Chicken Pie (Vegetarian Option Available)

This one comes together fast and is super kid friendly.  I mean, really, what kid wouldn't think it was a treat to have "pie" for dinner?!  This is also a super easy way to use up your leftover chicken, which we always seem to have!

Ingredients:
1 Tbs coconut oil
1 1/2 c diced or shredded chicken
4 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled
1/2 c gluten free flour mix
1 c Silk Almond Milk, unsweetened
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 c Organicville Caesar Dressing
Coleslaw mix

1.  Preheat oven to 400 and grease a glass pie pan with coconut oil.
2.  In the pie plate, spread chicken and bacon to cover the base.
3. In a bowl, mix the GF flour, milk, eggs, and dressing.  Pour over the chicken & bacon.
4. Bake 25-30 minutes or until knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Let stand for 5 minutes.
5.  Toss coleslaw mix with more the caesar dressing.
6.  Serve pie, topped with coleslaw.

**There is plenty of room for adding more veggies into this mix or making the pie entirely vegetarian by replacing some or all of the chicken/bacon with roasted veggies!!**

Chicken Enchilada Hot Dish

Hahahahaha..... this is the first recipe I've posted that I am officially deeming a "hot dish".  I guess I am fully Minnesotan now.  It only took 10 years.

This dish is super easy to put together and is perfect for hectic weeknights or - if you're like us - a Friday night when I can hardly keep my eyes open let alone get dinner on the table.

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breasts or thighs
1 pkg Frontera taco or enchilada sauce*
1 can black beans
6 corn tortillas
1/2 cup raw milk cheddar cheese**
guacamole & chips (optional)

1. Put thawed chicken and Frontera sauce in your

crock pot and cook on low for 7 hours.
2.  When the chicken is done, shred it and drain off any excess liquid.
3.  Preheat oven to 350.
4.  Layer all ingredients - corn tortillas, meat & beans, corn tortillas, meat & beans, corn tortillas, cheese.
5.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly on the edges.
6.  Serve topped with guacamole and a side of chips!

*Available at most grocery stores.
**Available at Trader Joes.

Barbecue Chickpeas

This vegetarian dish was flavorful, filling, and super satisfying.  Try it.

Ingredients:
2 cans of chickpeas*
1 Tbs olive oil
1/2 c Stubbs BBQ Sauce**
2 Tbs Water
Prepared Quinoa

1.  Drain and rinse chickpeas.
2.  Over medium heat, saute chickpeas until slightly brown, but not too soft - about 3-5 minutes.
3.  Add BBQ sauce and water to the chickpeas and let simmer until chickpeas are coated and sauce has thickened - 2-4 minutes.
4.  Serve chickpeas over quinoa.  We like ours with a side of roasted brussel sprouts.


*AKA garbanzo beans
**This sauce is gluten free and available at Costco!

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

I feel like this one is an obvious one, but I have so many people tell me they "hate" brussel sprouts.  The yummy, nutty, crunchy flavor of these roasted beauties is hard to beat.  Even my kids like them!

Ingredients:
Fresh brussel sprouts, halved
Olive oil
Himylain salt

1.  Preheat oven to 400.
2.  Toss sprouts with oil and salt.
3.  Spread sprouts evenly on a baking sheet.
4.  Bake 20-25 minutes.

Homemade Pizza Crust (GF/DF)

Our family has been gluten free for over a year and dairy free for about 9 months.  When you can't have gluten or dairy, homemade pizza seems like an obvious solution to delivery, but finding a good pizza crust is tough.  I define good by three factors: 1. easy to make, 2. not too pricey, and 3.  tastes good!!

I had one brand of pizza crust that I had settled on and we used for several months.  It tasted great, but it took sooooo much energy to make - mixing, rising, rolling, cutting, baking.  I don't know about you, but that's too much for my Saturday.  And there were the weeks I didn't mix it quite right and it didn't rise well - bleh.

Sadly, I had the recipe that follows in my hand for several months before I tried it.  Foolish.  I want to stand from my roof top and tell  you all that this is AWESOME.  On all 3 counts.  Naturally, I have a beautiful lady and my Mom's Group cookbook to thank.  My eternal gratitude is due!!

Added bonus:  This week, I made this recipe without the oregano, cut it into squares and froze it.  For breakfast, I warmed it up, buttered it and served it with eggs.  Great alternative to regular toast and you can't beat the benefit of all that protein first thing in the morning.

Try it.  You'll never be the same.

Ingredients:
2 cups almond meal
1 cup arrowroot powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup almond milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Slather a pizza pan or stone with coconut oil.  (I use a 9x15 pampered chef pan and it works great!)

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Add eggs and milk and mix well.  It will be runny.  Use a spatula to spread teh batter on the greased pan.  Bake 8-12 minutes.  Remove from oven, add sauce and toppings.  Bake another 10-15 minutes.


Recipe Credit: theunrefinedkitchen.com

Quinoa Chocolate Cake

Quinoa in a cake? Yes.  You'd never know it.  It is certainly not sugar free, but with the quinoa added in at least you get a good dose of protein, too!

Ingredients:
-2 c cooked quinoa
-1/2 c unsweetened almond milk
-1 tsp vanilla
-1/2 c earth balance butter
-1/4 c melted coconut oil
-1 c sugar in the raw
-1 c unsweetened cocoa powder (we like Navitas)
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1 1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt

-2 batches of coconut cream whipped frosting

1.  Preheat oven to 350 and line 2 round cake pans with parchment paper.
2.  In a food processor, combine the eggs, milk, and vanilla.  Blend for 10 seconds to combine.
3.  Add the cooked (and cooled!) quinoa, the melted (and cooled!) coconut oil and butter.  Then blend until completely smooth, 1-3 minutes.
4.  Sift together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Add the wet ingredient and mix together until well combined.
5.  Divide the batter between two pans and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool.
6.  Once cooled, you can flip out one cake onto the serving platter and top with frosting.  Then flip the second cake on top of the first and cover top and sides with remaining frosting.
7.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Credit:  Making Thyme for Health

Coconut Cream Whipped Frosting

Yum.  And yum again.  And not so bad for you.  Good fats are good!!  This works great for fruit dip, replacement for Cool Whip, or frosting.

Ingredients:
-1 can of coconut cream
-1 tsp vanilla
-2 Tbs powdered sugar (optional)

For a chocolate version, add in cocoa powder to your liking.

1.  Refrigerate the can of coconut cream for at least a couple of hours (until it solidifies).
2.  Scrape/cut out coconut cream into a bowl.
3.  Use a mixer to whip the cream to desired consistency (the longer you whip it, the fluffier it gets).  Add in vanilla and sugar if using.
4.  Serve.  Or eat it with a spoon!

Black Bean Sliders

These are amazing.  Simple and easy.  Seriously.

Ingredients:
-1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
-1 medium sweet potato
-1/2 cup oats
-1/2 tsp garlic powder
-1/2 tsp onion powder
-1/2 tsp pink salt
-pinch of seasoning of your choice (cumin, chipolte chilie powder, etc)


1.  Preheat oven to broil.  Line a baking sheet with foil.
2.  Wrap the sweet potato in plastic wrap and cook in the microwave for 3-7 minutes or until cooked through.  Remove plastic and let cool.
3.  Using an immersion blender or food processor, pulse oats until it turns into a fine powder.
4.  Add spices and salt to oat powder, stir to combine.
5.  Peel sweet potato (the skin should fall right off) and mash in a large bowl with the beans.
6.  Add oat & seasoning mix to potatoes and beans, combine/mash together.
7.  Scoop out equal portions and form into patties.
8.  Cook the patties for 8 minutes, then flip them and cook again for 3 minutes.*

Makes 6 sliders.

*You'll want to watch them closely in the broiler to make sure they don't burn!

Quinoa & Black Bean Tacos

Photo cred: cookingclassy.com

You won't miss the meat!

Ingredients:
-1 1/2 c cooked quinoa
-1 Tbs olive oil
-1 medium onion, diced
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1 c vegetable broth
-1 can diced tomatoes
-1 1/2 tsp chili powder
-1 tsp ground cumin
-1/2 tsp paprika
-salt & pepper to taste
-1 1/2 c frozen corn
-2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

Serve with:
-corn tortilla
-chopped lettuce
-diced avocados
-diced tomatoes

1.  Heat oil over medium high heat.  Add onion and garlic, saute about 3 minutes.
2.  Add in broth, diced tomatoes, cooked quinoa, and spices.  Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.
3.  Once thickened, add corn and black beans and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Source:  Cooking Classy

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry

This one comes together super quick and makes your whole house smell edible!

Ingredients:
-2 Tbs olive or coconut oil
-2 1/2 Tbs curry powder
-1 Tbs ground cumin
-1 tsp ground cinnamon
-1 medium onion, diced
-3 c diced sweet potatoes
-1 can coconut milk
-1 can diced tomatoes
-1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
-1 cup water or vegetable broth

1.  Heat oil over medium-high heat and stir in spices and onion.  Cook until soft.
2.  Add remaining ingredients to pan, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minute (until potatoes are soft).
3.  Continue to simmer until curry reaches your desired thickness.
4.  Serve over rice.

Credit:  Tasty Kitchen