Book Review: Martina's Kitchen Mix

"Cooking is like singing-when I have something delicious, I want to share it!"  Martina McBride's philosophy on good recipes is one I too share.  This 'recipe playlist for real life' is a good one in that it involves getting into the kitchen and using whole foods to create the many components of a healthy meal.  The ingredients include a variety of colorful vegetables, dried beans, non-processed meats, poultry and seafood and some whole grains.  It was easy for me to prepare my weekly menu around this cookbook-and I was able to prepare the recipes using the foods I had on hand.

I highlighted several entrees I wanted to try.  The Pan Roasted Halibut I prepared (above) was an easy one to put together after a busy day away from home.  My breading is made from a ground whole grain cracker.  (I ground that in the morning before I left the house.)  It includes vitamin rich spinach and tomatoes, olive oil and a sustainable seafood.  My pesto butter is prepared with a vegan buttery spread.

The Taco Rice Bowl I prepared has leftover Christmas turkey breast in place of the recommended seafood.  I applaud her choice of brown rice.  A simple seasoning of chili powder and cumin was all I needed to add to the cooked rice and turkey for a flavorful base of the beans and vegetables.

The Fresh Apple Cake is so moist and delicious.  I enjoyed a piece today at room temperature without ice cream.  My cake is made with half whole wheat flour, 1/2 the salt and 1/3 the added sugar.  I like the variety of nuts Martina uses in her recipes.  In this one, I ground a mix of walnuts and pecans.  I did not prepare the caramel sauce.

Martina was right in that the deliciousness of the Thai Slaw was in the dressing-which I prepared as in the cookbook recipe with the addition of pineapple juice in place of the lime juice.  The dressing was excellent.  There is a nice assortment of fresh vegetables-cabbage for vitamin C, carrots for vitamin A and carotene and red peppers for more vitamin C.  There's edamame and shelled peanuts-another plus for me with the addition of legumes and good fats!

I did not take a picture of the Grilled Pineapple Salsa.  It too was delicious and made good use of my leftover fresh pineapple from Christmas.

Tonight's meal featuring the Cream of Tomato Soup and Pumpkin Cornbread recipes was delightful. I see why Martina's youngest daughter likes the soup.  It was simple blend of sauteed vegetables (onion, garlic, celery and red pepper), chicken broth and diced canned tomatoes.  I use a low sodium chicken broth and chose evaporated skim milk in place of cream.  My tomatoes are canned without added salt.  For my cornbread, I used whole grain cornmeal and fresh ground local popcorn for half the flours.  The pumpkin was pureed from a fresh pie pumpkin.  Using 3 tablespoon of sugar instead of the recommended 8 tablespoons was plenty.  In place of sour cream, I used plain nonfat yogurt.   My cornbread was made in portion controlled muffin tins instead of the square baking dish. 

My Kitchen Prayer-from a plaque in the kitchen of Martina's Grandma-expresses my feeling as I create meals.  "Bless my little kitchen-I love every nook".

Thank you Meredith Publishing for the complimentary review copy.  The above post and pictures are my own.  I received no other compensation for this review, other than the pleasure of an enjoyable read and eating experience!