Sweet Potato and Apple casserole

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Every Thanksgiving I try to mix things up a bit. The same old things get boring.  I do my best to keep a balance between the healthy and the decadent, and when the healthy becomes the decadent I consider it a win. My husband is old school. He likes his canned cranberries and stove top stuffing (ummm….YUK)

So as to please everyone, I make what everyone likes the way they like it and try to keep a budget.  Since he is not a fan of sweet potatoes, unless they are mashed and topped with marshmallows, he won’t eat them. Even then, when I made them this way, he only ate one serving them leftovers were never touched.  So I decided to start making that MY dish. One that I love and will eat the leftovers for days and without feeling like I will need to spend two hours a day in the gym to work off.

Last year I just baked 3 sweet potatoes for my Mom, Sister and I, but this year I wanted to get a little creative.  I have many kitchen gadgets, and love to use them as much as possible, so for this one I pulled out my under-utilized mandolin.

* Now you don’t need a mandolin to make this recipe, but it sure does help. Either way, watch those fingers.

Ingredients:

·         3 lbs. (3-4 medium) sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly

·         2 granny smith apples, sliced thinly

·         1 orange, juiced (Do not use concentrate)

·         3 Tablespoons butter, melted

·         3 Tablespoons olive oil

·         Sliced almonds to top

·         Cinnamon (I don’t say how much because I think it should be a preference.  I like A LOT, but others may want just a little.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine melted butter, olive oil and cinnamon in a small bowl. Pour 2 tablespoons of butter-oil mixture in the bottom of a 2-quart baking dish. Arrange potato slices vertically in the dish. Add a sliver of apple between every few slices of potato. Sprinkle with sliced almonds, pour juice of orange on top, and then brush top with remaining butter-oil mixture. Season generously cinnamon.

Cover dish with foil and roast for 1 hour, covered, until potatoes are tender (If your potato slices are thicker, you may need to increase cooking time). Increase oven heat to 450 degrees F. Remove foil and roast another 10-15 minutes, until tops of potatoes are browned and crisp.

Yay!!!! Summer is finally here!! You know what that mean? Fresh Produce!!

I know corny (pun intended) but I love going to the farmers markets and road side farm stands. The smell of fresh produce cannot be beat.  The fresh veggies and fruit actually smell Delicious; which means the flavor will be VERY intense.   Tomatoes that smell like tomatoes and of sorts of veggies that don't smell like Roundup.
Yes you can smell that if you get pesticides and other chemicals out of your diet and you will feel a whole lot better as well.

Spiralized Zucchini Noodles:

So my latest kitchen gadget love is my Spiralizer.  Nothing fancy, although there are a ton of them out there.  Mine was a mere $12 without coupon from BBB and fits nicely in a kitchen drawer.

The reason I bought it was to make spaghetti noodles out of Zucchini, but you can use it for so much more.  I'll post more recipes as the Summer progresses.
But today we are talking spaghetti noodles.  This is the cheapest and tastiest noodle you will every make. Oh and did I say how easy it is. Easy breezy lemon squeezey as my Husband would say.

There are so many benefits to using zucchini as noodles, even if you aren't trying to take gluten or carbs out of your diet; both of which are still advantages all by themselves. But they are also much more nutritious for your body, tons of vitamins, fiber, you use up all the zucchini your garden produces in the summer so your giving less away; they have way less calories and my ultimate favorite, you can eat spaghetti and when you get up from the table you don't get that bloated feeling that makes you miserable for hours and want to take a nap.

Here it is. THAT'S IT!!
All you do it put the Zucchini in and turn. It makes long delicious noodles.

RECIPE:

Noodles:
1 Organic Zucchini per 2 people

Pasta Sauce;

5-6 Organic or locally grown Roma tomatoes
1 - 12 oz can organic tomato sauce- will give it a better texture
1- 6oz can organic tomato paste
1 medium onion - diced
1 large clove onion
1 LB fresh portabella mushrooms- diced
1 Medium Green Pepper- diced (I like larger chunks)
Optional: If you are trying to get more veggies in your families diet, grate/chop a couple carrots to add to blender, they'll never know it's in there
Option 2: If you like to juice and have left over pulp, this is a great place to add that fiber back into your diet, add it to the blender when adding other ingredients. It will add a ton of flavor. Just be sure it doesn't contain strong flavors such as ginger.

Spices: If using fresh double the amount
1 -TBS parsley
1-TBS oregano
1 -TBS Basil - if fresh, 1/2 handful
Salt/Pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in food processor, except mushrooms and green peppers - I use my Vitamix and process till smooth. Hint: I saute my onions first. I don't like the taste of raw onions, and even though we are cooking this, the caramelized onions gives it a depth of flavor.

Saute mushrooms, then add green peppers and pour tomato mixture over mushrooms. Bring to boil, then turn down heat and simmer till sauce is desired thickness.

When sauce is done pour over raw zucchini noodles.  That's right!!! Raw. The hot sauce will cook the noodles until Al Dente' and won't be soggy.  I really do not like zucchini that is cooked because it is soggy and slimy.  This one taste is amazing. Top with Parmesan cheese if you desired.

Note; This is a great #vegetarian option for #meatless #Monday's, but if you want to add meat, add ground round or ground turkey to mushrooms and brown together then add sauce.  Both ways are amazing

Thai Chicken Chowder with Carrot Noodles

Serves 8

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Coconut oil

One can of Coconut milk (Lite if you are using chicken, full fat if you are omitting chicken)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs boneless Chicken thighs cut into bite sized pieces
1 butternut squash, seeded peeled and cubed (3-4 cups)
1 (160z) jar roasted salsa – medium heat.  Hot takes flavor away and mild doesn’t have enough zing
4 cups Chicken Broth
5 large carrots, made into flat noodles with a mandolin

Onion diced

Sliced portabella mushrooms

1 Tablespoon lime juice
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions:

In a large soup pot, place the coconut oil over medium high heat. Add the onion, mushrooms, garlic and chicken and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add the butternut squash cubes. Continue to cook for 5 minutes. Add jar of salsa and chicken broth and bring to a low boil.
Wash the carrots, and then use a mandolin to create long, flat “noodles”. Add to the pot. Reduce to a simmer and cover for 40 minutes.

Use an immersion or regular blender to puree ½ of the vegetables. Add most of the cilantro, saving just enough to garnish each bowl. 
Serve warm, I served it with Black Bean chips, YUM!

Healthy Gluetin-Free Hot Breakfast

Beginning Each & Every Day with Breakfast is very Important to keep our bodies healthy. I usually start with an *Arbonne Protein Shake.  My favorite is the Vanilla Powder, Pumpkin, Cinnamon and to make it a complete meal, I add a healthy fat, like coconut oil.

But as the cooler weather of fall and winter set in here in Michigan I like something hot. So I make this Porridge type cereal.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of Gluetin-Free Ground Flax Meal
2 Scoops Vanilla *Arbonne Protein Powder
Cinnamon to taste.
Hot water - amount will depend on how thick or thin you want your cereal.
*Blanched Almonds or Pumpkin seeds.
1/4 cup of Canned Pumpkin

Instructions:

Boil water.  In a bowl, combine Flax Meal, Protein Powder and Cinnamon.  Add boiling water and stir till thick paste forms.  Add pumpkin. This is where you need to adjust as desired.  I like mine like a thick oatmeal. Make sure you dig deep from the bottom to get all the dry ingredients mixed in.
When desired consistency add Almonds.

 *I like to use Arbonne Protein Powder.  It is whey free, dairy free, Non-GMO, gluetin free, certified Vegan, only has 7 grams of cane sugar (The same amount in a green apple) and has a ton of vitamins in it. And best of all, it tastes AMAZING!!!
*Blanched Almonds are easily digested, are better for you and taste great.  Adding them last will keep them from getting too soft as they are already soft and I like the crunch.
*Only use Pumpkin when in season, when it is not, omit and add another ingredient, like dried cranberries or raisins.

**If you are interested in purchasing Arbonne Protein Powder, please feel free to contact me cpozek@gmail.com and feel free to go to my website: CherylPozek.Arbonne.com