I am often asked what makes CK Recipes different from other healthy recipes?
My answer… "we keep our pantry simple.” By that I mean we use a lot of the same spices in all of our recipes, but each yields different tastes. So once you buy a handful of pantry staples, you literally have the ingredients on hand to whip up anything with just a quick trip to the store to buy some fresh meat or produce. Which makes for quick store trips, less brain work and you end up looking like super mom. And as a working mom, I know we all need as many “brain breaks” as we can get.
Real food, really easy, for real mommas.
MOM'S CHILI MAC + KID'S CHILI MAC
Some nights you need to please the fam and they want real deal pasta and cheese. But do not let that derail you. Here is recipe you can cook super fast and please EVERYONE. Even those who are not a fan of the spaghetti squash substitute.
I made spaghetti squash for me and elbow macaroni for my son and husband. We both used the Chili Mac meat mix . Because I wanted to use both versions tonight, I kept the meat sauce separate until serving. I mixed half of the chili Mac meat with spaghetti squash and the other half with cooked elbow macaroni. You could totally add more veggies to this mix and create Chili-Veggie-Mac!
Momma’s Version
INGREDIENTS:
1.25 lb ground sirloin or ground turkey*
1/2 bag (5 oz) frozen season blend (peppers, onion, celery)
15 oz can tomato sauce
1 tbs chili powder
1/2 tbs cumin powder
1/2- 1 tsp kosher salt to taste * when using turkey meat, instead of salt use 1 tsp+ of Better Than Beef Bollioun.
1/4 tsp garlic powder
About 3 cups of cooked spaghetti squash
2% cheddar to sprinkle
DIRECTIONS:
Cook meat and veggies in sauté pan until brown, drain fat juices.
Add spices and tomato sauce to pan. Stir and simmer a few minutes.
Mix Chili Mac meat with your serving of spaghetti squash. I do about 1 1/2 cup of squash mixed with about 1 cup of chili Mac meat. Use the rest with some elbow pasta for other family members.
sprinkle with cheddar!
Kiddo’s Version
INGREDIENTS:
1.25 lb ground sirloin or ground turkey*
1/2 bag (5 oz) frozen season blend (peppers, onion, celery)
15 oz can tomato sauce
1 tbs chili powder
1/2 tbs cumin powder
1/2- 1 tsp kosher salt to taste * when using turkey meat, instead of salt use 1 tsp+ of Better Than Beef Bollioun.
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz elbow macaroni
DIRECTIONS:
Cook meat and veggies in sauté pan until brown, drain fat.
Boil noodles.
Add spices and tomato sauce to meat pan. Stir and simmer a few minutes.
Drain noodles and add to chili meat pan.
Add one cup of cheddar cheese and stir.
Enjoy!
MOM’S ENCHILADA CASSEROLE + KID’S ENCHILADAS
For mom’s casserole, I put the enchilada mix in a casserole dish. I also think this would be tasty with some spaghetti squash in the mix to make it more like a casserole rather than a meat casserole. None the less, it was still tasty! I paired it with a side salad. Mom, build yours into an enchilada salad bowl with some spinach, chopped black olives, greek yogurt, maybe even some more beans if you have them!
Fresh
2.5 pounds of shredded Crock Pot Chicken
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt cream cheese or fat free at room temperature
1/2 cup non-fat plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup salsa
cheddar cheese
Pantry
3 tbs CK Taco seasoning (or other taco seasoning)
15 oz canned black beans—drained and rinsed
15 oz canned corn—drained
15 oz can red enchilada sauce
tortillas of kid’s choice 🙂
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a small mixing bowl, combine together room temp cream cheese, greek yogurt and salsa. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine together shredded chicken, taco seasoning, 1/4 cup green onions, back beans and corn. Mix well.
Add cream cheese-salsa mixture to chicken and mix well.
Assemble the enchiladas. Roll chicken mixture inside tortillas. Place each enchilada in a cooking spray, prepared baking dish.
The remaining meat mixture is momma’s casserole! For mom’s dish I used an 8×8 baking dish.
Top both baking dishes with red enchilada sauce and cheddar cheese. I was liberal with the cheese on the enchiladas. I used about 1/3 cup on momma’s dish.
Topped Mom’s Casserole with the leftover green onions.
Bake together for 25 minutes.
Mom, build yours into an enchilada salad with some spinach, chopped black olives, greek yogurt, maybe even some more beans if you have them!
ITALIAN SAUSAGE MEATBALLS + SUB FOR KIDS
These meatballs are also perfect for using two different ways, one for mom and one for the rest of the non-compliant members of the house. For my meal, I paired my meatballs with a simple side salad. For my son and husband, I made meatball subs toasted in the oven with melted mozzarella cheese! It was a hit and will be in heavy rotation in this house.
Meatball ingredientsFresh
2 pounds ground turkey or ground chicken
1/4-1/2 cup minced raw onion – I mince mine in my mini food processor
or use CK Marinara Blend
1/2 tbsp dried basil
1/2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp arrowroot flour or cornstarch
Directions
Combine all meatball ingredients together in mixing bowl.
Combine and form 1-2 inch size balls.
Prepare pressure cooker with cooking spray or oil and place meatballs in the pot.
Mix crushed tomatoes and Marinara Blend together and then pour on top of meatballs in pot.
Set pressure cooker (I have an Instapot) on “manual” and cook for 15 minutes. For a crockpot, cook on high for about 2 hours.
Serve with extra marinara sauce from the pot and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. I had mine with a simple side salad. For my son and husband, I made meatball subs using hot dog buns and mozzarella cheese. Broil for a couple of minutes until cheese melts.
SWEET POTATO LASAGNA + NOODLES AND SAUCE
We took the processed pasta out and packed this with the nutrient power house, sweet potatoes! Yes, this is a higher carb recipe, but that makes for a great post workout meal. Carbs can be your friend for post workout meals!
Need to make this low carb? No problem! Swap the potatoes for sliced zucchini instead!
For the kids who love noodles, just reserve some extra spaghetti sauce to pour over noodles!
FRESH
1.25-1.5 lbs. lean ground turkey meat or ground sirloin
2 large sweet potatoes sliced, about 1/4-inch slices or thinner 1 small onion
1 cup low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded parmesean cheese
PANTRY
1 tbsp. olive oil
15 oz. can tomato sauce
15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 serving CK Marinara Blend or 1 packet McCormick’s Thick & Zesty Spaghetti Sauce Mix
*Instead of making your sauce from scratch, skip these ingredients and sub out your own preferred jarred spaghetti sauce.
MEAT SAUCE DIRECTIONS
Cook onions and meat in 1 tbsp. of olive oil over medium-high heat. Drain juices, then add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and CK Marinara Blend or Thick & Zesty packet. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
LASAGNA DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cook spaghetti meat sauce as directed, or use the subs.
While spaghetti sauce is cooking, mix cottage cheese and egg. Set aside.
Spray 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray, then layer.
Layer 1: sweet potato slices
Layer 2: meat sauce (half)
Layer 3: cottage cheese mixture, all of it. 5. Repeat the layers of sweet potato, meat sauce, and top with parmesan or low-fat mozzarella.
Cover with tin foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool 15 minutes before serving.
CROCK POT CHICKEN PHILLY SALAD + SANDWICH
Fresh
1 – 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast thinly sliced
1 large onion halved and sliced
2 large Bell Peppers thinly sliced
Pantry
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 oz greek cream cheese (at the last 30 minutes)
1/2 tbsp salt
pepper to taste
Directions
Combine ingredients together in the crock pot.
Cook on high for 2 1/2 hours or on low for 4 - 5 hours
Serve over lettuce and spinach with roasted mushrooms for mom.
Serve on toasted hoagie rolls for kids and husbands.
Some nights you need to please the fam and they want real deal pasta and cheese. But do not let that derail you. Here is recipe you can cook super fast and please EVERYONE. Even those who are not a fan of the spaghetti squash substitute.
I made spaghetti squash for me and elbow macaroni for my son and husband. We both used the Chili Mac meat mix . Because I wanted to use both versions tonight, I kept the meat sauce separate until serving. I mixed half of the chili Mac meat with spaghetti squash and the other half with cooked elbow macaroni. You could totally add more veggies to this mix and create Chili-Veggie-Mac!
INGREDIENTS:
INGREDIENTS:
Directions
These meatballs are also perfect for using two different ways, one for mom and one for the rest of the non-compliant members of the house. For my meal, I paired my meatballs with a simple side salad. For my son and husband, I made meatball subs toasted in the oven with melted mozzarella cheese! It was a hit and will be in heavy rotation in this house.
Meatball ingredients
Fresh
We took the processed pasta out and packed this with the nutrient power house, sweet potatoes! Yes, this is a higher carb recipe, but that makes for a great post workout meal. Carbs can be your friend for post workout meals!
Need to make this low carb? No problem! Swap the potatoes for sliced zucchini instead!
For the kids who love noodles, just reserve some extra spaghetti sauce to pour over noodles!
FRESH
Fresh
