Dinners have probably been the biggest challenge for me in transforming what our food looks like on a daily basis. Putting together a full family meal for my fam or for dinner guests used to consist of canned soups and veggies galore, packets of premade spices, cheap chicken or meat, grands biscuits, every night... you might think, well, what is so bad about those things? Well, all of it is processed... cooked and prepared by some gigantic factory. We can't be truly sure what is in all that food because of the lazy labeling laws in the US. "Natural flavoring" or "citric acid" are costumes for many yucky chemicals that are banned in most countries in the world. No joke.
So, basically... getting back to traditional eating. Cooking things from scratch with high quality, good ingredients. The "benefit" thing that has come from the industrialization of the American food system is cheap food... which has yielded rises in obesity, allergies, disease, and chronic conditions that plague this country.
Anywho, in my own kitchen, I am on a mission no to get back to the basics. Cooking good, quality whole food meals that don't come from a box with a happy glove on it.
For these recipes, just assume organic produce, meat, and dairy. If you are on a tight budget, spend the money on the dairy and meat to reduce your exposure to antibiotics, pesticides, and hormones.
FIRST COURSE
With dinner, we have added a dark leafy green salad (mixed baby greens, spinach, and/or kale +chard). Even sweet Cade has begun to eat this and now knows he is going to eat his salad with his dinner. Seriously, it is doable with your kiddos! Start small and use dressing and fruit and they will take little steps :)
So, in addition to our nightly salad, here are some dinner faves...
Chicken Fajitas
- I make this all the time now! It is SO simple and SO SO SO delicious.
We make chicken tacos, chicken nachos, or just eat the mixture plain!
Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas 1 yellow onion, sliced
3 sweet peppers, sliced
1 ½ pounds boneless chicken breast or thighs
1/4 to ½ cup chicken broth, depending on preference
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cumin
1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
Squirt of lime juice
Tortillas
Fajita fixings
Combine sliced onion and peppers in the bottom of a greased crockpot. Lay chicken on top of veggies. Pour chicken broth over top. Sprinkle everything with cumin, salt, and chili powder. Give a nice quirt of lime juice over the top. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours (or on High for 4-6 hours). When meat is done, shred with two forks and stir back into juices. Serve meat mixture with slotted spoon on tortillas with your choice of fixings.
A bag of whole wheat pasta, quinoa pasta, or rice pasta + a jar of organic marinara sauce (or make your own sauce!)
+ add a cube of sweet potato or zucchini puree (I try to make these when the veggies are at my favorite farmer at the farmers market and freeze for use over the next few months) to the sauce while it simmers to add some veggie points.
+ add turkey meatballs or grass fed beef meatballs . TJ has yummy premade frozen turkey meatballs. Or you can make your own!
Make Ahead Frozen Meatballs RecipeThe Players
- 3 eggs from pastured hens
- 1 small onion, chopped (or half a large one)
- 1 1/3 C. bread crumbs (or cooked brown rice)
- 2 1/4 tsp. salt (find real sea salt)
- 1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tbsp. Italian herb blend
The How-ToPreheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the next six ingredients and mix well. Finally, add the beef and mix well. Shape the meatballs into one inch balls (should make approximate 100 meatballs). Place in single layers on ungreased 1-inch deep baking pans and bake at 400F for 10 minutes, until done.
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
Drain the fats and store for later use or (heaven forbid!) discard.
Once the meatballs and pans have cooled to the touch, place the meatballs (tray and all) into your freezer to “flash freeze” them. After they’ve frozen, remove the meatballs from the trays and transfer to plastic freezer storage bags or other freezer storage.
Keep stored in freezer and remove only as many meatballs as you need at a time. You can thank the flash freezing for that. It helps each meatball hold its individual shape and not stick to the other meatballs around it. This way, you can remove as few or as many meatballs as you need for whatever you’re serving up.
Reheat make ahead frozen meatballs on the stove, in sauces, or in the oven (350F for 20 minutes).
Enjoy!
Homemade pizza
1 Slice of Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Bread - or our other favorite... the Costco Organic Multigrain Whole wheat bread
Spread leftover marinara sauce (from pasta that week-that includes the veggie puree) and top with Raw Cheddar cheese + toppings
-bake in toaster oven for 10-15 minutes...
(I make two each for adults, and one for the kids)
Breakfast Burritos
-Scrambled Pasture Raised Eggs using real butter to "grease" the pan.
-lightly coat a griddle with coconut oil, cut up white and/or red potatoes into 1" pieces, "fry" until they are browned, stirring frequently
-cook two-four slices of nitrate free bacon
-add bacon and eggs to the potatoes and stir fry together, chopping and mixing up the goodies all together
-add to a homemade tortilla or a whole wheat (NO enriched flour!) tortilla and enjoy a breakfast burrito!
-or eat the mixture plain with a piece of ezekiel toast buttered or with berry preserves.
BBQ Chicken Salad
This salad is the main course, so we don't have an additional salad with this one :)
-Place 1-3 Organic Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts in your crock pot and pour one full bottle of Organic BBQ Sauce (TJ has a yummy one) over the chicken. Cover and crock pot for 8 hours... When putting together the salad, shred the chicken and use the excess bbq sauce for extra dressing.
-Darky Leafy Greens
-corn, boiled, then stripped for kernels
-black beans (organic canned is good if you don't have a bunch of black beans on hand :)
-home made tortilla strips, or organic corn chips crunched
-add shredded cheddar cheese
-add basil, tomato, cilantro and green onions if you like...
-Organic Ranch Dressing - look for a Ranch without soybean or canola oil
Mix it all up and be happy!
Taco Lettuce Wraps
-Use big Iceberg Lettuce slices for a little bowl
-fill with grass-fed taco meat (browned with homemade McCormick Taco Seasoning)
-top with usual toppings - avocado, cheese, cilantro, sour cream
DIY Taco Seasoning
Ingredients
Mix all ingredients together and store in air tight container
Vegetable Soup
The one I make is a secret family recipe. So you will have to just come over to my house when I make it and try to figure it out. Seriously, I have been forbidden to post it :)
There are lots of recipes online especially on Pinterest. You can easily find one and just experiment!
Good ol Baked Chicken
This was a monday night staple in our house growin up!
-Use skin-on chicken and just sprinkle some Seasoning Salt on top of chicken on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 40-50 minutes until it is cooked (use a meat thermometer).
-use boneless chicken breasts - dip in egg - dip in whole wheat organic breadcrumbs and lay on lightly oiled foil lined baking sheet - bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes or until it is cooked (use a meat thermometer).
-Try this recipe: Melt in Your Mouth Chicken Breast, 1/2 c parmesan cheese,1 c Greek yogurt, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt 1/2 tsp pepper,spread mix over chicken breasts, bake at 375 45 mins
-use boneless chicken breasts - dip in egg - dip in whole wheat organic breadcrumbs and lay on lightly oiled foil lined baking sheet - bake at 375 for 40-
Side Dishes
-Homemade tortilla chips
These are amazing!!!!! They taste so fresh and incomparable to bagged chips!!!
HOME MADE TORTILLA CHIPS: Ingredients: 1 package flour tortillas or 1 package corn tortilla 2 tablespoons oil
Directions: 1 With a pastry brush, paint a very light coating of oil on one side of each tortilla. 2 Stack the tortillas greased side up in an even pile. 3 With a sharp, heavy knife (or serrated knife) cut the stack in half, then into quarters, then into eighths. 4 Separate the pieces and arrange them greased side up on a lightly oiled baking sheet. 5 Toast the chips in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until they are crisp and just beginning to brown lightly; watch them closely so they don't become over baked.
Read more at: http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-tortilla-chips-4378?oc=linkback
-Homemade Salsa (I'll post this amazing recipe later)
-Whip up some Quinoa, cous cous, or brown rice.
-Good Ol Steamed or roasted Veggies . Make this a staple in your meals. I prefer the taste of steamed veggies... broccoli, green beans, brussel sprouts (yes! I have begun to eat brussel sprouts! what?!?), carrots... you can steam all sorts of veggies! add good butter and enjoy!
-home made biscuits - these are so easy.
Basic Fluffy Biscuit Recipe
- 2 cups pastry flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup olive oil
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix the pastry flour and baking powder together in a small bowl. Then pour in the milk and oil. Stir until the flour mixes completely with the liquids.
2. If your mix is still a bit doughy, sprinkle in a little bit more flour, and mix with a fork until you can handle the dough with your hands.
3. Oil a pizza pan or a plain cookie sheet, then roll your dough out onto the oiled pan. Use a biscuit cutter (or just a household cup) to cut your dough out into as many biscuits as you need.
Hint: The biscuits will be much fluffier if the dough isn’t rolled down really flat. Roll the dough out so that the top of the dough is a half an inch to an inch above the pan, before you cut the dough into biscuits.
4. Slip the biscuits into the oven, and bake on 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden.
Butter and jam go well with this fluffy biscuit recipe, especially if you’re using the biscuits for breakfast.
2. If your mix is still a bit doughy, sprinkle in a little bit more flour, and mix with a fork until you can handle the dough with your hands.
3. Oil a pizza pan or a plain cookie sheet, then roll your dough out onto the oiled pan. Use a biscuit cutter (or just a household cup) to cut your dough out into as many biscuits as you need.
Hint: The biscuits will be much fluffier if the dough isn’t rolled down really flat. Roll the dough out so that the top of the dough is a half an inch to an inch above the pan, before you cut the dough into biscuits.
4. Slip the biscuits into the oven, and bake on 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden.
Butter and jam go well with this fluffy biscuit recipe, especially if you’re using the biscuits for breakfast.
So... I hope these are helpful for you! A little peak into my kitchen... I am learning, changing, and slowly getting used to new normals... to cutting up my own onions and peppers instead of buying bagged... actually trying new recipes from the cookbooks that have sat on my shelves begging for use... making my own sauces and spice packets... hello! If I can do it... anyone can!!! :) Baby steps...
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