New Meals in Jar using February Specials!

February Specials from Thrive are here! 

I've created some amazing recipes for you to try using this month's specials. My teenage son loves that he can pick a dish and make it. I love that a healthy meal is prepared and I didn't have to cook it!

  

True to my Indian food craze, I have another Indian inspired meal for you. I found this recipe from Whole Foods, and I must say, it warms my soul on these cold Midwest winter days. We made it twice in one day this week. 

I love curry. It's earthy, yet, it's versatile in what you can pair it with. Curry is different in every dish. Did you know that curry is not a single spice? It's a combination of turmeric, cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cayenne, and ginger. Each blend is different, so try out different blends. Curry pastes are what I prefer when I cook from the refrigerator. If I use a dry curry, then I prefer to make my own. This way I can control the flavor, heat and the salt. The curry you choose is what makes the dish. Here is a good recipe for making your own curry spice. Here is a good grocery store curry. If you prefer a milder curry, I recommend checking out a local Indian Grocery or you can order one off amazon here. 

With Thrive, you are finished in 30 minutes! Did you check out the original recipe? Did you calculate the time to make the dish? Almost 1 ½ hours!

  

Beef and Potato Curry with Spinach

½ c. Thrive onion, FD

1 tbsp. Thrive green chilis, FD

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 c. Thrive beef slices (alternative – mushrooms), FD

½ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste

1 ½ tbsp. mild or spicy curry

½ c. Thrive diced tomatoes, FD

½ teaspoon sugar

1 ½ c. Thrive potato chunks, D

½ c Thrive spinach, FD

1 tbsp. Thrive cilantro, FD

Ingredients for cooking day:

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 (13.5-ounce) can light coconut milk

½ of a lime

To Cook: Heat olive oil in a deep skillet or medium pot on medium heat. Measure 4 cups water. Empty jar into pot with hot oil and stir constantly for 10 seconds. Pour in 4 cups water and coconut milk and stir. Bring to boil. Cover and reduce to low. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. For a thicker sauce, uncover and simmer for 10 more minutes, stirring often. Squeeze lime juice into dish. Salt to taste. (Careful! The salt varies greatly on curries) Serve with rice and garnish with fresh cilantro.

Spinach Frittata

Breakfast for dinner. Or just have yourself a fancy breakfast in half the time!

Layer in Jar:

1 c. Thrive Scrambled Egg mix, FD

Zipper Sandwich bag:
½ c. Thrive Chopped Onion, FD

½ c. Thrive Spinach, FD

½ c. Thrive Tomato dices, FD

½ c. Thrive Mushrooms, FD

½ tsp. Thrive Chef’s Choice Seasoning

½ tsp. Thrive Pepper Blend

Zipper Sandwich bag:

½ c. Monterey Jack Cheese, FD

Cooking Day Ingredients:

1 tbsp. Butter

1 tbsp. Olive oil

Layer ingredients in order in quart size jar. Place cheese in sipper sandwich bag and place in jar. Close tight with lid.

To cook: Preheat Oven to 400 degrees.

In a small container with lid, toss cheese with 2 tbsp. of water. Gently shake container several times during the cooking process. Measure 2 ½ cups of water. Melt oil and butter on medium heat in non-stick skillet. Add water and whisk in vegetables and spice bag. Simmer 2-3 minutes. Quickly whisk in egg and cheese and immediately transfer skillet to oven and cook 5-6 minutes, watching closely until eggs set and begins to brown slightly. Cut into wedges and serve with salsa.

Applesauce Banana Muffins in a Jar

This makes a very moist muffin. The bananas must be chopped well, to fit everything into the jar. My bananas are not chopped enough in the picture. I had to use some tricks and a lot of patience to get it to all fit.

Applesauce Banana Muffins in a Jar

Layer in jar:

3 c. Thrive banana slices, chopped

1 c. vanilla flavored sugar

¼ c. Thrive applesauce

¼ c. Thrive Scrambled Egg mix

Zipper sandwich jar:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Day of cooking:

Mix-ins (Optional): ½ c. Chocolate chips, ½ c. walnuts, 1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.

Remove sandwich bag from jar. Pour 2 ½ c. water into blender. Pour contents of jar into blender. Blend just until smooth. Add flour mix and pulse just until combined. Remove blender from base and hand stir in any mix-ins. Spoon into paper lined muffin tins.

Bake for 20 minutes, rotate pans and bake another 5-10 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Makes 24 muffins.

Creamy Mushroom Rice with Spinach         

This is a traditional dish in my family. I grew up making this with good ol’ cream of mushroom soup. Now I prefer to have this as a lighter, healthier dish. The Jack Cheese in the end gives it a nice creamy texture. Of course, if you are craving comfort food like your mom used to make it, add ½ cup sour cream powder and ½ c more water.

Creamy Mushroom Rice with Spinach     

Layer in Jar:

2 c. Thrive Instant Brown Rice

¾ c. Thrive Spinach, FD

¾ c Thrive Mushrooms, FD

1 tbsp. Thrive Chicken Bouillon

2 c. Thrive Instant Brown Rice

1 tbsp. Thrive parsley, FD

Zipper sandwich bag:

½ c. Thrive Monterey Jack Cheese

To cook:

Remove bag of cheese from jar. Pour cheese and 2 tbsp. water into container with lid. Gently shake to moisten cheese and repeat throughout cooking process.  Add contents of jar to 2 2/3 c. water and 2 tbsp. butter. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook on medium low for 8 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes covered. Stir in Cheese and serve. For vegetarian option, substitute mushrooms for chicken. Serves 4-6

Tip: If using regular brown rice, increase water to 5 c. and increase bouillon to 5 tsp. Cover and bring to a boil until steam releases from covered pot, about 15 minutes. Keeping lid on, turn to low and cook another 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit 5 minutes.

Strawberry Banana Butter Cream Frosting

The first time I made this, I had to restrain myself from eating it with a spoon. I am not a frosting person, but this is AMAZING!  I put this frosting on a plain yellow cupcake and I had to look at the cupcake twice while I was eating it to make sure it wasn't a strawberry cupcake. 

Thrive Bananas are very different in color and texture from dehydrated bananas. They taste like a real banana, because they are!

Strawberry Banana Butter Cream Frosting

½ lb. Butter

1 lb. Powdered Sugar, sifted

¼ - ½ c. milk

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

¼ c. freeze dried banana powder

¼ c. freeze dried strawberry powder

Whip butter until almost white. Slowly mix in fruit powders, ¼ c. milk and sugar, 1 cup at a time. If frosting is too stiff, add more milk, 1 tbsp. at a time. Makes enough frosting for an 8 or 9 inch two-layer cake.

Chocolate Frosting: Omit fruit powder and add ½ c. fine cocoa powder.