Tag Archives: Betty Crocker 30 Minute Meals for Diabetes

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Feasting with Friends

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Day 298 in my sugar-free, low sodium eating to be healthier when I meet up with Mickey in October

Today’s plan was to have our friends, Ken and Chris Hall, over for dinner tonight.  We had picked up groceries for dinner on Sunday, so today we just stopped and picked up a few last minute things.  We thoroughly enjoyed visiting with our good friends.  It had been a long while since we had had a longer visit, so it was a real treat.  We feasted on Cranberry Pine-Nut Quinoa; White Bean , Herb and Tomato Salad; fresh veggies with hummus.  Then for dessert we had fresh blueberries and strawberries and freshly whipped heavy cream.  It was delightful.  The meal was scrumptious and the company was even better.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Friday Night Feast

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Day 287 in my becoming healthier to meet up with Mickey in October

My plan for today in eating healthier was to try out a new recipe.  I turned to my current favorite cookbook Betty Crocker 30 Minute Meals for Diabetes.  I decided to try Steak Marsala .

Prep time: 20 minutes  Start to finish: 20 minutes  4 servings  Carbohydrate choices 0

Ingredients:

  1. 4 beef tenderloin steaks, 3/4 inch think (about one pound)
  2. 1/2 tsp salt
  3. 1/4 tsp pepper
  4. 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  5. 1 Tbs drained capers
  6. 1/2 cup Marsala wine or nonalcoholic wine

Directions:

  1. Sprinkle both sides of each beef steak with salt and pepper.  Rub with garlic.  Spray 10-inch skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat.  Add beef; cook 6 to 8 minutes, turning once, until desired doneness.  Remove beef from skillet; cover and keep warm.
  2. Add capers and wine to skillet.  Heat to boiling over high heat.  Cook uncovered 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until liquid is slightly reduced.  Serve over beef.

It was delicious!  Like close-your-eyes so you can really appreciate the taste and texture delicious!  There is a bit of sticker shock on this though.  I ended up paying $28 for the steaks.  I justified it by realizing that it is four steak dinners for the price.  I had a small leftover baked potato in the refrigerator, which I fried up.  Then I made us each a large romaine, green pepper, yellow pepper and broccoli salad.  Mike topped it off with rye bread and butter.  Tonight we feasted like royalty!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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So…What’s for Dinner?

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Day 267 in eating my way to a healthier me to meet up with Mickey

Today’s plan is to share a couple recipes.  Both are from Betty Crocker 30 Minute Meals for Diabetes.

Last night’s incredibly delicious dinner: Apricot-Almond Chicken

4 servings  2 Carb choices

Ingredients:

  1. Cooking Spray
  2. 4  boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 and a half pounds)
  3. one quarter tsp. salt (optional)
  4. one eighth tsp pepper
  5. one half cup apricot preserves
  6. 1 Tbls Low-sodioum Soy Sauce
  7. 1 Tbls Dijon mustard
  8. one half cup sliced almonds

Putting it together:

  1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F.  Line 15 X 10 X 1-inch pan with foil; spray foil with cooking spray.  Place chicken in pan; spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake 5 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, in a small microwavable bowl, mix preserves, soy sauce and mustard; microwave on high 1 minute or until preserves are melted.
  3. Stir preserves mixture and spoon over chicken; sprinkle evenly with almonds.  Bake 10 to 15 minutes longer or until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut. (170 degrees).

We had it with a big veggie side salad and a good crusty, grainy bread.  Delicious!!

On tonight’s menu: Curried Turkey Stir-Fry

4 servings (1 and one quarter cups each) 2 Carb choices

Ingredients:

  1. 1 and one quarter cups uncooked instant brown rice
  2. 2 cups water
  3. one quarter tsp. salt (optional)
  4. 2 tsp cooking oil
  5. 1 lb. turkey breast strips for stir fry (OR turkey breast tenderloin, cut into strips)
  6. 1 medium red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
  7. 2 cups small fresh broccoli florets
  8. 10 and a half oz chicken broth (or veg broth, if you prefer)
  9. 4 tsp cornstarch
  10. 4 tsp curry powder
  11. one half tsp ground ginger
  12. one quarter tsp salt (optional)

Putting it together:

  1. Cook brown rice as directed on package, using water and one quarter tsp salt.
  2. Meanwhile, in 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add turkey; cook 5 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until browned.  Stir in red bell pepper and broccoli.  Cook 2 minutes.
  3. In small bowl, mix remaining ingredients.  Stir into turkey and vegetables.  Heat to boiling.  reduce heat; cover and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender and turkey is no longer pink in center.  Serve over brown rice.

Doesn’t that sound amazing??  Can’t wait to try it.  Mike is still cooking, but I now can sit up and help cut stuff up.

We are changing the recipe a bit.  We have leftover roasted chicken breasts.  So Mike will cook the pepper and broccoli in the oil and add the cut up chicken to warm it through. (Step 2)

That’s it for today, friends.  Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: Thank you to Bro Gary and Sis-in-love Trudy for the beautiful, scrumptious looking fruit basket.  What a treat!!  Fresh pineapple, grapes, tangerines, apples and more.  Yum!

 

 

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Easy Chicken and Bean Stew Koo-koo-ka-choo

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Day 249 in my plan to eat healthier to be more fit when I meet up with Mickey (5 months and 29 days to go)  OMGoodness!  It’s less than 6 months now.

Today my plan is to share a new recipe.  It’s from my Betty Crocker 30 Minutes Meals for Diabetes cookbook.  The recipe is for Easy Chicken and Bean Stew.  Here is the info:

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive or canola oil

1 1/2 cups frozen bell pepper and onion stir-fry (from 1-lb bag)

1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken

1 can (14.5 oz) Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained

1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

1 can (15 to 16 oz) cannellini beans, drained, rinsed (Can use kidney beans or black beans)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves.

Directions

  • 1 In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add stir-fry vegetables; cook 2 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until crisp-tender.
  • 2 Stir in chicken, tomatoes, tomato sauce and beans. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium; simmer uncovered 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking up tomatoes, until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with basil.

People, it is delicious!  And my blood-sugar level loved it, too!  Try it, you’ll like it.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: I lost the extra few pounds I had put on, so I’m back to my lowest in years.  #smileyface

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Cooking Up a Plan

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Day 225 in cooking my way to a healthier me to pose with Mickey at the Magic Kingdom in October

Today is all about a recipe.  I may have mentioned this book before.  It’s called Betty Crocker 30 Minute Meals for Diabetes.  As I am pre-diabetic, I try to eat as diabetes-friendly as possible.   This book has been a real Godsend.  So tonight’s new recipe is Quick Taco Skillet Casserole.  I like quick, I like tacos and I like casseroles, so it sounds like a winner to me.

The prep time is 25 minutes for 6 servings.

Ingredients:

  1. 1 pound (extra-lean) ground beef
  2. 1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
  3. 1 and a half cups uncooked instant brown rice
  4. 1 cup chunky-style salsa
  5. 1 and a half cups of water
  6. 1 can (14.5 to 16 oz) whole tomatoes, undrained, cut up
  7. 1 can (11 oz) whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, undrained
  8. 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste

Directions:

  1. In a 12-inch skillet or 4-quart Dutch oven, cook beef and onion over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain well.  Return beef mixture to skillet.
  2. Stir in remaining ingredients.  Heat to boiling over high heat.  Reduce heat to medium-high; cook 10 to 12 minutes, stirring frequently, until water is absorbed and rice is tender.  Stir before serving.

Sounds great, right?  I’ll let you know how it tastes.  Meet you at the Kingdom!