Category Archives: Recipes

09

Dec. ’16

Cuddle Up, it’s Chili

2015-september-274

I decided to post this chili recipe for two reasons. 1. Winter winds have finally hit Delaware in full force and my fingers are numb. 2. It’s what I’m making for dinner today and I can’t wait to eat it.

INGREDIENTS:

2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes, not drained

2 (14.5 oz) cans kidney beans, drained (or pinto beans, or a combination of beans)

 1 lb lean ground beef

1 lb ground Italian sausage (or substitute all beef or all turkey Italian sausage)

1 large onion

3 stalks celery

1 green bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

1 medium zucchini

3 cloves garlic

1 TBS Worcestershire sauce

1 TBS chili powder

1 TBS dried oregano

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp white sugar

1 tsp salt (Kosher or sea salt is best)

1 tsp black pepper (fresh ground is best)

DIRECTIONS:

Chop onion, celery, peppers, and zucchini. Mince the garlic.

Cook the ground beef, ground sausage, onion, celery, zucchini, and peppers over medium high heat until the meats are evenly browned.

Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Cover and simmer over medium low heat for 30 minutes. Serve.

YIELD:

8-10 cups

NOTES:

If you have the time, feel free to simmer longer or once the meats are brown and the veggies are tender, throw it all in a slow cooker for the afternoon.

The splurge of spices makes this chili spectacular and allows for alterations. For example, I’m out of bell peppers, but I have a bag of frozen chopped chard, so I’ll throw that in instead. Voila!

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12

Oct. ’16

Apple Sandwiches

Fall is the time of year when apples rule and my new favorite way to eat them is Apple Sandwiches. The sandwiches are moist, crunchy, easy to make, and a fun way eat your apple-a-day.

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Apple Sandwich

1 apple – Honey Crisp, Granny Smith, or eater’s choice

1-2 ounces Cheddar cheese, sliced

1 slice lunch meat

 

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Directions:

Start on one side and slice the apple into quarter inch slices. These first few slices will look like circles. When you near the core, rotate the apple 90 degrees and slice again. These slices will look like half circles. Repeat this twice more until your core is a rectangle and your final slices are too.

Build your sandwich using apple slices instead of bread.

 

Keep me as the apple of your eye;
    hide me in the shadow of your wings. (Psalm 17:8 NIV)

 

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12

Feb. ’16

Salsa Guacamole Recipe

imageRich in omega 3 and breath freshening garlic, this guacamole goes great with tortilla chips or any dish inspired south of the border.

Ingredients

3 ripe avocados

4 cloves garlic

3 scallions

2 Tb lemon juice

1/2 cup tomato-5 oz. grape or 1 Roma

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tb fresh cilantro

 

imageScoop the avocado out of the shell and squish it with a fork.

Chop the scallions, tomato, and cilantro. Mince the garlic. Mix all ingredients. Scoop and enjoy!

 

 

 

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04

Feb. ’16

National Homemade Soup Day (with recipes)

2014 Sept mid 023Happy Homemade Soup Day! Celebrate with a warm bowl of nutritious goodness!

Soup can be a helpful part of your weight loss journey if your soup is Sexy (Slurp This, Not That).

Making homemade soup is easier than you think and tastes delicious. Click here for step by step instructions for homemade soup in 20 minutes.

Click on a recipe below to try a new soup.

Multi Bean Soup

Potato Chicken Cheddar Soup

Cucumber Soup

Hearty Lentil Soup

 

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16

Jan. ’16

Southwest Salad Recipe

imageSouthwest Salad

Ingredients:

2 cups lettuce, chopped

1 cup chopped or sliced vegetables of your choice: carrot, cucumber, bell pepper, mushroom, broccoli, etc.

1/4 cup black beans

1/4 cup turkey or chicken

1 oz. cheddar cheese, grated

3 tortilla chips, crushed

3 Tb salad dressing – Ranch Southwest OR mix your own using 3 Tb any Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing and a few drops of hot sauce

 

 

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18

Nov. ’15

Sweet Potato Cubes (Recipe)

2015 September 297Watching your weight through the holiday season can be like watching the Titanic maneuver around ice burgs: full speed ahead and hope we don’t crash! If you’re looking for a little maneuverability with your menu (ie a way to cut calories but still enjoy your meal), consider these Sweet Potato Cubes. No added sugar, no butter, no marshmallows, and yet they’re still sweet and delicious. (Imagine that!) Click here on Sweet Potato Cubes for the recipe.

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08

Oct. ’15

Recipe: Kale Beans

Is it bad that I’m in love with bacon? It makes so many things taste so good…especially bit pots of vegetables. It looks like a lot of kale at first, but trust me, it boils down to a reasonable amount.

Kale Beans 2

Ingredients

½ lb bacon (or turkey bacon…gobble gobble…it up)

1 lb kale (6-8 cups chopped)

1 onion

2 tomatoes

1 can red or black beans

¼ cup fresh cilantro

 

Supplies

Sharp knife and cutting board

Large soup pot with lid

Can opener

 

Preparation

Chop onion and tomatoes.

Cut bacon into 1” pieces.

Wash kale.

Drain and rinse beans.

 

Directions

Fry the bacon and onion over medium heat until onion is tender.

Add tomatoes, kale, beans and cilantro.

Cover tightly and reduce heat to medium low. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until kale is tender.

If too much liquid remains once kale is cooked, uncover and simmer 10 minutes more until liquid evaporates.

Serve over rice or by its savory lonesome.

 

Yield

5-6 one cup servings (Told you the kale would cook down!)

 

Note: I used yellow tomato and red onion when I took this picture. With red tomato, it’ll look Christmas-y 🙂

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13

Aug. ’15

Invasion of the Cucumbers: Health Benefits and Recipes to Make You Love Cukes More (Part 5)

stack cucumbersI no longer view cucumbers as a semi-useless vegetable nor as a pickles-only food. They are tasty, versatile, unique, and on my plate. Today’s recipe happens to be my favorite new way to eat them.

WHY WE LOVE THEM

  1. Cures diabetes, reduces cholesterol and controls blood pressure– Cucumber juice contains a hormone which is needed by the cells of the pancreas for producing insulin which has been found to be beneficial to diabetic patients. Researchers found that a compound called sterols in cucumbers may help reduce cholesterol levels. Cucumbers contain a lot of potassium, magnesium and fiber. These work effectively for regulating blood pressure. This makes cucumbers good for treating both low blood pressure and high blood pressure.

I think “cures” is the wrong word to use here, Natural News. Beneficial to diabetics? Sure, I’ll give you that. But cures?  Nope. As for the rest of it, I’m going to repeat myself a bit: vegetables are awesome. They do so much more for our bodies that fill our bellies. God designed plants to optimize human health which is why the Garden of Eden diet was purely plants. So, (best Mommy voice and shaking my finger at you) eat your vegetables!

10. Promotes joint health, relieves gout and arthritis pain -Cucumber is an excellent source of silica, which is known to help promotes joint health by strengthening the connective tissues. They are also rich in vitamin A, B1, B6, C & D, Folate, Calcium, Magnesium, and Potassium. When mixed with carrot juice, they can relieve gout and arthritis pain by lowering the uric acid levels

Blah, blah, blah – Go eat a cucumber!

 

2015 Aug 2 003HOW WE EAT THEM

Cucumber Soup (Beatrice Snare)

Ingredients:

5 cucumbers (or more), peeled and with seeds removed, cut into quarters

1 onion cut into chunks

4-6 cups water

4 Tb butter  or margarine (1/2 stick)

3-4 Tb flour

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt to taste

Croutons (optional)

  1. Cover the cucumbers and onion with water and boil until soft (10-20 minutes)
  2. Ladle the cucumbers and onion into the blender along with some of the hot water they were boiled in – fill your blender as much as you safely can. Discard excess water. Blend until smooth.
  3. In the same pot you used for cooking the cucumbers, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add the flour, garlic, and salt and stir constantly. It should look like a bubbly paste.
  4. Add ¼-1/2 cup of the blended cucumber to the paste in the pot and stir until smooth. Add another ¼-1/2 cup of cucumber liquid and stir until smooth. Keep adding ¼-1/2 cup of the blended cucumber and stirring each time until all of the liquid has been added. (Adding the hot liquid slowly prevents balls or chunks of flour from forming in your soup.) Your soup should have a creamy consistent texture.
  5. Add croutons and enjoy! (I added Parmesan cheese for the picture, but this soup doesn’t need cheese…I’m a cheesaholic, so I don’t say those words lightly!)

Natural News article: http://www.naturalnews.com/036769_cucumbers_health_benefits_rehydration.html#ixzz3i5YLJT64

Stack of cucumbers photo courtesy of www.istockphoto.com

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13

Aug. ’15

Invasion of the Cucumbers: Health Benefits and Recipes to Make You Love Cukes More (Part 4)

Cucumbers on the vineCucumbers look like the great green torpedoes of the vegetable world, but they do so much more than blow up watermelon submarines.

WHY WE LOVE THEM

  1. Hangover cure– To avoid a morning hangover or headache; eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish many essential nutrients, reducing the intensity of both hangover and headache.

I find this fascinating. I suspect that the one drawback to this plan is that the person who is going to have a hangover the next day is in no shape before bed to remember to eat a few slices of cucumber.

  1. Aids in weight loss and digestion– Due to its low calorie and high water content, cucumber is an ideal diet for people who are looking for weight loss. The high water content and dietary fiber in cucumbers are very effective in ridding the body of toxins from the digestive system, aiding digestion. Daily consumption of cucumbers can be regarded as a remedy for chronic constipation.

Water and fiber, water and fiber, water and fiber. That, my friends, is a magic mantra that can change your digestive life!

 

HOW WE EAT THEM

fridge picklesRefrigerator Sweet Pickles (Grandma Trone’s Recipe)

Ingredients:

7 cups cucumbers sliced very thin

1 cup onion sliced thin

2 cups sugar

2 Tb salt

1 Tb celery seed

1 cup white vinegar

Mix sugar, salt, celery seed, and vinegar. Pour the mixture over cucumbers and onions in a large bowl and stir. Store in the refrigerator for 3 days, stirring at least once per day. After 3 days, ladle the pickles and liquid into glass jars for easier storage. Pickles are ready to eat right away and will keep in the refrigerator for up to one year.

Natural News article: http://www.naturalnews.com/036769_cucumbers_health_benefits_rehydration.html#ixzz3i5YLJT64

Cucumbers on the vine courtesy of: www.rhs.org.uk

Fridge pickles photo courtesy of www.tastespotting.com

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13

Aug. ’15

Invasion of the Cucumbers: Health Benefits and Recipes to Make You Love Cukes More (Part 3)

cucumber slice

cucumber slice

This is a great time of year to experiment with cucumbers: they’re fresh, they’re numerous, and if you stop by local roadside veggie stands or markets, they can even be cheap! For those of you just joining us (or with poor memories), we’re exploring Natural News’ list of cucumber benefits.

WHY WE LOVE THEM

  1. Home care– Eliminates a foggy mirror. Before taking a shower, rub a cucumber slice along a mirror and it will eliminate the mirror fogging up. Instead of WD40, take a cucumber slice and rub it along a squeaky hinge and your door will stop squeaking.

Shh! Hear that? Me neither. I want to try this, but nothing is squeaking in my house. Just speaking or squawking. No noisy hinges, but there’s plenty of noise from the sons department. I wonder if rubbing a slice of cucumber on children has a similar effect.

6. Relieves bad breath – Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

Come closer and tell me if it worked!

 

2015 Aug 2 001HOW WE EAT THEM

Cucumber Piña Colada Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 small or ½ large cucumber (peeled and de-seeded)

½ cup coconut milk

½ cup pineapple (fresh or canned in pineapple juice)

1 packet Truvia or other sweetener (optional)

Blend all ingredients until smooth.

 

Natural News article: http://www.naturalnews.com/036769_cucumbers_health_benefits_rehydration.html#ixzz3i5YLJT64

Cucumber slice picture courtesy of http://healthylatineating.com/

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