Red Flannel Hash

If you have never tried fresh beets, this is a great recipe to try. Fresh beets are absolutely delicious. In this recipe they are a little crunchy and sweet. I love eating them because just looking at their vibrant color makes me feel like I am getting lots of nutrients. Red Flannel Hash is a recipe from Cooking Light magazine March 2011. I have altered by leaving out two ingredients that I think it is wonderful without. I hope you try it and love it!

RED FLANNEL HASH

Serves: 4

1 Tbs olive oil

8 ounces grass fed ground sirloin

1 cup chopped red onion

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced or 2 tsp preminced garlic

2 cups shredded red cabbage (about 1/2 small head)

3 medium beets, shredded (I shred my peeled beets using a shred attachment in my food processor)

1/2 cup water

2 Tbs apple cider vinegar

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add beef to pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring to crumble.

2. Add onion, salt, pepper and garlic; saute 5 minutes. 

3. Add cabbage, beets, water and vinegar. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates.

Serve and enjoy!

Lemon Rosemary Chicken

I have been making this chicken for ten years. When I was a senior in high school, my mom decided she was done cooking every night. She has never loved cooking and we were always at school events or my dad was home late from work and I think she got tired of cooking and people not all being able to eat. So, I developed my love of cooking then. It started with mainly baking but eventually got to where I cooked dinner for us some nights. This chicken was the first chicken I ever made. Back then, I would broil the chicken. Now I saute it. The great thing about this recipe is that it is no fail... good every time! Plus I love making it because it brings back fond memories of cooking in my mother's kitchen and beginning to love it! Thanks mom for helping to make me realize one of my passions!

LEMON ROSEMARY CHICKEN
Serves: 4
2 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts, I filet the breasts down the middle lengthwise to equal four thin breasts
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice, usually one large lemon
1 Tbs water
1 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp honey
1 tsp wheat free soy sauce such as tamari
1/2 tsp mustard

In an 8x8 glass pan, combine all ingredients except chicken breasts. Place breasts in pan. Marinate overnight, flipping the breasts to the other side in the morning.
To cook:
  Remove breasts from marinade. Discard marinade.
  Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Place breasts in pan. Cook 4 minutes. Turn breasts. Cook 4 minutes more or until they are cooked through. Enjoy!

Perfect Whole Roasted Chicken

If you have never roasted a whole chicken I only have one question.... What are you waiting for? It could not be easier and is definitely the cheapest way to buy chicken. Plus roasting the meat on the bones with the skin makes it tastier and more moist! And as an added bonus, you can do double duty with the chicken by saving the carcass and making homemade stock!
You must try this recipe. It has tons of flavor and is now my new favorite way to have roast chicken. Make the chicken and then stay tuned for a recipe for the homemade chicken stock!

PERFECT WHOLE ROASTED CHICKEN
Serves: 6-8
Preheat oven to 425 degrees

one 4lb whole organic roasting chicken
2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs dijon mustard
2 Tbs Italian seasoning
sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper
1 lemon, quarted
4 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
1/4 small onion, peeled and cut in half

Remove any organs or leftover tissue from the chicken cavity. Rinse and pat dry entire chicken.
Combine oil, mustard and Italian seasoning in a small bowl. Rub over the skin of the entire chicken and go under the skin and rub some of the mixture on the meat.
Sprinkle outside and inside of chicken with salt and pepper.
Place lemon, garlic and onion in chicken cavity.
Place bird breast side up in a large baking pan or roasting pan. Tie legs together with kitchen twine.
Roast 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove the bird to a large platter and cover with foil for at least 10 minutes. You will know the bird in done when you cut between the breast and leg and the juices are clear. Separate into pieces, slice the breast and serve!

Taco Salad

TACO SALAD
Serves: 4

1 lb grass fed ground beef

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp smoked paprika

½ tsp oregano

lettuce

tomato, diced

avocado, diced

bell pepper, diced

cheddar cheese, shredded (optional)

Cook meat with all spices until cooked through.

Make salads!

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I can only say one thing about these lettuce wraps...YUMMY!!!!

ASIAN CHICKEN LETTUCE WRAPS

Serves: 3 (3 wraps each)

1 lb ground chicken breast

10 small mushrooms, stems removed, heads small diced

1 large carrot, shredded

2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp)

1 Tbs gluten free soy sauce (i use the brand tamari)

1/4 cup hoisin sauce (this is like an asian bbq sauce)

1/4 tsp ground dried ginger

1 Tbs rice wine vinegar

1/2 tsp sesame oil

green onions, chopped

large lettuce leaves (romaine or bibb leaves are yummy!)

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook through, breaking it into bits as it cooks. Add mushrooms and carrots. Saute until most of water from mushrooms is evaporated. Add all other ingredients except lettuce. Cook until heated through- 1-2 minutes. Spoon onto lettuce leaves and serve topped with additional chopped green onions. 

Grilled Chicken with Green Tomato Salsa and Succotash

It was last friday night, usually our date night, but there was no money in the budget for a dinner out. The only thing in the refrigerator was a grilled chicken breast and the only thing on the counter was green tomatoes I got free from a coworker and an avocado. What do you do? This recipe!! The dinner was simple and absolutely delicious. The best part was that it is made with things you probably keep around anyway! I hope you try it and enjoy!
   I also want to take a minute and let you know the ways you can get my recipes whenever I post. You can "follow" me on the main blog page and/ or you can get emails of my recipes when I post. At the top right of the blog page there is a place to enter your email address! This way feeding your genes is convenient!

GRILLED CHICKEN WITH GREEN TOMATO SALSA
Serves: 2

Chicken:
1 grilled chicken breast (you can buy a grilled breast from Whole Foods or use a left over breast you did)
garlic powder, onion powder, red ground pepper

Cut breast into strips widthwise. Sprinkle both sides of strips with garlic powder, onion powder, ground red pepper, sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
Heat a medium skillet over medium high heat. Cook strips 2 minutes per side. Remove to plates.

Salsa:
8 small green tomatoes, quartered
1 avocado, flesh removed from peel, pitt removed and avocado large diced
1 lime, juiced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Blend. Serve over chicken.
you will have left over salsa. Just store in the refrigerator and use it like regular salsa!

SUCCOTASH
Serves: 2

1 red bell pepper

1 orange bell pepper

1 cup frozen lima beans

1 cup frozen corn

½ medium onion, diced

1 tbs minced garlic

Cook lima beans and corn according to package directions. Drain.

In a large skillet, heat 1 tsp olive oil over medium heat.  Add onion and bell peppers. Sauté 5 minutes. Add corn and lima beans. Saute 5 minutes. Add garlic. Saute 1 minute. Add ½ tsp sea salt and 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper. Now Eat!

Gold Nugget Squash Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

The picture above is of a Gold Nugget Squash. Isn't it beautiful! When I saw it in the grocery store I just had to try it. It is a hard winter squash, like butternut or acorn squash, and tastes similar to other varieties I have had. I just loved the smaller, circular shape with bright orange rind and green stem tips. The entire time I was preparing it for this salad I just kept singing "I found the golden ticket" from Willy Wonka. Oh how the mind works. The squash is wonderful in this salad. It gets sweet when you roast it which is a nice compliment to smokey almonds, sharp provolone and tart cranberries. I served this salad as a side with a meal, but if you did a double portion it could easily be a main dish. If you cannot find this squash, you could easily substitute another winter squash.

GOLD NUGGET SQUASH SALAD WITH ORANGE VINAIGRETTE

Serves: 2

1 large gold nugget squash

olive oil, sea salt , black pepper

mixed greens

cranberries

sliced almonds

provolone cheese, chopped into small cubes

Peel squash. Cut in half. Remove seeds. Dice into a small dice. Place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Toss with olive oil (1Tbs at the most) and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Flip. Cook 20 minutes more.

In a small skillet over low heat, toast almonds. Make sure not to burn them. They are ready when they turn light brown and their smell intensifies.

Place greens on a plate. Top with a few cranberries, almonds and cheese cubes. Add squash.  Top with 1 Tbs dressing.

Orange Vinaigrette

½ navel orange, juiced

2 tsp- 1 Tbs olive oil

1 tsp honey

sea salt

black pepper

Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl. Serve. 

Beet and Cashew Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce

I usually quickly cook a dinner on Tuesday night and head to my girl's bible study, but it ended last week. While I am missing see all the women, it was nice to make a leisure dinner with my hubbie! Tonight we made a stir fry and it was yummy. Evan made a peanut sauce to toss with it that was a big hit! I hope you also enjoy it!

BEET AND CASHEW STIR FRY WITH PEANUT SAUCE
Serves: 4

4 small beets
1 medium red onion, diced
2 large carrots, cut into small thin strips
1 large bell pepper, cut into a large dice
1 small head cabbage, thinly sliced
raw, unsalted cashews, chopped
a handful of fresh cilantro leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Peanut Sauce:
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 heaping Tbs peanut sauce
1/8- 1/4 tsp ground red pepper (add 1/8 tsp, taste and add more if you want)
1-2 tsp agave nectar (add 1 tsp, taste, and add more if you want)
squirt of lime juice, if desired

1. Mix all ingredients for peanut sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Peel beets. In a food processor fitted with a shredded blade, shred beets.
3. In a large skillet, heat 1 tsp coconut oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute 3 minutes. Add rest of vegetables (beets, cabbage, carrot and bell pepper). Saute for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/2 of the cashews. Stir. Add 1/8 cup if vegetables are sticking to pan. Stir. Add peanut sauce and cook 1-2 minutes.
4. Spoon vegetable mixture into bowls. Top with chopped cashews and cilantro.

Mashed Cauliflower

Guess what? You can serve this to your family to fit in more vegetables and they will never know it is not mashed potatoes! Try it out for yourself! It is delicious. It can be used as a side dish with most meals. This night, I happen to serve it with sauteed chicken and a salad.

MASHED CAULIFLOWER
Serves: 4 generous portions

1 large head of cauliflower
1 tsp unsalted butter
1 Tbs garlic
1 Tbs cream cheese or marscapone cheese
1/3 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
2. Cut cauliflower florets from large stem and cut into larger pieces that are around the same size. Place in pot of boiling water and cook until tender, approximately 10 minutes.
3. Drain
4. Melt butter in a small skillet over low heat. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Remove from heat.
5. Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Remove to a bowl. Stir and serve!

Crustless Broccoli and Spinach Quiche

This recipe is one I have been making for years. This is my first time making it crustless. It was perfect! You do not miss the crust at all. It is full of flavor and filling. My mother in law was in town with us and, as you can tell, the three of us really enjoyed it!

CRUSTLESS BROCCOLI  AND SPINACH QUICHE
Serves: 6
1/2 large onion, diced
1 head broccoli, stem removed and florets chopped (around 1 cup)
2 cups torn baby spinach leaves
7 eggs
1/3 cup almond milk
1/3 cup mayo
1 cup shredded provolone cheese (I really recommend you buy good cheese and shred it yourself)
1/2 tsp sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and broccoli. Saute 5 minutes or until slightly tender. Add spinach and allow it to wilt, stirring occasionally. Remove pan from heat and allow vegetables to cool slightly.
2. In a large bowl, whisk eggs. Add rest of ingredients and stir. Add cooked vegetables. Stir.
3. Pour mixture into an approximately 11 X 7 pan sprayed with cooking spray.
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.

Delicious Pumpkin Pie... Just in time for Thanksgiving!

I love the website www.foodgawker.com. I am on there sometimes to just gaze at the pictures. A lot of the food is unhealthy or full of gluten, but it is like a food magazine where it is just fun to check out the photos and get ideas. I was recently looking for things with pumpkin and came across this recipe for Vegan 4 ingredient pumpkin pie. It is healthier than traditional pumpkin pie, using soaked cashews to get a creamy filling and maple syrup for sweetness. I made my first homemade gluten free crust which was actually yummy too. The whole thing was a success! My mother in law was in town and she got to taste it for me. She is a wonderful baker and she said she liked this version better than her own! Thanks Mrs. Dorenda!
   I am happy to be sharing this recipe with you to try for thanksgiving dinner. Life is about choices and each day we choose what food we eat. Each choice either moves us closer to health or further away from it. Although this is still not a great choice, it is better than most of the traditional thanksgiving desserts. If you are going to have dessert, this is a delicious better choice and something worthy of having a piece of to celebrate with family.

 FOUR INGREDIENT PUMPKIN PIE

Adapted from: www.kblog.lunchboxbunch.com

Serves: 8-10

Crust:

2 cups gluten free baking and biscuit mix

1/2 cup cold, unsalted organic butter, cut into cubes

9 Tbs ice cold water

Pie Filling:

1 cup raw (unroasted, unsalted) cashews

2 1/2 cups water

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (NOT pie filling)

1 cup maple syrup

3 tsp pumpkin pie spice

THE DAY BEFORE YOU WANT TO BAKE AND EAT YOUR PIE: 

For filling: place cashews, water and salt in a large bowl. Stir. Place in refrigerator overnight to soak . I soaked my cashews about 22 hours, but you could do less (12-24 hours). 

THE DAY YOU WANT TO EAT YOUR PIE:

Allow yourself three hours prior to when you want to eat pie. 

Crust:

Place baking mix and butter in a food processor. Pulse a few times until combined (It will not look much different at this point. It may resemble small peas) Add cold water and pulse until combine and mixture starts to form into a clump/ball. Remove  and place dough on saran wrap sprinkled with gluten free baking mix. With your hands, combine dough into a ball. Sprinkle with gluten free flour. Roll out into a 12 inch circle ( large enough to cover bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie pan). Place circle in pan and cut edges to fit pan and crimp edges to be pretty! Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. 

Filling: 

Drain cashews and place 1 1/4 cups in a food processor or blender (I used my blentec blender). Add pumpkin, syrup and spice to blender. Blend 3-5 minutes until smooth. Place in prebaked pie shell. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 35 minutes. 

Remove pie from oven and allow to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Place cooled pie in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Serve!