Dinner Dinner Dinner!

I am loving this Personal Chef job! I love trying out different foods and recipes for my family!

 Two nights ago, I made Fish Tacos from Gwyneth Paltrow's delicious cookbook "It's All Good" they took no time at all but looked fancy and yummy! I also made a chopped salad with cucumbers, peppers, onions, carrots, and feta!

 The fish was so simple. I cooked sliced Cod on the stove on medium heat with a little bit of olive oil and spices, and then added a spicy sauce of peppers, onions, garlic, oil, lime, and spices that I made in the blender. Poured the sauce over the fish and filled the soft tacos! 

Last night was spaghetti and homemade meatballs! Another great dinner! First, in a large bowl I seasoned 1 pound of lean turkey. Then in a large pot, I heated 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 2 smashed cloves of garlic and 28 oz. of tomato paste (or tomato sauce, I had to use a little of both). Now I formed the meat into about 1 inch balls, put them in the tomato sauce and covered the pot. They cooked for about 20 minutes and came out perfectly! Meanwhile, I made a garlic bread crumb mixture to sprinkle on top of the meat. I used about 3 tablespoons of gluten free bread crumbs, a little olive oil, garlic seasoning, and red pepper flakes in a small sauce pan over low heat for a few minutes (until browning) Also, I cooked one package of Quinoa gluten free spaghetti. This dish was a-mazingg and pretty simple!

Please feel free to leave questions or comments, I would love to hear from you! Thank you! 

:)

Breakfast and meal planning!

Just wanted to make a quick little post about our breakfast :)

For my brother, I took a piece of whole wheat bread, put a little bit of butter on it, cracked one egg onto the bread, and seasoned it with a salt and pepper and a little bit of cheese! Next I put it in the toaster oven for about 10 minutes, and tadaa! A crispy baked egg toast!  I forgot to take pictures but it was a yummy easy breakfast, definitely making again.

For my daddy, I started by scooping out both sides of a sliced avocado, but leaving a nice rim of avocado still in it. Then I put the avocado in the toaster oven to crisp/warm it up. On the stove, I scrambled 2 eggs, chopped onions, peppers, sun dried tomatoes, the inside of the avocado, a little bit of cheese, and salt and pepper! I took the avocado out of the toaster oven, and put the scrambled eggs in it..yum! It looked fancy and tasted even better ;)

Now a little Sunday morning meal planning for the week, so relaxing! :) Tonight's dinner: Fish Tacos and a chopped veggie summer salad! 

Dinner Day One

For my first night of making dinner all by myself I made Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas, Mexican Quinoa salad, and Baked cinnamon tortillas with banana- peanut butter - chocolate chip- ice cream!



For the fajitas, I used the recipe from http://realmomkitchen.com/9318/oven-baked-chicken-fajitas/ and they were SO delicious! A super quick and easy dish that tastes amazing. First, I chopped the veggies, then mixed up the seasoning which I used avocado oil, taco seasoning, salt, and chili powder. Next, I cut the chicken breast with scissors and put them in the Pyrex dish, poured the seasoning over it, and mixed in the veggies and tomatoes. Baked for about 30 minutes  at 400 degrees. We used brown rice wraps for the fajitas, yum! This recipe was a major win. Our house smelled like a Mexican restaurant!

 For the salad I started by cooking the quinoa and then added taco seasoning after it cooked. I put mixed salad greens, half a can of black beans, a cup of the quinoa, sliced avocado, feta, and lots of extra veggies from the fajitas. So yummy!!

The dinner was a hit! For dessert, I baked brown rice wraps sprayed with coconut oil and sprinkled with cinnamon in my tortilla bowl molds. I made banana- peanut butter- chocolate chip- ice cream using 3 frozen bananas, vanilla, salt, 2 scoops of "100 calorie" peanut butter (which is surprisingly really good!)

, 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, a sprinkle of PB2 (optional, I needed a better pb taste!), and a few chocolate chips! Just blend in the food processor and BOOM amazing, creamy ice cream! 

My family's "Personal Chef" ;)

I love cooking so so much and today while taking orders from my family for lunch, I decided I wanted to be my family's personal chef! I made my mom, dad, and brother lunch today and wanted to share what I made!  For dinner, I am making oven-baked chicken fajitas, Mexican quinoa salad in lettuce bowls, and for dessert, banana peanut butter ice cream in tortilla bowls!


For my mom, I made a spinach and egg wrap with feta and sun dried tomatoes. It was really easy and really delicious. I started by putting a brown rice wrap in the oven to soften it. On the stove I sauteed spinach, one egg, and sun dried tomatoes on med-low heat. After the wrap was warm I piled the spinach onto the wrap and folded it like a quesadilla. I put the wrap back on the stove to get and nice and crunchy! I gave a her the "Sauce trio" which was hummus, spicy brown mustard, and salsa with a dash of red pepper. Her side was apple kabobs and crunchy peanut butter!

On a different note, I made my 15 year old brother hot dogs with a side of apples and pb. We were out of buns so I went with the paleo option and wrapped them in bacon!

For dessert I made a refreshing treat of strawberry lemonade! I used about a cup and a half of frozen strawberries, a cup of coconut water, 1 fresh lemon, and a half a cup of water! It was so yummy!

Paleo Blondies

I've been trying to come up with some yummy new paleo recipes, and paleo blondies sounded pretty good to me ;) All of the ingredients are so good for you, so enjoy these blondies without the guilt. They look and taste just like normal blondies, but don't just take my word for it, try this recipe out! They are super easy to make and oh so delicious!

Ingredient List

Wet:

• 1 banana 
• 1/2 cup of almond butter 
• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil 
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla 

Dry: 

• 3/4 tsp of baking soda 
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon 
• optional: chia seeds, crushed nuts, chocolate chips, coconut, or even cocoa powder for a chocolate almond butter blondie! 

In  a medium bowl, mash one large banana. 

Mash it with a fork until it looks about like this. 

Now add 1/2 a cup of almond butter and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. 

Mix until very well combined and add the salt, vanilla, one egg, and baking soda. 

I added slivered almonds, unsweetened coocnut, and chia seeds for a little extra crunch ;) 

Spray a pyrex pan. I used an 8 by 6 pan. 

Now pour in the batter!

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. 

I had a hard time trying to take a decent picture while they were in the pan! I am so sorry,  I am trying to get better!

Paleo Granola!

Delicious Paleo Granola

Oh goodness, where do I start? I am so so sorry I haven't posted anything in TWO months! We started the Paleo Challenge again this month so baking has been a little halted ;) After finding all sorts of paleo recipes on Pinterest and different blogs we decided to give paleo granola a try! 

Ingredients List

Wet: 

• 2 heaping tablespoons of coconut oil 
• 1/4 cup of water 






• 1/4 cup of honey 

Dry:

• 1/2 cup of flaxseed meal (ground flaxseeds) 
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds 
• 3/4 - 1 cup of slivered almonds 
• Vitamin powder (I used Vega One french vanilla) 
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut 
• 2 handfuls chopped mixed nuts 
• optionals: 2 tablespoons nut butter, chopped dates, raisins, chopped fresh fruit or dried fruit, cocoa
• The dry ingredients depend on what flavor you want, my mom added 1 cup of chopped apples, 1/2 cup of apple sauce, a few chopped dates, and goji berries to this recipe to give it a fruitier flavor!  

First combine the oil, honey, and water and melt. 

In a medium bowl combine the dry ingredients. 

Add the melted oil mixture to the dry igredients. 

Now line a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil and spray the foil. Press the granola thinly across the pan.
Put in the oven at 250 for 1 1/2 hours, checking often to stir. Take out when cirspy.  Best served at room temperature. 

Skinny Chocolate Coffee Ice Cream!

This ice cream takes no time at all and so yummy! No heavy cream or refined sugar here!

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup of coffee or 15-20 frozen coffee cubes (pour coffee into ice cube trays and freeze)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Shake of salt
• 1 tablespoon sweetener (such as stevia or honey)
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 - 1 cup of almond milk
• Optional: chocolate almond butter or chocolate chips
• NOTE: if not using frozen banana/coffee cubes put 1 cup of ice cubes in.

Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth and enjoy! Put in the freezer for a few minutes if you want it to be thicker and more like ice cream!