Tag Archives: delicious

Granola Trail Mix

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imageI made a goal to make granola as part of my 101 Goals, but when I started the Paleo diet, I figured that one would never get accomplished. But, I’ve switched back to my hypoglycemic diet, so that my body can get the benefits that diet offers, and oats are not evil for the time being. I stumbled across this Applesauce Granola recipe, happened to have all the ingredients already on hand, and decided to make it. I cut out the brown sugar, so the only sweetener is a tablespoon of honey. By itself, the granola is quite bland, and I was worried that it was just going to sit around for a few months, before I threw it out. Then I got the idea to make a snack out of it, and I created this delicious trail mix. The practically unsweetened granola allows the other flavors to stand out and shine. I’ve even considered eating this as a cereal, because it would be fantastic. My girls are constantly begging to snack on this, and I’m okay with them doing so.

2 C Granola
1 C FD* Raspberries
1 C FD Strawberries
1 C FD Vanilla Yogurt Bites
1 C Raisins
1 C Unsalted Pumpkin Seeds

*freeze dried

Mix together and store in an airtight container. If you really want to be super healthy, leave out the yogurt bites, as those have sugar added, made glaringly obvious by how my girls eat all of those first. If you don’t have any of the freeze dried foods, it’s still really good with just the raisins and pumpkin seeds.

Chicken Squash Stir Fry

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Chicken Squash Stir FryA friend asked me once what my go-to meal was, and I said, “stir fry.” We don’t eat rice with ours to cut back on grains, but feel free to add it if you want. This is my newest stir fry creation, and it is fabulous. Just a note, I don’t measure stuff. If I want more carrots, I add more carrots. If I want less zucchini, I only cut one zucchini. I salt to taste always, and sometimes I don’t add pepper to this dish. The only ingredient that I’m a stickler on is the garlic powder. It is what makes this dish divine. Without it, this would just be another average stir fry, but with too much of it, this would not be palatable. So, just a light dusting of garlic powder, and you’ll be set.

And, lastly, that lettuce came from my garden! Oh and it is super delicious. Watering everyday has really enhanced the flavor. I hope everybody’s gardens provide them with such deliciousness.

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Chicken Squash Stir Fry

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Yield: Serves 6 people

Ingredients

  • 2-4 T butter
  • 6 chicken tenders
  • 2-3 carrots, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 yellow squash, diced
  • 1-2 zucchini, diced
  • 1/2-1 t. salt
  • 1/2 t. pepper
  • 1/8 t. garlic powder

Instructions

  1. In a large frying pan, heat butter over medium heat.
  2. Add chicken, turning occasionally to cook evenly, and salting.
  3. Cut chicken into small slices using cooking scissors.
  4. Add carrots, and cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add onion, yellow squash, and zucchini, and cook until tender. About ten more minutes, stirring occasionally.
  6. Add salt and pepper to taste and garlic powder. Cook about five more minutes.
http://kstuff.net/chicken-squash-stir-fry/

Chicken Noodle Soup

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I was talking with one of my wonderful friends tonight and turns out we both make our own chicken stock. It’s really a great thing. She told this story about how one of her friends is only going to have chicken bouillon for her food storage because she is going to grow the rest in her garden. I thought it was great.

So, I promised my chicken noodle soup recipe, and here it is. I came up with this one on my own. It was the beginning of me creating my own recipes. I did a lot of research for this one. I read a lot of other chicken noodle soup recipes that were already out there, and I asked a lot of people how they made theirs. This recipe is what I came up with, and it is really delicious.

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Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

  • 2 T extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 medium carrots, chopped
  • 2 celery ribs, chopped
  • Thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 2 quarts of chicken stock
  • 8 oz of egg noodles
  • 1 lb of diced chicken, cooked

Instructions

  1. Cook onion, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper in EVOO.
  2. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.
  3. Add noodles and simmer for 10 minutes.
  4. Add chicken and simmer for 15 minutes.
http://kstuff.net/chicken-noodle-soup/

TIPS:

I use a tiny little grater to grate my garlic into the pot.
I chop a bunch of baby carrots into fourths, so I don’t have to buy baby carrots and regular carrots.
I just add noodles by the handful until I think there’s enough.
I cut my chicken using cooking scissors to speed things up.

Four New Wonderful Recipes

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Last night, for Easter dinner, I made Pan-Seared Pork Tenderloin with Rosemary Balsamic and Orange Sauce, Skillet Bacon Mac and Cheese, Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto, and for dessert, Crock Pot Cheesecake.  My mom made a salad to go with it, because that was a lot of meat.  Overall, the meal was delicious, though I overcooked the pork, which is sadly very easy to do.  Pork, like chicken and fish, doesn’t need very long to cook at all.  I will definitely make the mac and cheese again, and since I still have some prosciutto left, I’ll probably make the asparagus again.  I may even try to make the pork again, however pork tenderloin is expensive.

The whole meal took three and a half hours to complete!  I will probably never make all of these things at the same time again, but it was totally worth it.  I started with the Crock Pot Cheesecake, because it took two and a half hours to cook in the crock pot, and then about another hour to cool down.  Then I started working on the Skillet Bacon Mac and Cheese.  This dish probably took the longest amount of time, because there are a lot of steps involved.  I, also, used glassware instead of a skillet to cook it in the oven, and I cooked it at 350°F so that I could leave it in the oven longer, while I worked on everything else.

Next I made the Pan-Seared Pork Tenderloin, which I should have marinated while we were at church, but I totally forgot.  It got at least 20 minutes to marinate, though, so it had good flavor.  The sauce was not as thick as I thought it was going to be, and I’m not sure if that’s because I used cranberry juice (not the cocktail) instead of red wine, or because it’s just not a very thick sauce, but it still tasted amazing.  Despite being overcooked, the pork tasted good, because of the marinade and the sauce.

The Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto was amazing.  I wish that I had made more.  The prosciutto was just a little crispy, and the asparagus was tender and moist.  I could have easily eaten more of this.  It was really easy to put together, too.  I probably could have made this without the sauce, and it would have been even faster.

All in all, this Easter dinner was delicious.  I had fun making it, and we all enjoyed eating it.  I might do it again next year, but that seriously depends on what’s going on in our life at the time.

Adoption Fundraiser Recipes

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My cousins, Andrea and Kyle, had an adoption fundraiser last Friday and Saturday.  It was a yard sale and a bake sale, so I made the Oatmeal Cranberry cookies with spelt flour instead of wheat flour and dark chocolate chips instead of cranberries.  I, also, made Lemon Blueberry Bread and Banana Bread.  I found both of the recipes on Pinterest, and didn’t change anything about them, so here are the links to those recipes.

Lemon Blueberry Bread

Banana Bread

The Lemon Blueberry Bread is super delicious, and a full on sugar attack.  The Banana Bread does not have any sugar or oil in it.  Instead those are replaced with unsweetened applesauce and honey.  I hope you  enjoy them as much as I do.

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies -or- Multivitamin Cookies -or- Lactation Cookies

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These cookies are so delicious and healthy for you, too.  I found this recipe by Kathleen Major when I was searching for some lactation cookies to help Leah through a growth spurt.  I changed a few things, and this is what I came up with.

1 ½ C flour
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1 t salt
¾ C peanut butter
½ C butter, softened
1 C honey
2 t vanilla
3 T brewer’s yeast
1 C flax
1/3 C water
2 large eggs
2 C craisins
1 3/4 C oats

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.  In a large bowl, beat peanut butter, butter, honey, vanilla, brewer’s yeast, flax and water until creamy.  Mix in eggs.  Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Mix in craisins.  Add oatmeal slowly, mixing along the way.  Place balls of dough onto greased cookie sheet.  Press down each ball lightly with a fork.  Bake for about 12 minutes.

The oatmeal provides iron and fiber.  The brewer’s yeast provides B-vitamins, selenium, and chromium.  Chromium is a trace mineral that many people are deficient in.  It helps maintain blood sugar levels, and some people believe it helps with morning sickness.  Flax provides omega-3 and fiber.  These cookies rock!  I got my milled flax and brewer’s yeast from Sunflower market.  You can get them at any health food store.

My favorite thing about these cookies is that you get all of those vitamins, minerals, and nutrients from whole foods, which means that they are easier for your body to digest, and there is less of a chance that you will dispose of them before using them all up.  On top of that, I’ve been munching on these for a few days now, and I don’t feel the slightest bit sick from them.  I can eat as many of these as I want, and it’s good for me.

Fruit Protein Smoothie

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I just made a super delicious, super healthy smoothie.  It is:

½ C orange juice
½ C frozen strawberry banana fruit blend (from Target)
½ C plain yogurt, original style (which is to say, “full fatted”)
1 t Nature’s Way Reuteri
1 scoop Naturade 100% Whey Protein Booster, Vanilla Flavor

All together this smoothie has 225 calories, so if you’re trying to lose weight, this is not the snack for you, but it might be the breakfast or the lunch for you.  The majority of the calories come from the full fatted yogurt, so if you want to cut down on calories a bit, just use a leaner yogurt.  Since I’m nursing, I’m going for as many calories as I can find.

There are 17 grams of protein, with the majority coming from the protein booster.  I love this booster.  It has no sugar and no artificial sweeteners.  The vanilla flavor makes my smoothies taste like I used vanilla ice cream, and all without adding even a gram of sugar.

There are 23 grams of sugar, which are all naturally occurring in the juice, fruit and yogurt, and 4 grams of fiber, which come from the juice and fruit.

Now to talk about the Reuteri.  This is a probiotic that I found at Good Earth.  It is in powder form, and you simply measure out how much you want to add to any drink.  It is good for anybody.  I can give this to my babies, and I do.  We’ve all been sick lately, so that’s why I added it to my smoothie.

This is great for all the sugar addicts out there.  It gave me a natural sugar boost to get my energy and mood up, and all the protein will help maintain my blood sugar, so that I don’t drop back down into the awful low of coming off a sugar high.

Enjoy!

Super Easy Crock Pot Chicken

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I have learned a new recipe for my 101 goals in 1001 days!  I found it on Pinterest, the wonderful site of sharing everything good in the world.  It originally comes from The Larson Lingo.  Michael really loves this, and I think it’s very tasty.  On top of that, it’s a crock pot recipe, so it’s super easy to make.

4-6 frozen chicken breasts
1 – 8 oz package of cream cheese (full fat)
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of corn, drained
8-12 oz of salsa
Salt (optional)

Place the frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot.  Put the cream cheese on top.  Add the black beans, corn, and salsa.  And add as much salt as you think is necessary.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Shred the chicken and let sit for about 30 minutes.  Serve over rice or in soft taco shells.

Originally this recipe doesn’t have salt, but we found it necessary to add some to bring out all the delicious flavors.  When I make this, I take my 1 pound container of salt and just pour some over all the food.  I suggest making this first without the salt to determine if you really want to add that much salt.  It is easily added after you serve.  I was worried about the chicken being hard to shred, but after cooking for so long, it was super easy.  The only thing remotely challenging was finding the chicken in the soupy mess.

I don’t have a name for this yet, so if anyone wants to suggest one, I’ll take the best name that comes.