Spanish Rice

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped fine
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups of brown rice
3 cups* chicken stock (or vegetable stock if vegetarian)
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste or 1 cup of diced fresh or cooked tomatoes, strained
Pinch of oregano
1 teaspoon salt

*Check the instructions on the rice package for the proportions of liquid to rice. They can range from 1:1 to 2:1. If your rice calls for 2 cups of water for every cup of rice, then for this recipe, use 4 cups of stock for 2 cups of rice.

Method

1 In a large skillet brown rice in olive oil, medium/high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook onion rice mixture, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes, or until onions are softened.

2 In a separate sauce pan bring stock to a simmer. Add tomato sauce, oregano, and salt. Add rice to broth. Bring to a simmer. Cover. Lower heat and cook 15-25 minutes, depending on the type of rice and the instructions on the rice package. Turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes.

Serves 4 to 6.

Beef Stroganoff

Paprika Beef Stroganoff
Note: Almost core with the exception of the flour that's used as a thickening agent.


* 2 pounds boneless beef top round steak, cut into thin strips
* 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons canola oil, divided (you can use either beef broth instead of oil to cook or cooking spray)
* 1 large onion, sliced
* 1 large green pepper, cut into strips
* 1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms (we leave out the mushrooms)
* 1-1/4 cups reduced-sodium beef broth, divided
* 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
* 3/4 cup sherry or additional reduced-sodium beef broth (sherry is not core, use a wine sub or beef broth)
* 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
* 2 tablespoons prepared mustard
* 2 teaspoons paprika
* 1 bay leaf
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 1 package (12 ounces) yolk-free noodles (We used Whole wheat spaghetti)
* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (We used whole wheat flour - you need to count this)...
* 1 cup (8 ounces) reduced-fat sour cream (we used FF)

DIRECTIONS
In a large nonstick skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, cook beef in 1 tablespoon oil until no longer pink; drain and set aside.
In the same skillet, saute onion and green pepper in remaining oil for 1 minute. Stir in mushrooms; cook for 3-4 minutes or until tender. Stir in 1 cup broth, tomato sauce, sherry or additional broth, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, paprika, bay leaf, thyme and pepper. Return beef to the pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 40-50 minutes or until meat is tender.
Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, combine flour and remaining broth until smooth; gradually stir into beef mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Discard bay leaf. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream until blended. Drain noodles; serve with stroganoff. Yield: 8 servings.

Spaghetti Sauce & Meatballs

I like this one better than the crock pot spaghetti!

Meatballs-

Ingredients:
1lb 90%+ Lean Ground Beef
1/2C-1C Quick Cook Oats (I blended these down)
1 Egg
Spices (I used garlic salt, season salt, pepper)

You only need about 1/2 C oats per 1lb beef, but I added a little more to keep them together in the pot.

Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix. Shape into small balls.

Sauce-

Ingredients:
1 28oz Can Tomato Sauce
1 28oz Can Diced Tomatoes
2T Splenda
Garlic
1 Med White Onion, Chopped
Spices (oregano, basil, etc.)

In a big pot, combine all ingredients. Stir. Add Meatballs one at a time.
Simmer on Med-Low for about 1 to 1 1/2 hrs. Until meatballs are cooked thoroughly.

Serve over whole wheat spaghetti noodles!

Carne Asada

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 lbs chuck roast, trimmed of fat and cut in bite-sized pieces
• 4 tablespoons flour (**not core**)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2-3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
• 3 cups beef stock
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Toss meat pieces with flour, then brown quickly in oil in an ovenproof Dutch oven.

3. Add onion, garlic, jalapeño, beef stock, tomato paste, cumin and chili powder; bring to a simmer on the stove.

4. Cover Dutch oven and place in the preheated oven, baking for about 2 to 2-1/2 hours, until meat is extremely tender.

5. Serve as is, or on rice, or folded into warm tortillas.

(**Note: A "dutch oven" is just essentially a big pot with a lid. I transferred mine to a glass baking dish**)

Core Chili

I LOVED this chili. I added in a couple Chipotle peppers and a bag of frozen corn- that's how our house eats chili!

1 medium white onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium red pepper, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 lbs lean ground beef
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice
2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, one drained, one with juice
1 (8 ounce) can tomato paste
salt (to taste)
1 tablespoon chili powder (or to taste)
1 teaspoon ground cumin

Saute garlic, onion and peppers in olive oil over medium heat until onions are soft. Add ground beef, cook until browned.Add tomatoes, beans, tomato paste and spices. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for one hour. Add water if needed to reach desired consistancy.

Oatmeal Pancakes

The texture isn't what I would consider "fluffy" but honestly, when you're bread deprived, any sort of pancake sounds amazing. I read a post regarding this recipe where the woman said she put the batter in a food processor to get it creamy, I'm just not that motivated.

1/4 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
4 packets splenda (about 3-4T)
1/2 cup ff plain yogurt
1 egg white

Makes 2 big pancakes. Flip quickly because they cook fast.

Mock Peach Cobbler

This recipe got me into trouble. I ate more than one serving and I don't do well with a lot of fruit in my diet (too much sugar). Make sure you are sharing or put it away for later!

3 peaches, diced
1 cup of uncooked oats
2t core-friendly oil or "I can't believe it's not butter" spray
2T Splenda
Cinnamon
1/2 c water
1/4 c fat free milk (you can use 3/4 water and no milk, also)

Spray the bottom of a baking dish. Line peaches on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle the oats evenly over the peaches. Drizzle oil or coat with a few sprays of ICBINB spray. Add water and milk (or just water) and then sprinkle the splenda and cinnamon over the peaches evenly (cinnamon to taste).

Bake at 400 degrees, covered for 20 minutes. Pull from oven, stir, and then put back into oven (covered). Check every 5-10 minutes or until the oats are desired consistency.