The first time Nate and I tasted mole sauce was at a Mexican restaurant in Arlington, MA when we were in college. My roommate and best college friend Estela was from Juárez and was always educating me on what good Mexican food was. One such dish was mole, which she described as a savory “chocolate” sauce served over chicken. When Nate and I spotted it on the menu that night so long ago we knew we had to try it, and we loved it. Sadly, we’ve hardly eaten mole since then. It’s not a dish you generally find served in Mexican restaurants in the U.S. and we had no idea how to make it…until now! (If you live in the Bay Area, Lulu’s serves both green and red mole and they are both divine.)

I finally sat down to figure out how to make a red mole sauce on my own and it turned out so so so good. This recipe is great for about a million reasons, but I’ll just share a few. It’s a crockpot recipe, making it very hands off. You just blend most of the ingredients together, dump it over chicken in the crockpot and let it cook. Easy peasy! Traditional mole sauces can take days to prepare, but the crockpot actually helps speed up the process. (That’s probably the first time a crockpot meal has been described as speedy!) This red mole sauce is quite rich and full of flavor, but not too spicy, so kids can enjoy it, too. However, you can definitely add cayenne pepper for more heat. Heat is good. And the richness from the unsweetened chocolate counterbalances the heat of the peppers beautifully. Lastly, this recipe for chicken mole rojo is healthy! I originally developed it for Disney and had to follow strict dietary guidelines, all of which I met in this recipe.

And, if you have kids, just tell them they are eating mud and they will eat every bite of their dinner. It’s like magic.

(>> Find out more…)

Today I’m sharing another great cookbook that would make a fabulous gift and of course there is a giveaway, too!

This past spring I met Melissa Lanz from The Fresh 20. Melissa and her husband Trent are more of those sweet and wonderful people that I am so happy to have connected with through blogging. They are absolutely adorable together and they do an amazing job putting out great content and services. Melissa’s website is a weekly menu subscription service where you buy just 20 fresh ingredients each week for the recipes in the menus. I find it all very impressive and, since many of us are meal planners, I’m sure you would love her site, too!

Melissa published a beautiful cookbook this year called The Fresh 20. The book provides 4 weekly menus for each season of the year with accompanying recipes. The book is a great primer on meal planning and stocking your kitchen, and the recipes look absolutely scrumptious.

Last night I made the Broccoli Cheddar Soup. The recipe for broccoli cheese soup that I normally use is really, really good. But it is sooooo unhealthy, boasting butter, fat and gobs of cheese as some of the ingredients. Melissa’s recipe is a delicious alternative, with just a hint of cheese and no cream or butter to be found. Nate and I agreed that, despite the lack of fats, it is just as yummy and much fresher tasting. And, biggest win, all three kids liked it. In fact, Owen LOVED the soup. He ate three bowls. This is quite the feat considering I normally can’t get him to try anything new or eat vegetables. Every time he asked for more soup last night, it made me so happy!

Melissa has offered up an awesome giveaway for today! TWO of you lucky people will each win a copy of her book plus a 1 year subscription to The Fresh 20. So great!

Here is how to enter the giveaway! (Comments must be posted by Midnight PT on Tuesday, 11/26.)

• Simply leave a comment, any comment, on this post! That’s it!
• Bonus entry: Follow This Week for Dinner on Facebook and leave a separate comment telling me you did! (If you already follow, that counts!)
• Bonus entry: Follow me on Pinterest and leave a separate comment telling me you did! (If you already follow me on Pinterest, that counts!)
• Bonus entry: Follow me on Twitter and leave a separate comment telling me you did! (If you already follow me on Pinterest, that counts!)

And, of course, here is Melissa’s fabulous soup recipe. This is just scratching the surface of how great the recipes are. If you want to buy the book, click here!

Easy and Healthy Broccoli Cheddar Soup from The Fresh 20 {Giveaway!}

 

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From The Fresh 20 by Melissa Lanz

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Main Dish, Soup

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ onion, roughly chopped
• 2 heads broccoli, stems and florets chopped
• 1 garlic clove, cut in half
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• ½ cup grated cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a 5-quart dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender about 4 minutes.
2. Add the broccoli, garlic, salt, and pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the broth and bring the soup to a simmer. Remove from the heat.
3. Transfer the soup to a blender or food processor in batches and puree until smooth. Return the soup to the pot, bring to a simmer and simmer for 3 minutes.
4. Just before serving, fold in the cheese.

Notes

(Jane note: we also sprinkled a bit of cheese on top when serving)

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A few weeks ago I went to a 1-day conference put on by Ladies Home Journal in New York. I learned some great stuff but, more importantly, I connected with people in person. That’s always the best part of an event! One of those people was Lisa Cain from Snack Girl. Lisa is great – I could talk to her for hours! Her blog is all about eating healthy food and she breaks down the nutritional content of all the recipes on her blog. Since you totally don’t get that from me, I thought it would be fun to share a bit of Lisa with you today with a guest post! Enjoy and be sure to check out her blog!

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Snack Girl posted this chili recipe with pumpkin last year and people are still talking about it. Yes, it was a hit.

Why add pumpkin to your chili?

It’s cheap, easy, and has 763% of your daily value of vitamin A in one cup (and only 83 calories). You can sneak a bunch of nutrition into food by adding pumpkin.

After creating a no-bake pumpkin cookie and a pumpkin smoothie, I decided to try a savory dish. This chili recipe below is the healthiest chili (with meat) that I have ever made. It boasts 28% of your daily value of iron, 45% of your daily value of vitamin C, and 293% of your daily value of vitamin A per serving.

This is like a nutritional “rock star” chili. I used ground turkey breast because it is low in saturated fat, and beans, corn, and tomatoes to up the vegetable content.

I did think the flavor was nice, but missing the depth of a beef chili. I might sneak a wee bit of cheese on top of mine to make it taste a bit more luxurious. The pumpkin made it a great color and added a creaminess to the chili.

As we greet fall, it is time to stock up on cans of nutritious pumpkin.

Pumpkin Chili Recipe from Snack Girl

 

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Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Main Dish, Soup

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (such as canola, sunflower, etc.)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 pound ground turkey breast meat
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 small can diced green chili peppers
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup corn kernels, frozen or fresh
• 1 28 ounce can tomatoes
• 1 can cooked pumpkin
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan, heat oil and add onion. When onion has softened add turkey and cook until cooked through (should look white). Add the rest of the ingredients and taste to adjust seasonings. Simmer for 10 minutes and seve.
2. For one serving = 268 calories, 4.7 g fat, 32 g carbohydrates, 8.7 g sugar, 26.3 g protein, 10.2 g fiber, 399 mg sodium, 6 Points+
3. Points+ values are calculated by Snack Girl and are provided for information only.

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