Sunday, June 23, 2013

Clean Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe was adapted from Clean Eating Magazine.  It is a very flavorful chicken enchilada without all the extra fat of most Chicken Enchilada recipes.

Clean Chicken Enchiladas
(serves 4)


Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken
2 Tbsp (pasture-raised) butter
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/4 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
4 oz. green chilies
1 tsp hot sauce
15 oz. (low sodium) tomato sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (or black pepper)
4 large whole wheat tortillas
Shredded cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in the microwave (30 seconds - 1 minute). Mix together cumin, 1 1/4 Tbsp chili powder, garlic powder, and sea salt.  

2. Drizzle both sides of the chicken with butter and sprinkle with seasonings.  



3. Place chicken in a casserole dish and cook in a 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked thoroughly.  Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees. 

4. Shred or cut chicken into small cubes.  Combine chicken, hot sauce, and green chilies in a medium skillet. Cook on medium until heated through, about 5 minutes.  Remove mixture and set aside.



5. Put tomato sauce, garlic, 1 1/2 tsp chili powder, crushed red pepper (or black pepper), and more hot sauce, if desired, in the same skillet.  Heat on medium heat until heated through, about 8-10 minutes.


6. Put a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce mixture in the bottom of the casserole dish.  Build the enchiladas with 1/4 of the chicken mixture and a sprinkle of cheese in each.  Tuck in the sides of the tortilla and roll it up and place in the casserole dish.




7. After placing all enchiladas in the casserole dish, spoon the remaining tomato sauce over top and sprinkle with shredded cheese.  Bake for 20 minutes.

8. Enjoy!!


Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Blackened Salmon on the Grill

I ordered some Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon from Green Bean Delivery this week...when it came it looked awesome!  I have never made salmond at home myself.  So, I found a rub to put on the salmon from a recipe on allrecipes.com, and talked with one of my friends about how he grills his salmon.  With those two components, I came up with this recipe for Blackened Salmon on the Grill.  It was amazing!  And, it only took about 15 minutes to make start to finish.  I served it with some steamed broccolini.  There is quite a bit of cayenne in the rub, so if you want to cut down on the spice a little bit just use less cayenne. Hope you try it :)

Blackened Salmon on the Grill
(serves 2)


Ingredients:
2 wild salmon fillets, skin on one side and bones removed
2 Tbsp (pasture-raised) butter
1/2 Tbsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp paprika
1/2 Tbsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp of each thyme, basil, and oregano
olive oil (for grill)

Directions:
1. Preheat grill on high heat.

2. Melt butter and drizzle over both sides of the salmon fillets. 



3. Mix together cayenne pepper, paprika, onion powder, salt, pepper, thyme, basil, and oregano in a small bowl for the rub.  Rub mixture all over both sides of the fillets.



4. Put a little olive oil on a paper towel and rub on the grill where you are going to place the salmon, to prevent sticking (be careful of the heat).

5. Place salmon fillets skin side up on the grill.  Close the top and grill for 4 minutes.  Flip and grill and additional 3 minutes.  If the skin sticks to the grill, slide the spatula between the skin and the flesh and remove the salmon from the grill.  If not, remove the salmon from the grill and when it is cool enough to handle, the skin should peel right off of the salmon.



6. Enjoy!!



Monday, June 17, 2013

Summer Green Bean Salad

This recipe was adapted from one off of pinterest.  I needed a vegetable side dish for a father's day party and wanted a cold green bean salad.  This salad is easy to make and full of flavor!  Sorry there is only one picture for this one; when I make it again I will try to take some more pictures.  I think this would be good with some black olives as well, I will have to try that next time!

Summer Green Bean Salad

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. green beans, ends removed
1 1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 c. red onion, chopped
1 container cherry tomatoes
1/3 c. feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:
1. Remove both ends of all the green beans and wash well.  Steam the green beans for about 5 minutes.  For steaming, I use a double pot with the steamer on the top.  Put a cup or two of water in the bottom pot and bring to a boil.  Once the water begins boiling, place green beans in the steamer and replace lid.  Let steam about 5 minutes, until slightly soft but still crisp.

2. Rinse the green beans a couple of times to cool them down.  Add to the bowl.

3. In a small bowl, mix together dressing. The dressing is made up of balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, EVOO, and garlic.  Whisk together and set aside.

4. Chop red onion and cut cherry tomatoes in half and add to the bowl.  Pour dressing over top of vegetables and toss.  Chill in the refrigerator about 30 minutes.  Add feta cheese right before serving so the balsamic vinegar doesn't turn it brown.

5. Enjoy!!

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Best Turkey Burgers Ever

I created this recipe from inspiration from a few different turkey burger recipes on pinterest.  I knew I wanted to make a turkey burger, and at our house, we love to make things spicy :)!  If you can't take the heat, you can still enjoy these turkey burgers, just cut out the jalapenos and add more red onion as well as cutting out the crushed red pepper and replacing with regular black pepper.  However, I recommend the spicy burger, its awesome!  I call these the "Best Turkey Burgers Ever" because I have never had a better turkey burger at a restaurant or at home and they are super easy to make yourself!

These turkey burgers will only take about 10 minutes to mix up and form and take about 15 minutes on the grill.  Serve them with some Guacamole and/or some grilled veggies.  We grilled some broccolini from our Green Bean Delivery.  I also served this with some Berries and Homemade Whipped Cream Parfaits (with berries I got from the Farmer's Market!) for dessert.  Hope you try these burgers for your next cookout!

Spicy Turkey Burgers
(serves 4 - makes about 4 burgers)


Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey (free-range)
1/2 medium red onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp crushed red pepper
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 c. fresh parsley and/or cilantro, chopped
Salt, to taste
Swiss cheese (organic and/or raw preferred)
Whole wheat hamburger/sandwich bun
Toppings (optional): mayonnaise, spicy mustard, ketchup, steak sauce, avocado mayo, sliced jalapenos, lettuce, tomato, onion, etc.

Directions:
1. Set out (thawed) ground turkey for about 20 minutes beforehand to bring it to room temperature.

2. Preheat grill to 350 degrees.  Meanwhile, chop up onion, jalapeno, and fresh parsley.


3. Combine ground turkey, onion, chopped jalapeno, parsley, garlic and remaining dried herbs (except salt) in a large bowl and mix well. 


4. Using your hands, form into large (but flat) patties - should make around 4.  You don't want the patties to be too fat, just a nice thin, large patty because they will get smaller as they cook (form to about 4-5" in diameter). 


5. Once the patties are formed, sprinkle each with a little bit of sea salt.  Place the patties on the grill, evenly spread out and close the lid.

6. Do not disturb patties for approximately 7 minutes (making sure heat stays around 350 degrees).  Flip the burgers and cook another 5 minutes.  Add Swiss cheese (or other cheese of your choice) to the top of the burgers and let cook an additional 2 minutes to allow cheese to melt.


7.  Take burgers off the grill and allow to cool a few minutes before serving.  Serve the turkey burgers on a whole grain bun and add the topping of your choosing.  I topped mine with a little mayonnaise, spicy mustard, fresh sliced jalapenos, lettuce, and tomato. My husband topped his with A1 sauce, mayonnaise, slice jalapenos, and lettuce. 



8. Enjoy!!

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Spinach & Chicken Quesadillas

This dish is a quick and easy weekday lunch or dinner.  It only takes about 15-20 minutes to make as long as you have some leftover chicken. You can use a rotisserie chicken or my Roasted Chicken. Hope you try it soon! 

Spinach & Chicken Quesadillas
(for 1 serving)

Ingredients:
1/2 c. shredded or diced chickens
1 c. fresh spinach
1/2 Tbsp (pasture-raised) butter
A couple tablespoons of (grass-fed, raw) cheese - shredded or very thinly sliced
1 whole wheat tortilla
Chopped jalapeno (optional)

Directions:
1. Melt butter in a skillet on medium heat.  Add in spinach, mix, and cover with a lid until spinach cooks down (2-3 minutes).



2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lay a tortilla on a cookie sheet and top 1/2 of it with shredded chicken, wilted spinach, cheese, and chopped jalapeno (if desired). Note: I used a potato peeler to slice my cheese very thinly.




3. Cook the quesadilla in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and fold the quesadilla in half.  Cut into a few pieces and serve with lettuce, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, or whatever you desire.  I usually just serve it with a little bit of sour cream.  


4. Enjoy!! :)

Roasted Chicken

This recipe is based off of the recipe in Nourishing Traditions - a great cookbook and read for anyone trying to learn more about eating healthy and traditional! This is great to serve with just a few sides or you can use the chicken for soup, quesadillas, bone broth, chicken salad, etc. etc! 

Roasted Chicken

Ingredients:
1 whole (pasture-raised) chicken - 4 to 6 lbs., thawed
1 large onion, sliced
2 carrots, cut in a few large chunks
3 garlic cubes, peeled
4 Tbsp (grass-fed) butter, melted
Salt, to taste
A few lemon slices
A few sprigs of herbs (oregano, tarragon, etc)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove neck and gizzards from chicken (set aside for bone broth, if desired).  Rinse chicken well and pat dry.

2. Slice the onion and cut the carrots into a few large chunks.  Place the sliced onion and carrots on top of the rack in the roasting pan (where the chicken will sit).



3. Salt the cavity of the chicken and put lemon slices and herbs inside (I used tarragon).  Melt 3 Tbsp butter and baste the top of the chicken with 1/2 of the butter.  Salt the top of the chicken generously. Place the chicken, top side down on top of the onion and carrots.




4. Baste the other half of the butter on the underside of the chicken and salt it.  Place the garlic cubes around the chicken.  


5. Bake the chicken at 375 degrees for 1 hour.  Melt the remaining 1 Tbsp butter.  Flip the chicken over and paste with the 1 Tbsp butter.

6. Continue baking the chicken for another 30 minutes - 1 hour, or until a meat thermometer registers at least  165 degrees.  Let cool & enjoy!!