Mjaddra

This is so yummy! This is my favorite dish to get at the local Middle Eastern restaurant. I will have to say that after making this for the first time I would make twice the amount of caramelized onions and only puree some of them. I'm making the changes in the recipe below so you don't have to. Please forgive the horrible pix - the lighting was so wrong.

Mjaddra
1 cup lentils
1/3 cup rice
3 1/2 cups water
2 large onions
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil or coconut oil
salt and pepper to taste

Put lentils, rice and water in saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Cook for about 50 mins or till rice and lentils are tender.

Meanwhile, slice your onions and put them in a skillet with oil. Cook over medium/low heat till carmelized. This will take about 35 minutes or so. Stir occasionally.

When onions are done, blender all but 1/4 - 1/3 cup. Mix in with cooked lentils and rice and season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 more minutes. When serving, serve remaining onions on the top.

The rice and lentils should not have any liquid in them. If they get done too quickly like mine did, just drain out water.

Coconut Milk Ice Cream

I was told about this ice cream from a dear friend, Mindy Wade. I was looking for a dairy and soy free dessert. Not wanting either one is very hard to find. She told me about this coconut milk ice cream and I thought I'd get a pint while at Whole Foods. To my surprise it was not only on sale, but the flavor was lovely! My son and I both loved it very much. We got the coconut flavored ice cream which had flakes of coconut in it. Mmm! I'm hoping that each time we make the trip down to Whole Foods, we can get a new flavor to try.

You can visit their online site here to see what they offer as well as get money saving coupons. A pint on sale cost $3.99.

Green Smoothie

I've been on a lot of sites lately that tell of the importance of green smoothies. Today we had our first one; Jon and I. It was flat leaf parsley and frozen banana with just a bit of water. It actually tastes quite good. Now if I could just find a cheap Blendtec or Vitamix....

Below are some links about green smoothies.

http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/

http://www.rawfamily.com/index.htm



Green Smoothie Day 1:
Handful of parsley and frozen banana with a little water.

Day 2:
Handful parsley, frozen banana, 3 romaine leaves and a little water.

Steel Cut Oatmeal

This is by far the best oatmeal recipe out there. I love how the oats smell as you're toasting them. We add agave nectar, organic cinnamon and strawberries to our oatmeal.

Steel Cut Oatmeal
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Show: Good Eats
Episode: Oat Cuisine
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup steel cut oats
3 cups boiling water
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

In a large saucepot, melt the butter and add the oats. Stir for 2 minutes to toast. Add the boiling water and reduce heat to a simmer. Keep at a low simmer for 25 minutes, without stirring.

Combine the milk and half of the buttermilk with the oatmeal. Stir gently to combine and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Spoon into a serving bowl and top with remaining buttermilk, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

Heavenly Whole Wheat Potato Bread

I got this recipe here at recipezaar.

Bread
1 1/8 cup warm water
4 Tablespoons butter cut into pieces
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached flour (not white whole wheat)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 Tablespoons sugar (honey or agave)
1/4 cup dry instant potato flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

Place all ingredients in bread machine in the order listed. Set for a basic bread. This makes a 1 1/2 pound loaf size.

Oven Baked Chicken

I just found the yummiest recipe today and altered it based on our own taste and ingredients we had on hand. Suffice to say, my husband thought this was the best chicken I have ever made. The crust is very yummy and the inside is very moist. Sorry the pix is so dark. I had no idea it’d turn out that bad.


Mandi’s Oven Baked Chicken
2/3 cup italian bread crumbs
2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground sea salt
1/8 teaspoon (or more) fresh ground pepper
3lbs of chicken - I used boneless breasts
5 tablespoons butter
3 freshly minced garlic cloves


In small pan heat butter and garlic just till the butter is melted and turn off heat.


In a small bowl mix crumbs, cheese, salt and pepper.


Heat your oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or foil). Lightly spray with olive oil (or pam).


Next, dredge chicken first in butter and garlic mixture, then the crumbs. Make sure to pat crumb mixture into chicken so it stays on well. Lay chicken in a single layer on your baking sheet. When you have finished coating all your chicken, mix butter and crumb mixture and sprinkle on top of chicken.


Bake for approx. 1 hour or till chicken is done and juice runs clear.

Homemade Pizza

Matthew loves my homemade pizza which is great because it’s not only healthier than most others you can purchase, but it’s cheaper as well. Everyone in our house now knows that Friday is pizza night and they all look forward to it.


My pizza dough recipe makes 2 - 14 inch round pizza’s. We only use one and freeze the other for the next week. I take the frozen dough out and let thaw in the fridge for two days. The day I’m ready to use it, I let lay out on the counter covered till it warms to room temp, then roll out. The sauce recipe I use makes enough for at least 4 pizzas. I put the rest in baggies and place in the freezer for future use. These can easily be thawed on the stove-top or in the microwave.

Enjoy!


Bread Machine Wheat Pizza Dough
1 1/3 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups unbleached flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons yeast
1 tablespoon honey


Place ingredients in bread machine according to your machine’s instructions. Start dough cycle which will take anywhere from 1-2 1/2 hours for most machines.


When dough cycle is complete, divide into two equal portions and roll out to fit your pan. You will need to lightly flour your surface to roll out.


Place on baking stone or a lightly greased pizza pan and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Top with sauce and your favorite toppings.


Bake at 450 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.



Pizza Sauce
1(15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons italian seasoning
2-3 cloves garlic,minced
salt & pepper


The recipe I got this from said to cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes or so. I’ve never done this. I just mix it up and place directly on the pizza dough. This can be frozen and keeps very well.

Pistachio Chicken Salad

I love this salad, however I do not at all like the dressing. Here's the full recipe though.

From the South Beach Diet book:

1/2 cup pistachio nuts, finely ground
1/2 + 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp + 1 pinch freshly ground pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves
2 TBSP coconut oil
1/ cup diced sweet white onion
1 head romaine lettuce

Dressing
1 tsp grated sweet white onion
1 large, ripe avocado, peeled and pitted
3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
3 TBSP lime juice
1 TBSP water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix nuts in a pie plate with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Press the chicken into the mixture. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a skillet and cook the coated breasts 2 minutes on each side. Place the breasts in a baking dish and bake for 15 minutes or until done. Heat the remaining oil in a skillet over high heat. Add the diced onion and the remaining salt and pepper. Cook until onion is browned. Line four plates with the lettuce. Slice the chicken breasts and arrange on breast on top of each salad. Sprinkle the onion on top of that. Serve with the dressing


Dressing: Puree all ingredients in a blender till smooth.

Healthier Roast

This has to be my favorite roast by far!


New! Easy, Healthy Roast!

I just found this recipe online and tweaked it a bit.
1 roast
1 onion sliced
1 package baby carrots
4 smashed garlic cloves
evoo (extra virgin olive oil)
fresh ground pepper
fresh ground sea salt
dried thyme


Season both sides of meat with pepper and salt.


Drizzle a warm pan with olive oil and brown meat on both sides, putting in the onion and garlic after you’ve flipped the roast once.


Drizzle the bottom of your baking dish with olive oil and place the roast inside with the onions and garlic around the dish. Pepper roast again.


Pour in bag of carrots and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and thyme.


Cover with parchment paper and seal well. Bake for about 3 hours or till cooked through and tender.

Bok Choy

Just within the past few months we've been eating bok choy. Before I had heard of it but had no clue what it was. We make it very simply. If you're looking for a way to get calcium - here it is!

Bok Choy
Chopped up stalk and leaves (separately)
soy sauce
olive oil

Put a little olive oil in the bottom of your saucepan and heat on medium.

Put in chopped up stalks and cook for a bit till desired tenderness - we like ours a little crunchy.

Add in the leaves till they get wilty and also add in a few splashes of soy sauce.

It's that easy! This is a lovely side dish that the kids and I love.

Falafel with Tahini Sauce

Ok so I cheated on the Falafel by using a mix. If you want a recipe for falafel, check here.

The recipe for the sauce was also found at the above site but I paired it down.

Tahini Sauce
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup water
parsley (optional)

Mix all together and enjoy on your Falafel. Many recipes call for the falafel to be placed on pita bread and spread with the sauce. I like to skip the bread all-together. I definitely like to have the sauce with the falafel instead of eating it plain.

We paired this with hummus and dates.

El Rancho Chicken

I got this recipe from Recipezaar.com Very lovely site.

3 cups cooked, cubed chicken
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can tomatoes and chili's
1 chopped pepper
1 chopped onion
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
pepper to taste
shredded cheddar cheese
tortilla's

Put all ingredients except cheese and tortilla's in the crockpot and cook on low for 5-7 hours. Serve in tortilla's with cheese.

We've always liked this but I find it's a bit soupy. I think next time I'll drain the tomatoes.