Better Shepherd's Pie

I posted a Shepherd's Pie a while back. It was okay, but I found this recipe and absolutely love it! I have been searching and searching for a good one because S. P. was one of my favorites growing up. I'm so glad I have something similar, but much more healthy, now!

Shepherd's Pie

Garlic Mashed Potatoes (6-8 russets, boil, drain, mash with "butter," rice milk, parsley, salt/pepper, & either roasted garlic cloves or garlic powder)
2 Large Carrots, Sliced
1 (16 oz) Package frozen mixed veggies
olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes, drained lightly
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
garlic powder, oregano, basil, chili powder, and a bit of agave - to taste
Paprika

Make the mashed potatoes- and meanwhile... Cook the carrots and mixed veggies. Set veggies aside. Cook onion in a bit of olive oil. Add beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce and spices. Add veggies (drained of excess liquid). Cook until flavors can meld- about 3 min. Place in bottom of a prepared 9x13 pan and top with dollops of garlic mashed potatoes. Smooth out and sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 375 for 20 min.

Yumm!

Raw Almond Joys

Prep yourself girls..... this recipe is amazing!!! I hope you enjoy it. Remember there is a difference between a young coconut and matured coconut. The matured is the one you typically see at the store that is brown, round and hard. The young coconut is still in its husk. Just cut the husk off of the top. Take a screw driver and hammer a bunch of holes in the top (making a circle) until you can lift it off. The meat inside is similar to the texture of jello. You just spoon it out. One young coconut is enough for this recipe. The water from this coconut is amazing. Just drink it. It is so much better than the water from a matured coconut. Also, coconut water is full of electro lights and potassium. So,it is good for after working out.

Raw Almond Joy

For this you will need:
Coconut Filling
Dry or Soaked Almonds
Chocolate Coating

Coconut Filling
2/3 cup young coconut meat
3/4 cup + 2 tbs dried coconut
2 tbs agave nectar
2 tsp honey
2 tbs coconut butter
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 pinches salt

Blend until smooth in high speed blender. Transfer mixture to a bowl and put in fridge to set.

Chocolate Coating
1/2 cup melted coconut butter
1/2 cup cacao or carob powder (I used 3 part cacao/1 part carob)
1 tbs maple syrup
1 tbs agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 Tbsp of melted coconut oil (you may need to add more. The coating should be drippy).

Blend until smooth in high speed blender or food processor.

Assembly
Once the mixture has firmed up, form into a small ball then slightly flatten down. Top with an almond and return to the fridge or freezer to set.

Dip each coconut mounds into chocolate coating. Allow a few seconds for excess chocolate to drip, then transfer to parchment paper. Put in fridge or freezer to set.

If the Raw Almond Joy candies are stored in the freezer, make sure to transfer them ahead of time in the fridge to allow the coconut base to soften up.

Black Bean and Spinach Enchiladas

A friend made this for me after I delivered Truman. Yummmmm!

Black Bean and Spinach Enchiladas

1 Pound Fresh Spinach Leaves (Yes, really that much. I buy the Sam's Club Box Size!)
2 Cans Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1 Cup-ish Salsa
Cumin
Chili Powder
Whole Wheat Tortillas
Sour Cream
Lime Juice
Shredded Cheese (Optional)
Chopped Tomatoes
Sliced Green Onions

Preheat oven to 350.
Wilt Spinach in large pot with a tinsy bit of water. Drain and chop coarsely. Return to pot and mix in beans, salsa, and spices (according to how spicy you like it!). Warm through. Divide among tortillas and roll up. Place in prepared pan side by side. Bake uncovered 15 min. Combine sour cream and lime juice . Spread over enchiladas. Top with cheese, tomatoes and onions. Bake an additional 5 more minutes. Serve!

Ashlee Notes:

I didn't put the amount of tortillas because it very much depends on how full you fill them. Mine usually fits into one 9x13 pan. So... I would say plan on at least 8 tortillas, but it could be more if you like. As far as the sour cream/lime juice ratio (I admit, sour cream and a few other ingredients have found their way back into our lives) I would say that I did probably 1/2-3/4 cups with about 2 tablespoons lime juice. It was so yummy! If you wanted to make it totally vegan, I would skip the sour cream and cheese, but be sure to sprinkle lime juice on them still! It adds a really nice flavor.

My whole family really likes this one. Hope you do too!

Katies Links- Vegan KSL and Whole Food Mommies

KSL


and the whole food one I am sticking on the side bar.

Thanks again Kate!

Poor Irish Hash

I don't know what it is about me and cabbage lately. Shay, when you said that you had never eaten cabbage until recently I could totally relate. It never appeared in our house growing up except in KFC coleslaw. Anyhow, I am discovering it is one of my favorite veggies. I love it in soup, salads, and main dishes alike. This recipe is one of my faves. Eat it and feel like a poor irishman. Fun! Don't worry, you'll enjoy it because it's not the ONLY thing you eat :)

Irish Hash

2 tablespoons olive oil, more for drizzling
5-6 medium red or yukon gold potatoes, diced really small
1/3 cup chopped onion
thyme
1 can white beans- great northern or canellinni, drained and rinsed
1/4 head of large cabbage, very thinly sliced (I do it in chunks so it ends up being 2 inch long thin slices)
salt and pepper

Heat oil to med high in large non-stick pot (mine isn't non stick, but we manage). Cook potatoes 5 min. browning all sides. Add onions and thyme. Cook some more. Keep scraping and tossing. Stir in cabbage and stir until starting to wilt adding more olive oil if necessary. Add beans, salt and pepper. Keep a stirrin' and a scrapin'. When all heated through and cabbage is wilty-ish but not dead remove and serve.

Bean Recipes

Hello Darlings.

I wanted to give you a recommendation for a good site for bean recipes. I have been perusing it this morning and found several things I want to try.

http://www.bushbeans.com/en_US/recipes/index.jsp

I'll post it on the side bar too.

Banana Pancakes

No oils. No eggs/cholesterol. No added sugar. And it was still delish! The PB flavor doesn't really come through. They mostly just taste banana-ey. I was thinking blueberries in them would be SO yummy!

Banana Pancakes

1 banana, mashed
1 1/2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 cup "milk"
1 1/2 cups whole wheat or other whole grain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

mix wet. mix dry. mix together until combined. Use the back of a spoon to spread in pan when cooking- batter is thicker than most, but if you spread it thin it doesn't make a super thick pancake- unless of course you like that! In which case don't spread it as thin :) I cook over medium.

Enjoy!

ps- SHAY: How is the pregnancy going? Feeling well?

ps- EVERYONE: Our veggie lovin friend Katie had her baby yesterday! Yahoo! I don't want to steal her thunder, but I did want you to know! Yay for babies!

Beans and Rice

We had this for dinner last night and it was a good, basic, frugal recipe that was actually pretty tasty for how simple and easy it was.  We all loved it.  We used it as the base for a salad and put a bunch of spinach from our garden and salad dressing on it.  Jocelyn rolled the beans and rice up in the spinach leaves and ate it like a lettuce wrap.  We made it with Pinto beans.  You could also make it with a taco salad or roll it up in tortillas for burritos.

Click here to see the original post.

And here's the recipe:

Baked Red Beans & Rice

1 cup long grain rice
1 1/4 cup vegetable broth
2 cups tomato salsa
1 16 oz. can kidney beans, drained & rinsed 
1/2 tsp. chili powder
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the rice and broth in a lightly oiled 2-quart casserole dish.  Stir in the salsa, beans, chili powder and salt & pepper to taste.  Cover tightly and bake until the rice is tender, about 1 hour.

Soaked Bread Machine Whole Grain Bread

Hello all!

So I finally made this soaked whole grain bread for the bread machine and I think we have found our new favorite basic/staple bread.  It's not very sweet, but it is pretty good for your every day sandwich bread, toast, anything basic bread need.

I also ground the wheat and the flax right before I put it in and it really makes the house smell yummy while it's rising and baking!  And much more nutritional.  The wheat flour you buy at the store just does not have any smell!

I wanted to post the recipe here, because she has stopped doing her blog and I don't know how long it will be up and I don't want to lose it.  I just cooked mine in the bread machine because I was leaving the house.  When you add the yeast, just start the whole wheat cycle you prefer on your machine.  I also did not add the vital wheat gluten and the texture was still fine.

Also, I've made several soaked recipes now, and I think it's this hot dry Utah air, but I feel like I have to add more water to make sure the grain doesn't dry out overnight.  I didn't add more water to this recipe when I made it, but it was pretty dry in the morning.  You could also just add all the ingredients at once and make it without soaking first.

Someday when I know I will be home, I will probably do a double batch in the dough cycle and then take it out and bake each separately.  But, who knows when that will happen... it's just so nice to throw it in and forget about it.

Soaked Whole Wheat Bread in the Bread Machine (produces 1 loaf)

1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar (or whey, kefir, buttermilk or yogurt) plus enough water to make 1 cup

2 3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup oats

1/4 cup honey

3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil (or olive oil or melted butter)

2 Tbsp. coarsely ground flax seed

2 Tbsp. hot water

1/4 tsp. honey

1 3/4 tsp. yeast

1 1/4 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. vital wheat gluten

Put water/vinegar mixture, flour, oats, honey, oil and flax seed in the pan of your bread machine in the manufacturer’s recommended order (mine says to do liquids first then solid ingredients). Turn the bread machine on the dough cycle and let run for about five minutes, until all the ingredients are well mixed. Turn off the machine and let this sit for 12-24 hours.

After the soaking period, combine the 2 Tbsp. water, honey and yeast and let sit for 5-10 minutes to activate the yeast (mixture should rise and become foamy). Add the yeast/water/honey, salt and gluten to the flour in the bread machine. Select the dough cycle and watch it for the first few minutes to make sure it doesn’t need more flour. I only needed to add about 1 tsp.

When the dough cycle is finished (mine takes 120 minutes), dump the dough onto a flour surface. Roll into a rectangle, then roll up to fit in your loaf pan. Place in greased loaf pan and allow it to rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 for half an hour, until crust is brown and it sounds hollow if you tap on the bottom of the loaf. You can brush the crust with melted butter to keep it extra soft.

Fresh Corn, Cabbage and Black Bean Salad

Shay posted her favorite salad so I thought I'd post one of mine :) Plus we had it for dinner last night and I remembered how much I LOVE it. Like LOVE it. It's beautiful with all the different colors and tastes so light and fresh- perfect for summer!

Fresh Corn, Cabbage, and Black Bean Salad

3 large ears of corn, husked (ladies- do the fresh- don't get a can. I only make this in the summer)
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups shredded red cabbage (I just thinly slice)
1 large tomato, diced
1/2 cup minced red onion (optional)

Boil corn 3 minutes. Drain, and when cool enough to handle, cut corn off of the cob into large bowl. Brown nuts over med-low heat 2-4 min. Add to bowl. Whisk oil, juice, cilantro, S and P in small bowl. Add beans, cabbage, tomato and onion (if using) to corn and nuts. Pour sauce over. Chill for a while and serve.

Ashlee Notes: The original recipe only calls for 2 cups shredded cabbage. We think it needs way more. I adjust the lime juice accordingly and just do what tastes good to us. Another addition we love: Sliced Jalapeno - the kind that comes in a jar- pickled? I think? Anyway we like a splash of the juice in it, and Corey likes to put a few of the slices in his.

If anyone tries this, please let me know! This is my current favorite salad!

Pina Colada Smoothie

I found this recipe on 100 days of real food.  The original post is here.

1 1/2 cups frozen pineapple chunks
1 1/3 cups coconut milk

Blend until smooth and enjoy.

I did not think ahead to have my pineapple frozen so I just threw in a big can of cut up pineapple and one small can of coconut milk and a bunch of ice to make it more of a frozen drink.  It probably could have used a little more pineapple (or, really, it just needed some really yummy fresh pineapple) and the ice watered the flavor down, so I would definitely recommend freezing the pineapple first.  However, even with all the substitutions, it was still so very yummy on a very hot afternoon.

Best Salad Ever

This is one of those "recipes" that I can't believe I haven't posted yet.  It is my. favorite. salad. ever. ever. ever.   You all have probably had something similar, but I just wanted to post it on the off chance that someone out there is missing out!

Spinach

Slivered Almonds

Sliced Strawberries

Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette

Combine these items in whatever quantity suits your fancy and try not to eat the whole bowl.  I usually eat a serving bowl size of this salad.

I'd love to find a good recipe for a dressing that's similar to this vinaigrette.  

My other favorite salad?  Nuts about Berries from Zupas.  If anyone has any idea how to duplicate that salad/dressing, I would love any tips.  It is so good!

Granola Bars

I have been making all of our snacks and doing all of our baking for the week on Mondays for the past month or so, and I have loved it!

It's so nice to get it all done at once, and it actually ends up making less mess in the long run, because I can reuse measuring cups and pans for certain things.  Once I clean things up on Tuesday morning, we are ready to play for the week!  I will admit though, this week I didn't do it and I wish I had.  Storebought snacks are so expensive if you are going to buy snacks that are good for you.

I bought this ebook and it has some good recipes in it and has been a helpful resource.

This granola bar recipe is in there and we have loved them.

I made them with a little cocoa powder and peanut butter.

No Refined Sugar Strawberry Freezer Jam

Hello all... this is the easiest peasiest jam on the planet.  It literally took me 11 minutes from start to finish to make 2 batches.  I made a ton of the less-sugar strawberry jam a week or so ago, but then I decided I wanted to do some with agave instead.  So this is what I did.

2 lbs. strawberries

1-1 and 1/2 cups agave

1 pkg. less sugar or no sugar pectin

3/4 cup water

Pour the agave into your blender pitcher.  I did 1 and 1/2 cups, but I think it would have still been sweet enough with just 1 cup.  Cut the greens off the top of your strawberries (no need to cut them up more) and throw them into the blender.  Heat the pectin and water in small saucepan until boiling and boil for one minute.  Pour the pectin mixture into your blender.  Pulse a few times in the blender until you have the consistency you want and all ingredients are well mixed.  Pour in containers and let sit for 24 hours or until they set.  Freeze or refrigerate or eat immediately like I did.

Man, I love my blender. :)

Gluten Free?

So...now that I have learned so much about so many different kinds of grains and how to use them, we are going on a one month detox diet.  No dairy, no refined sugars, no gluten, no meat.  Any gluten free ideas for me?  I have done some research, but it's nicer to have some recommendations.

Soaking Grains

I don't know how many of you already do this, or at least know about it, but soaking grains was brand new to me up until about a month ago.  Since then, I have done a lot of research and started to incorporate it into our existing routines.  I have found this page to be the most informative and it has a lot of great resources for recipes, etc. as well.  I love that she breaks down how to soak different kinds of grains so that you can take an existing recipe and figure out how to turn it into a soaked version.  Especially if any of you have digestive issues, this might be helpful!  We have made soaked tortillas, soaked whole wheat bread, soaked cereal, etc.  Plus, it's another great way to use Kefir.  A word of advice on the cereal, though... you can taste the acid medium, so it's best to use plain kefir or something more bland than lemon juice or apple cider vinegar if that's going to bother you.  I even made my own whey...seriously easy.  I'll post more later if any of you all are interested.

Here's a good soaked tortilla recipe

Here's another

Here's a good resource for recipes, many of which are soaked, from my newest favorite blog.

And another good resource for recipes, many soaked, from my other newest favorite blog.

Here's a soaked whole grain bread

And here's the same soaked whole grain bread (minus the millet) adapted for bread machine.

Soaked homemade granola

Soaked granola bars

Happy soaking!

Barley and Veggie Soup

This comes from my cousin, Jamie's friend.  I wanted to post it so I could find it again easily.  This one is a keeper!  Jamie served it to me for lunch the other day and I loved it, so I had to make it again for dinner tonight.  Both Jamie and I did not add the milk at the end and it was still deelish.  

Barley & Veggie Soup

2 TBSP butter

1 large onion

½ Cup oat flour

4 Cup chicken stock

3 cloves garlic, minced

4-6 carrots, diced

½ large cauliflower, diced

1 head broccoli, diced

1 Cup water

1 Cup barley (soaked overnight)

1 tsp  basil

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

½ cup milk

Saute butter & onion in pan. Add flour and stir until it browns up. Slowly add 2 cups chicken stock while stirring. Allow to thicken before adding additional cups of stock. Add remaining vegetables, soaked barley, & spices. Simmer on low for 15-40 minutes (gets better with time). Stir in ½ cup milk about 10 minutes before you are ready to serve.

Chick-en Nuggets

As in chickpea Chick-en Nuggets!  We got this recipe from Super Healthy Kids and it was a huge hit!  Cory actually loved them, and Jocelyn literally ate every single thing on her plate which doesn't happen very often.

CHICK-EN NUGGET FALAFEL

 1 Can Chick-peas (Garbanzo Beans)

 1⁄2 onion 

 1 clove garlic 

  Parsley

 1 tsp cumin 

 1 tsp salt 

 Dash pepper 

  1 egg

 1 TBL olive oil 

 1 tsp lemon juice 

 1 cup bread crumbs

Mash Beans

Use food processor for onion, garlic and parsley

Mix beans with onion mixture with a spoon

Mix seasonings, egg, oil, and lemon juice. Add to bean mixture.

Slowly fold in bread crumbs and combined until dough is easy to handle.

Use small layer of olive oil in a pan. Shape dough into chicken nuggets and cook on pan until browned. Cool and let dry on paper towel.

©2011 Super Healthy Kids. Amy Roskelley provides resources on feeding your family healthy food. Visit Super Healthy Kidsfor more ideas 

I thought it would be fun to do a healthier version of a fast food meal for our Friday night meal, so I served them up with some oven fries.  I know, I know, not exactly well rounded... not a green veggie in sight...but it was a special occasion kind of meal.  Besides the fact that my pan was too hot and I practically burned the outsides, we all were fans.  They are quite tasty and it doesn't hurt that they actually look like chicken nuggets too. And I used my blendtec to make the bread crumbs from homemade bread, so there was no HFCS or preservatives.  (why do store bought bread crumbs need that junk?)

And speaking of beans...I've been putting up beans in the freezer like a maniac.  I'm embarrassed to admit that up until January, I literally had no idea what to do with a dry bean.  We never, ever ate beans growing up (except a can of refried beans here and there for tacos), let alone having them start from a bag of dry beans.  A little research and a few slow cookers later, my freezer is full of black and pinto beans and chickpeas in one-can-sized quantities. Just a little step towards being more frugal and eating more healthy.

Oh, and my friend showed me this site that I am going to try some things from this week.  The subtitle is: where healthy tastes naughty...how could you not like a site like that?!

Banana Chocolate Muffins

I made the healthy version of these muffins this week and they were delicious!  They were so delicious, we actually had them for dessert.  I made mine with the stuff in parentheses except I did raw sugar instead of the cane juice. The recipe is from Talkin' Chow, Playin' House.  Click here to find the original post.  Here is the recipe:


1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (whole wheat flour)
1 cup granulated sugar (evaporated cane juice)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 medium ripe bananas
1/3 cup vegetable oil (grape seed oil)
1 egg
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
(1-2 tablespoons flaxseed)


In a large bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients.  In a small bowl, combine bananas, oil and egg.  Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients in the large bowl just until combined.  Fold in the chocolate chips.  Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 3/4 full.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes!  Recipe makes about 1-2 dozen.

100% whole wheat bread machine bread

I have a favorite bread recipe that I usually make, but it's only half whole wheat, so I just did a google search for a fully whole wheat bread recipe for my bread maker this week.  It is nothing super fancy, but is a good staple and it doesn't taste cardboard-y.  It is good for sandwiches and the like.  The recipe is from Food.com and is as follows:

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons powdered milk
• 2 tablespoons margarine
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1 Follow directions for your machine for a 2-pound loaf of whole wheat bread.

1. 2 Instructions for my machine are: Add all ingredients in the order listed. (I combine the water and powdered milk and heat them in microwave on high for 30 seconds before putting in baking pan and then add the remaining ingredients.).
2. 3 Insert the baking pan into the oven chamber and lock the pan.
3. 4 Select Whole Wheat setting and 2 pound loaf.
4. 5 Press start.

If you have a machine that makes something different than a 2 pound loaf, go to the original recipe here and you can put in whatever loaf size you want and it will give you the correct amount of each ingredient to add.