Honey and Almond Salmon

This recipe was kind of a fly by the seat of my pants deal, as I just used what I had around. Luckily, it panned out! Even Beckett loved it! Score!

Ingredients:

* 1 pound of salmon

* 1/2 cup of almonds (finely chopped)

* 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar 

* 1/4 cup honey 

* Fresh rosemary 

* 1 teaspoon minced garlic

* 1 tablespoon lime juice 

Mix all ingredients, except almonds, and pour over salmon. Then sprinkle almonds over salmon and press down lightly. Drizzle Damon with honey. Bake at 425 degrees for about 20-30 minutes (depends how thick your piece is). 

Serves well with honey glazed carrots, salad, quiona, or sweet potato.

Slow Cooker Sweet Potato and Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

• 6 chicken thighs
• 2 Cups Sweet Potatoes
• 1 Cup Frozen Peas
• 1 Tablespoon Garlic
• 1 Tsp Ginger
• 1 Can Coconut Milk
• 1 Can Tomato Sauce
• ½ Cup Chicken Broth
• 2 Tablespoons Curry Powder (more if you want)
• 1 Tablespoon Cumin
• Sprinkle cayenne (more for more heat)
• 1 tsp salt
• Optional: Fresh cilantro, 1 lemon, halved

 

Instructions:

1. Layer sweet potatoes., peas, and chicken in slow cooker (or freezer bag)
2. Mix all remaining ingredients  in bowl and pour over chicken
3. Cook on low for 5 - 6 hours (8 hours if frozen)
4. Serve over rice

My Favorite Chicken Pot Pie

NOTE: This recipe makes two pot pies! I double the recipe to make 4 and share/freeze them for us and family or friends.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (I do carrots, peas, corn, green beans)
• ⅓ cup butter or margarine
• ½ cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup whole or evaporated milk 
• 2 cups roasted chicken, chopped
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups cooked and chopped russet potatoes 
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. pepper
• 4 unbaked pie crusts (homemade or store-bought)

INSTRUCTIONS

To Make the Filling

1. Sauté butter and onion in large skillet

2. Boil chopped russet potatoes for 12 -15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

3. Roast (or buy) a chicken using herbs and spices that are soft (Rosemary, thyme, etc)

4. Go back to skillet and add flour and stir until mixed and smooth.

5. Add broth and milk. Keep on medium and stir with whisk slowly until it bubbles and is thick (about 10-15 minutes). 

6. Mix in chicken, frozen veggies, salt, and pepper, and potatoes.

7. Let cool completely 

8. Place pie crust in pans. Fill and then top with a second crust. Fold edges under and crimp. Poke slits in the top. 

To bake now: 375 degrees for 30

Minutes; then let cool for 10.

To freeze: prepare same as above- cover with foil and place in freezer. When ready to cook it can go straight to the oven from frozen. Bake at 375 for 75 minutes. 

Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken

Ingredients

• 3 - 4 chicken breasts cut into large cubes
• 1 cup canned coconut milk
• 3/4 cup chunky natural peanut butter
• 2 - 3 teaspoons minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 

Optional :

• 1/3 cup chopped peanuts, for garnish
• Fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Directions

1. Place chicken in slow cooker or freezer bag.
2. Stir together coconut milk, peanut butter, garlic, honey, soy sauce, lime juice, rice wine vinegar, and red pepper flakes; mix until (mostly) smooth) 
3. Pour mixture over chicken. 
4. Freeze or cook in slow cooker on low for 4 hours ( 5 - 6 if frozen).
5. Serve chicken and sauce over cooked white or brown rice, cooked rice noodles, or stuffed inside large lettuce leaves, as wraps. Garnish with chopped peanuts, fresh cilantro, and additional red pepper flakes, if desired.

Note: Slow cooker times may vary depending on your slow cooker

Slow Cooker Cashew Nut Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 - 4 boneless chicken breasts (chopped into large chunks)
• 3 tbsp cornstarch (this is optional - see below)
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 4 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 garlic gloves minced
• 1 teaspoon ginger (less if not freshly grated)
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 cup of cashews

Instructions

1. Optional: in ziplock bag put cornstarch and pepper and chicken and coat - then brown in skillet (about 2 minutes per side). If freezing this meal - skip this step (I don't do it in general but some people like it a little crispy and this will give you that texture).

2. Combine all ingredients except cornstarch and chicken. Mix well.
3. Put chicken in slow cooker (or in freezer bag) and pour mixture over.
4. Freeze or put in slow cooker for 4 hours on low (5 - 6 hours on low if frozen)

Note: Slow cooker times may vary depending on your slow cooker 

Our Dairy Free Life: Recipes Round One

How have we been surviving going dairy free? Pretty well, surprisingly! Here is what our menu looked like last week:

Monday: Chicken kabobs with sweet chili sauce and sweet potatoes with a sprinkle of brown sugar

Tuesday: Sausage, Egg, Spinach, Feta muffins cups 

Wednesday: Paleo Pancakes with strawberries

Thursday: Roasted chicken with butter lettuce, champagne dressing (Gillard's light champagne dressing - very yummy), strawberries, croutons, and sunflower seeds

Friday: Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken (click here for recipe - you can use almond milk instead of coconut milk) and skinny fried rice 

We filled the gaps with scrambled eggs, roasted chicken, salad, and smoothies with just fruit and orange juice. 

Peach Balsamic Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 4 - 6 springs of rosemary
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
• 3 peaches, sliced
• 1/4 cup of honey
• 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3 - 4 chicken breasts

Instructions:

 

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. In a pan saute onion in olive oil or coconut oil until clear, then add rosemary, salt, pepper, and peaches for about five minutes
3. Add honey and balsamic vinegar and simmer for 5 minutes
4. Place chicken in greased baking pan and pour mixture over.
5. Bake for 75 minutes 

Note: Use extra peach sauce as a dressing on spinach and almond salad - delicious

Toddler Food Round 1 (also known as mini things my husband will gobble up)...

I have been trying to expand my little man's menu lately. At ten months he is eating a lot of the same things we are, but not everything. I like to make a few things each week just for him, which are easy to pull out for any meal (and can easily be brought to playgroup, the park, and all the other places we venture during the week).

The above mini pumpkin spice muffins are a staple in our house (for all of us). Click here for the recipe.

First up this week: Rice and Bean cakes

I found the recipe here, but tweaked it (see below).

Makes 18 - 24 mini cupcake size servings (I use a small cookie dough spoon to fill each cup)

• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 cup pinto or black beans
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (or any other cheese - I like parm too)
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp salt

Prep and Cook

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚F and liberally grease a standard muffin tin.
2. In a medium mixing bowl combine the rice, corn, beans, cheese and green onions. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, chili powder, cumin and salt.
3. Add the egg mixture to the rice and stir well. 
4. Divide evenly between muffin tin and sprinkle with additional cheese (holds it together a little more)
5. Bake for 12–15 minutes or until the cheese is slightly golden.
6. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin.

Here are mine...

They went missing quickly, as my husband thought they were yummy too. Now our whole family enjoys them! 

Next on the list were Banana-Pumpkin "Pancakes"

Ingredients

• 1 very ripe banana, mashed
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2  teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons pureed pumpkin

Instructions

1. Mash banana in a medium bowl and then mix in pumpkin.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg
3. Add eggs to banana and whisk together until thoroughly combined. Whisk in salt and cinnamon.
4. Preheat a griddle or large skillet over medium heat. Spray griddle with cooking spray and use a tablespoon to drop batter onto griddle. Let set for a few minutes, and then flip with spatula. Cook for an additional minute or two on remaining side and remove to plate.

Makes about 8 - 10 baby pancakes (I use a small cookie scoop for each pancake). The whole family likes to eat these! You can easily triple the recipe and make regular sized pancakes.


Since, I was still cooped up with a sick baby... I kept cooking!

Mini Spinach and Feta muffins

This recipe is from another great mom, the only thing I changed was the type of feta (I use Mediterranean - it just gives them a little more flavor).  You can find the recipe here.

 The whole family loves these too! They are great for breakfast/brunch!

Menu Planning . . . .

Some of you asked how I plan my meals and make them with a newborn. First of all, I LOVE to cook and bake. It is therapy for me, so I actually don't mind making dinner at the end of the day (most of the time...).

I go through my cook books and recipe binder (yes, there is a binder - it is great for recipes from magazines or passed down from friends and family). Then, I pick about 8 meals to make, which is about two weeks for us (I am a huge fan of leftovers). We will fill in those meals with sandwiches and salad (and my husband normally chooses cereal over both of those). We only eat out once a week on average for either a lunch or a dinner.

Once I plan my meals for those two weeks, I go grocery shopping and then put the meals up on my chalkboard in the kitchen. I used to assign meals to each day, but life doesn't work that way anymore. :) I just make a giant list and we pick things, as we crave them. 

Another note - I try to only spend $300 a month on groceries, plus $100 - $150 at Costco every two months. We buy most of our meat and snacks at Costco (chicken, hamburger, granola bars).