For All You Breakfast Enthusiasts

If you're anything like me, you've probably been taking long luxurious baths in all seasonal vegetables that have accumulated at your house.  Specifically the tomatoes.  Yellow tomatoes, orange tomatoes, red tomatoes, I can NOT get enough of them.  Also, have I mentioned that we have chickens?  No?  Well guess what?  We have chickens!  They should start laying here within the next few weeks.  I've been thinking about all the stuff I'm going to make with our fresh organic eggs.  So, we have tomatoes...and we have chickens...and I just so happen to have a loaf of ezekiel bread in my freezer.  

Ta-daaaa!!!  

Tomato Egg and Avocado Breakfast Sandwich (later I drizzled it with some fresh tomatillo dressing - twas divine)

slice of ezekiel bread, toasted
spinach leaves
1/2 avocado, sliced
hard boiled egg, sliced
tomato slices (red, yellow, orange, whatever)
green onions, chopped

drizzle with tomatillo dressing or slather toasted bread with your favorite hummus before topping with ingredients.

Tomatillo Dressing

2 c. macadamia nuts or cashews

enough water to cover

4 cloves fresh garlic

1/4 cup gluten free tamari

juice of 1 lemon

7-8 tomatillo's (raw or roasted)

2-3 jalapeno peppers, de-seeded (raw or roasted)

handful of fresh parsley

1 teaspoon trocomare

1/2 teaspoon chilipowder

Place all ingredients in blender and blend on high until you reach desired consistency.

Annie♥

FREE eCOOKBOOK! Smart School Time Recipes

This is a FREE eCookbook that a bunch of bloggers came together to create.  I just stumbled upon it today, and am excited to whip up some good eats for my kids this school year :) Not all of the recipes follow my diet guidlelines (free of gluten, refined-sugar, dairy, and meat), but many do.  Check it out!

Click HERE to download your free copy. 

-Jenny :)

Ten Minute Tasty Asparagus and Brown Rice, 1 of 4 Recipes from 101 Cookbooks

A couple of months ago, my friend (Thanks, Annisa!) sent me a link to a website called 101 Cookbooks and I found a TON of recipes that qualified for dinner at my house.  That's hard to do so I was really excited.  I tried four recipes in one week alone, and loved them all.  They are quick and easy, which is what I need these days with three munchkins demanding my attention. What I love most about the author's recipes is her use of lemon zest.  I never knew lemon zest could impact a dish so much.  I have a great appreciation for it now.  Here's the first of the recipes:

Ten Minute Tasty Asparagus and Brown Rice

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil (or preferred cooking oil. I use unrefined coconut oil)

1 or 2 14-ounce cans of chickpeas, drained

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-inch segments

3 cups cooked brown rice

1 cup almond slivers, toasted

fine grain sea salt

Tahini Dressing ( I doubled this)

1 garlic clove, smashed and chopped (I used my garlic press)

1/4 cup tahini

zest of one lemon

scant 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbsp. hot water

scant 1/2 tsp. fine grain sea salt (I used Real Salt)

Per original directions, you can use frozen rice from the freezer section of the grocery store to cut down on cooking time, but of course I opted to make my own fresh batch of brown basmati rice.  I did it earlier in the day so when it came time to make dinner, it would really only take me ten minutes.  I timed myself, and the first time I made it, it took me 15 minutes. Not bad! 

Directions:

Make the dressing by whisking together the garlic, tahini, lemon zest and juice, and olive oil.  Add the hot water to thin a bit and then the salt.  Set aside.

Add a couple of glugs of olive oil [or coconut oil] (roughly 3 tablespoons) to a big skillet over medium-high heat.  Swirl the oil around to coat the pan, then add the chickpeas and sprinkling of salt.  Let the beans saute there for a couple of minutes (I like to try to get some crusty color on them).  Be careful, they seem to hiss and pop more than other beans over high heat.  Add the garlic and onions.  Stir for a minute.  Stir in the asparagus with another pinch or two of salt, cover with a lid for a minute or two to steam- just until the asparagus brightens and softens up just a bit.  Uncover and stir in the rice and almond slivers, reserving a few almonds for garnish.  Taste and add more salt if needed (likely).  Serve family-style in a big bowl drizzled with a few tablesppons of the tahini dressing.  Let each person add more dressing to their tastes. 

 

I brought this to a family BBQ and everyone loved it. For dinner, I would serve this with a green salad for some raw veg.

Jenny :)

Blueberry Sorbet on Accident

Last night my 11 year old, who is still kicking some serious butt in his attempt to not eat sugar for a year, asked me if we could make some sort of dessert.  It was getting late and I just didn't have it in me to bake him something special (probably because it was still 185 degrees outside and the thought of adding to that heat by using the oven nearly gave me a coronary - dramatic?  Yes.  But you know what I mean if you've spent any time in Utah this summer.  GAH!!!).  Also, aside from the container of blueberries I got from my produce co-op (I will address the amazingness of produce co-ops in the near future), I was pretty darn short on ingredients.  My son suggested we try making a blueberry sorbet.  Uhhhh, okay.  I guess it couldn't hurt.  

Now, I've had my share of ice cream and sorbet disasters, but somehow we nailed this one.  I even had the presence of mind to snap a picture.  We will making this several more times before the summer is over.  
BLUEBERRY BANANA SORBET WITH A DASH OF CINNAMON

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1 whole banana
1 orange
1 cup coconut milk
1 - 1 1/2 cups water (depending on whether you used fresh or frozen ingredients)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
juice of 1 lime
3-4 drops stevia
dash of cinnamon

Put all ingredients in blender and blend on high until the mixture is quite liquid in nature.  Pour in ice cream maker and run according to the directions for your particular machine.  Garnish with raspberries, blueberries, and slivered almonds.

I use a cuisinart ice cream machine.  This usually freezes up in about 15 minutes.  Sometimes I also throw it in the freezer for another 5-8 minutes.  

Annie♥

Wild Potatoes

This recipe has been around for a long time, but it's such a classic that I do believe it deserves it's own post.  My mom has made cooked red potatoes for as long as I can remember and it's always been one of my favorite side dishes.  I found a bag of wild potatoes at Costco this week so I decided to put a new twist on an old idea.  The best thing about this recipe is that it's literally impossible to screw up.  Honestly, it can't be done. 

OVEN ROASTED WILD POTATOES

1 1/2 - 2 lbs wild potatoes, cut in 1/2's or 1/4's
4 Tablespoons olive or grapeseed oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
4-6 cloves garlic, crushed
1-2 teaspoons dried rosemary
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl mix the oil, lemon juice, garlic, and rosemary; add the potatoes and toss well.  Transfer the potatoes to a shallow baking pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast 20 minutes, stir with big spoon, and roast another 15-20 minutes until golden brown and crispy.  Serve hot.  

I usually serve these with a big green salad and a bowl of fresh berries.  It never disappoints.  

Annie♥

Lunch Inspired by Pizza Toppings

Lunch time rolled around today and suddenly I realized that we didn't have much around the house to eat aside from the left over toppings from our pizza making extravaganza the other day, a cucumber, and a few cans of black beans.  Enter brilliant idea.  I threw everything in a bowl, drizzled it with ranch dressing, and made myself a giant green shake to go with it.  I just might do it again tomorrow. 

BLACK BEAN and LEFTOVER'S SALAD   

2 tomatoes, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 cucumber, cut small
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 avocado, diced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
3-4 Tablespoons ranch dressing (recipe here)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss well to coat.

This ranch dressing salad concept can work with almost any combination of vegetables.  It has saved me on more than one occasion, and while my kids don't necessarily like to eat vegetables this way, they are more than happy to dip their own veggies in a dish of ranch dressing.  It's the everything mixed together thing that turns them off I think.  I always keep a big jar of homemade ranch dressing in the fridge.  It comes in handy almost every single day.  Especially if we happen to have made pizza the night before.

Annie♥

Faux Brick Oven Pizza

I posted my favorite pizza dough recipe a few months ago.  Hopefully you've tried it, but if not, may I suggest you hop to it.  Really, it will rock your world.  Pizza is always my favorite thing to make when we have people over or when we make Sunday dinner at my parent's house.  Since the day I started using that dough recipe to woo friends and family, I've given out the recipe no less than 30 times.  And EVERYONE has loved it.  So what are you waiting for?  Bust out your inner Martha and make a meal that your family will absolutely gush over.  

Unless...

Well, unless you want to turn it up a notch and become the talk of the neighborhood.  I'm not even kidding.  Check this out (unless you follow me on instagram, in which case you've already seen this and read of magic therein).

I call it Faux Brick Oven Pizza.  Don't let the "faux" part dissuade you, because while it definitely resembles a brick oven pizza, I assure you it tastes much BETTER!  Yes, better.  And is far less...smokey.
I will do a complete tutorial on how to get a perfect crust.  But let's start with the best sauce recipe you'll ever try.
ANNIE'S PIZZA SAUCE
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
6 fluid ounces warm water
3 Tablespoons nutritonal yeast (can omit)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons honey or agave
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon marjoram
1/4 teaspoon basil (can use dried, but fresh is so amazing)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
juice of 1/2 lemon

Put all ingredients in food processor.  

I usually double this recipe, especially if I'm cooking for more than just my family of 6.  Keep some handy to dip breadsticks in too.  Just a suggestion.

Dough recipe here.  Double (at least) it if your cooking for more than 3-4 adults.  Trust me.

FAUX BRICK OVEN PIZZA instructions
Okay.  I'm going to explain this the best I can.  It works best to use some sort of a deep dish skillet but if you don't have that just use whatever you cook pancakes on.  That should work too.  

Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees.  Heat skillet on stove on HIGH (at least 5 minutes).  Take about a softball size handful of dough and using a lot of flour, roll it out in the shape of a circle until you reach desired width and thickness.  Place rolled out dough in skillet (no oil - don't worry, it won't stick).  Within minutes the dough should start to form bubbles and pockets.  Let it cook for a good 3-4 minutes, maybe longer depending on your stove.  Using a spatula, gently lift an edge of the crust and peek underneath to see if the bottom is brown and crusty.  When it reaches that point, flip it over.  Let the other side, which is actually the top of your pizza, cook for 3-4 minutes.  Now, here's where it gets a teeny bit tricky.  Take your skillet off the stove, but leave the stove on.  Make sure your skillet is only an inch or two away from the flame.  Then, gently flop the edge of your crust off the skillet and let it hover directly above the stove flame.

Like this...

Then, gently rotate your crust so the flame hits the outer edge all around the perimeter (remember, this will actually be the top of the pizza).  

When you've torched the crust to your hearts content, turn the heat on the stove off, flip your crust over and place on a baking sheet or pizza stone (unless your skillet is oven safe).  Make sure you turn it over so that the torched edge is facing up. 

Brush your crust with olive oil making sure to cover the edges.  Then sprinkle with your favorite flavored salt (I like grey salt and garlic salt).  Cover with pizza sauce being careful to leave a 1/2 - 1 inch space around the edge so you can show off your recently acquired charring skills.  Sprinkle with your choice of cheese (when I'm cooking for myself, I use Daiya cheese but when I'm cooking for company, I use thin slices of organic buffalo mozzarella, which by the way, is to DIE for).  Add your favorite toppings: tomatoes, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, olives, artichoke hearts, etc.  I've even used broccoli and corn before.  Yum!  But my favorite combination is big chunks of tomato, diced green peppers, onions, olives, and basil (don't add the basil until the pizza is out of the oven - it will shrivel and turn black).  Sometimes I even douse it with balsamic vinegar.  But no matter what, give your pizza a quick sprinkle of black pepper.  It adds so much flavor.  

Toss it in a HOT oven for about 8 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbling.  Take it out, add any other toppings you want such as basil or avocado.  Cut and serve.  

Some other combinations my family loves:
*cover crust with pizza sauce, then add daiya cheese, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, olives, bit of lime zest (seriously, it's good)
*cover crust with extra olive oil and then lemon juice, then add daiya cheese, purple onion slices, and thin whole lemon slices.  Add torn basil leaves directly after you take it out of the oven.
*cover crust with bbq sauce, then add daiya cheese or buffalo mozzarella, black beans, corn, purple onion, tomatoes, and green peppers.  Add avocado slices directly after you take it out of the oven.

You really can't go wrong with pizza toppings.  Just load it up with all your favorite vegetables.

Helpful hint:  keep the recipe handy.  You WILL be hounded for it.

Annie♥