Santa Fe Chicken Chili

Ingredients
3 lb ground chicken
1 24 oz jar tomato sauce
1 white onion
1/2 red  bell pepper
2 jalapeno peppers
1 large poblano pepper
~12 oz water
santa fe chili mix (or make your own: chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, dash sea salt)

Directions
Turn on crockpot to 4 hours.  Chop onion and all peppers.  Throw into crockpot.  Cook 3 lbs chicken and add to veggies in crockpot.  Add chili mix, tomato sauce and water.  Cook for about 3 hours in crockpot. 

24 oz. organic strained tomatoes

 Lunch/Dinner is ready!

Mexican Shredded Chicken & Cauliflower Rice

Happy 4th of July!!!
For the 4th I decided to make a Mexican dish.  I know there's beer in the chicken but I was out of chicken broth!

Shredded Chicken
Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/3 lime beer/mexican beer
1/4 C water
1 jalapeno
1 can diced green chiles (mild)

Seasonings:
chili powder
onion powder
garlic powder
tumeric
sea kelp
black pepper

Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower
1 jalapeno
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 white onion
1/3 bunch cilantro

Seasonings:
white pepper
black pepper
sea salt
cumin (lots!)
paprika
tumeric
onion powder
garlic powder

Directions:
Put defrosted chicken breasts in crockpot on low for 4 hours.  Add all ingredients and seasonings!

Rice the cauliflower and put in large bowl.  Add veggies, tomato paste and seasonings.  Heat in microwave for ~6 minutes.  Enjoy!

Make fresh guacamole on the side for topping.

Cauliflower Rice

 

Fresh homemade guacamole

Crockpot Chicken

Shredded chicken topped with guac and cauliflower rice

Shredded Chicken

The hubby's version loaded with hot sauce :)

Egg Muffins

I wanted to try something different for breakfast during the work week instead of the usual casserole.  I decided to make individual egg muffins instead and they turned out great!

Ingredients:
1 carton egg whites
4 eggs
1/2 C diced white onion
1/2 C diced mushrooms
10-12 grape tomatoes
1 Tbsp creole seasoning

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Dice white onion and mushrooms.  Cut grape tomatoes into quarters.  Add all ingredients into mixer and blend on low for 5 seconds.  Coat muffin pan with olive oil.  Evenly distribute batter.  Cook for 20 minutes.

Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:
1 banana
1/4 C dried blueberries (sweetened with apple juice)
1/2 C almond meal
1/2 C flax meal (I used golden)
1/4 C sesame seeds
1/4 C water
5 eggs
2 scoops vanilla protein powder (~60 grams protein)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp grapeseed oil

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Put all ingredients into blender and mix.  Coat 12 count muffin pan with spray coconut oil.  Pour batter evenly into all 12 muffin cups.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Enjoy!

3 Minute Omelet

I never knew how fast you can make an omelet in the microwave.  They turn out fluffy and take no time at all.  This recipe makes two omelets.

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1/4 C white onion
1/4 C mushrooms
1/4 C deer sausage

Directions:
Saute onion, mushrooms and deer sausage.  Take 3 eggs and mix in bowl/cup adding a dash of water.  Spray microwavable plate with olive oil and pour eggs onto plate.  Microwave for about 3 minutes or until eggs are cooked and fluffy.  Add sauteed veggies to one half of omelet then fold in half.  I added sea kelp, black pepper and mexican seasoning for flavor.  Top with guacamole and yum!

Add sauteed veggies to one side of omelet, then fold in half

Fresh kiwi and strawberries

Breakfast is ready :)

Spicy Purple Cabbage Salad

This makes a great side dish or a meal if you add meat!

Ingredients:
1/2 head purple cabbage
1/2 small white onion
1 bunch green onions
1/2 C sesame seeds
1/4 C sesame oil
1/2 apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp garlic powder

Directions:
Wash and finely chop purple cabbage, white and green onions.  Add to large bowl and mix in the remaining ingredients.  Chill in the fridge about 30 minutes prior to eating so the flavors are enhanced.  Enjoy!!! 

This is even better the second day

Bacon Wrapped Scallops and BBQ Shrimp

Love this recipe, well I guess I love anything with bacon!

Ingredients:
1 pkg large scallops
1 pkg jumbo shrimp
1 pkg applewood bacon (thinly sliced)
BBQ sauce

Directions:
Place shrimp on skewer and lightly coat with BBQ sauce.  Cut bacon strips in half.  Wrap each scallop with precut piece of bacon and place on skewer.  The skewer will hold bacon in place.  Lightly coat with BBQ sauce.  BBQ until done.  I like my bacon a bit toasty on the edges.

Paleo Pancakes - 1st Edition

This morning it was snowing, on Easter!  I decided pancakes and a nice fire would be comforting with the cold weather outside.  I have used other recipes for paleo pancakes and have not found one that I was 100% satisfied with.  Today I make my own concoction from scratch and was pretty pleased with the results!  These turned out fluffy, like pancakes my mom used to make and have a slightly sweet flavor.   

Ingredients:
5 eggs
1 apple
1/4 almond butter
1/4 coconut flour
30g vanilla whey protein powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Spray coconut oil

Directions:
Peel apple and cut into small pieces.  Combine all ingredients into blender (including apple slices).  Blend until smooth.  Heat pan/griddle and spray with coconut oil.  I like to make mini pancakes so I pour 3-4 pancakes at a time in the pan.  Cook through on both sides.  Enjoy! 

Once cooked, eat plain or top with honey/agave nectar.

Peel and cut apple into small slices

Coconut flour

Put all ingredients in blender

Heat pan with coconut oil

Yum!

Chicken Chili

Sometimes I get tired of regular beef/bison chili and want something lighter, but still full of protein and of course, easy and fast to make.  Chicken chili is a great alternative as the weather warms up.

Ingredients:
3 lbs ground chicken
1 White onion
2 Cans diced green chilis
3 Poblano peppers
2 Jalapenos
1 Box chicken broth
Cilantro
Avocado

Spices:
Chili pepper
Onion powder
Black pepper
White pepper
Red pepper
Cumin
Garlic powder

Directions:
Turn crockpot on 4 hours.  Cook ground chicken.   Dice onion, jalapeno and poblano pepper.  Add veggies along with green chilis in crockpot.  Add chicken once cooked.  Add spices to your liking then pour 3/4 container of chicken broth.  Add more seasoning and/or chicken broth as needed.  I prefer to use less chicken broth at first then add more later if I need to.  I do not like a my chili too runny. 

Garnish with fresh cilantro and avocado.

Alternatives:  I used 2 lbs ground chicken and 1 lb ground turkey this time as I was short on chicken.  I was also out of onion so I used extra onion powder.  It still turned out great!!

Ingredients - minus onion I had missing :)

Add chicken and veggies to crockpot

Garnish with cilantro and avocado!

Spicy Indian Stir-Fry

This is a great dish to put together during the week for dinner or lunch the next day.  I made this one on the spicy side 'a la Murff'!

Ingredients:
3 Chicken breasts
1/2 Red onion
1 Jalapeno
1 Poblano pepper
1 Red bell pepper
2 Cups fresh shitake mushrooms
3 Green onions (scallions)
1 tsp tamarind paste
1 tsp red chili paste
Tamari soy sauce (few Tbsp)
Spicy thai chili (1/4 cup)

Directions:
Heat pan with olive oil.  Cut chicken breasts into cubes, add to pan.  While chicken is cooking, chop all veggies.  Add veggies to pan and stir-fry.  Add seasoning and continue to cook until chicken is cooked through and veggies are sauteed.  Cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Seasoning

Meaty Crockpot Chili

My crockpot is my new best friend lately!  Makes such easy meals and lasts several days.  This Sunday I decided to make a spicy meaty chili.

Ingredients:
~ 3 lbs grass fed lean ground beef
1 medium-large white onion
2 jalapeno peppers
2 poblano peppers
2 slices cooked applewood bacon
~ 40 oz tomato sauce

Spices:
Chili powder
Garlic powder
Dash sea salt
Black pepper
White pepper
Crushed red pepper flakes
Red curry (pepper)
Tumeric

Directions: Cook ground beef.  Chop all veggies and throw in crockpot.  Add cooked ground beef, bacon, tomato sauce, and season with spices to your liking.  I never measure spices, I just gradually add until the flavor suits my taste.  I also never add water.  As the crockpot heats up, condensation gathers on the lid of the crockpot and each time I open to stir/taste, water is added to the chili :)  Simmer on low for 4 hours.  The bacon adds a really nice flavor to the chili.  Enjoy!

Saturday Morning Breakfast

Basic Breakfast

This is a great healthy breakfast for the weekends and very simple.

Ingredients:

Bacon

Eggs

Mushrooms

Onion (I used white onion)

Avocado

Apple

Strawberries

Blueberries

Directions: Cook bacon, set aside.  Saute mushrooms and onions.  Scramble eggs either plain or season them up.  Wash and slice fruit and avocado.  Top scrambled eggs with sauteed veggies and top with avocado and hot sauce (if you like).

Alternatives:  Add jalapeno and/or poblano pepper with sauteed veggies

Fresh strawberries, blueberries and apple

Sauteed mushrooms and onions

Mmmmm Bacon!

Organic pasture raised eggs

 

Breakfast is served :)

Rosemary Bacon Wrapped Pork Chops

This makes a tasty meal and takes only minutes to put together!  Tonight I am making this dish with a side of grilled zucchini and squash.  This meal will feed 3-4 people.

Ingredients:
4 Pork chops
Thinly sliced bacon
Fresh rosemary leaves
Oregano
Cajun Seasoning
3 Zucchini
3 Squash

Directions:
Sprinkle pork chops with a dash of oregano.  Place fresh rosemary leaf in the center of pork chop.  Wrap 1 thin slice of bacon around pork chop and rosemary.  There is no need to wrap pork chop with string to make bacon and rosemary stay.  Once it is on the grill and the bacon begins to cook, it will hold everything together.  Spray with olive oil and grill over medium heat until pork chop is cooked and bacon is crispy.

Wash zucchini and squash and slice in half.  Sprinkle with garlic powder and cajun seasoning.  Spray with olive oil and grill over medium heat until cooked.  (Make sure you take the veggies off before they get overcooked).

Here are the ingredients for the pork chops

Organic rosemary

Sprinkle with oregano and place rosemary leaf in center of pork chop

I use Applegate Organics bacon for this recipe because it is sliced thin and contains no nitrites or nitrates

Wrap 1 slice of bacon around center of pork chop, securing rosemary in place

 Zucchini and squash, sprinkled with garlic and cajun spices

Grilled and ready to eat!

Easy Taco Salad

I find it hard to cook during the week at times so a taco salad is always a tasty quick meal.  I try to cook 1-2 pounds of grass fed ground beef or buffalo every other weekend to keep on hand for easy meals during the week.

Ingredients:
Salad (I buy the Organic Girl brand from Whole Foods because it is pre-washed 3x which saves me time)
1 Poblano Pepper
Red Onion
Avocado
Salsa
Ground Beef (I typically season with cumin, black pepper, white pepper and cayenne pepper.  Sometimes I will add dried cilantro flakes for a fresh taste)

Directions:
Heat ground beef.
Wash Poblano pepper and cut into thin slices
Slice red onion and avocado

Add all ingredients into a large bowl, mix and top with salsa of your choice!  I use salsa instead of salad dressing as it is easy, tasty, and low in calories :)

Alternatives: Depending on which salsa I use, I will add fresh jalapeno to spice it up.  Sometimes I will also add fresh tomatoes and substitute guacamole instead of sliced avocado.

I prefer to use 50% spinach and 50% spring mix for taco salads to add texture other than spinach.

I love Amy's medium salsa, the hubs prefers a hotter variety which is also very good.

Chopped poblano, onion and avocado

Grass fed lean ground beef seasoned 'Mexican Style'

Mix all ingredients together.

Voila!