sure my husband still hasn’t figured out how lucky he was.
Who I am kidding..How lucky  he is?! ;)

Anyways… Andy would always tease me by saying,”Good bread” in response to my dinner. It was a joke because I would have slaved away at all these courses and yet, he would praise the Pillsbury Crescent rolls I had to admit, they do make a damn good roll!

One thing is for sure…We always have fun!

I have become a fan of their Simply line now as I have learned more and more about ingredients and try to live ( a little) simpler.

I made this little Ham & Cheddar Biscuits on a night Andy was out of town (so I never heard “Good bread”), but it was a ridiculously easy thing I could make for both the boys and me to enjoy.

I hope on a busy weeknight they can save the day for you too!

XO,

B

Here’s What You Need: (Makes 5)
1 package Simply Pillsbury biscuits
Deli ham (about 1/2 of a thicker slice per sandwich)
Dijon mustard
4 pieces of good quality cheddar cheese
Baby spinach

Here’s What You Do:
Preheat the oven to 375. Layer a 1/4 of a piece of cheddar followed by  half of a piece of ham on one biscuit and then top with spinach and then a dollop of dijon and top with another biscuit. Follow this same pattern until you have five sandwiches. Bake for about 15 minutes, stopping midway to push the tops down so they don’t spill over. You may want to check on them at 12 minutes.

*These are about 10 grams of fat each so eat just one. This was hard for me ;)

Kid Tip:
This is a great little sandwich for kids small hands! Put the spinach in the middle so they can’t see it. Sneaky, I know!

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Filed Under: Ham & Cheddar Biscuits (With a dash of Spinach!)
06
Nov 2012

Kale Chop Salad & The Skinny on Kale

November 6, 2012 By 7 Comments

Ah the election season.
It’s been a brutal one. I can’t turn on the radio or watch t.v. without seeing or hearing some awful ad of one party knocking another one.
So on election day, I give you something lighter and brighter–Kale!

I had a great kale salad at the airport on my way home from Vegas. I know–great food and airport don’t normally mix, but it’s true! The place was called La Grande Orange Grocery.  My Kale Chop Salad was inspired by their Shredded Kale Salad with Quinoa.

What’s so great about Kale?

Check it out for yourselves!

Vitamin A  190% Vitamin C  90%
Calcium                   10% Iron  8%
Zinc                   2% Thiamin  6%
Riboflavin                   6% Niacin  4%
Vitamin B-6  10% Folate  4%
Vitamin B-12  0% Phosphorus  4%
Magnesium  6%                     Vitamin D  0%               

Here’s What You Need: (1 main dish or 2 side salad servings)
Handful of kale (I used the green cury kind)
Handful of red grapes, halved
1/2 avocado, cubed
1/2 pear, diced
1 TBS of dried cranberries or craisins
1 TBS of glazed walnuts or other nuts (optional)
1-2 TBS Light balsamic dressing- I used Newman’s Own

Here’s What You Do:
Chop the kale and then top with all the other ingredients. Drizzle with the dressing and season with s+p. Enjoy feeling healthy and light all the way!

Kid Tip:
My kids will not eat salads. (Someday soon I hope..) So, instead I would give them pasta with my kale based Skinny Dinner Starter and serve them pears and grapes on the side.

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31
Oct 2012

Easy Bake Casserole! Italian Chicken

October 31, 2012 By 6 Comments

I am sorry I am not posting any creative or cute Halloween themed recipe like so many others today.
Believe me…I wish I was.
I have had a note to myself to make Scallops in pumpkin puree or to make a lasagna with pumpkin sauce for a long time.

But… the lasagna was a miserable fail and frankly the scallops went to the bottom of my to do list and finally just slipped right off.

Since I am a terrible baker I cannot offer you pumpkin shaped cookies or spider painted cupcakes.
Instead I give you a quick  recipe that I could throw in the oven while I did other sh***
stuff. ;)

Little Halloween Loves!

Even sans cute bakery, I am so looking forward to Halloween with my little guys who are so excited that I can hear them awake rumbling about right now way past bedtime. Better go give them a warning…

Happy Halloween my friends!

Here’s an Italian Chicken Easy Bake Casserole for one of your busy weeks.

XO,

Bree

Here’s What You Need: (Serves 4)
1 container of mushrooms (8oz), sliced
3-4 chicken breasts
Extra virgin olive oil
Handful of turkey pepperoni or one chicken sausage (like three pepper flavored, for example)
1/8-1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes
Garlic (1-2 cloves
1/8 cup of white wine
16oz Marinara (I like Wolfgang Puck’s Tomato Basil)
2-3 slices of thin  provolone or mozzarella

The view over the chicken!

Here’s What You Do:
Preheat the oven to 375. Meanwhile heat a pan over medium high with a drizzle of olive oil. Add the mushrooms  and the pepperoni or sausage until they start browning ( a few minutes) and then stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes. Add in the white wine and turn to high until the wine cooks mostly off. Put the chicken in an 8×8 dish and then pour the  marinara over the top, followed by the mushroom mixture. Top with the cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 15-20 minutes more or untilt he chicken is cooked through. Use a ladel to scoop the sauce into a shallow poil and then put the chicken on top. Pass parmesan and salt and pepper.

Kid Tip:
My kids can be weird about sauce so having the pieces of chicken cut up separately works better. Stir the sauce into warm whole grain penne. Also, if your kids will be eating this you may want to go on the light side of the red pepper flakes.

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23
Oct 2012

Recipe Makeover! Pasta Carbonara

October 23, 2012 By 6 Comments


This past weekend was a glorious fall weekend.

The kind of day where the blue sky seemed to stretch on to infinity and was only broken up by the smattering of orange, red, and yellow trees dotting the landscape.
The air smelled of fallen pines and smoking leaves-the smells of fall-the smells of promise-the smells of hope.
I hiked up into nature with two giggling little boys who are smitten with rocks and leaves and bugs.
A gentle reminder of the importance of  the “little things”.

I left our weekend a little clearer and a little calmer -ready to face a ridiculously busy week.

Though fall brings a sign of winter, which I dread more than you will ever know, it is days like this that I think how lovely fall really is. And let’s face it-fall is eating season! So, bring it on! I made this Skinnier Carbonara for my recent publication on culinary.net –Check out the whole recipe here!

In the meantime, Happy glorious Fall Day to You!

XO,

Bree

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19
Oct 2012

Buffalo Chicken Pizza Rolls

October 19, 2012 By 20 Comments

I always wonder if other recipe developers have recipes that they think,  ”This is so so”,
but post them anyway.I try to only post recipes I really like and would make again myself.
I have lots of snafus,
which means I have lots of pictures and recipes that are somewhere collecting test because they were not SM worthy ;) .

But, it is not every day that I have a recipe that I think to myself,

“Whoa this recipe rocks!” like I did with these Buffalo Chicken Pizza Rolls.
My husband happened to stop home for lunch as these were cooking in the “lab” and he said, “This may be the best thing you have ever made.”
Woo hoo!

 I think I may make them as appetizers by cutting them in half the next time we have friends over. I hope they and YOU like them as much and Andy and I did.

Happy Friday my Friends!

XO,

Bree

Here’s What You Need: (Makes 4 large rolls)
1lb chicken breast diced and seasoned with salt + pepper
2-3 stalks of celery diced + 1 TBS of celery leaves, chopped
4 Laughing Cow low-fat blue cheese wedges
2 TBS Frank’s Red Hot
Extra virgin olive oil
1 egg
1 Pillsbury thin crust pizza dough

Here’s What You Do:
Preheat the oven to 420. Heat about a capful of extra virgin olive oil in a large pan and cook the chicken over medium high for about 4 minutes. Stir in the Laughing Cow and the Frank’s Red Hot and cook for 2 more minutes. Meanwhile in a separate pan heat the celery with a bit of olive and salt and pepper over medium high heat for about 3-4 minutes, or until it starts to soften. Stir into the chicken mixture. Cut the dough into four even sized squares and bake on a baking sheet coated with non-stick spray for five minutes. Dollop the chicken evenly over each pizza dough square, roll up and place on the baking sheet again.  Brush the egg mixture over each roll and bak for 10-13 minutes or until they turn golden brown. YUM!

Kid Tip:
My little guy actually loved this! Hopefully yours will too. If you think it is too spicy you can add less Frank’s, but definitely encourage eating it with your hands to make it fun for the kids!

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17
Oct 2012

Detox!

October 17, 2012 By 10 Comments

My friend Jaime (aka Jaimers!) had her bachelorette party in Las Vegas this past weekend.

I think am convinced that I am ten years and two babies too old to be teetering on heels walking down the strip in a mini skirt.
So… I was hurting when I got home.

Not from too much alcohol because I took it really easy, but from eating salt laden food, not sleeping enough and did I mention walking around in heels?!

Jaime, me, and Kim

 Also, it’s funny how in one minute in Vegas I think, “Gosh I look pretty good compared to that drunken girl walking barefoot in a not so straight line with her muffin top hanging over.” Then the next second I think, “Ew. I need to start working out. My butt looks no where near as perky as that girl’s!”
Ha ha!
Best to not take either thought too seriously.
It’s Vegas afterall…

See how I look like I need to retire compared to the girls in the back?!

I did coming home with one clear message to myself.
I need to get healthier.
I need to cut down on the snacky stuff (which I adore) and work out more. (Okay, work out at all!)
That’s why on Monday, I woke up in Detox mode!

I made myself a Skinny Mommy Berry Skinny Shake with an additional 1/4 of blueberries. (Yum!) and then for lunch I made myself this Pan Seared Tilapia in a Lemon Mustard Sauce.

Sounds hard, but it is one of the healthiest and easiest things I make myself.

I thought I would share with ya’all!

XO,

Bree

Here’s What You Need: (Serves 1, but you can easily expand to serve your family)
1 thin piece of fresh or frozen tilapia (de-thawed)
l lemon
1 tsp seasoning (I like Penzey’s Sunny in Paris)
1 TBS extra virgin olive oil (plus extra to saute the fish)
2 tsps of dijon mustard
Handful of baby spinach
Salt and pepper

Here’s What You Do:
Whisk together the 1 TBS of evoo, 1 tsp of the seasoning, and 1 tsp of the mustard, the juice of 1/2 of a lemon and set aside. Season the fish on both sides with s+p. Drizzle a pan over medium high heat with extra virgin olive oil. Add the fish and cook for about 4 minutes and then flip. Cook 2 more minutes and then pour the sauce over the top for two minutes. Spread  the top with the remaining mustard and season with extra s+p. If finished cooking, removing from the pan. Otherwise, move the fish to one side and add the spinach to the same pan. Serve the fish on top of the spinach with a lemon wedge on the side.

I feel lighter already!

Kid Tip:
Honestly I think it is important to expose to kids at an early age to eating fish. Play up fishing to get them excited about fish and even if they don’t want to eat it, encourage a “no thank you bite”. For the spinach, cut it into tiny pieces and the stir it into whole grain or brown rice.

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Filed Under: Pan Seared Tilapia in Lemon Mustard Sauce
15
Oct 2012

Pan Seared Beef with “Chimichurri” Sauce

October 15, 2012 By 6 Comments

Okay.. I have goosebumps and butterflies right now.

A designer I work with, Kelly Maddern, just sent me this www.supermarketcasting.com

And guess what it is?!

It is for a reality show with people vying for the next great grocery store concept.

Omg.

I really, really would LOVE this! I 100% believe in my Dinner Starters and think they should be on every grocery shelf in America, helping all those busy moms out there (like myself!) who don’t have time to spend hours in the kitchen but want to feel good about serving their families healthy, satisfying meals.

Should I go to the open casting call? It’s on Sunday in Chicago.

Here’s my first shot at cooking on t.v. in case you didn’t see it before!
http://realmilwaukeenow.com/tag/skinnymommy/

I am already dreaming….

In the meantime,  I made this Pan Seared Beef with Chimichurri Sauce  with the Superfood Italian sauce and it was so good I made it again the next day. For those of you that have some of it in your possession, I definitely encourage you to try it!

Here’s What You Need: (Serves 4)
1/2 jar Superfood Italian Dinner Starter
8 slice of very thin beef (2 per person) (Like beef round sandwich steak)
4 Greek style pitas
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Greek yogurt (plain)
Ripe tomatoes, sliced (optional)
Black pepper
Seasoned salt

Here’s What You Do:
(Divide the beef as you do not want to crowd the pan.) Drizzle olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat and season the beef on both sides with sea salt and pepper. Add to the pan and heat for 1-2 minutes and then flip and heat one minute. Add about  2 TBS of the dinner starter on top of the beef and hit for one minute more. Move on to the next batches and cover the finished ones with foil to stay warm.  Meanwhile, heat another pan over medium high and season the pitas on both sides with seasoned salt and warm through on the pan. (You can also drizzle them with evoo and season with salt and then bake at 350  until warmed through.) Slice the tomatoes and season with salt + pepper. Pile the beef onto the pitas and then top with the yogurt and the tomatoes. YUM!

Kid Tip:
You have a couple of options here. You can cut the pitas into little triangles, spread with yogurt and top with the beef and sauce and stick a toothpick in. You can also make three little pita sandwiches. Either way make it fun finger food!

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