Coconut Turmeric Rice

 

25min · 6 servings

2 cups uncooked jasmine rice, basmati works well too
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 jalapeño, diced, seeded for less spice
• 1 small diced shallot
• 1 tsp salt, to taste
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 13.5 oz canned light coconut milk
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups arugula
• 2 tsp lime zest
• 1/3 cup loosely packed chopped cilantro

Instructions:
• Rinse rice until the water runs clear, set aside.
• In a medium pot or dutch oven on medium heat add coconut oil, jalapeño, pepper, turmeric, and shallot.
• Sauté for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.
• Add rice, salt, coconut milk, lime zest and water. Stir together and increase the medium-high heat.
• Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and cook for 14-16 minutes.
• Fluff w

Greek Salad (Traditional Horiatiki Recipe)

This is from Rob's sister who got it from her mother-in-law. I don't usually like these salads. The vegetables are too big, the dressing is too bitter. It's just an all around not that pleasant salad.... I got this when she made it at Thanksgiving. I got it as a vegetable requirement (and you always need to try stuff to make sure you don't like it!). I was so surprised! It was really good! It wasn't bitter! It was actually good and the vegetables were yummy and I was so happy to be able enjoyably meet my veggie requirement :D Really easy to make, just a lot of chopping like every other salad :p 

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

Mix together well

Mix together:

1 sliced cucumber, cut slices in half

1 cubed red pepper

1 cubed yellow pepper

Grape or cherry tomatoes cut in half or a couple of chopped tomatoes (I use one or two cups of tomatoes)

1/2 red onion, slice and then cut up the slices

1/2 lb. feta cheese, cubed (I have also used mozzarella balls)

Olives

When I finished mixing everything together, I wanted more salt and pepper. I also added some garlic parmesan seasoning that I have. it helped a ton. 

This is not my specialty recipe. I found this site with great tips and information (especially shocking the onion cause I hate eating raw onions)!

https://www.themediterraneandish.com/traditional-greek-salad-recipe/

Sweet Potato Mac n' Cheese

 2 Tbsp Olive Oil (you can also use butter)

2 Tbsp Flour (I use whole Wheat)

3/4 C Mashed Sweet Potato

3/4 C Milk (I use cashew almond milk)

1 C yogurt cheese (I use plain greek yogurt)

2 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese

Salt & Pepper

Garlic powder & Lemon juice to taste

Whole Wheat Noodles

Cook noodles according to package instructions.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add flour. Using a wire whisk or wooden spoon, make a paste (roux). Don't let it burn. Add the milk gradually as you stir until you see the sauce begin to thicken. Stir in the mashed sweet potato. Stir in the rest of the ingredients until well incorporated. Once the sauce is warmed through, stir in noodles and serve. 

Healthy No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

I found this recipe here: 

https://joyfoodsunshine.com/healthy-no-bake-chocolate-peanut-butter-cookies/#recipe

These are super great because they are technically healthy ;P I like to add a little more chocolate, maybe some dark chocolate chips even. Just depending on what you want. <3

Healthy No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies! With only 8 good-for-you ingredients, these healthy no bake cookies are easy to make, and a delicious treat you can feel great about eating! 

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Chilling time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 18 cookies

Calories 80kcal

Ingredients

• ½ cup creamy peanut butter
• ¼ cup honey (or maple syrup for vegan)!
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• 2 TBS cocoa powder
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• ¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Instructions

• Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper, set aside.
• Combine peanut butter, honey salt and coconut oil in a saucepan and heat, stirring continuously, until melted and well-combined.
• Stir in vanilla and cocoa powder.
• Add quick-cooking oats and mix well.
• Add coconut and stir until completely combined.
• Drop 1 TBS portions of mixture onto your prepared baking sheet. Continue until you’ve used all your cookie mixture.
• Let cool in the refrigerator or freezer until hardened.
• Serve cold or frozen!
• Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator!

Notes

These cookies are best served cold. Coconut oil becomes soft at warm temperatures!

Store

Store these cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or the freezer for up to 2 months.

Ingredient substitutions: 

• Peanut butter. Any nut or seed butter works well in this recipe.
• Coconut oil. Butter or ghee are great substitutes for coconut oil.
• Honey. Use maple syrup for a vegan version of this recipe.
• Shredded coconut. If you don’t care for coconut, simply replace it with an extra ¼ cup quick-cooking oats. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 80kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 75mg | Potassium: 74mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 11IU | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 1mg

Brenna's Red Velvet Pancakes ;)

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY Brenna!!! You can thank Brenna for this recipe because she asked for Red Velvet Pancakes for her birthday. And quite honestly, when she did I rolled my eyes inside and thought, "blah. Those are a nice idea, but they are never that good... They are usually dry and kind of flat and sometimes rubbery. They taste ok, and the quality is never that great." Even at restaurants, they are always wanting. Like I get the idea! It's a good idea! Red chocolate pancakes, yum! Just not usually the most successful idea. But whatever. It's her birthday, I'll get her whatever she wants ;D Just because this recipe usually turns out a flop, doesn't mean that I won't give it my darndest! So I found two recipes online that looked like they could be promising possibilities and then I concocted this recipe from both of those, crossing my fingers that they will be at least somewhat good. There were recipes that used a red velvet cake mix...

GROSS! 

I don't want a disgusting cake mix for breakfast! I wanted a pancake that wasn't flat and rubbery, and dry! I wanted it to be somewhat moist (not doughy), fluffy if possible, and have a crumb to it. (Do you know what it means to have a crumb? It means that when you slice the confection with your fork, you will get a crumb along the side where you slice it. This is also how I like my cheesecakes! ;p) 

See that crumb? 😉😍

So I took the ingredients from both recipes that I thought would give me the best chance of producing these results, mixed it up, shut my eyes, and poured it in the pan and LO AND BEHOLD....... TA DAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! These were delicious!!! YAY!!! Finally a red velvet pancake recipe that is actually worth making AND eating!!! :D These are the best Red Velvet Pancakes that I have ever had! Even at restaurants! Yay! I'm so happy! Thanks, Bren for making me make these! :D

Here are the links to both of those recipes, and my recipe is below! ;)

https://www.tastemade.com/videos/red-velvet-mini-pancake-pockets

https://longbournfarm.com/wprm_print/10082

• Recipe: 

• 6 oz semisweet chocolate, melted (I used bittersweet/dark chocolate. my measurement was not exact.)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbls. sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 small bottle red food coloring

Topping/Syrup

• 125g cream cheese, room temperature
• ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cups confectioner’s sugar (I tried to replace some of the powdered sugar with maple syrup to replace some sugar, but also to thin it out.)
• 2 Tbls. Milk/ Cream/ Creamer
• Mini Chocolate Chips for topping
• Method:

1. Whisk together the flour, sugar baking powder and salt.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, butter, vanilla extract and melted chocolate. (Make sure ingredients are not too cold or it will harden the chocolate when you combine them. However, my ingredients were a little cold and this did happen to me. I had to end up putting it in the microwave!) Add the red food coloring and mix well. 
3. Cobine this to the flour mixture and mix only as much as you need to to incorporate the ingredients. Let sit at least 5-10 minutes. Note: This batter is a thicker batter.
4. Spray pan with cooking spray (I used coconut oil) and cook on medium heat. Because these are thick, they take a little bit more time to cook. Use medium-low to medium heat. 

Filling

1. Beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. 
2. Add the confectioner’s sugar and the vanilla extract and mix until combined. Thin with maple syrup or Creamer is my preference. 

Lime Chicken Taco Meat (Cafe Rio Chicken)

This is super easy to make and great for taco's, fajita's, Cafe Rio salad replicas and whatever mexican dish you need some tangy, delicious, shredded chicken for.

1 1/2-2 lbs. Chicken Breast

1/3 C Red Wine Vinegar

1 1/2 Limes, juiced

1 Tbls. Honey

1 1/2 tsp each Salt and Pepper

6 Green onions chopped

6 Cloves Garlic, minced

1 Tbls. dried Oregano

Sauté chicken breast in a little bit of oil on high heat until browned on both sides. Mix the rest of ingredients and pour over top of chicken. Cover and simmer for 30-45 min. until tender. Shred Chicken and toss with pan sauce. 

Corn Salsa

(Close enough)

Wow! This is Amazing! No, really, it is! It's always a hit whenever I make it! It is fresh, and delicious, and the ingredients are healthy so you don't have to feel bad eating all those chips! ;P

1& 1/2-2 C Frozen Corn (fresh corn cut off the cob is always Bomb!)

1 Can Black Beans, rinsed and drained

2 Avocados, diced

1/2 Bunch of Cilantro, chopped (NO! DON'T DO IT! DON'T RUIN DELICIOUS FOOD WITH CILANTRO!!!)

1 Bunch of Green Onions, chopped

2 Tomatoes, diced

1 Packet of Good Seasonings Italian Packet, mixed according to directions.

Toss all ingredients together in a bowl, then top with dressing and mix. SO GOOD!

MY *FAVORITE* SOUTHWEST SALAD WITH GARLIC LIME DRESSING & DORITOS!

I'm just going to stop saying everything is delicious because I sound like a broken record, but MAN this is DELICIOUS!!! The salad is perfect and light for a summer meal, the dressing is divine! I like to toss the lettuce with the dressing fist and then place everything else on top. SO-GOOD! 

This is 100% copied from this site-

http://www.laurenslatest.com/my-favorite-southwest-salad-with-garlic-lime-dressing-doritos/

Yield: 4 servings Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 5 minutes Total Time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

8 cups lettuce, any kind
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 large, ripe avocado, sliced
1 can beans, any kind, drained and rinsed
2 ears corn, boiled and kernels removed
2 roma tomatos, diced
1 cup loosely packed cilantro
2 cups precooked frozen grilled chicken
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 limes, cut into wedges
2 cups crushed nacho cheese doritos
salt & pepper, to taste

for the dressing:
3 tablespoons honey
juice of 2 limes, about 3 tablespoons
1 small clove garlic, grated
1/4 teaspoon cumin
salt & pepper, to taste
1/4 cup canola oil

DIRECTIONS:

Divide lettuce evenly between 4 bowls. Arrange ingredients around lettuce: cheese, avocado slices, beans, corn, tomatoes and cilantro. Heat precooked chicken in microwave on high for 3-5 minutes or until thoroughly warmed through. Cut into cubes and toss with spices. Arrange on salad. Add lime wedges on the side and top with crushed doritos. Sprinkle avocado and corn with salt and pepper, if desired.

For the dressing, combine all ingredients together in a shallow bowl and whisk to emulsify. Drizzle over salads and serve.

Coconut Lime Chicken Soup

 I haven't been cooking much lately because I haven't felt well for MONTHS (but that's a whole story in and of itself.)! And I feel horrible! I'm usually really good at making dinner, and even have a few freezer meals for back up the nights that I don't want to cook; however, lately it's been nuthin!  

I was trying to think of what to make for dinner tonight--I DO NOT feel like cooking ANYTHING! So I thought, soup! Soup wouldn't be so bad to make, and I would have the children help me. I went to my handy Pinterest Soup board and started searching for something that looked good and easy, and this one caught my eye. Sounds good, looks easy, alright!  I got the stuff I needed and headed home. Gathered my small army and assigned them each their tasks (a real life saver!). We got it done in under 20 minutes. As we sat down to eat, I took a bite and OH MY GIDDY OUT!!! The flavor was creamy and delicious and the aftertaste was that of rich happiness lingering on my tongue! It is SO good, that it made it onto my blog TONIGHT! Need something to show off at a soup potluck? I highly recommend it! Mmmwaa!

Copied straight from this site- http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/coconut-lime-chicken-soup.html

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1 carrot, shredded
• thai seasoning (see below)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
• 1 15 ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 2 - 2 1/2 pound deli-roasted chicken from the grocery store, shredded
• 1 cup previously cooked long grain rice
• the juice of 1 lime
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• extra cilantro for garnish (optional)
• lime wedges (optional)
Thai Seasoning:
• 1/2 tsp. curry powder
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions

• Place a large pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the butter, carrots, and thai seasoning and cook until carrots become soft.
• In a blender, add chicken broth and cilantro and pulse a few times, then pour contents of blender into the pot.
• Add the coconut milk, shredded deli roasted chicken, rice, juice from the lime, and soy sauce. Bring to a low boil then remove from heat.
• If desired, serve topped with extra cilantro and lime wedges.

Whole Wheat Rolls

This quickly became our favorite whole wheat roll recipe! They are moist, soft and a little on the denser side. What's funny is I found the recipe on the back of my powdered milk box and their original name is Bread Machine Garlic Dinner Rolls. Ha! I don't own a bread machine, this is a white flour recipe, not wheat, and I have never made garlic rolls out of them! But the base of the recipe that I use turns out great for us and we all love them! They freeze (and unfreeze) wonderfully! Note: I use fresh ground wheat. I feel the store bought whole wheat results are where you get your edible cardboard from! But fresh ground wheat is wonderful and I have made all kinds of white flour recipes with them and hardly notice a difference (even chocolate cookies and brownies! ;). If you want good whole wheat things GRIND IT! :)

6 Tbls. butter, softened

2c. warm water

2/3 c. powdered milk

6T. sugar (or honey)

2tsp. salt

6 c. Bread flour (I use fresh gound whole wheat)

1/2 oz. (2 scant Tbls.) dry yeast

(I leave out the) 2 tsp. garlic powder

Mix wet, knead dry, Let rise, form rolls, rise, Bake at 350 for about 20 min. (For detailed instructions see: Dinner rolls)

Blender Pancakes

I promised my sister that I would give her this recipe! So here it is!
If you can't tell, we are a pancake lovin' house!!  Who doesn't love pancakes?!? Here is another excellent pancake recipe!  My favorite things about this recipe is that: 1. they are whole wheat, but they are light and fluffy and delicious,  2. since they are whole wheat, they are very filling, and they don't leave me dragging like those delectable little white ones do, and 3. I think they are VERY EASY! My children can make these on their own! YES! No excuse NOT to bring Mommy breakfast in bed! ;)

1Cup Whole Wheat grains (no, not the flour, the actual grain ;)

1Cup Milk

Blend on high for 2 minutes (the mixture should be really thick and pasty! If it's not, try blending it longer.) Make sure to scrape down the lid and the sides, then add:

1/2Cup of milk and blend for 2 more minutes. 

While you're waiting, get the rest of your ingredients!

2 Eggs

1/2Cup Oil

1Tbls. Honey or Molasses

1/2 tsp. Salt

 Add these in and blend on high until mixed and add

1Tbls. Baking Powder. 

Don't over blend or they might turn out rubbery!

Pour out onto your favorite pancake pan, greased the way you like it, and bake them to your liking! ;)

If we have a ripe banana, we like to throw it in there with the eggs and oil. You can also stir anything else you would like to add into your pancakes when you are done blending. Enjoy!

Pappardelle With Corn

I saw the picture of this dish on the cover of Foodnetwork Magazine, and knew that if I did not drop the 4 bucks for that particular issue, that I would regret it for the rest of my life. I was RIGTH! This pasta dish was everything and more of what the cover picture promised!!! I LOVE it!!! It is wonderfully delicious! It's easy to make and beautiful to behold! Easy and beauty combine when you put it in your mouth and they become something amazing! A must make spring/summer dish! You won't regret it! (ps. I, the carnivore, always add grilled chicken to this! mmmm!)

Recipe courtesy Food Network Magazine

Prep Time:

7 min

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

13 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

4 servings

Ingredients

• Kosher salt
• 2 ears corn, shucked
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 cups grape tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 12 ounces pappardelle pasta
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 small bunch scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan, plus more for topping
• Torn basil, for topping

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the corn and cook until slightly tender, about 3 minutes. Remove with tongs, reserving the boiling water. Let the corn cool slightly, then cut off the kernels.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook until the tomatoes soften, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the pappardelle in the corn water as the label directs. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta. Add the chicken broth and corn kernels to the skillet and bring to a simmer.

Add the pasta to the skillet; add the scallions, parmesan, the remaining 3 tablespoons butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Toss to combine, adding the reserved cooking water as needed. Season with salt and pepper. Top with more parmesan and basil.

Per serving: Calories 635; Fat 22 g (Saturated 12 g); Cholesterol 61 mg; Sodium 256 mg; Carbohydrate 86 g; Fiber 8 g; Protein 21 g