Teriyaki Stirfry

This teriyaki is by far the best! I won't try another recipe again. Bonus, its gluten free too! 

Teriyaki Chicken Stirfry
Recipe adapted slightly from cleanmondaymeals.com

3 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
Ground black pepper
1 medium zucchini, diced into half moons and quartered
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
2 1/2 cups small diced broccoli florets
1 1/2 - 2 cups white or brown rice, cooked


Teriyaki Sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce OR coconut aminos/GF soy sauce
1/2 cup water
3 Tbsp packed light brown sugar
3 Tbsp honey
3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp minced ginger
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch


For the chicken-
I cook my chicken in a fry pan with some olive oil. Remove to a plate and use that same pan for my veggies and then add the chicken back in. Or you can bake it in a 350 degree oven. Cube.

For the teriyaki-
In a small saucepan whisk together low-sodium soy sauce, 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp of the water, the brown sugar, honey, garlic, ginger and rice vinegar. Bring mixture to a light boil over medium-high heat. Whisk together cornstarch with remaining 2 Tbsp water, then add to sauce mixture in saucepan. Reduce heat slightly and allow to boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, set aside.

For the veggies:
Heat remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add zucchini, broccoli, and carrots and saute 4 - 5 minutes until crisp-tender.

Throw in the sauce along with the chicken and give it a good stir and serve over rice. Or you can assemble into bowls instead and even put them in the fridge for later in the week: Layer rice into 4 bowls then top each with 1/4 of the chicken and 1/4 of the veggies. Drizzle desired amount of teriyaki sauce over tops. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if you'd like

Butter Garlic Potatoes

This is my favorite way to cook potatoes, and every time I do, I think about my best friend in Missouri! She is always cooking meals for families, and I can still remember when she brought us these with some pork chops. Mmmmm!! She came to visit me last summer and I made her make them for us again. Something about someone else making you food...it just tastes better than when you do it yourself! Am I right? 

Butter Garlic Potatoes

Recipe from Sarra Bauer

2 pounds (or more) potatoes 

6 Tbsp butter, plus or minus (I usually start with 1/2 a cube and add more if needed)

2 Tbsp roasted garlic and herb seasoning 

This recipe is really just whatever works for you. You can do any amount of potatoes, any amount of butter and any amount of seasoning. But this is about what I do for our family of 6. Wash and slice up your potatoes. I always cut them in half once lengthwise and then into slices about 1/4 or so thick. They can be thicker they will just take longer to cook. Start melting your butter in a really large skillet pan with a lid. Throw in the potatoes along with 1 Tbsp or so of the seasoning. As they cook down you can add more butter and more seasoning as needed. I usually throw in some salt at the end as well. I always get my roasted garlic and herb seasoning from Sams. It use to be a different brand, but now it's Weber brand. Whatever brand you use they are all pretty much the same. 

Green Smoothie

Brooke made this for me when the kids and I were visiting over Spring Break. My favorite smoothie by far! I know green smoothies are not "new" by any means, but all the ones I have tried taste like straight veggies. The secret ingredient she uses is unfiltered apple juice. I have to make it at least 3 times a week, so yummy! Jay (18 months) fights me for it.

Green Smoothie

Recipe from Brooke

makes 2 servings (for 1 just cut it in half)

1 1/2 cups raw unfiltered apple juice

2 BIG (heaping over) handfuls of spinach 

1 BIG handful of kale

1-1 1/2 cups of frozen fruit mix (strawberries, pineapple, mango, peaches) 

Start with your apple juice in the blender followed by the spinach. Mix until it's pureed, then add the kale. Mix until pureed really well. Then add your frozen fruit mix and blend until smooth. If you like it more liquid, use 1 cup of fruit. If you like it really thick use 1 1/2 or more cups of the fruit. Enjoy!

Stuffed Red Peppers

Okay, are you guys ready for the most delicious, easiest meal ever! Because these are definitely them! They are soo soo simple yet so fantastic!!!! Plus they are on the healthy side which is a bonus for all you health nuts;)

Stuffed Red Peppers

by: www.dashingdash.com

Ingredients:

(This made 6 Bell peppers halved, Chris and I ate 2 each, plus a huge scoop for Marlee who loved the turkey mixture) 

1 lb lean ground turkey (you could always do ground beef too but the turkey tasted just the same, and healthier so why not right)

3 Red Bell Peppers

2 Cups of Spaghetti Sauce (I like the Newmans brand and the "Cabernet Marinara" worked really well with this recipe.

1 tsp of Basil and Oregano

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Salt and Pepper

1/2 Cup of Frozen chopped spinach (or whatever other veggie you want)- I LOVED this!!! 

2 TBS Grated Parmesan cheese plus some to garnish over the top of each pepper

Directions: Preheat oven to 450. Line the baking sheet with foil and spray with some cooking spray. Wash the red peppers and cut around the stem to remove. Cut peppers in half length-wise and remove seeds and ribs inside the peppers. Cook the ground turkey, add the sauce and seasonings to the mixture. When the turkey is completely cooked add the spinach and Parmesan and stir until everything is well combined. Scoop 1/2 C of the turkey into each pepper. Sprinkle some Parmesan over each pepper and bake for 20-30 min or until cheese is melted (ours were good at 20 mins!) Remove from oven and gobble it up!!!! delicious!!! 

Fennel, Beet, and Citrus Salad

Fennel, Beet, and Citrus Salad (inspired by Bon Appetit)

1 bunch beets, washed with greens trimmed
1 head fennel, trimmed and cut into 1/8″ slices, with green fennel fronds reserved for garnish
1/2 red onion, sliced into paper thin half moons

Goat cheese

Handful of Spinach
 2 blood oranges
1 navel orange
 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

To prepare the beets, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash the beets thoroughly and trim off the greens. Place the beets in a large casserole dish, or anything that will hold 1/8″ of water. Sprinkle the beets with salt, cover tightly with foil, and put into the oven. Roast until the beets are tender, and you can easily pierce them with  fork, around an hour, but start checking after 40 minutes. Add more water if too much has evaporated. Once the beets have cooked though, run them under cool water to remove the skin. Slice into 1/8″ rounds and set aside.

Meanwhile, cut one blood orange and piece apart, Juice the remaining oranges, set in a bowl-whisk together olive oil, juice, salt and pepper.

When ready to serve, layer the fennel, onions, oranges, and drizzle on several tablespoons of the dressing. Keep in mind that the beets will quickly turn everything pink, so dress them separately and intersperse just before serving for optimal presentation. Finish with a few turns of fresh pepper, green fennel tops, and a strip of blood orange zest. I added goat cheese and a handful of spinach!!

Raw Tabouli Salad w/ Hemp Seeds

Did you know that parsley is rich in Vitamins A and C, folic acid, and flavonoids that act as an antioxidant? Also Iron and Vit C! It is a blood purifier and kills bacteria in the body, it also cleanses the liver of toxins and rejuvenates it! Hemp seed is a digestible plant protein loaded with a ton of minerals, in fact..3 tablespoons of hemp seeds is 10g of PROTEIN!

Base Ingredients

1 huge bunch of curly parsley or flat is fine, or two small bunches

1/2 white onion, diced

1 organic tomato, diced

5-6 heaping tbl. hemp seeds

Dressing

Juice of 1 lemon

1 garlic clove, minced or chopped

1/4 cup of good olive oil (preferably cold pressed)

1/2 tsp of celtic or Himalayan sea salt

Directions

Chop the parsley small and place in a large bowl, with onions, tomato, and hemp seed. In a blender or processor combine lemon, garlic, olive oil, and salt. Blend until smooth- poor over mixture!

Put in fridge and snack on throughout the day for a burst of energy or eat it as a side salad.

Caramalized Sweet Potatoes and Peaches

I did just post this on my dairy free blog, but it's too good not to repeat on here!

This side dish kind of stole the show at dinner the other night. :) I'm thinking it should replace the nasty sweet potato casserole dish at Thanksgiving in so many homes (sorry I'm not a fan of the casserole!) Super yummy and the peach and sweet potato flavors were great together! Definitely going to be a regular side dish around here! At my grocery store the sweet potatoes look like regular potatoes and the orange sweet potatoes are labeled as "yams" so do what you normally do, but make sure you don't use the white flesh sweet potatoes- use the orange flesh ones (that might actually be labeled yams)

Caramalized Sweet Potatoes and Peaches

Recipe from Daphne Oz in Relish

Serves 2-3

1 Tbsp organic coconut oil, melted

2 Tbsp pure maple syrup, room temperature (it will make the oil go solid if it's too cold)

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

iodized salt

1 medium sweet potato, scrubbed and cut into 1 inch chunks (the orange variety)

2 medium peaches, pitted and sliced into 4 wedges each (I only had canned I just made sure I strained them really well)

1 medium sweet onion, peeled and quartered (I used about 1/2 an onion)

Preheat oven to 450. In a small bowl, whisk the coconut oil, syrup, cinnamon, and salt. Put the potato and peaches in 2 separate bowls. Pour three-quarters of the syrup mixture over the sweet potato and one-quarter over the peaches and toss. Spread the potato in an even layer in a large baking dish and roast for 10 minutes. Toss and roast for 5 more minutes. Add the onion and roast for 15 minutes. Toss the potato and onion, add the peaches in an even layer, and roast 10 minutes, or until the potato and onion are fork tender and the peaches have caramelized. 

Kale Chips

I have been bugging everyone about some healthy snacks for Marlee because I have just been running out of ideas. Well I bought some Kale to throw in our smoothies and I thought why not make some kale chips!!! So I texted my friend Aubrey and tada. These were soooo easy to make and they are pretty fantastic!!!! Marlee loved them. 

Kale Chips:

by: Aubrey Vick

Some Kale (either comes in a bag or just in bunches like normal lettuce)

Olive Oil

Sea Salt (I use Real salt) 

Rip off the kale, or cut it, wash it and throw it in a large bowl. Drizzle some olive oil over it and sprinkle salt over it and toss... Sorry to be so vague, but it really just depends on how much olive oil you want and salt you want. Chris said I put TOO much salt (who could have too much salt right? lol) So maybe be a little cautious of that. Cook at 400 for 10-15 minutes watch carefully you just want them to be a little brown so they're crunchy. and enjoy!!! 

Turkey Cabbage

 As I have mentioned before my good friend Aubs does Paleo and so I always try to steal her recipes because they are always so easy, different, and yummy!!! Another reason why I love this recipe is because you can really do whatever you want with it. You can put the Turkey mixture on anything really!! You can do cabbage like the recipe, rice, tortilla, on a salad, anything you want, but the thing I love about the cabbage is it gives it some crunchy, yummy different flavor. Hope you like it.

Turkey Cabbage

by: Aubrey Vick: http://paleomadepainless.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2012-04-29T13:21:00-07:00&max-results=7&start=32&by-date=false#!/2012/04/days-8-9-and-10.html

1 lb of Turkey

1 bag of shredded cabbage (I buy the actual cabbage and just slice it up)

1 onion- diced

1 can diced tomatoes

bacon (I've done it with and without bacon and it's delicious either way)

olive oil or coconut oil

garlic

spices : pepper, salt, cayenne, pepper flakes, oregano, whatever you would like

First brown your turkey with some olive oil and garlic, add your spices, once the turkey is browned throw in the can of diced tomatoes. Next in a separate pan use some butter and cook your bacon 4 or 5 pieces is usually great (or omit this part). and take them out of the pan to cool off. Next either use the pan you just cooked the bacon in or another pan to saute some onions for a little bit and then throw in the cabbage and saute for a few minutes(I usually use coconut oil for this process because I like the flavor it gives)  Aubs adds some honey to the cabbage mixture to help take away the bitterness, but I think that the coconut oil does this. Next cut the bacon into little pieces and throw that into the cabbage mixture. Throw the cabbage mixture on the bottom of your plate and the turkey on top! Yum Yum!





Sweet Potato Steak Fries

I've tried quite a few recipes for sweet potato fries because its the only way my kids will eat sweet potatoes! This recipe is by far my favorite by a long shot and it's all because of the cinnamon. I think I probably ate 3 or more whole potatoes they were so good. There aren't amounts listed for the seasoning so you can just put in however much you like. I do like doing it in the ziplock bag though because it's a lot easier to make sure they are coated evenly with the olive oil and seasons. Yum! Oh and to do "steak fries" you just cut your potato in half and then lay that half cut side down and cut on an angle into the center to make 3-4 fries (hope that makes sense)

Sweet Potato Steak Fries

Recipe from Nicole

sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into steak fries

olive oil, to coat

salt

garlic powder

cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put the cut fries into a large ziploc bag and pour in olive oil enough just to coat the potatoes (squish them around a bit to coat). Sprinkle in a good amount of salt (1-2 tsp), some garlic powder and some cinnamon (all to your own taste and liking) and shake to coat. Place the fries onto a baking sheet and leave some space between. Bake for 10 minutes then flip them over and bake for 10 more minutes.

Spaghetti Squash with a Twist

My friend Aubrey does the Paleo diet, she has a blog with a lot of yummy recipes. I tried this spaghetti squash and I honestly don't think I'll ever go back to regular pasta. You can modify this recipe any way you like too! You can add meat.. or even use a different sauce. I even added some butternut squash to go with it and the extra flavor made it even better.



Spaghetti Squash

Recipe by: Aubrey Vick @ www.paleomadepainless.blogspot.com



1 Spaghetti Squash (this feed two people plus tons of leftovers for lunch the next day)
1 can of your favorite pasta sauce, I used one of my favorite red sauces

Preheat your oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Cut the Spaghetti Squash in half, scoop out the ooey gooey stuff , spread a little bit of olive oil over it, put salt, pepper and other spices (I use garlic powder and basil). and flip them over (so the opposite I have in the picture above) Cook the Squash for 45 minutes, you'll want to be able to stick a fork in it but you don't want it to bake for too long or it will turn mushy. Take them out, grab a fork and start shredding so it looks  spaghetti. Throw some heated up spaghetti sauce on it and enjoy!! Here's the recipe for the butternut squash if you want to add some fall flavor to yours:

Butternut Squash:
1 Butternut Squash
Olive Oil and Spices

Cut the squash in half, scoop out the ooey gooey stuff again, peel it and cut it in chunks. (however big you prefer) throw it in a smaller pan (like a 9x9 or smaller) toss them with some olive oil, season it with pepper, garlic salt, and basil. Or whatever else you want. Cook at 350 for 20-30 minutes until you can stick a fork in them.

Kale Salad

1 bunch kale

1 t salt
1/4 medium-small red onion, thinly sliced or diced
1/3 chopped toasted almonds or nuts of choice
1/3 C raisins, currants or dried fruit of choice
avocado, chopped
1/4 C olive oil
2 T apple cider vinegar

Soak kale in water to loosen any dirt. Wash individual leaves as you de-stem them (pull leaf away from thickest parts of stem). Shake dry. Chiffonade leaves (stack, roll and slice into thin ribbons) and put in a large bowl. Sprinkle salt over kale and, using hands, massagekale for 3-4 minutes. After about a minute you’ll notice a big difference in the leaves – they’ll start to soften and turn a dark green almost as though you were steaming them. When done, drain off any liquid that collects on bottom of bowl (may or may not happen) and setkale aside.

Heat a small sauce pan, toss in whole nuts and toast until nuts start to brown slightly. Shake pan on occasion to brown nuts evenly and to keep from burning them – which is SO easy to do. I used almonds because that’s what I had on hand. However, walnuts, pecans or even sunflower seeds would be great in this salad too. Remove nuts from pan and give them a rough chop on your cutting board. Add nuts to bowl of kale.
Add diced onions, avocado and raisins to bowl (again, raisins, currants, or your fave dried fruit cut into raisin-sized pieces will all be fine – just use whatever you have on hand). Pour olive oil and apple cider vinegar evenly over bowl of goodies, then toss the whole thing with tongs until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed

Strawberry Spinach Salad

This is such a great salad! I missed it this year for Christmas (so festive), and so I decided to add it to our annual New Years Eve fondue night. It did make me feel a bit better eating all the fried food and that deadly seven layer dip.

It's very simple, but has the perfect balance of flavors. Love this salad.

Spinach Salad
Recipe from Sherry Chapman 

1 package of fresh baby spinach
1 cup fresh ripe strawberries, stems removed and sliced
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
1 cup walnuts or pecans

Dressing:
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Mix together and let sit for an hour or until the sugar dissolves. Pour over salad just before serving.

Ramen Noodle Cabbage Salad

If you want to lighten it up after stuffing yourself at Thanksgiving,

here's a very tasty and easy salad.

Ingredients:

2 T Sesame seeds (optional)

1/4 cup silvered almonds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds (optional)

1/2 head Napa Cabbage (shredded in 1/8 in. strips)

1/2 bunch green onions chopped fine

Directions:

Mix all ingredients with one package of chicken flavored ramen noodles, uncooked and broken into tiny pieces.

Add dressing right before serving:

2 T sugar

4 T rice vinegar

1/4 t salt and pepper

1/3 cup light vegetable oil

1/2 package of  Ramon flavoring

Sliced Potatoes

This is pretty simple, but it's also the only way my kids will eat potatoes- so I had to post incase any of you have the same problem! :) You can use regular or red but I think reds cook up a bit faster and have more flavor.

Sliced Potatoes

1 potato per person

olive oil

salt and pepper

cheddar cheese (optional)

For reds you can leave the skins on. Slice each potato to about 1/4 -1/2 inch thickness. On the cutting board you can salt and pepper the slices. In a large skillet heat up 1 Tbsp olive oil. Cook the potato slices on medium heat until they are tender, turning after 3 minutes or so. Add olive oil if they are sticking. Sometimes I sprinkle some cheese on top, and other times I leave it out. My kids love these with ketchup of course.

Twice Baked Potatoes

Fall Favorite.

Bake your potatoes 350 oven for 1hr.

scoop them out

and whip in milk, butter, and sour cream (to your taste)

add back to the potatoe shell and enjoy,

can add shredded cheese and put back in oven to melt.