Tasty Recipes

I wanted to share some recipes with you that I found on Pinterest, tried, and our family liked.  Robert and I both enjoy cooking, but with two kids at home, I typically need to look for recipes that are fast or can be prepared in advance.  Sarah is old enough now that she truly can help which is very fun! 

Snickerdoodles - Robert has historically said that he doesn't like snickerdoodles which is a shame because I love them.  I found this recipe for a thick and chewy version, and he loves them!  I guess what he doesn't like about most snickerdoodles is when they're thin and crispy, so if you're the same way, you will like these!

Lettuce wraps - I guess these are a replica of a menu item at P.F Chang's, but I actually make it as a salad instead of a wrap.  You can use romaine or any other lettuce mix you like.  I omit the mushrooms because Sarah and I don't like them.  If you don't have almond butter, use natural peanut butter.  I've even used natural crunchy peanut butter before and it wasn't a big deal.  If you use almond butter it'll be Whole30 compliant.

Refried beans - It seems a little over the top to make your own refried beans, but when I got a pressure cooker I was looking for recipes and found this one.  I don't use dried beans because Aldi doesn't have them, so I seriously just use a large can of pinto beans and less water than it calls for.  Robert says he can never eat canned refried beans again after having this.  After it's cooked, I drain out some of the water before blending it up with my emulsion blender.

Sausage, egg, and cheese balls - Ok, these are amazing.  You can't taste the coconut flour at all, and they taste like a treat and not like they're keto.  Everyone loves them.  Sarah can usually eat three which is saying something!  Instead of using breakfast sausage we use plain ground pork.

Chicken sausage and veggie sheet pan - I came across this recipe a few years ago and now I make a variation of it at least once a month.  You just need chicken sausage, any vegetables you have on hand, oil, and spices.  You can't go wrong!!!

Homemade breakfast sausage - This tastes just as good as store-bought sausage and is so much better for you!  You can make it without salt if that's necessary for your health needs and you really can't tell a difference.  Make a bunch in advance and freeze as patties or ground up.

Cranberry jalapeno dip - This dip is amazing!  It's one of those where you could sit down and eat the whole thing.  You have to prepare some of it the night before, but it's worth it!

What are some of your favorite recipes these days?

What I've Done - Crock Pot cream cheese chicken chili

Who doesn't love a good Crock Pot recipe that you can put together before work and have waiting for you when you get home? This is definitely my old stand by for fall and winter. Here you go:

3 chicken breasts, still frozen
2 cans Rotel tomatoes
1 bag of frozen corn
1 can each of kidney beans, pinto beans, and black beans, drained and rinsed
1 t garlic powder
1 T cumin
1 t chili powder
1 t onion powder
Any additional items to bring the heat like jalapeño or hot sauce, add to taste
1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese
_________
Put the chicken in the crock pot.
Top with the tomatoes, corn, the drained and rinsed beans, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, and chili powder.  Stir to combine.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Remove the chicken, shred, add back to Crock Lot and add in cream cheese. Heat until cream cheese is melted.
Yields 8 servings (This can easily be halved by only using one can of beans and reducing all the other ingredients. Keeps in the refrigerator well.)

I think it's safe to say that I like this recipe even better than regular chili.  So good!

What I've Done - Kale

Go out and buy some kale right now.  I bought a huge bag recently and froze it in smaller bags and it took forever to go through.  $5 well spent, if you ask me.  My two favorite things I've done with kale so far would have to be making kale chips and using it for a soup broth.

Kale chips:
Spread kale onto a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil and salt, bake in oven at 300.  Bake for 10 minutes, toss, bake for another 10 minutes or until nice and crunchy.  Easy peasy!  And you can eat a ton of it without filling up and it's so healthy.  One cup of chopped kale contains 33 calories and 9% of the daily value of calcium, 206% of vitamin A, 134% of vitamin C, and a whopping 684% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus.  I've now introduced you to your new favorite snack.  You're welcome.

Green Chicken Soup:

• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 1 bunch kale, chopped
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced (I left out mushrooms because, well...I hate them.)
• 1 cup shredded chicken (optional, though nice)

1. Place chicken stock in a soup pot over medium heat, reserving 2 cups stock
2. Take reserved stock and blend it with kale in a vitamix, until smooth and creamy
3. Pour kale-stock mixture into pot of chicken stock
4. Add carrots and mushrooms (and shredded chicken if you have it)
5. Cook for 30 minutes, or until carrots are tender
6. Serve

Yum yum yum yum yum!

What I've Done - Loaded breakfast biscuits

Okay, so I didn't actually make this one, but my sweet husband did and they were awesome!  It sounds like quite a bit of work so it's probably one of those special occasion sort of meals.

Stuffed breakfast bubble biscuits

Can of biscuits

Shredded Cheese (I had Mexican style on hand)

Frozen Shredded Hash Browns

1 package of Cooked Bacon

6 Scrambles Eggs

 

Stuff biscuits with all the fixings and bake at 425 for 8-10 minutes.  Boom!  And who doesn't love breakfast for supper?

What I've Done - Apple cinnamon chimichangas

 Another good one!  We had a bunch of apples to use up, and sometimes you just want something sweet!  This was pretty easy and very fun to make together.

Apple cinnamon chimichangas
4 apples, chopped
1 1/2 c water
1/4 c cornstarch
3/4 c sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t salt
1 T lemon juice
Combine everything but apples in saucepan, bring to boil, cook for 3 minutes until the mixture becomes thick.  Add in apples and simmer til tender (about 10 minutes).

8-10 flour tortillas
1/2 c sugar
1 T cinnamon
Mix together in another bowl

Fill tortilla with filling, fry in a 1/2 inch of oil (about 30 seconds on each side).  Remove and roll in cinnamon sugar.

Ice cream with this is a MUST!

What I've Done - Peach and Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake

This one was a bit of a bust.  It turned out correct, but it just wasn't all that good.  It wasn't very flavorful, and I left thinking, "I could have just made a white cake from a box and dumped in some peaches."  So here's the recipe:

3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds (I used vanilla extract)
1 cup sour cream
1 ½ cups diced fresh peaches (I used canned peaches)

Mix it all together and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.  I don't have a bundt pan so I used two round cake pans instead. 

While cake is baking, make syrup. Combine peach puree, sugar, and orange juice in a small non reactive saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Using a pastry brush, dab syrup generously all over surface of the warm cake, allowing it to soak into the cake before reapplying. Let the cake cool completely.  THIS WAS A BUST.  It never turned into a syrup for me.  It was more like peaches in sugar water.  Whatever.

Tell me other people have had recipe fails?!?

What I've Done - Wild Rice and Chicken Casserole

This one comes to you courtesy of Picky Palate.  I have trouble getting Robert to like brown rice.  I grew up eating it so it tastes totally normal to me, but Robert is used to eating white rice so brown rice tastes dry and gross to him.  The compromise - wild rice.  Plus, we had half a bag in our pantry and needed to use it somehow.

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 stalks celery, finely diced (I didn't have any so I skipped it, but I'm sure it would be a nice addition)
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 Tablespoons fresh minced garlic (I used garlic powder)
2 Cups shredded, cooked chicken breast (boiled)
2 Cups steamed white rice (I used brown rice, and Robert couldn't even tell!!!)
16 oz prepared wild rice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
______
Cheese Sauce (I totally skipped all the cheese sauce stuff and substituted it with a can of cream of chicken.  We're pretty sure cheese triggers headaches for me, so I'm attempting to avoid it when possible.)
4 Tablespoons butter
1/4 Cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 Cups chicken broth
2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese
Top with 1 1/2 Cups shredded cheddar cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Heat oil into a medium dutch oven or pot over medium heat.  Saute onion, celery and carrots until softened, about 10 minutes.  Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Stir in chicken, both rices, salt, pepper and garlic salt.  Reduce heat to low.
2.  To prepare cheese sauce melt butter into a medium saucepan over medium high heat.  Whisk in flour, salt and pepper then slowly pour in chicken broth whisking continuously.  Whisk until thick and nearly boiling then stir in cheese until melted.  Pour cheese sauce into rice mixture then transfer to a 9×13 inch baking dish. Top with additional cheddar cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted through.  Serve.

*I cooked and baked mine in an iron skillet.  I'm anemic and will take any extra iron I can get!  Did you know that cooking in an iron skillet amps up the iron in the food you're cooking?  It's an easy way to get extra iron.

Robert said this was a dish worth making again so that's always a good sign!

What I've Done - Favorite marinades

Robert loves to grill.  I love to eat grilled food.  It's a win-win.  Here are some of our favorite marinades:

Balsamic Bruschetta Marinade

• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 c balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 1/4 c crushed tomatoes
• 1 t basil
• 1 t garlic powder

Very Greek Marinade

• 1/2 c olive oil
• 1/3 c lemon juice
• 1 t poultry seasoning
• 1 t oregano

Bourbon Street Marinade

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 t garlic
• 1/4 t ginger
• 3/4 t red pepper flakes
• 1/4 c apple juice
• 1/3 c brown sugar
• 2 T ketchup
• 1 T vinegar
• 1/2 c water
• 1/3 c soy sauce
• 1 T cornstarch

What are some of your favorite marinades?

What I've Done - Buttnernut Squash and Black Bean Enchilada Skillet

I'm attempted to have Robert and me eat a meatless dinner one night a week.  It's partly due to health purposes and partly do to cost purposes.  I made a new dish this weekend - Butternut and black bean enchilada skillet.  I found the recipe on Pinterest, but it's from Recipe Sweet.  Here's the recipe:

 2 teaspoons Olive Oil
1 Medium Yellow Onion, Diced
3 cloves Garlic, Minced (I used garlic powder)
½ Jalapeno, Seeded And Diced
3 cups 1/2 Inch Diced, Peeled Butternut Squash (I used half of a butternut squash)
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Chili Powder
Salt And Pepper To Season
1 can (15 Ounce) Can Black Beans, Rinsed And Drained
8 Yellow Corn Tortillas (taco Size), Cut Into Thick Strips (I used 4 flour tortillas)
1 can (15 Ounce Can) Red Enchilada Sauce
1 cup Reduced-fat Colby Jack Or Mexican Cheese, Divided (I didn't add any cheese so it was a bit healthier)
Cilantro And Low Fat Sour Cream, For Serving

1. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large oven-proof skillet. Add onions, garlic, and jalapeno and cook 2-3 minutes until onions become translucent and garlic is fragrant. Add cubed squash, cumin and chili powder and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash is slightly tender, 8 to 10 minutes. You want the squash to be fork tender, but not so tender that it starts to fall apart and become mush.
2. Next add the black beans, corn tortilla pieces, and can of enchilada sauce and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low and sprinkle in 1/2 cup of cheese. Stir again and simmer for a few minutes until everything is nice and melted.
3. Serve with sour cream, cilantro, guacamole, or hot sauce! 

This was a big hit with the hubs.  He claims he doesn't like squash, but I'm gradually converting him.  The key to making him like squash is to not overcook it.  He hates when it's mushy/stringy which I can understand.  This made for great leftovers as well.  The beans provide lots of fiber, and getting orange vegetables such as the squash provides plenty of vitamin C and supports eye health.  What are some of your favorite vegetarian dishes?