"Fancy" Frittata

Ingredients:

Olive oil

5 eggs

4 egg whites

1 medium to large sweet potato, chopped into small cubes

1 clove chopped garlic

Sprinkle of crushed red pepper

Optional: 1/4 cup of crumbled goat cheese

Swig of olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

- Set oven to 400 degrees

- Heat a large, oven-safe skillet to medium heat

- Add a swig of olive oil, add garlic and crushed red pepper. Stir until fragrant

- Add cubed sweet potato to pan with olive oil and stir on and off for about 10 minutes or potato is cooked through

- Beat eggs and egg whites together well. Add salt and pepper to taste

- Layer cooked potatoes evenly on bottom of pan. Pour eggs on top of potatoes in pan and sprinkle goat cheese evenly

- Turn heat down and let egg mixture cook for 6-8 minutes until edges have hardened/browned slightly. Check frequently to avoid over cooking

- Place pan in oven for 10 minutes or until eggs are cooked through

Spaghetti Squash Crust Quiche

Ingredients:

1 medium sized cooked spaghetti squash, you will use 2 1/2 to 3 cups of it's meat for this recipe

2 tbsp butter (or coconut oil or ghee)

6 large eggs, beaten

1 cup coconut or almond milk

1 bunch of green onions chopped, about 1 cup

1 tomato thinly sliced and halved

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional: 1/4 cup goat cheese

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees

- Add 2 tbsp butter to 2 1/2 - 3 cups spaghetti squash meat and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste

- Press spaghetti squash into a crust form in a pie dish, patting up the sides and across the bottom

- Bake 8-10 minutes, until slightly crispy and golden. Set aside

- Whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper together

- Pour mixture on top of spaghetti squash crust. Add green onions and goat cheese throughout, evenly. Place tomato slices on top decoratively (You can get super creative with your fillings!)

- Bake for 30-40 minutes until eggs baked through and golden browned. Enjoy!

Crockpot Cashew Chicken

Serves 2  

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, cut into smaller pieces 1-2 cups frozen or fresh broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces 1 cup carrots, sliced 1/2 cup unsalted cashews 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 cup soy sauce or liquid aminos 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 3 tablespoons tomato paste 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 garlic clove, minced 1 tablespoon ginger paste 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes salt and pepper to taste 1/2 cup water or chicken broth

-L ayer chicken, cashews and vegetables in the crockpot - Combine remaining ingredients except water and pour over chicken in crockpot -Add water or broth if necessary so mixture is almost completely covered -Cook for 2-4 hours on high or 4-8 hours on low

No Guilt "Nachos"

We had these last night for dinner and, wow were they awesome! I was skeptical at first but they were so delicious and left me feeling perfectly satisfied! Feel free to get creative with your toppings. We had salsa, guacamole and beans on the side, yum!!!

Ingredients:

1 pound grass fed beef

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

Handful of black sliced olives

Handful of sliced peperoncini

Optional sprinkle of parmesan cheese

About 12 mini sweet peppers

- Brown meat in pan and season with garlic through cumin

- Cut stems off of mini sweet peppers, then halve them and remove seeds

- Fill the peppers with the cooked beef and add the toppings you desire

- Place them on a baking sheet and broil for about 10 minutes

Give these "nachos" a try, you won't be disappointed!

Strawberry Lemonade

Last weekend, my friend, Megan, made this delicious, refreshing beverage at a BBQ. It was SO GOOD! Give it a try!

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups lemon juice (about 8-10 lemons)

8 cups water

3/4  - 1 1/4 cup raw honey (depending on how sweet you like your lemonade, you can also use Stevia if you prefer it)

1 pint strawberries, washed and stems removed

- Throw everything in the blender then strain. That's it!

- Serve chilled or over crushed ice (or both!)

If you can manage not to drink it all,  freeze this yummy lemonade into popsicles. What a healthy and perfect hot Summer day treat!

St. Patrick's Day Gluten Free Soda Bread

Don't let your desire to maintain a gluten free lifestyle slow you down this St. Patrick's Day. Try out this simple and tasty gluten free treat!

Ingredients:

2 C Almond Flour 1/2 C coconut flour (can use all almond flour instead) 1/4 tsp salt 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 C raisins 2 Eggs 1/4 C coconut or almond milk 2 Tbs apple cider vinegar

- Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl

- In another bowl mix all wet ingredients

- Mix wet ingredients into dry. Add more milk or flour as needed to form a slightly crumbly dough

- Form dough into a disk shape then using a knife cut an X shape across the disk

- Bake for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees

Very Simple and Delicious Roasted Eggplant

It took me awhile to attempt cooking eggplant. I found them to be slightly intimidating and I wasn't quite sure what to do with them. Thankfully, I got over that! Here is a very easy, quick, and tasty way to roast an eggplant.

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees

- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease (Pam, olive oil, etc)

- Slice the eggplant half lengthwise, then cut each half into quarters. Cut each quarter in half to make a two shorter pieces

- Place the eggplant skin side down onto baking sheet. Brush each piece with olive oil and season with salt and pepper

- Roast in oven 25-30 minutes or until softened and golden brown

- Remove from oven and sprinkle with lemon juice

Ta da! Nothing hard or scary about this eggplant recipe. You can add them to rice or pasta dishes. Or eat them as a side to any meat entree. I even like to dice them up and add the cold leftovers to salads.

Crockpot Tomato Basil Bisque

Ingredients:

28oz Canned Petite Diced Tomatoes in Juice 1 Cup Finely Chopped or Processed Celery 1 Cup Finely Chopped or Processed Red Onion 1 Cup Finely Chopped or Processed Carrots 1 Tablespoon Dried Basil (Fresh Basil can be Substituted) 2 Cups Beef Broth (Chicken or Vegetable Broth can be Substituted) 2 Cups Tomato Juice 1 Teaspoon Salt, 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper 1/2 Tablespoon Garlic Powder 1 Can (Approx. 13 oz) Coconut Milk

-Process Celery, Red Onion, and Carrots in blender or food processor

-Add all ingredients to slow cooker and combine

-Cook on low for 6-8 hours

-Blend soup until smooth (Or leave as a chunky soup if desired)

As you can see, I diced up avocado and put some on top. Yum!!!!

Red Red Red Lentils

My sister shared this recipe with me a few weeks ago. It was quick and easy and very visually pleasing. I made it with pork tenderloin and green beans. This recipe makes a lot but the leftovers heated up great!

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked red lentils

1/2 medium sized yellow onion

1 green bell pepper

1 tbsp chopped garlic

4 cooked and peeled beets (I microwave them in about an inch of water, covered with wet paper towel for 15 minutes or until soft. You can also bake them.)

Salt and Pepper to taste

- Place onion, bell pepper, garlic, and beets in a food processor

- Process until smooth

- Fold beet mixture into cooked lentils

It's that easy, enjoy! This can be served warm or cold, I enjoyed it more warm. Let me know what you think!

Chicken n' Bean Balls

 

I got semi-creative last night and ended up with these very yummy, kinda different, very easy chicken meatballs of sorts. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Olive oil

1 lb ground chicken

1 15 oz can of cannellini beans, drained

Salt, Pepper, Garlic (and any other seasoning to taste. I was thinking curry powder could be delicious.)

- Heat pan over medium heat

- Mash chicken, beans, and seasonings together in a bowl

- Coat bottom of pan with swig of olive oil, heat until it feels hot

- Shape chicken mixture into ball shapes and place in pan

- Cook for about 6 minutes on each side or until cooked thoroughly

We had these last night with sauteed brussel sprouts and onions. Try them out and let me know what you think!

Slow Cooker Southwestern Brisket

 

Ingredients:

3 pounds beef brisket

Salt and Pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

5 cloves crushed garlic

1 red onion, sliced thin

1 tbsp chili powder

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 cups water

1 (14 1/2 oz) can crushed tomatoes, with juice

2 adobo chilis (from can)

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup apple sauce

- Salt and Pepper beef generously

- Heat heavy skillet to medium-high heat, add oil and heat just until beginning to smoke

- Add the meat to pan and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides. Should take about 10 minutes in all

- Put meat in slow cooker

- Add garlic, onion, chili powder, coriander, and cumin to drippings in skillet and stir for about 1 minute until fragrant

- Add vinegar and boil until it's almost gone (careful, you do not want to breathe in evaporating vinegar!) Make sure to scrape bottom of pan

- Stir in water and pour mixture over brisket

- Put the tomatoes, chipotles, bay leaves, and apple sauce in slow cooker

- Cook on low 8-10 hours, until tender enough to break apart with a fork

- Remove bay leaves and chipotle peppers. Use two forks to pull it apart and ENJOY!

Wonderful for taco night! We ate this last night with corn tortillas, fresh avocado and a cabbage slaw of sorts. If you don't have a slow cooker, don't worry, you can bake it in a dutch oven in the oven at 350 degrees for 3 hours.

Pasta and Red Sauce

Ingredients:

1 package brown rice fettucini noodles

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp red pepper flakes

2 cups mushrooms, sliced

1 sweet onion, chopped

2 tbsp chopped garlic

1 cup shredded carrots

1 lb ground beef

8 cups tomato sauce of your choice, I like Amy's Organic Family Marinera

- Boil water, cook pasta according to package instructions

- Heat olive oil in medium pan, add red pepper flakes

- Sautee garlic, onions, carrots, and mushrooms until soft

- Add beef to pan and brown

- Stir in red sauce and spinach until sauce is warmed and spinach is wilted

- Salt and Pepper to taste

- Serve over pasta

Another super yummy, super easy! Enjoy! These leftovers heat up great. You can aslo freeze the sauce!

My Mom's Lentils

This was one of my very favorite things my mom would make when I was growing up. Now, it's one of my favorite, easy go to recipes. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

3 leeks, chopped (just the white part)

2 cups diced button mushrooms

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1 bag shredded carrots (you can chop, I'm just lazy)

1 28 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes

2 cups lentils (you can use yellow or red)

8 cups chicken stock or water

1 bag spinach

Salt, Pepper, Tabasco to taste

- Heat olive oil over medium heat  in large stock pot, add leeks, mushrooms, garlic, and carrots. Cook, stirring occassionally, until slightly softened, about 6 minutes

- Add fire roasted tomatoes, lentils, and chicken stock

- Turn up heat to medium high and stir thoroughly. Let simmer with lid tilted off. Cook until lentils are soft and liquid is almost all gone, about 30-45 minutes

- Add spinach, stir and cover with lid until wilted

- Salt, Pepper, and Tabasco to your taste preference

This recipe makes about 10 servings; it heats up wonderfully and can even be frozen.

Sweet Potato and Quinoa Cakes

My next door neighbor (the one with the chickens that I've told a lot of you all about,) Sarah, came up with this wonderful recipe and was kind enough to share it with me. Thanks Sarah!!

Ingredients:

1 cup dried quinoa

2 cups Vegetable (beef, chicken, etc) broth

1 sweet potato grated

1 cup Italian flavor bread crumbs (gluten free if you’d like)

3 eggs

1 small onion diced fine

3 cloves garlic pressed

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon curry powder

2 tablespoons stone ground mustard

Cayenne pepper to taste

Salt and black pepper to taste

- Combine dried quinoa and broth in microwave safe container and microwave for 3 minutes loosely covered.

- Stir and return to microwave for 3 additional minutes or until it starts "spiraling". Drain remaining liquid.

- Combine cooked quinoa with all other ingredients in large bowl.

- Heat skillet to medium high with enough olive oil to liberally coat pan.

- Using 1/2 cup measure scoop quinoa mixture into pan and use spatula to flatten into patties. Cook approximately 3 minutes on each side, longer for more crisp patty.

- Enjoy with Greek yogurt and a sprig of fresh sweet basil or with honey mustard to dip.

Avocado, Orange, and Jicama Salad

Dana brought this to our client appreciation BBQ a few weeks back... and it was awesome! Everyone love it, I highly recommend trying out this recipe. Thanks Dana!

Makes approximately 6 servings

Ingredients:

3 naval oranges, peeled and cut into sections; reserve juice

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

pinch cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

1 small jicama (approx 1 lb), peeled, quartered and thinly sliced

2 Haas avacados, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Optional: 1 cup crumbled Feta cheese (or cheese of choice, Dana left this out)

- Squeeze lime juice and whisk into orange juice reserved from slicing oranges in a bowl

- Add vinegar, oil, cayenne, salt and pepper

-  Pour juice mixture over jicama and let stand 15 minutes

- Fold in orange sections, avocado, cilantro, and cheese if desired

-  Serve and enjoy!

Tandoori Chicken

Ingredients:

8-10 pieces of chicken (breasts, thighs, drumsticks, whatever you like)

1 box of Tandoori spice mix - You can find this at any Indian market. I bought Shan brand from the Indian Bazaar off 28th and Arapahoe in Boulder.

1 1/2 cups of plain yogurt (goat or cow)

-  Remove skin from chicken and cut a few slits in each piece

- In a mixing bowl, add yogurt and contents of spice packet. For a less spicy flavor, use more yogurt

- Add chicken to bowl and mix thorougly, marinade in refrigerator for 24 hrs

- Cook on medium-high on oiled (Pam, etc) grill for about 10 minutes on each side or until internal temperature reaches 165 degress

I like to serve this with a curry quinoa salad and fried spinach. The quinoa recipe will be posted as next week's recipe. Hope you enjoy!

Picnic Perfect Quiche

Ingredients:

1 Gluten-free frozen pie crust (I love the Whole Foods brand, rice flour one, so good!)

8 beaten eggs

1/4 cup almond milk

1/2 tsp olive oil

1 small sweet onion, chopped

1 head of broccoli florets, cut into bite size pieces (you can use frozen)

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 tsp garlic powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

- Heat oven to 375 degrees

- Remove frozen pie crust from freezer and let begin to thaw

- Heat pan on stove to medium heat, add olive oil

- Add onion and sauté for 2 minutes

- Add broccoli and red pepper, cook until all vegetable are soft

- Add garlic powder and salt and pepper

- Combine beaten eggs, almond milk and salt and pepper

- Pour mix of veggies into pie crust and pour egg mixture on top

-Place in preheated oven for 40 minutes or until cooked through

Super easy and super yummy! If you prefer a crispier crust, you can pre bake the crust for 15 minutes empty before adding the filling.

Delicious Quinoa Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp rasins  (dark or golden)

2 Tbsp dried apricots thinly sliced

1 cup cooked red or white quinoa

1 large lemon, squeezed

Salt to taste

3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 Tsp ground coriander

1/4 Tsp ground cumin

1/4 Tsp sweet paprika

2 medium ripe avocados, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

2 medium scallions, thinly sliced

3 Tbsp chopped almonds

Pepper to taste

- In a medium bowl, soak the raisins and apricots in hot water for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside

- Whisk juice from lemon in a small bowl with olive oil, coriander, cumin, paprika

- In a large bowl toss the vinaigrette  with the quinoa, raisins, apricots, avocado, scallions, and almonds. Season with salt and pepper to taste

This quinoa salad is delicious both warm and cold, enjoy! Thanks to Gloria for sharing this recipe with us.

Chicken and Veggie Fried Rice

Ingredients: 3 tbsp olive oil 1 lb chicken, cut into thin strips 1/2 onion, finely chopped 1/2 tbsp chopped garlic 1/2 tbsp shredded ginger 1 zucchini, finely chopped 1 yellow squash, finely chopped 1 cup broccoli florets 1/2 cup carrots, finely chopped 1/2 cup peas (I used frozen) 4 cups cooked brown rice 3 eggs, scrambled Bragg's liquid amino acids to taste, throughout whole process

-Heat oil in a large pan to medium-high heat, add onion, garlic and ginger. Sautee for 2 mins, stirring -Add chicken strips and cook until browned and cooked through. Flavor with liquid aminos. Remove from pan -Add zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, carrots and peas. Sauté and flavor with aminos until softened. Remove from pan -Add brown rice to pan and stir for 2 mins, again adding liquid aminos -Push rice aside in pan leaving an empty space. Pour eggs into this space and mix quickly until scrambled. They will cook quickly, make sure to scramble until small pieces. -Place chicken and veggies back into pan and mix thoroughly -Add more liquid aminos if desired

Chimichurri Steak

Ingredients: 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil 2/3 cup wine vinegar 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 bunch of flat leaf parsley 6 tablespoons garlic 3/4 teaspoon black pepper 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1 (1 3/4 to 2-pound) skirt steak

- Combine all ingredients other than steak in a food processor or blender, pulse until blended but not pureed - Remove 1 cup of blended mixture and save in a covered bowl for later - Place rest of mixture onto steak and marinade in sealed bag for 2-4 hours in refrigerator - Heat grill to medium-high heat - Once the steak is done marinating, let it come back down to room temperature then grill on each side about 6 minutes - After grilling, allow steak to rest 5-7 minutes before cutting it against the grain in about 2 inch strips - Serve with remaining chimichurri sauce