Category Archives: Mid-day

Lunch or Brunch, or something in that realm

Kids Smoothie: Get some fruits and veggies in those picky eaters!!!

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So, sadly, I have picky eaters. I don’t know how. I know the technical answer is me…. but I don’t know where it started. When my oldest started eating table food, she would eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING I put in front of her. Her first Thanksgiving? Literally ate and LOVED everything at the table. Meats, veggies, fruits, and everything in between, she’d eat and love it all. Now? She hates chicken, and most other meat unless it’s in a taco or a VERY thin hamburger. She gags on certain foods I “force” her to try (our kids have to take a no thank you serving of each food prepared). She gagged on this one dish I made, and she LOVES each of the items in the dish individually, but I guess it’s GROSS when you mix them together?!

My son is a whole other story. When he was about 2 1/2 months old, he had a persistent full body rash. I was nursing him and was advised to cut certain things out of my diet. Well, that worked! We found out he has a LOT of food allergies. Some so serious that we have to carry epi-pens every where we go. We have come close to using them on 2 separate occasions, but we are blessed that we haven’t had to so far. When you have a child with VERY severe food allergies, you become hyper vigilant. If there’s even a POSSIBILITY of cross-contamination with that allergen, you don’t chance it. It’s not because you’re crazy, it’s because your child could literally die or end up in the hospital. It’s just not worth it. So, because of that, he does not have a very big list of foods he can eat, much less like. When I get creative in the kitchen and figure out a new dish that he can eat, it takes MANY tries, and little samples before he will start to eat more than 1 lick of it. Currently his list of foods include: Perdue Simply Chicken Nuggets, ONLY the chunks that are LIGHTLY breaded, and they MUST be crunchy, otherwise they are “yucky” and will be thrown to the dog. 2: Hummus. Oh, he ADORES hummus. He can eat about 1/2 cup of it for a snack! I like to stir in some flax meal for a bit of extra protein and omega-3’s. He’ll eat it with his favorite veggies straws, pretzels, tortilla chips, crackers.. heck, he’ll even eat it with his fingers! 3: Mommy’s homemade meatballs. Now, I am being specific here. He USED to also like the ones at Jason’s Deli (he can actually eat them!), but he’s changed his mind. Now they are gross. Also, if he eats mommy’s meatballs too many days in a row, they also become gross. 4: Cereal. He especially loves cheerios, but he really loves cereal with milk. 4: toast with bacon. This is the staple of our mornings. If we do not have Trader Joe’s organic oatmeal bread… it’s a horrible tragedy. It’s a REQUIREMENT for our mornings. We also have TJ no nitrites or nitrates added (these 2 ingredients give him hives… lovely right?) pre-cooked bacon. EVERY SINGLE MORNING. When we went to Disney, we did not get a meal plan with breakfast. It wasn’t needed, I knew all they’d want was toast and bacon. Even if pancakes and waffles were an option, NOPE, just toast and bacon. 5: Sunflower seed butter and Jelly sandwich. A friend of mine clued me in on this wonderful thing called Sunflower Seed butter. It’s literally the only “nut/seed” butter that my son can have, and he really loves it! Thank goodness! I buy mine at Publix or Trader Joes, and it’s a great alternative to PB that we can keep in the house. Of course it does have to go on a very lightly toasted bread. If it is too toasted, it does not taste good as a sandwich, it is toast, and shouldn’t have sunflower seed butter on it. If it isn’t toasted enough it sticks to the roof of his mouth and is also declared “yucky”. 6: Mommy’s baked goods. Mommy  knows these are safe, and tries to make some frequently. Especially banana bread and pumpkin bread. FAVORITES! 7: Waffles. Yup, Trader Joes has some that are acceptable, otherwise Mommy has a great batter that’s safe. 8: We’re working on others. Not a large list, but I’m really trying to get him to try new things. We’re working on daddy’s favorite, tacos, but…. we’re only to 3 small bites and then a “All Done”. So… we’ll get there.

Because of these 2 paragraphs, I have to try really hard to get veggies and fruits in them. It’s insane. I can get them to each take their no thank you bites of their fruits and veggies, and eat their vitamins and probiotics… but I know they need MORE. So, I try to make a smoothie for them! They’ve had one that they really like the past 2 days, so here’s the recipe:

1 ripe banana (mine was frozen. When mine get over ripe, I peel them and place them in a baggie in my freezer for banana bread or smoothies.)
1/4 avocado – also frozen- leftover avocado sliced and frozen for smoothies
10 leaves baby spinach
1/4 apple cored with PEEL ON
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup sorbet of your choice (I used raspberry)
2 baby carrots
1/2 cup water added (or apple juice, up to you)

I blend mine in my Nutri-bullet because it gets really smooth. You don’t want it chunky for your little ones… they won’t like the texture. But when I make this… they LOVE it! They each drank everything I gave them along with their dinner!

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The kids with their smoothies 🙂 (Yes, that is a helmet on the table outside the window! lol) And my son is wearing a fake fur hat… it’s adorable!

And now, for the quote of the day:

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Dill Chicken and Potato Skillet

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Doggone it…

Yeah. That’s how my Tuesday went! We have a large dog. Well, I guess technically he is in the medium to large sized dog family. He is around 80 pounds…. and he’s part bloodhound. The part about him being a bloodhound mix is quite important because he can literally smell a crumb under the kids bed from last week. He’s quite persistent too. During quiet time today, both of my kids were in 1 room playing together and having a snack, and my son decided to open the door. Four times. Guess what happened each time. Yep, Duke got in, ran straight for the snacks and tried to gobble it up as quickly as he could and tried to shove himself under my daughters bed to get all of the extra crumbs. I had to run from my room where I had a pile of laundry in my lap, each time, and pull the 80 pound dog off of the snacks and drag him out of the room. I’m going to get some serious Madonna arms!!! HA! It’s like, son, can you not see that if you open the door, your NATURAL CONSEQUENCE is: the dog will eat your food. And of course my son looks at me with a blank stare and says “Duke eat my food!”. Um. Yes, yes he did. Wow.

So, this is what happens every night when I make dinner:

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After he gets in trouble around 10 to 15 times for trying to stick his nose in dinner, he will finally sit down on that rug, completely in my way, and lay there while I make dinner. 🙂 He likes to smell it I assume.

Last night I was craving beets and potatoes. Weird craving? Not sure! But it sure sounded good!

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Ingredients:

4 large yukon gold potatoes
10-12 organic baby carrots cut in half
3 frozen chicken tenderloins (for 2 people… I use 1.5 per person.)
1 small bunch fresh flat leaf parsley
2 TB olive oil
1 TB unsalted butter
3/4 cup FF low sodium free range chicken broth
1/4 sweet onion diced
1 small piece of bacon chopped
Optional: Can of beets… YUM! 🙂

Dill Seasoning: (Mix together in a small bowl and set aside)
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons dried dill
2½ teaspoons garlic powder
2¼ teaspoons kosher Himalayan sea salt
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

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Directions:

Partially peel the potatoes… I peel just the “eyes” out of the potatoes, and then dice. Drizzle the olive oil into a large skillet, and heat up at med. high. Place the potatoes, bacon and carrots into the skillet and place lid on. After about 5 minutes, when the potatoes might start sticking to the bottom of the pan, add the diced onions and chicken broth and stir around to “unstick” all of the ingredients, and sprinkle 1/3 of the above seasoning (that you mixed and set aside) over the potatoes and replace the lid. In a separate skillet, place 1 TB olive oil and the 3 (or more) chicken tenderloins and 1/3 of the dill seasoning sprinkled generously over both sides of the tenderloins. Cook on medium to medium high for approximately 8-10 min. per side until there is no pink left in the middle. (This is from frozen). While the chicken is cooking, sporadically stir the potatoes and carrots, adding more seasoning as desired. When the carrots are mostly soft with a bit of crunch, they are done (about 20 minutes)! Add 1 TB butter, melt in, stir around and serve with the chicken, and some slices of beets if so desired! Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and ENJOY!

Quote of the Day:

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Baked Chicken and Gnocchi

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Oh Mondays….

Yes, today is Monday. And today, we had homeschool group. My 3 year old son… MILDLY behaved and reminded me of the previous week.

So, last week.. here’s the situation: my son thinks that he can be independent and make his own decisions. As his mother, it is my job to teach him that mommy knows what’s best and if he refuses to do what I say, consequences will follow. The problem? When we are in the car, driving 60+ mph down the freeway, it is VERY hard to discipline a little boy. So, we leave our homeschool group, and he’s tired and hungry. I hand him a baggie of veggie straws (Like… potato straws, but made from veggies… very chip like). 3 seconds later, he LOUDLY proclaims that he’s “ALL DONE!”. I, at that moment in time, cannot reach back and grab the bag from his grimy little hands. I tell him, “hold on to the bag for a minute until mommy can grab the bag”. He then proceeds to start to chuck the veggie straws AT MY HEAD! Yes, yes this is true. I am yelling “No, mommy will take the bag”, as well as telling him consequences that will happen from these bad choices. I start trying to get the bag from him and trying to grab at any part of his body that I can reach, and he stealthily, like a tiny ninja, somehow completely evades my reach! I cannot turn around to see how this is happening, as we are STILL on the freeway. He then starts throwing them all over the car, one at a time and starts yelling “na-na-na boo boo”. Yeah. That happened. By the time we got home 30 minutes later I was fuming and he was asleep. Ugh. I carry him inside, and do NOT put his cars in bed with him like he requested before he fell asleep… (that sure told him!)… and proceed to take my dog out to eat all of the veggie straws from the van floor. Whew! What’s a mom to do? Cry and an call her husband, pray that the next day will be better, and figure out how to properly discipline in the car… working on it… I think I will be a consistent work in progress.

So today… another Monday, another homeschool group day. This evening, I feed my kids their meal (rice and beans with a smoothie… easy.. so very easy) and was going to have that for me and my hubby… then I see the package of gnocchi in my fridge and just HAVE to have it tonight. So, I proceed to start cooking and then go out to my detached garage where I keep all of my meat in our deep freeze. I then find out that for some reason our lock is broken. The key gets STUCK in the door. I literally cannot get into my garage until 1.5 hours later when my husband gets home. So… dinner was late. But whatever, it was good!!!!! Gotta be honest… Mondays are always a bit rough!

So, here’s my craving meal for tonight…. cuz I needed a bit of comfort food!

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Baked Chicken and Gnocci!

And, I gotta say, it’s a comfort food and I will definitely be craving it in the future!

Inspired by: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/baked-gnocchi-with-chicken.html?soc=sharingpinterest

Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely diced onions
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups coconut milk (unsweetened, unflavored)
1 cup low-sodium free range, fat free chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups diced chicken. I used 3 large chicken tenderloins seasoned, cooked and diced (Orig. recipe called for leftover rotisserie chicken)
1 17 .5-ounce package potato gnocchi
1 1/2 cups loosely packed baby kale
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (about 1 ounce)
1/2 tsp cumin
dash cayenne pepper
2 TB lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon zest
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Directions
Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Heat the olive oil in a deep ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, but do not let burn. Transfer to a plate and wipe out the skillet.

Melt the butter in the skillet over medium heat; add the flour and cook, whisking, 3 minutes. Add 2 TB lemon juice and the lemon zest. Whisk in the milk and chicken broth until smooth; simmer, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in 1/2 teaspoon salt and the nutmeg, cumin and cayenne.

Add the chicken, onions and garlic back in, and the gnocchi and kale to the sauce and stir until coated and the kale wilts. Sprinkle with the parmesan, transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until bubbling, about 20 minutes. Turn on the broiler; broil until lightly browned on top, about 3 more minutes.

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I definitely kept to a smaller portion with this one, because of the yummy creaminess… but it was DELICIOUS! I liked the uniqueness that the cumin and cayenne added, but you do NOT have to add those spices… that’s my addition. This one you can definitely play around with.

Well, my day is done, I have enjoyed an evening of Bachelor watching with my friends, and now I’m gonna kiss my hubby and babies goodnight! Have a good one!

And for the quote of the day:

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Thanksgiving Dinner (OR Turkey Dinner) continued….

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Ok… so we’ve got 3 more dishes from Thanksgiving that I am going to put on here…. there are 2 additional dishes that I don’t have the recipes for at the moment… and I’ll have to get and add to the blog at a later time. Those are 1: Sweet Potatoes and 2: Homemade Rolls.

I personally LOVE to cook. I also LOVE to cook for people who enjoy to eat! 🙂 Thanksgiving is one of those days where you get guests that you love (YAY!) and people that will enjoy every bite that you put in front of them! (Double YAY!)

So, moving on… here’s some more Thanksgiving themed dishes… good for anytime of the year, but especially Thanksgiving!

Cornbread:

This cornbread is for the cornbread stuffing that will soon follow.

1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp kosher sea salt
1 TB baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 large cage free eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup PLAIN greek yogurt
1 TB honey
3 TB butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Take a round cake pan and use the butter to grease the cake pan. Mix all of the other ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour into cake pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Once done, let cool and then cut into large cubes and let dry-out for at least overnight if not 24 hours.

Cornbread Stuffing:

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Cornbread cubes (from recipe above)
French bread cubed and dried out overnight
4 carrots diced
3/4 lb brussel sprouts shaved
1/2 onion diced
3 stalks of celery
1/2 medium cooked butternut squash cubed
1 TB minced fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup dried cranberries (craisins)
5 cups low sodium free range chicken broth

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Drizzle the Brussels sprouts and butternut squash with olive oil in a roasting pan and roast for 30 to 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, warm up a large skillet over medium heat and add the butter. When the butter has melted, add the celery, carrots and onions and cook until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Pour in the chicken broth, then add the parsley, rosemary, basil, thyme, and some salt and pepper and stir until combined. Cook for a couple of minutes.

Get the cooked sprouts and squash out of the oven and reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F.

Place the dried bread cubes into a large bowl and mix them up a bit. Add the roasted Brussels sprouts, squash and dried cranberries and mix.

Gradually ladle the broth mixture into the bread, tossing lightly as you go. Add a little more salt and pepper, then toss around and taste to check the seasoning. If you like it more moist, splash in more broth until it reaches the consistency that you like.

Pile the dressing into a large casserole dish and bake until golden brown on top, 20 to 25 minutes.

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I adapted my recipe from here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/dressing-with-brussels-sprouts-and-butternut-squash.html?soc=sharingpinterest

Apple Raspberry Pie with Crumb Topping:

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Pie Filling:

4 large honey crisp apples
~peeled, cored and diced large
zest and juice of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 an orange
1/2 cup organic sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp kosher sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp all spice
2 tsp vanilla extract
12 oz. package fresh rinsed and dried raspberries
1 pre-made pie crust in a pie tin thawed and pricked with a fork.

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Crumb topping:

1 cup smart balance (non-dairy) COLD
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour

Mix all filling ingredients together and place into pre-made pie crust. Then, in a separate bowl, mix together the crumb topping ingredients and use pastry tool to mix until in little “peas”. Spread over top of pie and bake @ 350 for 30-40 minutes until bubbly and golden brown on top.

(I used 2 SMALL pie crusts, so this recipe made 2 smaller pies… if you use a larger pie tin and crust, this would make 1 large pie.)

Thanksgiving Dinner!!!

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So, this year I did something a little bit different. I decided to do a separate turkey breast, and then a turkey leg for each person! FUN huh?? So… Sadly, I didn’t get a picture of everything, but I do have the recipes for everything! YAY!!!

So, if you want to know what to make next Thanksgiving, OR, just want to make an AMAZING turkey breast or turkey leg… stuffing, etc… here you go!

Ok:

Turkey Breast:

It was a full Turkey Breast with the SKIN ON.

1/2 cup Tuscan Herb flavored olive oil (I got this from an oilery)
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 TB garlic minced – split
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 lemon sliced
2 TB kosher salt
2 TB rubbed sage
3/4 cup chicken broth

Mix all of the above (except for the sliced lemon and chicken broth) together in a bowl and rub all over the chicken (over and under the skin, as well as under). Place into a large baking dish and pour the chicken broth into the bottom of the pan and then put the lemon sliced along the top of the turkey. Cover the turkey with foil tightly. Bake in preheated oven @ 350 degrees. I did mine 2 hours. It’s based on the rules here: http://www.butterball.com/calculators-and-conversions

Turkey Legs!!!!!

Get FRESH, organic fed, free range turkey legs. I got mine from my local butcher. DELICIOUS! They only need to cook for a bit over an hour too!

10 Turkey Legs
1 cup sugar
2 TB hot sauce
1 TB garlic powder
3 TB kosher salt
1 tsp pepper
3 TB local organic honey
1 onion chopped
4 TB olive oil

Place the turkey legs in gallon size ziploc bags. In a bowl, mix together the dry seasonings. Split the seasonings between each gallon bag to make sure all turkey legs are coated with the dry seasonings. Then, split the wet ingredients between each bag and massage. Marinate overnight.

The next day remove the turkey legs from the bags and place onto a cookie sheet or into a baking dish and make sure to empty all ingredients over the turkey legs. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. For crispy turkey legs…. spark up the charcoal grill right at 30 minutes into the turkey legs baking. At 1 hour, take the turkey legs out, and place directly onto the grill and cook about 3 to 5 minutes per side to crisp up. DELISH!

Cranberry Sauce

Ok, so you think, oh! It’s Thanksgiving, we’ve GOT to have cranberries… but how do I make them?!

Here ya go! Do this before you start other quick things… you’ll want it in the crock pot for about 1-2 hours on low.

1 12 oz. bag of fresh cranberries
3 clementines – juice and zest
1 lemon – juice plus zest
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

Mix all together into the crock pot and stir… put on the lid, place on low, and move on! 🙂 (Cook 1-2 hours until consistency that you like, and if not quite ready to eat… put onto warm)

Ok… the next post will be: Cornbread Stuffing and an Apple Raspberry pie… look for it! 🙂

And now, for the quote of the day:

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Quinoa Enchilada Casserole

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If you need a dish that will fill up ANYONE that will feed a lot of people and still have leftovers?? My mom loves the taste of enchiladas, but does NOT like the soggy tortillas… she LOVED this recipe! 🙂

Try this one out for sure! My picky daughter even liked this one! SCORE!

  • 1/2 lb cooked ground beef seasoned with Taco Seasoning… (I used from leftovers from tacos the previous evening)
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 1/4 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
  • 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
  • 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth*
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 tbsp sauce from can of Chipotle in adobo sauce
  • 1/2 of Chipotle pepper diced from can of Chipotle in Adobo sauce
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 2 TB from (4 oz) can diced green chiles
  • 3/4 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen corn
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus 2 tbsp for garnish
  • 1 1/2 cups part-skim shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided*
  • 1 medium (4 oz) haas avocado, diced
  • 2 tbsp chopped scallions

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Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly spray a 9 x 12 baking dish with oil.

Cook your hamburger until well cooked through. Drain any fat, and then add taco seasoning as per directions on package, and once combined well, removed from heat and set to the side. If using leftovers, thaw and have set to the side.

In a medium saucepan cook the quinoa with 1 3/4 cups broth according to package instructions; when cooked, fluff with a fork and set aside. OR, put in rice cooker and cook add water according to directions on package.. and push button. 🙂

Meanwhile in a small saucepan heat the oil over medium low heat. Add the garlic and saute until golden, about 1 – 2 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, 1/4 tsp kosher salt, cumin, 1/4 cup broth and chipotle en adobo. If it’s too thick, add 2 tbsp water to thin out. Bring to a boil and simmer 3 to 4 minutes.

In a large bowl combine the cooked quinoa, green chiles, corn, black beans and 1/4 cup cilantro and taco meat (ground beef). Stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese and mix will. Place into the baking dish and spread out. Top with the enchilada sauce and remaining cheese. *****You can also use chicken, or skip the meat all together for a equally filling dish, but less calories!****

Cover with foil and bake until hot the cheese is melted, about 20 to 25 minutes.

To serve, top with avocado, scallions and remaining fresh cilantro. Serve immediately!

DELISH!

And now, for the quote of the day:

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Warm Asian Flavor Shrimp and Bok Choy Soup

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Ingredients:
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • About 1/2 head of baby bok choy, chopped (separate white and green pieces)
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced very thin
  • 2 tsp. minced garlic
  • 2 tsp. shaved fresh ginger (on the small side of a cheese grater)
  • 4 c. vegetable or broth
  • 2 c. water
  • 2 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce )
  • 2 tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
  • 4 oz thin rice noodles (1/2 package)
  • 1 lb. raw shrimp (I used jumbo, but you can use whichever you prefer)
  • 1 bunch green onions, sliced

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Instructions:
  1. Place shrimp onto a baking sheet (with a lip… you don’t want the liquid spilling over the side!) and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 350 for 10-12 min depending on size of shrimp. This is from FROZEN.
  2. Heat sesame oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add white pieces of bok choy and carrots, saute for 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, and saute one minute longer.
  3. Add broth, water, soy sauce, and fish sauce. Bring to a boil.
  4. Add uncooked noodles, and cook 2 minutes, separating noodles as they cook. Stir in green onions, and green pieces of bok choy. Cook 2-3 minutes longer. Add the cooked shrimp and stir in.
  5. Turn off heat, stir in rice vinegar, and serve immediately.

My husband LOVED this!! This would be great on a cold and rainy day!! Very comforting soup!

and now, for the quote of the day:

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Brussel Sprout and Quinoa Salad with Butternut Squash

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Ok… this was a HIT! I’m telling you, everyone LOVED it! Even people that don’t love brussel sprouts. YUM! Even leftovers were yummy when put into the skillet to be heated up. YUM YUM YUM!!!!

I got the recipe from here: http://iowagirleats.com/2013/11/18/quinoa-with-caramelized-butternut-squash-and-roasted-brussels-sprouts/ 

I actually did NOT change anything!! Woah! Right?! HA!

Oh… except for the fact that I cook my quinoa in my rice cooker…. that’s it… I think 🙂

I took a bit of a hiatus from my food blog. Homeschooling started with my kindergartner, I have a 3 year old now… and WOAH, that’s a phase in and of itself! WHAT?! It’s been pretty crazy… so I put the extra things I was doing to the side for a short time to take a bit of a breather and focus on the crazy kids. 🙂

But… now that Thanksgiving is approaching and I’ll be trying some of my recipes out, I HAD to post them. Both for people who would read it but also for myself in the future so I could remember the recipes that I loved!

So, here’s the recipe.

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Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
9oz shaved brussels sprouts (I just got 9oz. from produce section, and then chopped them)
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
garlic salt & pepper
2 Tablespoons butter
2 cups 1/2″ cubed butternut squash
1-1/2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pepitas

Directions: 

  1. Bring chicken broth to a boil in a saucepan then add rinsed quinoa (be sure to rinse well in fine mesh sieve under cold running water – even quinoa that comes “pre-rinsed”.)  Place a lid on top then turn heat down to medium-low and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork then set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees then line a baking sheet with foil. Add brussels sprouts, oil, garlic salt, and pepper to baking sheet then toss with fingers to evenly coat. Roast for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
  3. Melt butter in a large cast iron or heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add brown sugar and butternut squash then saute, stirring every so often – more so near the end – until tender, about 15 minutes.
  4. Combine quinoa, brussels sprouts, butternut squash, parmesan cheese, and pepitas in a large bowl then toss and serve with extra parmesan cheese, if desired.

**** If you have a rice cooker, it makes the quinoa SO much easier to cook!!! Try it! ******

Cheddar Bacon Corn Chowder… best mix of ingredients ever huh??

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Who doesn’t like bacon, cheese, corn and potatoes??? Like, really?! This one is a bit spicy too!! DELISH! I was sweating by the time I was finished enjoying this bowl of cheesy goodness…. meanwhile my husband was looking at me like I was crazy and telling me it was just a tiny bit of heat… just goes to show the difference in spiciness tolerance! Ha!

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup frozen corn
  • 4 slices (about 1/4 pound) bacon, diced
  • 1/4 yellow onion, diced
  • 1/2 tsp garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose white whole wheat flour
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 cups milk (I used coconut milk)
  • 4 large red potatoes, cleaned and diced into 1/4-inch cubes
  • 1/2 tsp Lawry’s seasoning (Low Sodium)
  • 1/2 tsp Emeril’s Bayou Blast seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
  • 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
  • 2 TB shaved parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon salt (add more/less to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • optional garnish: extra shredded cheddar cheese, thinly-sliced green onions, reserved bacon bits, sour cream
  • ***** Optional! Add 1/2 cup of dark beer for a bit of extra yummy flavor! ******

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Directions

Heat a large stock pot over high heat. Add the corn kernels and let them dry-roast for about 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until their edges begin to brown and caramelize. Transfer the corn to a plate to set aside.

In the same stock pot, fry the bacon pieces over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and set aside. Reserve 1 tablespoon bacon grease in the pan, and discard the rest.

Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, or until tender. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute, or until fragrant. Stir in the flour until combined, then cook for an additional 1 minute, stirring occasionally.

Add in the vegetable broth, milk, potatoes, lawrys, Bayou Blast, and sage and cayenne, and stir to combine. Continue heating until the mixture reaches a simmer but not a boil. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Add in the corn, cheese and most of the bacon bits, reserving a few to save as a garnish if desired. Stir to combine.

Taste test the broth, then season with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. (I recommended the amounts that I used, but your seasoning preferences may vary.)

Serve warm, with additional garnishes if desired.

Creamy Cheesy Goodness!!!

And now, for the quote of the day:

retro travel girl fashion vintage portrait outdoors

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

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creamychickenwildricesoup2

One of my absolute favorite soups from up in Minnesota was Byerly’s Wild Rice Soup… LOVE! This is my adaptation of it. I changed it up a bit, and don’t use ham or almonds in mine. Almonds, because I don’t keep nuts in my house since we have a food allergy in our home… and no ham because I wanted to keep the sodium and fat content a bit lower by using chicken instead.

This one is a “comfort” food… warm, creamy, thick…. eat it with bread or crackers… on a cold rainy/snowy day…  cuddle up by the fireplace and enjoy a bowl of this! My daughter gobbled this up! (So did my husband and I! 🙂 )

Ingredients

  • 3 TB butter
  • 1/4 onion minced
  • 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
  • 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 1/2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 cup cooked wild rice (that’s about 1/4 cup of uncooked wild rice… follow cooking instructions on bag)
  • 1/2 cup finely grated carrots
  • 1/2 cup diced chicken (I used 4 chicken tenderloins diced… you could also use leftover rotisserie chicken)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup half and half
  • 2 tablespoons dry cooking sherry, (optional)
  • snipped fresh parsley or chives
  • dash cayenne pepper

Creamychickenwildricesoup

Directions
In large saucepan, melt margarine; saute onion and carrots and garlic until tender.  Blend in flour; gradually add broth.  Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil; boil and stir 1 minute.  Stir in cooked rice, chicken, cayenne and salt; simmer about 5 minutes. Bring stove to LOW. Blend in half and half and sherry; heat to serving temperature. Garnish with snipped parsley or chives.

Amount: 4-5 cups.

Enjoy!

And now, for the quote of the day:

donna-bell