Veggies and Recipes

Taylor and I are trying to get back to our old lifestyle of eating healthy, I tossed our whole family off this bandwagon when I was pregnant and now I am trying to get us all back on. Sneaking veggies into our meals as much as possible and cutting out gluten. I wanted to share some of my new favorites with you all!

Sweet Potatoe and Zucchini Panckes 

These are seriously amazing, I am utterly in love with them! Worth the work and doesn't take too long if you have a helper grating with you (and super easy if you have a food processor)

Turkey Meatloaf

I designed this recipe myself so that it had veggies and no breadcrumbs. It isn't perfect but very moist and full of flavor.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

This recipe is full of veggies as well from ourbestbites.com but then I modified it to be healthier

Skinny Taco Soup

We made this soup tonight. I would say it was more of a chilli but non the less is was very yummy, and so amazingly simple it was crazy how easy it was. Those are the kind of meals I am loving these days. Hope you guys enjoy trying it out.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground lean turkey meat

2 cans or 1 big can of diced tomatoes (I used the fire roasted)

1 package low sodium taco seasoning (I used 2)

1 can tomato soup 

1 can dark kidney beans

3 small cans diced olives

1 can corn

Directions:

1. Brown the ground turkey meat.

2. Add all of the cans into the pot.

3. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low.  Let simmer for about 20 minutes.

3. That’s it!  So easy!  Enjoy

Serves 8.5

Recipe was taken from The Recipe Critic

Chicken Stock from Scratch

This fall I have been in love with making homemade soup. I realize the other day that I usually make all my soups from scratch almost... I always got my chicken stock/broth out of a can. I wanted to make some soup from scratch stock and all. It wasn't too hard, more effort then opening a can but this way I know exactly what I am putting on my body.

1. I used the left over carcass from our roasted chicken and put it in a big pot

2. Filled with water until almost covered

3. Add garlic, some onion powder, little salt and pepper or other spices you might like

4. Let it bowl and then reduce to simmer for several hours or all day occasionally stirring

5. Turn burner off and let cool

6. Put a strainer in a bowl and poor contents in.

7. Pick all the remaining meat off the carcass and add to broth

I ended up with 7 cups with homemade broth which I divided up and froze to use later.

I like the idea of being resourceful and getting all the meat of the carcass as well as making some broth to use for later. 

Buttery Carmel Sauce

This stuff is so yummy, I was eating it by the spoon full. Then regretted it, but it was still amazingly yummy, and easy!

You'll Need:

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup

1/3 cup butter

2/3 cup whipping cream

This will make you about 2 1/2 cups of Carmel Sauce, perfect for dipping apples in, or putting on ice cream, really good on pretzels and its really good on a spoon too!!

1. In a medium sauce pan add butter, sugars, corn syrup. (Everything but the cream!)

2. Cook over medum heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a full boil, about 5 – 6 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and cool 5 minutes.

4. Stir in whipping cream.

5. Pour into a jar and store in refrigerator. It will thicken when cold.

This stuff is addictive, and amazing! I can't keep out of it!

Appreciation Date Night

My Hubby has been working so hard lately, waking up at three or five in morning to go off to work and not coming back for another ten hours. He has been exhausted from waking up so early for work, so i decided I would have a date appreciation night. So we had a date full of all the things he loves, food, ice cream, games, the temple, and Me!

Candlelit Dinner

With one of Taylor's favorite meals, chili, my mothers chili to be exact. And to make it a little more special, in a bread bowl! The best for the best :)

And things got a little messy!!

Bean Stuff

1 lb ground beef

7 slices of bacon

2 gloves minced garlic

2 tbs molasses

2 tbs brown sugar

1 tsp dry mustard

1/3 cup vinegar

1 can tomatoes

1 can kidney beans

1 can of Lima beans (drained)

1 can pork and beans

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Salt and Tabasco Sauce to taste 

Combine everything in slow cooker on high for 3 hours.

My Adorable scruffy husband!

And did I mention I dyed my hair? Its much darker now.. a mistake, but it turned out cute.

 

Our dinner was then fallowed by ice cream while looking out at the temple, and some dutch blitz. Don't forget to take your special someone out on a date, and let them know you appreciate them!