Recipes

FOOD RECIPES

Green Juice Obsessed!!!💚 ok  I’ve been on a green juice for breakfast kick and LOVE it! Here’s my favorite staple recipe I’ve been tweaking-celery, kale, cuccumber, golden beets, ginger, mango, pineapple, green apple

**I will sometimes add other fruits like grapes or pomegranate or pear in my juicing and try to stick to local ingredients. But in season specific local produce can be hard to find. I suggest playing around with your flavor palate. This recipe ip there, hands down FAVE🥰

1. BREAKFAST WEIGHT GAIN SMOOTHIE: I actually got this recipe from watching a Jessica Alba video when she was on vacation. I remember she mentioning her picky eaters -every mother eye rolls a YUS!- and saying even they loved this smoothie. So I made it on a whim and now my kids are obsessed and I don’t mind. You take 2 bananas, one avocado and about half of a container of chocolate coconut water …throw it all in a blender and let it do it’s thing. Our kids will seriously request this at least 3 times a week lol go for it kid, eat that avocado… *Now I have actually spruced it up even more over the years to add some Greek yogurt and protein powder.
2. My Favorite Bread & Butter Pickle Recipe! Okay so I have had a LOVE of pickles since I was small and it has only matured with time. These pickles in this recipe I am about to share are the best. Have you ever had Famous Dave’s Bead & Butter pickles? The are sweetly delicious while being spicy too, yum. This Recipe tastes just pike that. I make huge batches of these every year during cucumber season. give it a whirl and let me know if you aren’t addicted. Serious shout out to RecipeGirl, she has some great stuff… https://www.recipegirl.com/bread-and-butter-pickles/
3. TURKEY BRINE- Okay so my other half Keith and I have become somewhat of turkey brine pro’s and this is the best recipe by far. This is my take on Ms Martha Stewart’s brine recipe. https://www.marthastewart.com/343940/turkey-brine I change a few ingredients and add others but the important thing about doing a brine is making sure the bird is in the brine for 24 hours before you want to cook it, so best to get this bird in the goods the morning before and letting it rest overnight. To start: Dissolve 1CUP salt into 5CUPS water …stir until fully dissolved…Add 1TBL black peppercorns 2 star anise 1TSP allspice corns. Next add 1 GALLON filtered water into a 5 GALLON FOOD GRADE BUCKET (or a huge stockpot!), add 1 BUNCH thyme, rosemary, sage, and 3 bay leaves and 1 BOTTLE of Pinot Gris and stir bucket. Add the salt mixture and stir again to combine. Keeping the bird frozen is the best method I have found because then you do not need to add ice or worry about keeping the bird in the refrigerator. By the time it is defrosted (typically we get 22+ lbs) it is morning time and you are ready to remove the giblets, pat dry and get cooking.
   TURKEY BAKING TIPS: Before we cook our bird we brine then we smother in butter and stuff it’s inside carcass, it’s a process but well worth it. The brine makes the skin crisp evenly and the bird retain moisture. We make a compound butter (1 stick softened butter, 1 tsp thyme, rosemary and sage each combined together) for the skin to help with the flavor and shove that all up under the skin in between the meat and skin itself-you can separate it with your fingers/hands. Then to help the inside of the bird stay moist I use a trick my aunt did one year. I take maybe 2-3 oranges and cut them up and stuff them inside, after removing all the giblets of course. Do this and baste that bird every 30 minutes after the first hour and you will have an amazing tasting bird. AND!! If you like gravy you can line the bottom of the pan with sliced onion and 1 CUP water. Then when the bird is done take the dripping and onions, mix then with some more water and a bit of flour….bring this to a simmer while whisking constantly to prevent excessive lumps…add more water or flour depending on thickness desired. And if you don’t like onions (who are you!?) then you don’t have to add them to the bottom and can just add the water.
4. HOMEMADE VEGETARIAN PHO: I had a recipe printed up a while back but have lost it over the years of moving. However, over many trials and fails I have been able to recreate something pretty close. The ingredients aren’t many but it’s the time and combination that makes it amazing. Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees. Then place a large yellow onion (un-peeled) and a large piece of ginger (un-peeled)on a baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes. The add half a head of garlic (un-shucked) and bake for 20 more minutes. When done place in bottom of deep stockpot and add: 3 star anise, 4 whole cardamom pods, 1/2 tsp whole allspice berries, 1/8 cup Sea salt, 3 whole celery stalks, 2 whole carrots, and 1 +/- gallons filtered water. Bring to low boil then simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. Strain and continue to keep simmering until ready to eat. Meanwhile you need to slice 1/2 white onion thin, 1 jalapeño thin, 1 bunch basil, 3 carrots, 1 small head broccoli, 1 small bunch cilantro, and some enjoy sliced cabbage as well as fresh bean sprouts. Now if you want to, you can do what I do and barely steam all the vegetables, that way the broth can just finish cooking them. Last thing to get done, should actually be done sooner than later, soaking the rice noodles and draining them, according to what ever type you are using but most usually soak 20-30 minutes. Then all you need to do is get you Hoisin and Sirachi sauces ready, combine everything and enjoy.
5. CUCUMBER DILL DIP: Love this dip for sliced cucumbers, carrots, celery, peppers or the go to pretzel crisp (they are so addictive on their own). It’s a great way to get more veggies in your life without sacrificing flavor. I don’t know exact measurements because every time i make it I need a different amount, so just taste periodically until you are satisfied. Mix up equal parts cream cheese and greek yogurt, then add some finely chopped dill and tiny diced cucumber, then throw in some garlic salt and onion powder to taste and there you have it.
6. VEGGIE SPAGHETTI- So good your kids & spouse won’t even miss the meat. Now I like to use some of the vegan Italian ‘sausage’ links for my meat substitute because I really like the flavor but I’ve also used TVP (Bob’s) and no added protein filler. I will say my kids devour it with the sausage substitute so that is usually my go to. But just dice one medium sized onion (yellow or white your preference) and saute in a bit of olive oil or butter. Then to that add 3 stalks diced celery making sure it’s the same size as the onion. Saute for a bit then add either diced zucchini or bell pepper, whichever you prefer and about 3/4 cups. Saute again mixing everything for a few minutes then add 1 cup~ish diced mushrooms and garlic, stirring and sauteing until fragrant. Finally toss in those 2 diced veggie sausages, and mix well. Next add 1 can (or tetra pack if you can find it) of roasted diced tomatoes. Now these are kind of important as they lend a very distinctive flavor. Stir everything together until is looks well blended and finally finally add 2 cans of your favorite tomato sauce ours is Mezzetta and let simmer at least 30 minutes. And voila!
7. FRUIT JUICE GUMMIES- This recipe is so easy just 3 ingredients… 1 cup fruit juice, 1 tablespoon honey and 3 tablespoons gelatin. Heat all ingredients until the honey & gelatin are dissolved, then pour into silicone molds, refrigerate for 2 hours and bam. These are shelf stable for 7 days or can keep in the fridge for 30 days, if they make it that long.
8. HOMEMADE CRACKERS- If you juice you can use the leftover pulp for these crackers, otherwise I would imagine you would need to grate the vegetables. I mixed 4 cups of carrot and  beet pulp that was left over from juicing, it also had a bit of garlic and ginger in it. Take your vegetable pulp (4 cups)and mix 2 cups almond flour, 2 tablespoons garlic powder, 2 tablespoons onion powder, 1 tablespoon chai seeds, 1 tablespoon hemp hearts (shucked),and  1 tablespoon flaxseed. Combine and let sit for at least 5 minutes for the moisture in the pulp to absorb the flour. If needed add a bit of water, 2 tablespoons at a time, until the mixture forms a tacky feeling ball. Then on a baking sheet lined with parchment,place the ‘dough’ ball. Cover with another piece of parchment, then using a rolling pin roll until about 1/4 inch thick. Using a pizza cutter cut into desired shapes and sprinkle with more chia and sesame seeds. Bake at 375 degrees for at least 15 minutes (more if your mixture was rather tacky or if more than 1/4 inch think). Then let cool break apart and store for up to 30 days in airtight container. Enjoy the gluten free veggie goodness and love that you aren’t wasting that precious pulp.
9. Pull apart pizza muffins-BasicallyPizza Monkey Bread …. These are great to make in z large batch so you can freeze the extras or to food a hungry sports team😉I love that everything is easy handling for kids. I use my own pizza dough recipe and marinara too (recipes below) but any will do. Also, our family is big cheddar cheese lovers so that’s the cheese we use but it’s your preference. I take a muffin tin and coat each cup in olive oil. Next I take the dough and make little balls and place about 3 in the bottom of each tin. I then follow that with a layer of cheese then sauce, followed by you guessed it more balls😉Then I top again with sauce then cheese and fresh basil. Cook for about 25-30 on 375 or to your cheese crispiness. Cool and enjoy!
10. Pizza Dough- Get water heated to 97 degrees Fahrenheit. Then add 1 cup water plus 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 tablespoon quick rise yeast to a bowl. Set aside for 5-7 minutes. In the meantime in a standing mixer bowl add 1.5 cups water, 1 +/- tablespoon olive oil. Once yeast has bloomed add to mixer then slowly add 4 cups flour and .5 cup corn meal or corn flour. Add water as necessary to get a tacky dough texture. Once combined add to a WELL oiled bowl and cover with a clean towel to rise a minimum of 1 hour. Enjoy!!!! Bake like pizza dough🍕
11. Marinara-With Veggies- So kids don’t like all veggies and neither do adults but we need them. So I make this basically weekly in a large batch for spaghetti then use the excess for pizza sauce, multi-use. Start by heating your oven to 375 and coring at least 10 ripe tomatoes, decent sized,any type. Cut the top off an entire head of garlic. Cut one entire onion (your preference) into 8th chunks. Then chop 4 stalks celery and 4 large carrots. Arrange everything in a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and add a good amount salt, minimal pepper and some dried rosemary. Cook uncovered 50 minutes. While WARM put everything in a food processor or blender-squeezing the garlic from its husks. Puree until smooth. Cook on simmer for 1 hour or in a crockpot-4 hrs medium or low heat. Enjoy!