Category: Recipes

refrigerator dill pickles

8/2/2015

It's that time of year! Our garden is producing some delicious goodies (tomatoes are taking a little longer than usual but it looks like there will be a great bounty in a few days!). Kenrick whipped up an amazing batch of refrigerator dill pickles! He lost count on the salt (only had 1/2 tsp measuring spoon so on the way to 8 lost count) - so they have an extra kick to them haha Enjoy this recipe and please share with us any recipes/canning you're doing from your gardens!

Ingredients:
2 pounds of pickling cucumbers
1 1/2 C white vinegar
1/8 C sugar
4 tsps kosher salt
2 tsps mustard seeds
2 C hot water
1 C chopped fresh dill
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
5 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

Directions:
Wash the cucumbers. Slice the cucumbers into spears. Stir together the vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, and hot water. Let the mixture cool for a few minutes. Toss together the cucumbers, dill, and garlic in a large bowl. Pour the brine over the cucumbers. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (we placed a plate on the top of the bowl to keep the cucumbers totally submerged under the brine). Refrigerator for 48 hours. Remove after 48 hours and place the cucumbers in large mason jars. Pour some of the brine into each jar to cover the pickles. Store in the fridge and snack away!!

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Green Smoothie

7/6/2015

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Green Smoothie Recipe

We finally fired up the NutriBullet!! We received this as a family gift from my parents and I have been nervous to try our first recipe - this beast of a machine is intimidating. My daughter was especially excited to try this thing out - so we watched a youtube video, browsed some recipes (we tweaked some and got creative) and voila we had a delicious post-dinner smoothie the whole family enjoyed and the NutriBullet is super easy to use! We hope you enjoy it too!

Green Smoothie Recipe
Ingredients:
1/3 C of coconut milk - you can't beat Silk Coconut Milk
2 T of peanut butter (you can use any type of nut butter you want) - we love the Peanut Butter and Company Smooth Operator
1/2 C of a handful of spinach
1 banana
1 T chia seeds (or flax)
1/3 C of blueberries

Place all ingredients in the NutriBullet (coconut milk first then the next 5) and let it do its thing!!

Enjoy! Dip another banana into the smoothie while you drink - we learned that's good too. This recipe will be thick and delicious.

The kitchen madness!!

The finished product!!

Our taste tester approves!

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Maple Nut Granola

6/8/2015

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Kenrick found this recipe on eatingwell.com a few years ago and we have used this as our go-to homemade granola recipe ever since! The great thing about it - is that you can adjust it to your liking (dried fruit choices, etc). We love it fresh out of the oven and also over top of greek yogurt!

Ingredients:
5 C old-fashioned rolled oats
1 C unsweetened coconut chips
1/2 C sliced almonds
1/2 C coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 C light brown sugar (we reduce to 1/4 C and it's still sweet and yummy!)
1/3 C unsalted pumpkin seeds
1/3 C unsalted sunflower seeds
1/2 C pure maple syrup
1/2 C water
1/4 C canola oil
1/2 C dried cranberries
1/2 C raisins

As shown above, combine oats, coconut, almonds, pecans, brown sugar, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds in a large bowl.

Combine syrup, water, and oil in a medium bowl or large measuring cup and pour over the oat mixture; stir until well combined.

Next, spread the mixture into two rimmed baking sheets. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir, and continue baking until golden brown and the oats are crispy, between 40 and 45 minutes more. When I take the pans out to stir the oats after the first 45 minutes, I place the pan that had been on the top rack onto the bottom rack and vice versa to get an even bake for the next 45 minutes. So it will be about an hour and a half total. (Kenrick prefers a crunchier style so he leaves it in for about 50 minutes - we battle over this every time we bake it! haha - He also roasts his marshmallows to a burnt crisp for smores - weird!?!)

Once the oats mixture is baked to your liking - you can remove and let cool. Then you can add your choice of dried fruit - we always stick with cranberries and raisins but get creative!! Then dig in!!

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four ingredient Potato Leek Soup

2/8/2015

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We were introduced to this simple and delicious soup a few years ago at fellow triathlete and good friend Mandy L.'s house. She paired it with salmon that night and it was a nutritious hearty dinner. So if you're looking for a simple, quick way to have a delicious side to fish, chicken, or other meaty main course - read on!

Ingredients:
2 bunches of leeks (rinsed, trimmed into 1/2 inch slices)
About 5-6 potatoes (depending on size of potato) (rinsed, peeled, and cut into quarters)
Chicken broth
Butter
Salt & Pepper to taste

Recipe:
Begin by rinsing the leeks thoroughly under water. They can get lots of dirt in between so you want to spread apart the leeks and then cut into 1/2 inch slices. Cut off the bottom bulb of the leek and also the very top dark green parts, those get too tough. Place cut leeks and some butter (about three tablespoons) into the soup pot and cook on low/medium heat until the leeks are soft and bright in color.

The next step is to add the peeled and quartered potatoes. You really just have to use your best judgment as to how many to add. Use the next pic as a guide but each time you make the soup you start to get your bearings as to how many to put in. Once you've added the potatoes, then pour in chicken broth until the leeks and potatoes are just covered.

Once the potatoes and leeks are covered bring to a boil and let a gentle boil cook down the chicken broth. Once most of the chicken broth has been absorbed, take a potato masher and mash it all together. If it's too thick, just add some chicken broth again and stir to the consistency you'd like. Add salt and pepper to taste and there you go! A wonderful, hearty dish for these cold winter months!

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Almond butter Brownies

1/12/2015

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These brownies are delicious and have no flour, sugar, and only egg whites. Enjoy!!

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Ingredient List - (tip: Have your ingredients already measured out because you will want to add each ingredient and stir quickly)

1 (16 oz) container almond butter
4 egg whites
1 C honey
1 T vanilla
1/2 C Unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 C chocolate chips (can use carob chips - we used semi-sweet chocolate chips)

In a large mixing bowl, stir together each ingredient in the order as outlined in the ingredient list. Whisk thoroughly before adding the next ingredient. Oil a 9x13 baking pan and pour in batter. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top - or you can stir them into the batter. We used a little less than 1 C of chips and just sprinkled on top. Bake for 35-40 minutes, if you like your brownies a little gooier start at 30 minutes and check them.

Enjoy!!

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Black Bean 'n PUmpkin Chili

10/29/2014

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Ingredients:

2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 sweet yellow pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (15 oz. each) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15oz.) solid-pack pumpkin
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
3 C chicken broth
2 1/2 C cubed cooked turkey (we used chicken)
2 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
Cubed avocado and thinly sliced green onions

Preparations:
In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, pepper and garlic; cook and stir until tender.
Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker; stir in the remaining ingredients. Cook, covered, on low 4-5 hours. Top with avocado and green onions. We altered the recipe and went with cheese!

Enjoy!

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Butternut Squash Risotto Recipe

10/6/2014

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Butternut Squash Risotto

Ingredients-
4 C low-sodium chicken broth
2 T olive oil
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 T finely chopped fresh sage
1 small butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and grated (about 4 C)
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 C arborio rice
1 C dry white wine
1/2 C (2 ounces) grated parmesan

Warm the broth in a small saucepan over low heat. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, salt, and pepper and cook for 4 minutes. Add the sage and cook for 1 minute. Add the squash and garlic and cook until the squash begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid is absorbed, about 3 minutes. Add the broth, 1/2 C at a time, stirring occasionally and waiting until it is absorbed before adding more. It should take about 30 minutes for all the broth to be absorbed. Remove from heat and stir in the parmesan. Spoon into individual bowls. Enjoy!

*We didn't have fresh sage so we substituted dry and just did a few sprinkles. We also didn't have parmesan on hand but the dish still had tons of flavor!!

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refrigerator dill pickles

Green Smoothie

Green Smoothie Recipe

Maple Nut Granola

four ingredient Potato Leek Soup

Almond butter Brownies

Black Bean 'n PUmpkin Chili

Butternut Squash Risotto Recipe

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