Ode to the Farmer's Market

Oh how I love the local farmer's market. I can fill my refrigerator with delicious fresh fruits and veggies to consume with pure enjoyment all week with minimal expense. I love going to see all of the yummy choices and trying to plan my weekly meals around them. This week I bought the following:

1 large watermelon

1 large cantaloupe

1 head of lettuce

6 fresh beets

6 ears of corn

1/2 lb brussel sprouts

3 lbs green beans

1 large acorn squash

1 head of orange cauliflower

1 bunch of asparagus

And I paid just over $16. How can you beat that? And I get to eat fresh all week!!! YUM!

Good Eats

Once a month we have the privelage of dropping our kids off at their Grandma and Grandpa's fpr the weekend. It gives them a chance to hang out with our boys and it gives us a chance to have "us" time. I look forward to this weekend every month. This last weekend was said weekend and we had some big plans this time. Some friends of ours started a Multi-cultural dinner once a month and it just so happened that we got to attend Friday night. This time it was at Caijun Seefood Corner in Gilbert. The food was pretty good. I had catfish and chips while others enjoyed jambalaya and red beans and rice. But before we could enjoy the good eats... I had to brave the fried alligator. Yes, I said fried alligator. Not too bad but I don't think I would order it again. Kind of like a chewy, fishy, chicken nugget. Anyway... the company was great and the food was worth going for. If you like authentic Caijun food, give it a try.

So since we had no kids, we decided to keep the southern theme alive and went to Lolo's Chicken and Waffles on Saturday afternoon. If any of you ever watch Food Network like we do, you would know that this is rumored to be the best chicken in Arizona. You might also recognize the name because they cater for the Arizona Cardinals before each game. Anyway... so we thought we would give it a try. Well, the rumor is true! It is in fact the best fried chicken I have ever had. In fact, it was so good that I have wanted to have more every day since then. We waited almost 30 minutes for a table and I tell you it was worth every minute of waiting. Their waffles are also quite fabulous. I had what is called the "Betty Boop" which is one chicken breast and a waffle. I also tried the collard greens which were yummy. And your drinks come out in a quart sized mason jar which they call "A jar of Drank". Definately worth going to. It is on Central Ave and Yuma if you are interested in taking the trip.

I will let you know what next month's Multi-cultural dinner brings. I think we have authentic Mexican food on the schedule next. And if anyone knows of a great cultural place to have dinner, or maybe just some place unique, please share. We are always looking for new places.

Healty Food Recipe

A friend of mine tagged me to post a healthy recipe to give her some ideas for her family. Our family for the most part eats pretty healthy. We try not to eat super fatty foods, our problem is portion control... but that is a subject for another day. I have found that if I just substitute fat free or low fat items for the regular thing, that most of our foods become a little bit healthier to eat.

Our staple foods at our house are spaghetti (with whole wheat noodles) and chili because they have lots of tomatoes in them which my family loves. We also have grown accustomed to eating more beans which I find to be a healthier alternative dinner to meat every night. I have a true "meat-and-potatoes" man at my house. He thinks that we have to have meat for dinner every night. So I am grateful we have learned to eat more beans. And they are really easy to pressure can in mason jars so you always have cooked beans on hand in a pinch!

So on to my healthy recipe. This is a recipe that I am actually making for dinner tonight and I really like it!

Cole Slaw Chili

Makes 12 cups
1 WW Point per cup

1 lb ground beef or turkey (we use turkey because we like the flavor better)
1 onion
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chile's
2 cans diced tomatoes with garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans undrained
1 can pinto beans undrained
1 can black beans undrained
1 1lb bag cole slaw mix
To taste: chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper

Brown beef or turkey. Dice onion and add to browned meat. Add tomatoes, beans and spices. Stir in cole slaw and simmer until ready to serve.

Even for those of you who don't like cabbage (like me) you will still love it. You can't even taste the cabbage and it just adds more fiber to the mix. I have also added quinoia if I had some left over in the fridge. Hope you enjoy it.