I hope you and your family will enjoy the Chicken Taco Wraps this week and find that you can add a variety of toppings or substitute a different kind of bean, depending on what your family prefers. This recipes is one that we use with our Better Living For Texans Program , showing low income individuals and families how to stretch their food dollar and eat healthy at the same time. This recipe is not only healthy but quick and easy as well. It can be prepared in one dish and takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. Other great features to this recipe is that you can add a variety of vegetables to the Chicken Taco Wrap and the black beans are an excellent source of fiber in your diet. If you are watching your carbohydrate intake, you could omit the corn and replace it with extra lettuce, sweet bell pepper or another type of non-starchy vegetable. Choosing a whole wheat flour tortilla is just one more way you make this recipe healthier.
Since you are using raw chicken and fresh vegetables in this recipe, food safety is a must. First of all make sure you don't cross-contaminate by using the same cutting board for your raw chicken and your vegetables. The other three "C" 's to remember is Cook- make sure your chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 170 degrees. Clean- wash your cutting boards, dishes, utensils and countertops with hot soapy water after preparing each food item and before you go on to the next food. The last is Chill-make sure you refrigerate any leftover foods within 2 hours after cooking. Most leftovers only last 2 to 3 days. If reheating an leftovers. make sure you heat them until fully hot.
Happy Cooking and enjoy your family time at the table!

Pork Chops with Tomatoes

This is one of my favorite recipes. The first time I prepared this dish was over 15 years ago. At that time the dish was for my husband and I because we were not parents. Today, two children later, I am still preparing this dish once or twice a month for my family. My family loves this dish because it is delicious. The tomatoes add great favor. Like my family, I love this dish because of the great taste but most importantly because it is nutritious, cost-saving and quick to prepare. This is a dish I can prepare any evening! Yes, any evening! I can prepare this dish and have a great dinnertime with my family even though my children have activities almost every evening. I can prepare this dish and have a great dinnertime with my family even though we attend church midweek activities on Wednesdays. So no matter what your schedule, I encourage you to prepare this dish for your family and then share your dinnertime experience on this blog. Listed below are some tips on preparing dishes on the weekends, when not so busy, to ensure getting quick, healthy, and cost-saving meals on the table to serve to family in the midst of busy weekly schedules:

1) Prepare meals on the weekend -for example, you can prepare soups, casseroles, chili, dry beans, baked chicken, roast. lasagna, and meatloaf.

2) Be sure to store the dishes you prepare on the weekend properly to prevent spoilage.

3) Use your prepared dishes within a couple of days, or divide the large
portions into smaller amounts and freeze for later use.

Remember, planning is the key to increasing family dinnertime!

Blessed planning,


Alfornette

Italian Beef Pasta

The Italian Beef Pasta recipe I demonstrated tonight is one of my family’s favorites. The recipe original did not call for the two cups of fresh spinach. I am always trying to find ways to get my family to eat healthier. I added the spinach in this recipe to increase our daily fiber intake. Little to my surprise they loved it and now it is a recipe I fix often. Listed below are a few suggestions to help make your recipes more nutritious:

· In many baked goods such as muffins and cakes, try replacing half to all of the fat with unsweetened applesauce or low-fat yogurt.

· Use naturally lower-fat cheeses, such as mozzarella, in place of higher fat cheeses, such as Swiss or cheddar.

· Replace one-quarter of the sugar in cookies, bars and cakes with an equal amount of nonfat dry milk. This not only reduces calories but increases the calcium, protein and riboflavin in the food.

· Gradually reduce the amount of salt in a recipe each time you make it. By doing so, you will adjust to a less salty flavor over time.

· Add herbs and spices for flavor instead of salt.

· Choose garlic and onion powder rather than garlic and onion salt.

· Add extra vegetables to casseroles, soups, salads and other dishes.

· Add fruits to muffins, pancakes and desserts.

· Substitute whole-wheat flour for half of the all-purpose flour when making breads, muffins, pancakes or other grain products.

· If you're preparing hamburgers or meatballs for dinner, consider replacing the crushed crackers with oatmeal instead. This will really help to boost the fiber content of the meal, as well as add a better source of complex carbohydrates.

The next time you prepare one of your family’s favorite recipe, try one of the suggestions listed above. Your family’s daily nutritional intake will be significantly increased. I hope your family enjoys this recipe.

Tips for Slow Cooking

Slow cooking s the best way to keep pace with our busy lives, because the meal you are making requires little or no attention while it cooks. Slow cookers range in size from to 1- t-quart capacity. The 1-quart size is perfiect for making and keeping dips and spreads warm for a party. The other sizes are ideal for one-dish meals (like today's Vegetable Soup).
Most slow cookers have low and high control settings. At low, the long cooking time of 8 to 10 hours fits with working schedules. At the high setting, food cooks approximately twice as fast on low heat.
The following tips - and a slow cooker - are all you need for a delicious, home cooked fix-and-forget meal!

• Know your appliance. A slow cooker is different than a warming pot! Slow cookers are self-contained, with the heating elements wrapping around the cooker.
• For easy cleanup, spray the inside of the slow cooker with cooking spray before adding the food.
• Enjoy the rewards of slow cooking by using less-expensive (and less tender) cuts of meat. The moist, gentle heat slowly tenderizes these cuts as they cook.
• Processed cheese tends to work better than Cheddar cheese.
• Use dried leaf herbs rather than ground because they keep their flavor better over the long cooking time. Or stir in fresh herbs during the last hour of cooking.
• Add dairy products such as milk and cheese toward the end of the cooking time. Dairy products tend to separate and curdle if cooked for a long time.
• Fish and seafood can fall apart or get tough if they are slow cooked too long. Ad these ingredients in the last hour of cooking.
• Add tender vegetables such as fresh mushrooms, tomatoes and zuchinni during the last 30 to 45 minutes to prevent overcooking.
• Do not cook whole poultry in a slow cooker because safe cooking temperatures can not be reached quickly enough near the bone.
• Keep the lid on! Removing the lid allows heat to escape and delays the cooking time by 15 to 20 minutes. Be sure to check for doneness just at the minimum cook time.
• Cool the slow cooker slightly before adding water for cleaning. Otherwise, the liner could crack.

Using the slow cooker, can save lots of time in the evening for busy moms! I dare you to try it!!!

Happy Slow Cooking,

Emily