Shrimp Pot Pie

Shrimp Pot Pie

Servings: 4 (about 390 calories per serving)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp canola oil

4 carrots, chopped

1 tbsp flour, all-purpose

1 1/3 c low-fat milk, separated

1/2 tsp salt plus more to taste

3/8 tsp white pepper plus more to taste

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp celery seed

1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 lb frozen cut green beans, rinsed

1- 8.5 oz box corn muffin mix

1 egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400* and spray 9X9 glass baking dish with cooking spray.  Heat oil in small saucepan.  Add carrots and sauté until tender about ten minutes.

2. Add 1 tbsp flour to carrots and stir for 1 minute.  Add 1 cup of milk, 1/2 tsp salt, 3/8 tsp pepper, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, and celery seed.  Cook over low heat until thickened about 5-8 minutes stirring periodically.  Turn off and let cool (put in refrigerator to hasten the cooling).

3. Meanwhile, mix corn muffin mix with egg and 1/3 cup of milk.  Set aside.

4. Season shrimp with salt and white pepper to taste.  Add shrimp and green beans to baking dish.  Pour cooled sauce over shrimp and bean mixture and stir to combine. 

5. Stir corn muffin mix and pour over the top of the shrimp mixture.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until corn bread topping is golden brown.  Enjoy! 

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The shrimp pot pie turned out nicely.  As for breakfast, there was the return of the oatmeal bowl.

Lunch included some of Mom’s black eye peas leftover from last night’s dinner.

I enjoyed a cup of the beans with pickled meat and a 1/2 cup of white rice.  I brought a nectarine for a snack, but when I cut it open it looked bad so a coworker gave me her cafeteria vanilla pudding with sprinkles on top because I was still hungry and wanted something sweet.  Ya know, when that special monthly visit is on its way my hunger gets out of control and I satisfy it.

At work, I also had some honey wheat pretzel sticks that Mom had brought me from Chicago in my goody bag a few weeks ago.  This week is standardized testing so I actually brought the pretzels for my 6 students I’m testing.

   

Oh, and not to mention the hummus and chips I ate when I got home plus a bite of chipotle cheese which went unpictured.  I told you; I’m ravenous. That about wraps it up.  Now I’m feeling full and content.  For now.

For the Love of Fall

Aaahh!  Today brought on the weather I’ve been waiting for!  Cool, dry air.  It won’t last too long in Southern Louisiana, but I’ll take it while it’s here. 🙂

My morning began with a cold mixture of cereal and milk.  I had about 1/2 cup of Kashi Go Lean, 1/4 apple cinnamon o’s, 1/4 cup of blueberry corn flakes, and a small sprinkle of granola.  I topped it with 1 cup low fat milk.  Refreshing! 

I had a cup of hot chai tea on the side.

Mixed Cereal Bowl—Thank you Hungry Girl for letting me know it is okay to mix different cereals. 

For lunch I topped some baby spinach with rest of the chicken salad from Saturday’s lunch.  It was better today because it had time to marinate all the flavors while sitting in the fridge.

I had a banana for some additional carbs and fiber.  Oh, I also had a brownie made by a colleague of mine.

I did not make it to the gym today because I stayed a little while after dismissal to finish grading last Friday’s tests.  My inner and outer thighs are a little soar from yesterday’s strength training anyways, so I am totally okay with letting my muscles rest even though I have not exercised consistently for two weeks.  I plan on going to the gym straight from work tomorrow.

When I got home I had a snack.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie

Next up, what’s for dinner?  I knew I wanted to incorporate some Italian chicken sausage into stuffed bell peppers, but wasn’t quite sure how I was going to make it.  I ended up using cous cous as a filler along with Italian seasoned bread crumbs.

Italian Chicken Sausage Stuffed Bells

Ingredients:

3/4 cup cous cous, cooked according to package

4 bell peppers

1/2 pound Italian chicken sausage, removed from casings

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

Oregano

Garlic Powder

Basil

Salt + Pepper

1/4 cup gorgonzola cheese

1 slice of reduced fat provolone cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*.  Remove stem top and seeds from bell peppers.  Put in pot of water to cover and bring to a boil.  When slightly tender, remove to ice water to stop cooking process.  In saucepan, heat oil.  Add chicken sausage and onion.  Saute until browned.  Add cous cous, seasonings to taste, and gorgonzola cheese and mix.  Add 3/4 cup of Italian bread crumbs and combine.  Stuff peppers with cous cous/ chicken mixture evenly.  Sprinkle each pepper with bread crumbs and top with 1/4 of provolone slice.  Place in glass casserole.  Put small amount of water in casserole dish to prevent burning and sticking.  Cook in preheated oven for 25 minutes.

My thoughts on the peppers are they were quite tasty and I enjoyed them.  But I do wish I had parmesan instead of gorgonzola.  The gorgonzola cheese has a very pungent flavor similar to that of blue cheese.  So if you are not a fan of blue cheese, you may not be a fan of this.  However, parmesan could definitely be substituted and I would use that myself if making these again.

Served with some cucumber and tomato salad + Light Italian dressing

 

While the peppers were baking I simmered some homemade veggie stock on the stovetop for an hour.  I threw in two carrots, two squash, two onion, garlic, the bell pepper tops from the peppers, bay leaves, fresh basil leaves, and a few whole black peppercorns.  I plan on using the stock in a fall soup recipe tomorrow night if all goes as planned.

Question of the Night:  What is your favorite fall vegetable to cook with?

Smile! It’s Contagious

Do you ever smile at a baby soon to find them smiling right back?  Smiling is an innate trait that can certainly brighten up another person’s day.  Through observation, I have noticed that people who do not smile have much more miserable attitudes about life in general.  The benefits of smiling far outweigh having a sour face.  According to Dr. Mark Stibich, smiling not only makes us more attractive and approachable; it also signifies confidence, lowers blood pressure, and relieves stress.

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Today my eats definitely put a smile on my face! 🙂 Preparation for breakfast began last night for Strawberry Banana Overnight Oats.

The following mixture sat overnight in the fridge:

1/4 cup of Chobani 0% Greek Yogurt

1/4 cup rolled oats

Splash of 1% milk

Drizzle of honey

Sliced Banana

4 sliced strawberries (added this morning before eating)

1 strawberry for garnish (and consumption)

Creamy & Cold

Make sure you use a large enough bowl if you make this.  The oats expand and I have learned my lesson of avoiding spillage.

Hot Chai Tea + Oats Bowl

Lunch was just as cheerful.

Salad + Crackers

Sorry for the blurry shot.  I made a salad using italian lettuce blend, chopped cucumber, chopped red pepper, 2 sliced strawberries, and 1 ounce of feta cheese.  Dressing of choice was Light Raspberry Vinaigrette.  On side I had 15 Triscuit Wheat Thins.  And the chocolate square went unconsumed and is still in my lunch bag currently in the freezer because it melted in my car while I was at the gym.

Green and Red Make for Beautiful Food Art

Feta Makes Everything Betta 🙂

After work I nibbled on a handful of these on my way to get my “swole” on.

Today’s work out included 15 minutes on the arc trainer, 30 minutes of my usual weight training with the addition of the low row machine.  I finished with 15 minutes on the true strider elliptical and a couple of minutes of stretching.

Keeping with my mood for enlightening food, I made a greek pasta dish that is sure to make you and your belly happy!

These ingredients were included in the dish:

Greek Pasta

1 lb. whole wheat pasta (boiled as directed)

1 cup reserved pasta water

3 tbsp. of olive oil separated

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 tbsp. minced garlic

1 pack of sliced mushrooms

1 medium  chopped squash (pre-roasted in oven)

1 cup grape tomatoes (pre-roasted in oven)

6 oz. feta cheese, cubed

1 small can sliced black olives, drained

10 dashes dry oregano

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper (to taste)

Directions:  Add 1 tbsp olive oil to saute pan.  Saute onion for 4 minutes or until tender.  Stir in garlic and saute for an additional minute.  Add mushrooms and 1/4 cup reserved pasta water and cook until softened.  Next add pasta, feta, olives, oregano, red pepper flakes, and feta cheese.  Add 2 tbsp. of olive oil and remaining 3/4 cup of pasta water.  Toss well.  Gently add roasted tomatoes and squash.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir to distribute vegetables evenly and heat through for ten minutes on low.

Food That Makes You Smile

Grand Finale

My Dish

I added three sliced spinach leaves for some color on my plate, but certainly could have added spinach to the entire dish.

Greek Goodness

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While we are talking about smiling, some of my students made me smile today.  One girl said, “That’s why I like this class; because we can laugh!”  That made me smile.  🙂  I want my students to enjoy my class; so at times I smile and crack jokes.  Someone once told me, “NEVER smile until after Christmas” in front of the kids.  Who wants to live like that?  I do not want to be miserable and I do not want my students to be miserable because that only leads to more difficulties on both ends.

And another student gave me one of these,

Fleur De Lis Silly Band

AKA Fad Rubber Band Bracelet

….which also made me smile.  🙂

Question of the Night: What is one thing that you do to turn your frown 😦 upside down :)?  What puts you in a happy mood?

Exercising definitely puts me in a better mood.  Also, listening to music helps me cheer up.

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