Enchilada Salad

This is similar to taco salad, but because it contains cooked corn tortillas, I thought I should call it Enchilada Salad- sure, why not?  This was something I came up with just because when I eat lunch I make it my job to use up whatever needs to get eaten in the fridge!  Yes, someone's gotta do it.  I was pleased enough with this lunch to recreate it several times.  I think it's both satisfying & frugal (since it's meatless- but you could add meat for more flavor and fun).

Enchilada Salad
portions are for serving 1 person
2 Tablespoons broth (or water)
1/4 cup cooked beans (pinto, black)
1/4 cup cooked rice
1/4 cup salsa (or more)
shredded cheese (as much as you like)
1 corn tortilla
mixed salad greens
Ranch style dressing
optional: cumin, cilantro, cooked meat, sour cream, olives, tomatoes, avocado, etc!

Pour broth into small pot and add beans, rice, salsa, shredded cheese.  (Add in meat also if you want.)  Tear tortilla into 1 inch pieces & mix into pot.  If using cilantro and cumin, add a dash of these and stir.  Warm on the stove over medium heat stirring occasionally until mixture is hot, cheese is melted, and tortillas are soft.

Arrange salad greens on plate and drizzle with dressing.  Drop spoonfuls of the warm enchilada mixture evenly over the greens.  Top with any optional ingredients you want, or just dig in!

Enjoy,
Lisa

These posts have been written ahead of time as my family and I are working with a team at an orphanage in Ensenda, Mexico this week.  Please feel free to comment but I will not be able to approve or reply to comments until after July 1st.

Power Bars

This recipe originally came from the Nourishing Protein Bars over at Passionate Homemaking.  When I tried the recipe for some reason my bars were "missing" something (it was like eating a mouthful of peanut butter) so I let it get soft again (sat the pan inside the recently used toaster oven & it softened right up).  Then I mixed in a bunch more "stuff" and thought I'd share with you.  These are a great in-between meals snack: satisfying & easy to grab one on the go.

Power Bars
2 cups almonds
1/4 cup flax seeds, chia seeds, or pumpkin seeds *gound in a coffee grinder* I forgot that step & will tell you whole flax seeds are not fun to chew! 
1/2 cup dates
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup peanut butter or almond butter
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)
4 Tbsp. maple syrup or honey
3 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup raisins or diced figs (I used figs)
2/3 cup cashew pieces
1 cup chocolate chips/chunks (use this recipe for healthy chocolate)

Place almonds, ground seeds, dates, coconut, peanut butter and salt in food processor. 

Pulse for about 10 seconds.  Stir sweeteners & vanilla into melted coconut oil.

Add to food processor & pulse until it forms a coarse paste.

Pour mixture into an 8x8 pan.  Stir in the raisins or figs, cashews, and chocolate chips.  Press into pan.  Chill for 1 hour, until mixture hardens.  Make 4 cuts vertically & horizontally in your pan so you have 16 bars.  Cover & store in refrigerator or freeze for another time.

Enjoy!
Lisa

Please feel free to comment this week, but our family is with a team working at an orphanage in Ensenada, Mexico, so I will not be able to approve or reply to comments until after July 1st.  This week's posts were written & publishing scheduled ahead of time- just for you!

Roasted Cauliflower & Chickpeas

Recently I had a head of cauliflower & I pulled some chickpeas from the freezer because I love cauliflower dipped in hummus!  But then I saw a blog post about roasting cauliflower & I was intrigued.  I also remembered seeing a few posts about roasting chick peas, which I was also curious about.  Come to find out they both cook at the same temperature for the same amount of time, so why not roast them both at the same time?  This would be good for when you want a salty snack...

Roasted Cauliflower (and/or) Chickpeas
1 head cauliflower, stem removed
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans) or 1 can, drained
4 Tbsp. olive oil
salt, garlic, pepper - to taste

Preheat oven to 450.  Chop cauliflower into small pieces (but not tiny).  Pat chickpeas dry with paper towels.

 

Combine chickpeas, cauliflower, oil and a generous sprinkling of salt, garlic, and pepper in a large bowl.  Stir to combine.  Spread out in a single layer on a cookie sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper). 

Since my cookie sheet doesn't have edges I used the cauliflower to keep the chickpeas corralled & from rolling off the edges.

Place in oven and bake for about 30 minutes.  Cauliflower will have a "toasted" look when ready.  Do not over bake or the chickpeas will get too dry.

Some of my cauliflower pieces were too big- the smaller ones were better.

I'm going to have some of these roasted chickpeas and cauliflower on top of my salad today too.

Enjoy!

Lisa

P.S. Did you see Wardeh's post about the USDA food pyramid?  So well put!

Please feel free to comment this week, but our family is with a team working at an orphanage in Ensenada, Mexico, so I will not be able to approve or reply to comments until after July 1st.  These posts were written & publishing scheduled ahead of time- just for you! 

Carrot Cake

My all time favorite cake is carrot cake (or cheesecake- if that counts as cake then it's a tie)!  Since it was my birthday I decided I would make myself a healthy birthday cake- that way we can really enjoy it.  I wanted my cake to also have the benefits of "soaking" to make it even healthier.  I searched & searched real food blogs, but no soaked carrot cake was to be found.  The closest I could find was this recipe for Election Cake (which I had never heard of- and I had also never heard of using yeast in a cake).  Later I googled it & found this information about it's history.

Even though there was no picture of the cake, it had molasses, spices, and dried fruit.  I figured I could sub out the dried fruit for carrots and give it a try.  Pretty brave of me I think!  I ended up adding quite a few things, and I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but we've decided it's pretty good.  Here's what I ended up with:

Carrot Cake
4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

12 to 24 hours ahead of time combine flour & buttermilk, cover, and allow to sit at room temperature.  Mixture will be a little dry.

8 oz. can crushed pineapple, undrained
2 packets yeast
1/2 lb. butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sucanat or turbinado sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2 eggs
1 T. cinnamon
pinch of cloves
pinch of nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. shredded carrots (about 3)
1 c. shredded coconut
1 c. chopped pecans
1 c. raisins

The morning after you've soaked the flour: drain pineapple juice into (glass) measuring cup & add enough water to equal 2/3 cup.  Warm gently to about 110 degrees (do not boil- you can place the measuring cup in a pot of water on the stove to warm it).  Remove from heat, stir in yeast & allow to sit for several minutes.

Meanwhile, cream the butter and sugar together at high speed until creamy.  Add molasses and eggs and continue to beat.

Mix the flour mixture into the egg & butter mixture one cup at a time.  Then add the yeast mixture, spices, and salt and mix thoroughly until a thick-cake like batter forms.  Stir in drained pineapple, carrots, coconut, pecans and raisins.

Pour batter into pans (one 9x13 or 2 round cake pans) that have been oiled & floured or lined with parchment paper (that's what I did).  Make sure you account for the fact that this cake is going to rise!  Leave in a warm place for several hours or until doubled in bulk (it sure did)!  Wow- that's a lot of cake!

Pre-heat oven to 375 & bake for approximately 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean (mine baked for closer to an hour & it was over cooked).  Check half way through bake time- if top is browning too fast then cover with foil.  Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minues in pan, then transfer to cooling rack. 

This may be more dense than your cake usually is (more like the density of a fruitcake), but it is still tasty.  I found it paired perfectly with Wardeh's vanilla coconut cream frosting.  Right now Tropical Traditions has their coconut cream on sale: buy one, get one free!  If you're thinking about buying some (use some for frosting and some for fudge) and it's your first time, you can use my referral number 5997607 to get a free book about coconut oil.  I've been reading it & it's full of amazing testimonials. 

Enjoy!
Lisa

This post is a part of Real Food Wednesdays.

Tuesday Twister: Highs & Lows

I tried several different recipes this week.  Some were hits, and some were misses!  I tried a recipe for buckwheat flour pancakes.  Most buckwheat pancake recipes I have seen use a mixture of buckwheat and wheat flours, but this was all buckwheat.  Have you seen buckwheat flour before?  When it was in the soaking stage it looked like refried black beans.  Buckwheat has a very strong flavor, somewhat "earthy" I guess you could say.  It was way too strong for us.  I even tried adding syrup and vanilla to the batter, but this was definitely not for us. 

I also made a homemade syrup to stretch our real maple syrup, using this recipe here.  I adjusted the recipe a little- I only used 1 cup of (turbinado) sugar to 1 cup of water, plus 1/4 cup of honey, and a tablespoon of maple extract.  I ended up with about 1 1/2 cups of a nice syrup that I mixed with a slightly larger amount of maple syrup.  100% pure maple syrup is still the better choice health wise, but this is a budget-friendlier compromise.

Another first for me was making homemade chocolate chips.  My son was begging for chocolate chip cookies. However, I learned that homemade chocolate chips (chunks) can not be used in chocolate chip cookies!  Keep in mind that the homemade chocolate chunks were made only of cocoa, sugar, and butter/coconut oil.  I used the soaked oatmeal cookie recipe, here they are before going in the oven:

And, this is what they looked like coming out of the oven- my son wouldn't even try them.  Poor guy!  All that oil from the chocolate just melted like crazy & made these a crumbly mess.  Better keep the homemade chocolate for things like no-bake granola bars.

So let's finish with some good news, because that's how I always like it!  Friday was my birthday and my daughter (age 11) knows that my favorite breakfast is cream cheese stuffed french toast.  I helped her out by setting some yogurt to drain the night before so she had yogurt "cream cheese" to work with in the morning.  Daddy made us some french toast and then she sandwiched mine with some cream cheese and blueberries, top it off with maple syrup & it was a great birthday breakfast!

I have more recipes to share with you this week.   Next I'll share my birthday cake: a "soaked" carrot yeast cake adventure!

This post is a part of Tuesday Twister at GNOWFGLINS.

Enjoy!
Lisa

Layered Salad

I made a layered salad for a family function this week & thought I should share my recipe with you.  I guess it's salad week here!  I first brought a layered salad to a family get-together several years ago, and ever since that first time it has become the dish I'm asked to bring.  Everyone loves a layered salad- I think because it's like getting a salad bar in a bowl!  Layered salad works best with a large glass bowl.  Don't have one?  You can be creative- what about a punch bowl?  Or how about the top from a cake platter, turned upside down (nested in a bowl of ice)?

When I make layered salad I plan it with two things in mind: one, keeping green layers (lettuce, cucumbers, peas, green onion, etc.) separated by non-green layers (red peppers, carrots, beets, mushrooms, cheese).  This helps each layer stand out (I place some things sideways against the side of bowl so they're more visible), and adds a lot to the visual appeal.  The second thing I think about is keeping moist items (cucumbers, frozen peas) away from dry items (cheese, mushrooms, boiled egg, croutons).

I always put the dressing on the side- if you haven't yet you might want to try my recipe for Ranch Salad Dressing.  I'm going to give you my basic outline for this salad, but it does flex & change depending on what's on hand for produce (use more or less of the ingredients listed, depending on your preference).  Try it out for your next family get together or neighborhood potluck- as long as you don't mind everyone insisting you bring it everytime!

 No picture of my salad- I didn't get a chance to before it was served & then there was nothing left!   So, here is my salad bowl & the salad serving "hands" I have from Alaska.

Layered Salad 
Several hours to a day ahead of time: hard boil 2 to 3 eggs & chill, remove peas from freezer to thaw

4 cups torn salad greens (I usually use green leaf or romaine, but a mix of green & red leaf would look nice)
2 to 3 carrots, sliced extremely thin or shredded
1 to 2 cups frozen peas, thawed, or fresh
3 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 cucumber, sliced & quartered
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 cup sliced beets
1 to 2 cups sliced mushrooms
4 green onions, sliced
4 to 8 ounces cooked turkey, chicken, or ham, sliced into thin strips
2 or 3 hard cooked eggs, chopped
1 to 2 cups shredded cheese
1 cup seasoned croutons

In a large glass bowl, layer ingredients (in order listed is suggested).

Enjoy!
Lisa

P.S.  If you forget to thaw the peas ahead of time place them in a colander and run warm water over them.

This post is a part of Real Food Wednesdays and Fight Back Fridays.

Tuesday Twister Taco Salad

This post is a part of Tuesday Twister at GNOWFGLINS.

Today I am going to share with you a quick and easy dinner.  Salad meals are great for light summer dinners and a great way of getting everyone to eat more greens.  It's also very frugal when you use greens as the base &  the meat as a "garnish" (stretched even farther by using beans too).  For this recipe I used up some leftover meats: chicken pulled from the bones after making bone broth, and meat pulled from a couple of ribs left from dinner the other night.  I combined them with the salsa 24 hours ahead of time to really get the flavor in there.
For tortillas I'm trying out Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Tortillas (since I'm not making tortillas anymore)!  They worked good for this recipe at least!

Taco Salad
2 tortillas (for 4 people)
olive oil
salt
mixed salad greens, spinach, snow peas, etc.
shredded cheese
1 c. meat
1 c. beans (pinto)
1/2  c. salsa
green onions
salad dressing
optional: tomatoes (we don't eat them), avocado, olives, etc.

Pre-heat oven (or toaster oven) to 425 (or broil).  Coat tortillas lightly with olive oil & sprinkle with salt.  Cut or tear into strips & place on cookie sheet.  Bake for about 10 minutes (less if broiling)- check & pull out once they are browned & crisp.  Cool.

Place meat, beans and salsa (if not already combined) in a pot and warm on the stove, stir occasionally.  Arrange greens on plates.  Sprinkle cheese on top.  Drop hot meat by spoonfuls onto the cheese (to lightly melt it).  Lightly spoon salad dressing all over the salad.  Snip green onions on top, and any optional ingredients.  Take cooled tortillas & crumble all over the salads.

Hope you enjoy!
Lisa