Tag Archives: Flexitarian

Apr 14 2017

Mild salsa recipe 

Posted on by

Two years ago I canned salsa for the first time. We loved it! It was a mild salsa that even our girls were able to enjoy. Then I misplaced the recipe until a few days ago. I quickly ran out with the full intentions of spending Good Friday home with our little ladies making a new batch of salsa for our family. This time I’m going to blog it so misplacing the recipe doesn’t happen again! Plus a few friends asked for the recipe. 

Ingredients:

  • 40 Roma tomatoes 
  • 6 Bell peppers 
  • 6 Jalapeno peppers
  • 3 Anaheim peppers 
  • 5 Onions 
  • 3 Cloves garlic
  • 1/4 cup Salt
  • 2 cups Vinegar 
  • 1/2 cup Bottled lime juice (not fresh!)
  • 12 oz Tomato paste (for thicker salsa use 2-3 cans)
  • 1/2 cup Sugar 

Instructions:

  1. Rinse, core, and peel ingredients.
  2. Run ingredients through a food processor. I didn’t run the tomatoes through until they were very fine because I like to make it a little chunky.
  3. Boil in large pot (I used my large magnalite pot) for two hours stirring occasionally. 
  4. Portion into mason jars and put them in a wet bath for 40 minutes. 

Side notes: 

  • Use any tomato you prefer, I lean towards the roma 
  • For a spicy salsa use 12 jalapenos and up to 8 Anaheim peppers. 
  • It’s important to NOT use fresh lime juice so that it won’t be too acidic. 
  • I like to use both green and yellow bell peppers to give it a good color. 
  • For this batch I had really large onions so I only used four of them. 
  • Salsa will have a shelf life of one year. 
  • This batch made 2 quarts and 12 pints. 
FacebooktwitterpinterestFacebooktwitterpinterest
Jan 13 2017

Turkey & veggie soup 

Posted on by

I love seeing a recipe and giving it my own spin. I recently saw a recipe floating around on Facebook for a beef and cabbage soup. It looked delish, only I don’t cook beef. So I decided to try a different twist. The outcome was a house full of family that loved it. 

This could be made in an instant pot or on the stove. I went the instant pot route because I jump on any chance to cook with it. 

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb lean ground turkey 
  • 1 small head of cabbage (chopped up)
  • 1 small onion (diced)
  • 4-6 stalks of celery (sliced)
  • 1 1/2 cups carrots (sliced)
  • 2 bay leaves 
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp creole seasoning
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 28 oz petite diced tomatoes
  • 4 cups turkey stock 
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:
Going the instant pot method, put the instant pot on the saute setting. Pour olive oil in. When heated (happens quickly) add ground turkey and cook until browned. Just a few minutes. Add onion, carrots, & celery and saute a few more minutes. Add minced garlic, salt, creole seasoning, turkey stock, and diced tomatoes. Stir well. Add cabbage and stir again. Then add Bay leaves and put lid on and close valve. 

Manually set to pressure cook on high heat for 20 minutes and use natural release. Remove bay leaves and stir. Ready to serve!


Side notes:

  • Can be served over rice or as is. We liked it as is.
  • Can do it with ground beef and beef stock if you prefer. Or ground chicken and chicken stock. Or maybe no meat at all with a veggie broth. Can virtually change it up any way you’d like to your preferece. 
  • I save all veggie scraps and peels and freeze in a gallon zip lock until it’s full and then make a veggie broth with it. 
  • For stove top method, follow all of the above instructions and then simmer on low for 45 minutes to an hour. 
  • The turkey stock I used was the stock I made from our cajun turkey we cooked for Thanksgiving. So it was full of flavor already. Can use store bought broth, but may need to add more seasoning to taste. 
FacebooktwitterpinterestFacebooktwitterpinterest
Dec 30 2016

Chicken n’ dumplings 

Posted on by

I really need to get better about taking a picture after I cook something, but tonight I just winged making chicken n’ dumplings in my instant pot and according to my family it was the best ever! I’m just glad they liked it and it was quick and easy, so I’ll share. 

Ingredients:

  • 4 frozen boneless skinless chicken breast 
  • 48 oz chicken broth 
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 can biscuits 
  • Seasoning of choice (I used creole seasoning and garlic powder)

Instructions:

Put 4 frozen chicken breast, chicken broth, water, and seasoning in instant pot. Manual set to cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Quick release. Take chicken out to shred it and return to pot. Open cans of biscuits and quarter them. Add to pot and switch setting to Sautée. Stirring well and frequently cook for about 5-7 minutes until thickened. 

Side note:

Next time I’ll add veggies.

I’m sure any kind of chicken you prefer will work.

FacebooktwitterpinterestFacebooktwitterpinterest
Oct 12 2015

15 bean crockpot soup

Posted on by

This quickly  became a family fave, even our picky eaters like it! Sort of reminds me of a vegetable soup, but full of protein.

-15 Bean Crockpot Soup-

Bag of 15 bean mix (discard seasoning packet)
6 cups organic chicken broth
Large can organic petite diced tomatoes
8 oz cubed ham
Large diced onion
Small bag organic baby carrots
4 or 5 stalks of organic celery (sliced thin)

Season to taste with:
Onion powder
Cajun seasoning
Salt
Low sodium soy sauce (optional)

Rinse beans (can soak over night if you’d like, but I don’t). Add all above ingredients in crock pot and stir well. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Can serve with rice if you’d like.

image

FacebooktwitterpinterestFacebooktwitterpinterest
Aug 13 2012

Pasta Salad

Posted on by

I usually make a big batch of it at a time, so this recipe can be divided for smaller batches.

Ingredients:
2 boxes spiral veggie pasta
1 lb block 2% cheddar cheese
1 pack turkey pepperoni
1 can/jar artichoke hearts
1 jar green (and/or black) sliced olives
Italian dressing (I use the packets to make my own with less oil)

Boil pasta, drain, & rinse well. While boiling cut up the cheese, pepperoni, & artichokes. Mix together with pasta, olives, & add amount of dressing desired. (too much will make the pasta soggy). Refrigerate.

I like to fill up mason jars for a quick lunch for my husband to grab on his way to work!

20120813-121426.jpg

FacebooktwitterpinterestFacebooktwitterpinterest
Jul 21 2012

Mashed cauliflower

Posted on by

So if your kiddos are like lil monsters you have to sometimes sneak veggies on them…here’s a super easy way and taste so much like mashed potatoes you may even be able to fool an adult! My kiddos were clueless and to quote my 7 year old monster: “Mommy these are the best mashed potatoes ever!”

I kind of winged it, but it was easier than I thought. I cut up two small/medium cauliflower crowns put it in a microwave safe bowl, added a little water, and covered it with Saran wrap. I steamed it in the microwave until it was fork tender. It took about 10-12 minutes for this process. I drained the excess water and threw the cauliflower in my ninja blender, I added a little 2% milk, melt (organic butter alternative), some “no salt”, and a few tablespoons of the cream cheese (add the milk, butter, salt, & cream cheese to taste). Then blended until it was smooth. It was seriously that easy!

Optional: I have read that some people also add a few potatoes or even instant potatoes to give it more of a potato consistency. I chose to not add the potatoes and I was happy with the cauliflower consistency.

FacebooktwitterpinterestFacebooktwitterpinterest
Jul 18 2012

Taco pizza

Posted on by

We have a taco salad or taco soup night pretty often. So I decided to wing it and make a taco pizza. Glad I did, because it was beyond good, and my hubby & lil monsters loved it!

Ingredients:
(all ingredients are what I put on one pizza, can double recipe to meet your family’s needs, guessing on actual measurements since I didn’t really measure any of it, so use more or less by your preference)

– Pizza crust or whole wheat flat bread of your choice
– 1/2 lb ground turkey
– taco seasoning packet
– 1/2 cup black beans, rinsed
– 1/2 cup corn
– 1/4 to 1/2 cup mild salsa
– light ranch
– 1/2 cup cheese (I used mozzarella & medium cheddar)
– sliced tomatoes
– tortilla chips (optional)

Brown ground turkey and prepare according to taco seasoning packet. Spread salsa on pizza crust or flat bread, then drizzle with a little ranch. Crumble the ground turkey over the crust. Then add cheese, black beans, corn, & tomatoes. Bake according to pizza crust or if using flat bread bake at 400 degrees until cheese is completely melted (approximately 10 minutes). Sprinkle with tortilla chips and serve.

FacebooktwitterpinterestFacebooktwitterpinterest