Veggie Soup

1 Medium Yellow Onion, Diced
4 Stalks Celery, Diced
5 Cloves of Garlic, Diced
2 Cloves of Shallots, Diced
3 Chicken Stock Pouches (TJs)
3 Cups Water
6 High Lycopene Tomatoes, Diced
1/2 Can Tomato Paste
6 Small Tri Colored Potatoes, Diced
4 Carrots Peeled, Diced
1 Cup Frozen Peas
1 Cup Frozen Fava Beans
1 Tablespoon Himalyan Sea Salt
1 Tablespoon  Cracked Pepper
2 Tablespoons Basil
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
Olive Oil

Dice Onion, Garlic, Celery, Shallots.
Saute in olive oil until soft.
Add diced potatoes and saute 3-5 minutes.
Add saute into crock pot.
Add chicken stock, water, carrots, tomatoes, peas, fava beans, sea salt, pepper, basil, soy sauce, tomato paste

Cook for 3-4 Hours in Crock Pot on Low, or until veggies are tender.

Serve with Oyster Crackers

Low and Slow Black Bean Soup

Black Bean Soup
1 bag of dried black beans, soaked and drained
8 cups of super stock or water with a couple bouillon cubes
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp. cumin
1 tbsp. oregano
2-3 tbsp. salt

*top secret: I add a bouillon cube to the super stock- shhh don't tell*

Bring liquid and seasoning to a rolling boil.  Add in beans.  Return to a bowl.  Reduce to a low simmer and cover for 3-4 hours.  Remove lid an hour before serving and return to a medium simmer.  You will definitely need to taste and add salt.  (I haven't tried, but I am sure this would do well in the crock pot)

Rice& Sausage
1 chorizo sausage
2 diced leeks
1 cup of cooked brown rice

Sauté sausage and leeks in a pan until they are crispy add rice and mix well.

To serve:
Place rice in the bottom and spoon bean soup over top.  Add your favorite toppings-We like cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream and pickled onions for toppings.

Pickled Red Onions

This is my new favorite condiment!

1 large red onion
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
2/3 cup cold water
* I like them a little more sour so I do 1/2 c each of vin and water*

Tightly pack the onions in a wide mouth jar and pour liquid mixture over the top until the onions are fully submerged.  Seal and place in the fridge for at least 3 hours. 

Twice - Baked Sweet Potatoes

2 Medium-large sweet potatoes
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3/4 cup stemmed and chopped Tuscan kale
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup grated Parmsean
2 tsp. chopped thyme
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 C crumbled feta

1. Preheat oven to 400.  Rinse sweet potatoes and pick them a few times with a fork.  Roast in a baking pan until tender, 45 - 60 minutes.  Let cool for 20 minutes

2. In a medium skillet, warm oil over medium-low heat.  Saute onion until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add kale; saute until wilted, 1-2min.

3. Slice sweet potatoes in half lengthwise, carefully hollow out with a spoon and place flesh in a large bowl.  Add kale mixture, yogurt, parmesan, thyme, and salt; mix thoroughly.

4. Carefully spoon a quarter of the filling into each potato skin.  Top with feta and return to roasting pan.  Bake until cheese is golden and sweet potatoes are thoroughly warmed.  15-20 minutes.

-Health Magazine January/February 2015

Whole grain bran muffin

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups wheat bran (about 4 1/4 ounces) 

1 cup whole pitted dates (about 6 ounces) 

3/4 cup fresh orange juice 

1 cup fat-free buttermilk 

1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 medium) 

2 tablespoons butter, melted 

2 tablespoons canola oil 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

4.5 ounces whole-grain pastry flour (about 1 cup) 

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

2  large eggs, lightly beaten 

Cooking spray

Preparation

Hands-on: 25 Minutes

Total: 1 Hour, 25 Minutes

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Spread bran on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring once.

3. Combine dates and juice in a medium saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat; uncover and let stand 5 minutes. Place date mixture in a food processor or blender; process until smooth. Add buttermilk and next 4 ingredients (through vanilla); process until smooth.

4. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, bran, baking powder, and next 3 ingredients (through salt) in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add date mixture to bran mixture, stirring just until moist. Add eggs, stirring just until combined. Place 12 muffin cup liners in muffin cups; coat liners with cooking spray. Spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake at 350° for 28 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of muffins comes out clean. Remove muffins from pan; cool on a wire rack.

Pulled Pork- Italian Style

2-3 lb pork butt or roast.  Have the butcher tie it for you
1 small yellow onion chopped
3 garlic cloves smashed
1 bulb of fennel chopped
4 carrots chopped
2 bay leaves
2 tbs salt
1 tbs pepper
1 tbs paprika
1 bottle of red wine
1 small can of tomato paste
1 small can of diced tomatoes
1 small can of tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 300
Coat pork in mixture of s, p and paprika.  Brown on all sides in a large Dutch oven with coating of olive oil. Remove and add in all chopped vegetables and bay leaves. deglaze with red wine. Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes. add in all cans of tomatoes. Being back to a simmer.  Place pork in the center and spoon liquid over the top. Cover tightly and put in the oven for 3 hours.  Remove from oven.  Shred the pork with two forks. Place back in the oven uncovered for 30 mins.  We serve with either polenta or fettuccini noodles and top with parsley and parm.
Enjoy!

Gwyneth Love

GP's Chicken Soup with Kale and Carrots

For those of you who don't have Gwyneth Paltrow's two cookbooks I am sharing her Chicken Soup.  I highly recommend both of her cookbooks.  The recipes are great.
I copied her recipe exactly.  She just adds chicken, kale, and carrots, but obviously you could add whatever you like to the soup.

• 1 whole 3-4 lb chicken
• 1 celery stalk roughly stalked
• 1 large leek, thoroughly washed and roughly chopped (including the dark green parts)
• 1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped, plus 
• 2 more carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 yellow onion quartered
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 leafy sprigs of thyme
• 1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 2 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 bunch of kale, leaves stripped off the stems in bite-sized pieces
• freshly ground black pepper

Combine the chicken, celery, leek, 1 roughy chopped carrot, onion, bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns and salt in a large soup pot and cover with cold water (it will take about 10 cups).  Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat and simmer soup for 2 hours.  Strain the stock into a clean soup pot and discard the cooked vegetables.  Pull the white meat off the chicken and cut into a rough dice.  Reserve the dark meat for another use (or you can add it to the soup if you like).  Add the diced chicken breast, the 2 diced carrots, and the kale to the soup and simmer for an additional 20 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.