Healthy Banana Nut Bedtime (Or Anytime!) Snack

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In trying to watch the foods that I eat, reduce my “processed” food and carbs, and eat more real food… I needed to find a healthy bedtime snack. I have also had this as a mid-afternoon snack to eat while I am making dinner if I know that I’m going to have a very late dinner with the hubs. That happens a lot… and I get HUNGRY when I’m making my kids dinner! This is a great thing to pull out and snack on, has healthy fats, carbs, and protein to keep you full while you wait for your meal! It can also keep you full all night so you don’t go to sleep with a growling tummy!

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Ingredients:

1 banana
Trail mix (mine is hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, cashews and raisins)
1-2 TB nut butter (I used sunflower seed butter… you can use almond butter as well!)
1 Tb dark chocolate chips

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Directions:

Just melt the nut butter and dark chocolate together in a small glass dish in the microwave. Then spread over the sliced in half banana, and top with nuts. DELICIOUS right?!?!?!?!

You know you want to try this… 🙂

and now, for the quote of the day:

A nice little reminder!

Quick Leftovers Chicken Quesadilla

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I’m continuing in this post with using up my leftovers. I used some leftover chicken that I had (you can even use leftover rotisserie chicken for this!!!) This was quick, easy, everything grabbed last minute and MAYBE took 15 minutes! After a busy and crazy day, what’s better than that?! It’s also kid friendly!

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I served this with some chips and salsa… you could also serve it with some spinach or some sour cream and salsa to dip it in. It’s actually quite versatile!

This is for 2 quesadillas… just double, triple etc for more!

Ingredients:

2 flour (or corn… or wheat for that matter!) tortillas
1/4 lb of diced of shredded chicken (already cooked)
2 pieces of cooked bacon – chopped
1/2 sliced avocado
3/4 to 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup diced sweet mini peppers (or 1/2 bell pepper chopped)
2-3 TB chopped sweet yellow onion
optional: a few sundried tomato pieces! You can add it in there, or use fresh tomatoes, either would be good!
optional: spinach or a bit of hot sauce

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Directions:

Start of by dicing and slicing your veggies. Get your avocado out and slice 1/2. What I do, is slice the whole thing, and ten place the 1/2 that I don’t use in a baggie (pre-sliced and not in the shell) into the freezer that I can pull out later and use in smoothies). Once all of your veggies are cut, you can pull out your chicken and bacon. I used leftovers. If you do not have leftovers, but still want to make this, just quick cook it up in a bit of olive oil with salt and pepper. I usually use pre-cooked bacon and cook it quickly in the microwave and then crumble it up.

But 1/2 TB in the bottom of the skillet and let it melt and medium to medium low temp on the stove. Once melted, place 1 of the tortillas on the skillet. Cover with desired amount of cheese, then place half of chicken, then the veggies, and ending with the avocado. Fold over the tortilla and let it brown for a minute or two, then flip it over with a large spatula. Let it continue to cook for 2-3 minutes, until the cheese is melted and starting to ooze out the side. Remove from skillet and place on a plate, and repeat with the 2nd tortilla. I usually cut each quesadilla in 2-4 pieces with a pizza cutter. Serve with some salsa, maybe some sour cream, and enjoy!!!!

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And now, for the quote of the day:

But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 2 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭17-18‬

Spicy Shrimp and Andouille Sausage Over Corn Cheesy Grits

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I’ve been missing blogging! This last week after traveling, my grocery budget was VERY small, and we ate A LOT of leftovers. Sometimes that happens! Gotta clear out what we’ve got in the freezer and pantry. I am so thankful that we have that luxury too. So thankful!

So after using up a lot of leftovers I got to start fresh with my food planning! I did have a couple of things to finish up though: Andouille sausage and a bit of shrimp. I thought… why not combine those?? What can I put those on to make a filling and delicious dinner… because those 2 things by themselves, or even together isn’t quite filling enough… THEN, I found a bag of corn grits in my freezer! Voila! Dinner!

So, this dish doesn’t take that long at all, 30 min start to finish and dinner is on the table!

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This serves 3-4 people (depending on size of servings)

Ingredients:

2 “links” andouille sausage (they usually come in a pack of 4. If it comes in a large single link, you could use just half… or use all of it and double the remainder of the recipe) sliced into “medallions” or small bite size pieces
1/2 pound of shrimp
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup corn grits
3/4 cup shredded cheddar or the mexican blend cheese
3-4 TB butter
1 TB olive oil
2 tsp cajun seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

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You want to start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees (do not use convection if your oven has that option). Then, pour your chicken broth into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add your corn grits and cook to the directions on the packaging.

Once the grits have started, take the shrimp (I bake them from frozen) and place them onto a foil lined baking sheet. Make sure that if your baking sheet doesn’t have raised sides, to make your tin foil have the sides up to make sure none of the juices spill over in your oven. Lay the shrimp out onto the foil in a single layer, drizzle with olive oil and then sprinkle the cajun seasoning generously over the shrimp and make sure they are evenly covered. Dot the tops with a bit of the butter (about 1 of the TB) and place into the oven and bake for 12-13 min (depending on the size of your shrimp).

When the grits are close to finished (usually takes 25 to 30 minutes for a thick and creamy consistency) and you are about to take the shrimp out of the oven, drizzle about 1 Tb olive oil into a skillet and place the andouille sausage into the heated oil in the pan. Cook until hot all the way thru and a bit browned.

When the grits are done, remove them from the heat and add 1-2 TB butter, and 1/2 cup of cheese and stir until incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve the grits immediately and top with some of the shrimp and sausage. Garnish with a sprinkle of cheese over top each bowl and enjoy the spicy flavorful heat!!!

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As much as I usually don’t like anything spicy… this was SOOO GOOD! I didn’t think I liked grits either… but if this is what they are supposed to taste like, I’m sold! YUM!

Try this one for a spicy, warm, comforting dinner that’ll fill you right up!

And now, for the quote of the day:

❤️

Homemade Wheat Sandwich Bread (with a #vegan option!)

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So, we spend a lot of money on bread around our house. Like, it’s ridiculous. Because of my son with food allergies, I am very picky about what brand and what ingredients are in the bread. We have been buying bread from Trader Joes for about $4.00 per loaf (or more… can’t quite remember) because I like the ingredients, and it doesn’t have any allergens in it. But… that much money per loaf and I buy 6 loaves of bread every 2 weeks… that’s a LOT of money for bread! So, I’ve decided I need to make more of my own bread. My mom has a bread machine that I can use… but I don’t like my bread BAKED in the bread machine. So, I make the dough in the bread machine, and then bake the bread in the oven. This recipe came out PERFECT! It’s got a nice crispy crust with a soft and slightly doughy inside… DELICIOUS! I don’t want to buy bread again! My mom also had some FRESHLY GROUND wheat flour. Like, not store bought… she had Wheat Berries, ground them in her Grain Mill, and gave it to me! WHAT?! Yes!!!!! Freshest you can get! I used half of this fresh flour, and half of the all purpose flour (I use Lily Flour…. I also have used King Arthur).

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Doesn’t that look delicious!!??

For 1 loaf, so double for a batch of 2.

Whole Wheat Bread

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup warm water (NOT hot! You don’t want to “kill” the yeast)
2 tsp pure cane sugar (organic is preferred)
2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 TB local honey
2 tablespoons butter , melted (you can use Earth Balance for the VEGAN option!)
3/4 tsp kosher sea salt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus possible extra White Lily All Purpose Flour

3/4 TB bread machine yeast

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IF you have a bread maker this will be quite easy! If not… BORROW ONE!! HA! It just makes it soo much easier! If you WANT one, check out this awesome and ON SALE breadmaker: Cuisinart Breadmaker

Load your bread maker in the order the ingredients are listed. Wet ingredients first, and ending with the bread machine yeast. Then, set to the DOUGH cycle. Do NOT select a bread cycle. You want dough only. Mine was a 1 hour and 20 minute cycle. When the bread machine is kneading the dough, I watch it to make sure it’s only slightly sticky, but still is being kneaded around by the machine and not sticking to one side of the pan. If needed add 1 TB of all purpose flour at a time until it’s just SLIGHTLY sticky… but not too dry! If it’s too dry, add 1 tsp of water at a time. Get a bread pan (glass or aluminum, didn’t matter… I tried both) and grease it either with a bit of butter, or cooking spray and set the bread pan aside.

Once the timer goes off and your dough is done, butter up your hands… or flour them… 🙂 … so that the dough doesn’t stick to your hands when you take it out. Remove the dough (it will deflate, that’s fine!) and make sure the paddle of the bread machine does not stay in the dough! Kind of knead it down a bit, and shape into a rounded rectangle. Place into greased bread pan and then set a damp kitchen towel over top and allow to rise for 30 minutes. At this time, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

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After 30 minutes, the bread dough should have doubled in size. Remove the towel, and place into the preheated oven and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. It should be golden brown with a nice crispy crust and chewy moist bread inside!

I cut it right away and me and my 2 kids ate a nice thick slice just dripping in melted butter… OH MAN!! It was DELICIOUS!!!

If you would like some homemade bread… give this one a try! It’s the best recipe I have ever made for homemade sandwich bread! And believe me, I’ve tried MANY!

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And now, for the quote of the day:

If the world were to come to an end today and all of the people who believed in the Lord our God as their Savior were taken to Heaven to be with Him for eternity… do you know for sure if you would be with them?!

Revelation 21:4- the incredible hope and promise that can only Jesus Christ can provide!!!

Cajun Seared Salmon topped with a Simple Guacamole

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I always forget how simple and easy fish is to make. I just always have to remember to thaw it properly in enough time for dinner! Ha! Luckily, yesterday, I remembered to put the frozen salmon into the fridge to slowly thaw the fish! I then ran it under WARM (not hot) water just before I cooked it while it was still in the vacuum sealed pack… just to finish the thawing. Once that was done… Dinner really took 20 minutes. Start to finish. How lovely is that?! Even if you work full time and need something quick to eat when you come home, this is a great answer! Serve this over a bit of rice, orzo pasta…. with some chips or… as is! I ate this with a few corn chips, and it was the perfect and filling dinner! I couldn’t even finish my portion of the salmon! DELISH though!

Salmon and a Simple Guacamole

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INGREDIENTS

1-2 lbs salmon (I did 2 salmon steaks of sockeye salmon – wild caught)
1 TB olive oil (I used light extra virgin olive oil)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp Emeril’s Bayou Blast Cajun seasoning
2 TB butter
1 tsp black pepper
2 TB lemon juice

For the Simple Guacamole:

1 avocado, sliced
1 green onion diced
Juice from 1/2 of lemon
1/2 cup frozen corn (or fresh) slightly heated up and set aside
Salt and pepper to taste
2 TB chopped fresh parsley

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INSTRUCTIONS

Drizzle the olive oil over the salmon and rub the Cajun seasoning over and into the top of each salmon steaks. Place in fridge until ready to cook. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place the cast-iron grill pan onto the stove and heat to medium-high. Salt the grill pan lightly.
Combine the avocado, green onion, parsley, lemon juice, corn and salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well, chill until ready to use.
Grill the salmon skin side down on grill pan for 4 to 5 minutes. Top the salmon with pieces of the butter and the lemon juice and place into preheated oven (still on cast iron grill pan… make sure yours is oven safe!) And bake for 5-10 minutes to desired doneness. It really depends on the thickness of the salmon steaks. (I baked them for approximately 8 minutes.)
Top with some of the simple guacamole and enjoy!

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And now, for the quote of the day:

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Oven Roasted Broccoli and Spicy Shrimp

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So, I haven’t posted in a while… we very spontaneously went out of town to visit my husband’s grandfather. We have been asking him if we could visit him for a while and he would always come up with a reason we couldn’t visit: hurricane season, ebola… etc. You get the gist. Well, my hubby was talking to him and he said we could come and visit, but only of we came before June 1st (hurricane season)! So… we packed up and drove 8 hours and spent the weekend with him! He is 95, and we felt like… you never know how many more visits we will be able to make, so we went down to visit him! I did cook quite a bit while I was down there, but did not document any of it… but these are a couple of dishes I made before and after the trip!

Oven Roasted Broccoli and Spicy Shrimp

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Ingredients:

1/2 lb peeled and deveined wild Caught Shrimp (I used TJ Argentinian Red Shrimp)
2 TB unsalted butter
1-2 cups frozen (or fresh) broccoli
1/4 tsp Himalayan sea salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
Drizzle of olive oil
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning (Emeril’s Bayou Blast is great!)
1 TB lemon juice drizzled over top
Parmesan cheese if desired

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Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet (that has a raised lip… like a cookie sheet) with tin foil and either grease with a bit of butter or cooking spray. Put raw shrimp and broccoli in a bowl and toss with the ingredients until well coated. Spread so there is a single layer out on the baking sheet. Place in oven for 12 to 15 minutes until shrimp is cooked thru and no longer translucent, but also not over cooked. Remove and squeeze a bit of lemon juice over top and serve immediately.

Enjoy! This one is a quick and easy filling dinner. Serve it over rice, as is, or with a bit of fruit! This one was delicious!

And now, for the quote of the day:

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Oven Roasted Sausage and Potatoes

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This dish was definitely easy! You do have to have 30-45 minutes to bake/roast it… but it is completely worth it! Just a little chopping and peeling, a bit of stirring and you’ve got a filling and hearty meal that the whole family will LOVE! You could even use these same ingredients and put them in foil packets and toss them on the grill for a quick and easy meal as well! Either way it will turn out delicous!

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Oven Roasted Sausage and Potatoes
Serves 4

1 package of nitrite/nitrate free turkey kielbasa or smokes sausage
1/2 large yellow sweet onion, peeled and chopped
3 large yukon gold, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
2 large sweet potatoes peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
olive oil
fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1-2 TB butter
a handful of grated strong cheddar cheese or parmesan cheese

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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray cooking spray on a large 9×13 baking pan (casserole dish) or thinly coat with a bit of butter. Set aside.

Put the sausage rounds, onions and potatoes into a large bowl. Drizzle with a couple turns of olive oil and season to taste with salt, pepper, paprika, dill, oregano (and even a dash of cayenne powder for a bit of spice if you’d like!) and dried thyme. Toss together with until everything is evenly distributed. Pour this out into the baking dish, and spread it out as much as you can. Top with small pieces of the butter evenly across the top (optional) for nicely browned potatoes.

Place into the heated oven and roast for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring every 15 minutes or so, until the potatoes are golden brown and tender. Turn off the oven. Scatter the cheese over top of the cooked meat and potatoes, Pop back into the oven a few minutes to melt the cheese. Serve immediately.

NOTE:  I would not use any more than 1/2 tsp of the dried thyme, unless you really, really like the flavour of thyme.

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Enjoy!

And now, for the quote of the day:

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Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad

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Tonight, we dined on our back screened-in porch, with the breeze and our ceiling fan blowing, our kids playing nicely in the play room… eating this awesome and fresh dish. PERFECT! It’s like the quintessential summer picture in my mind!

It was a bit busy today too, catching up on things that I didn’t get done over the weekend… our freezer decided to “re-set” and go back to factory settings and essentially “turn off”. And, of course, I didn’t notice it right away until half of my things had thawed overnight. So, a LOT of my leftovers and some of my fish and shrimp and chicken had to be tossed 😦 . I was so sad! It’s so tough to have to empty out your freezer… over half into a trash bag! *SOB* ! Luckily a lot stayed frozen in the back and towards the bottom. LUCKILY we have a deep freeze in our garage where I had some of my other purchases and was able to transfer my saved food until the freezer re-started and got back down to proper temperature. At least my fridge didn’t freak out as well! I would have had a melt down!

So, tonight, I had to find chicken that hadn’t thawed and be thrown out, so chicken thighs it was!

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INGREDIENTS

 This is for 3-4 servings, depending on serving size.

2  large chicken thighs
– cooked with 2 TB butter, 1 TB olive oil, 1/4 cup water, 1/2 tsp thyme, salt and pepper. Simmered at medium             high until cooked through and then diced.
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
2 scallions (green onions) chopped fine
1/2 cup red grapes cut in half
2 heaping TB PLAIN Greek Yogurt
Juice of 1/2 of a lemon plus the zest
Salt and pepper to taste
6 romaine leaves
1/4 tsp coriander
dash of hot sauce
1/8 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 cucumber (English Hothouse Cucumber) halved and quartered
1/2 avocado thinly sliced to line the romaine leaves
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DIRECTIONS

  • In a large bowl, combine the chicken with the parsley, cucumber, scallions, lemon zest, hot sauce and seasonings, and grapes. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and give it all a good toss.
  • Add the lemon juice and the greek yogurt and stir to combine. Add the chopped parsley, and toss!
  • Serve scoops of the salad in the wide end of romaine leaves that are lined with slices of avocado. Serve immediately.

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This was DELICIOUS! Try it now! 🙂

And now, for the quote of the day:

INFP INFJ

Fresh Quinoa Avocado Spinach Salad

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Sunday night I went to a marriage mentor group and it was requested that I bring a salad! I do love a fancy salad! Getting creative and figuring out how to make a new dressing, using fun ingredients and pumping up the taste and flavors… the BEST!

This one I found the original recipe on a website about the Mediterranean Diet and altered the salad adding a bit more flavor to it and hit the JACKPOT! It was delicious! The only thing I’d change is that I would have made it a bit more dry than I did. I added WAY more olive oil and lemon juice than they did originally… and I’d go half-way between the two… So the recipe below is exactly halfway between what I made, and the original recipe (on the amount of olive oil and lemon juice)

This one can be filling as a main dish for lunch, or an awesome side dish for a grilled hamburger night, or brats or pizza!

Make this one tonight! 🙂

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Fresh Quinoa Avocado Spinach Salad

Ingredients

1/2 cup uncooked Quinoa, rinsed and drained*
1 cup water
1 vine-on medium tomato – seeded and chopped
1/2 cup shredded fresh spinach – chopped or torn into large pieces
1/3 cup diced FRESH basil
1/3 cup finely chopped yellow sweet (1 small)
1/4 cup fresh squeeze lemon juice (and the zest of 1 lemon)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/8 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
 1 ripe avocado sliced and diced (pit removed of course!)
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 of a English Hothouse cucumber sliced and quartered

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*Rinse quinoa thoroughly before cooking to remove a bitter substance called saponin that coats the seeds.

Directions

  1. In a 1-1/2-quart saucepan combine quinoa and water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. (OR, as I did, use your Rice Cooker… EASY!)
  2. Transfer quinoa to a medium Mixing Bowl. Add tomato, spinach, basil, cucumber, and onion; stir to combine. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, garlic powder, oil, and salt. Add to quinoa mixture; toss to coat. Add the diced avocado and gently toss.
  3. Sprinkle with some of the feta. Makes 4 main-dish servings.

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Fresh AND filling!!

And now, for the quote of the day:

Southwestern Chicken Salad with an Avocado Parsley Dressing

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When you come home after a long day at work and it’s hot outside… the weather is nice, sun is shining… don’t you just crave a salad? Nice, cool, crisp? Add a bit of chicken and just enough spice to make the dressing’s coolness almost a relief?

This is the salad for you! I seriously craved this dressing after I had it the first time. I made ANOTHER salad for lunch the next day JUST so I could use the rest of the dressing. It was THAT amazing!

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This is for 3-4 salads, depending on size of salad… is it your main course, or a side?

Ingredients

Salad:

Large head of Dark Green Romaine
1 15 oz. can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
3 mini sweet peppers chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 medium vine-on tomato cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 Chopped scallions (Green Onions) – if so desired
1/2 Avocado diced
2 chicken tenderloins cooked (I cooked w/a bit of cumin and chili powder and olive oil) and sliced PER SALAD)
1 cup (more or less) corn. I used thawed frozen corn… you can use fresh or canned as well
1/2 can diced Natural Black Ripe Olives
Drizzle of salsa

For the dressing:

1 cup loosely packed FRESH parsley, stems removed and roughly chopped
1/2 avocado
Juice and zest of 1 lime
1/2 tsp Chopped Garlic in Pure Olive Oil
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. White Balsamc Vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1 TB fresh local Honey

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Directions
Make the dressing: puree all ingredients in a food processor/blender (I used my Nutribullet) until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
Finely chop romaine, sautee your chicken until cooked through and white all the way through, chop the sweet peppers, tomatoes, and green onions, avocado, black olives…
Place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine.
Toss with desired dressing. I did find that the salad was best when I drizzled the salad with the dressing, and then tossed to coat thoroughly!

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You will NOT regret making this salad!

And now, for the quote of the day:

Community Post: 13 Incredibly Awesome Amy Poehler Quotes