Bruschetta Pasta (or no pasta)

This is a simple meal but my family loves it and we can adapt it to meet everyone's needs.  I make it for my kids with gluten-free brown rice/quinoa pasta and I usually enjoy mine with "zoodles" (zucchini noodles) or spaghetti squash.

Ingredients:

2 lb chicken breasts, sliced thin
1 package Organic Grape tomatoes (these were ripest and most flavorful)
1/2 lb sliced mushrooms
Handful fresh Basil
Parmesan
Butter
Sea Salt
Pepper
Garlic

Pasta
Zucchini
Spaghetti Squash

Dice tomatoes and basil and combine in a bowl and refrigerate to join flavors together.  In a large saucepan, saute thinly sliced chicken breast, mushrooms and garlic in the butter and season to taste with salt/pepper.  Add Tomato/Basil mixture and bring to low to simmer for a few minutes.  Prepare noodles of choice and serve sprinkled with Parmesan.  Simple, tasty and a family favorite!

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

4 large eggs
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup shredded zucchini (I used one green, one yellow)

Combine the wet ingredients with a hand mixer until well combined.

1/3 cup coconut flour
1/4 cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
sprinkle sea salt
1/2 cup enjoy life chocolate chips

Add dry ingredients into wet and mix well with hand mixer.  Finally, fold in chocolate chips and place evenly into 12 muffin tins.  Bake at 350 for 22 minutes then let cool for 10+ minutes.  Enjoy!

Stuffed Turkey Tenderloins

I think this is technically more of a "fall" dish but so yummy!  The prep takes some time but then only takes a short time to heat through later on so a good "pre-prep" meal idea!  I do a lot of my cooking on Sundays or else a day or two ahead of time during the week since our schedule is wild!

2 boneless turkey tenderloins or 1 pound (Trader Joe's has been my best bet for these)
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 small onion, diced
1 medium butternut squash, diced/cubed
2 garlic cloves, diced
1/2 package mushrooms, diced
1 cup baby spinach
3 sage leaves, chopped
Thyme, several sprigs fresh
Sea Salt
Ground Pepper
Cooking Twine

1.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high and add coconut oil.
2.  Add onions and begin saute' for a few minutes.  Then, Add butternut squash and a few tablespoons water and cover to simmer for 10 minutes.
3.  Remove lid and add garlic, mushrooms, spinach, sage, thyme, sea salt, and pepper and cook carefully while stirring for another few minutes.  Be sure vegetables are soft and well seasoned.  Set aside to cool.
4.  Cut the tenderloins so there is a "pocket" in each side.  Fill them as full as you can with the vegetable mixture and carefully wrap the tenderloins in cooking twice to hold together well.  Mixture will spill out, but no worries.
5.  Place the tenderloins in the used HOT skillet and carefully sear each side (not open side of course)-this helps seal all the flavors in.
6.  Transfer to a baking dish and pour any additional vegetable mixture on top/sides in dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes (cover with foil for at least half the time depending on how golden you like it on top).  Enjoy!

Cheesy Spaghetti Squash Bake

I personally love spaghetti squash but my family does not enjoy it.  My kids still did not enjoy this one (because they are not big cheese fans) but my hubby gave it a thumbs up!

1 medium spaghetti squash baked (I bake mine face down in a slight bit of water for 30 minutes)
1 Tbsp Coconut Oil
1/4 yellow onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Mushrooms, diced
1 pound ground beef (or two if you want leftovers or want to make half with traditional brown rice pasta for kiddos like mine)
Either 1 jar pasta sauce (or 2 cups tomatoe puree)
1/4 cup water
parsley
oregano
basil
sea salt
pepper
1 cup shredded raw mild cheese (I used mild cheddar and it was delicious)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1.  Saute onion, garlic, mushrooms, and ground beef in the the oil until browned and veggies are soft.
2.  Add in pasta sauce and spices of your choice and simmer on low for 20-30 minutes to really combine the flavors.
3.  Shred the "noodles" from spaghetti squash and transfer to the pot with the sauce to combine well.
4.  Place noodle/sauce mixture in a large casserole dish and sprinkle with a combination of cheeses.
5.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until cheese is super bubbly!

I typically use this as my "make-ahead" meal.  I make two pounds ground beef, two jars sauce, lots of veggies and we have spaghetti one night and then this is a full meal leftover for another night in the busy week!

Banana Bread/Muffins Two Ways!

The other day I felt like baking and had a bunch of over ripe bananas so here we go!  One is a more basic, gluten and refined-sugar free banana bread and the other is a double chocolate banana bread.

Banana Bread/Muffins with Chocolate Chips:

3 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup raw honey (pure maple syrup could work or a version of sugar)
1/3 cup unsweet applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
3 Tbsp avocado oil
2 cups flour blend (I used 1 cup brown rice flour and 1 cup ground gluten-free oats finely ground)
2 Tbsp ground chia seeds
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup enjoy life chocolate chips

1.  Mash bananas with masher or in a mixer.  Add vanilla, eggs, oil, applesauce/honey and combine well.
2.  Mix all dry ingredients together and add the the wet mixture until well combined.
3.  Stir in chocolate chips last and spoon into loaf pan or muffin tin.
4.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Double Chocolate Banana Bread:

3 very ripe bananas

1/2 cup unsweet applesauce

1/2 cup raw honey or maple syrup (I did a mixture of the two)

1 tsp vanilla

1 large egg

1 cup flour blend (I did 1/2 cup rice flour and 1/2 cup ground oat flour)

2 Tbsp ground chia seed

1/3 cup raw cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

sprinkle sea salt

2/3 cup enjoy life chocolate chips

1.  Mash bananas and add wet ingredients (applesauce, sweetener, vanilla, egg)

2.  Add dry ingredients and combine well.

3.  Fold in the chocolate chips (saving a handful for decoration on the top)

4.  Put mix in a baking pan and sprinkle chocolate  chips on top.  

5.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until knife comes out (almost) clean.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Strawberry Pie

Here is a healthy, vegan dessert (also nut free because my middle child has a nut sensitivity)!  We ended up freezing it so it was almost like an ice cream dessert!  I was nervous to try this because I was making three separate items and trying to combine them into one dessert but it was tasty and fairly quick and simple!

Crust:
1 1/4 cups coconut flour
1 TBSP raw cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
5 TBSP coconut oil (room temperature)
1 TBSP sunflower butter
2 TBSP raw honey
sprinkle sea salt
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together to combine using a fork and press firmly into bottom of pie pan.

Chocolate Mousse Layer:
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup coconut sugar (I used less the second time I made this and it was still super sweet)
1 cup chocolate chunks (I tried with enjoy life chocolate chips once and another time using Whole Foods 365 70% chunks)
4 eggs, separated
1 can full fat unsweet coconut cream (put can coconut milk in fridge and use the layer of cream)

Boil the water in a medium pot then add the sugar until dissolved.  Remove from heat and after a few minutes add the chocolate chips until completely melted.  In separate bowls, whisk both the egg yolks until pale yellow and the whites until stiff peaks form.  Then, using a hand mixer combine the chocolate mixture and eggs until completely combined.  Finally, add the coconut cream and mix well using mixer.  Pour carefully on top of the pie crust then put in freezer while you prep the strawberry mousse!

Strawberry Mousse:
1 can full fat unsweet coconut cream (same thing, place can in fridge for a bit and remove the cream)
2 TBSP raw maple syrup (raw honey could also work)
1 cup strawberries (I used fresh)

Place the coconut cream, maple syrup and strawberries in a blender and blend well until smooth.  Pour carefully on top of the chocolate layer and place in the fridge/freezer for a few hours.  I ended up placing in the freezer and we enjoyed about 3 hours later.  Another night, I made just the chocolate mousse and did it in the fridge!  Both tasty!

Freezer Crock Pot Meal Ideas

With Fall approaching, I have seen many posts about freezer crockpot meals, so I decided to round up some of my favorites and make some of my own.  I bought almost entirely organic ingredients (a few things I could not find between 4 stores) and use hormone/antibiotic free range meats.  I made Margarita Chicken (2 bags), Beef Stew, Rosemary Apple Chicken, Chicken Taco Chili, and Thai Curry (2 bags), plus bought ingredients for a new chicken tomato recipe I am planning to try so 8 full meals (most will include leftovers for at least some of us as well).  I also bought gallon freezer bags, brown rice, Ezekial Tortilla (for taco chili leftovers), and even have some leftover veggies for snacking.  My total cost (using quality ingredients) was 106.64 so divide that by 8 meals is $13.33 per meal for a family of 4 plus leftovers.  I am pretty excited!  I plan to just keep these in the freezer and maybe have one a week or use in emergencies when I do not have a meal planned or plans change.  Now that I have done a small version of this, I may expand and do some more!

Margarita Chicken
Beef Stew
Rosemary Apple Chicken
Chicken Taco Chili
Thai Curry