Fresh Garden Pasta

WOW it's been a while since I've posted!  Sorry for my absence!  Things have been crazy here, but I have an AMAZING pasta to share with you as penance for my neglect!  :)  This pasta was such a huge hit in my house, every one in my family had seconds!  We've discovered the secret to getting my kids (very picky eaters) to eat their body weight in veggies is to have a garden and include them in the process of growing, cultivating and harvesting!  Jacob in particular will at least try a bite of anything he weeded or watered.  I'll have a post later about our garden! For now, I bring you:  Fresh Garden Pasta!

Ingredients:

Cooked pasta (your choice though we used shells)- 4 cups 

Large Red Pepper sliced

Two Medium Zucchini sliced

1 cup mushrooms sliced

2 tsp grapeseed oil

Parmasean cheese, salt, pepper, and Wildtree foods Spaghetti Seasoning to taste

Saute veggies in the grapeseed oil beginning with the zucchini, followed by the red peppers and lastly the mushrooms. The mushrooms will take much less time to cook, so by following this order, they should finish at the same time.  Add salt, pepper and Spaghetti seasoning (1 tbsp of the latter) as veggies are sauteing.  When the veggies are nice and soft, but not overcooked, toss with the cooked pasta.  Top with shredded parmasean cheese right before serving.  Lastly, watch as your family devours this delicious AND nutritious meal!

Meatloaf Dinner- with clean mashed potatoes and bacon green beans

My family is big on the "family meal."  My kids like us to eat all at the table, while they take turns telling us about their day.  Today, my daughter won an award for her grades, so I let her pick her favorite meal.  Her answer of course was meatloaf with REAL mashed potatoes.  

This meatloaf recipe differs from others by using oatmeal to hold the loaf together.  It was hearty, filling and had just the right amount of seasoning.  For the potatoes, I used red potatoes and left the skin on.   This adds just a bit more fiber to the potatoes, which Jacob really needs.  The green beans are my mother's recipe.  I use Oscar Mayer's Natural bacon, which is preserved using celery juice rather than chemical preservatives.  All in all, although this isn't a "diet" meal, it's a comfort food done right. :)

Meatloaf Ingredients:

1 lb organic, grass fed ground beef

1/2 cup Quaker quick oats

1 egg

2 cloves garlic finely minced

3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp Wildtree Steak Ranchers Rub

Mix all ingredients in bowl and form a loaf.  Bake loaf 350* in a greased pan for 45 minutes.  After 45 minutes, top with ketchup if desired and bake for another 15 minutes

Mashed Potatoes Ingredients
4-5 red potatoes depending on size

1/4 cup almond milk

1 Tbsp butter

1 tsp garlic powder

1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Boil potatoes for approx 45 minutes with skin still on.  When the potatoes are soft enough they slip off a fork when stabbed, transfer them to your Kitchenaid or a bowl.  Add all other ingredients, mixing in one at a time.  I recommend an electric mixer for this. Takes minutes and why do by hand what technology makes easier? ;)  Serve topped with shredded cheese if desired.

Green beans ingredients:

3 pieces uncooked bacon

1/2 yellow onion diced

2 cans green beans- no salt added

I use a cast iron pan for this.  I feel like it's somehow more authentic. :)  Fry bacon and onions in the skillet until the onions are soft.  Add cans of green beans, draining one before pouring in the pan.  Cook til beans are warm and softened.  

ENJOY!

I hope your family enjoys this meal as much as mine does!  :)  Happy eating!

Easy "Thai" Pasta

This recipe was invented based off my lack of Wildtree Thai sauce.  I found cabbage and carrots in my fridge and decided to get creative!  I will admit, I prefer this dish made with that thai sauce.  (See my September posts)  This one though is good in a pinch, and is made with items you most likely already have in your pantry.

Ingredients:
Approx 1 cup angel hair pasta
1/3 cup green cabbage
1 carrot sliced thin with potato peeler
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
1 tsp chicken bouillon

Saute veggies in sesame oil until the cabbage softens to your preference.  I like mine a little more firm, but feel free to let it go a bit longer.  After the veggies are the right texture, add peanut butter, chicken bouillon, and a small amount of water to create a sauce.  Toss noodles with veggies and sauce.  Serve warm

And there you have it!  My kids loved it- and they won't eat cabbage at all!!  So I chalk this one up as a win!!

Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie

It's starting to cool down here, which is about 70* here in Florida.  But as winter approaches, no matter how cold it actually gets, my body CRAVES cool weather comfort food.  This one was a huge hit with my family.  I even managed to "sneak" in some kale to up the nutritional value.  I used quotes on the sneak because my children have grown so accustomed to the taste of kale lately, they don't mind it anymore.  My son actually requests it.  I also used a pie crust I had in the freezer- it took about an hour to defrost properly- to save time.  You can find the pie crust recipe on the page where I teach pop tarts.  For a little added fun- since this was the day before Halloween- we used a black cat and a bat cookie cutter to shape the pie crust.  This cut down on the carbs in the dish and allowed my kids a chance to participate. :)

Ingredients:
4-5 carrots peeled and chopped
Two celery stalks chopped finely
1 cup corn frozen or fresh
2 cups kale leaves
2-3 cups chicken precooked and diced
1 TB vegetable boullion (I used Wildtree Foods)
2 cups chicken stock (I used homemade)
One pie crust

Mix all but the pie crust in a greased, oven safe pan.  Cook at 350* for about 45 minutes- one hour until the veggies are soft and warm.  Either roll and stretch pie crust, OR allow children to cut fun shapes and drop them into the liquid mixture.  Brush crust with a beat egg to give a beautiful color.  Cook another 20 minutes or so until your crust browns golden.

Enjoy!!!

Honey Pecan Salmon

This recipe is from a Taste of Home cookbook borrowed from a friend.  I am SO excited to share this one with you!  Salmon is SO good for you, but a lot of people can't get past the more fishy taste.  Salmon is an easily digestible protein, it promotes healthy muscle and tissue development, and can help manage insulin levels and regulate your metabolism!  Ideally, you'll choose a wild salmon for this dish.  While the fish-like flavor is stronger in wild salmon, it's also less fatty and contains more vitamins and minerals than its farmed counterpart.  The honey in the recipe also helps mask the fish taste, so if your family has a more sensitive palate, they'll still most likely be able to enjoy this dish!

Ingredients:
3 salmon fillets wild caught
1/2 cup local honey
1/2 cup crushed pecans
2 Tbsp oil (grapeseed is what I used)
salt and pepper to taste

In a frying pan, heat oil and add salmon.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Cook until cooked throughout.  For salmon, the minimal internal temperature is 145*, but I make sure mine gets to 160*.  This gives the salmon a slight brown that my family enjoys.  While the salmon is cooking, heat the honey and crushed pecans together until easily runny.  Make sure you blot the fish after you remove it from the pan to remove all excess oil and then plate, topping with the honey mixture.


My family LOVED this fish, and I have some picky fish eaters who shun most but tilapia.  We try to eat fish 2-3x/week due to the healthy fats it provides that assist in brain development!  Gotta keep my little Barys smart!!  Hope you enjoy this one as much as we did!!!

Easy Broccoli

I have been a bad little blogger lately!  SO, I'm going to make it up to you by giving you a GREAT recipe that will have even the most skeptical broccoli eaters in your house willing to give this super charged veggie another look!!  This one isn't one of my own creation- it's ALL OVER Pinterest, although it looks like it's one of Ina Garten's (The Barefoot Contessa)!  And she's a great cook, so you know this one's good!

This dark green super food is packed with tons of vitamins and contains the same amount of calcium gram for gram as a glass of milk!!  It's a great source of fiber and contains numerous nutrients show to fight cancer!  This recipe grills it almost crispy and adds a hint of garlic to the mix- which let's face it- there's no such thing as too much garlic! ;)

Ingredients:
3 cups broccoli florets- no need to neatly chop.  Just chunk it up
1-2 cloves garlic for taste
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp olive oil (or grapeseed oil)
Juice of one lemon

Coat the broccoli in the oil in a bowl.  Chop up the garlic cloves finely and add to bowl.  After the broccoli has been tossed to coat, spread it onto a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.  Top with lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Bake in an over at 425* for 20-25 minutes.  Some pieces of the broccoli WILL brown.

Enjoy

The Prodigal Family

Having a broken foot stinks.  It's hard to get around; you can't stand for very long; and it's pretty much impossible to carry anything while you're on crutches.  I also blame my broken foot for my clean eating fall from grace.  I was sitting in my chair, having just finished putting the ingredients in my bread machine for a new recipe, and I realized how hard this lifestyle is in the beginning.  I also realized, how easy a blog makes this look.

You don't see the frustration my husband feels when I need him to cook and he has NO CLUE what to do with the ingredients in the pantry.  You can't hear my children bemoaning the loss of McDonalds at LEAST daily.  This transition in my life, has been in NO way easy.  

But I think it's important to share that part of this journey with you: to be realistic about what we're all going to go through.  My mama used to tell me, "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions."  Sometimes we have the best of intentions- with very important motivations- and we still get off course.  We order pizza, we allow our husbands to buy the Kraft Mac and Cheese because it's easier than fighting anymore.  But when the pizza's gone, it's time to get back on the road.  

Each meal you prepare for your family is a new opportunity to fuel them with the best of what nature has to offer them.  So, don't give up!  If you decide you want to order pizza one day, your kids go to a friend's house that doesn't cook natural, whatever it is: remember every step towards clean eating is a healthy decision.  

Good luck with your journey!  I look forward to cooking again and sharing our story!