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Gluten-Free Lasagna: Truly Awesome!

Ingredients:

  • Tinkada Organic Brown Rice Pasta
  • 1 Tbsp sea salt
  • 1 lb Ground Turkey, browned
  • Organic Spaghetti sauce (or make your own)
  • 1 can Organic Diced Tomatoes
  • 1/2 tsp Oregano, fresh chopped
  • 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 Tbsp basil, oregano chopped
  • 1 tsp garlic salt
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 2 Tbsp basil, fresh
  • 2 Tbsp parsley, fresh chopped
  • 1.5 cups low-fat cream cheese
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese, fresh grated
  • 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 1/2 cup Chevre goat cheese
  • 3 Tbsp goat cheese sour cream (can use regular sour cream)
  • Sliced parmesan cheese, fresh

Pasta

Bring 2 quarts water to boil. Add rice pasta and 1 Tbsp sea salt to the boiling water. Keep heat on for 2 minutes. Turn off heat, keep lid on and allow pasta to cook in the water for 20 minutes.

Rice pasta

Cheese Mixture

Add fresh chopped basil (I used Genovese and Purple Basil), parsley, and half of the oregano to a mixing bowl. Add in all the cheeses – cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, Cheddar, Chevre, and the sour cream. Mix well with the herbs.

Pasta Sauce

In a saucepan, heat up the pasta sauce. Add in the tomatoes, oregano, garlic salt, onion powder, Italian seasonings, and any veggies that you might like, including mushrooms, bell peppers, or spinach. Add in the ground turkey and heat for about 10 minutes.

Putting It All Together

In a 9×13 casserole dish, lay out a row of the lasagna pasta noodles. Spoon the pasta mixture on top of the noodles until it coats it evenly. The cheese mixture is not easy to just spread out. Either put it in a pastry bag or a sandwich bag and cut out a corner, or do what I did, and just plop gobs of cheese everywhere. Add another layer of noodles, sauce, cheese. Repeat until you have no more noodles or space in the dish. I always end with a layer of sauce on the top. Then spread the shaved Parmesan cheese and a little Cheddar cheese on top. In a preheated 400F oven, put in the uncovered lasagna and bake for 25 minutes.

My picture might not be the best, but this was by far the best tasting lasagna I have ever made. I served it at a networking event and it was a major hit.

Yields: 12 servings

Spinach Quinoa with Ground Turkey

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Quinoa
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 Tbsp goat butter
  • 1 Tbsp Italian seasonings
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 fresh parsley, chopped
  • 2 cups spinach, raw
  • 1 cup scallons, chopped
  • 1 lb ground turkey meat, browned

Yields: 6 Servings

Brown the ground turkey and set aside. Bring chicken stock and butter to a boil, then add in quinoa and Italian seasonings. Cook on medium heat for about 15-30 minutes stirring occasionally. When the stock is almost completely absorbed add in the tomatoes, parsley, spinach, and scallions. Stir them in slowly and cook for 5 minutes. Add in the ground turkey meat and give it a great big stir.

Can sprinkle fresh Parmesan cheese on top if desired. Enjoy!

 

Mexican Quinoa

Ingredients:

 

  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 3 garlic gloves, crushed
  • 1 1/2 cups Quinoa
  • 1/2 lemon, squeezed
  • 1 Tbsp lemon pepper
  • 1/2 can green chilies
  • 1 can diced tomatoes

Yields: 8 Servings

This is by far my new favorite Quinoa recipe. I have to say that I surprised myself with how good this came out.

In a quart pan, Bring the vegetable broth, crushed garlic, lemon, and seasonings to a boil. Stir in the Quinoa. Reduce heat to medium simmer for 15 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed, stirring occassionally. The quinoa should be tender. Add in the tomatoes and green chilies and cook for another 5 minutes.

Use this as a side dish, or with diced chicken or fish, even as a wrap filler. I loved it!

If you are not using Bob’s Red Mill Quinoa, then make sure you rinse the quinoa first. This brand is already prerinsed. I found it at Costco for $10 for a huge bag.

quinoa

 

Look at the nutrition in Quinoa! It has the most protein than any other grain.

Steel Cut Oats with Almond Milk

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Steel Cut Oats
  • 1/2 cup Vanilla Almond milk
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar

Yields: 4 Servings

Boil 2 cups water and add the Steel Cut Oats. Once the water has boiled down (10 minutes) add in all the other ingredients. Stir! The leftovers heat up easily, add a dash of almond milk if needed.

 

Steel Cut Oats is a great way to start the day! It is very filling and quite nutritious.

Shallot & Garlic Quinoa

quinoa2

Ingredients:

  • 1 shallot, diced
  • 2 garlic gloves, crushed
  • 1 Tbsp Goat Butter, (sub regular butter)
  • 4 cups chicken broth (sub vegetable broth)
  • 2 cups Quinoa

Yields: 8-10 Servings

This was my first time making Quinoa and my second time eating it. I have to say that I surprised myself with how good this came out.

In a quart pan, melt the butter and sauté the shallot and garlic until just golden brown. Stir in the chicken broth and the Quinoa. Bring to a boil then simmer on medium for 10-12 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed. The quinoa should be tender. Cool slightly, then fluff with a fork.

I mixed in some fresh ground pepper plus sprinkled a little bit of onion powder throughout. It was delicious! I can see adding some chives, lemon, and even cilantro (my favorite herb) to the next batch.

 

If you are not using Bob’s Red Mill Quinoa, then make sure you rinse it first. This brand is already prerinsed. I found it at Costco for $10 for a huge bag.

quinoa

 

Look at the nutrition in Quinoa! It has the most protein than any other grain. You must try this as either a side dish or be creative and make it your main dish tonight!

Picture1

Green Protein Shake – It’s Yummy too!

green-smoothie

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Almond milk
  • 1 scoop Zrii protein powder
  • 1 tsp flax seed
  • 1 kiwi
  • 1 med apple
  • 1 cup spinach
  • 2 Kale leaves

Put all the ingredients into a blender. Make sure the lid is on! Blend on medium for at least 1 minute.

~Add cucumbers, zucchini, or celery to the shake too. Use your imagination – and the kiwi and apple make the drink nice and sweet and you can’t even taste all those vegetables! You’re welcome.

green protein nutriotional

Preparing the Turkey Part 2!

Here is the follow-up Video to Preparing Your Turkey Part 1. In this one, I try not to drop the turkey, try carving it for the first time, all while trying not to step on my parent’s dog. Let me know what you think!

Preparing Your Turkey Part 1

Here are step-by-step instructions on how to prepare the Holiday turkey so that your family and guests think you are a Foodie Star. This was the first time I had ever cooked a holiday meal for my family ~ it was loads of fun and yes they Oohed and Aahed over my turkey!!

Top Secret Cranberry Sauce

Every year my Nona makes the cranberry sauce for the Holidays. This year though, we won’t be celebrating Thanksgiving together. So I called her up and asked her for her cranberry recipe. She didn’t want to give it to me. It was a secret. Seriously. I had to ask her for over five minutes to tell me. She told me the recipe was handed down to her by her mother-in-law almost 50 years ago and if I was going to post it on that thing called the Internet I better give her credit. Yes, she is quite the character!!

Kristi & Nonas 03-2010

What a gorgeous woman inside and out – Lola Trimmer

This is my Nona, Lola Trimmer’s Top Secret Cranberry Sauce Recipe… please don’t tell anybody! Shhhhh

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb fresh cranberries, grinded
  • 1.5 cups seedless grapes, quartered
  • 1.5 cups boiling water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 small box Jell-O, she likes cherry sugar free
  • 1 can Mandarin oranges

grapes

Don’t the grapes look so pretty!

Boil the water in a saucepan and then dissolve the sugar and Jell-O in it. Use the final container (my Nona says you should use the pretty one!) that will hold your cranberry sauce. To grind the cranberries, put them in the food processor and pulse them until they chopped up, but not pureed. Add the grinded cranberries, and the quartered grapes to it and mix well. Pour the Jell-O water mixture over the top of the cranberry mixture and stir well. Saran wrap the container and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours.

Drain the oranges and pat dry. Once the cranberry sauce is firm, place the oranges on the top in a creative pattern – she suggested a smiley face Smile I am going to add fresh raspberries to mine. This recipe is super simple, but oh so delicious.

cranberries

The cranberries in this pic still need to be decorated – trying to decide on what I want to do. Decisions, decisions.

Ooh and Aah Turkey

Did you read Brine That Turkey! for my favorite brining recipe? You should! Brining helps make your bird moist and delicious. After you rinsed the turkey off and patted it dry, you are ready to make your guests Ooh and Ahh over your Thanksgiving Turkey.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb butter, softened
  • 1 bottle white wine, dry
  • 4 carrots, halved
  • 4 celery stalks, halved
  • 1 parsnip, quartered (optional)
  • 1 turnip, quartered (optional)
  • 1.5 onion, quartered
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 Tbsp onion powder
  • 1 apple, quartered
  • Large cheesecloth

To make the basting mixture: In a sauce pan, melt 1 stick of butter. Then add in half of the bottle of wine, 1 tsp crushed garlic, 1.5 tsp onion powder. Mix over low heat until combined.

With the breast side up, bend the wing tips underneath the bird. If you are stuffing the bird with homemade stuffing do so now. If not, insert these ingredients into the cavity: Apple, half an onion, 1 garlic clove, a carrot, and celery stalk. On the bottom of the roasting pan, place the remaining carrots, celery, parsnips, turnips, onions, and garlic cloves. Rest the wire rack on top of the vegetables.

Flip the bird over and tie the legs with cotton twine to the tail. Make sure it is tight, but tie with a bow tie so it is easy to release later. Place the turkey on the wire rack inside the roaster.

Rub soft butter on the skin all over the turkey. Even rub the butter underneath the skin on the turkey breast. Affix the neck skin to the breast using a toothpick. Fold the cheesecloth so that it will fit over the turkey. Don’t cut it – use all of it. Dip the cheesecloth into the butter wine basting mixture then lay it on top of the turkey, breast side up.

2009_11_16-cheesecloth-turkey

Flip the bird so that the breast is facing down in the roaster.

Bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes, then turn your oven down to 350 degrees for the remainder the of time. Baste every 30 min or at least once an hour. Halfway through the cooking time, turn the turkey over so it is breast side up. At this time, you will want to melt another stick of butter and add the remaining wine. Bake the turkey until it has an internal temperature of 180 degrees. During the last hour, you might have to put aluminum foil over the legs so they do not burn.

350px-Oven_roasted_brine-soaked_turkey

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