Tag Archives: Recipes
Peanut Chicken Soba Sauté
Made this tonight, and even though I desperately need to post a life update more than a recipe for a meal, this one needs celebrating. It was AWESOME. ’nuff said.
Peanut chicken, greens, and soba sauté.
Sauce
2 T rice vinegar
2 T smooth peanut butter (I used our homemade that’s a little sweet because of the honey I add)
2 T tamari soy sauce
1/4 cup water
2 teas arrowroot powder (could use cornstarch, but I don’t cook with that anymore, use your judgment…1 teas?)
Mix the sauce ingredients and set aside.
Rest of Ingredients
2 T peanut oil, sesame oil or unflavored coconut oil
4 cups broccoli florets (or more!)
1 red bell pepper sliced or chopped, your preference.
4-5 cups of kale (or other green such as chard or spinach)
3 cloves of garlic minced
3 green onions diced
2 cups of cooked, diced chicken (I used leftover rotisserie chicken)
Preparation
Heat over medium high heat the oil in large sauté pan or wok. Add chopped broccoli and cook for 2 minutes. Add chopped bell pepper and sauté another 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and green onions to the center of the pan and stir, cooking until fragrant 30 seconds or so. Add kale and a splash of water, cover and steam for a 2 more minutes, uncover and let water evaporate then toss in diced chicken and sauce over everything and stir in and only cook until the chicken is heated through.
Serve over cooked soba noodles or brown rice if you prefer.
Note: This does not make a saucy stir fry, so you may want to toss your noodles in some oil and soy sauce, or cook your rice in a little extra water or broth if you prefer it saucier.
In reflection, this is great because it’s not sweet, and doesn’t have an overly powerful peanut flavor. I hope you enjoy this as much as my kids, the engineer and I did!
Cheers!
Hearty Chicken and Rosemary Stew
It may be April here in California but it’s still rainy and cold frequently. This stew is the perfect spring comfort food. Not heavy with dairy, but sturdy enough to feed the hungriest teenager. (mental note for ten years from now!) Enjoy this with healthy, homemade drop biscuits and a salad. Challenge yourself to see how many vegetables you can eat in one meal! Using homemade chicken broth is amazing in this recipe, and I don’t recommend skimping on the white wine. It really does add a wonderful depth to the stew that is missing if you leave it out. (Ask me how I know?!) I always have fresh rosemary from my garden, so I’ve never tried using dried, but if you substitute it, remember that dried herbs are more potent, so use less. Enjoy!
Increasing Nutrition Through Recipe Changes
So we are on a quest to eat more nutritionally as a family and yet the task can appear rather daunting. Well, Id like to tell you that you don’t have to change everything in order to create or adapt healthy recipes. Who wants to throw out all your family favorite recipes that have been passed down? Or those favorite comfort foods that make your family feel so satisfied and rejuvenated? I don’t know a mom alive who would spend countless hours in the kitchen reinventing the recipe “Wheel”. A few changes here and there (baby steps people!) will go a long way in the kitchen.
Today, I would like to offer a resource of ideas for helping you adapt your favorite recipes to make them healthier. While some of my recipes are loaded with sugar and say regular ol’ “flour” practically every recipe on this site has been a family favorite for quite some time, and have only been adapted in the past few years to replace the ingredients with more real whole food alternatives. The flavors may have changed slightly, but overall, choosing to use real food ingredients only increases the flavor and intensity of each recipe.
I have provided here for you a simple chart to convert those standard ingredients in your everyday recipes to real, whole food ingredients. Don’t feel overwhelmed by this list. Maybe start with one thing a week, or however fast you feel like working through it. Perhaps many of you will find things on this list you are already doing, such as the use of EVOO, or coconut oil…maybe some of you have been gluten free for some time now, and white flour is already gone from your thought process. Good for you! It’s all about baby steps!
Brown sugar: Replace with equal amounts of sucanat or rapadura which have an excellent darker texture and tone similar to brown sugar. If you desire that wetter texture of brown sugar, simply add a Tablespoon of blackstrap molasses to the sucanat or rapadura.
Powered Sugar: replace with powdered sucanat/rapadura, or a dash of stevia.
White Flour: The Colorado State University Cooperative Extension recommends the following for substituting flour when baking.
1 cup of white, all-purpose flour for baking can be substituted with the following:
• 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs; (Just make sure they are whole wheat)
• 7/8 to 1 cup corn meal; I’ve never tried this.
• 1/2 cup cornstarch plus 1/2 cup rye, potato or rice flour (sift together 6 times, use with 2 tsp baking powder per cup in quick breads as wheat flour allergy substitute);
• 5/8 cup potato flour;
• 7/8 cup rice flour;
• 1 1/3 cups rolled oats;
• 1 1/4 cups rye flour;
• 1 cup minus 1 Tbsp whole wheat flour.
Buttermilk: Replace equally with cultured kefir or yogurt. (Coconut milk kefir is a good choice as well.) You can also make your own milk kefir.
Crisco/Shortening: replace with palm oil, coconut oil, or butter in their solid state.
Thickeners: Replace cornstarch or white flour called for in a recipe to a smaller portion of arrowroot powder (i.e. 1/4 cup flour = 1-2 Tbsp arrowroot powder).
Bouillon cubes: replace with homemade or organic free range chicken/beef broth.(Make sure it’s NO MSG…Not “No added MSG” Usually a recipe will say 1 bouillon cube and 1 cup water, and you can simply replace both with 1 cup homemade broth. You can also freeze homemade stock in ice cube trays to replace the bouillon cubes.
Pancake Syrup: Replace pancake syrup (the fake HFCS sugar syrup) with pure maple syrup (Vermont does not allow formaldehyde in processing or try Canadian sources), honey, or fruit syrup.
Mayonnaise: Make your own homemade mayonnaise or purchase coconut oil mayonnaise or safflower mayonnaise.
Ketchup: Make your own or choice fermented ketchup or an organic variety that does not use HFCS. There are some brands that now advertise no HFCS, and I use so little, that we simply purchase those, but making your own is easy and a great idea if your family consumes a lot.
Bread crumbs/croutons: Make your own from healthy breads or your own that’s a day old.
Vanilla Extract: Use pure vanilla extract (not vanilla flavoring or imitation vanilla) or make your own.
Salad Dressings: The best nutritious salad dressing is a simple balsamic vinegar and cold pressed olive oil. But you can also make your own recipes of salad dressings using healthy fats.
Worcestershire Sauce (this often has corn syrup): replace with equal amount of white vinegar.
Baking powder/baking soda: Chose aluminum free varieties (Bob’s Red Mill or Rumford brands).
Moo Shu Chicken (A long awaited post for some of you!)
Sorry ladies, here is the famous Moo Shu Chicken recipe. I have to say that while it was very good, I'm not a huge mushroom fan. So I can't say it's my favorite. But for some of you, it'll be the best! This recipe comes from America's Test Kitchen chicken cookbook that I borrowed form the library. Without further adieu…
Serves 4
(Shredded carrots, bean sprouts, or thinly sliced bamboo shoots can be stirred inthe the pan with the cabbage.)
1/3 C chicken broth preferably lower sodium or homemade.
6 T Hoisin sauce
2 T soy sauce
2 teas non-GMO cornstarch (organic)
2 T coconut oil (or vegetable oil)
8 oz shiitake mushrooms stemmed, wiped clean and sliced thin
3 garlic cloves minced or pressed through a garlic press
1 T grated fresh ginger
2 Cups shredded or thinly sliced cooked chicken
12 oz cabbage washed, cored and shredded (about 4 cups)
5 green onions sliced thin
8 (6") flour tortillas or mandarin pancakes
- Mix the broth, 2 Tablespoons of Hoisin sauce, soy sauce and cornstarch together in a small bowl and set aside.
- Heat 1 T oil in a 12 inch non-stick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add the mushrooms and cook until lightly browned, 4 minutes.
- Clear the center of the pan and add the remaining 1 T oil, the garlic and ginger. Cook, mashing the mixture slightly until it's fragrant. About 30 seconds. Stir in the chicken, cabbage, and green onions and cook until the cabbage begins to wilt, about one minute.
- Whisk the sauce to recombine and add it to the pan, bringing to a simmer. Cook until the sauce thickens and the mixture is hot 1-2 minutes.
- Meanwhile warm the tortillas and serve tortillas with the chicken and the 4 remaining tablespoons of Hoisin Sauce.
Enjoy!
Meal Plan Monday
So my mother is coming today. Since we always look forward to cooking together, I have quite the list of meals selected that I'm planning on letting my mom choose from, although I do have a slow cooker recipe planned for tomorrow. Enjoy the list and please feel free to comment if you'd really like to see any of these recipes published here on the blog.
Monday- Slow cooker Chicken and (soaked) Quinoa
Rest of the weeks choices. Whatever doesn't get picked will end up on the menu next week…
- Apple and Walnut stuffed pork chops with green beans or roasted broccoli.
- Minimalist Roast Chicken with Lentils Madrid
- Chimi churri steak sandwiches on sourdough rolls
- Vegetarian Quinoa Chili
- Spicy Meat Chili
- Artichoke and Sun Dried Tomato stuffed chicken breasts
- Tender skewered beef
- Mexican Chicken lasagna with black beans
- Ground Turkey Enchiladas
- Hunan Pork and Zucchini Stir Fry
- Maple Glazed pork Roast
Menu Monday November 7th 2011
Ladies! It’s been a whole month of meal planning in my house!! Wait! It’s actually been more like 6 weeks hasn’t it? Wow…All I can say is that it’s made my life so much more organized. I LOVE having my family’s meals selected for the week; The flexibility of rearranging however I would like and most especially the fact that on Sunday’s I’ve already made sure I have all my ingredients. (That’s really a huge one for me, because I do NOT like going to the grocery store and lately haven’t had the padding in the budget for extravagant meals so I’m pulling from the pantry quite a bit. (Maybe I’ll do a pantry challenge next week and show you how I’ve learned to keep a well stocked pantry.)
Anyway, here is our menu for the week. I’m not going to list out the days this time because I feel that sometimes I like to pull from a menu like I would do at a restaurant…Items A, B, or C and depending on our afternoons, sometimes that slow cooker meal just has to wait until tomorrow because of x, y, or z reasons, or I forget to defrost and I hate defrosting in the microwave, etc.
- Both Beef and Bean Tuscany stew and the Slow Cooker Lentil Rice Casserole from “The Everything Beans Book; Thanks Katie!
- Spicy Asian Noodles with Chicken from allrecipes.com (I change it a bit…adding freshly stir fried chicken and zucchini.
- Meatless meal; Easy Baked Ziti with Joe’s Rosemary bread. Allrecipes.com I think the Ziti comes from Lifeasmom or Goodcheapeats.
- Ham, Broccoli and cheese Calzones 5dollardinners.com
- Herb Crusted Halibut (Kind of like really good fish sticks. (We never got to this last week; hubs out of town again!)
That’s my six meals for the week. I also plan on doing a little freezer cooking during nap time with Chicken nuggets and homemade tater tots. (Both using coconut oil-my new favorite oil for EVERYTHING!
Enjoy!
UPDATE: After looking back at our hostess’ challenge website, she had a few reflection questions for us;
“So let’s talk… what did you learn? What makes meal planning work for you? What benefits have you seen? What struggles or challenges still exist?” Stephanie @Keeperofthehome.org
I already covered what I liked, but since she asked for more; here it is…
What Did I Learn? I learned that meal planning is simple and kind of exciting. It’s like seeing the menu of the restaurants you plan to visit on a vacation and having enough time to carefully make your selection!! I thoroughly enjoyed learning how easy it is.
What Makes Meal Planning Work For You? Really, the fact that half my family is gone for a few hours on Sunday evenings makes it work for me because I can sit with my cookbooks in my kitchen and take a good long look at the pantry and fridge and sort it out without the distractions of the “menfolk”
What Benefits Have You Seen? In my family, I have two very picky eaters. I can’t necessarily narrow it down to “He dislikes green, and she won’t eat meat, etc” but it’s an every changing selection on their “Do not eat” list. My son could love something one night and ask me to make it the rest of the week, and then refuse to eat it next week. So I have started showing my kids the menu and asking them what they’d like. That way when they start to get fussy at the site of a hated vegetable in their meal, I can say; “Well, I gave you a choice and this was yours, so you need to follow through.” or something to that affect…Another benefit is that I have been able to choose menu’s that have more vegetables and seasonal offerings to make the most of my budget instead of opening the fridge and wondering…
What Struggles and Challenges Still Exist? Getting my kids to happily eat every night hasn’t changed much, but we are making some headway with the choices aspect of menu planning. One more challenge is planning out lunches and breakfasts. I didn’t write anything for those meals, but I usually have breakfast and lunch thought out the day before because most times in involves soaking grains, or making bread so that the first two meals can be semi-ready. so actually writing it out the whole week before is still a challenge for me because some mornings are easier and more time is available than others. But it’s a day to day change.
Those are my notes!! Thanks For this Challenge Stephanie!
Tasty Tuesday
November 1st
Make your weeknights work for you. Make up a double or triple batch of these babies to store in the freezer for those quick "What's for dinner mom" moments when you discover it's 5:30 and the natives are restless!
- 1 lb local or organic boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 egg
- 1 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Coconut oil (or vegetable oil if you must)
- Chop the chicken into small chunks and sprinkle them with salt and pepper (if desired).
- Lightly beat the egg in a shallow bowl.
- In another shallow bowl mix together the breadcrumbs, cheese, paprika, and garlic powder with a fork.
- Now you are ready to bread the chicken. There is a simple technique that will make this part very easy. Make one of your hands the “wet hand” and the other one the “dry hand”. With your wet hand toss some of the chicken chunks into the egg mixture until they are coated on all sides. Then with your wet hand drop them on top of the bread crumb mixture. With your dry hand sprinkle some breadcrumbs on top of the chicken and then flip them over a few times until the pieces are coated. Put the coated pieces on a plate while you work on the rest of the chicken.
- Heat a thin layer of oil in a large sauté pan (a non-stick pan is recommended) over medium-low heat.
- Cook the chicken nuggets for several minutes on each side until they are golden brown. You want the nuggets to be cooked all the way through by the time they get brown on the outside. Cut one down the middle to make sure it is fully cooked.
- Transfer the nuggets to a plate lined with paper towels to help drain off any excess oil.
- Serve with organic ketchup or homemade honey mustard sauce (equal parts honey, mustard, and mayo). And don’t forget to freeze the leftovers!
Serve with a side of homemade applesauce for dipping and some petite peas or baby green beans.
Monday Menu Plan
Menu for the Week of October 31st, 2011
Monday- Halloween party at a friends house. If we don't eat food there, we will have leftovers. Makes for an easy Monday night!!
Tuesday- Mexican Chicken "Lasagna"
Wednesday- Slow Cooker Lentil Rice Casserole from Katie's "Everything Beans Book" @ kitchenstewardship.org
Thursday-"Wanna Be" Lasagna Skillet Pasta (No boil, no bake lasagna-my kind of meal!) With Joe's Rosemary Bread (AllRecipes.com)
Friday- Herb Crusted Halibut AKA-Mommy's fish stix With a new attempt at homemade tater-tots courtesy
Saturday- Venison Chili (Oh yeah…Never had venison before, we got it from a friend. So excited to try it!)
Sunday-Sandwiches (Again, due to C-boy's AWANA program's ill-timed placement on Sunday nights at 5…Anyone know why they do this to us? Ugh)
That's the weekly round up, it's been fun planning these meals ahead of time, and makes my afternoons less stressful because I know what's in order. Breakfast and Lunches seem to fall nicely into place as well, and I have no need or desire to list them all out for the week. But I can tell you that sourdough pancakes and pumpkin oatmeal are on the breakfast list this week. Be Safe tomorrow night out with the kids (Unless you're like me and don't take kids trick or treating) have a great week!
Monday Menu Plan October 24th, 2011
So even though I had nothing to foul up my menu planning yesterday, I still didn't manage to write it down in a post for the world to see. I am finally getting a minute to do so. BTW, I completely blame the horribly sore neck and shoulder that I had all weekend for the lapse in posting my menu on time! Haha!
Monday: Slow Cooker Roast Beef with potatoes, carrots, onions and buttermilk (freshly cultured too!) biscuits.
Tuesday: Turkey Burgers on home baked Sourdough rolls with a tossed salad and maybe some steamed brocolli since I need to use it.
Wednesday: Quesadilla Casserole with home made refried beans.
Thursday: freezer Meal, probably a lasagna bolognese that I made last month with a spinach and romaine caesar salad.
Friday: Halloween party at the In-Laws house. I expect only the finest "Unhealthy Foods" Since that what she creatively put on the inviations. It was pretty cool!
Saturday: Barbeque Chicken with garlic mashed red potatoes and green beans.
Sunday: Turkey and/or PB&J Sandwiches with matchstick carrots
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Monday Menu October 17, 2011
