Sunday, February 26, 2012

The BEST NEW LUNCH IDEA...

One of my boys is super picky and so finding new Kosher, peanut free lunch ideas that he will ACTUALLY eat is difficult. We have branched out from organic pizza rolls to the Organic Nacho bean and Cheese rolls...totally stoked about that. We have even added banana mini chip waffles to the rotation...but this...this is totally Stupendous! A must try...EVERYONE in the family is gorging!....Are you ready?... wait for it...WAIT for it...

                                              WAFFLED MACARONI AND CHEESE

Yep, you heard me right! Ever had those cheese mac & cheese balls...these are like those times ten! One hint...Spritz your waffle maker with olive oil after every waffle! Check them out! We even froze a bunch for quick lunch and snack ideas.

***AND if you wanna be healthy...add some baby spinach or broccolli. The possibilities are endless!

2 Meals in One...Meal 2: Roast beef Sliders with a Zippy Lentil Soup

Now that you have dined on this superb roast...Are you ready for sliders?

Zippy Beef Sliders
Break up the remaining beef and warm up. you can warm in a micro or on low on the stove. I prefer to steam it so it retains its moisture. No matter how you do it, warm up your meat. Then, spoon onto your buns (you can toast if you prefer).  Top with a thick slice of Swiss cheese. Please all in a cake pan, cover in foil and warm in a 300 degree oven until cheese is melted.

**Don't have left over roast, use cooked chipped beef or chop up Roast beef lunch meat.
I served with Lentil soup

Zippy Red Lentil Soup

1/2 t cumin

1/2 t hot paprika
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 bay leaves
2 quarts low-sodium vegetable broth
2 14½ ounce can petite-diced tomatoes
1 pound (2½ cups) dried red lentils (I bought bulk organic red lentils)
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 medium cloves of garlic, chopped
Kosher Salt


1. Add all ingredients to your stock pot and bring to a boil. Stir frequently so the lentils do not stick. Remove any foam that forms while cooking. reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Lentils should be tender but not dissolving! :) Serve with a dolup of sour cream or my favorite a dollop of plain greek yogurt!

2 Meals in One...Meal 1: Zippy Beef Roast

Wegmans had Organic, Grass-fed beef onslae today, so, I picked up 3 lb chuck roasts for about $14.00 a peice. I found a recipe online that I thought I would spin to create 2 nights worth of meals. The orginal recipe uses basically 3 seaoning envelops from the store to create the flavor, but those things are chuck full of all kinds of sodium and chemicals. So, simplified it a bit and it turned out deiciously! Here is my 2-4-1 special!

Crockpot Zippy Beef Roast
2-3lb chuck roast
1 cup Brown gravy with onion
Italian seasoning: 1t garlic powder, 1t oregano, 1 1/2t parsley, 1/2 t basil. 1/4t thyme, 1/4t celery
Salt and Pepper
12 oz jar of Hot Organic Salsa


1. Brown the roast in a skillet (I used cast iron). Remove the roast and place in the crockpot. Saute 1/2 onion until carmelized (Shh! Don't tell my hubbie!), then I removed and pureed (so the big guy wouldn't fuss). In the pan I then, whisked together 1cup beef broth with 2T corn starch. Stired the onion puree back in and let it simmer until it was adequately thick. While thickening, I added my Italian seasoning (instead of the junky dry envelop). Finally I poured it over my beef in the crockpot follwed by the jar of salsa.
2. Cook on low for 6 hours. It should fall apart. I served with potato (and other veggie rounds). Save leftover beef for Meal 2: Zippy Sliders

***This can all be made ahead and frozen also.

Potato (and other Veggie) Rounds: Cut baking potatoes into 1/4" slices. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake in single layer cookie sheet for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees. After 10-15 minutes, add a second pan of sliced zucchini and yellow squash. Again, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake and additional 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and bake until melted. *you can also add bacon peices her also if you so choose.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Dinner Ideas for the week

Baked Penne with Italian Sausage (2days)
**I am craving pene and italian sausage...I don't care if my hubbies doesn't really care for italian sausage. He can have chops that night!

Beef Stew with challah poppers (2 days)

Veggie stir fry with soba noodles
***with sugar snapped peas

Eggplants Croquettes

Crunchy Chicken and Pasta- something along these lines

A healthy version of These yummy Taquitos

Butternut Squash Risotta

After cooking everyone a different meal, I finally got around to me...Leftovers it is...but not in the traditional way. We gorged on a 2lb. Organic free range chicken last night. I roasted it in the oven slowly...mouthwatering. If you haven't tried organic, free-ranged chicken, you just don't know what you are missing. No dinky, shrinky cooked chicken over here. Anywho, I had some left over chicken and half a baked butternut squash, but I was craving risotto...so...

Butternut Squash Risotto++

1T butter (I used Earthy balance)

1TOlive Oil
3/4 c arborio rice
1/4 c dry white wine
2-3 c veggie stock
1/2 medium butternut squash

4 stalks asparagus, sauteed
sliced chicken

Heat oven to 425˚. Cut butternut squash in half, brush both sides with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place cut side up on a baking tray and roast for 45-55 minutes until squash is tender. Remove from oven and let cool. Once cooled slightly, scoop out the squash into a large bowl and mash until smooth or place in a food processor and pulse until smooth.


Microwave stock in a measure cup for 2 minutes until hot. Then, in a pan melt butter with olive oil and saute the asparagus. When, al dente, add in one additional tablespoon of butter. Once melted add in rice again. Allow the butter and rice to meld for a minute or 2, then add in the wine. Once the wine has evaporated, laddle in 2 spoonfuls of warm stock.Again, allow to evaporate before adding in more stock. This will allow the rissotto to soften without being soup or mushy.

While you are working on the risotto, mash up the left over squash (or process it). As the rice softens, stir in the squash. Once finished, serve topped with the warm asparagus and plated with leftover chicken!

Choco-Banana Cheerio Balls

One had one last box of cheerios in the house. So, I decided to go ahead and get through this box and replace it with something healthier. The box is a sassy Banana Nut Cheerios. Hmm... what was I thinking when I purchased that one! Luckily my little Tonka Truck loves it and takes large chubby handfuls at a time while he leaves me trails to follow throughout the house. Mr. Pickey on the other hand wants nothing to do with them. So, instead of another lifetime with this nutty box, I decided to dress them up a bit for Mr. Pickey...now I will admit, this is mt my healthiest recipe and I will inevitable live to regret it when Mr. Pickey gets one of his super duper sugar highs...but then again...what are daddies for????

Choco-Banana Cheerio Balls

Heat up 1T of butter (I used Earth's Balance) and  1/2 c of marshmallows for 2 minutes in the microwave. Remove and stir in 1-2T of Nutella. Then, dump in the Cheerios to your hearts content.
**I did add in 1T of ground flax to make me feel a little better!
Then, I formed in to balls and chilled!

Friday, February 17, 2012

Chiplote Beef Short Ribs

Whole foods had short ribs on sale last week and they just happen to be my hubbies favorite. Needless to say we stocked up! We bought approx. 2 lbs for just over $12.00! They are beautiful...big and meaty! They tasted spectaular in the slow cooker with a yummy chipolte marinade and homemade Quinoa!

Chipolte Lime Short Ribs

Marinade:
3 limes, juice and zest
1/4 cup olive oil
2 T chipotle chili pepper
1 T salt
2 cloves garlic

2lbs. Short Ribs

I put all the marinade ingredients in the food processor and chop, chop, chopped it! Then, I put the short ribs in the slowcooker, dumped in the yummy smelling marinade and cooked on high for 4 hours. (I normally would cook on low, but it was already 3pm and I forgot to start dinner...oops! Good thing we were going to take the kids out and play before dinner!)

Saturday, February 4, 2012

The Organic Way... Oh! Chili Please

I'm Back! After a long hiatus, I am back and ready to start posting again. Life has finally settled down and I can't wait to start sharing all my culinary creations. Many things at home have changed and so has our culinary focus. We are now solely eating organic and avoid all processed foods. I read every label before it enters my home. I have a laundry list of chemicals (aptly named) we completely avoid, but to keep it simple basically if I can't read it, I don't buy it. Now, to preface this...I have not won the lottery and I shop primarily at Whole Foods. For a family of 5 (3 adults and 2 kiddos) I spend roughly $120-150 a week on groceries. I will try to share the pricing as often as possible so you can see how sensible organic can be. So, here is my first new recipe...

Oh! Chili Please!
1 can Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed ($0.89)
1 can White Northern Beans, drained and rinsed ($0.89)
1 can Lime and Chile Refried Beans ($1.19)
1 can Petite Diced Tomatoes ($0.49)
1 box Beef broth ($1.99)
1/2 lb ground Turkey ($3.49)
 1/2 lb ground Beef ($2.70)
1T Chili powder
1t Hungarian Paprika
1t Cumin
1t Garlic powder
1 1/2t salt

***Reminder All ingredients are ORGANIC and all spices are from a local Amish market

In a large pot, brown the meat. Drain and pour in remaining ingredients. Simmer for 15-20 minutes and serve.

Servings: This recipe provided 7 hearty (adult) servings for a total of $11.64, that is ONLY $1.66 a serving for an ALL ORGANIC recipe. Not bad if you ask me!