We’ve developed a rating system in our household so that I know what recipes are winners and which ones I should never make again.  It’s a 5-point scale.

1=Never EVER make this again
2=Make this again but it needs some tweaks
3=Make this again
4=This is really good, it should be a regular
5=OMFG this is amazing.  5s are usually reserved for “special occasion” recipes but every once in awhile my easy peasy recipes will garner a 5.

Shaun is a tough judge 😉

I found the original recipe on recipezaar by searching for “chicken” and then sorting by rating to get the top rated chicken recipes. It’s the fourth one down with almost 700 ratings.

I’ve changed it up a bit to make it gluten and refined sugar free.

Ingredients:

-8 chicken drumsticks, skin on (you can do any cut of meat and you can take off the skin-the skin does make it taste amazing though)
-1 cup water
-1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
-1/3 cup Braggs Amino
-2 TBSP honey
-4 garlic cloves-peeled and bruised (just smush it under a knife)
-1 jalapeño, seeds removed

Instructions:

-Put all ingredients in a pan over high heat. 

-Once it starts to boil, reduce it to a  a simmer.  Simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered-turning frequently.

-Remove any scum that rises-scum has never risen for me but just in case!

-Increase heat to medium/high and boil until sauce is thick.  Remember to turn chicken frequently.  This takes a good 20 minutes.

-Serve over rice and ENJOY!

Serves 4

Shaun LOVES this meal and give it a 5.  Lu loved it too.  I had to remove the skin and I wish I would have removed the skin BEFORE I cooked it so that the meat could soak up all the yummy sauce.

Back in October, we went to visit my aunt who is an amazing cook.  She made us shrimp and grits and Shaun could NOT get enough.  My aunt gave me the recipe and I promptly lost it.  It was a Paula Deen recipe and full of fatty goodness.  I decided to try and re-create the shrimp and grits on the fly and here’s my version. Non-dairy for me. Full of dairy for Shaun and Lu.

Ingredients:

-6 slices of bacon, chopped
-1 pound raw, shelled shrimp
-1 pound brussels sprouts, bottoms cut off, and halved
-1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
-4 servings of grits, cooked according to the package (I used quick cooking)
-2 TBSP butter (optional)
-1/2 cup shredded cheddar (optional)

Instructions:

-Cook bacon over medium-high heat until translucent.

-Add brussels sprouts and vinegar to deglaze pan. Scrape bottom of pan.

-Cover and steam.  While the brussels sprouts cook, start the grits.

-After 8-10 minutes, add shrimp to brussels sprouts, cover and cook until shrimp is pink, stirring a few times.

-If using the dairy, add the butter and cheese to the grits.

-Enjoy!

Mine:

Shaun’s:

And Lu’s:

Lu didn’t eat much of it.  Shaun really liked it and gave it a 3 out of 5 stars but said it was too rich to have too often.  I loved mine and give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

I’ve been craving tomato soup and grilled cheese like mad.  Almost all the tomato soup out there has dairy so I thought I’d try to make my own.  I’m so glad I did!

Ingredients:

-3 pounds of tomatoes (I used 2 pounds cherry tomatoes and 1 pound tomatoes on the vine, quartered)
-1 medium onion, chopped
-10 whole garlic cloves
-3 TBSP olive oil
-1 TBSP vegan spread (earth balance or smart balance)
-3-4 cups Chicken/Vegetable Stock
-1 cup roughly torn basil
-S+P to taste

Instructions:

-Preheat oven to 450*

-Place 2 pounds tomatoes, garlic, and onion on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil.

-Cook for 30 minutes, stirring halfway though.

-After stirring mixture in the oven, melt vegan spread over medium high heat in a large saucepan and then place remaining tomatoes in the melted “butter”.

-Once the mixture in the oven is caramelized (after about 30 minutes), take it out of the oven and add it to the pot on the stove.

-In addition to the roasted tomatoes, add 3 cups of broth and cook for 20 minutes.

-After 20 minutes, add the basil. Stir.

-Blend with an immersion blender (I left some chunks in it).  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add additional cup of stock, if needed.

-Enjoy!

I thought this was AH-MAZE-ING and I give it a 5. Lu did too-she LOVED it.  Shaun “declines to state”.  He is NOT a soup guy and says that the best soup in the world would still be a 2 in his eyes. I can’t wait to eat this for lunch tomorrow!!

I’ve been craving pizza but I HATE fake cheese.  I had a thought today to try mushed up beans instead of cheese-it turned out really well.

Ingredients:

–Whole Wheat Dough
-Can of drained garbanzo beans, rinsed
-10-15 leaves of basil
-2 tsp Braggs Amino
-2 tsp olive oil
-pizza sauce
-whatever toppings you desire-I did eggplant, orange peppers, mushrooms, and capers

Instructions: 

-Place garbanzo beans, basil, Braggs, and olive oil in a food processor and process until smooth.

-Roll out pizza dough, cover with sauce, and place quarter size dollops of the garbanzo mixture on top of the sauce.

-Cover with rest of veggies.

-Bake at 450* for 10-15 minutes or until crust is done and veggies are crisp tender.

-Enjoy! 

Makes 10 slices.

This totally satisfied my craving for pizza.  The bean mixture didn’t taste like cheese nor did it have the consistency BUT it was damn good! I give it 3.5 stars 🙂

Back in December Tina made a Greek Casserole that looked really good. I didn’t even consult the recipe today before grocery shopping or cooking-I had my own idea in mind.  The result was good!

Ingredients:

-1/2 medium onion, chopped
-1 tsp olive oil
-3 cloves garlic, crushed
-1 pound ground turkey
-1 block silken tofu
-3 cups spinach
-1 cup chopped parsley
-2 cups mushrooms (I used shitake and oyster), coarsely chopped

-1 pound small pasta shells
-1 can white beans, drained and rinsed (alternately, omit the meat and add 2 cans of beans)
-1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
-6 ounces sliced kalamata olives
-8 ounces feta (I used goat milk feta)
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp dried dill
-Fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions:

-Preheat oven to 350*.

-Prepare shells according to package.

-While pasta cooks, cook onions and garlic over medium high heat until glistening. Add ground turkey and stir to break apart.  Brown turkey.

-While turkey browns, add tofu, spinach, parsley, and 1/2 tsp salt to a food processor and process until smooth.

-Add dill, 1/2 tsp of salt, pepper (to taste) and mushrooms to meat mixture, turn off the heat.

-In a greased casserole pan, add pasta, meat mixture, tofu mixture, beans, feta, olives, and tomatoes-stir to combine.

-Bake for 20 minutes.

-Enjoy!

Lu LOVED this.  She couldn’t get enough.  I didn’t use cherry tomatoes and instead used canned diced tomatoes.  With the canned tomatoes it was only a 2.5 out of 5 stars from both Shaun and me.  With the addition of the fresh cherry tomatoes? It would easily be a 3 or even a 4.

Monica made some No Bake Oatmeal Cookies last night and they looked soooo good.  I decided to throw something together that sort of resembled those and I came up with what I think may become a staple in this house.

It may not look like much but it is oh so tasty.

Ingredients:

-1/4 cup oats
-2 tsp peanut butter
-2 tsp honey
-2 tsp rice milk
-1 tsp coconut (optional)
-1 tsp cocoa powder (optional)

Instructions:

-Warm up your peanut butter and honey in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.

-Mix remaining ingredients into peanut butter and honey mixture.

-ENJOY! Serious YOM!

Oh my.  I am so excited to share what I made with you.  I’m giddy because they were so good.  Shaun even tried it and had to admit it was pretty dang tasty-that’s saying A LOT coming from my extreme carnivore husband.

The inspiration came from Angela’s recipe.

Ingredients:

-1 15 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
-1 carrot chopped
-1/2 onion chopped
-1 red or yellow pepper chopped
-1/4 cup spinach
-3 garlic cloves
-1 cup shredded raw beets OR beet pulp from the juicer (my pulp also had apples and lemons in it)
-zest of 1 lemon (or above mentioned pulp)
-1 TBSP dried dill
-1 tsp salt
-1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
-1 TBSP Braggs Amino
-1 cup cooked spelt
-1/3 cup sunflower seeds
-1 TBSP chia seeds (optional)
-3/4 cups flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)

Instructions:

-Preheat oven to 400* and cover a cookie sheet with foil and spray with high heat cooking spray.

-Place beans, veggies/pulp, and spices into a food processor and process until smooth. I added my veggies in batches so that I wouldn’t overwhelm my processor. 

You may need to scrape down the sides occasionally.

After the beets:

-Place in large bowl and incorporate the spelt.

(I also put some leftover rice in there). Never seen spelt? It’s really great and I have some leftover to eat with dinner tomorrow night.

-Add the seeds.

-Add the flour 1/4 of a cup at a time until fully incorporated.

-Shape into burgers. I made large ones because that’s how I like my beef burgers.

Doesn’t that look like beef?

-Cook for 15 minutes. Flip and then cook for 15 minutes longer, or until nice a firm and crispy on the outside.

-Serve with your favorite toppings.

-Enjoy!

Seriously?  I would give these 5 stars.  It was better than the burger I had at The Plant Cafe for the KERF Meet-up back in November. It was more burger like and DELISH. I think it’ll be even better with the grated beet vs. the pulp and I cannot wait to make it (and eat it)!

A stir fry is a dish where you cook veggies and proteins at a high heat with very little oil.  It’s similar to sautéing but you use higher heat and don’t normally cover what you’re cooking.  It’s a fast and easy way to make a healthy dinner. *Tip-try to make all the vegetables approximately the same size for uniform cooking.

Ingredients:

-Half an onion, sliced
-10 garlic cloves, chopped
-1 inch of ginger, peeled and chopped
-4 carrots, sliced
-8 small zucchini, sliced
-10 mini peppers, or 2 big peppers, sliced
-~20 mushrooms, quartered
-1/4 cup Bragg’s Amino/Soy Sauce
-1/2 tsp sesame oil
-High heat non-stick spray

Instructions:

-Spray a wok or a big skillet with high heat non-stick spray, turn heat to high.  When pan is hot, add sesame oil, coat bottom of pan.

-Add onions and half of soy sauce/Braggs and cook until glistening.

-Add garlic, ginger, and carrots.

Since carrots take some time to cook, I cover them for about 3 minutes.

-Add the rest of the veggies and soy/Braggs. (I used half Braggs and half soy sauce tonight).

-Cook until just tender.

-Lucy and I had ours with the baked tofu I made.

Lu’s (I added some leftover peas and corn from lunch):

Mine:

Shaun is not a tofu fan so I marinated some shrimp in Braggs and sriracha and cooked those on the side.

Shaun’s plate:

Shaun gave this a 3.5 out of 5 and I agree-it was tasty.  Lu didn’t agree so much.  She ate a few pieces of tofu and then cherry picked the carrots, peas, and rice.  She didn’t care for the mushrooms, peppers, or zucchini. But she tried them and that’s all I can ask 🙂

I had never made this before and man was it easy-and delicious!

Ingredients:

-1 package extra firm tofu
-1/4 cup soy sauce or Bragg’s Amino
-1 TBSP sriracha (optional)

Instructions:

-Preheat oven to 400*

-Cut tofu block into 1/2 inch thick slices.

-Lay out on multiple paper towels, cover with more paper towels, and then place something heavy on top to drain for ~10 minutes.

(I use a cutting board and my cast iron dutch oven)

-Marinate pieces in soy sauce and sriracha (optional) mixture for 10-15 minutes, flipping part way through.

Siracha mixture (for me):

Braggs mixture (for Lucy):

-Cover a cookie sheet with foil and then spray the foil with high heat non-stick spray. Place tofu on sheet and pop into the oven.

-Bake for 40 minutes (or until crispy), flipping half way through.

The outside will be nice and crispy and the inside will be soft and yummy.  I seriously loved this stuff.  I give it 5 out of 5 stars!