Whole Wheat Bagel Thin with Pumpkin Almond Butter and Banana

Here is an easy breakfast idea for the pumpkin almond butter from the previous post.  It was simple and delicious.

Whole Wheat Bagel Thin with Pumpkin Almond Butter and Banana

Ingredients

1 whole wheat bagel thin
1 banana, sliced
2 Tbsp pumpkin almond butter
Cinnamon, to taste

Directions

1. Toast the bagel thin. 

2. Spread the pumpkin almond butter evenly over both halves.

3.  Add the banana and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Bucket List....of food?

I've been thinking of this for a while.  What would my bucket list of food be?  Basically the list of food I want to make and/or eat before I kick the bucket.  It may be something I have already had but MUST have again.


What would be on yours?  If you blog about your own bucket list send me the link! I can't wait to hear the answers.  

I was trying to think of ten items but so far I'm two short.  There are so many amazing foods out there it's hard to pick!  It will just have to be a work in progress.


The very first thing that comes to mind every time are Cold War Brownies from 17 and Baking so I will start with this. 


Dawn's Food Bucket List (in no particular order)


1. Cold War Brownies.  They involve cocoa, real butter, Nutella, cream cheese and chili powder.  I mean really. 


2. Low and Slow BBQ Pork Shoulder from Phoo-D.  This is what sold me, "The results were so delicious that even on the fourth night (in a row) of pork sandwiches we were still licking our fingers and groaning with delight."


3. Morning Glory Muffins from the Marshland, Sandwich, MA.  Growing up I spent almost every weekend on the Cape.  We would get a dozen of their big, fat, moist, glorious muffins and the Morning Glory was my favorite.  (I have also seen this called a "Health" muffin with Carrots, raisins, bran etc.)


Sandwich, Cape Cod, MA

4. Honey and Goat Cheese filled Fig Muffins from Eating Well.  Just check out the photo.  You'll see why.  Any anything with goat cheese makes me weak in the knees.


5. Burgers, burgers, burgers
   a. Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burger, Oprah's website.  She has also done several shows where she talked about and said it's that good.
   b. Black Bean Burger such as the one on The Cooking Photographer.   With avocado on top.  Mmmmm....
   c. Southwestern Pumpkin Burger, Eating Well.  Hellooooo....anything with pumpkin.
   d. Roasted Pepper Quinoa Burger with Red Pepper Hummus, Natalie's Killer Cuisine.  Loving quinoa lately.  And hummus.
   e. Kobe burger.  I hear Kobe beef is the best so I must try it eventually.


6. Good Blueberry Pancakes.  Ok so I've already made/had these, however, I so rarely get to have real blueberry pancakes with fresh blueberries cooked inside and real maple syrup that I must have some again.  Searching for the perfect recipe with a balance of health and taste.


7. Fig, Brie Panini with Prosciutto from the blog that inspired me to start my own blog, Closet Cooking.  I love, love, love pressed sandwiches.  Melty cheese.  Satly Prosciutto.  Sweet Fig.  Yeah baby.


8. Humboldt Fog. My foodie friend, David, at work here in cubicle land said I must try this.  It is a goats milk cheese.
Update: First to be crossed off the bucket list.  See my post for Humboldt Fog.
Update: Second to be crossed off the bucket list.  Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burgers.

 To be continued......

Grilled Steak with Baby Portobello Mushrooms, Roasted Asparagus and Potatoes

Last week I had quite a week planned.  My husband's birthday was on the 18th and my recipe swap friend, Justine's 30th birthday was planned for Saturday at our house.  For fifty people. 

Thursday rolled around and I had a lovely dinner planned for hubby.  This was it.  Grilled steak, asparagus and potatoes.  We were going to put our daughter to bed and enjoy a nice leisurely dinner.  I was really looking forward to it.

Later in the day I got a call from our daughter's daycare.  She had caught the stomach virus going around and was throwing up.  Please come get her.  

Birthday night and hubby cooked his own steak dinner and cut mine up while I held Pukey in one arm and scarfed bites of steak with the other hand trying to avoid a direct hit.

Unfortunately this did not happen.  I ended up with several direct hits.  Needless to say she would have to stay home Friday too. 

It was Friday morning.  Hooray!  I was home on a sick day and Pukey was doing much better.  I could get chores done for the party on Saturday. As the day wore on I began feeling a strange little twinge.  No worries.  I figured I must just be a bit dehydrated.  Friday night I could no longer ignore it. 

I had caught the stomach virus.  I tried to wait as patiently for Chris to come home, however, I caved and texted him HURRY PLEASE as I was curled up in the fetal position on the living room floor with my 18 month old trying to climb on and play horsey.  Thank God as soon as he got home he took over and I got to try and go to bed.  In between visiting the porcelin god.

Somehow I got some sleep but was woken up Saturday, the day of the party, at 4 AM to the sounds of hubby now worshipping the same terrible god.  We were both down for the count.

With fifty people coming to the hosue that night.  

We had to call in reinforcements.  The first group cleaned the last bathroom, moved furniture, vacuumed and blew off the front porch.  The second walked dogs, made food and lysoled the entire house three times over.  

Somehow I was able to drag myself out of bed for the party until the birthday girl finally pulled the plug for me.  "I think you should go to bed".  I just looked at her thankfully feeling like a Debbie Downer.  

Hubby and I were stuck in bed while the party went on till 2AM.  The only thing that made me feel better was that the birthday girl and her fifty guests still had a good time!  

The next morning I was dreading the walk from bed to the bedroom door to survey the damange.  I opened the door and behold! The whole house was clean!  My girlfriend Courtney and her wonderful husband Anthony (aka second reinforcements from the day before) stayed over and cleaned up after the party!  I almost cried in relief.  I was able to go back to bed for a while and relax before my mom dropped our daughter back off and I had to figure out how I was going to play horsey until bed time.  Ah, the joys of motherhood.

Somehow I was still able to get a photo.  I told Chris after all this, I'm getting the dang photo. 

Grilled Steak with Roasted Asparagus and Potatoes
Serves 2

Ingredients

2 organic, grass fed strip steaks
1 8 oz package sliced Portobello mushrooms, rinsed
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/8 cup red wine
1 tsp minced garlic
Garlic salt and pepper, to taste
1 organic sweet potato, diced
5 organic fingerling potatoes, sliced in wedges
1 large sweet onion, diced
1 bunch asparagus, ends removed
1/4 cup Dales marinade

Directions

1. Set the steaks in Dales to marinate for 5 to 10 minutes, turning half way through.

2. Preheat the grill over medium high heat, the oven to 400 degrees and spray a small pan with cooking spray and heat over medium high.  Prep two baking sheets with foil and cooking spray.

3.  Add the mushrooms, balsamic, red wine, minced garlic and salt and pepper to the saute pan.  Once simmering, reduce the heat to low, stir occasionally.

4. Place the asparagus on one baking sheet and the potatoes on the other.  Spray both with olive oil spray and season with garlic salt and pepper.   Set potatoes in oven for 5 minutes.  Place the asparagus in the oven as well and cook both for an additional 15 minutes.  (Taste both the asparagus and potato to see if they need more time. Time will vary slightly with size of dice and asparagus.)

5. While asparagus and potatoes are cooking, spray steaks with cooking spray, season with fresh ground pepper and place on grill.  Cook to desired doneness.

With any luck everything is done at the same time!

Great job hubbs!

Bok Choy with Garlic and Ginger

At the farmers market a few weekends ago I bought a gorgeous head of bok choy and never got around to using it until I looked at it and realized I had to use it or it would go to waste.  

That day there was an Amy's meal I wanted for lunch so I cooked the bok choy and served the Amy's meal over it.  I love rounding out frozen dishes with a fresh vegetable. 

Typically I have seen bok choy used in Asian dishes, however, I thought the flavors of garlic and ginger would still go well with the Amy's meal.  It was excellent!

Bok Choy with Garlic and Ginger

Ingredients

 Olive oil spray
1 onion, chopped
1 head bok choy, washed and chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tsp minced fresh ginger

Directions

 1. Onion five miniutes.  salt and pepper.  Add bok choy, 5 minutes, salt and pepper, garlic 3 minutes, ginger 2 minutes.

 Along with Amy's Mattar Paneer

Baked Banana with Pumpkin Almond Butter

During my day job I reside in cubicle land. While I am there, working on my spreadsheets, I sometimes daydream about, and this may shock you, food. 

Unfortunately, sitting in a cubicle all day and food don't go well together which is why I must take the stairs six floors up to my seat, work out on my lunch break and weekends and seriously watch my calories.  Being 5'3 also has it's disadvantages. 

Then there is that pesky sweet tooth that keeps popping up.  Keeping with my sugar free theme I will share a dessert I came up as a marriage from two separate spots.  One was actually the baked bananas from Gina's Weight Watcher recipes and the other was from googling "pumpkin banana peanut butter" because I love all things pumpkin (and it reminded me of you, Cara!).  It brought me to to the Libby's website with a recipe for a pumpkin peanut butter sandwich so this morphed into pumpkin almond butter.


We eat a lot of bananas in my house and when one happens to escape with his life and gets to the fully ripe stage, I peel him and he goes in my freezer for when I need a ripe banana.  In this case I ended up having a fairly ripe fresh one but next time I will use frozen and let you know how it goes.  I also plan to try the baked banana part out on my toddler and see how she likes it.  I'm betting it is pretty kid friendly.

Baked Banana with Pumpkin Almond Butter
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 ripe banana sliced lengthwise
1 tsp agave
1-2 Tbsp pumpkin almond butter (recipe to follow)
Cinnamon, to taste
Directions

1. Preheat the oven or toaster oven to 400 degrees.

2. Spray a piece of foil with cooking spray and lay the banana slices on top. Fold the sides up so it makes a small tray but the top is open so you can see the banana.

3. Pour the agave on top and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the banana is hot and melty.

4. Top with a dollop of pumpkin almond butter. Yeowza!


Pumpkin Almond Butter
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup almond butter
1 Tbsp agave
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

Directions (this is a tough one)

1. Blend ingredients until smooth.

Chicken and Brown Rice Casserole with Asiago

This is a chicken and rice casserole that would be great to use if you need something to do with left over chicken, veggies and rice.  It is also a perfect make-ahead dish.  What I did was assembled it when I had time and then set it in the refrigerator and cooked it the next night.

I know I used full fat cheese, however, there isn't much in this one and when you hit a bite of it, you get the creamy bite of Asiago cheesiness. 

Why is it that my casseroles all come out looking the same?

Chicken and Brown Rice Casserole with Asiago

Ingredients

1 18.5 ounce can of Savory Vegetable Barley, drained into a 4 cup measuring container, vegetables and barley reserved

3/4 cup chicken broth (added to the 4 cup measuring container)

1/2 cup white wine (added to the 4 cup measuring container)

1 tsp garlic

1 cup whole grain brown rice

5 cups mixed vegetables, diced (I used zucchini, mushroom, broccoli and spinach)

Garlic salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

1 large sweet onion, diced

3 cups cooked chicken

2/3 cup shredded Asiago cheese

Directions

1. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray.  Add the onions and season with salt and pepper.  Sauté for about 15 to 20 minutes until just beginning to caramelize.  You will need to add a few tablespoons of water periodically to loosen any brown bits and prevent sticking.  Set aside to cool.

2. Meanwhile add the drained soup mixture, broth, white wine and rice.  Bring to a boil and cook rice as directed.  Mine said to lower heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes until liquid is absorbed.

3. To your vegetables add the reserved soup vegetables and barley and the garlic.  Set aside.

4. In a 13x9 pan layer the following:

1/2 rice mixture

1/2 veggie mixture

1/2 sautéed onion

1/2 cheese

Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper.

Repeat layers.

5. If baking later, cover with foil and set in refrigerator.  If baking now cook in 350 degree pre-heated oven for 30 minutes or until heated through.

6. To reheat after being refrigerated, bake covered at 350 for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until heated through and cheese is bubbly.

Non Food Stress Relief? There is Such a Thing!

One of my new favorite blogs is called Rawmazing.  In a fairly recent post she listed a recipe for Stress Relief for the Winter Blues which included Epsom salt, coarse sea salt and essential oils. I decided to give it a try because.....I have a new bathroom!

Ok so I just painted a wall and got some new towels and mats but it feels like a new bathroom.   Like a spa bathroom. 

Mainly because it's so clean and there are no toys, Tylenol bottles and lipstick tubes strewn about. I expect it will stay clean at least through the week.

I looked on line and there were so many additions you could make.  A few included:

Food coloring

Castile soap

Avocado oil

Any other oil

Baking Soda

Citric Acid

Borax

Glycerin

I decided to go with the essential oils that were listed on Rawmazing and add in a bit of olive oil for moisture.

Spa Soak

printable recipe

 Ingredients

1 cup Epsom salt

Hanful of Kosher or sea salt

2 Tbsp bath oil, I used olive oil

Essential oils:

8 drops peppermint

4 drops eucalyptus

4 drops lavender

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together in a small jar.

2. Pour 1/4 to 1/2 cup into running bath water.

p.s. I just tried out the spa soak last night and it was amazing.  The oil makes you feel silky and the essential oils are like aromatherapy.  Very relaxing.  I hope you enjoy!

Flakey Ground Turkey Pockets with Smoked Gouda

Flakey Ground Turkey Pockets with Smoked Gouda
Serves 4
printable recipe

Ingredients
1 onion, diced
Extra virgin olive oil spray
1 pound lean organic free range ground turkey 
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard 
3/4 tablespoon drained prepared horseradish
1-2 tablespoon honey
3-4 ounces of shredded smoked Gouda cheese
8 sheets Phyllo dough
 Directions


1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a large skillet with olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Sauté the onion until soft, about five minutes.  Add the turkey and cook until just beginning to brown. Drain the meat and return to the skillet.  Season with salt and pepper.  Remove from heat and add the mustard, horseradish and honey.  (Taste now to see if you would like additional salt and/or pepper.)

2. Lay out one sheet of phyllo dough and spray with olive oil spray then lay the second sheet and spray again.  Mound 1/4 of the meat mixture and 1/4 of the cheese then fold the sides of the phyllo up and over so it makes a pocket.  Spray the top with olive oil spray.  Repeat with the remaining three.

3. Bake in the oven until the phyllo browns, 12-15  minutes.  

4.  Serve with steamed veggies and enjoy! 

The Story
 
The original recipe was from Bobby Flay's Turkey Burgers with Smoked Gouda but I'm all about the phyllo dough lately because it's so light.  So instead of buns I wrapped the ground turkey in a pocket and just mixed the ingredients in with it.  Instead of a higher calorie bun the two sheets of phyllo only adds 72 calories.

Let me just say this was so good the next day as well I had to take a photo of it. It stayed flakey even in the microwave. 

Butternut Squash, Collard and Quinoa Soup

Butternut Squash, Collard and Quinoa Soup

Ingredients

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 cups chopped baby carrots
2 yellow onion, diced
2 tsp minced garlic
6 cups vegetable stock or broth
2 bunches of collards, de-stemmed and chopped
1/3 cup quinoa
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp dried thyme

Directions

1. Sauté the onion until softened five to seven minutes and then lower the heat a bit and add the carrots and butternut squash and garlic.  Sauté about two more minutes and add the broth or stock and bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer. 

2. Add in the collard greens and fold in until they have wilted down a bit. 

3. Add the quinoa and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the quinoa is fully cooked. 

The Story

After reading a post from one of my favorite blogs called The Foy Update on Kitchen Sink Soup I told myself I was going to use the butternut squash, fresh collards and some quiona to make a soup. It came out so well I ate every drop and it made a LOT. I even ate it cold a few servings and the sweet butternut squash was so cool, creamy and refreshing. 

Caramelized Onion Lasagna for Valentines Day

I am trying a new format. Let me know what you think. First I will post the photos and recipe, if applicable, and then the story.

Caramelized Onion Lasagna

For recipe swap day and also Valentines Day I made the caramelized onion lasagna from Eating Well along with a fresh celery salad and some steamed broccoli.  As a review of the recipe, the lasagna was very flavorful, however, since I divided it into two 9x9 pans rather than a 9x13 I wish I caramelized four onions instead of the three the recipe lists.  Also, it states to put the basil and walnuts on top and then bake which did not make sense to me. I wish I went with my gut and left the basil off until afterwards as I had to try and remove it after baking.  It was rather burned.

As far as flavor goes I give it a 8 on a scale of 1 to 10 but when you take into account how labor intensive it is I can't say I will make it again. 

Now the baked Nutella banana dessert wrapped in phyllo that I came up with...I didn't get a photo but that one will definitely be a repeat.  I just couldn't wait the time it took to take the photo.  I would give it a 12 on a scale of 1-10.  To be continued....

Gratitude

Happy Hump Day All!  An unfortunate incident happened to me at the St. Augustine farmers market over the past weekend that has my beloved Canon camera in the shop. 

I was pulling out the baby stroller and it hooked over my camera strap.  The camera bumped into the side of the 4Runner and then almost hit the ground but I caught it thinking I had avoided any issues.  Unfortunately I was mistaken.   You can see just a very thin sliver of the image and the rest of the image looks like paint running down the screen. 

I dropped it off Monday eagerly awaiting good news.  That it would be twenty bucks to fix it. 

Yesterday I got the call. 

No such luck.  It has to be sent off to the manufacturer to have them give me an estimate. 

In an effort to look at the positive side of things...at least I still have my old point and shoot Nikonasaurus.

I am grateful that I can keep blogging even if it won't be as pretty for a while so please bear with me.   

What are you thankful for today?

Raw Tahini Pumpkin Truffles

Dear Aunt Owney, if you are reading this post this one is for you.

What?  No tahini, agave and flax seed in the pantry?  Sheesh, I thought everyone had this stuff!  ;) 

I will admit I do buy most ingredients at my local natural food store, Native Sun.  However, you can get almost all the ingredients shown here, as well as agave which is not in this particular recipe, at local grocery stores.  Check for an organic/all natural section or talk to the store manager.

I love looking back and seeing how my pantry has evolved.  Finding out about my daughter's allergies definitely propelled me in the natural food direction and to tell you the truth, not only are her allergies under control, I feel great too!  I have been working to eliminate white sugar from my diet and my cravings have almost ceased (for me this is really amazing as someone with a horrendous sweet tooth).

Pumpkin is a great source of fiber and vitamin A and is very low on the glycemic index. Even though these started out as a dessert truffle, they ended up not quite as sweet.  The pumpkin provides something more like the taste of a very moist granola bar.


I ate so much of the batter when I was making these around 10AM I wasn't hungry until 4:30! Needless to say these little guys are very filling and tasty.

 Raw Tahini Pumpkin Truffles

Ingredients

1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp tahini, I used JoYva
1 cup dates
2 tsp maple extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup rolled oats, I used Bob's Red Mill
2 Tbsp flax seeds, I used Bob's Red Mill
2 Tbsp apple juice
1/4 cup raisins


Directions


1. To a food processor add the puree through apple juice. Blend well, scraping down the sides of the food processor frequently until mixed to desired consistency.


2. Fold in raisins.


3. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls into balls and place in small muffin cups. Sprinkle with cinnamon and stevia and a few raisins for garnish (optional).

Justine's Chicken Spanikopita Meatloaf

Yay! Another recipe swap day has arrived.  My friend Justine chose to make a meatloaf based on Rachel Ray's Chicken Spanikopita Meatballs and it came out great.  I will definitely make this one again.

Justine's Chicken Spanikopita Meatloaf
Makes 2 meatloaves

Ingredients



2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
8 cloves garlic, chopped, divided
4 boxes frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry.
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 egg whites, beaten
2 pound lean ground chicken
2 tablespoons grill seasoning (recommended: McCormick Montreal Seasoning)

Directions


1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.


2. In a bowl combine onion, garlic and spinach.  Mix well to separate spinach.

3. Add feta, chicken and grill seasoning to the bowl and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Mix the meat and egg whites with veggies and feta and form two meatloaves. 


4. Bake for an hour until the juices run clear.

Raw Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cup Truffles

Weekend visits with my grandmother while I was growing up were magical.  First on our list to do was a trip to Kings Castle Land.  Upon arriving at this small amusement park in Whitman, Mass you would cross a drawbridge over a moat.  As a child I found this sort of thing very entertaining. 

Nothing is better than a drawbridge and moat.  

Ok maybe there are a few things just as good.

Such as a roller coaster, petting zoo with very cute goats, play ground, slides, house of mirrors and the most wonderful gift shop you ever saw filled with all kinds of enchanting trinkets and toys.

Now for the Debbie Downer part.  Very sadly, the park closed in 1994 and became a used car lot and later a Stop and Shop but the memories from there are irreplaceable.  Is that even legal?  To crush childhood dreams for a used car lot and a Stop and Shop?  Well it most definitely should not be.

Back to the point.  Secondly on our list of things to do was to head for the local natural food stores.  My grandmother followed a macrobiotic diet which is grain and plant based and promotes whole, unprocessed foods. I love the smell of the small, local natural food stores.  Don't you?  They just smell healthier.  Maybe because they don't use harsh chemicals for cleaning.  While we were there she would buy me dates rolled in coconut flakes.  Have you ever had those?  There is no candy out there that can compare to how sweet and soft they are with just the right hint of coconut. 

Fast forward to 2010.  I came across a charming blog called Chocolate Covered Katie. Here I was reminded of those date rolls my grandmother always bought me because she makes what are called Fudge Babies.  Aside from the memory factor what appeals to me about them is they are raw and contain no butter, white sugar and white flour that severely tamper with my insulin levels.  And no one likes an insulin level that has been tampered with.

Raw Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cup Truffles


Ingredients


1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup dates
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp agave nectar
2 Tbsp peanut butter
2 Tbsp flax seeds
1 tsp cocoa powder, I used Hershey's Special Dark
1/2 cup rolled oats, I used Bob's Red Mill
1/4 cup carob or chocolate chips sweetened with natural sweetener such as SunSpire
2 Tbsp PB2 Chocolate (optional)

Directions

1. To a food processor add the puree through rolled oats. Blend well, scraping down the sides of the food processor frequently until mixed to desired consistency.

2. Fold in carob or chocolate chips. 

3. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls into balls and place in small muffin cups. Sprinkle with optional PB2 chocolate and a few carob or chocolate chips.

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Win $50 worth of products from iHerb.com.  Just go to Iowa Girl Eats and enter three ways.

Good Luck!

Ginger Cranberry Pork Loin

The great crock pot debate.  Can meat be cooked for ten to twelve hours and not taste vinegary and acidic and be all dry?

I had found this recipe for the cranberry pork loin on an old blog called A Year of Slow Cooking.  I figured it had to be good!

My friend said she uses the casserole dish inside the crock pot method.  I decided to try it out for a 8 to 10 hour time period but was afraid if some of the juce overflowed it would burn inside the crockpot and I would come home to fire trucks.  My remedy was to pour water all around the outside of the casserole dish so if any juce leaked over it would just go into the heated water. 

The verdict?

The water worked!

BUT....

My crock pot is fairly new and must have a heat level of high on the low setting. (My friend's is about eight years old).  The pork loin roast came out dry.  I shredded it and mixed it in with the juices and it was okay but I was not blown away.  I have now come to the realization that I can't just set it and forget it.  It will have to be a weekend thing where I can watch it.  Bummer!!!

Ginger Cranberry Pork Loin

Ingredients

1 (1.5 lb) pork loin roast or rib roast
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon dried mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tsp minced garlic
6 ounces of fresh cranberries (this is about 1/2 a bag)
1/2 cup agave
1/4 cup local honey
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup apple juice
1 Tbsp minced crystallized ginger
3 fresh lemon slices

Directions
 1. Use a small casserole dish that will fit into a larger crockpot or use a 4 Qt crockpot.

2. Mix the corn starch and the dry spices and rub over the pork loin.  Place that in the casserole dish or crock pot.

3. Mix the garlic through the apple juice and pour over pork loin.  Top with lemon slices.

4. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for about 4. 


5. Serve over brown rice and veggies.

Minorcan Clam Chowder

After having Minorcan Clam Chowder several times, most recently at a farmers market, I decided to go on line and find out how to make my own as I have yet to taste a more flavorful, broth based clam chowder.  I found what I was looking for on the website What's cooking America.  Please see the following link for the original recipe I used. 

A little history lesson.

Minorcans are from a group of Islands in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain.   They were recruited by a Scottish Physician, Andrew Turnbull, to settle a new area in Florida called New Smyrna.  What was originally indentured servitude eventually turned into slavery. 

In 1777 a group of them eventually escaped and settled in the St. Augustine area under the care of Governor Tonyn who agreed to honor the fulfillment of their letters of indenture.   Minorcan clam chowder came about from the abundance of sea food in the area as well as the availability of the datil pepper and other various vegetables.  It was easy to make and could feed a large number of people.

Minorcan Clam Chowder - How To Make Minorcan Clam Chowder

Minorcan Clam Chowder

Ingredients

1/2 pound bacon
3 large onions, diced
3 large green bell peppers, diced
12 baby carrots, sliced
4 stalks celery, diced
1 quart chopped clams with juice
1 bottle clam juice 
1 bottle water (refilled the clam juice bottle with water and poured that in)
2 large (16-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
Pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon thyme or to taste
2 bay leaves
2 to 3 datil chili pepper or to taste, diced (habanero or jalapeno can also be used)
12 new potatoes, washed and cubed
1 sweet potato, washed and cubed

Directions

1. In a skillet brown the bacon, remove from skillet and set aside reserving the bacon fat.

2. Add two or three tablespoons of the fat to a large Dutch oven and heat over medium high heat.  Add the onions, peppers, carrots and celery.  Cook until softened.

3. In a frying pan, fry bacon, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until crispy; drain off the fat and reserve. Remove bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon onto paper towels to drain. Break or cut fried bacon into pieces: set aside for garnish.

4. Add clams and following ingredients through datil peppers. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 1 hour. Add new potatoes and sweet potato and cook 30 to 45 minutes more until they are softened.


5. Garnish with crumbled bacon (optional).

Overnight Blueberry Underground

Have you heard of Chocolate Underground?  It's a yogurt from Stonyfield.  It tastes wonderful but is very sugary.  This is my healthier version with blueberries.

Overnight Blueberry Underground
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
3/4 cup French vanilla Stonyfield yogurt
Pinch of cinnamon
1/8 cup Fiber One cereal (the original stuff)

Directions
(This can be prepped the night before with the frozen blueberries so they have time to thaw or make the morning of with fresh)

1. In a small bowl layer the blueberries, cinnamon and yogurt. Cover and refrigerate.

2. When ready to eat, top with cereal (so it stays crunchy).

Dill Walnut Chicken Salad

Saturday was another Farmer's Market day. One of the items I bought was this gorgeous dill. I knew immediately what I wanted to make. Some grilled chicken salad with fresh dill, walnuts and a bit of salty feta cheese.   I think you will really enjoy this combination of flavors.  Let me know what you think!

Dill Walnut Chicken Salad on a Bed of Tomato

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4

2 grilled chicken breasts, diced

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup minced fresh dill

1/4 cup feta cheese

1/2 Tbsp whole grain mustard

2 rounded Tbsp low fat mayonnaise

1/4 tsp minced garlic

2 ripe tomato, sliced

Directions

1. Mix the chicken through the garlic. 

2. Place 1/4 of the tomato on each of four plates.  Season with salt and pepper.  Spoon the chicken mixture evenly over the tomato.  Garnish with additional dill and walnuts (optional).

Eating Well's Chilaquiles Casserole for Recipe Swap Day

I have been eying Eating Well's Chilaquiles Casserole recipe for quite a while and after buying some ground beef finally decided to make it and add that in to make the recipe for recipe swap day.  I used my new food processor to chop the onion and grate the zucchini and squash.  It took the prep time way down which was good.

Because my hubby got a new job! 

He had been out of work since last May and just started yesterday.  Congratulations babe!  We are still working out the schedule of dropping off and picking up our daughter.  Until he gets settled I am doing both and yesterday evening was like a three ring circus.  Normally he would get home after me and I would have both our dinner and our daughter's dinner cooking (she usually can't eat what we do because of her allergies).

Eating Well's Chilaquiles Casserole for Recipe Swap Day
10 servings

Ingredients

 1 lb of organic humanely raised, grass fed beef
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 medium onion, diced
1 medium zucchini, grated
1 medium squash, grated
 1 19-ounce can black beans, rinsed
1 14-ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
1 1/2 cups corn, frozen (thawed) or fresh
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 corn tortillas, quartered, I used Ezekiel brand
1 19-ounce can mild red or green enchilada sauce or any salsa you like, I used Muir Glen Organic Black Bean and Corn Salsa
1 8 ounce package baby Portobello mushrooms
1 1/4 cups shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend

Directions


1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly coat a 9x13 baking dish or two 9x9 inch dish with cooking spray.


2.  Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add the beef and cook through until no longer pink.  Drain beef mixture of fat.  Stir in zucchini, squash, beans, tomatoes, corn, cumin and salt and cook another 3 to 4 minutes.


3. In the casserole dishes layer half the quartered tortillas, half the beef mixture, half the salsa, half the cheese and then repeat.  


4. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes.
*** After eating the casserole I realized in the craziness of last night the directions said to cook 15 minutes covered and 10 uncovered but 15 was actually fine.