Broccoli, Chicken, Quinoa Soup

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked quinoa

5 cups water

1 cup chicken broth (or an additional cup of water if you do not have any)

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped mushroom

2 cups chopped broccoli

2 cups diced cooked organic chicken

4 T flour (I used freshly ground soft white wheat.)

1 T olive oil

2 cloves of garlic - diced

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

salt and pepper to taste

In a large stock pot, saute carrots, onion, celery, mushroom, broccoli, and garlic until just slightly tender.  Add water, chicken stock, chicken, quinoa, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper.  Simmer on medium.  When the liquid has been heated, remove 1 cup of the broth (in a measuring cup or small bowl) and with a wisk or fork add 4 tablespoons of flour and stir rapidly.  This will begin to thicken.  Slowly add this liquid back to the soup, stirring as you pour it.  Continue to allow the soup to simmer until flavors have had time to blend together.  Serve immediately or turn the soup off and and let it sit, continuing to season, until you are ready to eat. (I allowed mine to simmer for about 5 minutes then turned it off.  We ate it about an hour later.)

I served this with homemade bread.  A fresh salad would be great with it as well.  You could double this recipe and freeze the leftover portion in order to have a quick meal to pull out of the freezer.

You could easily add different vegetables or leave out the ones you do not have on hand.  I had several leftover organic chicken legs.  I used the broth I had saved from baking my chicken and chopped the chicken up.  (Note - I always add more water to the chicken I bake in order to have broth to reserve for something later.  You can freeze the broth until you are ready to use it!)

Soups make an easy way to use up what you have in the refrigerator.  This soup was created by what I had leftover from the week.  Try creating your own recipe sometime.  Just take the leftovers that sound like they might be good together!

Forks Over Knives Trailer.....

The feature film Forks Over Knives examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods.  Take time to watch this amazing documentary.  It no doubt helped me to refine my food habits!  Plant based diets have proven over time to help people remain healthy and even reverse degenerative disease.

You can watch the movie on several online places including Netflix.  Movie2k has also it posted for free.

Pretzel, Banana, & Almond Butter Snack

My oldest daughter came up with this great snack. It works well as an after school or at bedtime if it's been a while since kids have eaten dinner. It could even work as lunch!

Pretzels
Sliced Bananas
Almond Butter (any nut butter will work)
Flax Seed Meal

Layer bananas on top of pretzels. Add almond butter, and sprinkle flax seed meal next. Top with another pretzel. Enjoy!

Orange Delight Smoothie!

Ingredients:
4 fresh oranges
2 cups fresh spinach
1 cup almond milk
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 cups ice
10-15 drops stevia








Place all ingredients into the blender. Blend well and serve! Makes 30 ounces.

Don't let the green fool you! You cannot taste the spinach. This is a way to get protein, fiber, calcium, and tons of phytonutrients! This recipe is kid tested. My kids love this combination. Our friend next door even asked his mom to get the recipe!

Healthy Homemade Granola

Ingredients:
6 cups whole rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup raw honey
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup water
1 T. vanilla
1 cup "add ins" such as dried fruit, carob chips, etc.

Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl (except for add ins). In a pot combine honey, oil, and water. Heat on low until mixed together.




Pour liquid mixture over dry mixture. Stir until dry mixture is wet.


Pour mixture onto 2 baking sheets and spread evenly on pans. Bake at 350 until oats are crunchy. Stir mixture every 10-15 minutes.  Remove from the oven when crisp and pour into an airtight container.  Add additional items to suit your taste.  I added dried cranberries this time.  Leave the lid off and continue to stir every 15 minutes until granola is cool.  Cover with the lid and store!

Lettuce Wraps & Kale Salad

If you're looking for a super easy healthy meal, this is a great option. When we grill out, we cook extra chicken to use for wraps another night. This time I used rice with it but you could use anything such as barley, quinoia, or make them grain free by adding extra veggies.

Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients:
2 medium cooked organic chicken breasts- finely chopped
2 cups cooked brown rice or other grain
2 cups finely chopped raw vegetables (red pepper, onion, carrots, purple cabbage, water chestnuts, celery, zuchini, broccoli, etc)
1 T Braggs liquid aminos
3 T Ginger Dressing (can be purchased at the store)
1 head "living lettuce"

Place all ingredients except the lettuce in a bowl and toss. Place 2-4 T of the mixture onto a piece of lettuce.  Wrap it up like a tortilla and enjoy! Serves 6.

Kale Salad
Ingredients:
6 pieces of raw kale
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 t olive oil
2 cloves of garlic minced
Salt to taste

Chop kale into small pieces and place in a container that you can refrigerate. (You can keep the stems as you chop or remove them.) Mix the next 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Pour over the kale. Toss and eat immediately or refrigerate to allow kale to marinate. Unlike other lettuce salads that wilt with dressing on them when stored, this salad will keep in the refrigerator for several days!

*The lettuce wraps were inspired by my sweet friend Kathryn Onufrak!  I am always inspired by her creativity in cooking.

Mexican Night!

Ingredients:
4 cups spinach
1/2 Red Bell Pepper- chopped
1 cup Purple Cabbage- chopped
1/2 Onion - chopped
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 bag of Quorn
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup cooked corn
1 cup chopped tomatoes

In a skillet, saute the onion in water until soft.  Add Quorn crumbles, corn, tomatoes, cumin, rice, and salt. Cook on medium until the mixture is heated through.  (I found the quorn in the freezer section of Kroger.)

Now you are ready to serve your dish.  Lay spinach on the bottom.  Top with the rice and quorn mixture.  Add purple cabbage and red bell pepper.  You are also add green onions and salsa if you prefer.  I served this meal with blue corn chips.

This is a quick and easy meal to prepare, and you can adjust the ingredients based on what you have available at the time.

You can also take the quorn mixture, and serve it in a tortilla!

Farm Fresh Eggs!

Our dear friends, Jenny, Sarah Bennett, and Jim came to Oxford recently and brought us eggs from their chickens. It was such a special gift. We have enjoyed them so much, and look forward to one day when we will have chickens of our own!

Green Juice

Ingredients:
2 stalks kale
1 cup spinach
2 green apples
1 medium cucumber
2 stalks of celery
1/2 lemon
1 small piece of ginger

This recipe is for juicing. Place the kale and spinach in the juicer followed by the ginger. Then after that has run in the juicer for about a minute, add the other ingredients.  I use as many organic fruits and vegetables that I can get locally.  This makes about 24 ounces. Drink immediately and enjoy!

Thanks to my friend Binky for this recipe! It has become one of our favorites.

Homemade Granola Bars

Ingredients:
2 cups raw oats
2 cups puffed rice
1/2 cup flax seed meal
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 cups of "add ins"*
(dried fruit; carob chips; pretzels; nuts; seeds; etc)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup raw honey

Directions:
Put a thin coating of coconut oil in a 9x12 baking dish or pan of your choice.  Cut a 9x12 piece of parchment paper to press the mixture in the pan.

Place raw honey and coconut oil in a pan on the stove.  Heat on low until the two are melted together.  Stir well. Do not boil. Turn the stove off and let mixture sit while you are combining your other ingredients.

Place all the dry ingredients above in a large mixing bowl. Stir well.  Pour the honey/coconut oil mixture over the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly until the ingredients are coated with the liquid.


Then spoon the mixture into the 9x12 pan and press it down with the parchment paper.  You can even use a rolling pan to press more evenly.  Place the pan in the refrigerator to allow it to chill.  Then cut and serve!  Store in the refrigerator.



Take time to EXPERIMENT with ingredients you have or prefer.  Replace the puffed rice with more oats or with barley oats.  You can even add a few tablespoons of cocoa or carob powder for a chocolate taste.  The more granola bars you make, the better you will become at developing the taste and consistency that is your preference!

Spinach Salad

Salad
Ingredients:
4 cups raw spinach
1/2 cup shredded purple cabbage
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
2 hearts of palm - sliced
2 T feta
6 grape tomatoes - chopped
4 baby portobello mushrooms

Wash and dry spinach. Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pour dressing on top, toss, and serve!  This made 2 servings.

Dressing:
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 cloves of garlic - minced
Dash of celtic sea salt

After a morning of juicing, my friend, Katie Anderson, and I fixed this salad for lunch. It was light but filling. It was great as a meal but could also make a side dish.

Pear Pie

Last summer, our neighbor gave us pears from their farm. I canned them to use throughout the year. Tonight, Clayton made a pie with them.

Crust:
4 cups soft white wheat four- freshly ground
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
10-14 T cold water
(I used a deep dish pie pan that was my grandmother's.)


Filling:
4 cups of canned pears from last summer!
2 T arrowroot flour (or regular flour)

Grind soft white wheat berries into flour.  Place 4 cups of flour in the food processor with the salt.  Add the coconut oil (it will be solidified, so it will be thick and white in color).  Pulse the food processor until the coconut oil is combined.  Then add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse the food processor.  Add water until the flour mixture begins to turn into a ball.  You want your dough to stick together but not be too wet.  If it gets too wet, just add a little more flour.  When it is the right consistency, remove it from the processor and divide it into 2 balls.  One will be for the crust and the other for the top.


Put flour on the surface you are going to roll the dough out onto.  Place the ball in the center and put flour on top of it.  Roll out the dough into a circle.  It will be about 1/4 inch thick.  Then place the piece of dough into a pie pan and smooth the bottom.  Tuck the edges of the crust under and pinch them all around the edge of the pan.

Now it is time to put your pears into the pie pan.  Before I did this, I poured them from my canning jar into a bowl and added 2 T arrowroot flour to the juice, so it would thicken as the pie cooked.  Otherwise the pie would have lots of liquid in it after it cooked.  You could also just add some of your freshly ground flour.





Then you can use your other ball of dough and roll it out as well.  I usually roll mine thicker than my crust.  Cut the dough into strips and arrange them on the pie in a basketweave formation.