Potato & Leek Soup

This is perfect for a cold, rainy fall day....warms you up and the house smells amazing while it's cooking!

Ingredients

3 good sized leeks, finely chopped  (white part only)
1-2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
4 medium potatoes sliced, no need to peel
butter
olive oil
2 tbsps flour
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
3 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth if you don't do the chicken thing)
salt, pepper, to taste
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
1 cup milk
2 tbsps parmesean cheese
handful of chopped mushrooms (any  kind, I use whatever we get from our farm share that week)
croutons if you like them.


In a food processor chop the leeks & garlic (I'm all about quick).   Slice up the potatoes (so they are in large coin shaped slices, reasonably thin).   Add leeks, garlic and potatoes to your skillet, along with butter and olive oil (use as much as you need to keep them cooking and not burning).   Stir often so the potatoes don't brown, just soften.

In a large pot whisk dry mustard, salt, pepper, water, broth & flour.   Stir in the potato mixture when it's ready.   Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally.

Mash softened potatoes by hand so they remain lumpy.  Stir in the cheeses and then add the milk (do not let soup boil).  Saute the mushrooms for a few minutes and then add and stir.   Serve and top with croutons if so desired.

It's delicious the first day...but leftovers are even better!

Enjoy!!

That "Good" Salad

This is not my creation....I found this recipe by Betty Lamb after a google search.   But it's awesome.   Love it.   Huge huge hit at a party I had recently and I was asked for the recipe.   I thought I would share.

3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (I just squeezed 2 large lemons)
2 crushed garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 romaine hearts ripped into bite sized pieces
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 cup chopped cucumber
2/3 cup slivered almonds (toasted)
1 cup shredded swiss cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
bacon bits (I left on side but you can mix in 1/2 cup if you like)
1 cup cesar croutons

In a jar with a tight fitting lid combine oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper.   Shake and chill in fridge.
Prepare rest of salad except croutons.   Add dressing and toss.  Add croutons and serve immediately.
It's amazing!   It makes a HUGE bowl, great for parties.   Definitely cut the recipe if you are just making it for a few people or else add the recipe individually.

Yummy Bean Salsa Dip

This dip is good for you and very yummy!   Kids and adults both love it.   I am always asked for the recipe when I bring it to parties!   Enjoy!

1 can chickpeas (rinsed)
1 can blackbeans (rinsed)
1 avacado (sliced)
2 cups corn (thawed)
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (this really makes it yummy)
3- 4 chopped green onions
1 cup salsa
Bag of tortilla chips

Mix well and chill in fridge for 1 - 3 hours.  Stir before serving.     Serve with tortilla chips for dipping.
**very good next day as leftovers

Delicious Taco Dish

One day I came upon this recipe by Lana and Dave  and after drooling over it, I tried it. It was simply fabulous and got rave reviews from my family plus a few fortunate guests who had leftovers for lunch the next day. However, me being me, I had to play with it a bit. And I wanted to try to make it a bit healthier. After tinkering a bit and experimenting with my family here is my new version:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

taco spice (your own mix or one of the low sodium packages)

1 cup fat free sour cream

2/3 cup light mayonnaise or light miracle whip (we prefer the zippy taste from the miracle whip for this recipe)

1 cup light shredded cheddar cheese

diced onion

frozen or fresh corn

diced tomatoes

diced avacado

chili powder

salsa – 1 cup

Biscuit dough (either make up some Bisquick using skim milk or water, or make your own dough, receipe below)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan.

In large frying pan, cook the chicken in water with taco spice. When chicken is done, cut into smaller pieces and add 1 cup of corn and ½ cup diced onion. Continue to cook on medium heat until corn and onion are tender.

Make up Biscuit dough and press into pan evenly, with a ½ inch rim around the bottom edges. Spread salsa on top. Add chicken/corn/onion mixture on top of salsa (spread evenly).

Mix up sour cream, mayonnaise, shredded cheese and chili powder (to taste) and spread on top of chicken mixture. Don't worry if it kinda of ends up mixing with the chicken, it will cook up just fine. Do your best for even coverage.

Pop in the preheated oven (uncovered) for 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Top with diced tomatoes and diced avacados.

Cut into squares and serve with side salad.

Enjoy!

(and I hope Lana and Dave over at Beautiful Canvas don't mind that I took their recipe and tinkered with it!   They have a beautiful family and one of their sweet children has Tay Sachs and their blog tells of the ups and downs of her battle for life and how it's changed them as a family)

Quick biscuit dough: Mix 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp baking soda and buttermilk or skim milk to make a soft dough. Or use 2 cups of Bisquik and add water or milk until soft dough forms.

Sweet Potato Salad

I found this recipe in the Goodness Me magazine (organic health food grocery store). It sounded so good I just had to try it. We love potato salad around here, but we don't eat it often because of the high fat content in the traditional version. This one is made with sweet potatoes which are rich in complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber, beta carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin B6.


4 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 cup green onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup italian parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

Add sliced sweet potatoes to boiling water.  Boil for 5 minutes.  Pour into ice bath.  Dry well.   Place in large bowl.

Dressing
1 tbsp tamari (a type of soy sauce - look for low sodium version in your health food store)
3 tbsp Parmesean cheese
1 tbsp grainy mustard (I personally like dijon but regular grainy mustard is fine)
1 tsp herbamare (an aromatic healthy sea salt)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Fresh black pepper

Pour everything into jar except cheese and shake well.  Add cheese and shake again.

Combine with sweet potatoes in large bowl and toss well.  Enjoy!

Recipe created by Sarah Pomeroy.

REVIEW:   We're not normally sweet potato fans here but this was a huge hit.   The kids loved the cranberries and it was really tasty and yummy.   I will make this again for summer bbq's instead of the traditional version.

Hearty Mexican-ish Salad

This is a favourite around here and something I make as a quick, healthy dinner.   Contrary to their name, refried beans aren't too terrible for you.  In fact they are low in fat and high in fibre and protein.   You can even get a fat free version.  However, if your child has hypertension and/or is on a sodium reduced diet you'll have to check the sodium amounts for your particular brand of refried beans.   They can run high in the sodium department depending on brand.  Due to Chris' oral sensitivities we like to make meals that include many textures & flavours.  Crunchy and spicy are his favourites.   This is easy to whip up with whatever you've got around the house.


1 can refried beans
1 container low fat or fat free cream cheese (any flavour you like, we like the jalapeño cream cheese but plain works well too)
1 cup corn (fresh off cob or thawed)
Lettuce
salsa
tomatoes, peppers, onions, basically any veggie that you like and have on hand
some crushed baked tortilla chips
Warm Cooked chicken breast diced (cooked in chili/taco spices if you like)
shredded Cheese (optional - we usually don't)


You can make this on either one big plate or little plates and make to order if you've got picky eaters.
Mix the beans and cream cheese together.
Spread as bottom layer.
Top with a thin layer of salsa
Pile on lettuce, corn,  whatever veggies you've decided on
Then chicken and crushed baked tortillas (and cheese if you're doing cheese).

Serve, enjoy!

REVIEW:  We all like this!   The kids in particular because they can pick which veggies go on it and they often choose to have extra baked tortillas on the side to eat this with.   You can spice it up or keep it plain depending on personal preference.   I like to load on the veggies :)

Fat-Free Creamy Pasta Sauce

Asher had open heart surgery in early march and ended up with a complication called chylothorax which requires a fat-free diet for six weeks until it is healed. it can be very difficult to cook for this condition, since there is no cheese, dairy (other than skim milk), almost no meat, no oil,... you know, anything "good." but our family loves creamy pasta sauces, so i did what i had to do, and here's the recipe i came up with.

250 ml fat-free Philadelphia cream cheese
frozen spinach
sundried tomatoes
mushrooms
skim milk (optional)

in a frying pan and using water (oil or butter if there is no fat restrictions), saute the mushrooms lightly. throw in the frozen spinach now, as it will require time to thaw and cook. meanwhile, blanch a handful of sundried tomatoes. once they are ready, include in the pan with the mushrooms and spinach.

add the cream cheese to the veggies. the cream cheese will soften and turn creamy and sauce-like. if you need to stretch the sauce, or if it is too thick for your liking, add some milk until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.

pour over cooked pasta and enjoy.

REVIEW: my kids (and i) love this sauce, and i will continue to make it now that we're done with the special diet... only with regular cream cheese and 2% milk. it is definitely a family favourite around here!

hi!

welcome to our blog!

we're a couple moms who love to cook. we're also a couple moms who have heart kids. our boys have Congenital Heart Disease, and as such, we are constantly on the look-out for heart-healthy recipes.

and since we know we aren't the only people in the world concerned with healthy eating and great recipes, we decided to start a blog to share what we find, learn and try.

we plan to post recipes and heart-health tips, as well as reviews of all the recipes we try. if it turns out better than we could ever have imagined, you'll know. if it is something that even the dog won't eat, you'll know.

bon appetit!