I promised to share any delicious recipes I found, and I sure am finding some yummy ones! Something that has been really neat about this process is discovering how easy it is to make some of our favorite things. Mayonnaise, for example.
Last night, in honor of taco Tuesday, we had taco salad for dinner. I found the recipe for the taco seasoning at Our Paleo Life and the recipe for the cilantro lime dressing at Stupid Easy Paleo. In about 1/2 an hour, we had the delicious creation below!!!
I decided to try something new. Today, I kicked off the Whole 30 program. My goal is not to use it as a weight loss tool (although, if a few pounds here or there go, I won’t complain), but rather to take a look at what and how I eat. The concept is simple – stick to meats, seafood (nope!), and vegetables. Don’t eat things like sugar or consume alcohol. The premise is that you take all of this out for 30 days and focus on how your body feels. Allegedly, I’m going to have more energy, feel less of that 2pm sugar craving, and feel less bloated.
The hardest part for me is going to be the no pasta thing – definitely not something I’m going to continue long-term (they pull grains to help people see if they have any sort of intolerance).
Another tough part for me is giving up Diet Coke… a staple in my life and something I suspect I will probably feel better without in the long term. Again, by no means am I saying I’ll never drink another one, but I’m trying to feel what impact it has on my day to day.
There are all sorts of really cool recipes out there – today I had scrambled eggs for breakfast with my black coffee (creamer is a no no), a chicken bacon salad for lunch, and taco salad for dinner. Below are some pics of how yummy everything looked!
My first thought on the program is how hard it is to grocery shop. Instead of grabbing a box and some hamburger (Hamburger Helper anyone?) I spent 15 minutes on the salsa aisle looking for some sort of salsa that didn’t have sugar in the ingredients. My trip ended up being an hour and half of wandering the store wondering what the hell I’ve been eating for the last 36 years. My refrigerator is stuffed (think fresh stuff!) and my pantry is bare (no more processed foods!).
My only hangup today was a craving for something sweet after dinner. Dessert is normally my downfall (ice cream!), so instead, I had a glass of unsweetened iced tea. It hit the cold spot and the somewhat sweet spot and I got through it!
The even better news? Mike is on board, too. So for the next 30 days we’re committed to working on making healthier choices and paying more attention to what we put into our bodies. I can’t wait to see what the month brings! I’ll keep you posted and share recipes along the way!
This last week Mike and I tried another InstantPot recipe that I found here. I’ll confess, thus far we’ve mostly used it to make rice, but decided to give the slow cooker a go with Enchilada Soup. It was absolutely delicious!
Ingredients
For the enchilada sauce:
Neutral cooking oil, such as canola or safflower
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Mexican-style chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon sugar
2 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
2 cups chicken stock, plus more for thinning if needed
For the soup:
1 (15-ounce) can yellow corn, drained
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
2 to 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Heavy cream, to taste, optional
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Cayenne pepper, optional
To serve:
Grated cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Tortilla chips
Cilantro
Directions
Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large Dutch oven or skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and jalapeño and cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar and stir until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, and stock. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle boil, then transfer to the bowl of a slow cooker.
Add the corn, beans, and chicken thighs to a 5-quart (or larger) slow cooker. Cover and set on low for 6 to 7 hours (or high for 4 hours).
Shred the cooked chicken using two forks. Stir in a splash of heavy cream if desired. Give the soup a taste and season the soup with additional salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper, if needed.
Serve with cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, and cilantro for garnish.
Last night I tried a new recipe that I found on Allrecipes.com… chicken wonton tacos. They were absolutely amazing! They’re tiny, so if you have them for dinner, be prepared to eat like eight of them. They’re great as the main dish or would be awesome appetizers!
Ingredients
1/3 head of red cabbage, sliced and chopped
4 small carrots, peeled and grated
1/4 cup coleslaw dressing
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 pound ground chicken
1/4 cup stir fry sauce
14 wonton wrappers
Directions
Mix cabbage, carrots, coleslaw dressing, vinegar, soy sauce, and teriyaki together in a bowl; refrigerate until flavors blend, 1 hour to overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Heat sesame oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir ground chicken in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Add stir-fry sauce, cover skillet, reduce heat to low, and simmer.
Form wonton wrappers into taco shapes and arrange between the cups of an inverted muffin tin.
Bake in the preheated oven until firm and lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons chicken mixture into each wonton taco shell and top with slaw.
The other night I tried a new recipe from Cooking Light… it was really yummy! Apricot is one of my favorite fruits, so I was excited to try something that used it! From start to finish the whole thing took about 35 minutes… nice and quick for a weeknight meal! Enjoy!
Ingredients
1/2 cup apricot preserves
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 one pound pork tenderloin
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Combine preserves, vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, red pepper, and garlic in a small saucepan; bring to a simmer. Cook 3 minutes or until slightly thickened.
Sprinkle pork with remaining salt and black pepper. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add prok to pan; cook 4 minutes or until browned. Turn pork over.
Place pan in oven. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes or until thermometer registers 150 degrees. Remove pork from pan; let stand 10 minutes. Cut pork into thin slices and serve with apricot mixture.
Ok, internet friends, this one is a good one. I found this recipe in my Cooking Light magazine (click here for the link to their site) and it was a hit. It takes just a little more than the 30 minutes that’s promised, but is quick, easy, and delicious! It was so pretty that I decided to share two pictures – one in the pan and one on the plate! I did leave out the mushrooms (I’m allergic) and only added two chicken breasts. This would definitely feed four people if you added the two extra chicken breasts. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 450°.
Place potatoes in a medium saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil, and simmer 12 minutes or until tender. Drain.
Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil to pan. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add chicken and thyme sprigs to pan; cook 5 minutes or until chicken is browned. Turn chicken over. Place pan in oven; bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken from pan.
Return pan to medium-high heat. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil. Add potatoes, cut sides down; mushrooms; and 1 tablespoon thyme; cook 3 minutes or until browned, stirring once. Combine milk and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add remaining salt, remaining pepper, flour mixture, stock, lemon, and beans to pan; simmer 1 minute or until slightly thickened. Add chicken; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes or until beans are crisp-tender. Sprinkle with parsley.
I made this the other night for Mike and I… not only was it super easy, but it was delicious! I put juuuuuust a little too much Siracha in it… but other than that, it was amazing! Enjoy!
Ingredients
Directions
Heat a wok over moderately high heat. Add canola oil and once hot add chicken and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook chicken, tossing occasionally, until it has cooked through, about 5 – 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate, leaving the little bit of remaining oil behind. Reduce burner to medium heat and return skillet to heat. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Add in orange juice, 1/4 cup of the chicken broth, the orange zest, soy sauce, honey, sugar, onion powder, ginger, vinegar and Sriracha. Season with salt and pepper to taste and return to heat. In a small bowl stir together cornstarch with remaining 2 Tbsp chicken broth until well blended. Pour mixture into wok, cook and stir constantly until sauce bubbles and has thickened well. Remove from heat and toss chicken in sauce mixture.
Serve warm with white or brown rice and top with green onions and sesame seeds.
From: Cooking Classy
About a year ago, my husband casually mentioned that he wanted to build a pizza oven. One of our close friend had just finished his and we had sampled some of the best pizza I’ve ever had. Keep in mind that my husband is a very handy guy… he built our house, our dog run, an in-yard BBQ, a waterfall, and loads of other cool things on our property. He’s kind of amazing.
I came home from work one day to this:
Mike had been digging out a little hollow in the side of the hill, but I was not quite expecting this kind of production. Once that was all set and dried, it was time to begin the really tough stuff… the arches. Keep in mind, there’s way, way, way more to this than I’m writing… Mike could walk you through step by step, detail by detail… he very much did not just pour some concrete and stack some bricks. The arches are truly works of art!
After the arches were complete, it was time to encase the whole thing in another layer of concrete (for insulation).
That was followed by packing in vermiculite, a fantastic insulator. Finally, the pretty stuff was added… walls, tiling, and a roof. All of the design was done by Mike… I love the colors he chose! My only contribution to the project (besides moral support) was to help grout… I like to think that’s the best pizza oven grouting job ever!
We had our inaugural firing and haven’t looked back… we’ve had some of the best pizza and have had the best time experimenting with different recipes (FYI, all purpose flour is the best and who knew I’d like an egg on my pizza?). Our go-to recipe has been pretty simple… tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, and prosciutto. So delicious!!!
Last night we tried a new pork recipe – I’m always excited about those as New Years approaches because we tend to have a lot of pork left over from our annual New Years Eve pig roast. This one was really delicious – and super easy to make! It only took about 30 minutes and actually made the number of servings listed (four – which is perfect for my little family of two).
I was running late at work, so Mike took the reins on cooking. Alas, my husband does not take pictures of food he cooks, so I don’t have a delicious looking place setting to show you. To make matters worse, I can’t find the recipe on the Better Homes and Gardens website – the recipe was in their January 2015 magazine.
Ingredients
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/4 boneless pork loin, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tsp. olive oil
1 twelve ounce package frozen corn with red and/or green peppers or frozen whole kernel corn
1 cup mild salsa verde (we used Tostidos medium)
3/4 cup water (my husband also added a few cups chicken broth because he thought it was getting too thick)
1/4 cup sour cream
Directions
In large self-sealing plastic bag combine flour and ground cumin; add pork. Seal bag; toss to coat.
In large skillet heat olive oil over medium heat. Add pork and any remainging flour mixture to skillet. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until pork is well browned. Remove from skillet. Stir in corn, salsa verde, and water, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to boiling. Add pork to skillet and heat through.
Ladle into bowels. Top each serving with sour cream.
Makes 4 servings.
Last night I tried a new recipe. It sounds a bit weird, but was actually pretty tasty! I had it again tonight and I would argue that it was almost better as leftovers than as the original dish! My one alteration I would make is to add a little bit more cream cheese and sour cream – the dish has a little kick to it, but felt a little dry. Enjoy!
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
½ tsp. chili powder
¼ tsp. cumin
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
5 ounces cream cheese
¼ cup light sour cream
1 can (10 oz.) enchilada sauce
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese, divided
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 can (4 oz.) diced green chiles
12 ounces egg noodles
Salt & pepper, to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot, bring water to boil and cook egg noodles according to package instructions.In the meantime, in a very large skillet, brown your ground beef then drain the fat. Then add the chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine. Add in the cream cheese until melted and combined.
In a large bowl, combine sour cream, enchilada sauce, half the cheddar cheese, half the monterey jack cheese, corn kernels, and diced green chiles. Stir to combine. Pour mixture over the beef and let simmer for 2-3 minutes. In the meantime, drain your pasta. After you’ve drained it, add the pasta to the beef mixture. Make sure everything is coated in the sauce.
In a large casserole dish, pour in the pasta mixture and top with the remaining cheese.Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese has completely melted.
Source: Table for Two
Down The Road I Go 