Kale Quinoa Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing

via: https://theliveinkitchen.com/warm-kale-and-quinoa-salad/#recipe

Kale and Quinoa Salad

• ▢ 1 bunch kale, ribs removed, chopped
• ▢ Coarse kosher salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon olive oil
• ▢ 2 cup cooked quinoa
• ▢ 3 carrots, julienned
• ▢ 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• ▢ ¼ cup sunflower seeds
• ▢ ¼ cup pepitas (optional)
• ▢ 4-6 radishes, julienned
• ▢ ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• ▢ 1 avocado, sliced (optional)
• 1 cup roasted sweet potatoes (optional) have prepped ahead

Lemon Tahini Dressing

• ▢ ⅓ cup olive oil
• ▢ ⅓ cup lemon juice
• ▢ 2 tablespoons tahini
• ▢ 2 teaspoons maple syrup
• ▢ 1 clove garlic, pressed
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Make the dressing

• In a small bowl or jar, whisk together dressing ingredients until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Make the salad

• Sprinkle kale with salt and drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Using your hands, massage until dark.⠀
• Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the kale, quinoa, carrot, red bell pepper, and sunflower seeds. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes until the kale is slightly wilted. Remove from the heat and add the pepitas, radishes, and cilantro. Stir to combine.
• Toss salad with half the dressing and serve drizzled with additional dressing, sliced avocado, a sprinkling of freshly cracked black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes if desired.

Overnight Oats

 This is from Clean Food Crush's Chocolate Chip overnight oats but I just add chia seeds and leave it in a big container and add whatever toppings I have. Sometimes the nut butter sometimes fresh berries and agave. Whatever sounds good. It's just handy to have in the fridge. 
https://cleanfoodcrush.com/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-overnight-oatmeal/

• 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 2 cups milk of choice
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup dark mini chocolate chips
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• pinch of sea salt
• good pinch of ground cinnamon (optional)
• 1/2 cup almond butter, or cashew butter

Add all of your ingredients except for almond butter/cashew butter into a large bowl and whisk or stir really well to combine.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours to overnight.
Once your oatmeal has set, remove from the fridge and quickly fold in the almond/cashew butter. You don’t have to completely mix it in, leave in some visible swirls!

Lighter Lemon Chicken Piccata

 This was so fancy and tasty. One I probably will make like 2 times in a row to use up the ingredients I have gathered specifically for this recipe. I don't often have capers and parsley (from the garden). But it was so good. Restaurant high quality. No need to eat out with fun meals like this. 

via https://lilluna.com/skinny-chicken-piccata/#wprm-recipe-container-104616

Ingredients

• ▢ 9 boneless skinless chicken tenders pounded thin (I did not pound flat just used tenders) (about 1.25 lbs)
• ▢ salt and pepper
• ▢ 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• ▢ 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic minced (I used a big chunk of my frozen minced, probably 2 TBSP)
• ▢ 2-3 (I did 3) cups chicken broth
• ▢ 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• ▢ 2 tbsp capers drained and rinsed
• ▢ 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• ▢ 1 tbsp plain Greek yogurt or more to taste
• ▢ angel hair pasta for serving if desired
• ▢ sliced lemons for serving
• ▢ parsley for serving

Instructions

 

• Pound chicken cutlets and season with salt and pepper. Roll in flour and shake off excess.
• Heat oil in pan. Brown chicken on both sides over medium heat. Remove to a plate when brown, set aside. (Keep in warm oven)
• Pull pan off the heat and add in minced garlic. Stir. Don’t burn the garlic! (I did add butter at this point)
• When fragrant, add chicken broth and place pan back on heat. Scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Heat to a light boil and let sauce cook until reduced a bit.
• Add lemon juice and capers. Simmer again until sauce is reduced some and slightly thickened.
• Add butter and melt. Add chicken and any liquid on plate. Simmer together over a medium-low heat until sauce is to thickness desired. Pull off heat. Lightly stir in yogurt (can also skip this step and eat without adding yogurt).
• Serve chicken alone or with angel hair pasta (I used the whole wheat kind) with some lemon slices on the side and parsley sprinkled over the top. Enjoy!
  
  
  I choose to serve mine all separate, some like chicken, some like no sauce etc. The parsley and capers just add some much to this so don't skip those!

Coconut Flour Mug Cake

 via https://kirbiecravings.com/keto-brownie-mug-cake/#recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tbsp Swerve granular sweetener
• 1 1/2 tbsp heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp chopped dark chocolate

INSTRUCTIONS

• In a microwave-safe mug (that holds at least 8 oz of liquid) add cocoa powder, coconut flour, baking powder and Swerve. Mix with a small whisk to break up any clumps and mix until evenly combined.
• Add in heavy cream, water and oil. Whisk until batter is smooth. Sprinkle surface with dark chocolate.
• Cook brownie in the microwave at full power for about 60-80 seconds. I like the brownie to be extra fudgy and slightly underdone, so I cooked mine to 65 seconds. Allow brownie to cool a few minutes before eating. Brownie is best eaten warm.

Home Canned Mandarins

 http://theartisticfarmer.blogspot.com/2014/01/home-canned-mandarin-oranges.html?m=1

{the amount for everything will depend on how many jars, how many pounds of fruit and what size the fruit are}

-fresh ripe clementines {you know they are perfectly ripe when they are super easy to peel}

-water

-sugar

1. Peel clementines.

2. Start syrup mixture; I made a very light syrup so I used 5 1/2 cups water and 1 1/4 cups sugar.  Simmer in a large sauce pan until the sugar has dissolved. 
{This should make enough for about 6 or 7 pints; I ended up doubling this for the 7 quarts I could can at once.} 
NOTE: I just used white sugar, although you could use raw or brown sugar if you'd like.

3. Separate clementine sections and pack into clean, sterilized jars leaving about 1 inch headspace.

5. Wipe the rims clean, top with a warmed lid, tighten ring to finger tightness and place jars in a water bath. Make sure the water covers the jars by at least 1-2 inches.

6. Process jars in water bath for 10 minutes for pints and 15 minutes for quarts.

7. Remove canner lid and allow jars to sit for 5 minutes.

8. Remove jars to a wire rack or a clean kitchen towel to seal and cool completely.

If any jars do not seal you can re-bath them within 24 hours or place them in the refrigerator and enjoy within a week.

Sautéed Veggie Breakfast Baked Frittata

 Adapted from https://cookieandkate.com/healthy-breakfast-casserole-recipe/

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium red bell peppers, chopped (about 2 cups) -I used a bunch of the small sweet peppers)
¾ cup thinly sliced green onion (about 1 small bunch)

1/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
5 ounces roughly chopped spinach (about 5 cups)
12 eggs
3 tablespoons full-fat dairy (heavy cream, half-and-half, whole milk, sour cream or yogurt)
Several dashes of your favorite hot sauce, like Cholula
½ teaspoon fine salt
10 twists of freshly ground black pepper

4 ounces (1 cup) crumbled feta or goat cheese

1 tsp oregano 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9 by 13-inch pan with butter (don’t be tempted to use cooking spray; it doesn’t work nearly as well). 
2. In a large skillet, warm the olive oil over medium heat until shimmering.  Add the bell pepper and green onion and sun-dried tomatoes and cook until the pepper is tender and cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. 
3. Add the spinach to the skillet and cook, while stirring, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Set the pan aside to cool for a bit while we prepare the egg mixture. 
4. Crack the eggs into a medium mixing bowl. Add your dairy of choice, several dashes of hot sauce, plus the salt and pepper. Whisk just until the egg yolks and whites are blended. 
5. Stir in half of the cheese (we’re reserving the other half for topping the frittata before baking). Transfer the lightly cooled veggies into the bowl, and stir to combine. 
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Evenly disperse the remaining cheese on top. 
7. Bake for 25 minutes (keep an eye on it), until the eggs are puffed and appear cooked, and the center of the frittata just barely jiggles when you give it a gentle shimmy. For good measure, insert a fork about ¼-inch into the center of the eggs and make sure the fork comes out clean
8. Place the frittata on a cooling rack until you’re ready to serve. Slice with a sharp knife, and serve. Leftovers will keep well for about four days in the refrigerator. Enjoy leftovers chilled, at room temperature, or gently reheat in the microwave or oven.

Brown Soda Bread

 Callen checked out a Test Kitchen kids cookbook from the library and we made the brown soda bread for St. Patrick's Day from it. It was super easy and turned out really tasty. We enjoyed the whole grain. Loved it plain, with butter or with jam. We had it with beef stew over mashed potatoes. It makes a good sized loaf. 

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for counter

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup toasted wheat germ (did in a dry, warm pan for a few minutes, stirring constantly)

3 TBSP sugar (could do 2)

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 3/4 cups buttermilk (I used a small bit of extra as it was coming together, adjust to your conditions)

2 TBSP butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 400. We used a baking sheet with a silicone mat. (maybe try 375, our bottom was a bit dark)

2. In a large bowl whisk flours, wheat germ, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda until combined. 

3. Stir together buttermilk and butter until small clumps form. Add liquid to flour mixture. 

4. Use rubber spatula to stir until comes together

5. Sprinkle counter with decent amount of flour. Knead until smooth until a ball forms. Pat and shape into 7 inch circle. Use a knife to cut a big X across the top (I cut into it about an inch). Place on baking sheet and bake for 45-50 minutes. I wanted the middle cooked so we did the full 50. The bottom was dark. But cooked well inside and not dry. 

Takes about 1 hour to make. Can cool an hour or two but we're not patient or good enough planners for that. 

From America's Test Kitchen: The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs, page 144,145