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Salmon Grill Packets

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Summer. The ‘Dog Days of Summer’. In full effect and simply the best. Lazy pool days, picnic lunches, parks, the lakes and sun, SUN, SUN. Everything tends to run over schedule this time of year for us. Trying to maximize our time outside leads us to later naps and less time to get work done at home. Dinner is usually thrown together minutes before it should be on the table and this makes it a challenge to get a healthy, balanced meal in the books. But hey, I’ll let beef stew and soups simmer another time when that freezing wind is blowing…right now, we belong outside! Continue reading →

Roasted Garlic and Bleu Cheese Butter

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Guys, I don’t know how to say this without sounding pushy. But if you do not go to your kitchen and make this roasted garlic and bleu cheese butter bad things could happen. Lighting may strike. Steaks may boycott your grill. Steamed broccoli will not feel welcomed in your home anymore. Baked potatoes? Forget about it…they are totally breaking up with you…or they may shack up with corn on the cobb who will also feel bare and lonely. As for our relationship? You and I? I feel like counseling may need to be implemented. Please, just do it. Make it. Put it on that steak. Dollop it on that broccoli or baked potato. Spread it on corn on the cobb. Good things happen to people who do good, right? Continue reading →

Nick’s Spice Rub

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My 2 year old, Georgia, is into telling stories these days.  Story. After story.  After story. All day long.  Her stories about Jude usually go like this  “One day, there was a tiiiiiiiiiiny baby named Jude and he had a mommy and a daddy and a Georgia.  The end!”.  Short, sweet and valid, for that matter.  Her stories about Nick usually go something like this “One day, there was a daddy and he came home from work and we had dinner and wrestled and had a bath and watched a show and took a nap.  The end!” Again, short, sweet and valid. My favorite story that she tells is the one about herself, “One day, there was a beautiful princess named Georgia.  And she grew bigger.  And bigger.  And bigger.  Until she was a bigger lady.  The end!”.  As I was putting her down for a nap today our conversation went like this:

G:  Tell me a story, mama

M:  Okay, but will you tell me one first?

G:  One day, there was a beauuuuuutifuuulll princess named mommy….

(at this point I got very excited…the stories are never about me!  What is she going to say??  That I love to cuddle?  Or do puzzles?  Or read books?)

G:  ….and she loooooooved bacon.  The end!

Lord, help me.  Lets just shift pork gears…

This is Nick’s recipe for an absolutely awesome spice rub.  It pairs wonderfully with any meat but our favorite way to eat it is with pork tenderloin.  He rubs a liberal amount of the spice mixture all over the pork, drizzles the pork with olive oil and grills it up to perfection.  The flavor is dynamite and the grill gives it that perfect smokey char.  A perfect entertaining dish for this Memorial Day weekend that, I must mention, is supposed to involve 70’s and sunshine.  In the meantime, please say a prayer that my daughter finds a new story for me.  

*photos courtesy of the chef, himself 😉

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Nicks Spice Rub

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon Chili Powder

2 Teaspoons Course Black Pepper

2 Teaspoons Kosher Salt

2 Teaspoons Oregano Leaves

2 Teaspoons Ground Cumin

1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder 

Directions

Stir all ingredients together in a small bowl and store in an air tight container.

 

 

 

 

Chicken Meatball Soup

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This weather.  Oh this weather.  It’s the kind of weather I can’t wait for in the middle of summer.  Cozy, football-like weather that pairs so well with a warm bowl of soup.  Give it to me in late August and I’m jumping for joy.  Give it to me in mid-May and I pout like a 2 year old.  Speaking of two year olds, Georgia asks daily, on the way home from our morning outings, if we can drive by the park to stop and look.  Talk about heartbreaking.  So we do, every single day.  We drive up to the park and I stop in front of it and we look.  “Oooooh, look mama, monkey bars!  Maybe next time we can go on that slide!”.  And then we pull away and drive to the house, “see you next time, park”, she says.  I’m beginning to think she has forgotten the joy of actually playing at the park and has learned to love looking at the park just as much.  The mind of a 2 year old.

This soup recipe is great for these kind of days.  Days where you are looking for warmth and comfort food but don’t want the heaviness of a stew or a chili.  It’s packed with nutrition and flavor and its an absolute cinch to throw together.  Who needs 75 and sunny, anyway?  ME!!!!!   Not me.

Chicken Meatball Soup

Notes:  Any fresh bread will do to make the breadcrumbs…just throw a few slices in your food processor and pulse it until it forms tiny crumbs.  I prefer to use whole grain Ezekiel bread for this recipe….so nutritious and it tastes awesome in here.

Ingredients

For the Meatballs:

1 Pound Ground Chicken

1 Cup Fresh Breadcrumbs

2/3 Cups Grated Parmesan Cheese

4 Garlic Cloves, grated or pressed

2 Eggs, lightly beaten

1 Teaspoon Salt

1/2 Teaspoon  Black Pepper

For the Soup:

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Medium Onion, diced

5 Cups Chicken Stock

2 (15 Ounce) Cans Great Northern or Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 Cups Sliced Carrots

2 Cups Packed Spinach Leaves

Directions

In a medium bowl mix the chicken, breadcrumbs, parmesan, garlic, eggs, salt and pepper with your hands until just combined; do not over mix.  Roll the mixture into tablespoon-sized meatballs.

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot or dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add the meatballs and brown on all sides (they do not need to be cooked through); remove the meatballs from the pot and set aside.  Add the onion to the pot and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes, stirring often.  Add the stock, beans and carrots and bring the soup to a simmer.  Add the meatballs back to the pot and simmer over medium low heat until meatballs are cooked through and the carrots soften, 5-10 minutes.  Stir in the spinach and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serves 4.

 

More to come..

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Here is an oldie but goodie that a friend suggested I repost for those of you that may have missed it…the best dang pot roast to grace this earth, I swear. It’s all I’ve got for now, folks…our internet is down at home and we are expecting a full house this weekend to celebrate Jude’s baptism so I’m not really in any shape to lug these kiddos up to the coffee shop to edit photos and get a new post in. I’m actually laughing out loud imagining what that scene would look like: an unshowered, under slept mama that has a list of to do’s running thru her brain, a toddler that is behaving as though she’s eaten 452 pixie sticks accompanied by a teething drool bug…I think we would be kicked out in a matter of 3 minutes.

I must say, though, that I could not be more anxious for the weekend. Family and friends and lots of food all in the comfort of my own home? Bring. It. On.

Ps Jude requested this Tres Leches Cake for his celebration, just like Georgia had for her baptism. If you haven’t, you must. You just must. I’m making 2…one for me and one for everyone else. What? It’s mothers day weekend!
Take special care, my friends…I’ll be back next week. And to all you mamas out there…surround yourself with every little thing that makes your heart happy…you deserve nothing less! Xo

Maple Walnuts

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My darling friend, Jackie, came over for a visit yesterday.  It was a perfect rainy day date that involved some much needed catching up and a little yoga for Jackie and Georgia (Jax-her cobra pose is looking amazing today 😉 )  She was planning to be here over lunch and being the procrastinator that I am I had nothing planned to serve.  I had all of the fixings for a salad but needed something to add to make it special and not so “thrown together”.  These maple walnuts were just the perfect touch.  They are such an awesome addition to any salad but my favorite way to serve them is with mixed greens, bleu cheese, sliced apple and balsamic vinaigrette.  They literally take less than five minutes to make and turn a pretty simple salad into an exceptional one.  On another note, if you are looking for the perfect homemade hostess gift these are the perfect fit.  They are so versatile; add some cinnamon or cayenne pepper for a different twist.  Top them on a salad, nosh on them alone for a sweet treat…or dare I say it?  On top of vanilla ice cream.  Mouth officially watering.  

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Maple Walnuts

barely adapted from this recipe

Ingredients

2 Cups Walnuts

1/3 Cup Pure Maple Syrup

1/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt

Directions 

Grease a piece of parchment paper with cooking spray or coconut oil; set aside.  Heat a non stick skillet over medium high heat. Add all ingredients and cook, stirring frequently until syrup is caramelized, about three minutes.  Spread on to prepared parchment to cool completely.  Makes 2 cups

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

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It is freeeeeeeeezing outside.  Like the -17 wind chill kind of freezing.  So cold that I nearly grew frost on my eyebrows this morning just going from my car into the grocery store.  It makes me want to do a whole lot of absolutely nothing except for stay in my cozy house and whip up a pot of cozy, warm, comforting soup; this chicken wild rice wonder is perfect for just that, so rich and just plain delicious.  It’s considered a Minnesota staple and I tell you what…it’s one of the only things that makes this states winter weather bearable for me.  Warming at its best!

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Adapted from Lunds and Byerlys

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon Butter

1 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Cup Diced Onion

1 Cup Diced Carrot

1/2 Teaspoon Dried Thyme

2 Cups Cooked Wild Rice

2 Cups Cooked Shredded Chicken (rotisserie chicken is fast and a great time saver for this recipe)

1 1/2 Teaspoons Salt

1/2 Teaspoon Pepper

3-4 Cups Chicken Stock

1 Cup Heavy Cream

1 Tablespoon White Wine Vinegar

1/4 Cup Sliced or Slivered Almonds

Directions

Melt butter and olive oil over medium heat in a heavy soup pot or dutch oven.  Add onion, carrot and thyme and sauté until onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes.  Add the rice, chicken, salt and pepper and enough chicken stock to cover the ingredients by about 1 inch.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.  Stir in cream, vinegar and almonds, return to a simmer and let cook for 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serves 4-6.

 

 

Green Bean Gratin

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This dish was created on a whim.  We were having my in laws over for a last minute dinner and I didn’t have time to get to the market so I needed to make due with what we had on hand.  I planned on making a pork tenderloin we had in the freezer with a cranberry sauce and roasted potatoes.  I had a bag of green beans in the freezer that I thought I would put to use but I felt the meal needed something saucy and cheesy so regular old roasted or sautéed green beans were not going to cut it.  I have had many gratins:  spinach, cauliflower, potato and so on.  I had also had “green bean casserole” and could do without all of the canned, processed soup.  So here was the result:  Green Bean Gratin.

This gratin is, without a doubt, Thanksgiving feast worthy.  It is dynamite…really really tasty and the reviews were out of this world.  Aside from being absolutely delicious and nothing but REAL ingredients it could not be more simple.  It’s almost embarrassing to share this with you because there is just nothing to it.  Easy peasy AND delicious comfort all in one?  Yes please….Ill take two.

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Green Bean Gratin

Use whatever dried whole grain breadcrumbs your family prefers.  I made my own with sprouted grain bread and they worked great.

Ingredients

24 Ounces Frozen Whole Green Beans

1 Cup Shredded Gouda Cheese

1 Cup Heavy Cream

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

1 Teaspoon Salt

1/2 Teaspoon Pepper

1/3 Cup Dried Whole Grain Breadcrumbs

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 and grease a 9×13 baking dish.  Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil, add green beans and cook for two minutes; drain and dry the beans on a kitchen towel or paper towels.  Stir the nutmeg, salt and pepper into the cream.  Spread out half of the green beans in the baking dish, top with half the cheese and half the cream.  Repeat with remaining green beans, then the rest of the cheese and the rest of the cream.  Mix breadcrumbs and olive oil in a small bowl and sprinkle them on top of the gratin.  Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes or until sauce is thick and bubbly and breadcrumbs are browned.  Serve immediately.  Serves 4.

Nourished Zucchini Bread

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Not going to lie, when I put this recipe together and mixed these ingredients up I thought there was no way this was going to work, let alone be tasty.  I thought it would be something to go off of for the next time I try to get it right.  The reason I doubted it?  I mean, it hardly has any sweetener at all.  Like literally 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup and THATS IT.  I added the banana to the recipe in hopes that it would work as a sweetener without being able to taste too much of the actual banana flavor…I wanted zucchini bread,  not banana bread, but i doubted this was possible.  To sum it up…when I put this recipe together my goal was to utilize the beautiful and plentiful zucchini available by making a bread that was just the right texture, truly healthy and, most importantly, tasted sweet and comforting.  

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As I have shared with you before, I am not too much of a baker.  Coming up with recipes for baked goods is a toughy for me.  It takes me try after try to get one right because making baked goods nutritional is just not easy.  And because baking requires a whole lot of science that I prefer to leave to test kitchens such as Cooks Illustrated.  So, for lack of better terms, I’m feeling the need to be a little boastful, folks.  This zucchini bread recipe?  I did it.  When my daughter and I tasted it I couldnt believe how much we enjoyed it, it was so so yummy.  But I thought maybe it was just us.  I mean, after all, I am pregnant and she eats paint so maybe we weren’t the best critics; the true test would be when Nick got home from work.  The minute he had his first bite he said, “this is healthy?”.  Want to know what he said next?  “You should sell this”.  And that, my friends, was my cue to share this recipe with you.  It’s genuinely healthy and packed with nutrients and the best part?  It tastes so good its sellable 🙂  

Nourished Zucchini Bread

Note:  The bread looks a little dark because of the buckwheat flour.  I chose to use buckwheat flour because of its protein, fiber, antioxidants and potential ability to lower blood sugar.  If you do not have buckwheat flour or would prefer not to use it you can replace it with oat flour in this recipe.  

Ingredients

1 1/4 Cup Oat Flour

1/2 Cup Buckwheat Flour

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon salt

1/3 Cup Butter or Coconut Oil, melted

1/2 Cup Mashed Ripe Banana

1/4 Cup Pure Maple Syrup (no sugar added)

2 Eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 Cups Grated Zucchini (grated with a box grater)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9 X 5 loaf pan.  If you do not have oat flour its very simple to create a flour from old fashioned oats.  Simply place the 1 1/4 cups of oats in the food processor and process until they become a flour-like texture.  

In a medium bowl whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  In a large bowl whisk together butter or coconut oil, banana, maple syrup and egg until combined; stir in zucchini.  Stir dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just incorporated, pour into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cool completely before removing from pan and cutting.  Makes 1 loaf.