Corn and Butternut Squash Chowder

2 tablespoons Canola oil

1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch chunks (about 5 cups)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 box (10 ounces) frozen corn, thawed

1 1/2 teaspoons The Delicious Dietitian Thai spice blend 

Ground pepper

2 cans (14.5 ounces each) no sodium added vegetable broth

1/2 cup half and half cream

In a large heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high; add squash and onion. Cook until onion is soft, about 6 minutes. Add corn and spice blend; cook about 2 minutes. Season with pepper. Add broth and simmer until squash is tender, about 25 minutes. In a blender, blend half the soup until smooth. Return to pot and stir in cream; heat through over medium-low (do not boil).

Serve with a green salad and whole wheat crusty bread. 

Shrimp Piccata Pasta

Shrimp Piccata Pasta 

6 ounces whole wheat uncooked spaghetti
2 shallots, chopped
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 ounces capers, drained
3 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon The Delicious Dietitian Seafood Spice Blend

Cook spaghetti according to package directions, omitting salt and oil. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, sauté shallots in oil until tender. Add the shrimp, capers, lemon juice, and Seafood spice blend. Cook and stir for 6-8 minutes or until shrimp is cooked thoroughly. Drain spaghetti and toss with shrimp mixture. 

**Can substitute 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed, substitute ½ teaspoon Southern Spice Blend for Seafood Blend

Southern Parmesan Chicken Bake

Parmesan Chicken Bake

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ cup olive oil mayonnaise
½ cup plain Greek Yogurt
½ cup fresh Parmesan cheese
1 ½ tsp. Southern spice blend
½ tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 9 x 13 glass pan with olive oil cooking spray. Lay the chicken inside the pan. 

Mix together the olive oil mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, Parmesan cheese, southern spice blend, pepper, and garlic powder.  Spread mixture evenly over each piece of chicken. 

Bake for 45 minutes. Great for leftovers!

Happy Independence Day!

Berry and Watermelon Spinach Salad

Dressing:
3 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon The Delicious Dietitian Thai Spice Blend

Whisk the lime juice into the olive oil until emulsified. Add the Thai Spice Blend and whisk until combined. 

Salad:
4 cups fresh baby spinach
1 cup fresh mint leaves, rough chopped plus extra for garnish
2 cups watermelon, deseeded and cut into 3/4″ chunks
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup strawberries, sliced

Toss the spinach and mint together in a large serving bowl. A few minutes before serving, fold in the fruit and gently drizzle with the prepared dressing. Add a little bit of dressing at a time, and stop when you think you have enough–this salad is great with just a hint of dressing.

Garnish with a sprig or two of mint and serve.

Lightened Up Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie might be the ultimate easy comfort food, and if it's made the right way, you can have that hearty, filling meal without the guilt.  Blending the potatoes with cauliflower, using lean ground beef, and increasing the vegetables in this classic casserole cut the calories, carbs, fat, and sodium, from more traditional recipes.  

1 pound lean ground beef (or ground turkey breast) 

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped 

3 medium carrots, diced 

1/2 pound white mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup no sodium added beef broth

1 tablespoon The Delicious Dietitian Southern All Purpose Spice Blend

1 cup frozen peas

1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes

1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets

2/3 cup 1 percent or skim milk

2 tablespoons heart healthy spread

In a large skillet cook the meat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer the meat to a plate. Drain any fat remaining in the skillet.

Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots and cook, covered, about 8 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high.  Add the mushrooms and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are soft and their liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Add the meat to the pan. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in the broth, add the Southern All Purpose Spice Blend, and bring to a simmer scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the peas. Pour the mixture into an 11X9 casserole dish. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Wash potatoes and cut into 2-inch pieces. Put the potatoes in a steamer basket, and steam for 10 minutes. Add the cauliflower to the basket and cook until the potatoes and cauliflower are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 15 minutes. Mash the vegetables with a potato masher until smooth. Combine the milk, butter, and a pinch of pepper and stir into the potato mixture.

Spread the potato mixture on top of the meat and bake until heated through, about 25 minutes.

Creole Chicken with Vegetables

This quick dish makes a fantastic weeknight meal for those nights when it seems like it might be easier to just order a pizza!  Between homework, after school activities, or a late day at the office, sometimes it can be tough to get dinner on the table.  But, using frozen veggies in this meal makes prep a breeze, and dinner can be on the table in about 15 minutes.  Serve with microwavable brown rice and add a green salad for a tasty dinner for about 300 calories.

Creole Chicken and Vegetables 

Cooking spray

1 pound chicken breast tenders

1 cup sliced red and green peppers and 1 cup sliced onion (or 2 cups sliced frozen pepper stir-fry, such as Bird's Eye brand, thawed)

1 cup cut okra, fresh or frozen

3/4 cup thinly sliced celery

3/4 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon The Delicious Dietitian Creole Spice Blend

1 (14.5-ounce) can no sodium added diced tomatoes, undrained 

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon heart healthy spread

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Add peppers and onion and next 4 ingredients (through Creole spice blend), stirring to combine. Pour tomatoes over chicken mixture; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Uncover; cook 3 minutes. Add parsley and butter, stirring until butter melts.

Enchilada Casserole

This easy take on enchiladas makes a fantastic weeknight meal.  You could substitute the ground beef for ground turkey breast, shredded chicken or shrimp.

1 pound ground sirloin

1 cup chopped onion

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup fat-free, lower-sodium beef broth

2 tablespoons The Delicious Dietitian Southwest Spice Blend

1 (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce

4 (8-inch) whole-wheat flour tortillas

1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeño peppers

Chopped green onion

Preheat oven to 400°.  Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef and onion to pan; cook 6 minutes, stirring to crumble.  

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Sprinkle with flour; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add broth, Southwest Spice Blend, and tomato sauce to pan. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 1/2 cups tomato mixture to beef and onions; reserve 1/2 cup tomato mixture.

Place 1 tortilla in a 9-inch pie plate. Top with 1 cup beef mixture. Repeat layers, ending with tortilla. Spread reserved tomato mixture over tortilla. Top with cheese. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts.  Top with green onion.  Cool slightly. Cut into 4 wedges.

Italian Sloppy Joes

This grown up version of the Sloppy Joe is a quick weeknight dinner that everyone in the family will love.  Use lean ground beef or ground turkey and a whole wheat bun for a dose of low fat protein and whole grains.  Add a green salad and you have a great meal in about 20 minutes.  Perfect for those nights when you need something on the table fast!

Italian Sloppy Joes

3/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

3/4 pound ground round (or ground turkey)

2 cups no-salt-added tomato sauce

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons The Delicious Dietitian Italian Spice Blend

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

12 whole wheat rolls, split

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add first 3 ingredients; cook until beef is browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in tomato sauce and next 8 ingredients (tomato sauce through black pepper); reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon 1/4 cup beef mixture over bottom half of each bun. Cover with top halves.

Family Friday

What better time to emphasize family meal time than during the holiday season? As schedules become more packed with holiday events, shopping trips, and travel time it is difficult to focus on dinner time at home and connecting with your kids.

An excellent way to maximize your time at home is to include your kids in food preparation for family dinner. Not only are your kids learning good skills for life, but they are able to increase their interest in trying new foods. Kids of any age are able to help through cutting, pouring, and mixing.

Pouring, mixing and counting are skills that are appropriate to reinforce with toddlers. Older children can practice their math and measuring skills by preparing the ingredients for toddlers to pour/mix. Teens are perfect for a little more responsibility. It is a prime opportunity to teach them cooking methods like grilling and sauteing.

Try out the meal below for your family cook time:

Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Serves 4

1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat

Non-stick cooking spray

1 tsp The Delicious Dietitian Southern Spice Blend

1/2 cup marmalade

1 Tbsp The Delicious Dietitian Red Muscadine Wine Vinegar

1. Slice the pork into about 4 pieces and sprinkle with Southern Spice Blend.

2. After spraying a skillet with cooking spray, cook pork approximately 4 minutes on each side at medium-high heat. The internal temperature should be 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Rest pork tenderloin on a separate plate.

4. Add marmalade and Red Muscadine Wine Vinegar to pan. Reduce for 3-5 minutes and pour over pork slices.

Harvest Salad

Serves 4

4 cups of romaine lettuce, chopped
¼ cup pomegranate seeds

1 apple, chopped

¼ cup crumbled bleu cheese or gorgonzola cheese

¼ cup of olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons The Delicious Dietitian Blueberry Wine Vinegar
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon sea salt

1. Mix olive oil, lemon juice, Blueberry Wine Vinegar, black pepper, and sea salt then set aside.

2. Toss together romaine, apple, pomegranate seeds in a large bowl.

3. Add mixed dressing.

4. Sprinkle cheese crumbles over top.

Anna Dean is a registered, licensed dietitian with professional experience in preventative nutrition for cardiac disease and diabetes. She also served as a professor in nutrition and a contract dietitian in pediatrics assisting with menu development. Dean holds a Bachelor of Science in nutrition from Texas A&M University and a Master of Science in nutrition from University of the Incarnate Word. Join her conversation on Twitter @adeanrd