Whole grain choc chip cookies (that are actually yummy!)

I love chocolate chip cookies! I've tried several times to make a healthy chocolate chip cookie, but fail every time. I'm pretty sure these are as close as I'm going to get! They do contain a lot of sugar, but at least it is a natural one. And the grain is not soaked, but I am certain they would not be nearly as good soaked so I didn't even attempt it :) This cookie is the closest you will come to a healthy version of the recipe on the Nestle's Tollhouse bag! Many, many thanks to my friend Jessica for this recipe!

Ingredients
• 1 cup softened butter
• 1 ½ c. sucanat or rapadura
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups sifted whole grain flour (I used a blend of Kamut, Spelt, and Oat Groats)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups dark chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (190 degrees C). Generously grease cookie sheets.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and eggs. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, gradually blend into the creamed mixture. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Best Chicken Parmesan Ever!

This is the 1st recipe I've seen that calls for dipping chicken in Italian dressing before breading, and it makes a huge flavor difference! My husband loved it! I don't use store- bought Italian dressing because of the soybean oil, so I just made my own by mixing my Italian dressing seasoning mix with olive oil and letting it sit for about an hour before making the recipe. Also, if you are like my husband and like your chicken very crunchy, just serve the sauce on the side instead of baking it on the chicken :)

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast

1/2 cup bottled Italian dressing (or make your own!)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1/3 cup breadcrumbs (I used organic Panko because it didn't have msg)

1/2 tsp. Italian herbs

1 cup marinara sauce

4 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

Coat chicken in Italian dressing. (It is even better if you let it marinade a bit :) Blend remaining ingredients and coat chicken in mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or more. When barely done, spoon marinara sauce n a strip across centers of breasts. sprinkle mozzarella over sauce and return to oven until cheese is melted and sauce is heated through.

Recipe from Ironwood Camp Cookbook

kefir lemonade update -- My husband kicked the sodas!

I just had to let you know that my husband has not had a soda in almost 4 weeks!! Once I started making the kefir lemonade, he started drinking that instead. We even went to his parents' house for a vacation and there were sodas galore, but he never took one! I am so proud of him! He said that the hardest thing was when they went to a pizza restaurant because he ALWAYS drinks Dr. Pepper with his pizza, but he didn't want to go back to being addicted to it. I am so incredibly proud of him! He doesn't really like water, so most of the time he drinks coconut water at work and kefir lemonade at home instead. Yay for Mark!!!! (Now, I just need to find a healthy replacement for his nightly chips... any suggestions? We made them ourselves with coconut oil for a while, but it was just too much trouble to keep up on a regular basis. I need something home-made that is salty, crunchy, and I can make ahead of time so he can grab it when he needs to munch.)

Recipe Review: Zucchini Chips

If you join a CSA for the summer, you will undoubtedly get boatloads of zucchini and run out of ways to use it up. I usually shred and freeze a bunch for yummy zucchini bread, but I often run out of other ideas. I saw this recipe on 100 Days of Real Food blog (you should definitely check out the blog because it has great recipes and free meal plans for using only affordable real food!) a while back and kew I'd want to try it when I was swimming in zucchini. And it is definitely one I will make again! Mark enjoyed it as well, so I am excited about another yummy way to eat zucchini! We used coconut oil instead of olive oil because of its better smoke point.

Zucchini Chips

Ingredients

• 2 medium sized zucchinis
• 3 eggs
• 1 ½ cups whole-wheat breadcrumbs (I found 100% whole-wheat panko breadcrumbs with a short list of ingredients at Earth Fare or you could make them yourself)
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Thinly slice zucchini into 1/8” round pieces.
2. Beat eggs in a shallow bowl.
3. Using a small food processor (or a mortar and pestle) process the breadcrumbs, grated cheese, and a couple dashes of salt & pepper together until fine. Put the breadcrumb mixture in a shallow bowl.
4. Pour a thin layer of olive oil in the bottom of a medium to large sauté pan and turn the heat to medium. Let it heat up while you start preparing the zucchini.
5. Make an assembly line in the following order: raw zucchini slices, beaten egg, breadcrumb mixture, and empty plate.
6. With one hand (which will be your “wet” hand) coat a few of the zucchini slices with the egg and shake off the excess. Drop those pieces on top of the breadcrumb mixture and using your other “dry” hand coat them with breadcrumbs. Shake off the excess breadcrumbs and transfer the coated zucchini slices to the clean plate.
7. As soon as you have enough zucchini slices breaded to make a single layer across the bottom of the pan, slide them in the oil to start cooking.
8. Meanwhile, start coating the next batch of zucchini, but check the stove after 2 or 3 minutes to see if the bottom of the zucchini is turning golden brown. Once they are brown flip them over and add more olive oil if necessary to keep the bottom of the breaded zucchini “wet.” Once both sides are golden brown transfer them to a paper towel lined plate and keep warm.
9. Repeat process until all the zucchini are cooked. Arrange them on a serving platter, garnish with Parmesan cheese, and enjoy!

Yield: 4 – 6 side servings

Onion Soup Mix Recipe

Some of my favorite recipes (like my Mom's unbeatable lasagna) contain onion soup mix. This is a major problem for me because I try to avoid MSG as much s possible. So I was very excited to find that Laura at Heavenly Homemakers had created her oven version! She always has great recipes with natural ingredients, so I knew it would be good. You should really check out some of her other recipes as well! This is one mix that I plan to always keep on hand!

Onion Soup Mix

2/3 cup dried, minced onion
3 teaspoons parsley flakes
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon sucanat (or sugar if you prefer)
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Mix all ingredients in a jar, then give the jar a good shake. I’d recommend shaking the jar to mix the ingredients well before each use.

Use 4 Tablespoons Onion Soup Mix in a recipe in place of 1 packet of onion soup mix. (I actually found that 2 Tablespoons was plenty in a beef stew recipe I tried.) Store this in a dry, cool place.

Cinn-Raisin Quinoa Pancakes

Whenever we make quinoa for one of our favorite dishes, I usually make 2 cups of it so that we have leftovers for pancakes. The girls LOVE them and they are a good way to give them a protein-filled breakfast! I have to admit, though, that I never measure, so play with the recipe until you get it the way you like it. I just wanted to post it so you would have an idea of what I do. I use a bunch of eggs because they are so good for you, but if you want the pancakes to be more crispy and less eggy, don't use as many :)

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa

4 eggs

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. sea salt

pinch of sucanat or whatever sweetener you like (I don't use much since we are putting syrup on them to eat them)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

handful of raisins

dash of coconut oil (or whatever oil you prefer) for frying

Directions: Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Heat coconut oil in skillet until hot. Drop spoonfuls of batter into the oil, turning pancake over when one side is brown. Serve with maple syrup.

This post is part of KK's SUYL breakfast recipes

A new favorite drink: Water Keifer Lemonade!

I have a new obsession. I hate soft drinks; I always have. Nothing to do with their immense health problems, but I just don't like the taste. I kind of like sweet tea, but I usually avoid it because it isn't my favorite thing in the world and I'd rather save my sugar for desserts :) But I LOVE lemonade! I still don't drink it that often, though, because the high sugar content often makes me feel icky afterwards. Enter: Water Kefir Lemonade!

I've been meaning to try this for quite a while to help my husband kick the soft drink habit. He just doesn't like water that much, and although I give him coconut water as often as possible, it gets expensive. He was very skeptical, but actually really liked it! And I thought it was awesome; lemonade without the sugary aftertastes and headache!

The best part: it is really good for you, chock full of probiotics! The kefir grains eat the sugar and produce probiotics. And very easy. You can make it any flavor you like (depending on what juice you put in it), with as much carbonation as you like (depending on how long you let it set).

So simple. I just fill a 2 quart jar with warm filtered water and 1/2 cup of sugar. I wait until the sugar has dissolved and the water is back to room temperature and then I add my kefir grains and cover the jar. I let it sit for about 3 days, then strain out the juice and add an ice cube of lime or lemon juice. Yummy! If you want more fizz, cover it and let it set on your counter a couple more days.

The grains are a little pricey to start off with, but you can use them indefinitely for a very inexpensive drink!

Healthy Chocolate Candy

Ok, I thought I had posted this a long time ago, but I was searching for the link to give to a friend and couldn't find it. And I figured that if I couldn't find it on my own blog, then you surely wouldn't be able to so I simply must post it again. Because it is that good! (And good for you!)

I have been making this candy about every few weeks in large batches and freezing the extras. (Because I never know when I am going to get a chocolate craving!) It is also a favorite treat for the girls to choose after they take their cod liver oil. (They usually choose from this candy, a carob raisin, or a bit of raw honey). Please note that it should be kept in the fridge or freezer because it will get soft and mushy if it stays at room temperature!

You will probably think I am crazy, but I have found this candy to be the perfect way to give my girls superfoods like kelp and liver. I buy it in powder form and sprinkle some in the mixture. I promise you, you don't taste it at all!

I add in all sorts of things to my candy, depending on my mood. If I have good quality butter from grass-fed cows, I will add some of that to the mixture. I also LOVE sunflower butter mixed with it and usually add in raisins, silvered almonds, and/or dehydrated coconut as well.

Here is the original recipe (found at Kelly the Kitchen Kop, a fabulous blog that you really ought to check out!):

• 1/2 c. coconut oil
• 1/2 c. real maple syrup (use less to make them healthier)
• 1/2 c. organic cocoa powder
• 1 t. organic vanilla
• 1/2 t. sea salt

Melt together gently in a saucepan over low heat (so you don't lose the great antibacterial properties of the coconut oil!) until it’s all mixed together. You then have several options: You can drop it by dollops onto wax paper, you can drop it into candy molds or ice cube trays, or you can spread it out on wax paper covering a cookie sheet and break it into "candy bark" after it as solidified. I have tried all the options and found the latter to be the easiest by far! Stick it in the fridge or freezer for a while till hardened and then enjoy!

Egg and bacon muffins -- a new favorite breakfast!

I found this recipe in my most recent Weston A Price journal. I knew my girls would like it because they love anything you can call a "muffin," but I was very surprised at how much my husband liked them! I used a very flavorful smoked turkey bacon from Trader Joes and a bunch of garlic powder and he loved the strong flavor. I love the fact that these muffins warm up wonderfully in our toaster oven so I can make a bunch ahead of time for a super healthy quick breakfast or protein-filled snack. And don't worry if you despise cottage cheese (like my husband) because once the muffin is cooked you cannot even tell that it is there!

Ingredients:

1 pound breakfast meat (I actually only used 4 large slices of bacon, 1/3 slice for each muffin)

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup cottage cheese

1 cup chopped veggies (they recommend onion, garlic, peppers, carrots, green onions, etc, but I skipped all those for the first try to make sure my family did not reject them simply because of the add-ins :)

12 pastured eggs, beaten

1 cup cheese, shredded or crumbled (I used a little of parmesan and cheddar)

herbs and spices of choice (sage, thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, etc)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees, Grease 12 muffin cups. Cook meat. Use leftover grease or favorite healthy fat (coconut oil, tallow, butter, ghee, or lard) to saute chopped veggies. In a large bowl, beat eggs then add everything else. Spoon 1/4 cup mixture into each muffin cup, sprinkle with cheese, and cook between 15 to 20 minutes, until egg has set.

Quick Farmer's Market sausage skillet

We went to the Farmer's Market today so tonight I threw together this dish using only what we bought :)

Ingredients:

1 pound Sweet-Italian style sausage, casings removed

about 6 little potatoes, sliced thinly (I used 3 purple ones and 3 red ones)

3 zucchini, chopped (I used 1 green and 2 yellow)

1 small sweet onion, diced

5 cloves of garlic, chopped (we love our garlic but you might want to do less if you don't :)

Directions: Saute everything in the oil of your choice (I used coconut oil) on medium-low heat. I chopped the potatoes first because they take the longest to cook and threw the zucchini in the pan at the last minute because I didn't want it soggy. Sprinkle on whatever seasonings you like (I used a little sea salt and oregano). Top with a little of the cheese of your choice (I used Parmesan). I think diced tomatoes would also be delicious in this dish.

New Favorite Recipe: Sausage Pasta Presto

I've had this recipe in my "recipes to try" file for a while now, and I am so glad I finally tried it! It is now one of my favorite "go-to" recipes! It is simple to put together, can feed a lot of people because of the noodles, and very tasty. I'm going to have to start keeping my freezer stocked with cooked sausage so I can throw it together even faster whenever I am pinched on time. I added some sweet onions and cooked them with the red peppers because we love them. I also was out of feta cheese, so I just sprinkled on some parmesan cheese instead. And we don't like black olives, so we just skipped them. And Mark loved it! But I'm sure the feta is absolutely delicious as well. Thanks to Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking for another great recipe!

1 package (16 ounces) brown rice penne pasta (preferred due to the low amount of phytates over other whole grain pastas, unless sprouted)
2 teaspoon olive or coconut oil (coconut is best over high heat)
4-5 cups (1/4 inch thick) sliced red bell pepper (approx. 4 large bell peppers), each cut in half crosswise (I have also used various colored bell peppers in combination together with great results!)
1 teaspoon sea salt, divided
16 ounces Italian sausage (I love this with chicken Italian sausage from our local Trader Joe’s – delicious! I usually get by just fine with 1/2 pound)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup (about 1, 5-6 oz small container) crumbled feta cheese
1 (15 oz can) black olives, sliced (or kalamata, if desired)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Undercooking is best, as it will continue cooking when you add to the other ingredients.

Saute the bell peppers and 1/2 teaspoon salt for 2 minutes in olive or coconut oil. Remove casings, if necessary, from the sausage. Add sausage, oregano, and garlic to pan; cook for 4 minutes until sausage is done; stirring to crumble. Add pasta, 1/2 teaspoon salt, cheese, olives, and black pepper; cook for 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Recipe Review: Coconut Rice and Beans and More

I was excited to try out this recipe because of my (well-known) love for cilantro, lime, and coconut milk. I wasn't disappointed! We loved the flavors! I did change a few things, of course. I used quinoa instead of rice. And I soaked the quinoa the night before for added nutrition. That meant that I skipped the water when I made the quinoa the next day so my quinoa was extra potent. Mark isn't a big bean lover, but he raved about the quinoa. And don't skip the mango topping; it really makes the dish! We LOVE mango but both agreed that it is a pain to cut up.If you have any tips, let me know. I think next time I might add some cooked chicken to the dish, because Mark always likes a dinner more with a little meat :) Thanks to Under the High Chair for a fun recipe!

Coconut Rice & Beans
adapted from this recipe, originally found in Southern Living.

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 1/4 cups uncooked basmati rice
1 small onion, chopped
1 (15-oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black eyed beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 red pepper, chopped (optional)
1 lime
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Toppings: lime wedges, diced mango, sour cream, cilantro, green onion.

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake coconut in a single layer on a baking sheet 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted. Cool.
2. Bring broth, coconut milk, salt & pepper, 2 Tbsp. butter, and 1 cup water to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan. Stir in rice. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is tender and water is absorbed.

3. Meanwhile, melt remaining 1 Tbsp. butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; add onion and sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in beans, chili powder, cumin, and 3/4 cup water. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.
4. Grate zest from lime, avoiding pale bitter pith, into a bowl; squeeze juice from lime into bowl.
5. Fluff rice with a fork. Fold lime zest and juice, coconut, green onions, and cilantro into hot cooked rice. Serve bean mixture over rice with desired toppings.

Delicious taquita soup

I usually buy 2 chickens at the Farmer's market at the beginning of each month, cook them both, make a big pot of chicken stock, and make a bunch of recipes from the meat. This month I mixed up a lot of our favorite Chicken Taquitos filling and froze it in smaller portions so I could make Mark a yummy fried taco with it when I needed a meal in a hurry. I defrosted some the other day and the weather grew cold and I started wanting soup. So I just tossed it in a pot, covered it with chicken broth, and added some noodles. It was seriously one of the best-tasting soups ever! The cream cheese made it so creamy and the lime and cilantro just made my tastebuds so happy :) And the best part was, it only took a minute to throw together!

A good use for old muffins...

With the birth of our baby, we were blessed to have a lot of food given to us. And since our parents came to help us out for a while, they made breakfast for us. So we didn't get around to eating all the muffins bestowed upon us before they started getting stale. But I am here to tell you that stale muffins make a DELICIOUS bread pudding!! I didn't really use a recipe or measure, but just mixed together the muffins (crumbled), a bunch of milk, eggs, butter, vanilla, and a little maple syrup till it was soupy and threw it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. Delicious! I liked it so much that I have since made it with pumpkin muffins and blueberry muffins. It is great served with extra milk, cream, or butter and is a fabulous way to get those healthy fats into my girls :)

For this of you who would actually like a recipe, HERE is one that I recently saw on a blog I enjoy reading :)

A New Favorite Taco Soup!

Well, my sweet baby is here (just 2 weeks old now) and I'm not doing any cooking right now. (If you want to see pics of her, just click over to our family blog.) My wonderful church family has been providing us with meals and it has been so fun to try out different meals! This taco soup was absolutely delicious! My friend put a lot of cilantro right in the soup and let it simmer, instead of just using it as a topping. And I loved it! The cilantro just made it taste so fresh and delicious. So here is her recipe:

Soak beans the night before - I use 1 cup of pinto and 1 cup black. Cook them the next day for a few hours. (If you don't have time, you can use canned beans.) Drain. Brown 2 lb. beef with a chopped onion and several minced garlic cloves. In a big soup pot, but beans, beef and the following:

2 c frozen corn
1 small can chopped green chillies
2 c salsa
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes - I often use grape tomatoes.
Chicken broth enough to cover food + some

Simmer for 30 min. Top with green onions, cheese, sour cream, cilantro and fritos.

Delicious Blueberry or Banana bread/muffins

Because my baby is due very soon (any day now!!!!), I have not been trying out new recipes. I've just been trying to stock my freezer with recipes that I know we will enjoy. However, I recently decided to splurge and buy some sprouted flour so that I wouldn't have to worry about the soaking step in my recipes (anything to make my life easier at this point!). Sprouted flour opened up a whole new collection of recipes to me and this recipe is the first one that I tried. So easy and delicious! I made a loaf of banana bread and one of blueberry bread and they both turned out great! I didn't even fool with the crumb topping since I wasn't sure if it would freeze well, but I'm sure that they would be even better if you included it! Thanks to Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking for such a great recipe!!

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (whole wheat pastry/soft spring wheat is the best!)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup rapadura or sucanat (natural sweeteners)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup butter or coconut oil, melted – or replace with half applesauce, as desired
• Blueberry Variation: Replace bananas with 1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries and 3/4 cup applesauce. Yum!

Topping, optional:

• 2 Tbsp whole wheat flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup rapadura, optional

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 12 muffin cups.
   
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling 3/4 full (Definitely fill all 12, otherwise they will overflow).
3. Optional: In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup rapadura, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins. I normally just sprinkle with cinnamon and a little rapadura.
   
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean

Grain free Coconut Cookies

My girls have been wanting to make cookies, and this recipe seemed healthier (because of all the coconut and eggs) than most but still yummy! This is a very kid-friendly recipe -- the girls had fun rolling the dough into balls and then flattening them into cookies. They wanted "baby" cookies, so we had fun making little button-sized bites. Oh, and I am running low on honey, so we used sucanut instead. And I used my stone bar pans, so I didn't use any parchment paper. These are not super sweet, but just right for me and my girls! We love coconut! Thanks to Food With Kid Appeal blog for such an easy and yummy recipe!

Coconut Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup coconut flour
3/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup honey (I used sucanut)
6 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 300 . Combine oil, honey, eggs, and vanilla. Add shredded coconut and coconut flour. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Make golf ball size balls and then flatten with hands. I wet my hands before forming the cookies to keep the batter from sticking. The dough will not spread out so however flat you make them is how they will turn out. Bake for 20-30 mins or until lightly browned.

Time-Saving Spice Mixes I Keep on Hand

I recently made up big jars of the following mixes, and I cannot tell you how handy they have been! Need some seasoning on my oven fried potatoes? Just sprinkle on some Italian seasoning mix. Need a quick dinner when the pantry looks bare? Make a basic cream sauce with milk, butter, flour and my ranch seasoning mix and toss in some chicken, pasta, and broccoli! Want to spice up a sweet potato? Sprinkle on some pumpkin pie spice! Needless to say, I have really enjoyed having these spice mixes at the tip of my fingers. (And if you are wondering why I don't just buy them at the store, it is because almost all pre-made mixes are loaded with msg and bad salt! Plus, it is cheaper to make my own mixes!)

So here are the ones I plan to always keep on hand:

Ranch Seasoning Mix

Italian Seasoning Mix

Taco Seasoning Mix

Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix

Onion Soup Mix

And I just found THIS awesome website that has 178 different spice mix recipes, so I can't wait to try them out and add to my list!

Hollie's Pinwheel Chicken

My friend Hollie posted this recipe on the POH blog a long time ago and I've been meaning to try it ever since. Last night was the big night and we really enjoyed it! The paprika and lemon juice add a nice kick that is different from all my other breaded chicken strip recipes and we really liked the variety. Fairly simple to make and healthy if you use your own bread crumbs instead of store-bought ones.

Pinwheel Chicken:

• 2-3 Tbsp parsley (if you're using fresh, use more and chop very fine)
• 1 stick butter
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 cup bread crumbs (make them if you can)
• 1/3- 1/2 Parmesan cheese (preferably fresh)
• 1 lb of chicken tenders (or chicken breasts cut into strips)
• paprika
• 1 lemon or lime

1. Melt stick of butter completely in bowl
2.) Mix together dry ingredients in large bowl: bread crumbs, salt, pepper, parsley Parmesan cheese
3.) Make an assembly line in this order: raw chicken, melted butter, dry mixture, greased Pyrex or oven-safe pottery
4.) Designating your left hand for butter dipping, dip chicken strip into butter and drop into crumb mixture. With right hand only, fully cover the chicken by tossing around and roll it up like a pinwheel or a snail into the dish. It might take some time rolling it with one hand, but with a little practice, you'll be a pro. *By designating one hand for butter dipping and the other hand for dry ingredients, you eliminate a lot of moisture and clumps in your dry mixture; thus making it go farther.
5.) Continue placing each pinwheel into your Pyrex, touching one to the other, so keep them tightly rolled.
6.) Sprinkle lightly with paprika all over to add a little kick and color. Adds great flavor!
7.) Squeeze lemon all over the pinwheels (This is the secret ingredient and a MUST to this dish.)
8.) Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

*Check on them at 25 minutes, depending on your oven. The key here is not to dry them out/over bake them since they are very thin strips. Chicken should reach a temperature of no higher than 170 degrees, although some prefer 160 degrees to retain moisture. I prefer 160 degrees.

Home-made Tomato Soup

I love tomato soup! It is a comfort food to me... growing up, we ate it (along with a grilled cheese sandwich) almost every Sunday afternoon in the fall and winter. But since I've tried to stop cooking with canned soups, I haven't had it in forever! So when Girl Talk blog gave this easy recipe for Tomato Basil soup, I jumped at the chance to try it! I have to admit that I didn't have all the ingredients on hand, so I kind of took the idea and ran with it. (For example, I didn't have any heavy cream, so I used a combination of our whole milk and cream cheese :). I also sprinkled parmesan cheese on top. Oh, it was so good!

La Madeline's Tomato Basil Soup

4 cups canned crushed tomatoes
12 fresh basil leaves
1 cup heavy cream
1 stick (1/4 lb) of sweet unsalted butter
Salt to taste
¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper

Simmer tomatoes in saucepan for 30 minutes. Puree, with the basil leaves, in small batches, in blender or food processor. Return to saucepan and add cream, butter, salt and pepper while stirring over low heat. Garnish with basil leaves and serve with your favorite bread.

Creamy Chicken Divane Soup

I found this recipe while waiting for my OB apt. and looking through a Southern Living magazine :) We absolutely LOVE my Mom's chicken divane recipe, but I don' t make it often because I don't like the mayonnaise and canned cream of chicken soup it requires. So I was excited to find this soup recipe that does taste surprisingly similar! I added some shredded carrots to it for added nutrients and it worked well with the soup. This recipe makes a lot, so I cut it in half for our family. This post is part of the Whole Food for the Holidays Progressive Dinner!

Ingredients:
1 Tbs. butter
1 med. sweet onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. crushed red pepper (I left that out)
1 (48 oz.) container chicken broth (I used home-made)
2 (12-oz) pkg. fresh broccoli (about 12 cups)
1 (8oz.) pkg. cream cheese, cut into cubes
4 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1 (8oz.) block sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
2 shredded carrots if desired :)

Directions: Melt butter, saute onion til tender, add garlic (and shredded carrots) and red pepper. Cook 2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth and broccoli. Cover and bring to a boil 10-15 min. Stir in cream cheese. Process with a blender til smooth (we wanted it chunky, so I skipped that step :). Add chicken and shredded cheese. Cook on med-low, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes til cheese is melted. Season with salt and pepper.

This recipe is part of Kelly's Korner SUYL

Butternut Squash Fries

I've seen recipes for butternut squash fries, but stayed away from them because I thought they would be a pain to make. But Kimi gives a great tutorial on the easiest way to cut and peel the squash HERE. I highly recommend checking it out. These were the best tasting fries yet. I'm still working on getting the perfect size of fry and amount of oil so they are really crispy, but the whole family loved these, even the softer ones!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1 butternut squash
4 tablespoons oil (I have used coconut oil or a mixture of coconut oil and olive oil)
Sea salt and pepper

I added a sprinkle of cinnamon, cloves and sucanut :)

Directions: Check out Kimi's post on how to cut your squash! Place the cut squash in a bowl, and, if needed, melt coconut oil gently. Toss the oil with the squash and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper.

The other secret to getting not overly soft squash fries is to very widely space them on your sheet pan. The ones below really were a little too close. It works best to have them far apart from each other. I would use two sheet pans for one squash, if possible.

Place in your hot oven for about 45 minutes, switching the sheet pans, half way through. This will depend on your oven and how small you cut them, so check early, and leave a time cushion if they take a little longer then you expect.

You want them to get not only well cooked, but slightly browned as well.

Creamy Ranchy Dressing

One of my New Years Resolutions was to find a Ranch dressing recipe for my husband. I am quite content with pretty much any of the EVOO and ACV variations, so I have been eating healthy salads all year long. But I suddenly realized that it was October and I had been letting my husband slowly destroy himself with rancid soybean oil for the past 10 months! (OK, I'll admit that I am slightly dramatic, but store-bought salad dressings are ever so bad for you and my dear husband just loves his Ranch on EVERYTHING (pizza, roasted potatoes, etc). So last night I was fixing us a taco salad for dinner and randomly decided to try out a recipe that I had bookmarked several months ago. And I was so glad that I did, because after 10 months of only eating oil and vinegar dressings, this creamy dressing was just heavenly to me! My husband said it was pretty good, that it didn't taste exactly like Ranch, but was close enough and a good enough dressing for him to be happy to eat. So here is the recipe that I got from Heavenly Homemakers (a fabulous blog, by the way!)

Note: I don't recommend using the mayonnaise version, unless you make your own, because store-bought mayonnaise is also filled with rancid vegetable oils that are bad for you. The dip version is healthy, though, and I actually made up my own version utilizing the dry mix and a cup of buttermilk, a pkg of cream cheese, and several Tbs olive oil. Oh, and I added some dill because we love dill :) (Sorry, I know I can't ever leave a recipe alone :) But the mix is good to use with whatever creamy sauce you like :)

Ranch Dressing Mix

5 Tablespoons dried minced onions
7 teaspoon parsley flakes
4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Mix together and store in an air tight container.

For dressing: Mix 2 Tablespoons dry mix with 1 cup mayonnaise and 1 cup buttermilk or sour cream. (I use buttermilk.)

For dip: Mix 2 Tablespoons dry mix with 2 cups sour cream or kreme fresh.

Mix up a few hours before serving, so the flavors all blend nicely.

Crock pot pumpkin apple butter! (No peeling!)

...And so the pumpkin obsession continues! This was kind of an experiment :) I just replaced some of the apples with fresh pumpkin puree in a normal apple butter recipe. I had to add a little bit more honey, because the pumpkins aren't quite as sweet, but it worked well!

I've been looking for an apple butter recipe that uses honey instead of sugar and doesn't require peeling. And yesterday, Health, Home, and Happiness blog posted THIS simple crock-pot recipe for apple butter that uses honey without peeling the apples!

So I just decided to replace some of the apples with fresh pumpkin puree. And I increased the honey since pumpkins aren't very sweet. And added nutmeg and cloves, because every pumpkin deserves some nutmeg and cloves :) So here is what I did:

Ingredients:
6 apples, cored and sliced
puree from 2 small pie pumpkins
1/2 cup water
1 cup honey (you might need more if your family is not used to minimally sweetened food :)
Cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg to taste (Sorry; I never measure :)

Directions: Put everything in crockpot and cook on low for about 12 hours. At this point you will have apple-pumpkin sauce. Puree with blender or food processor til smooth and place back in crockpot on lowest setting with lid cracked for another 4-6 hours. Stir every hour or so and it will darken and turn in to apple -pumpkin butter! Freeze or can as you would apple butter.

Healthy and Yummy Pumpkin Pancakes!

Oh, it is definitely that time of year again! You know, the time of year when any recipe containing the word pumpkin catches my eye :) Yes, I definitely have a pumpkin obsession! I've always LOVED pumpkin pancakes and there are tons of recipes out there, but I had not yet found one that meets my healthy standards (i.e. honey instead of sugar and soaking the flour to reduce the phytates and improve digestion.) So I was excited to randomly come across the Come Walk With Me blog, which discusses Nourishing Tradition-style food and recipes. Lisa's recipe for pumpkin pancakes is not only healthy, but delicious, and even my "not-so-obsessed-with-pumpkin" husband whole-heartedly approved :) She says they freeze well, also, but there weren't enough left today for me to find out :)

Squash (or Pumpkin) Pancakes
2 c. flour (I used spelt)
1 1/2 c. buttermilk ( I used keifer because it was what I had on hand; yogurt would work as well)
*12-24 hours beforehand, combine these two ingredients & cover

1 c. squash or pumpkin puree (I just used the whole can, probably 1 1/2 cups)
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/8 t. nutmeg
2 T. raw sugar, honey, or maple syrup
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 egg
2 T. melted coconut oil

When you're ready to make the pancakes stir in all remaining ingredients to the soaked flour/buttermilk mixture. Lisa likes thin pancakes (not fluffy) so she added about 1/2 c. water and 1/2 c. milk to greatly thin out this batter. I wanted them thick, so I didn't add any, and the batter didn't pour easily but still made great pancakes! Heat additional coconut oil in a skillet over medium low heat (you want these to cook all the way through) flipping when bubbles pop.

Stuffed Peppers With a Mexican Flair

I love stuffed peppers! But my husband is not a huge fan of the normal rice and beef and tomato sauce version. So I thought I'd try something different and he really liked it! (Of course, he decided to eat it with chips, and that makes everything wonderful in his book :) But this dish would also be great served over quinoa or rice, and I ate the leftovers wrapped up in one of my home-made tortillas and it was delicious! You could even make it a vegetarian dish if you skipped on the ground beef. I got the recipe from Kitchen Stewardship, a great blog for finding healthy recipes and learning about nutrition! I substituted my own taco meat for the ground beef and seasoning packet because I wanted to avoid all the MSG and fake seasonings in those packets. My girls won't eat the peppers, but I saved them a mixture of the taco meat, corn, and beans before adding in the salsa. They loved it with a little bit of quinoa and cheese added.

Ingredients:
3-5 bell peppers, green or colored, halved, seeds removed
1/2 pound ground beef (or a full pound)
1 Tbs. taco seasoning (or follow package directions for 1/2 pound beef)
1 1/2 c. frozen corn (optional)
2 c. black beans (dried and prepared or about 1 can)
1 16 oz. jar salsa
1/4 c. diced red onion
(optional) other vegetables: diced red pepper, zucchini, leafy greens, etc…anything you have on hand to enhance the mixture
shredded cheese

Directions: Mix all the ingredients except cheese (I warmed mine and mixed on the stove top) and simply fill the raw peppers, adding a little water around them in the casserole dish to soften them up while it bakes. Bake 30 minutes, covered, before removing the cover for 5-10 minutes to brown the cheese.

Taco Seasoning Mix

We were planning to have taco salad this week, so I decided to try out a new recipe. While at my parents' house a while back, I watched an Alton Brown show about tacos. (Yes, I LOVE the Food Network!!! But we don't have cable so I only get to watch it at my parents' house :) His tacos looked so good that I had to try the recipe. Mark thought it was great, and I like it because I can mix up a bunch of the dry ingredients ahead of time for whenever I want to make taco meat in a hurry!

Seasoning mix:

• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons hot smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Put all of the ingredients in a small jar and shake to combine. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Yield: 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons

Other ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 16 ounces ground sirloin
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 recipe Taco Seasoning Mix (recipe above)
• 2/3 cup low-sodium beef broth (I used some home-made chicken stock and a few Tbs of tomato sauce)
  
• 2 Tbs oil (I used olive)
  

Directions: Heat oil on med. heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the onion and cook until softened and lightly browned around the edges, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ground meat, 1 teaspoon salt, and garlic. Cook until browned, about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, to break up the meat. Add Taco Seasoning Mix and beef broth. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until sauce is slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.

I found the recipe @ http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/all-american-beef-taco-recipe/index.html

Yummy strawberry or peach bread!

After reading THIS GREAT POST about why a fellow blogger decided to not eat any more cereal (all the same reasons that I had for making the same decision!), I decided to check out her healthy recipes for some new breakfast ideas. Her Strawberry bread jumped out at me because we have tons of strawberries in our freezer right now. I made the healthier soaked version, but she also gives the non-soaking version if you want it. YUM! I only used 1 cup of sucanat instead of 1 1/2 cups and it was plenty sweet for me. Next time I might lessen it even more! You should really check out her blog: Homemade Dutch Apple Pie for some other great recipes!

Strawberry Bread (Peach Bread/Fruit Bread)

2 cups fresh (or frozen) strawberries

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups rapadura or sucanat

1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup melted butter (organic)

3 eggs (hormone/antibiotic free)

First…you can do one of two things with your strawberries: If they’re fresh, you can slice them and stir them into your dry ingredients. Or, if you don’t think your family will like chunks of strawberries in their bread…blend them all up in the blender, then mix in. If you’re using frozen strawberries, thaw, then blend in blender.

Mix dry ingredients together. Stir in butter, eggs and strawberries. Pour into two buttered loaf pans. Bake in a 350° oven for 45-50 minutes.

To soak flour:
Melt butter and cool slightly. Mix flour, butter and enough buttermilk to just moisten the flour. Cover and let sit for at least 7 hours. When ready to bake add remaining ingredients. You can add a little extra buttermilk if the dough is too dry or just to make the bread lighter/more moist. Bake as directed above.

Easy raspberry or chocolate swirl cheesecake

Cheesecakes are impressive. If I see one at a covered dish, I always think, "wow; someone went all out for this meal!" They can be somewhat intimidating, but I recently learned that I could make a really good one with very little effort. I couldn't decide between the chocolate swirl and the raspberry swirl, so I did half and half. Believe it or not, we preferred the raspberry side because the cake is so rich and sweet that the tangy raspberry flavor was the perfect compliment. But the chocolate was definitely delicious as well :) Give it a try; you won't be disappointed!

(Warning: this is not one of my "healthier" recipes, in case you had any doubts... I want to try it with honey instead of sugar, but haven't had the nerve. I suppose these homemade graham crackers would work for a healthier crust, though :)

Ingredients:
2 pkg (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 graham cracker crust -- you can use an pre-made one, but the home-made kind is pretty simple as well and looks more impressive :)
3 Tbs. fruit preserves or 1 square Baker's semi-sweet chocolate, melted, slightly cooled

Directions: Mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla at medium speed with electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs; mix until blended. Pour into crust. Dot top of cheesecake with preserves or melted chocolate. Cut through batter with knife several times for marbled effect. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.

Recipe found in the Philadelphia Cream Cheese Collection

Dinner Options

When I am making my monthly meal plan, I keep this list of our favorite meals in front of me. I usually try to pick one beef, one chicken, one soup, and one pasta recipe a week, as well as a meal from our freezer and a penny-pinching (inexpensive :) meal. Since we pay more for grass fed beef and organic chickens from the farmer's market, I'm also trying to incorporate more vegetarian meals into our plan to save money. However, my husband generally doesn't like them as much so I don't do it every week. I also try to double and freeze at least one meal a week.

Meg's Dinner Options

Our top 6 favorites (can you tell we like Mexican?):

Honey Lime Enchiladas

Lime Chicken Tacos

Sweet n Sour Chicken Tacos or over quinoa or rice

Chicken Taquitos

Fried Tacos

Chicken Lazone

Bacon, Potato Beef Pie
Baked Potato Chicken Casserole

Baked Spaghetti
Baked Turkey and Gravy
Baked Ziti
Barbeque Chicken (on rice/Sand/or w/ bacon and cheese)
BarBQ beef cups

BarBQ Chicken Soup
Beef Tenderloin (only on special occasions :)
Beefaroni
Bierocks
Breakfast Casserole
Brian's Chicken Casserole
Broccoli Chowder with Monte Cristo Sandwiches
Burgers
Caramelized Easy Chicken
Cheesy Chicken Nuggets
Chicken Alfredo
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
Chicken Bacon Wild Rice Soup
Chicken Cordon Blue
Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole
Chicken Divane Soup

Chicken Lazone

Chicken, grilled, with lime and cilantro
Chicken Parmesan

Chicken/Turkey Pot Pie
Chicken Salad
Chicken Mexican Crockpot Dinner
Chicken Taquitos
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Chicken Divane
Chicken-Apple-Cheese Bake
Chili -- over spaghetti, chips, or potatoes
Corn and Cheese Chowder with grilled ham and cheese sand.
Cranberry Chicken
Creamy Chicken Spinach Pasta
Cream Cheese Chicken Chili
Crockpot Roast with veggies
Enchiladas
Grilled Chicken Salad with strawberries/grapes/almonds/whatever in fridge :)

Farmer's Market sausage skillet
Fried Tacos
Feta Salmon
Grilled Cheese (The Best Ever!)
Ground Beef Pie Topped with Bacon Twice Baked Potatoes
Ham Biscuits
Hawaiian Chicken Pile Up
Homemade Pizza
Italian Chicken with cream sauce
Italian Cream Cheese Chicken Casserole
Kielbasa and Potatoes
Lasagna
Lime Chicken Tacos
Mandarin Chicken Salad
Mango Salsa Crockpot Chicken
Manicotti
Meatballs (barbq, Sweetn-Sour, or Swedish over rice/quinoa
Meatball Subs
Meatloaf

Pinwheel chicken
Pizza with Home-made crust
Pizza Pasta
Pesto Chicken
Pollo Fundido
Poppyseed Chicken
Potato Soup and grilled cheese
Pumpkin Chili
Pumpkin Soup and turkey, apple, cheese panini
Quesadillas -- taco, pizza, chicken-bacon-ranch, turkey and cheese, etc
Quinoa, Beans, and chicken
Sausage-Tomato Cream Pasta
Salmon Pesto Pasta
Salmon Cream Pasta

Sausage Presto Pasta

Shepherd's Pie
Sloppy Joes
Stirfry w/ onions, peppers, and other veggies-- chicken or beef
Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Smothered Cheesy Roasted Club Sandwich
Stromboli (just using my pizza dough)
Steak Fajitas
Stuffed Mexican Peppers
Sweet Chicken Tacos or over quinoa or rice
Sweet N Sour Chicken
Taco Bake
Amazing Taco Salad
Taco Soup

Tomato Soup