What We’ve Been Eating Lately

I’ve been a bit slack on posting recipes lately, but I do want to keep up with sharing meal ideas. My mantra with cooking and eating is to focus on real foods, with a heavy emphasis on vegetables and fruits.  We eat local and organic as much as possible, but we are also a real family that has to consider the convenience factor.  If I plan ahead, and prep some meals in advance, we are more successful with clean eating.

Keep your refrigerators and pantries stocked with healthy, green foods!

Salads/Vegetables:

Spinach, local apple, grilled chicken, toasted walnuts, goat cheese, balsamic vinaigrette

Spinach, chicken (cooked in crock pot), buffalo sauce (homemade: Frank’s hot sauce, lemon juice, butter), blue cheese, homemade ranch

leftovers for lunch: steamed broccoli, local peppers, spinach, avocado, grilled cod

sauteed vegetables: long beans (like green beans), kale, roasted sweet potatoes, parmesan, unsalted root veggie chips

Using up local veggies again: Tomato, cucumber, avocado, onion tossed in a vinaigrette made from raw apple cider vinegar, honey, dijon mustard, olive oil, salt, pepper

Fish: 

Grilled Fish Tacos:

-Cod: quickly marinated in lime juice, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper

-Feta cheese

-Avocado

-Pickled red onions: onions soaked in rice vinegar for 1 hour+

-Sriracha yogurt sauce: plain Greek yogurt, sriracha to taste (add more to make it spicier), lime juice

Rice noodles tossed in a chili-garlic sauce (I don’t have a recipe – I’m so sorry! This was thrown together last minute); Steamed shrimp tossed in the same sauce; Napa cabbage salad with carrot, bell pepper, hot pepper, peanuts, sesame seeds, cucumber, mint + a sweet Asian salad dressing

Cod seasoned with lemon juice, dried basil, dried oregano, dried thyme, salt, pepper, garlic; sauteed in a mix of salted butter and olive oil; cucumber, tomato, avocado, onion salad

Eggs and Toast:

Toast topped with scrambled eggs with kale; sautéed local veggies (peppers, tomato, onion); goat cheese

Avocado toast with local tomato, and a fried egg. 

Bacon & Broccoli Frittata

Comfort Food:

Mexican Chicken & Vegetable Stew: shredded chicken (cooked ahead in the crock pot); black beans, frozen corn, celery, carrots, onion, bell peppers, jalapeño, garlic, tomato, Rotel, avocado, white cheddar, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper

I do not have an exact recipe, but I’d advise you to use your favorite chicken chili or black bean soup, and add some veggies!  You could even add squash, zucchini, peas, etc.  I made an additional pot of this soup without the jalapeño, cayenne, and Rotel for Davis to keep it less spicy.

I very loosely use Smitten Kitchen’s Braised Short Rib recipe when I braise beef short ribs.  I skip the pearl onion step, and just add chopped onions with the carrots and celery.  I also used all red wine instead of red wine and port this time.  And sometimes I skip the last step of roasting the meet again after it has braised.  Regardless if you use this recipe to a T, or modify it, it is fabulous.  This time I used chicken stock instead of beef stock, but I will use the beef stock next time.

This meal was for my brother’s birthday.  We celebrated on a cold, rainy day, and this was perfect for the occasion!  The polenta was cooked in chicken stock and my mom added parmesan.  She roasted the mushrooms in a little oil, vinegar, thyme, and balsamic vinegar.  Season with salt and pepper.  The brussels sprouts were tossed in bacon fat, salt and pepper and roasted.  After roasting, we tossed them in a mix of whole grain dijon mustard, maple syrup, and a little balsamic vinegar. Top with toasted pecans.

I mentioned these sweet potato and black bean enchiladas in this post.  We cooked them on the grill!

Fall Flavors:

My boys helped me make these apples. 🙂  Peel and (large) dice 6 medium or 4 large apples.  Place in a baking dish and toss with 3 Tbsp melted salted butter (we use Kerrygold), 1 Tbsp coconut sugar, and 1 tsp ground cinnamon.  Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, or until the apples are soft, but not falling apart.

Grain-Free Pumpkin Muffins

This is an awful picture, but these muffins were great!  And grain-free!  I ran out of maple syrup, so I used mostly coconut sugar – use about 2/3 of the amount that it says for maple syrup.  I kept them in the refrigerator and they stayed good for almost a week.  They can also be frozen and thawed before eating.