Chicken Pasta Salad

I had to come up with something to take to a church potluck a few weeks ago.  I wanted to take something that I could eat, so that means it had to be dairy-free and could not contain beans or gassy veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbage, etc.).  I also wanted it to be a somewhat complete meal if I needed it to be.  This was the first potluck at church that we have participated in, so I also wasn't sure if I would be able to keep anything warm (in a crockpot) while we were at church.  I debated and debated over what to bring and ended up deciding that a pasta salad would probably be my best choice... even though I can't even tell you the last time I ate any pasta.  :) 

So I went looking on the internet and decided to use a recipe on AllRecipes for inspiration.  I eliminated the cheese, increased the amounts of vegetables, sauted the mushrooms, used chicken that I shredded myself instead of canned, and used homemade mayo.  I did use store-bought italian dressing because I had some in the refrigerator, but it did not contain HFCS, at least.  This was really good!  I'll definitely make it again when I need a pasta salad.  I have posted it below as I made it.

Chicken Pasta Salad

1 pound rotini/corkscrew pasta
8-oz package mushrooms, chopped
1 can pitted black olives, chopped
3-5 stalks celery, chopped
2 cups frozen corn
1 cup frozen peas
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 1/4 cup Italian salad dressing, preferably homemade
3/4 cup mayonnaise, preferably homemade
1 1/2 cup shredded chicken
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta to al dente in heavily salted water.  Pour into a large bowl. 

Saute the mushrooms in coconut oil until softened.  Add to pasta, along with black olives, celery, corn, peas, bell pepper, and chicken.   

In a separate bowl, whisk the Italian salad dressing and mayo together.  Pour over pasta salad and mix well.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

We love brussels sprouts.  And we are really missing them this season.  I'm afraid to try them because of how badly one piece of cabbage (when I made cabbage rolls a couple of months ago) upset Bristol.  So we haven't had them since I was pregnant.  This picture was taken during that time.  My favorite way to have brussels sprouts is just to roast them with olive oil, salt and pepper.  But this is Kevin's favorite way so far.  And it comes close to roasting them for me.  :)

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

brussels sprouts
2-3 slices of bacon, chopped
coconut oil, lard, or butter

Melt some coconut oil, lard, or butter in a cast iron or stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat.  Chop the ends off your brussels sprouts and slice in half.  Add to the skillet.  Let cook until they are just starting to soften.  Add your chopped bacon to the pan.  Continue to cook until they reach your desired doneness.

** This is also delicious if you cook a pound of bacon in the skillet first, remove the bacon, then add the brussels and cook.


This post is linked to:
Monday Mania @ Healthy Home Economist
Fat Tuesday @ Real Food Forager
Slightly Indulgent Tuesday @ SS&GF

Fried Egg Topped Salad

For those that don't know, I've been dairy-free for 4 months now... since I've had my daughter.  I am breastfeeding her and she does not tolerate dairy well at all.  It's pretty much pure torture for her.  So I've had to make a lot of adjustments to my diet to suit her needs.

My favorite salad dressing is homemade ranch, but of course this has dairy in it.  I was making homemade honey mustard dressing there for awhile and would also use vinegar and oil (which has kind of become my new favorite, actually) quite often, but they both get old after awhile.  Especially with as many salads as I consumed (and still am consuming) this year with our delicious salad greens from our CSA. 

So I started using fried eggs on my salads.  I just cook the egg whites and keep the yolk runny.  The yolk then becomes my salad dressing.  This picture was taken one of the first couple times I made them like this and only has one egg on it.  I actually usually use one whole egg plus another yolk now.  It makes such a delicious salad dressing and it is SUPER nutritious!  Give it a try the next time you make a salad. 


This post is linked to:
Simple Lives Thursday @ GNOWFGLINS
Fat Tuesday @ Real Food Forager
Monday Mania @ Healthy Home Economist

Zucchini Pancakes

I have a huge back-log of posts that I hope to get on the blog soon.  We'll see how successful I am at getting everything posted.  I kind of have a lot going on right now to keep me pretty busy.  Between being a mom of two now (one of which is 3-months old), being a wife, going to class at church one night a week, spending time with friends and family, starting up a small business, and commuting and working about 30 hours per week at work... I have been keeping myself quite busy.  :)  But I have still been trying to get healthful meals on the table everyday.  These paleo zucchini pancakes were a weekly item on menu this summer, while we were getting so many zucchini in our CSA.  They have continued to show up occasionally, as we are still getting zucchini in our weekly CSA share.  These are based off of the Barefoot Contessa's recipe.  They are delicious and so fast and easy to make.  We all love them. 

Zucchini Pancakes

2 medium zucchini (about 3/4 pound)

2 tablespoons grated red onion (or use a teaspoon of onion powder)

2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten

6 to 8 tablespoons almond flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Unsalted butter

Grate the zucchini into a bowl.  Immediately stir in the onion and eggs.  Stir in 6 tablespoons of the flour, the baking powder, salt, and pepper. (If the batter gets too thin from the liquid in the zucchini, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour.)

Heat a large (10 to 12-inch) saute pan over medium heat and melt 1/2 tablespoon butter in the pan.  When the butter is hot, but not smoking, lower the heat to medium-low and drop heaping soup spoons of batter into the pan.  Cook the pancakes about 2 minutes on each side, until browned.


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Collard Greens

Sorry I've been MIA for quite awhile.  Life has been quite busy preparing for the arrival of our new baby girl for many months.  She has now joined our family and life is still pretty crazy.  But I'm hoping to be able to post a few things here and there a little more regularly now.  I've got a back-log of posts that I want to get up on the blog, but I'm going to start with this one because collards are in season now and they make a regular appearance on our table once or twice a week these days. 

We have bought into a local, organic CSA this summer since I knew I wouldn't have time to tend a garden with a new baby.  We are loving it so far!  We're getting the chance to cook with and eat some veggies that we wouldn't normally grow (but likely will in the future).  One of which is collard greens.  We are really loving the greens.  I figured I'd share how I've been preparing them each week.  They take some time to cook, but its not active time on my part, so they're super easy to make.  And they turn out super moist, tender, and flavorful every time.  We all really like them a lot.  I make kale this way, as well. 

This is just the base recipe.  But I've also used bacon grease instead of the olive oil and added some chopped bacon to the greens at the end, which resulted in even more deliciousness. 

Collard Greens

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 pounds washed collard greens
2 cups chicken broth

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until softened, about 2-3 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Rip the collard greens from the stems and tear into small pieces.  Add to the pan.  Pour chicken broth over greens and stir.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for about 45 minutes. 

Guacamole

I know everyone has their own guacamole recipe, but I still need to post this one.  I've made a lot of different guacamoles over time, but this one beats them all... hands down.  I got this recipe from my friend, Melissa, over at The Franson Kitchen.  She made it with her amazing cafe rio when she invited our family over for dinner last winter.  It was delicious then and it was delicious when I made it again last weekend for my son's birthday party.  Guacamole has been one thing I've been craving during this pregnancy.  I think I could eat it every day... especially if I made this recipe every day!  And I did actually make this recipe (in smaller proportion) three different times in the last week.  :)  It is just that good.  I basically make it just as Melissa has it posted on her blog, with the exception of the jalapeno.  You need some for flavor, but I don't add a whole one... just enough to add the flavor without the spice.  I'll post it below the way I make it. 

The Best Guacamole Ever

4-5 ripe avocados (if they are large ones, only 4)

3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 to 1/2 of a small jalapeno, minced

1/2 cup minced red onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, to taste

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

Cut avocados in half length-wise and remove pits.  Scoop the avocado flesh from the shells.  In a medium bowl, mash with a potato masher or large fork.  You don't want to completely turn it to mush, leave a few small chunks for texture.  Add the remaining ingredients.  

Serve with tortilla chips as an appetizer or as a topping for tacos or other mexican dishes. 

You can make this a couple of hours in advance, but you will want to be sure to seal it well so that no air gets to the surface and turns it brown.  I take plastic wrap and press it down on top of the guacamole in the bowl, removing all the air and making sure the edges are sealed well.  Then just remove the plastic wrap when you're ready to serve.

Easy Cheesy Queso Dip

Ok, so this recipe is not paleo-friendly at all.  But this is a super easy appetizer to throw together if some friends show up at your door to hang out for a bit unexpectedly, or you decide to head over to a get together last-minute and have nothing planned or prepped to contribute.  Bottom line, it's super fast to throw together and is always a hit.  I've been making this dip for many years, I think since high school, or shortly thereafter.  My friend Destiny made it many, many years ago for a get together at her house and I've loved it ever since. 

Easy Cheesy Queso Dip

8 oz organic cream cheese, or homemade soft cheese
1/2 - 3/4 cup homemade salsa
1 cup shredded cheddar or co-jack cheese

Leave cream cheese out of refrigerator to soften a little.  Once it has softened, mix all ingredients together.  Serve immediately, or place back in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve.  This is great with tortilla chips and fresh veggies! 

Paleo Dolmades (a.k.a. grape leaves)

As I mentioned in my post for chicken souvlaki, we had a greek feast with some friends on Saturday.  I decided to make some dolmades/grape leaves to go along with our meal.  Some people think making dolmades is really labor intensive, but I don't think so.  Yes, they take some time to roll up each dolma, but it goes really quickly, in my opinion.  I prepped these the night before so they were ready to stick in the oven to cook before dinner on Saturday.  And I probably only spent about 20-30 minutes prepping them on Friday night... which I don't consider bad at all. 

I used my own pickled grape leaves for these, but you can pick up a jar at the store in the international section, also.  Normally, dolmades have rice in them, but since we are avoiding grains as much as possible, I decided to try making them without the rice.  They turned out great!  No one missed the rice at all and everyone commented about how delicious they were. 

Paleo Dolmades

1 jar grape leaves
2 pounds ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
3 Tablespoons dried dill
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 - 2 cups chicken broth

Take the grape leaves out of the jar, rinse, and drain. 

Mix the ground beef, onions, dill, mint, tomatoes, salt, and pepper in a medium-sized bowl. 

Place one grape leaf on a flat surface.  Place a small amount of the meat mixture (about 2-3 Tablespoons, maybe?) in the center of the bottom part of the leaf. 

Fold the bottom pieces of the grape leaf up over the meat. 

Then fold in each side of the grape leaf.  Once the sides are folded in, start to roll it up.  You'll want to roll it pretty tightly.

Then place the rolled dolma into a casserole dish.  You'll want to pack in the dolmades very tightly so that they are held in place during the cooking and don't risk opening up. 

Once you have all your dolmades in your casserole dish, pour the chicken broth over top, just enough to cover.  I actually ended up switching mine to a different casserole dish so that it wasn't filled to the top edge and wouldn't risk boiling over in the oven.  You can do all of this ahead of time.  If you are prepping ahead, cover the dish and stick it in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook them. 

When you are ready to cook the dolmades, preheat your oven to 375.  Cover your casserole dish with its lid (or foil if you don't have a lid) and bake for an hour to an hour and a half.  I cooked mine for an hour and a half.  Remove from oven, let cool slightly, and serve!  I've had dolmades with a tomato based sauce over them, an egg based sauce, and tzatziki.  They are great with any of these!  I decided to serve mine on Saturday with tzatziki. 



This post is linked to:
Traditional Tuesdays @ Delicious Obsessions
Pennywise Platter Thursday @ The Nourishing Gourmet
Fight Back Friday @ Food Renegade
Simple Lives Thursday @ A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa
Primal Cave @ Primal Toad
Grain Free Real Food Carnival @ Real Food Forager

Primal Egg Casserole

This is just a basic egg casserole recipe.  I almost didn't even post it, but figured since I've made it about 5 times now, I might as well.  Each time I've made it, the casserole has been slightly different - switching out the greens or adding a vegetable.  This is very simple and fast to make.  And it's very good.  I will bake it on Sunday evening, slice it, and store it in the refrigerator for fast, easy breakfasts on our busy work mornings.  This is great straight out of the fridge, or warmed a little in the oven. 

I know my pictures show the casserole with cheese, but I've listed it as an optional ingredient below.  The first time I made it, I used cheese (and took pictures).  But I don't generally add the cheese anymore.  It's great without! 

Primal Egg Casserole

2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 pound naturally seasoned sausage
1 bunch greens - spinach, kale, swiss chard, beet greens, etc.8-10 eggs
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms, optional
6-8 eggs
a small bunch of parsley or other fresh herb... chives are great in this, too
1/4 cup shredded cheese, optional

Preheat the oven to 375.   Heat a pan on medium.  Add butter and swirl around pan.  Add the sausage.  Meanwhile, slice the greens into thin strips.  Add the greens to the sausage and saute until sausage is cooked through and greens are tender.  If you are adding any extra vegetables (we like mushrooms in ours... but its great without, too... my pictures show it without), add them to the pan while things are cooking. 

In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs.  Mix in the fresh herbs.  Then add the greens and sausage mixture.  Pour into a greased 8×8 pan.  If you are using cheese, sprinkle on top of egg mixture.  You don't need cheese.  My pictures show the casserole with cheese, but I don't generally add it anymore. 

Bake 20-25 minutes or until middle of casserole is set.  Let it cool slightly before slicing into squares. 

This post is linked to:
Monday Mania at the Healthy Home Economist
Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade
Fresh Bites Friday at Read Food Whole Health
Traditional Tuesdays at Delicious Obsessions
Grain Free Tuesday at Hella Delicious

Individual Primal Pizzas

I came up with this idea while I was at the grocery store a few weeks back. Pizza has always been somewhat of a staple in our house... both homemade and buying it from our awesome local pizzeria, Rocky's. Now that we're eating mostly primal, pizza doesn't really fit into our health goals. So, I had to figure out a way to try to satisfy those pizza cravings we all have. I've seen some homemade primal pizza dough recipes online that use coconut or almond flours - and I hope to try them someday - but that's not what I wanted a few weeks back. So I decided to pick up some large portobella mushrooms and use those as my base. I had some cooked ground beef in the freezer that I pulled out and then just used a random assortment of veggies from our refrigerator. I layered everything up with some homemade tomato sauce and some shredded cheese and voila! Individual primal pizzas. These were a total hit! Carson scarfed his down and wanted more. Kevin ate a few and said he thought they were great. I loved them. These were super easy to make, too... and will definitely be a regular thing on our menus from now on!

Individual Primal Pizzas

large portobella mushroom caps
veggies of your choice
cooked ground beef
tomato sauce, preferably homemade
shredded cheese
olive oil

Place your mushroom caps and whatever raw veggies you are using on a baking sheet. I ended up using some orange and green bell peppers, broccoli, carrot shreds, and spinach leaves. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Roast at 375 for about 8 minutes.

Pile up your veggies on the portobella mushroom caps. Next top with some cooked ground beef. Then some tomato sauce. Finally, sprinkle on some shredded cheese.

Place back in the oven at 375 and bake until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!


This post is linked to:
Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS
Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade
Fresh Bites Friday at Real Food Whole Health

Egg Salad Avocado Boats

Last week, I posted a recipe/method of serving tuna salad in avocado boats.  I mentioned in the post that egg salad is delicious in avocado boats, too.  I made these for lunch one day last week and snapped a picture, so thought I'd post it.  I make a very simple egg salad.  All three of us love it.  Carson often requests it, even.

Egg Salad in Avocado Boats

avocado, halved and pitted
hard boiled eggs
mayonnaise, preferfably homemade
dijon mustard
celery, diced

Chop up your hard boiled eggs into a medium sized bowl.  Add some mayonnaise and dijon to your liking and mix up.  Add diced celery to your liking and mix.  Spoon into avocado halves (a.k.a. boats) and enjoy!


This post is linked to:
Sugar Free Sundays at Flip Cookbook

Pecan Glazed Butternut Squash

I have a few more butternut squash that I need to use up, so I tried a new squash recipe this week for Pecan Glazed Butternut Squash.  I found the recipe on Grain Free Foodie.  This was awesome!  I don't think I've ever put pecans on top of a squash or sweet potato casserole, but I'm sorry I haven't yet because it is so good.  I did not add any honey to the filling and it was plenty sweet, although I'm sure it'd be tasty with the honey in the filling, too. 

Pecan Glazed Butternut Squash 

Filling:
1 small butternut squash
1-2 Tablespoons honey (I left this out)
2 Tablespoons butter
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Glaze:
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds.  Place in a baking dish with some water in the bottom and roast at 400 degrees for about 30-45 minutes, until squash is fork-tender.  Remove from oven and let cool until you can handle it.  Scoop out the flesh and mash into a 2-quart or 8x8 glass casserole dish.  Mix in remaining filling ingredients.  I just did the mixing all in the casserole dish to save a bowl to wash.

Next, make the glaze.  Mix butter, honey, and salt in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the mixture begins to carmelize (honey will turn slightly darker). Do not overcook, it will continue to carmelize in the oven. Add pecans, and spread glaze over filling.

Bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes or until glaze looks consistent and filling looks firm.


This post is linked to:
Foodies Follow Fridays at Hella Delicious
Pennywise Platter at The Nourishing Gourmet
Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade
Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS
Sugar Free Sundays at Flip Cookbook

Sausage Cheese Balls

We had to travel two hours west for one of our Christmas parties.  I wanted to find something to take that was portable, tasty, and fairly good for you.  I couldn't decide what to bring, so I scoured the Whole Foods for the Holidays posts.  I came across these Sausage Cheese Balls on Titus2Homemaker.  They sounded very easy and portable.  So I tried them out.  I used our pastured, naturally-seasoned sausage, a mixture of whole wheat and spelt flours, my homemade cultured butter, and raw cheddar cheese.  They are more dough-y than I guess I expected and they didn't blow me away, but they were okay.  They taste like a biscuit with a slight cheese and sausage flavoring.  The naturally flavored sausage doesn't have as much spice as conventional sausage does, so maybe they'd have more flavor with conventional sausage... I didn't think about it in advance, or I'd have probably added a few spices. 

Sausage Cheese Balls

3 cups whole wheat flour (I used 2 cups whole wheat and 1 cup spelt)
1-1/2 Tablespoons aluminum-free baking powder
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 lb. butter (I used homemade cultured butter)
1 lb. breakfast sausage, raw (I used pastured pork sausage with natural seasonings)
8 oz. grated cheddar (I used raw cheddar, a mixture of mild and sharp)

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter. With your hands, mix in sausage and cheddar, adding a tad bit of water to make a dough. Form into 1″ balls (I used my 1-inch cookie scoop) and bake on a baking sheet at 375 for 20 minutes.

Smoked Salmon Spread

I had decided I wanted to make a salmon dip or spread for one of our Christmas parties this year.  So I went searching for a good recipe.  I settled on a Smoked Salmon Spread with Pecans on Heartland Renaissance.  I pretty much followed the recipe as written.  I did use my homemade soft cheese in place of the cream cheese and I used crispy (soaked and dried) pecans.  This was very simple to make.  I served it with some organic whole wheat crackers.  I thought it was very tasty!  I'll make it again sometime, for sure.  Kevin liked it, too.  People who like salmon would like this, too.  Its really not too fishy tasting, nor too smoky, but it has a really good flavor.   

Smoked Salmon Spread

One 1-lb. can of wild, Alaskan salmon
One 8-oz. package of cream cheese, softened (I used soft cheese)
2 teaspoons grated white or yellow onion
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I used crispy pecans)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon horseradish
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
3 Tablespoons fresh parsley, snipped (or 1 Tablespoon dried parsley)
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Drain salmon, removing bones and skin. Flake salmon into a bowl. Combine cream cheese, lemon juice, onion, horseradish, salt and liquid smoke with salmon, mixing well. Chill several hours or overnight.

About an hour before serving, combine pecans, parsley and paprika. Shape salmon mixture into a log or ball and roll in pecan mixture. Chill. Serve with crackers, sliced baguette and sliced fresh vegetables.

Cheesy Vegetable Casserole

We hosted a Christmas party at our home last weekend with some of my family.  We had a lot of fun and, of course, we had quite the feast, too.  Everyone brought some food to contribute.  I supplied the ham and some sides, all of which were as REAL as possible.  A few days before the party, I realized we didn't really have enough vegetables, so I was going to just make some roasted veggies.  But then I saw Kelly the Kitchen Kop post a recipe for a healthy broccoli cheese casserole.  I knew I wanted to try it!  So I made it for our Christmas party.  It was sooooo good!  Yum!  This is definitely going to be a regular dish at our house!  I used to make a similar dish with the fake processed cheese (Velveeta or Cheez Whiz), but haven't made it in a couple of years now.  I'm very excited to have a great substitution that tastes even better than the fake version! 

Cheesy Vegetable Casserole

8 Tablespoons butter
8 Tablespoons arrowroot powder
4 cups milk
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
1 pint homemade cream of mushroom soup
sea salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
onion powder, to taste
pinch of sugar/sucanat
4 cups chopped veggies, fresh or frozen
1/2 - 1 cup bread crumbs, seasoned to taste

Start by shredding up some cheese in your food processor, or you can use a box grater.  Set aside.

Next make a white sauce/roux.  Melt the butter in a saucepan.  Whisk in the arrowroot powder.  Whisk continuously for about a minute.  Add the milk, about a cup at a time until it thickens, then add another cup until you've added all the milk.

Once all of the milk has been added, add the cheese.  Then stir in your cream of mushroom soup.  Next, add salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, sugar.  Taste it and adjust as you see fit.  You really want to make sure you get the sauce right - it is what makes the dish.  Keep stirring as it continues to thicken.

Meanwhile get your vegetables ready.  You can use fresh or frozen.  If you are using fresh, you'll want to blanch the veggies for a few minutes.  I used frozen vegetables, some broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. 

Prepare an 8 1/2 x 11 inch baking dish by buttering the sides and bottom.  Next, place your vegetables in the bottom and pour cheese sauce over the top. 

Top with breadcrumbs. 

Bake 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.  Enjoy! 

Note:  Kelly suggests melting another 8 Tablespoons of butter and stirring in 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs to make a topping.  Let your veggies bake without it for 10-15 minutes, then add the butter/crumb topping.  I'm sure this is delicious, but I was trying to save a step so I just added some homemade seasoned sourdough breadcrumbs to the top of mine (without the butter) before I baked it. It still tasted great!

Baked Spinach

This is a super easy side dish recipe. Its is quite tasty, too!   We have had this a couple of times now.  Its quite tasty as leftovers, too... and I don't say that very often because I'm not a leftover fan.  :)  I found the idea on a Crossfit food blog.  You could make this with any type of greens.  I've only made it with spinach, but it'd be very good with others.  You could also change up the nuts and add cheese and other spices.  This picture is made as it is written below.  But the second time I made it, I used crispy walnuts and added some of my homemade soft cheese into the mixture.  Feta would be good, too.  Or a cheese topping. 

Baked Spinach

1 1/2 pounds spinach
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup crispy pine nuts
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs

Preheat oven 350 degrees.  Saute your spinach in butter until wilted.  Add your crispy pine nuts and garlic. Saute for just a couple of minutes.  Pour spinach mixture into a small casserole dish. 

Whisk eggs in a separate bowl.  Pour eggs over spinach mixture and stir to combine.  Spread evenly in dish.  Bake for 30-40 minutes. 


This post is participating in the Tuesday Twister at GNOWFGLINS, Whole Food for the Holidays: Side Dishes at The Nourishing Gourmet. 

Crockpot Dijon Brussels Sprouts

I love brussels sprouts! They're one of my favorite veggies. Kevin and Carson like them most days. I usually just roast them, but I've been looking for some new ways to make them. I saw this recipe posted on A Year of Slowcooking and wanted to try it. These were pretty good. My favorite way to make brussels is still to roast them (although another recipe I've tried recently may tie for my favorite way to make brussels... I'll try to post it soon), but it was good to try a new way. The sprouts on the edge get brown and bit crispy on the outer edge... that was my favorite part!

Crockpot Brussels Sprouts

1 pound brussels sprouts
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup water

Use a 2-quart slow cooker. Wash and trim the ends off of each Brussels sprout, and cut in half or quarters, depending on their size. Toss into the stoneware. Add butter, mustard, salt, pepper, and water. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours, or on high for 2 to 3. Stir well to distribute the sauce before serving.


This post is participating in the GNOWFGLINS Tuesday Twister.

Thanksgiving Sausage Stuffing

I hosted Thanksgiving with my dad's family last weekend.  Yes, it was quite early, but it actually worked out really well and gives us a good break between Thanksgiving turkey dinners.  I made a traditional turkey (post coming at some point) with our family's sausage stuffing.  Its just a basic sausage stuffing, but its what we always have had and probably always will have.  Its very tasty!  The recipe below is the base recipe, which is for a 12-pound turkey.  I had an 18-pound locally raised, pastured turkey, so I increased the ratios.  I also wanted to do more than just stuff the bird.  So I made a quadruple recipe.  First, I stuffed the bird.  Then I threw the remainder into my big crockpot to cook.  Stuffing really shrinks down in size as it cooks, so even though it may look like a TON before you cook it, it will reduce in size by about half.  So just keep that in mind if you ever make it. 

As for ingredients, use what you like, but I like to use local, organic, and homemade as much as possible.  I was going to make the bread for the bread cubes myself, but decided last week that I would just buy some loaves from our local organic mill.  They are WAPFers and they use very similar recipes to what I've made in the past, so I feel totally comfortable getting their bread.  I toasted it in the oven to make the bread cubes.  I used my homemade raw milk cultured butter; as well as local, organic celery and onions from my CSA.  I used celtic sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and my home-dried sage.  I used locally made pork sausage with natural seasonings.  And I made my own chicken bone broth.  So I feel like it was a pretty healthy stuffing.  :) 

Sausage Stuffing
(for 12-lb turkey)

12 cups bread cubes/croutons
1 cup butter
1/2-3/4 cup onion, chopped
1/2-3/4 cup celery, chopped
1 Tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon sage
1 pound sausage
1 quart chicken stock

Fry sausage. Add butter, onion, and celery. Cook until veggies are softened.

Put bread cubes in large bowl. Pour sausage, butter, onion, celery mix over top of bread and mix. Pour chicken stock over top until moist, but not soggy. Add salt, pepper, and sage. Mix well.

Stuff your turkey with as much as you can fit.  Put remaining stuffing into a crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours.


This post is participating in the GNOWFGLINS Tuesday Twister. 

Homemade Yogurt

Ok, I've had this post saved in my drafts for much too long now.  So even though I'm still updating it and adding pictures along the way, I figured I'd just go ahead and post it.  Be sure to check back for updates as I post them every now and then.

I've been making my own homemade yogurt for a few months now.  I've tried quite a few different ways of making yogurt and mostly follow the method described on Kitchen Stewardship.  I've posted about my flop using the crockpot.  I'm not going to go into detailed posts about other ways I've tried, rather I'll tell you the way that works best for me and maybe mention a few things I've tried along the way.  I'm sure I'll also try some different things along the way, so I'll come back to this post and update if/when I do.

Making homemade yogurt may seem daunting, but it is actually so very easy to do.  Everyone should try it.  It may sound like it takes a long time to make it, but very little of that time is active time and you don't have to be home for most of it. You can expect about 15 minutes of active time and you'll need to plan a time when you're home for about an hour and a half to two hours.  We eat a lot of yogurt in our house.  We all love it.  Carson and I love it plain or with a slight honey or vanilla flavor.  Kevin likes to stir homemade jam into his.  And we all love it with fresh fruit and granola.  And I love knowing that its so good for us, feeding our guts with healthy probiotics!

Lacto-Fermented Roasted Tomato Salsa

I've been wanting to try out a lacto-fermented salsa recipe for awhile now. With the first week of the Preserving Summer's Bounty Challenge focused on fermentation and last week's tomato festival at the farmers' market ($10 for a half-bushel of Roma tomatoes!), I figured this was the perfect time to try it out. I had come across a recipe for a roasted tomato lacto-fermented salsa on Cooking God's Way awhile back, so I dug it out and gave it a go on Friday. This takes some time to roast the veggies and let them cool, but then it comes together pretty quickly. It tastes amazing, too! We tried it last night. I think I'll be making at least a few more quarts of this after I get some more roma tomatoes this week. This first quart certainly isn't going to last long!

Lacto-fermented Roasted-Tomato Salsa

2 pounds Roma tomatoes (about 8 to 10), sliced in half length-wise
4 large cloves garlic (do not peel)
1 medium onion (yellow or red), sliced into thick rings but not separated
2 jalapeno peppers, left whole (I just used 1)
1 small bunch cilantro, or to taste
2 Tablespoons lemon or lime juice
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon mexican oregano
pinch ground cayenne pepper, or more to taste
1 Tablespoon unrefined sea salt
4 Tablespoons whey

Preheat broiler to 500F. Have ready a large heavy-duty baking sheet. Gently smash cloves of garlic with the back of a spoon or drinking glass, leave skins on. Place tomato halves on baking sheet (cut side up), along with the sliced onion, garlic cloves, and jalapeno peppers. Place baking sheet in oven, directly under broiler, checking on them every 5 minutes. Turn as needed, when tops are browned and/or bubbly. Brown both sides, removing any pieces as necessary when they are finished.


Place broiled peppers into a plastic zip-top bag and seal. Allow to steam for 5 minutes. When done steaming; peel off the skin and remove stem, seeds, and membrane. Meanwhile mince all the vegetables (be sure to peel garlic first) to desired size

NOTE: If you have a food processor, mincing the vegetables is very easy and quick to do. Just pulse all ingredients, individually in the food processor. It is important NOT to mince them all at once, or you will end up with half the ingredients turned into a puree before the other half gets to the size you want.

As you mince each ingredient (tomatoes, garlic, onion, peppers, cilantro) add it to a medium mixing bowl. When everything is minced and added to the bowl, add the lemon (or lime) juice, cumin, and oregano; stir gently to combine. Stir in the whey and sea salt. Taste and add ground cayenne pepper as desired.

Pour salsa mixture into a quart-sized mason jar, screw-on lid with metal band. OR Use a quart-sized Fermented Vegetable Master, they work wonders and really make all your fermented veggies taste better. (Always remember to leave 1-inch of space from the top of the jar to allow for expansion.)

Leave at room-temperature for 2 days before transferring to cold storage.

Makes 1-quart.