Bison Chili

According to Kai, this is far better than my Dad's. Sorry Dad. Enough said.

28 oz bison
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
28 oz can diced tomatoes
2 cans kidney beans, rinsed
1 can black beans, rinsed
1/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup garlic powder
2 T cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
red pepper to taste
salt to taste

Brown bison in skillet, drain of fat, then add onion and red pepper and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add in the rest of the ingredients and put in crockpot dialed in to low heat until ready to serve.

Crockpot Sesame Chicken

This is one of my favorite staples. We have this in our house every week, because it is super easy and it leaves no excuse to not eat healthy. You can serve it with veggies or whatever you want, but I like it over quinoa. This is so delicious and simple, you'll want it every other day.

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1/2 cup raw honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup ketchup
4 cloves garlic, minced

Throw chicken in the crockpot, and salt and pepper them. Stir up the remaining ingredients and pour over the chicken. Set the pot to low for 4 hours or high for 2-3 hours. Separate with forks and serve it with your choice of sides!

Recipe adapted from sixsisterstuff.com

It's Raining {Turkey} Meatballs!

Recently, I have discovered ground turkey. Everyone always talks about it, but the idea of substituting anything with turkey other than in a sandwich horrified me. Until this past week, when I experienced some great turkey recipes not once, but twice! This was my favorite, and it was a success with the family as well.

Ingredients:
2.5 lbs lean ground turkey
2 eggs
2 cups steamed spinach
1 onion, diced
2 T garlic powder
1 T italian seasoning
pinch black pepper
pinch salt
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup tomato sauce

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together, minus the tomato sauce. In a casserole dish, spread out the tomato sauce in an even layer. Ball the turkey mixture into the dish- I made big ones so there were 18 total. Bake for about 45 minutes total, turning the meatballs halfway through.

Per meatball (if you make 18), there are 145 calories, with a whopping 18.8 g protein and only 2.5 g carbs! Woot woot!

Crockpot Coconut Curry Shrimp

Here's an easy dish for a week night meal that is super healthy! Without the rice, it would be paleo :)

Ingredients:
2 T curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp ginger
3 cloves garlic
1 cup bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 can coconut milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 lb shrimp
2 cups brown basmati rice

Mix all ingredients except for rice in the crockpot, and stir. Cook on high for about 3 hours. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Chicken and Brussel Sprouts - serious goodness

I HATE brussel sprouts. I have experimented with them several times and always hated them. I've even made them with bacon because bacon makes everything better, and still was quite disgusted. I think I hate the texture and the bitterness doesn't do it much good either. However, I made this dish and I was so pleased we might just have it every single week in this house. It was that good!

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts
a bunch of brussel sprouts
2 T soy sauce or liquid amines
1 T honey
2 T red wine vinegar
2 T olive oil
1 T sesame oil
4 shallots
4 cloves garlic
pinch of ginger
salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375. In a large baking dish, mix the marinade, then toss with chicken and sprouts. Bake for 30 minutes, then flip chicken and bake for another 20 minutes, or until chicken is done. Go have some mind-blowing chicken and brussel sprouts!!

Sausage and Cabbage stir-fry

You know you're an Irish Korean when you douse your sausage and cabbage with soy sauce/liquid aminos! I always giggle when I make this. It's so yummy, so quick, and nutritious. You can add in whatever other veggies you have in the fridge and need to get rid of.

Ingredients:
1 T sesame oil
Sausage, sliced (any is fine... make sure it's nitrate/nitrate free!)
purple cabbage, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup liquid aminos or soy sauce
black pepper
Korean red pepper or crushed red pepper is fine
sesame seeds

In a wok on medium-high heat, toss the garlic and onion in the sesame oil for about 1 minute. Add in the sausage and stir until heated. Add in the cabbage and rest of the ingredients, stir, then cover for about 10 minutes, stirring intermittently. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve!

Paleo French Onion Soup

You really love someone when you make them French Onion soup. Slicing a bunch of onions can really bring a big man... or in my case a tough girl... to tears. Anyway, the hubbs requested this and it turned out pretty good!

Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
4 onions, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T arrowroot starch
1/4 water
2 shredded carrots
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups beef stock
pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp sage

In a crockpot (if your insert is removable for frying) or in a large skillet, sauté the onions, garlic, and oil until onions get soft. Sprinkle the starch and stir for about 1 minute. Add water to deglaze the pan (this is really good if you use a gluten free beer or wine instead). Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil, then put the pot back into the crockpot and cook on low for a couple of hours until you are ready to eat.

Vegan Black Bean and Microgreen wrap

This was the most delicious lunch I have ever thrown together in my life. Well, make that the most delicious, easiest lunch I've ever thrown together. You don't even need the wrap, but I'm trying to get some calories into my life so that's why I ate it this way. You have got to try this!

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
pinch garlic powder
black pepper
pinch cumin
salt
cayenne
1/2 jalapeño, chopped
1/2 cup vegetable broth
pinch chili powder
rice (brown is the best option)
microgreens
I used gluten free Fiesta Wraps made with sorghum flour
cilantro would be a great addition

Sautee the beans and the rest of the ingredients before rice is listed for about 8 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. On a wrap, layer the rice, then beans, then microgreens and fold. So perfect!

Vegan Eggplant Lasagna

It's not beautiful, but it's delicious and healthy! I posted a recipe a while back for vegetarian lasagna, which was great, but here is the vegan-ified version. I loved it, and my son was all over it, so it's a winner!

Ingredients:

1 medium eggplant, sliced length-wise

salt

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

black pepper

1 teaspoon parsley

28 oz. can tomatoes

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

3 medium garlic cloves, minced

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus more as needed

salt

1 tablespoon capers

12 ounces GF lasagna noodles, cooked

1 pound soft tofu, drained

2 teaspoons salt, plus more as needed

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend tomatoes, onion and garlic in a food processor until smooth, then simmer in a small pot on medium heat. After about 15 minutes, add in bay leaf, red pepper, capers, and parsley, and simmer until you are ready to use the sauce. 
With eggplant spread out on a baking sheet or plate, sprinkle with salt on both sides (not generously). In a pan with olive oil heated over medium heat, layer in the eggplant and cook on each side for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Blend the tofu, salt and black pepper until it resembles ricotta cheese. Set aside.

In a 9x13 casserole dish, layer the sauce, then noodles, then tofu, then eggplant then repeat. Finish with the sauce on top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes. Enjoy!

Vegan Tomato and Kale Soup

On an incredibly cold day, tomato soup is just perfect. I'm not a fan of tomato soup with chunks of veggies normally, but this was delicious.

Ingredients:
28 oz. can of fire-roasted tomatoes
3 cups vegetable broth
1 bunch of kale, chopped
1 1/4 cups rice, cooked (you could also use quinoa)
1 cup frozen pea + sliced carrot blend, organic
2 bay leaves (remove before serving)
1 heaping tbsp chili powder
pepper/salt to taste 
1 tsp garlic powder 

pinch cayenne pepper

Blend tomatoes in a processor until smooth, then pour into a large pot. Add vegetable broth and cook on medium-high until boiling. Add spices, bay leaves, and peas and carrots until vegetables are cooked through. Add rice and kale and serve!

Vegan Garlic "butter" Pasta

This dish is incredibly simple. So simple, I made it the night we got back from flying all day instead of ordering take-out. I always have quinoa pasta in the pantry, and the spinach was still fresh, surprisingly. I always say that if you load anything with garlic and hot pepper, it'll be delicious!

Ingredients:
1 pkg quinoa pasta
heaping bunch of spinach, washed and drained
1 T Earth Balance vegan butter spread (soy free)
1/4 cup olive oil (you could get away with less, but I like good fats)
4 cloves of garlic, minced
salt
pepper
crushed red pepper

Boil pasta according to package directions. Melt buttery spread with olive oil in large pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and stir for about 1 minute, then add spinach and stir until wilted. Once pasta is done, scoop noodles into pan with the spinach and add the spices to taste. So fast and so yummy!

Miso like you've never had it!

I love good miso soup. This soup was fantastic! I've seriously never had miso that tasted this good, and it was my first attempt at home-made miso. There's a little twist, since my mother-in-law made it this way once and I just love it. I didn't have tofu, so I didn't add it, but it would be a great addition to make this more of a meal!

Ingredients:
4 cups water
2 T sweet white miso paste (I find this in the refrigerated section at the local health food store)
1 T vegetable bouillon
1 jalapeño, sliced
handful chopped cilantro

Bring the water to a boil, add the miso paste and bouillon. Stir until dissolved, then add jalapeno and cilantro. Now go try it and love it!

Chipotle Quinoa

I have honestly never liked chipotle. I love every pepper in the world it seems, with this exception. I found this recipe as well in the the Food Matters Cookbook and decided to give it a try. I was blown away, both by the great flavor of the dish and the heat of the chipotle... a great thing! If you don't like spice, don't add any of the adobo sauce and just use one pepper.

Ingredients:

3 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 T minced garlic
2 canned chipotle chiles, minced with some sauce
1 tsp dried oregano
3/4 cup quinoa
salt and black pepper
1 cup cooked or canned black beans, drained
1/2 cup corn
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
lime wedges

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook until onion is clear. Add peppers and adobo, and oregano. Turn heat up to medium-high, add quinoa, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and stir frequently for a few minutes. Add beans, corn, stock and boil. Stir, reduce heat to low and cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Serve with lime wedges.

Ma-Po Tofu without the fluff!

When I lived in China, I was always all over Ma-Po Tofu. It's normally stir-fried with pork, but I'm obviously cooking without pork these days. I modified this recipe from an incredible cookbook I picked up a while back, called The Food Matters Cookbook. It's got all kinds of great plant-based recipes, with meat included as well, just not the star of the dishes. This dish surprised both my husband and I in that it was so good! He's a meat-lover by all standards, and thoroughly enjoyed this. I swear, it was danged-delicious!

Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
3 cloves minced garlic
1 T minced ginger
1/2 tsp chile flakes, to taste
1/2 cup chopped scallions
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup vegetable stock
14 oz firm tofu, cut into cubes
2 T soy sauce
salt
black pepper
1 drizzle sesame oil

Heat oil in large skillet. Add garlic, ginger and chile flakes until they sizzle. Add scallions, tomatoes, and stock. Cook for a couple of minutes until fragrant, then add tofu. Stir occasionally until heated through. Stir in soy sauce, salt, black pepper, and sesame oil. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Hot, Sweet, AND Sour Chicken

Jake loves chicken, but hates "Chinese" food. Well, I like both and we both loved this dish. It's super easy (well, unless you're used to "cooking" frozen pizzas). Just fry the chicken quickly, then toss them in the oven with the super quick sauce and wah-lah! Delicious!

Breading:
3-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1 cup of corn starch
2-3 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup canola oil

Extras:
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat canola oil over medium heat. Cut the chicken into small bite-sized cubes and toss into the cornstarch and spice mixture. After coating the chicken, coat in eggs. Cook the chicken for a couple minutes on one side, then flip and drain on paper towels. Place in 9x9 baking dish with vegetables.

Sauce:
1 cup sugar or honey
6 T ketchup
1/2 cup vinegar
2 T soy sauce
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1 T sesame oil
1 T sambal sauce (or some spicy sauce)

Whisk sauce and pour over chicken. Stir baking dish contents until combined. Bake in oven for 15 minutes, turn chicken, then cook again for another 15 minutes. Serve with rice or greens.

Chunky Baked Potato Soup

It's been awhile since my last post, sorry! I have definitely been cooking, but for a while there it was hard to look at food or think about food, much less describe it and post pictures of it without getting sick to my stomach.... pregnancy was definitely not fun for a while there. So now I've decided I need to catch up with the posts before baby Kai comes and I have less time to do so.

It was super cold here over the weekend, hanging around freezing temperatures, and I finally understood why people like hot soup on a cold day. I'm pretty sure I never really felt the need for hot soup in the south where it never really got cold (well, with the exception of a month or so and even then I had electric heat that didn't cost an arm and a leg like oil up here).  This soup was perfect not just because it was delicious, but because we had just gotten potatoes from a friend's farm in New Jersey. I adapted this recipe from Southern Living Magazine.

4 large baking potatoes
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup GF flour
6 cups milk
1/3 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/3 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
4 green onions, chopped and divided
12 sliced of bacon, cooked, diced, and divided
5 oz sharp cheddar cheese, divided
8 oz sour cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash the potatoes and poke with a fork. Bake at 400 for 1 hours. Cut potatoes in half and scoop out the pulp.

Melt the butter in a large pan over low heat, add flour and stir until smooth for about 1 minute. Add 6 cups of milk gradually over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture is thickened and bubbly.

Add potato pulp, spices, half of the green onions, bacon, and 1 cup of the cheese. Cook until cheese is melted, then add sour cream. Add more milk to reach desired consistency. Top with remaining ingredients and serve hot.

We enjoyed this with some gluten free spicy bread from Eva Ruth's Bakery, which is phenomenal.

vegetarian reubens

Every now and then I get a craving for a Reuben sandwich. However, I am to scared to try any deli meats for fear of gluten contaminants. Not only that, but I don't really even like meat if the meal doesn't absolutely need it. The more vegetables the better! My mom and I tried these out, loved them, and decided they're a keeper! Just prep all of the ingredients and put them in tupperware to have ready for whenever you want to throw them together in a pinch.

Ingredients:
Udi's gluten free sandwich bread
mushrooms, sliced
spinach
onions, sliced
jalapenos, sliced
swiss cheese
salt
black pepper
butter
olive oil

Saute the mushrooms, onions, jalapenos, and spinach in a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper then set aside. Put the sandwiches together with all of the ingredients other than the butter and olive oil. Butter a large skillet over medium heat, then place the sandwiches into the pan. Flip the sandwiches after 4 minutes. Serve with Russian Island dressing (recipe below) on the side for dipping.

Russian Island dressing:

1/2 cup soy free vegannaise (or mayonnaise)
1/4 cup ketchup
1 T vinegar
1 tsp sugar
sprinkle of black pepper

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate.

quick lo mein

What happens when people in my building order take out? Well, seeing how my sense of smell is annoyingly phenomenal, I can't help but to whip up a super quick batch of vegetable lo mein. Not only is my lo mein less greasy, but it has more vegetables, less who-knows-what in it, and the flavor is awesome!

Ingredients:
1 package brown rice noodles
1/2 cup liquid aminos, coconut aminos, or soy sauce
2 T worcestershire sauce, gluten free
1/4 cup honey or agave
1 T black pepper
1 T hot chili sauce, such as Sambal
3 cloves garlic, minced
veggies of choice (mushrooms, bell pepper, onions)

Boil water and add noodles when ready. While the water is heating, mix all ingredients from the liquid aminos down to the veggies together in a medium sized bowl. Drain the pasta. Saute the bowl of ingredients in a large sauce pan for about 3 minutes. Add in the noodles and mix together. Walah! Takeout... or Homein!!

crock pot chicken tacos, gluten free of course!

I've taken a bit of time off while traveling and settling back in. Not to worry, I have several recipes and posts coming up, and today was the day I made something so marvelous as to motivate me to post!!

I LOVE Mexican food. However, I've never made a truly delicious Mexican-ish meal at home, besides my guacamole, until today. I swear, I would rather eat this than go to a Mexican restaurant any day! Normally I would bake my chicken in the oven then cut it up for the tacos. However, I got the great idea to cook chicken in a crock pot then pull it apart, which is so much easier! My idea came from mommyimhungry.blogspot.com.

3 chicken breasts, or whole chicken, or thighs
2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 yellow onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans of Rotel hot tomatoes with chilies
splash of water, optional
shredded Cabot cheese, I used extra sharp cheddar and hot habanero
shredded cabbage
brown rice tortillas

Lay the chicken flat in the crock pot, along the bottom. Sprinkle the cumin, salt, and black pepper on top. Throw in the yellow onion, the garlic, and the tomatoes. If there is chicken peeking out of the liquid, pour in enough water to cover the chicken. Cook on low for 8 hours, then pull apart with forks. Toss out the remaining liquid and roll the chicken and remaining ingredients together into the tortillas and settle down with the most amazing taco you've ever had!

perfect pesto pasta

I loooooove pesto! Pesto is so simple to whip up, is super nutritious, and incredibly delicious. You just put all of the pesto ingredients in a food processor or blender then pour over your food and you're done with your dinner. It doesn't get any better than that. I mean really, if I had to use one herb for the rest of my life and nothing else, it would be basil. Fresh basil is where it's at, and is super easy to grow!

Ingredients:
1 cup packed basil
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts
1 T minced garlic
salt
pepper
red pepper
yellow onion, sliced
mushrooms, sliced
brown rice pasta
1 lb chicken, cubed

In a blender or food processor, add in the first 7 ingredients and pulse until well blended. Boil a large pot of water and add in the noodles. While the noodles are cooking, saute the chicken and pesto sauce in a large pan. Once the chicken is almost cooked, add in the mushrooms and onion. Saute until cooked through. Drain the noodles and add to the chicken mixture. Toss together and serve!