My new favorite simple snack

I don't have all the ingredients for my favorite power bars, so I've just been eating nut-butter on dates. Any nut-butter will do, although my favorite is sunflower butter. The dates have a perfect little hole for the nut-butter after taking the pit out, and the nut butter gives a salty contrast to the sweet date. My girls love it, too, although I have to admit it is a messy snack for them :)

The versatile favorite trio

My girls LOVE quinoa, beans, and chicken. Ok, I'll admit, they would be happy without the chicken, but I always add it for extra protein because it doesn't seem deter them. We make many a variation of those three items, so I thought I should blog about it to give you an idea.

1. Beans -- I make a batch once a month of 2 bags of black beans and freeze them in little bags because they are one of our easiest "healthy fast foods." I have no idea why, but my girls love them both hot or cold. If Karlie is fussing for dinner and it is not ready yet, I set her at the table with some cold beans straight out of the fridge and she is a happy camper. And Karis is the same way. It sounds gross to me, but it keeps them happy til their meal is done. Anyways, beans are most healthy when I soak them overnight in a bunch of warm water and about 4 Tbs of lemon juice. The next day I rinse them, boil them, scoop the impurities off the top, and let simmer on the stove til nice and soft (Several hours). Once cooled, I freeze in little bags in small quantities so I always have some on hand.

2. Quinoa -- My girls love the texture of this grain and so do I. It is the only grain that is a complete protein, so I love to feed it to them. I soak a cup of quinoa in a cup of water and a few Tbs. of yogurt, keifer, ACV, whey, etc. The next day I bring a cup of water or chicken stock to boil, rinse my quinoa (don't skip the rinsing or it will taste bitter!) and throw it in the pot. Then I turn off the heat and let it set until it has soaked up all the liquid.

3. Chicken -- cook it however you like it :) I usually boil it in a pot of water so I can make chicken stock to use in all my recipes.

Directions: Mix those three ingredients with a healthy liquid and a cheese and any other herbs or veggies you like :) I switch around the add-ons frequently so the girls never get tired of their beans and quinoa! I usually warm it all together in a saucepan, but they will even eat it cold! It is also good baked in the oven (at 350 for about 20 min) but it is much faster in the sauce pan. You can make it really thick to be easily grabbed by little fingers or put more liquid in it and make it a soup.

Our liquid options:
Butter
ghee
Olive oil
Coconut oil
Chicken stock
yogurt
coconut milk
sour cream
keifer

Cheese options: Pretty much anything will work, but we especially love feta, cream cheese, parmesan, or sharp cheddar

Other add-ins:
Broccoli
corn
crushed garlic
chopped peppers
chopped sweet onions sauteed in butter
cilantra

Super easy chicken salad tip

As I mentioned before, I've been making my poppy seed salad dressing all the time because I'm loving the fresh strawberries and greens I have been getting from my CSA. I had some left over cooked and shredded chicken from another meal I had made and decided to try a new chicken salad recipe because my old one isn't that healthy. (Now I have to apologize, because I didn't measure one bit! But that's why I called this a tip and not a recipe, ha, ha :) So I just mixed in some of my homemade poppy seed dressing with some sour cream, mixed it with some chicken and chopped grapes, and had a fabulous, easy, healthy chicken salad! Next time I'll measure for ya but I wanted to blog it before I forgot it :)

A new favorite muffin :)

One of my favorite bloggers, Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking, posted this recipe recently and my family loved it. I ended up cooking them a little longer than she mentioned because I used bananas I had just thawed from the freezer and they were still cold. I like the recipe because all the sweet fruit made it possible to decrease the sweetener. I used about 3/4 cup honey instead of sucanat and it worked fine. I'll probably try 2/3 cup next time. I was out of coconut oil, so I used butter instead. And I'm pretty sure I had a lot more cinnamon than the recipe called for because my toddler shook it in :) I doubled the recipe and froze them for a quick breakfast when needed. If you like these, you should really try out Lindsay's other recipes because we have loved all the ones we have tried!

• 2 cups whole wheat flour (or 2 cups sprouted flour and skip the soaking!)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2/3 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 cup sucanat or rapadura
• 2 eggs flaxseed binder
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup cultured buttermilk, kefir, yogurt, or acid medium of your choice
• 1 cup ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 apples – peeled, cored and shredded

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin cups, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the coconut oil and sucanat/rapadura. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and buttermilk/yogurt/kefir. Beat in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Fold in the mashed bananas and shredded apples. Fill each muffin cup full.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Soaking Adaption: Combine flour, coconut oil, acid medium (buttermilk, yogurt, etc), and an additional 1/4 cup warm filtered water. Mix thoroughly and then cover and leave at room temperature for 12-24 hours. After soaking, add the sucanat/rapadura, eggs, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly as there may be small clumps of soaked dough that needs to be broken down. Fold in the mashed bananas and apples. Gently and quickly incorporate the salt, baking soda and baking power. Fill each muffin cup full. Bake as described above.

Cara's quinoa and black beans

I've never actually made a recipe using quinoa before; I always just use it in place of rice or with maple syrup for breakfast. But Cara sent me this recipe to go with her awesome Chicken Taquitos and I am so glad we tried it! We all enjoyed it, but Karlie in particular ate a ridiculous amount :) I followed the recipe pretty well but I skipped on the cayenne pepper, though :) I also soaked my quinoa overnight in 2 Tbs. of yogurt and 1 cup of warm water to make it healthier before rinsing and adding to the recipe.

Ingredients

* 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
* 1 onion, chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
* 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
* 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 cup frozen corn kernels
* 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,
3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

This recipe is part of Kelly's SUYL side dishes!

Cara's Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

My friend Cara sent me this recipe and we all really enjoyed it! Mark said it is one of the "most authentic Mexican-tasting dishes" I've made :) That is probably because of the cilantro, which I haven't used very much before but definitely will now! We used mild salsa instead of green salsa and I actually fried the tacos instead of baking them because Mark likes 'em crispy ). We paired it with Cara's quinoa and black beans recipe and it was quite a hit! It will definitely be a staple on my meal plan now!

3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup green salsa
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice (juice from half a lime)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup shredded Mexican flavored cheese
small flour or corn tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 425˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, ground cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic. Once combined, stir in the cilantro and green onions. Add the chicken and cheese; mix thoroughly.

(If you decided to prep this in advance, refrigerate the mixture at this point until ready to continue.)

Working with a few tortillas at a time, heat them in the microwave between two paper towels until they are soft enough to roll (about 20 – 30 seconds).

Spoon 2-3 Tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto the lower third of a tortilla. Roll the tortilla as tightly as you can.

Place the rolled tortilla seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas until the mixture is gone. Make sure the taquitos are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until crisp and golden.

Serve with salsa, sour cream or guacamole.

**To freeze: Before baking, chill the taquitos on the baking sheet in the fridge. Once completely cooled, wrap each taquito individually with plastic wrap. Place in a labeled freezer bag and freeze. To bake a frozen taquito (no need to thaw first): Preheat oven to 425˚F and bake for 20 minutes.

Experimenting with grain-free brownies!

One of my favorite bloggers, Donielle, posted THIS recipe for grain-free brownies several weeks ago. I've been trying to find the time to make them ever since. The idea of brownies made from beans (yes, I know it sounds absolutely horrible!) was such a novel idea that I had to try it. So yesterday, I did it! But I stink at following a recipe, so I had to liven it up a little: I made one batch with coconut flakes and another batch with peanut butter! I have to admit that I was absolutely in love with the pb ones and my husband liked the coconut ones the best. And my toddler went for whichever one she could manage to sneak off the counter at any given second :)

To me, these brownies were every bit as good as the box kind, just with a much smoother consistency. But the best part is that they were every bit as easy as the box mix! It really only took a minute to blend all the ingredients together :) Give yourself plenty of time to let them cool, though, because they are super gooey at first. I'd recommend refrigerating for a couple of hours before trying to cut them :)

So here is Donielle's recipe and my additions. Be sure to check out her website for more healthy recipes!

Healthy Grain Free Brownies

• 2 cups black beans (or 1 can of no salt added)
• 3 lightly beaten eggs
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil (or melted butter)
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup honey (or other equivalent sweetener)
  
• 1/2 cup chopped up bittersweet chocolate (or semi-sweet chips if you don’t mind the added refined sugar in them)
• 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts -optional

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease an 8×8 pan. Toss all but the final 2 ingredients (the chopped up chocolate and walnuts) into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Fold in the chopped chocolate and walnuts. Pour into the pan and bake for about 30 minutes.

For coconut brownies, just stir in about 1 cup of coconut flakes after processing.

For peanut butter or sunflower butter brownies, decrease the amount of oil to 1/4 cup and add 1 cup of peanut butter before processing.

This post is part of Kelly's SUYL desserts! Click on over for more yummy desserts!

Strawberry Cake

This cake is not the least bit healthy, but it is delicious! My husband started a tradition several years ago of making it for me for my birthday and this year he let my toddler help :)

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 (2-layer) box white cake mix
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 1 (3-oz.) box strawberry Jello
• 1 (10-oz.) box frozen strawberries, thawed (reserve 3 tablespoons of the strawberries for frosting)
• 
  
• Frosting:
• 2 cup powdered sugar
• 4 tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
• The 3 tbsp. reserved strawberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch pan. In small bowl, beat together eggs, oil and water. In large mixer bowl, add flour to cake mix. Stir egg mixture, Jello, and strawberries into cake mix. Beat 2 minutes. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool in pan and frost. Frosting: Beat together frosting ingredients.

Super easy, healthy, baked pancake

Passionate Homemaking has given me yet another favorite recipe! I made this for breakfast this morning and everyone liked it! Mark said it reminded him somewhat of a funnel cake :) There is no sweetener in the actual recipe, so you can make as healthy or yummy as you want by topping it with confectioner's sugar and/or maple syrup :) For the girls and I, I just drowned it in coconut oil and a few drops of maple syrup and it was good. But if you want the funnel cake effect, you are going to want to add the confectioner's sugar :) I loved this recipe because it was so easy and took so little time to prepare!

*if you don't want to do the healthy soaking step, it would work fine to just substitute 1 cup of milk for the acid medium after beating the eggs.

1 cup acid medium – whole milk kefir, yogurt, etc
1 cup whole wheat flour, spelt or kamut (as desired)
4-5 large eggs (free range/pastured is our preference), as desired
1/3 cup coconut oil and butter (any combination)
dash of vanilla extract

Combine acid medium and whole wheat flour. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours. When you are ready to serve, heat oven to 425 degrees. Place oil/butter in small chunks in a 15×11 inch glass baking pan. Place pan in oven to melt. Meanwhile, beat eggs in a blender for 1 minute. Add soaked flour mixture and beat again for 1 minute. Add dash of vanilla extract. Pull out the baking pan from oven and rotate around to spread the melted butter/oil around to cover the entire bottom of pan. Slowly pour the pancake batter into the pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly brown and fluffy.

Yield: 4-6 servings.

Hot Cross Buns

My family loves traditions, especially ones revolving around food :) For Easter, my mom always wants to have hot cross buns for us to enjoy. My girls love them because of the tiny currents inside the sweet bread. I decided I needed to have a good recipe so I can teach my girls to make hot cross buns every Good Friday. I choose this one from The Urban Home-maker because I usually enjoy her recipes and it is fairly healthy. I use honey instead of sugar and use my cream cheese icing instead of the confectioner's sugar icing. YUMMY!

2/3 cup dried currants
3-1/2 to 4 cups whole wheat flour (or half bread flour and half whole wheat
2 TB yeast
1/2 to 1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup cooking oil
1/3 cup sugar or honey
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 slightly beaten egg white
Frosting (recipe follows)

Cover currants with very hot water. Let stand about 10 minutes or up to one hour at room temperature. Drain well. In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups flour, yeast, and cinnamon. Heat milk, oil, sugar or honey, and salt until warm (115 to 120). Add to the dry mixture. Allow to sponge for about 15 minutes if time allows. Add eggs, one at a time. By hand or mixer, stir in currants and enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead until the gluten is developed by mixer or on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 6-10 minutes.

Shape into ball. Place in greased bowl. Turn once to grease top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1-1/2 hours. Punch down. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.

Divide into 18 pieces. Form smooth balls. Place on greased baking sheet 1-1/2 inches apart. Cover; let rise until double, 30 to 45 minutes. Cut shallow cross in each. Brush tops with egg white. Bake in preheated 375 oven 12 -15 minutes. Remove from baking sheet. Use confectioner's Frosting to make a "cross" on the bun.

Confectioner's Frosting:

2 TB milk
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Combine these ingredients together and add milk or water as needed to get a good pouring consistency for the frosting. Place the frosting in a small zip-lock sandwich baggie, clip the corner and use the baggie to squeeze the frosting over the cooled buns in a cross shape.

New Tortilla Recipe!!

As I mentioned in my post about my cooking goals for the new year, I've been meaning to try out a healthy recipe for tortillas for quite some time. Well, today I finally did! If you are trying to find healthy recipes, then you really need to check out the Passionate Homemaking blog. Her recipes have worked for me almost every time and she is my "go-to" when I have a recipe need. (Plus, she named her daughter Karis, which I obviously love :)

Anyways, Her tortilla recipe is as good as the rest. It is completely healthy, fairly simple, and yummy. If my toddler hadn't been nosy about the tortilla press and smashed her finger in it, we would have had a completely successful cooking day :) And no, you don't have to have a tortilla press. I am just blessed to have a sweet SIL who lent me hers :)

I'm super pumped about this recipe -- now I can make breakfast burritoes, fried healthy chips for my hubby, and meals in a hurry. I doubled this recipe and next time I will probably triple it to make enough for a month.

So here is Lindsey's recipe:

3 cups whole wheat or kamut flour (I actually used spelt and it worked fine!)
1 cup warm filtered water
1 Tbsp acid medium (kefir, whey, buttermilk, yogurt, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice)
1/4 cup coconut oil or butter, melted
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Combine flour, water, melted coconut oil or butter and 1 Tbsp of acid medium. Cover and soak at room temperature for 12-24 hours.
2. After soaking, add baking powder and salt to soaked flour mixture, kneading in the flour until the dough is workable but not too stiff.
3. Shape into 8 – 10 balls and let stand 10 more minutes. (I found that I could cook more tortillas at a time if I made smaller tortillas, so I made about 11 per batch)
   
4. Roll to form a 10 inch circle or use a tortilla press.
5. Bake on a lightly greased griddle till done (not browned). Toast for about 20-30 sec. per side.
   

Yield: 8-10 tortillas.

A Healthy Treat

I created these bar treats the other night when I wanted something sweet and filling, but healthy. They are very similar to my "Lara" bars, but I just used the ingredients I had on hand instead of following a recipe. I didn't measure a bit, but I will estimate for you :)

Chop in the food processor in this order:
1 cup dehydrated coconut flakes
1 cup soaked and dehydrated almonds, pecans, or a combo
1 bag of dates (probably about 10 dates)
2 heaping spoonfuls of coconut oil
a handful of Carob or chocolate chips if desired

Blend until it has a smooth consistency. Put wax paper down in a glass dish (I used an 8x8) and scoop mixture onto it. Press into pan, put in the fridge, and let chill for a good 15 minutes.

Cut into small bars and enjoy! Eat straight from the fridge because they melt in your hands :)

Tex-Mex Beefy Hashbrown Casserole

This is a recipe that my Mom made for my Dad recently and he just raved about it. So I thought I'd try it out for Mark. I 'll let you know how we like it :)

1 lb ground beef
1 red pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 pkg taco seasoning mix (I'll just use my home-made Taco meat instead)
1/2 cup water (this is for mixing with the seasoning, so I'll skip it :)
4 cups cubed hashbrowns (I'll probably just grate some potatoes :)
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen corn -- make sure you get organic or it will be GMO!
8 oz Velveeta, cut into cubes (as much as I love Velveeta, I will not use it because it is FAKE cheese and so very bad for you! I'll just use cheddar :)

Heat oven to 350. Brown beef with pepper and onion. Drain; return to skillet. Stir in taco mix and water. Add potatoes, corn and water. Mix well. Put in a 9x 13 baking dish; cover. Bake 20 min. Stir. Bake uncovered another 15 minutes til heated through. This can also be done as a skillet meal.

Random Pecan Encrusted Chicken

The other day I was making a humongous batch of my family's favorite home-made cheesy chicken strips and I ran out of bread crumbs with about 6 strips left to make. What to do? I searched my pantry for a replacement, but since we have gotten rid of pretty much all processed food, there were no crackers or cereal to crumble up. But then I noticed my soaked and dehydrated pecans and got excited. I love to order pecan-encrusted chicken at restaurants so I decided to try it myself. Mark thought it was fine (although he is obsessed with the garlic-cheesiness of my other strips and prefers them). But the girls and I just couldn't get enough!

Ingredients:
6 chicken strips
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup flour
pinch of sea salt
1 pumpkin muffin, crumbled (optional)
1 cup of crispy pecans, ground up
1 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
2 tbs butter or coconut oil, melted
maple syrup to drizzle over the top (optional, but highly recommended :)

Directions: Place the flour and cinnamon in one bowl. Place the egg in another bowl. Mix up the crushed pecans, crumbled muffin, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a 3rd bowl. Grease baking dish with butter or coconut oil. Dip chicken in all three bowls, coating well and then placing in baking dish. Drizzle with butter or CO and syrup. Bake at 350 for 30 min til juices run clear.

Chicken Parmesan -- new recipe review

A lot of people in our church bring their lunches and stay to eat and fellowship after the meeting. The last time we were able to join them, a friend brought a humongous plate of incredible chicken Parmesan. My husband was jealous (we had only brought leftover's from the previous night's dinner :) and immediately asked if I would make some very soon! So I looked at a bunch of recipes online and tried my own version. We all really enjoyed it, especially the girls. I was planning to serve leftovers the next night, but we didn't have any!

Ingredients:
1 Tbs. butter, coconut oil, or olive oil
4 big chicken breasts
2 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs ( I just crumbled some day old bread that I had made)
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tsp Italian seasoning mix
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Mozzarella cheese
Marinara Sauce
angel hair pasta or spaghetti squash

Directions: Melt olive oil, butter, or coconut oil in a sauce pan on med. heat. In a bowl, combine salt, pepper, and flour. Beat the 2 eggs in a different bowl. In a third bowl, combine Parmesan, bread crumbs, and Italian seasoning. Dip chicken in each bowl, coating thoroughly. Fry in a pan until a nice, crunchy coating has formed. Place chicken breasts in a buttered dish. Cover with marinara sauce and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Serve over pasta or spaghetti squash.

Make-Ahead Meatballs -- new recipe review

This recipe caught my eye because it mentioned using cooked brown rice instead of bread crumbs or crackers as a filler. Although I ought to, I haven't started making my own bread crumbs and didn't want to buy a processed kind with mysterious ingredients :) I love Food Renegade's recipes because they contain "real" ingredients instead of processed food. These meatballs were very flavorful and everyone in my family enjoyed them. My 1-year old really surprised me: I gave her a piece of one right after they came out of the oven, and every few minutes she would toddle back over to me, signing, "please" because she wanted more. She ate a ridiculous amount of meatballs that day! I'll be using this recipe from now on!

• 3 eggs from pastured hens
• 1 small onion, chopped (or half a large one)
• 1 1/3 C. bread crumbs (or cooked brown rice)
• 2 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp. Italian herb blend
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 3 lbs. grass-fed ground beef

Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the next six ingredients and mix well. Finally, add the beef and mix well. Shape the meatballs into one inch balls (should make approximate 100 meatballs). Place in single layers on ungreased 1-inch deep baking pans and bake at 400F for 10 minutes, until done.

Drain the fats and store for later use or (heaven forbid!) discard.

Once the meatballs and pans have cooled to the touch, place the meatballs (tray and all) into your freezer to “flash freeze” them. After they’ve frozen, remove the meatballs from the trays and transfer to plastic freezer storage bags or other freezer storage.

Keep stored in freezer and remove only as many meatballs as you need at a time. You can thank the flash freezing for that. It helps each meatball hold its individual shape and not stick to the other meatballs around it. This way, you can remove as few or as many meatballs as you need for whatever you’re serving up.

Reheat make ahead frozen meatballs on the stove, in sauces, or in the oven (350F for 20 minutes).

Enjoy!

Salmon Pesto Pasta -- new recipe review

As you know, I've been trying to incorporate more seafood into my diet (even though I spent my first 26 years refusing it,ha, ha :) Salmon seems to be the only winner in my book so far. I liked this recipe because it was super easy and the strong pesto and parmesan flavor covered up most of the "fishy" flavor. My husband liked it just fine, so I will probably add it to my dinner list. I got it from AllRecipes.com. (Note: we usually just slice up a salmon fillet instead of eating the canned kind :)


Ingredients

* 1 (8 ounce) package uncooked spaghetti
* 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 cup chopped sweet onions
* 3 green onions, finely chopped
* 2 tablespoons prepared basil pesto
* 2 (6 ounce) cans salmon, drained and flaked
* 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onions, green onions, and pesto. Cook until tender. Mix in salmon, and cook until heated through. Stir in 1/2 the Parmesan cheese, and continue cooking 5 minutes. Toss with the cooked pasta, and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese to serve.

A New Favorite Bread Recipe! (and I'm getting a grain mill!!!!!)

Up until this week, I had not found a completely healthy, soaked, whole-grain bread recipe that I was completely satisfied with. All of my other soaked recipes just made a loaf of bread that was too dense. But thanks to Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking, I've found my recipe! love this bread! It is dangerous, though, because it makes me want to eat bread all the time. And now my husband has informed me that I must make it every week :) But that, my friends, is a huge compliment, because he is super picky about bread! AND I'm excited because he liked the bread so much that he told me to go ahead and order my grain mill! Yay! Oh, and I'm excited because I can cross off another one of my New Year's Resolutions already -- I made big, but flatter dinner rolls out of the dough and they work just fine for hamburger buns! So here is the recipe, but you should really check out her blog post for her tips on making the best bread!

Makes 4 loaves
I make this recipe once a month, and freeze them, and we are set!

4 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 Tablespoons active dry yeast (or 2 packages)
1 tsp honey (for activating yeast)
1 ½ Tbls. Salt
¾ cup coconut oil, butter or olive oil (melted)
1 cup honey
11-12 cups whole wheat flour or combination (I will occasionally throw in some kamut, barley, etc., but I mainly use hard white winter grain and/or hard red winter grain) – You can replace 1-2 cups with unbleached white flour for an even lighter texture, if desired.
2 1/2 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup flax seeds, optional
1/3 cup raw millet, optional
1/4 cup sunflower seeds, optional
2-4 Tbsp dough enhancer (4 Tbsp works best for me!) – makes for some wonderfully light loaves of bread! I highly recommend this dough enhancer, as it works very well, but you can also replace with any combination of the following: 3 table­spoons vital wheat gluten, 1/2 tea­spoon soy lecithin, a pinch of citric acid (use spar­ingly!), and a sprin­kling of ginger

Combine yeast, 1 tsp of honey, and 1/2 cup of the total water required. Let sit for 5 minutes or so, until fully proofed. Combine the yeast mixture, remaining 4 cups of water, and all the rest of the ingredients in your mixer. Only add as much flour until it cleans the sides of the bowl. Knead the dough for 10 minutes until the gluten is fully developed. Remove to a greased bowl and cover with a towel. Let sit until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch down and divide into 4 loaves. Roll out with a rolling pin into a rectangle and roll up into a loaf (this makes the perfectly shaped loaves). Place in greased bread bans and rise again until doubled, about 30-45 minutes minutes (the best place is the oven! Just turn it on low 150-170 degrees till heated and then turn it off, prior to putting the loaves in). Turn the oven on to 350 degrees and bake for 30-45 minutes. Bread is done when it is fully browned on all sides! Remove from oven, rest in pans for 10 minutes before removing from pans.

Benefits of Soaking Your Grains

If you want to add the benefits of soaking the grains to this recipe, my soaking method is as follows:

Combine the following ingredients, cover and soak for 12-24 hours:

1 cup kefir, cultured buttermilk, or whey (for dairy intolerant you can substitute with 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or lemon juice and 3/4 cup water)
3 cups of water
11 cups of ground flour (you can replace 1 or 2 cups with unbleached white flour for a lighter end result)
2 cups oats
1 cup honey
3/4 cup coconut oil, butter or olive oil, melted
1/4 cup raw millet, optional
1/4 cup flax seed, optional

After soaking, activate the yeast by combining:

1/2 cup water
1 tsp honey
2 1/2 Tbsp active dry yeast

After activating the yeast, combine it with the soaked flour and add the remaining ingredients:

1 1/2 Tbsp sea salt
2-4 Tbsp dough enhancer
1 cup unbleached white flour, if necessary (usually not necessary)
Sunflower seeds, if desired

Kneed for approximately 8-10 minutes. Continue with instructions as listed above.

Tuscan Soup

This recipe is a spin-off of a popular soup at Olive Garden and I was excited that Passionate Homemaking posted it. The girls and I all loved it, but Mark wasn't a huge fan. But he is not usually a soup person, unless it is chili or Taco Soup that he can eat with chips :)

1/2 lb bacon (preferably natural, nitrate free)
1/2 lb chicken Italian sausage or bulk sausage of your choice
4-6 potatoes, diced
1 onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups chicken stock (you can easily replace some with water as you have available – I used 4 cups stock, 2 cups water)
2 cups whole milk, half & half, or raw cream
1 head of kale (5-6 leaves, as desired), chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese

In a small pan, cook the bacon. Save bacon grease, if desired. Cool and finely chop. In a large pot, cook the sausage, onions, and garlic (in bacon grease, if desired) until the sausage has browned. Crumble sausage as you cook it. Add the potatoes and stock and bring to a boil. Once it has reached a boil, turn it down to low and simmer for 20 minutes or so, just until the potatoes are tender. Add the milk, kale, and bacon and allow to cook for 5-10 minutes. Season to taste. Top with parmesan cheese for extra flavor! Enjoy! Makes 6-8 servings. Freezes well.

Quinoa cakes

I had a lot of leftover quinoa the other day and decided to do something different for breakfast. The girls and I really enjoyed these little cakes and we used the leftover ones to make tiny PB&J sandwiches for lunch :)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
maple syrup
oil for frying (I used coconut oil, but butter or olive oil would work nicely as well)

Directions: Mix quinoa, eggs, and salt together. Fry in a greased pan just like you would fry pancakes. Serve with maple syrup.

Spaghetti Squash-Spinach side (A healthy chip dip?)

Since my husband was such a surprising fan of spaghetti squash, I bought some more last week. I was planning to look up another fabulous recipe online, but both of our computers were down. So I had to improvise. I finally decided to just add to my basic creamed spinach and see how it turned out. The girls thought it was fun the first time I served it to them, but didn't really want it the next day. But my husband surprised me. He loved it and said it was kind of like a spinach chip dip. The next thing I knew, he was getting his tortilla chips out of the pantry and dipping them in my spaghetti squash! The man never ceases to amaze me :) I didn't really see the connection with the chips, but I did enjoy my side dish. So here it is:

Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash
1 box frozen spinach, thawed, or fresh baby spinach leaves
1 stick of butter
one small sweet onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
4 Tbs. flour
1 cup milk
cheese as desired (I use any combination of swiss, cream cheese, parmesan, etc.)

Directions: In a large stock pot, put about 2-3 inches of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Wash outside of squash, cut squash in half and place in the stock pot of boiling water, flesh side down. Cover and boil for 15-20 minutes, until squash is tender. Drain squash. Holding halves with a potholder, use a fork to scoop out the stringy "spaghetti". Set aside. Melt butter in a sauce pan. Saute garlic and onions in butter til soft, then add spinach and squash. (The spinach and squash will soak up most of the butter. ) Sprinkle on flour and mix thoroughly. Slowly add milk, and stir til the sauce thickens. (It is kind of like making a basic white sauce.) Add in cheese and stir til melted. Serve and enjoy!

Italian Cream Cheese Chicken

Chicken Divane is one of my family's very favorite dishes. However, Chicken Divane contains soups and mayonaise that I am trying to avoid. So I was excited to find this recipe on Donielle's blog that seemed like a worthy substitute. The girls and I really loved it, but Mark just thought it was ok. But I used more broccoli and noodles than the recipe called for because I was trying to stretch my expensive organic chicken. So it didn't really have enough of the yummy sauce that makes it so good. So I am going to make it again soon and double the sauce and see if my husband likes it more :)

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour or cornstarch

3 cups chicken broth

8 oz cream cheese

1 Tbsp Italian Dressing Mix

1/2 Tbsp dried minced onion

1/2 Tbsp dried minced garlic

1-2 cooked and cubed chicken breasts

1 box of rotini pasta (we use brown rice)

1/2 head of steamed broccoli or about 1/2 bag of frozen broccoli

Cook pasta until al dente or slightly firm. (if you’re freezing this undercook it) Melt the butter over medium heat and whisk in the flour or cornstarch (cornstarch for you gluten free folks) to make a rue. Once mixed together well, add the broth in slowly while whisking. Once at a gentle boil, whisk occasioanlly and simmer for 5 minutes until thickened. Add in cream cheese and all the seasonings. Mix well and taste. If you like more seasoning, add it now. Let simmer for a few minutes while you grease a 9×13 pan and dump the pasta, chicken, and broccoli into it. Pour cream cheese mixture over everything and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Take out, stir, and enjoy!

Variations we like:

• Use 4 cups of cooked rice instead of the pasta
• For an extra creamy version you can use milk in place of all but 1 cup of broth
• You can also use 2 cups of cream of chicken soup for the broth as well

Italian Dressing Mix

One of my favorite bloggers, Donielle, posted this great mix on her blog and I was so excited! My husband likes me to marinade all of our meat in Italian dressing before grilling and I hate to do it because of all the rancid and "bad-for-you" oils in the store-bought kind. This mix is really handy for other things as well. I actually used it last night when I tried to make a pizza and realized that I didn't have any pizza sauce. I just mixed some tomato paste, diced tomatoes, coconut oil, honey, and a couple teaspoons of this mixture together and warmed it on the stove. (I wish I could give you that recipe, but I didn't measure a thing! It is definitely something that I'll try to keep on hand!

• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  
• 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar (something like evaporated cane juice would work well)
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 tablespoons salt

Use as Italian seasoning in breadcrumbs or sprinkled on grilled chicken. Can also be used as a dressing or marinade by mixing 2Tbsp of the mix with 1/4 cup vinegar, 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, and 2Tbsp water.

Sweeter Mashed Potatoes

Ever since our success with yummy parsnip chips, I've been interested in recipes using parsnips. I was skimming through an old recipe book last night (because I was getting ready to donate it to our share shop and wanted to make sure I wasn't missing a fabulous recipe :) and noticed a recipe that used parsnips in mashed potatoes. I couldn't find it again if I tried, but it came to mind tonight when I was fixing dinner. So I tried my own version and really liked it! My husband, who always tells me EXACTLY what he thinks of my concoctions (whether I want to hear it or not :) said, "I really like these; what did you do to them?" He was quite a fan. Even my picky toddler ate a whole bowlful of them! The parsnips definitely add a subtle sweetness that we all really liked. So here is what I did:

Ingredients:
4 small baking potatoes
3 parsnips
1/2 to 3/4 stick of butter
enough milk to make them creamy (Sorry for the lack of measurement -- I just pour a little, mix a little, pour a little, mix a little, etc. til I get the consistency we like :)
salt to taste.

Directions: Wash potatoes and parsnips. I peel my parsnips because they remind me of carrots, but I really have no idea if most people peel them or not :) We don't peel our potatoes, but you can if you want to. Chop potatoes and parsnips into big chunks. Boil potatoes and parsnips together in a pot of water until soft. Drain. Mix together in a bowl with butter, allowing it to melt before adding the cold milk. Salt to taste.

A new favorite Oatmeal Bake

I love my oatmeal casserole, but the directions don't call for soaking the oats, which I like to do for better nutrition. I found this recipe and have been using it instead. We really like it. I usually pour milk over it for Karis because she loves to eat it that way :) I got this recipe from Keeper of the Home, a blog I really enjoy.

1 cup oil (I use any combination of butter, coconut oil, or olive oil)
1 ½ cups sugar (I use honey- about 1/2- 3/4 cup or even less. Because we also add fruit, this seems to be enough sweetness for us. I've also used maple syrup with great success.)
4 eggs
6 cups oats
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon (a bit more cinnamon is good, too!)
2 cups yogurt or milk
Variations: Adding chopped apples or raisins (or both) before baking is a wonderful addition, almost like eating dessert for breakfast!

1) Prepare (oil) a 9x13 pan. Mix oats well with milk or yogurt mixture. If you used yogurt, let soak in pan overnight for better absorption of nutrients. Then add in the rest of the ingredients the next morning; mix well.
2) Bake at 375° for 30-40 minutes until lightly browned.
3) We pour raw milk or cream, and add raisins or other fruit (if not added during baking) before eating.

Creamy Spaghetti Squash Casserole

I've been looking for a good spaghetti squash recipe for a while so I decided to try this one. I generally LOVE Tammy's recipes and this one sounded delicious. Who knew that spaghetti squash could be comfort food? We all really loved it, even my husband who had never even heard of such a thing. (You should have heard the conversation we had when I tried to explain to him about spaghetti squash... :) It will definitely be a regular on my meal plan. I love any kind of creamy pasta, but I also know that pasta is not the healthiest. So I am pumped to finally try such a yummy substitution! This recipe was fairly easy to make and I am curious if it will freeze well. I will probably start substituting spaghetti squash for noodles in a lot of my recipes now. I have no idea why I waited this long to try out such a common squash :)

Ingredients:

2 medium-large spaghetti squashes (about 6 [packed] cups of cooked squash all together)
2 tablespoons butter
1 small-medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
8 ounces cream cheese
8 ounces sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
8 ounces (2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese
2 ounces (1/4 cup) shredded cheddar cheese, optional
8-12 ounces (about 1 1/4 to 2 cups) cooked ground beef
4 cups spaghetti sauce (can use a 26 ounce jar or a quart of homemade)
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Instructions:

1. In a large stock pot, put about 2-3 inches of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Wash outside of squash, cut squash in half and place in the stock pot of boiling water, flesh side down. Cover and boil for 15-20 minutes, until squash is tender.

2. Drain squash. Holding halves with a potholder, use a fork to scoop out the stringy "spaghetti". Set aside.

3. In a large stock pot or saute pan, melt butter. Add onions, garlic, and bell peppers and saute until tender. Add squash and cook and stir until heated through.

4. In a separate saucepan on low heat, melt the cream cheese. Add the sour cream, salt, pepper, and parsley flakes, stirring to make a smooth white sauce.

5. Stir the white sauce into the cooked squash mixture.

6. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish. Spread the white squash mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Spread about 1 1/2 cups of the shredded mozzarella cheese over the squash.

7. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, spaghetti sauce, sugar, and Italian seasoning. Spread over the layer of shredded cheese. Top with the remaining shredded mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese (if using). Sprinkle with dried basil or oregano flakes for garnish if desired.

8. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees (325 for glass dish) for 30-40 minutes, until casserole is hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly (10-15 minutes) before serving.

Mom's Mouth-Watering Orange Blossom Bites

These are super sweet and tangy and definitely one of my favorite Christmas treats! But I'll warn you, they aren't particularly healthy :)

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 1/3 cup sugar

½ cup water

1 ½ cup flour

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

Sauce Ingredients (Double this recipe)
1 ½ lb powdered sugar
juice of 2 lemons
juice of 2 oranges
rind of 1 lemon
rind of 1 orange

Directions: Mix sugar and eggs first, then remaining ingredients. Bake in small buttered mini muffin tins @ 350 for 8 – 10 mins. Dip in sauce while hot. Place on wax paper.

*Double the sauce recipe in order to have plenty!

This post is part of Kelly's SUYL desserts! Click on over for more yummy desserts!

Favorite Christmas Candy and Fudge

Kelly is doing a fun "Show us your Life Christmas Treats" post and I thought I'd join her and share my favorite Christmas treats with you:

Mom's Mouth-Watering Orange Blossom Bites
Pumpkin Pie Fudge
Healthy and Yummy Chocolate Fudge
Haystacks
Crockpot Peanut Clusters
Cinnamon Fudge
Gigi's Chocolate Fudge
Gigi's Peanut Butter Rolls
Hawaiin Turtle Cups
Pumpkin Pie Fudge
Mom's Favorite Gingerbread Cookies
Grandma Connie's Orange Blossom Sticks

Taco soup made healthier

This post is part of the Whole Food for the Holidays Progressive Dinner! My family LOVES taco soup! Even my picky toddler will gobble it down if I tone down the spiciness with some sour cream or cream cheese. We have really enjoyed THIS recipe but since I'm trying to make all my recipes healthier, I wanted to do without the packaged taco seasoning. And I had a leftover cup of butternut squash that needed to be used, so I thought I'd give it a try. I also randomly decided to throw in some spinach to see if anyone minded. I was utterly amazed that it didn't bother them at all and my husband actually said that it was the best taco soup I had made yet! So hopefully I can remember how I did it :)

Ingredients:
1 pound taco meat
1 cup (or more, depending on how thick you want it) of home-made chicken stock
1 jar organic salsa
1 green pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 can organic Italian style diced tomatoes (make sure you look at ingredients to make sure there is no HFCS!!!)
1 1/2 cup soaked, cooked beans (we like black beans, but you can use whatever you like)
1 1/2 cup frozen organic corn
1 cup of butternut squash puree (optional)
1 box frozen spinach, thawed and drained (optional)
chili powder to taste if it is not spicy enough for you

Directions: If you are making taco meat, saute the green peeper and onion with the ground beef until tender, adding in the other ingredients as the recipe call for them. Then add the taco meat along with all the above ingredients in a crock pot and cook on low all day. If your taco meat is already made, just throw it along with everything else into the crock pot. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese and chips or on top of quinoa.

2 fabulous chili recipes

I've never had a favorite chili recipe. A long time ago, I found this basic, easy chili recipe and have used it a "guideline" ever since. It is nothing special by itself, but I can turn it into something awesome, depending on what I feel like putting in it. (My chili never turns out the same. Never.) And sometimes into something not-so-awesome, like the time I experimented by just using sausage instead of ground beef. Not my family's fav. But anyways, I've been wanting to find a really, really "awesome-every-time" chili recipe and recently pestered two of my friends enough to get them to give me their awesome recipes. I think I'm going to have to have my own chili-cook-off because I haven't decided which one like better :) I will probably tone down the chilies in these, however, because my family doesn't like it quite so spicy :)

Jason's Awesome Chili

(can be made with either chuck roast or hamburger/sausage mixture)

Ingredients:
1 can light red kidney beans
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 can pintos
1 can black beans (all bush's preferably)
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow/orange bell pepper
1 sweet onion
1 small can of diced tomatos and green chilis
half a pack of applewood or smoked bacon
1 large can of crushed tomatoes (hunts)
1 packet of McCormick original chili seasoning
1 packet of McCormick mild chili seasoning
1 small can of tomato paste
a little less than a 1/4 of a cup of mustard, and the same for ketchup
1 3lb Chuck roast/ 1 lb of lean ground hamburger and 1 lb of Jimmy Dean Spicy Sausage
3/4 cup of light brown sugar
1 tsp of cinamon
1/4 cup of molasses
cover the top of the chili with chili powder once, mix, then cover lightly with cayenne pepper once and mix
salt and pepper to taste.

For Chuck Roast:
1. chop bacon into small bits and cook in a large skillet
2. chop peppers and onion into small bits and sautee in bacon grease
3. put bacon, sauteed veggies, and whole chuck roast, diced tomatoes with chiles, McCormick original chili mix, and tomato paste in crock pot and cook on low for 4 hours
4. add beans and large can of crushed tomatoes cook on low for 4 more hours checking every now and then to make sure the chuck isn't burning
5. add everything else, mixing after each ingredient, if meat is tender enough to shred at this point do it, otherwise check later to shred meat.
6. Cook for 4 more hours

For Hamburger/Sausage:
1. chop and cook bacon
2. saute veggies in bacon grease and drain
3. mix all beans, peppers, onion, crushed tomatoes, tomatoes and chiles, mild chili seasoning
4. cook on low for about 2 hours
5. mix hamburger and sausage together thoroughly, brown and add original mccormick mix.
6. add meat to crockpot
7. add everything else seasoning to taste
8. cook on low for about 6 hours

Theron's Awesome Chili:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons bacon grease, or canola oil
• 2 red bell peppers, diced (about 2 cups)
• 2 jalapenos, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
• 3 Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled, chopped
• 3 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, chopped
• 2 yellow onions, diced (about 2 cups)
• 1 head garlic, minced (about 1/4 cup)
• 2 pounds ground beef, coarse grind
• 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
• 2 teaspoons granulated onion or onion powder
  
• 2 teaspoons granulated garlic or garlic powder
  
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 cup tomato paste
• 1 cup beef stock
  
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 (15.5-ounce) cans pinto beans, with juice
• 2 (15.5-ounce) cans kidney beans, with juice
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
  

Directions

In large stock pot over high heat, add butter and bacon grease. Add bell pepper, jalapeno, chiles and onion and cook until caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute a minute longer. Add chuck and brown. Add ground beef and sausage to brown and stir gently, trying not to break up the ground beef too much. Cook until meat is nicely browned and cooked through, about 7 to10 minutes. Add in granulated onions, granulated garlic, chili powder, paprika, cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute. Add in tomato sauce and paste and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in beef and chicken stock. Add beans, lower heat and simmer for 2 hours.

The way we do spinach...

As a kid, I thought that spinach was a gross health food. I stayed away from it as much as possible until I met something amazing called spinach dip. There are many varieties of spinach dip, and I've never met one that I didn't like :) But this post isn't about spinach dip. I decided that I wanted to find a way to eat spinach that wasn't as expensive to make as dip and healthy enough to be served as a side dish at our table. When I discovered the surprisingly delicious Sweet-Potato-Spinach Bake, I realized that it really isn't hard to make spinach delicious, even without the sweet potatoes. So here is the way my entire family enjoys spinach:

Ingredients:
1 box frozen spinach, thawed, or fresh baby spinach leaves
1/2 stick of butter
1/4 to 1/2 of a small sweet onion, minced
2 cloves of garlic
4 Tbs. flour
1 cup milk
cheese as desired (I use about 1/4 cup of swiss and some Parmesan sprinkled on top)
dash of nutmeg

Directions: Melt butter in pan. Saute minced garlic and onions in butter til soft, then add spinach. )The spinach will soak up most of the butter. ) Sprinkle flour and nutmeg on spinach, mix thoroughly. Slowly add milk, and stir til the sauce thickens. (It is kind of like making a basic white sauce.) Add in cheese and stir til melted. Serve and enjoy!