Flank Steak with Asparagus Topping

I'm not sure what to even call this, but it was good! I'm sure a fancier lettuce would have elevated the dish, but this is called using the ingredients on hand. I was really craving THIS dish, but I did not have the right stuff. But it did get me thinking and it led me to this creation.
-Amanda

Flank Steak with Asparagus Topping

Flank or Skirt Steak
2 limes
2 cloves of garlic
splash of vinegar (I used rice wine, but red or apple cider would be fine.)
10-12 stalks of aspargus
1/4 cup pecans
1/4 cup feta cheese
2 tsp honey
olive oil

Mix 1 tsp honey, salt and pepper, half a lime and some olive oil (a tsp or two) in a small bowl and pour over flank steak. Either grill the steak or put it under a high broiler. I did the broiler for 7 minutes on one side and about 3 on the second side. Let it rest before cutting it across the grain.

Topping
Mince garlic and add to a small skillet. Cut asparagus in 1/4 inch pieces. Crush nuts and add them. Add a tbsp of olive or two and a splash of vinegar. Saute until asparagus has cooked for 4-5 minutes. Turn off heat and add feta, stir to melt it in. Taste and add salt as needed.

Make a side salad and serve steak on the side or on top of the lettuce. Top with the asparagus topping. I made a simple salad dressing that was the same as the steak marinade.

Zuppa Tuscano

Who doesn't love the salad at Olive Garden? It's one of the best first course restaurant salads out there. But you have to choose between salad OR soup when you go. And if you've ever had their Zuppa Tuscano soup, it's pretty darn great. Which makes you think, should I get it or the salad? So now I can have it whenever I want. This isn't an official copycat recipe. It's been months since I've been to Olive Garden. I did not look up a recipe for this, I just made it from memory and it tastes pretty spot on from my memory. Except better, because I know there is no MSG, or bullion cubes or other ingredients that chain restaurants may or may not use.
-Amanda

Zuppa Tuscano Soup

2 slices of bacon
2 stalks of celery
12-16 oz of mild italian sausage (no msg or nitrates!)
1 large or 2 small potatoes
1 tsp dill
2 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper
4-5 stalks of kale
1 cup cream
5-6 cups homemade chicken stock

Cut up bacon and add it to a soup pot. Cook until bacon is almost crispy. Next put the sausage in the pot. If your sausage is in casings, cut the casings open and squeeze the sausage out. With the edge of your spoon, break up the meat into crumbles as it browns. Add the celery and continue sauteing. Add seasonings (dill, basil, salt and pepper.) Very thinly slice your potatoes. You can leave the peels on as I did, or peel them. Add stock and cream. Pull the kale leaves off of the hard stalk and chop into bite size pieces. Stir everything together and last add the kale.

Taco Pie

A few days ago I saw something labeled as Taco Pie on Pinterest. The thought of it struck with me and I decided to make my own version. I think the Pinned version had a potato flake crust, which just seemed a bit odd to me. So I changed up the crust and made a few other adjustments, such as taking out the packaged taco seasoning and came up with this version which I think is pretty awesome. I basically took the idea of a 7 layer dip and made it into a meal instead of an appetizer. My husband took one bite and said, "Oh my god, this is SO good." Of course my 4.5 year old twins looked at it and said, "Ew... it looks disgusting." Once I got them to taste it though, they were pleasantly surprised and told me it tasted better than it looked. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
-Amanda

Cornmeal Crust
3/4 cup of cornmeal
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup of cold butter
4-5 tbsp of ice cold water

I used to make pie crusts in a food processor before my food processor bit the dust a few months ago. I'll describe both methods.
Food Processor: Put flours and salt in a food processor and pulse to mix. Add cut up butter and pulse until it resembled wet sand. Add ice water one tablespoon at at a time until dough pulls from the side and makes a ball. Do not over process. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in your fridge to rest for about 15-20 minutes.

By hand: Mix flours and salt in a large bowl. Add cubed butter. With two knives start "cutting" the butter into the flour. You do this by holding a knife in each hand and cut across the flour and butter, this is cutting the butter and incorporating it into the flour. Again you are left with sand like texture. Add your ice water and with your hands gently massage the dough until it forms a ball. Wrap with plastic wrap and put in your fridge to rest for about 15-20 minutes.

Taco Meat:
1/2 onion
1 bell pepper
1 lb ground beef
3-4 cloves garlic
1 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
salt & pepper
3-4 tbsp of tomato paste
3 tbsp cornmeal

Cut onion into small pieces and saute in a bit of butter with bell pepper. Add garlic and seasonings. Add ground beef. Stir the beef as it is cooking so it crumbles into small pieces. When the beef is cooked through, add tomato paste and then the cornmeal. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Cheese Sauce:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 tsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp cumin
garlic (powder or clove)
3/4 cup milk
1 cup grated cheese

Melt 2 tbsp butter in a small sauce pan. Add 2 tbsp flour and whisk together. Add 3/4 cup of milk and whisk until there are no lumps. Add  tsp of tomato paste, 1/2 tsp cumin, salt and pepper and either some garlic powder or a grated clove of garlic. Last add cheese (I used monterrey jack, but cheddar or your favorite would work.) Stir until melted. Set aside.

Taco Pie Assembly!

1 Cornmeal Crust
1 recipe cheese sauce
Refried Beans
cheese
salsa
Sour Cream
chopped lettuce
olives

Roll out pie crust by liberally sprinkling counter with flour. Place in pie plate and form the pie shell. Scoop taco meat in the pie crust. Top with cheese. Add left over refried beans, or some from a can. (Check your ingredients if you used can and do not buy refried beans with hydrogenated oils.) Top with some cheese and bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until crust gets crispy.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. (This helps with the cutting.) Top with salsa, sour cream, chopped lettuce and olives. Other toppings that would be good are avocados or tomatoes. I hop you enjoy!

From Scratch Pizza

Yum. Homemade Pepperoni and Olive Pizza.

 Homemade Red Sauce. YUM, seriously I have a trick to make this so delicious!

 Sauce on homemade dough.

 Top it how you like. There is a reason for the Christmas plastic placemat, but you could probably use an Easter one too... ;o)

 Waiting to cut into is so important, but it sure is hard to wait!

An old friend introduced me to Ranch dressing on my pizza and now there is no turning back. At least, homemade makes it good for you! (Please ignore the chips in my dishes, I usually angle my camera away from them, but this time I was too much in a hurry to eat!)

Okay, I've been on hiatus for awhile so at least I'm bringing you three yummy recipes all at once. I've done pizza on this blog before, but it's been awhile and this time I have some new methods. Now this is a traditional yeasty recipe, but if you are looking for grain free crusts, you should try a cauliflower crust or an almond crust pizza, they are actually really good!
-Amanda

Pizza Crust

1 cup of warm water
2.5 tsp of yeast (or one packet)
1 tbsp honey
1/2 cup olive oil
3 (ish) cups of flour (I used white-wheat)
2 tbsp gluten
1.5 tsp salt
cornmeal

Water should be warm, but you should be able to comfortably put your finger in it. If it is too hot for you finger it will kill the yeast. Sprinkle yeast in the water and add the honey. Whisk with a fork and set aside for 5-10 minutes. Get out either your food processor or your kitchenaid mixer (I've used both for this recipe) if you use the processor, the regular metal blade will work. If you use your mixer use the dough hook. You could also do this by hand, you'll just need to knead for a lot longer.

Pour the flour, gluten, olive oil and salt in your mixer. And stir to get it mixed in. (You can leave out the gluten, your crust just won't be as stretchy.) When the yeast has bubbled up quite a bit, pour it in the flour and mix for a good 10 minutes. If you are doing it by hand knead for 15-20 minutes. Your dough should be shiny and pulled away from the sides of the mixer. If it isn't pulling away and is really sticky within the first minute or two of mixing, slowly sprinkle more flour in until it does. Take the dough out, roll it in a ball, coat thinly with more olive oil and let it rest in a warm spot for at least an hour.

Meanwhile....

Red Sauce
(By the way, this sauce is easy to make in bulk and then freeze)

1 can of crushed/diced OR pureed tomatoes (I get the big can... I think it's 32 oz?)
1/2 stick of butter (the secret ingredient)
1.5 tbsp of dried basil
1 tbsp dried oregano
3-5 cloves garlic (depending on how garlicy you want it and how big your cloves are)
1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes (more if you want a spicy sauce)
salt and pepper to taste

Basically, put all the ingredients in a pot (I grate the garlic in) and stir until the butter melts and incorporates in the sauce. Then let it bubble away on low on your stove for 30 minutes up to an hour. Depending on if you are using this for a pizza or a spaghetti sauce, is what kind of tomatoes you want to start with. Or, if you only have diced tomatoes like I did, then I used my stick immersion blender to puree it up. This sauce is SO good, and don't you dare skimp out on the butter.

Using high quality butter from grass fed cows (kerrygold is a great brand) is actually GOOD for you. Read this article on the Untold Story of Butter. Also, eating enough high quality animal fats helps with preventing sunburns!

Homemade Ranch Dressing

There are fancy homemade recipes, but I like my simple one. It does start with homemade mayo, which does take some practice.

1 cup of homemade mayo
1/4 -1/2 cup sour cream (do this to how sour you like the taste)
1/2 tsp grated garlic clove
2 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp celery seed
salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything together and enjoy!

I love the quote, "If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, first you must create the universe." So keeping this in mind, I could have taken this pizza even further by making my own mozzarella and a few of the other prepared ingredients, like the pepperoni, but I'm satisfied with this "from scratch" version!

Enchilada Casserole

 Is there ever a good way to photograph a casserole?

This dish was inspired by a pin off of pinterest. The original recipe was called something like Texas Ranch Casserole. But as soon as we ate my dish the family exclaimed, it tastes like enchiladas! Like I said, I took the original recipe as an inspiration point and made several changes. The biggest was to replace the canned soup with real cream. I kept this very mild since my kids don't like spicy food, but feel free to throw in some jalapenos or other favorite peppers to add some heat!
-Amanda

Enchilada Casserole
12 corn tortillas
2 cups shredded chicken
2 cups heavy cream
1 pablano chili
1 red bell pepper
3 stalks of celery
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
3 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp celery seed
1 can roasted tomatoes, diced
1.5 - 2 cups shredded cheese
1/4 cup cornmeal
butter for sauteing in and for greasing casserole dish with

Dice onion and start it sauteing in a pat of butter. Chop celery and add it to the onion. Next dice up the bell pepper, pablano chili and garlic. Add all of that to the onion and celery. Saute until vegetables soften. Add celery seed and chili powder, salt and pepper. Stir well. Next sprinkle in the cornmeal and toss all the vegetables in it. Quickly add the heavy cream and stir. Bring to a boil. Add the can of tomatoes, undrained. Let it simmer, stirring frequently until everything thickens up. Add 1/2 to a 1/3 grated cheese. Once thickened, turn off heat and add in cooked shredded chicken.

Grease a casserole dish with butter. Cut tortillas into strips. Line one layer of dish with tortillas and some of the grated cheese. Spoon in some of the chicken-vegetable mixture. Add another layer of tortillas and repeat until you get to the top of the dish. Top with extra cheese. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

By the way, my husband came in and tasted the dish right before I added the chicken. He thought I was making a nacho cheese dip. He grabbed a tortilla chip and dipped it in and said, that it was a GREAT dip and for me to write down what I did so I could replicate it for him. So I'm obliging his request. :)

Grain Free French Toast Muffins

Those that know me, know I don't bake. So why I decided to try and make up a muffin recipe all by myself is beyond me. And then to make the leap to making it grain free? Crazy I tell you. But it worked! I think next time I'll go for 20 minutes instead of 25, because they got a little too brown on the bottom, but the middle was light and fluffy, slightly sweet and hit the spot. I am right proud of myself if I do say so!
-Amanda

Grain Free French Toast Muffins

3/4 cup of almond flour
2 tbsp coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
3 eggs
4 tbsp butter
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup maple syrup
5-10 drops of stevia
1 tbsp palm sugar

Mix everything together in a big bowl EXCEPT the palm sugar. Scoop into paper lined muffin tins, about 3/4 full. Sprinkle a bit of palm sugar on the top of each muffin. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. While still hot, add a pat of butter to the top of each muffin to soak in. This made 8 muffins.

Please if you try this, let me know what you think and if you made any changes!

*I submitted this post to Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesday!

Fried "Rice"

I'm so funny about carbs lately. One day they are fine and the next I'm all about eliminating them. Overall, I'm definitely trying to reduce the amount of carbs, especially grains. The more I read about wheat the more concerned I get. The wheat we eat today is not the same wheat our great grandparents ate. It physically is a different plant not by natural selection, but by genetically modifying the plant to something a lot of people think is not truly digestible for humans. And as for other grains, like rice, I hear conflicting things about too! Only eat brown rice, wait! Too much phytic acid, white rice is actually better. But white rice is more processed, eat brown! And back and forth. Anyway, all this is to say, that I am trying to make more recipes that are grain free, and this is my latest addition.

Using a trick I've read about here and there on the internet I decided to try a "rice" replacement, you take cauliflower and pulse it in your food processor raw until it makes small rice sized pieces. Then you steam it and use it in place of rice. Everyone in the family ate this meal last night, it was really good! And I did not taste a strong cauliflower presence. While I'm not a huge fan of substituting an ingredient, using a whole food like this didn't bother me. The meal may or may not feel like Fried Rice to you, but it was still a good bowl of American-Asian flavored vegetables and ham!
-Amanda

Fried "Rice"

1 large head of cauliflower
1 tsp soy sauce
2 carrots
1 cup of peas
1/2 cup bean sprouts
5-6 button mushrooms
4-5 oz ham
2 eggs
2 green onions
2 tbsp lard
1 tbsp butter

sauce:

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 freshly grated garlic clove
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp fish sauce
2 tbsp arrowroot powder

Pulse cauliflower in a food processor until you get rice sized crumbles. I found doing 1/3-1/2 of the head at a time gets the best results. Place in a bowl and put a pat of butter and a 1 tsp soy sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat lard. Chop carrots to bite size pieces and start cooking them in the skillet on med-high heat. Add mushrooms, peas, bean sprouts and ham. Beat eggs with a tbsp of water and  pour them in a smaller non-stick skillet on high heat. You don't want them to scramble, but make more like an egg pancake. When it starts to brown, flip it over. Remove from heat to a cutting board and cut into strips. Reserve.

Mix together sauce in a small bowl with a whisk. Taste and adjust to your preferences. Add steamed cauliflower to vegetables and add the sauce. Pour sauce over vegetables and stir gently until thickens. Add eggs and mix together. Last add chopped green onions.

This post is linked using The Healthy Home Economist Monday Mania.

Spinach Dip Omelet

If you use a bit of imagination, this photo is a perfect looking omelet. I think I sort of overstuffed it, but it was no matter, because it was a really good omelet. Last night I made the Spinach Dip Stuffed Chicken Breasts, and I had a few tablespoons of the stuffing leftover. I was going to throw it away, because it wasn't enough to do much with, but I hate throwing away any good food. Then it came to me, make an omelet! A fancy omelet. Oh yum. I actually sauted some bacon, mushrooms and artichoke hearts for the omelet too. (I was going to put the artichoke hearts in dinner last night, but since my husband doesn't care for them, I left them out.) Anyway, I'm not going to post a recipe, because omelets are pretty straight forward, but I just wanted to put the idea in your head, that sometimes a few tablespoons of leftovers can be transformed into a fun and different omelet the next day!
-Amanda

Spinach Dip Stuffed Chicken Breast

Oh yeah, this is good. Ooey and gooey in the middle, crisp bacon up on top. Yummy! Next time, I'll flip them over and broil the underside too, so that both sides of bacon get crispy. I'm posting this recipe to "Traditional Tuesdays" go check them out!
-Amanda

Spinach Dip Stuffed Chicken Breast

3 large chicken breasts
6 pieces of bacon
1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature
10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and strained really well
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup fresh grated jack cheese
salt/pepper/chili powder

I brined the chicken breasts overnight, which is optional, but will help keep the breasts flavorful all the way through, tender and moist. To brine them, just cover them with water, add a splash of apple cider vinegar, a few cloves of garlic and a couple of tablespoons of salt. Cover and refrigerate. You can also make the stuffing ahead of time.

Stuffing: Mix cream cheese, sour cream, jack cheese, and spinach in a bowl. Add seasonings. Stir until everything is well incorporated.

Cut each chicken breast lengthwise in half and pound out flat with a mallet. Mound about 3 tbsp in the center of breast and then roll them closed. Secure with a toothpick. Wrap 2 slices of bacon around each chicken, sealing off the ends that are open to the stuffing. Place on a rack and then over a cookie sheet or other dish. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes. Broil on high for 5 minutes, then flip them over and broil for 5 more minutes.

I did a simple sauce of reduced heavy cream, parmesan and chicken stock to pour over the tops of the chicken. I plan on freezing the leftovers for future meals.

Mustard

My first batch of homemade mustard hits the fridge... (it's sitting next to some homemade yogurt and strawberry flavored kombucha.) Of all the condiments, this should be the first to make homemade because it is so easy it's hardly a recipe. My friend Nicole Rice of A Life Well Nourished, shared the method with me and I had to call her twice to make sure there wasn't "anything" else to it. All it really needs is a bit of patience! I made a bunch, because I know we'll go through it fairly quickly and because it is fermented it will last a long time.
-Amanda

Probiotic Mustard

about two cups of plain very strong kombucha
8 oz of mustard seed
3 cloves of garlic

Pour mustard seed in a jar that is twice as tall as the seed, to give it room to rehydrate. Add garlic cloves. Cover with strong kombucha. (My timing worked out perfectly for this recipe because right when I wanted to do it, I had some kombucha that I'd been ignoring in my pantry for about 2 months that was very strong!) The first day or so watch the mustard and as it starts to expand (rehydrate) keep covering with kombucha, you want all the seeds to be under the liquid. Set on your counter and let ferment for 5-7 days. Pour in a blender and puree. You've got mustard. Nicole likes to add horseradish while pureeing, but I found it was pretty spicy on its own. I added honey because we love honey mustard.

A Real Food Reflection

As I was driving along today running some errands, I was thinking about my real food journey and how far I've come in the past 8 months or so. I'm really proud of the way I eat (for the most part) these days and I'm still excited to learn more new things every day. I know I still have a long way to go to get to where I want to be. Sometimes the allure of the convenience foods, still pulls me. What I am starting to learn though, is that after I eat the food that I thought was convenient, I don't feel as well. I'm more tired, or more bloated. Not to mention going to get a fast food, really isn't as fast as you'd think.

The other night, I was pretty worn out from a very busy day. Dinner plans had gone awry and in the past it would have been a perfect excuse to call out for Chinese or pizza delivery. Instead, I just made a simple dinner of bacon and eggs for everyone. It was Real Food, and took less time to make than it would have taken for the pizza to arrive. The meal only dirtied one skillet and I felt good after eating them. That night I went on a bike ride, which I know I would not have been up for if I'd eaten delivery pizza. It really got me to thinking.

I've also noticed how far I've come in deprogramming myself from the grips of commercial food conglomerates as far as snack foods go. In the past, I felt like I needed a granola bar, a peanut butter cracker package, a small bag of mixed nuts (that I now know has MSG added) or other pre-packaged snack foods with me at all times. I used to be hypoglycemic and if I didn't have food on me at all times, I'd get dizzy, irritable and light headed until I ate something. Now, I rarely ever get that way. I still keep a bag of soaked and dehydrated nuts (to get rid of the phytic acid) and dried fruit in the diaper bag, but when I eat Real Food meals, full of real fats, I don't usually need a snack in the middle of the day. I was cleaning out my pantry the other day and I found a few packages left over from 8 months ago when I last bought boxes of those pre-packaged snacks I mentioned before.

At first I felt like I should save these packages as a "just in case" I needed them for something. Then it dawned on me, that even if I did need a quick snack, I no longer would choose to eat those kinds of foods. I read somewhere, "I can not unlearn the things that I have learned." And that quote has really stuck by me in my Real Food adventure. When you are really present to the chemicals and genetically modified foods that do harm to your body, you really don't want to eat them any more. In the past 8 months instead of grabbing those packages, I grab a hunk of cheese, a glass of raw milk, eat a small bowl of yogurt or many other foods that don't come in cute packages with bright graphics.

The other day, I had to pack a lunch to go for my twins. In the past I would have packed a sandwich, some crackers and maybe a string cheese. Not horrible, but not great. Instead I packed a hard boiled egg, a few soaked & dehydrated almonds, a small serving of raisins, a hunk of real cheese broken into bite size pieces and a banana. It just looked healthier. There was a naturalness about it. Plus, without filling them up on carbs, but more protein, it gave my girls the energy they needed to get through a big day.

These days, when I'm at the grocery store filling up my cart, I actually am proud of my food choices. I no longer cringe at myself as a case of soda rolls across the conveyor belt knowing it wasn't good for me but feeling helpless and powerless not drink it. As time goes on, I want to get further away from a conventional grocery store and learn to buy most of my foods from local farmers and ranchers, but I'm still working through the baby steps. I'm starting to think for myself and not just grab the closest food-like item to shove in my mouth. I'm taking the time to learn traditional methods of food preparation and learning to really appreciate foods for their own unique flavors, not a chemical approximation of what a consumer "should" like, coated in sugar. 

Hamburger Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing

Sorry I did not take a photo! Tonight I made hamburgers for the family but I ate mine sans bun. I made a big salad for everyone to enjoy with their hamburger, but I broke my patty up and incorporated it into the salad. It was actually really good and I didn't miss the bun. The salad was romaine lettuce (I wanted bib lettuce but they didn't have it at the store), boiled eggs, avocado, cucumber, bacon, colby jack cheese and the hamburger for me. Topped with homemade ranch dressing, it was very satisfying!
-Amanda

Homemade Ranch Dressing

There are lots of versions of ranch dressing on the internet. You can get really complicated or keep it simple. I take the time to make my own mayo as the base because I think that is important. This way you get healthy oils instead of rancid factory oils like canola, soy or vegetable oils. I actually made this batch of mayo with a bacon grease/sesame seed oil base! Make sure your bacon is nitrate free, of course. For the ranch, I like about equal parts mayo and sour cream, but you can play around with how tart you like it with what ratio you add.

1 part mayo
1 part sour cream
sprinkle of dried garlic, or fresh grated garlic
pinch of dill, fresh or dried
salt and pepper

Mix and serve!

Tequila Lime Salmon Packets

 

I was super excited to find wild caught salmon on sale for $6.99 a lb a couple of weeks ago at my grocery store. It often goes for double of that. I only wish I had bought double what I did! Even so, I still got quite a bit of salmon and so now it's time to eat it all up. Luckily it was frozen, so I just brought it home and stuck it back in my freezer and didn't have to worry about freezing thawed out pre-frozen fish. (If that makes sense!) Salmon is also one of my kids favorite proteins. I think because it is pink and they are three year old girls. Whatever, it's a super good for you protein so I'll take whatever the reason is! Cooking fish in packets is a very easy way to prepare fish, so give it a try if you have never done it before!
-Amanda

Tequila Lime Salmon Packets w/mixed vegetables

Tequila Lime Marinade:

(all measurements are close approximations and can be tweaked to your liking!)
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tbsp soy sauce
zest of one lime
juice of one lime
2-3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp tequila
1/2 cup olive oil

Vegetables:
2-3 carrots
1 zuchinni
2 handfuls of snow peas

Salmon:

4 filets


In a small bowl, grate the garlic and ginger. Add lime zest, soy sauce, lime juice, honey, tequila and olive oil. Whisk until mixed well. Taste and adjust, although it will be a bit strong because of the tequila. Pour in a small sauce pan and bring to a rapid boil for 15 minutes. Carefully (it's hot!) taste again, it should be more mellow. Adjust as needed. Set aside to cool down.


Cut carrot and zucchini into small sticks. Place in a small bowl along with the snow peas. Pour half of the marinade over the vegetables, cover and refrigerate.


Make packets about 1-2 hours before cooking. On a large sheet of parchment paper, place 1/4 of the vegetables in a pile, draining the marinade away. Place one salmon filet on top and season with salt and pepper. Add a bit of the marinade to the fish and rub it in. Seal the packet by crimping/folding all the way around. Do the same to the remaining 3 packets. Let marinade for 1-2 hours, no longer because the acid in the marinade will make the fish tough if you go too long.


Preheat oven to 400 and cook for 12-15 minutes. Before you cook the fish, press the fish gently with your thumb to see how much give is in the fish. After 12 minutes, press fish again through the packet with your fingers, it should be firm when done. Cook for a few minutes longer if it doesn't feel firm enough. Do not overcook or it will be dried out!

Chicken in Garlic Gravy

This was a very simple, quick and easy one pot meal to throw together. It would have been terrific over egg noddles, but leaving out the carb made it a one pot super quick meal. I used bacon drippings from breakfast to cook my vegetables and chicken in. If you don't have bacon grease leftover, you can either crisp up some bacon fresh, remove it and crumble it back into the dish for some extra wonderful taste, or use another fat of your choice. Coconut oil, non-hydrolyzed lard, or even olive oil would be good choices.
-Amanda

Chicken in a Garlic Gravy

2 chicken breasts
2 zuchinnis
10 button mushrooms
3-4 garlic cloves
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp flour
3-4 tbsp of bacon drippings

Dice garlic up into very small pieces and put in a skillet add about 2 tbsp of bacon drippings and cook the bacon on low. This gives garlic flavor to the fat. Meanwhile, cut the ends off your zucchini and slice in half lengthwise. Then chop into one inch half slices. Cut mushrooms in fourths. Add zucchini and mushrooms to skillet and saute on med-high heat until they start to brown. While they are cooking, cut your chicken breasts into bite size pieces. Remove vegetables to a large bowl using a slotted spoon. Add chicken, add more bacon drippings if needed. Again, cooking on medium to med-high heat, cook the chicken until it is almost done all the way through. Remove to the bowl with the vegetables. Add thyme to the skillet that only has bacon drippins in it now. Add the flour and whisk quickly. When flour has cooked, add the heavy cream and stock and cook until it thickens. Season with salt and pepper. Add vegetables and chicken back to the sauce and cook for a few extra minutes until chicken is cooked all the way though. Serves 4.

What's For Dinner at My House: Nachos!

No recipe, but a quick and easy dinner idea. Homemade nachos really hit the spot for us tonight. I bought the corn chips, store bought tortilla chips are a treat for us lately, but when I do buy them I get the organic ones now because GMO corn is just scary. I topped them with some grass fed beef that I seasoned with a homemade taco seasoning blend of oregano, cilantro, chili powder and cumin with sauted onions and garlic too. Added in some of the roasted tomato salsa I just made and then whipped up a very quick "queso." The queso was basically a very thick bechamel sauce with lots of cheese! A dallop of sour cream on top and it was a yummy quick dinner. John added a bit of lettuce to his, but I went just ooey gooey tonight. The girls ate this UP.
-Amanda

Roasted Tomato Salsa

First off, I know this isn't the best photo. But I was so busy eating it, I didn't want to slow down to photograph it! I really want to write down this recipe so I can repeat it in the future but I didn't really count everything so it's just sort of a guess. I plan on adding whey to what we didn't eat tonight and fermenting the rest to make it last longer (ha!) and to add probiotics to it. That is if it can sit on my counter for 3 days without being gobbled up... we'll see.
-Amanda

Roasted Tomato Salsa

8-10 tomatoes
1 red bell pepper
3 pablano peppers (you can throw in a spicy pepper or two also, but I just wanted the flavor, not the heat this time.)
1 large onion
5-6 cloves of garlic (paper still on)
Olive oil
sea salt

Line a cookie sheet (that has edges!) with foil. Lay the peppers out. You can keep them whole or go ahead and cut them in half and seed them. I seeded my bell pepper but kept the pablanos whole. Toss the garlic cloves still in their husks on the tray. Quarter the onion, removing the outer skin and place it on the tray. Cut each tomato in half and with a melon scooper, scoop out all the seeds and juice. Place cut side down on the tray. Liberally drizzle olive oil on everything and sprinkle with salt. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes or until everything starts to brown a bit.

Add vegetables to your blender, removing the skins from the tomatoes and peppers as much as possible. They should peel right off. Pulse a few times to keep things chunky but blended. Add salt as needed. Enjoy!

To ferment add 3-4 tbsp of whey, put in mason jars and let sit out on counter for 3-4 days until bubbles form. Refrigerate when done fermenting.

Sausage and Chard

I needed a quick and easy dinner last night and I needed to use up some of the fresh greens I had in the refridgerator. I thought that this simple dinner would be terrific. And it was pretty tasty. I actually liked the leftovers this morning with a farm fresh fried egg on top better though...
-Amanda

Sausage & Chard

1 lb of your favorite pork sausage (I used one from a local farm)
3 stalks of chard
4 handfuls of fresh baby spinach
8 oz button mushrooms, cut
1 small onion diced
2-3 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
1 tsp of maple syrup (Grade B is the best)

In a large skillet, cook diced onion and garlic in either a dab of lard or butter. Stir until they are translucent and soft. Add sausage, turn up the heat and brown. Add chopped mushrooms. When mushrooms are browned add chopped chard and cut up spinach. Drizzle in the apple cider vinegar and maple syrup. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Serves about 4, but leftovers with a fried egg on top are really, great!

Enchilada Suiza

 

I have a confession. Enchilada Suiza used to be one of my favorite tv dinners back when I bought those things. This is SO much better than any tv dinner. I wish I had tripled the recipe and froze it though. It'd be great for taking to a new mom. This was a project though. I did not end up making my own tortillas, but that would have just made it that much better. I did cook the chicken for 24 hours to make stock from it. Chicken pulled from the bone after being simmered for that long is so moist and it shreds so easily. Plus I got about 6 quarts of rich stock to use for another recipe. The roasted tomatillo salsa that went into the recipe was really great too! I used anaheim peppers for flavor and no heat, since I wanted my toddlers to eat this and they don't like spicy foods (yet!) I made the salsa the day before. It'd be a great one to make and lacto-ferment and serve with chips, but I didn't ferment this batch since I knew it'd be baked in the oven which would kill of any beneficial bacterias that I would have gained from fermenting it. Then I stirred together a quick white sauce to pour over the enchiladas with the green sauce and they went into the oven. Here is the method broken down a bit more:

-Amanda

Chicken Enchilada Suiza

Tomatillo Salsa

6-8 tomatillos, huskes removed

3-4 cloves of garlic with skins still on

4-5 anaheim peppers or a mixture of your favorite peppers. If you go with a hotter pepper you can either add it with the anaheims, bell peppers or just increase your amount of tomatillos so you get the same amount of salsa at the end

1 small white onion, peeled and quartered

cilantro (optional)

olive oil

salt

On a baking sheet, spread out the tomatillos, garlic with skin still on, onion and peppers. Liberally drizzle olive oil on top and sprinkle with sea salt. Put in a 425 oven for about 25-30 minutes until everything starts to turn a bit brown. 

In a blender, place the onions and tomatillos in the blender, add the garlic removing the skins at this time, they should just squish out. Cut the top of the peppers and squeeze out the seeds and add them to the blender. Blend on high for a minute or two until everything is well blended. The tomatillos should have enough liquid that you don't need to add water, but you can add a bit if needed. Add cilantro if using and blend one more time. Store up to a week in the fridge. Makes about 1 quart.

Cream Sauce

1 cup of sour cream

1/4 cup heavy cream

1./2 tsp cumin

salt

Mix together and set aside.

Enchiladas:

1 quart of tomatillo salsa

1 recipe of cream sauce

3 cups of shredded chicken meat

12 oz (ish) of shredded cheese, I used colby jack

10 tortillas

Spread about half of the tomatillo salsa on the bottom of a large baking dish. Roll up each tortilla with a bit of shredded chicken and shredded cheese and roll it up. Place with the seam down in the salsa. Finish all 10 tortillas squishing them together. Top with the rest of the salsa. Pour white sauce over the green salsa and top with leftover cheese. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes until cheese gets all nice and bubbly.

Buttered Leeks

The first time I heard about leeks as a side dish, I thought how could that possibly be good? Leeks are part of the onion family after all. But the leeks come bundled together in bunches of three and the Potato Leek soup I made the other day only need half a leek. I didn't want the rest to go to waste. I decided to try out this easy side dish and discovered I really, really like it! Then again it uses a lot of butter so what isn't to like! But don't worry, Butter is actually good for you, despite the reputation it has gotten  in the past couple of decades. Real butter from grass fed cows is high in vitamins A, D and E. And despite what our culture tells us, you don't get fat off fat. Well, real fat that is. People gain weight from margarine, canola oil and other industrial oils. Real fat is used as energy and doesn't get stored in your body as fat. Gotta hand it to those marketers at Crisco for misleading the public about Real Fat! So make this yummy dish, and use a high quality real butter and enjoy every delicious bite. By the way the darker yellow your butter the healthier it is. By the way... Land O'Lakes may make "real" butter, but it isn't a grass fed butter.
-Amanda

Buttered Leeks

1-2 leeks (I used 1 and the half one I had left over)
6 tbsp of butter
1/2 tsp thyme
sea salt and pepper

Cut your leeks up, I cut mine in half lengthwise and then cut them in half again. We decided that the pieces were too big, so cutting them smaller would probably be better. However you cut them, after cutting you need to put them in a big bowl or sink of water and swish them around. Leeks grow up through dirt and dirt gets trapped in their tight leaves. Shake, pat or salad spin them dry.

Melt butter in a large skillet. Place leeks in and stir until they start to get wilty on medium heat. Add thyme, salt and pepper and cover. Cook on low for about 10 minutes until they are soft. Serve!

Lacto-Fermented Hot Sauce

Ever since learning about Lacto-Fermented foods and the nutritional benefits that fermented foods provide, I've been so excited to learn new recipes. Creating lacto-fermented foods is so incredibly easy, the hardest part is to get over the fact that most of us were raised to fear bacteria. For some reason we all know that yogurt is good for us because it has "live-active cultures." Well, I'm learning how to put those "live-active cultures" in ketchup, hot sauce, mayonnaise, pickles, pickled vegetables and more. Those live-active cultures are also known as probiotics and they help keep the flora in our guts in balance. They aide in digestion and they help fight off common colds.

I got this recipe from The Nourished Kitchen, where she made her sauce with scotch bonnets. Her hot sauce is just that HOT! I used jalepenos so mine should be called more of a "mild" sauce. I also passed my sauce through a very fine sieve so it is more liquidy than hers. All of this is to your preferences and it is fun to experiment. You are left over with chili paste, that would be great to use in marinades, stir-frys and such. Remember heating anything that you lacto-ferment over 110 degrees kills the good bacterias and enzymes, but sometimes lacto-fermenting is just used as a way of preservation. The chili paste, once fermented will last months in your fridge.
-Amanda

Lacto-Fermented Hot Sauce

3 lbs of chilis (I think I only used two, but these types of recipes are very forgiving!)
3-6 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp of sugar
2 tsp of sea salt
1/4 cup of whey

Cut off the stems of your chilis and place them in a food processor. Throw in your garlic cloves and pulse until you get a pasty texture. Add the salt, sugar and whey and process a few more times to mix. Transfer to a glass jar and let sit on the counter for 4-5 days until you see some bubble action. Strain using a mesh strainer and you have hot sauce and chili paste!