What a treat, my hubby made us some sushi! Now this isn't your ordinary sushi, this is chicken teriyaki sushi stuffed with sauteed portabello mushrooms, carrots and bok choy! What a fun and delicious play on flavors. I was so impressed with his creativity and his perfect sticky rice on the first try that I had to share. Go ahead, try something different for dinner tonight. Enjoy!
Recipe: (makes 15-20 pieces)
Ingredients:
For the sticky Rice:
2 cups sushi rice
3 cups water
1 T rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 T water
2 tsp olive oil
Directions:
1. Rinse the rice in strainer with cool water. Using a rice cooker or small pot add the water and rice and cook per package instructions.
2. In a small sauce pan over medium heat prepare your sticky rice syrup; add vinegar, sugar, 2 tablespoons of water and oil until warmed and combined.
3. In a large bowl mix the rice and syrup together, then allow to cool enough to handle.
For the stir fry:
cut all veggies into thin strips about 2 inches long
1 large portobello mushroom
2 large carrots
3 celery sticks
3 bok choy
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
1-2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
1 T olive oil
Chicken:
3 chicken breasts (pounded flat)
marinade in organicville sesame teriyaki marinade
grill until 160F internal temperature.
cut into thin strips
Nori
Directions to assemble sushi rolls:
1. Place nori (seaweed sushi roll paper) down and cover with sticky rice (wet finger tips keeps the rice from sticking to your fingers). Leave about 3/4" inch of nori without rice on one edge.
2. Place a few small spoon fulls of the stir fry mixture and a few strips of chicken and then roll towards the edge without rice. I used parchment paper to help roll instead of a bamboo mat.
3. Moisten the strip of nori that you left without rice on it with wet fingertips before it is rolled up and it will help it stick and seal shut. Roll tight and cut into slices with a very sharp knife (wipe your knife clean between each cut).
I was lucky enough to get the leftovers again for lunch today with my favorite sushi meal beverage...green tea. Remember not to scorch your green tea. Green tea is best served at about 150'F says the internet. Or you can just do what I do and pour an inch of cold water into your mug before adding the boiling water from the teapot. ;-)
green tea brewed to perfection
...click here for the recipe!
It was a cold and rainy day today so I thought it would be fun to make soup with my boys. They love to help in the kitchen and it was welcome distraction as they were starting to get a bit stir crazy staying indoors with the rain and all. We served up our warm and flavorful tomato soup with some grilled cheese sandwiches. They loved it. I enjoy the added decadence of a sprinkling of goat cheese on my soup. Simply delicious!
My four year old even wrote out our lunch menu. Another great way to keep him occupied while my two year old helped measure the ingredients and assemble the sandwiches.
Recipe: (serves 4-5)
Ingredients:
2 (15oz) cans Organic stewed tomatoes with their juices
2 cups low sodium chicken stock or broth
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
sprinkle of fresh ground black pepper
5-6 fresh basil leaves, finely minced or substitute 1/2 tablespoon of dried basil or Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 Tablespoon butter
Directions:
1. To a soup pot add tomatoes with their juices and chicken broth and bring to a gentle boil for 8-10 minutes until tomatoes begin to break down. Add in garlic powder, pepper, herbs and sugar and stir to combine.
2. Lower the heat and add in the milk and butter. Blend soup with an immersion blender until smooth or in a blender working in batches. Serve hot with warm bread or grilled cheese sandwiches. For an added level of decadence add a sprinkle of goat cheese to the soup. Delish!
...click here for the recipe!
Happy Leap Day! This is a hearty stew with a sweet addition of apples and cabbage. A great way to use up your veggies. Choose a firm, crisp apple such as a Fuji, that will hold up in the slow cooker. Serve with rice or quinoa for dinner tonight. Enjoy!
Recipe: (serves 4-6)
Ingredients:
1/2 pound small Dutch yellow potatoes
4 carrots, cut into large chunks
3 celery stalks, sliced
3 -4 chicken breasts, frozen is okay too
3 apples, peeled and cubed, choose a firm, crisp apple such as Fuji or Granny Smith
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon salt
a few twists of freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup apple cider or apple juice
1 cup water
1 1/4 cups chicken stock
1/2 of a large cabbage, cut into large wedges
Directions:
1. Place potatoes, carrots and celery in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Arrange chicken breasts and apple cubes on top of the vegetables.
2. Sprinkle thyme, fennel seeds, salt, pepper and cumin over the chicken. Add vinegar, apple cider, water and chicken stock to the slow cooker and finally, top with the cabbage wedges.
3. Cook on high for 4-5 hours. Serve with brown rice, quinoa or on it's own with some crusty bread. To prepare quinoa; add 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups of water to a small pot, add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer for 10-15 minutes until water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and serve hot.
...click here for the recipe!
It's been quite awhile since I've posted any new recipes! We welcomed our third son into the world in January and have been enjoying our time as a family of five! I love to ask our four year old for ideas of what to fix for dinner, because he always comes up with great ideas! He loves soup so it wasn't a surprise when he suggested split pea soup. He was especially excited to try the yellow split peas. My hubby treated us to this yummy recipe. It's hearty and has a wonderful creamy texture without the cream. Enjoy!
yellow split peas
Recipe: (serves 6)
~ 2 hours
Ingredients:
1 lb bag of dried yellow split peas
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 large carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
6-8 small potatoes (fingerling), cubed
8 cups of chicken broth or stock (or try using "Better than Bouillon Organic Chicken Base")
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
6 oz cooked ham, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
Directions:
1. Bring 8-10 cups of water to boil in a large pot and add peas. Boil for 2 minutes then remove pot from the heat and let sit peas sit in hot water for 1 hour. Then drain and rinse the peas thoroughly.
2. In a large pot over medium high heat saute the carrots and celery in the olive oil for ~5 minutes.
3. Add the peas, potatoes, chicken broth, tumeric, coriander and half of the cooked ham cubes and bring to a boil.
4. Boil for 15 minutes then turn the heat down to low heat and simmer for another 20 minutes.
5. Remove soup from the heat and blend with an immersion blender for 3 minutes or until silky smooth. *If you don't have an immersion blender you can blend in a blender or food processor working in batches.
6. Add the remaining ham cubes and serve hot with some crusty bread and crisp green salad.
...click here for the recipe!
Happy New Year! For a special Christmas morning breakfast my hubby made these delicious scones. We affectionately call them "sconies" in our house since they are alittle smaller than the average scone. The addition of tangy raspberries was fantastic! These have another great surprise ingredient...pureed white beans. Dried white beans cooked in the slow cooker then pureed are a wonderful addition to just about any baked good, adding fiber, antioxidants, lowering the fat and adding great texture to gluten free recipes. You can use the bean puree 1:1 to replace half the fat in most recipes. Give it a try! Enjoy!
Recipe: (makes 12 scones)
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons firm unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup pureed white beans (pureed in blender until smooth)
2 cups old fashion oatmeal
1 cup Pamala's Gluten Free all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3-1/2 cup frozen organic raspberries
Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350'F. Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for ~1 minute. Add egg, vanilla, and bean puree and mix on med-low speed for 2 minutes.
2. In a separate bowl whisk together the dry ingredients: oats, salt, and Pamela's flour.
3. With mixer on low speed add the dry ingredients, slowly by the cup, into the wet. Once combined add the raspberries and mix only enough to combine.
4. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 20 minutes at 350'F until slightly golden and set.
White Bean Puree Recipe: (yields about 5 cups)
Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 2 1/2 cups of dried white beans and flash boil them for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain and rinse well.
2. Place drained and rinsed beans in slow cooker and cover with 6 cups of water, cook on high setting for 4 hrs.
3. Allow cooked beans to cool slightly. Blend beans in a blender until smooth. Bean puree can be stored in fridge for up to 1 week or freeze them in ice cube trays (once frozen pop out cubes into a resealable plastic bag and they should keep for a few months)
Pureed beans after firming up in the fridge
...click here for the recipe!
Who loves pinto beans? I do, I do. I must admit, in the interest of time and with two little boys and a third on the way I usually opt for canned pinto beans or vegetarian refried beans {gasp}. My sweet hubby is always trying new things, which I love because it gets me out of a cooking rut. He decided to try making pinto beans in the slow cooker, much like our very popular
Peruvian Bean recipe. They, of course, turned out wonderfully delicious and oh so much more tasty than anything out of a can. Best part...they're easy to make, just soak the dried beans overnight then put that slow cooker to work. We had ours with our
Baked Chicken Taquitos and
Spanish Rice. *TIP*
It's especially tasty to use the broth from our Crock Pot Chicken, if you're using that to stuff your taquitos, in the Spanish Rice, in place of the chicken broth and water (2 1/2 cups)! Enjoy and Merry Christmas!
Recipe: (serves 8)
Ingredients:
3 cups dried pinto beans
2 pieces of cooked bacon and 1 pieces worth of grease
2 T agave nectar (or 1 T brown sugar)
1-1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
3 c chicken broth (low sodium)
1-1/2 cup water
Directions:
1. Soak beans overnight in a pot with 6 cups of water. In the morning, drain and rinse the beans.
2. In a large pot, bring about 6 cups of water to a boil. Once the water is at a rolling boil, add the beans and boil for about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse the beans. (This flash boiling is an optional step, it really helps remove the {ahem} excess gas from the beans)
3. Place beans into your slow cooker and add remaining ingredients, stir to combine and cook on high for 4-6 hrs.
4. About a half hour before serving, check the consistency of your beans. If they are too liquidy, remove the lid of your slow cooker for the last 30 minutes of cooking time. Stir beans a few times near the end of cooking to mix well and to make the beans creamy. Serve hot. These reheat well and are great for leftovers too.
...click here for the recipe!
It's been awhile since we've had banana bread so I was excited that my hubby wanted to make some. He came up with this recipe and you'd never guess it's gluten free and dairy free! It was so moist and dense and flavorful and the whole loaf was eaten in one day, yum! You may also like to try our
Low Fat banana bread or our
Low sugar, Vegan banana bread. Enjoy!
Recipe: (makes one loaf, 10-12 slices)
Ingredients:
{dry ingredients}
3/4 cup white rice flour
3/4 cup tapioca flour
1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup millet flour
1 Tablespoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
{wet ingredients}
3 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (or use 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil for dairy free)
1 1/3 cups oat milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
extras: 1 cup walnuts (optional)
Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350'F.
2. Whisk dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl or stand mixer, beat wet ingredients together until well combined.
3. Slowly (by the 1/2 cup) add the dry ingredients into the wet with your mixer on low speed.
4. Gently fold in walnuts by hand with a spoon. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan (about 9"x5" size), or use a Stoneware loaf pan like us, then no cooking spray is needed. Bake at 350'F for 60-70 minutes until it reaches an internal temperature of 170'-200'F and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes and then enjoy.
...click here for the recipe!
This is a tasty dinner with an Asian flair. Traditional satay is generally prepared with peanuts or peanut butter but why not try it with almond butter? I love the more subtle flavor of the almond butter and the great richness it has as a tasty dipping sauce. Get your chicken in the marinade a few hours before dinner to really infuse some great flavor. We had our chicken almond satay with some steamed jasmine rice and some fabulous veggie spring rolls on the side. The spring rolls were stuffed with delicious veggies and are baked not fried. Check out our fun tip for adding some extra savory mushroom flavor to your recipes. Try this Make Your Own Take Out Dinner (MYOTO) tonight. Enjoy!
Chicken Marinade Recipe: (serves 6-8)
2 cups chicken broth
2 Tbsp Tamari
1/2 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp ground ginger powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp agave nectar
16 chicken tenders
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl combine broth, Tamari, rice vinegar, ground ginger, garlic powder and agave nectar. Place chicken tenders in a large resealable bag or shallow baking dish and pour the marinade over the top so that the chicken is mostly submerged. Allow chicken to marinate for 2-4 hours in the refrigerator.
2. Grill chicken on outdoor grill or grill pan over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes per side or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160'F. Remove from heat, cover and set aside.
Almond Satay Dipping Sauce Recipe:
Ingredients:
4 tbsp smooth almond butter
2 tbsp agave nectar
4 tbsp oat milk (or coconut milk)
1-1/2 tbsp tamari
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp Sriracha hot sauce
Directions: In a medium bowl whisk together all ingredients for the sauce until well combined and smooth. Drizzle sauce over chicken and bring more to the table for dipping.
Spring Rolls Recipe: (makes 12 rolls)
1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 cups mushrooms, sliced
4 heads bok choy, julienne
1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
2 radishes, thinly sliced
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp tamari
1 tsp mushroom powder, optional (ground dehydrated mushrooms see *TIP* below)
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup of edamame, shelled (frozen is okay too)
12 spring roll papers (rice or tapioca paper)
*TIP*
Finely grind dehydrated mushrooms in a food processor or spice grinder
and add the fine powder to your dishes for added savory flavor
Directions:
1. In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil and mushrooms. Saute mushrooms until they are tender and browned, about 4-5 minutes.
2. Add the bok choy, carrots, celery and radishes to the pan and saute for about 2-4 minutes more. Add the chicken broth, tamari, mushroom powder, ginger, and salt and saute over medium heat about 7-10 minutes or until the liquid evaporates.
3. If using frozen edamame, place shelled edemame in a small bowl and cover with water; microwave on high for 3 minutes. Add edamame to the veggies in the pan.
4. Soak the spring roll paper in luke warm water until it starts to soften ~1 minute then shake off the excess water and place on a clean surface. Put 2-4 tbsp of the veggie mixture on the spring roll paper and wrap tightly. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and place the roll with the end of the wrap down to hold it in place. Repeat for all 12 rolls. Bake at 450'F for 20 minutes or until heated through and golden brown.
...click here for the recipe!
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