JuBella.com – Get Your Creative Dose

Currently the hubby and I are trying to cut down on our carbs (well, he is, I on the other hand have had my fair share of bread, donuts, and cookies in the past few days), so as of lately, most of my dinners simply include lots of veggies and a protein, which is either chicken, ground turkey, or fish. The other day I put together this dish that consists of: baked chicken, thinly sliced tomatoes, potatoes(cut into small squares), asparagus, white corn, and sweet green peas. I just sauteed the potatoes until they were tender and then added in the remaining veggies. I cooked them in a bit of olive oil, water, and butter until the asparagus turned a bright green and lightly seasoned them with salt, yellow curry powder, and a dash of garlic powder.

The chicken is seasoned with: salt, pepper, coriander, yellow curry powder, brown sugar, a dash of allspice, ginger, and Hungarian paprika. This is by far one of my favorite meals and it was so easy to fix. I think I am most successful with dishes that are light, colorful, quick, and layered with spices! You should definitely give it a try with your own twist! We drizzled some balsamic vinegar on top to add a little kick to it!

Tonight we had a delightful combination of Jamaica and Italy. I know I know, what a combo right, but both items blended so well together! This morning I started off by making my dough for my Jamaican Chicken Patties and within minutes I whipped up a pot of comforting minestrone soup. This happens to be one of my favorite soups to prepare and eat, as it is super easy and super tasty.

For the chicken patties I pretty much followed Emerils recipe that I found on the Food Network, although I made several adjustments and additions to the filling, as seen below the pic!

My Alterations To Emerils Jamaican Meat Patties:

1. Instead of ground beef, I used Ground Chicken

2. I only used 3 cloves of garlic

3. Cumin seeds instead of cumin powder

4. I added in a bit of the following spices: cinnamon, coriander, paprika, salt, and Jamaican jerk spice blend.

5. Instead of beef broth, I used low sodium chicken broth

6. I did not use any Jamaican rum

7. Towards the end I added in 1 T. of flour and a little bit of brown sugar

My pot of minestrone took minutes to prepare, thanks to some left over cabbage! I did not worry about exact measurements as I was preparing for this, so I will only be able to share with you the seasonings that I used, but it’s a super easy soup to make and you can taste and add to as you go to enhance it to your liking. See recipe below pic!

Minestrone Soup

Ingredients
1lb 12 oz Can of Whole Tomatoes
2 C. Cooked & Seasoned Cabbage (Again I used leftover cabbage which I seasoned with: salt, sugar, pepper, a dash of hot sauce, and sometimes smoked turkey wings. Cook until tender, but not mushy)
1 1/2 C. Chicken Broth (you can also use water and one chicken bouillon cube)
15 oz Can of Organic Cannellini or Northern Beans
Thyme
Black Pepper
Salt
Paprika
Worcestershire Sauce
Thinly Sliced Zucchini
Cooked Macaroni Noodles (boiled in salt water)

Directions: Pour your tomatoes into a large pot. Bring to a simmer. Add in your beans, zucchini, and cabbage. Now stir in your seasonings. Pour your broth into the pot and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat. Stir in your cooked noodles. Scoop soup into your bowls and garnish with shredded mozzarella on top!