Hello again....

Hello my friends. Is anyone still out there? It has been 7 months since we parted ways and I have missed the blog world. When I create a new recipe or find a great article or just have an idea to share, I miss being able to tell my friends about it. Because I feel compelled to share my thoughts and need a place to keep my recipes safe, I will at times post as the Enlightened Homemaker once again. I hope you will stop by now and then. Soon I will catch you up on my inner most thoughts but today I will just share what I made in my kitchen with the help of Tate. (Tate has decided to become a chef) 

My summer garden is almost done but today I came in with some tomatillos, a couple peppers and an onion. I hate to waste so I decided to make some Tomatillo salsa. I wanted the not-so-sweet version that would be great as an enchilada sauce. I perused the internet and tweaked a few things to come up with this tasty and simple recipe that will be great with a variety of mediums. I love to simmer pintos beans with tomatillo salsa or smother chicken with it in the pressure cooker. This would also make mighty fine enchilada sauce. It is cheap and easy. Try it out!

Salsa Verde

1lb husked tomatillos
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 jalapeño, seeded
3 T chopped cilantro
1/2 t cumin
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup water

Bring all to a boil then simmer 10-15 minutes or until tomatillos are soft. Blend till smooth! I added some lime at the end. Use as salsa, in the crockpot with shredded chicken, on pinto beans for burritos or for enchiladas! This made almost one quart. You can freeze for later or keep in the fridge for a good week or so. 

Fresh greens, flatbreads and a little catch up.

I have had a few technical difficulties over here lately in blog world. Thanks to my helpful Facebook friends, I am back in the game. 

First off, I am ordering supplements Monday so let me know what you need. I won't order again until after Christmas. 

Now, a little catch up. 

Politics: Frustrated. The election sparked a trip to Costco to top off some supplies. Not that a Republican could have totally changed where this world is going but seriously folks, we are messed up. Prepare yourselves. Physically, Spiritually, Financially. This year is a year to gear up. Get out of debt. Stock up your supplies. Strengthen your faith. Become educated. Don't just look on Facebook for your news. Read all you can so you can be prepared. I have to admit, I do tend to overdo it on the information overload and get totally overwhelmed. I have to remember that the Lord is in charge and that if I have faith in him, it will be OK. It is just so frustrating when you see so much corruption.

Surgery: Thanks for all your well wishes. It is over. I healed well and quickly. I have to say, if any of you are facing that surgery in the near future, load up on B complex and iron. Everyone told me that I would be exhausted for a good 6 weeks after the surgery. I actually had amazing energy which made it hard for me to slow down and heal. I had more energy after the surgery than before. Any surgery can be greatly helped with those supplements. I also used Arnica cream on my wounds for healing. If I didn't have such issues with the gas that they inject me with, it would have been not too bad. It did take the full three weeks to feel good but that isn't bad compared to lots of the stories I have heard. It took me years to decide to do the surgery and I can't tell you how happy I am to have done it. I am pain free. I am super happy about that.

I found this photo snapped from my iphone just post surgery. I have no recollection taking it. Drugs are a funny thing. That smile was quickly gone when the drugs wore off. Thanks to my sister in law for giving me fake lashes since I couldn't wear make up. 

Garden:  It is growing just lovely. I went back to the simple stupid method that has always worked for me. If I get fancy with fertilizers, I ruin it. I just use a little manure and mulch when I plant and just water after that. Everything is happy. I planted at the beginning of October and I am harvesting daily.


I planted some sweet potatoes in May. I have planted these once before and after 6 months, I had a couple little tiny sweet potatoes. I decided to have one more go round in my new garden. I had a beautiful vine that grew all over the place but was very curious what was going on under ground. Finally, the purple flowers appeared and the vines were dying which tells you that the sweet potatoes were ready.

It was like digging up a treasure. You didn't know how many you had or how big or even where they were. I just planted two little sprouts and here was my bounty:

I wish I planted a whole garden full. They were bigger than my hand and super orange inside. They loved the sandy soil in the new garden. Next year I will make a new garden just for sweet potatoes. 

The brocolli is looking promising. Last year they were so small and barely worth harvesting. I am hoping for some good heads this year. I won't know for a little longer. 

Last year, kid you not, it took me almost 8 months to get carrots big enough to pull. I was still harvesting them after a year. I used fertilizer that should have sped things a long but I think it really just messed up the soil PH. This year, I am already pulling some after only 8 weeks. I am sure this warm weather is helping that along as well.

I planted lots of cabbage this year. They are looking happy. The cabbage in the new garden are about double the size of the ones in the new garden. They like the extra sun. This will help me to stagger the harvesting. Who wants 20 heads of cabbage at once?

Here is what I have growing right now:

carrots; red, orange, yellow and purple
cabbage
broccoli
snap peas
onions
spinach
lettuce varieties
bush beans; purple and green
kohlrabi
basil
cilantro
celery
peppers
chilis
kale
collards
radishes

Just a funny little garden story for you. I took my cute little preschool class outside today to enjoy the nice weather. I asked them if they wanted peas in the garden. They all raised their hand and followed me. As we gathered to pick peas, I noticed one little boy who dropped his pants and started to pee in the garden. Guess I needed to clarify that I meant "peas" in the garden, not "pee" in the garden. Just a little misunderstanding but it made me giggle. 

Speaking of preschool, I may have a pm slot open starting in January if you are interested. I have a few slots left for next school year. 3/4 year olds and pre k. PM me for info.

Flatbreads:  Seeing as we have the most amazing weather here in AZ, I have wanted to use the grill and eat outside more often. Grilling flatbreads is just soooo good! Since we don't do cheese on our pizza's, I have found that flatbread is the way to go. You cut them into little squares so you can hold them better without the toppings falling off. 

This one below is a carmelized onion and white bean flat bread. I put about 1/4 cup of parmesan on this one but the other one I made without it tasted the same. Totally not necessary. Parmesan is aged over 60 days so it is digested much easier than most other cheeses. Still, it is very rare that we use it at our house. I found this recipe at Eating Well. com. You can find it here. I didn't add the cheese or the pepitas. The bean mixture was very yummy!  

The iphone picture below doesn't do justice to Sunday's flatbreads and pinwheels but they were super delicious! I did a prosciutto and spinach pinwheel and a BBQ chicken flatbread. They are both easy as pie.
Make your dough. For the pinwheels, just roll out a rectangle. Brush with olive oil. Lay on thin layer of prosciutto and top with a generous amount of spinach. Roll up and seal up seams. Place seam side down on pan. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with some coarse sea salt and pepper. Bake at 425 for about 20-25 minutes. 

For the flatbread, roll out a thin rectangle on some parchment sprayed with a fine mist of oil. Brush the top with olive oil. Place on a hot BBQ grill top side down so the parchement is now on top. Pull of parchment while cooking and brush the top side with oil. When it gets all bubbly and golden on the bottom, flip over. Watch your heat so it doesn't burn. When both sides are golden, bring them inside to finish them off. You can put the toppings on and put them back on the grill but I just put them under the broiler in the kitchen so I can monitor the heat a little better and also to free up the grill for more flatbread. I sauteed some chicken, peppers, onions and spices. I sprinkled the flatbread with the chicken mixture and drizzled some BBQ sauce on it. I just broiled it until the toppings were hot. Super yummy! I have gotten so used to no cheese pizza's that the idea of cheese sounds horrible on pizza. You can't taste the toppings this way. Try it. So much less guilt as well.

The pizza dough was half white, half wheat. I don't do all white pizza dough. It is my indulgence. It  just isn't the same. It won't crisp up as much. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We sure did. Utah was lovely and it was fun to be surrounded by family. 

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas! Take care of yourselves and don't get sick! We are taking extra vitamin C, garlic and D3 around here. Almost all our extended family in Utah caught the flu or some other bug. We came home healthy. Hopefully we will keep that good streak going. Just a little nose drizzle here and there but nothing sticks. 

Freezing Corn...

Thanks to Miss Deana, I came home with a bag full of fresh-picked corn the other night. It was truly the sweetest corn I have ever tasted. When you pick it and eat it immediately, all the sugars are still in place. The longer it sits off the stock, the sweetness is lost. My kids also were able to join in the fun and pick some corn themselves in her backyard crop and chase a few chickens here and there. I covet the acreage, but then again, I spend enough time on my small backyard farm. How would I ever manage a couple acres? I would like to try.


Anyways, with extra corn on hand, I needed to act quickly before the sugars left and get it packed into the freezer. It is so easy to process corn.


Hopefully you will be blessed with good corn this summer season and can stock your freezer up as well. It is so great to thaw and put in salads and soups or in a great fresh veggie taco. 


First, shuck the corn and get rid of the silk strings. Use a veggie scrubber lightly if needed. Wash them well.


Heat a big pot of water and when it reaches a boil, toss in the corn.


Let boil for 4 minutes. Start timing when the water returns to a boil. Make sure you have plenty of water.


When the 4 minutes are up, remove the corn and put in ice water to stop the cooking process. If you don't, they can shrivel.


When cool, cut off the stock by holding them straight up and cutting straight down on all sides. 


Put in Freezer bags and freeze immediately. Since they are already steamed, they can be eaten when thawed.


My personal favorite is to quickly sauté it in some Mexican lime olive oil from the Queen Creek Olive Mill with a little scallions. Oh, my. While your at  it, cook some fresh corn tortillas and throw in some shrimp and Cilantro-Lime rice. Pure heaven.

Summertime. 


Grab the rice recipe here. I did it in my pressure cooker in 3 minutes. 

Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes.

     I just felt good after eating this vegetarian meal. It was filling and light. This was a real basic chili that complimented the sweetness of the sweet potato. I found this simple recipe on a wonderful website called The Sprouted Kitchen. There are so many great recipes on that blog. You can link to them on my sidebar. I had someone email me what vegetarian cookbook I would recommend and being that I can't find that email to respond (seems to be my theme right now), I will tell you all....I don't really buy cookbooks anymore. Why, When you can google everything under the sun? I simply type in whatever I am interested in cooking or a general "vegetarian recipe" search and millions pop up. I look for sites that have reviews so I can see what others are saying about the recipe. If they get good reviews, I will try it out. All Recipes is a great site. They get lots of feedback. Read the reviews because other cooks tell what they did to change the recipe.  I have a binder with plastic sheets and I print them, put them in the sheets and they are all in catergories. It is the best cookbook I have! I don't keep them if they aren't winners. 

There you go.

     Try out this recipe. You can change it up anyway you want but I liked that it was really basic. Sometimes I just like to taste simple ingredients not overpowered by spice.

 Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

4 medium sweet potatoes

1/2 lb dried pinto beans or beans of choice, soaked overnight

2 tsp. Olive oil

1 yellow onion

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 T. chili powder

1 t. cumin

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 t. salt, or more as desired

28  oz, crushed or diced tomatoes

Cilantro, onion, avocado, sour cream, etc. as desired

I doubled this but this recipe above serves about 4.

Preheat oven to 400. Pierce sweet potato and bake for about 40-45 minutes or until tender.Be careful to not overcook! I did. Mine were smaller and were done in 30 minutes.

Cook soaked beans according to directions. Soaked beans will usually cook in under an hour or about 20 in a pressure cooker. You can also used canned beans. 

Slice onion thinly. Over medium heat, warm the olive oil and add the onions and garlic until softened. Add the spices and tomatoes. If the tomatoes are diced or whole, smash them up or blend them. Bring to a simmer and reduce for about 20 minutes. When the beans are done, drain and add to the tomato mixture. Taste for salt and spices to see if you need more flavor. Adjust accordingly. Let simmer another 10-20 minutes for beans to soak in flavor.

Split sweet potato down the middle and fill with chili. Top with optional ingredients. 

***To make things go quicker in my house, I cook beans in bulk and freeze in 2 cup increments. This is a huge time saver since I don't want canned beans. If you are as lucky as I am, you got your fresh dried pinto beans from The Backyard Farmer! Totally spoiled!

Return and Report on Resolution #3....and a yummy pizza.

I have had lots of women asking me how the "Brazilian Butt lift" is going and my resolution #3 so I thought it was time to do a little reporting. It has been almost a month.


First off, I am proud to report that my plan of 1 hour per day, 6 days a week for personal upkeep has happened. Let me tell you, it isn't easy. It seems impossible most of the time and if I weren't absolutely , 100% committed, I probably would have only made it work about 1/2 the time. I already have to get up at 5 am for the day so getting up an hour early isn't going to happen. That means that it is usually after 9 before I get to start my workout. That usually means I really would rather not. However, I made a promise to myself and I deserve to keep that promise. I won't let myself get out of it. 


We all have 24 hours in the day and no matter how much money we have, we can't buy more. Everyone is busy. We are all tired. I know I have used that excuse many times to relax at night instead of get the exercise I need or to read my scriptures but the deal is that I can't go back in time and take that hour of day back to improve myself. For heavens sake, my oldest turned 18 today. How can I have an adult for a child? Ugh. If I don't stick to my guns by taking that one hour per day just for me; even if it means it is late at night and I would rather use that hour to lounge, I am loosing ground. I am going to age faster. I am going to feel older. 


The Brazilian workout is working. The jeans are looser. My stomach is flat. I am doing it for health and energy. The loose jeans are just a bonus. I am not getting on the scale. I didn't measure my hips. Our motivation should be for our longevity and quality of life. The result of looking good should just be a byproduct. I highly recommend these videos, for those of you asking. 


My kids have all been inspired too. They are hitting the gym and doing workouts with me. As moms, we are the leaders. They look to us for inspiration. We need to teach them that being healthy and fit is important. These are lessons that will stay with them for life. 


We don't need to be size 0 supermodels. Size is not the issue. But, we need to take care of ourselves. If we don't, we won't be able to take care of others.


There is my report. Month two, here I come! 


If you need a little dinner suggestion, here is what we had last night:

Rosemary Potato Pizza.


Pizza dough of choice. 
Thinly slice Yukon potatoes in 1/8th inch slices. Soak in salted water for an hour then drain and dry. Toss in olive oil with rosemary and onion slices. Place on dough and salt and pepper to taste. Brush dough with oil. Bake at 500 for 20 minutes. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese and put back into oven until melted and golden.

 
Serve with a Balsamic reduction sauce and Arugula. To make the sauce, take one cup of Balsamic Vingegar and 1 T. of honey. Bring to a boil while stirring then simmer for 30 minutes or so until reduced by half. Drizzle over pizza. 

Breakfast.....Rosemary Potato and Kale Frittata.

I love frittata's. They are a perfect way to clean out the fridge. It can be a breakfast or a dinner, vegetarian or carnivorous. They are simple and colorful. 


I happened to have lots of potatoes that needed to be used along with a garden full of Kale and a huge bush of rosemary. Perfect. Rosemary is intoxicating. 


If you haven't really done the frittata thing before, here is the easy low-down:


Saute your veggies in butter or oil of choice until just tender. Onions are a must. I finely chopped some white onions, finely sliced some Yukon gold potatoes and sauteed those until tender. Then, I added a couple of sprigs of chopped rosemary and some chopped up kale. I admit I did add a sprinkle of crumbled bacon for a little more flavor but that is totally optional. I then sauteed that just another minute to release the flavors and to wilt the kale. 


When veggies are done, salt and pepper to taste and arrange in an even layer in the fry pan. Make sure there is still enough butter or oil so they will not stick. I used about 8 eggs to cover my veggies. Whisk eggs first and pour evenly over veggies. Turn heat down to low and salt and pepper the top. I also shredded some Parmesan on the top. Cook on low until the eggs are no longer runny. You can also put it in the oven if you have an oven-proof pan towards the end but I usually just cook it stove top. Don't overcook! If the pan is too hot, you will burn the bottom. Slow and steady.


Remove to a plate and serve in pie wedges. If I had my wish come true, this would be served with some fruit and a cinnamon roll. Perfect.

Canyons and Parsnips.

I am still alive. It is just that time of year when my whole being wants to swell with all the family I can get and the blog world gets shut out. It is this time of year that I am glad that I don't get paid to blog and have to blog on demand. I do have things to say....I will fill you in on the conversations going on in my head but all in due time. I will be a little poky for the next month. You understand.

I just returned from the beautiful canyons of Utah. They are breathtaking and rejuvenating. It was wonderful to have life halted for a week and to just take in the beauty of the earth and the love of family. We packed 22 family members into one beautiful home for crazy fun. Conversations until 2 am, nightly; musical jam sessions by my amazingly talented family; all 22 of them attending and LOTS of food! I won't go into details about the Thanksgiving dinner but when you have a family of chef's; it comes out something of grandeur. I would rob someone for this stuffing. It is really that good. 

Now back at home, reality is awaiting. The reality is that I have been eating way too much treats and need to get back into the healthy lifestyle. My body is begging me along with pleading with me to get back into the gym routine. Such an inner struggle after two back to back vacations. I have had way to much meat and am trying to create meals with little to no meat and no dairy and no sugar and all organic and all from scratch and of course all under an hour. Sometimes I get stumped and I am sitting on that stump right now. Time to get some inspiration. 

I started to look through some cookbooks tonight for some new ideas. I am really sick of my usuals. It was soup weather and I wanted a new soup to slip down my palate. The Backyard Farmer delivered some tasty treats to me yesterday so I had a variety to choose from. (P.S., he now has corn/soy free chicken feed and organic beef and chicken. Yipee!) I had a pound of parsnips and found a soup that intrigued me. Creamy Parsnip and Apple soup. Don't knock it until you have tried it. Super yum.

First, in case you didn't know about the parsnip in detail, let me explain: 

  Parsnips have been around for a very long time. When the potato became popular, they in turn became a little less popular as they do take on the flavor a bit of a potato. They are a very under appreciated vegetable but loaded with nutrition and very easy to use. They look like a white carrot and have a mild flavor. They are great to roast or steam or add to a soup. They contain lots of folate and B3 which is super important for pregnant women. They are also low in calories and packed with fiber to help get the wast out of the body. They are a superior food for liver and kidney health. They are also rich in vitamin C and potassium. 

When selecting a parsnip, you want one about the size of a large carrot and with smooth skin. Peel them like a carrot and cut them as desired. 

Here is the soup I made last night. The flavor was perfect and I loved it pureed but the kids would have liked a little more chunks. I made it totally dairy free  but it tasted like a cream filled soup. You definitely did not need dairy in this. I served it with a whole grain cinnamon roll made with coconut sugar. Delicious and perfect for a cold night! Enjoy!

Creamy Parsnip and Apple Soup

Adapted from Martha Stewart

3 T. butter, olive oil or coconut oil

1 1/2 lbs. leeks

1 lb parsnips, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks

3 apples, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks

3/4 lbs. red or white potatoes, peeled and cut 1 inch.

24 oz. chicken broth

3-4 cups water

1 C. almond milk or milk/cream

salt and pepper

Prepare leeks by cutting top greens off so that the whites and the light green are remaining. Take off outer layer and slice into small circles. Saute in butter or oil for 5 minutes. Add parsnips, potatoes and apples along with chicken broth and 3 cups water. Add more water if needed so that veggies are covered with enough water. Pressure cook at second ring for 6 minutes or bring to boil and simmer about 20-25 minutes until veggies are tender. 

Puree soup in blender until smooth or leave some chunks. Add more liquid if needed. Add almond milk/cream and salt and pepper to taste. 

*****I will placing oil/supplement orders on Tuesday. 

Chimichanga; Unfried, Uncheesed.

This was half eaten before I remembered to take a picture for you all. Not so pretty but quite tasty. I have been struggling to come up with some good Mexican food without cheese. Not all of us are completely dairy free at  my house but I have been trying to keep meals dairy free for a good handful of my household members. Now when you are also trying to do meat only a couple of the meals a week, the laying off of cheese is even more tricky. The thing I have been missing is the occasional enchilada or chimichanga. In desperation to make it seem like we were eating a chimichanga, I put this dinner together with a little inspiration from a recipe from Miss Molly's cookbook. It passed the food critic's in the house. I did put a little tiny bit of cheese in a couple and honestly, I didn't taste much difference in the non cheese ones. You could really go as low fat and healthy as you want with this dish.

Here is how it assembled, to the best of my recollection:

Baked Chimichangas

Flour tortillas, whole wheat or white

Butter or Olive Oil to brush tops of tortillas

1 cup cooked and shredded chicken (optional)

2 cups black beans

1cup corn corn

1 medium diced onion

1/2 cup diced red, yellow or orange bell pepper

1 cup pureed type salsa

1 -2 tsp.Cumin 

salt

pepper

Cheese if desired

Saute onions and peppers in olive oil or butter until limp. Add cumin then all other ingredients but tortillas. Season to taste with extra cumin, salt and pepper. Add enough salsa to make mixture a little moist, not overly wet.

Fill tortillas with mixture and cheese if desired and roll with both ends closed. Brush tops with olive oil or butter and put in a pan. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

Top with shredded lettuce, tomatoes , cilantro, avacado's and whatever else you want to throw on it.

Summer Sides....

If I was cooking for myself only, I would live on fresh side dishes. I really have no interest in heavy, meat dishes any longer. This is definitely an evolved taste. But fresh, flavorful sides just make my taste buds and body happy. I only wish my kids shared my enthusiasm. They do like the side dishes but it doesn't seem like a meal to them. I am glad they indulge me anyways.

I had a vegetable drawer full of veggies from The Backyard Farmer that had to be used asap. I had one big yellow squash, a sweet onion, 2 Armenian cucumbers, corn and some red potatoes. Yum. They were all delicious served up in just the right format.

This is how it went down; simple and refreshing:

The potatoes were quartered (they were small) and tossed with fresh pressed olive oil and some Herbs de Provence. They were roasted in the oven until lightly golden at the edges and fork-tender.

The cucumbers were served sliced, as is, next to a homemade dill dip.

The corn, cut off the cob, sauteed in some butter with sweet onions, Celtic salt and fresh pepper. I never cook my corn in water. It ruins the corn. It needs very little time to cook.

Easy stuff.

My very favorite dish was the photo above of the yellow squash side dish. I absolutely despise soggy veggies. The old school version of squash that is mushy in a pan with butter and cheese makes me rethink my love for veggies. It really is an act of disservice towards this beautiful creation. You zap the life and goodness right out of them that way not to mention any desirability. Many people don't realize that a squash can be eaten raw with great taste if the seasoning is right.

This was yummy. Everyone ate it up. 

1 large yellow squash or two small

3 T. of lime juice (lemon ok too)

3 T. olive oil

1 thinly sliced or diced shallot, white only or      about 2 T. chopped onion.

1/4 tsp dried thyme

feta cheese

chopped pecans

salt and pepper as desired

Slice the squash, peel on, very thinly and then cut in half. Whisk the lime juice, olive oil, thyme and salt and pepper in a bowl. Add squash and shallots and toss several times so that marinade soaks in. Add the

chopped pecans and feta. I left some without the nuts and feta for those who didn't like nuts and for those who are dairy free right now at my house. It still tasted great. Let sit for a few minutes for flavors to blend. Serve cold or at room temperature.

It was a perfect summer side. 

Summer Sides....Jicama

Now that it is getting warmer, my mouth craves anything with lime, cilantro and fruit. It is cool and refreshing...exactly what you need to live in the AZ summer. Tonight, I tried out a new creation with a veggie I have never even bought before; jicama. I am not sure why I haven't bought it except for the fact that I remember eating it once as a child and not liking it. Desiring something new on my dinner plate, I bought the weird looking veggie and brought it home for a little dressing up. Tonight's side was a perfect accompaniment to our corn enchiladas.


It is sort of a citrus jicama slaw. It was a good combo of sour and sweet. It was cool and crisp and even went well as a taco topping.


Jicama is loaded with potassium and fiber among other things. It is also super low cal at only 20 calories for a 1/2 cup. It is filling and soaks up whatever you put with it.


My creation tonight was simple with very basic ingredients:


One medium Jicama
lime juice
oranges
cilantro
red onion
sea salt


I julienned the jicama and put it in a bowl. I cut up two oranges into very small pieces, about 1/2 inch wedges. I roughly chopped about 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro and juiced enough limes to make about 1/4 cup of juice. I used a little too much onion but would recommend about 2 T. of chopped red onion. I tossed the ingredients with a little sprinkle of sea salt and a little juice of half of a fresh orange. I chilled it for 30 minutes but it would be great even longer. Serve cold. 


Enjoy!

Cheesy Sauce

I'll tell ya, ball season at our house means quick dinners. Usually that makes kids happy because it seems like the quick dinners are their favorites. I miss the good ole fashioned long prep dinners but with only minutes of cook time in the evening, we have to settle for quick nutrition. 

They love a simple stuffed potato...probably because it is covered with cheesy sauce. The recipe I use is from my friend Molly's cookbook. You could put cheesy sauce on anything and make it tasty. I like this sauce because it is subtle and not processed. No Velveeta in my house. We have our limits.

Cheesy Sauce

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk 

1 tsp. sea salt

1 1/2  cups grated cheddar (we use raw grass fed)

1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp. dry mustard

pepper to taste

Melt butter in pan. Mix in flour and cook for a minute, stirring constantly. Stir in milk and cook until thickened, stirring. Add rest of the ingredients and stir until cheese is melted. Serve warm.

Fast Food.

When you take pictures in a dark kitchen, the photo looks less than appetizing. Sorry about that. I cook, not take pictures. Take my word for it, it was yummy.

Sunday I had a great dinner planned with Shish kabobs and roasted rosemary potatoes. However, when it came down to it, only a few of us were going to be there to eat it. Since I only cook meat once to twice a week, I decided that the absentee teenagers would prefer I do the "meat" meal the following night. The problem was that it was now 5 pm and I didn't know what to make. I needed to do something quick. 

I am trying to use up some healthy lentils so I tried out this lentil chili recipe with some corn fritters. It was a great, quick meal. It took less than 20 minutes to have it all done. Of course, I did use a pressure cooker so add on about 15 minutes if you don't own one yet. Lentils are so great for you and you can really put about anything you want in this chili. I stuck with the recipe this time, a rare thing for me. I think I would add some celery and carrots but it tasted great and completely meatless. The corn fritters were perfect with it. I loved to eat a little piece of them with every spoonful of chili. With fresh corn that will be here in the summer, these corn fritters will be a regular, I am sure. I used the Costco organic sweet white corn. Fresh corn will be even better.

Lentil Chili

8 cups vegetable or chicken broth

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

4 teaspoons chili powder

2 1/4 cups lentils

2  15 oz cans diced tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

Saute veggies in some olive oil until a little tender, about 5 minutes. Add broth, lentils and chili powder. Pressure cook for about 7 minutes on the second ring. Then add the tomatoes, cilantro, salt and pepper and simmer until soft. If you are not using a pressure cooker, after sauteing the veggies, add broth, lentils, chili powder and tomatoes and simmer after bringing to boil for about 30 minutes or until soft. Add Cilantro when lentils are tender. 

Corn Fritters

(Martha Stewart recipe)

2 cups corn, fresh or frozen (thaw first)

1/3 cup milk

1 large egg

1 tsp sugar or sweetener of choice

1/2 tsp. baking powder

celtic salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup corn meal

1/4 cup sprouted spelt flour ( or flour of choice)

coconut oil to fry

Add all ingredients together and fry on a skillet in a couple tablespoons of coconut oil. Keep them warm in the oven until ready to eat.