Broccoli & Red Pepper Stir Fry

This yummy veggie dish tastes very fresh. It is great paired with Asian Lettuce Wraps!

Recipe and picture from:
http://www.raisehealthyeaters.com/2014/04/broccoli-red-pepper-stir-fry/

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups broccoli
• ¼ cup broth (or water)
• 1 large red bell pepper cut into strips
• ½ medium onion, sliced
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• ½ tsp. salt

Instructions

1. Add oil and garlic to a skillet over high heat. Once the garlic begins to sizzle (not brown) add broccoli and sauté until bright green. Add broth, remove from heat and cover for about 2 minutes.
2. Return skillet to high heat adding the onions and pepper. Sauté another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in lemon juice and salt.

*Update 7 Feb. 2018: Today I roasted the stir fry instead of doing it stovetop and it was even better! Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put the broccoli on a sheet pan and spray with olive oil then sprinkle with salt. Roast for 10 minutes, then add the slice red pepper and onion (I tossed these with a little more olive oil and sprinkled with garlic powder). Roast another 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and toss with some lemon zest and juice. Add more salt to taste.

Country Potatoes (aka Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes)

Recipe Source: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/cheesy-au-gratin-potatoes-2/

We love this version of Country/Cheesy/Funeral Potatoes. They have great flavor and no cream soup!

YIELD: SERVES 6-8

INGREDIENTS

Potatoes:
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (use gluten-free all purpose flour if desired)
• 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup milk
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (8 ounces)
• 26-ounce bag frozen shredded hash browns or about 5-6 large russet potatoes, peeled, cooked and shredded or sliced
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
Topping:
• 3 cups cornflakes, lightly crushed
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until the onion is softened and translucent,a bout 5-6 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about a minute. Combine the chicken broth and milk in a liquid measure and slowly whisk in the mixture. Add the salt, pepper and thyme. Stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
2. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the cheese until smooth. Mix in the frozen hash browns or potatoes, lifting and folding the mixture until well combined. Finally, stir in the sour cream.
3. In a medium bowl, toss the lightly crushed cornflakes with the butter until evenly combined. Scoop out the potato mixture into a 9X13-inch baking dish and top with the buttered cornflakes. If baking the potatoes by themselves, bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, until hot and bubbly around the edges. If baking the potatoes with a ham (my ham recipe bakes at 300 degrees), bake the potatoes for 90 minutes at 300 degrees then crank the oven to 400 degrees and bake the potatoes for 10 minutes more. In both baking situations, let the potatoes rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Roasted Garlic Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

Recipe and picture source:
http://ourbestbites.com/2013/11/roasted-garlic-chipotle-sweet-potatoes/

Here is the recipe for the savory mashed sweet potatoes I made at Thanksgiving. The recipe makes a lot, so unless it is for a gathering I recommend halving the recipe.

Roasted Garlic Chipotle Sweet Potatoes
Recipe by Our Best Bites

Ingredients:

5 pounds fresh sweet potatoes
2 heads garlic
3-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
Buttermilk (about 1/4-1/2 cup)
Adobo sauce from chipotle chilies (and some chilies if you want some extra heat)
kosher salt, to taste

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 425. Cut the tops off the bulbs of garlic. Tear a sheet of aluminum foil big enough to tightly wrap both the bulbs of garlic and place them, cut side up, on top of the foil and drizzle each of them with about 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Wrap tightly with foil and place them, cut side up, into the heated oven. Roast the garlic for about 45 minutes. If you happen to have the oven going for other Thanksgiving-y things, just pop these in with them; if the temperature is lower, you’ll just have to extend the roasting time to about an hour. Just keep an eye (and a nose) on things; when it smells amazing and the garlic is soft, it’s ready.

As the garlic is finishing up, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into pieces that are roughly the same size. Boil the sweet potatoes until they are easily pierced with a fork. Drain, then transfer to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.

When the garlic is done roasting, unwrap it and allow it to cool for a few minutes and then carefully squeeze it into the sweet potatoes, picking out any of the skins. Add 4 tablespoons of butter, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and about 2-3 tablespoons of adobo sauce. With the wire whip attachment (or with a handheld electric mixer), mix until the potatoes break down and the butter melts. Test and add salt and adobo sauce to taste; I’d give specific measurements here, but this is going to be largely personal–some of you may end up adding all the adobo sauce or even a chili or two whereas for others, 2-3 tablespoons will be plenty (it will add a nice, smokey flavor and a tiny, tiny bit of spice).

When the seasonings are about right, add enough buttermilk to reach the desired consistency. Again, this will be super personal; some people like their whipped potatoes smooth as silk and other others like them lumpy. When you have the consistency you want, taste them again for salt and spiciness and add more adobo sauce and/or salt taste.

Serve immediately or transfer  to a baking dish and cover with foil for up to 2-3 days. When you’re ready to serve them, pop them (covered) into an oven heated to 425 degrees for about 1/2 hour. Or you could zap them in the microwave, but I’m not sure how long.

Serve with holiday meals or as a side dish for sandwiches, steaks, or roasts. Makes 12-14 servings.

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Mexican Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Recipe and Picture Source:
 http://pinchofyum.com/healthy-mexican-sweet-potato-skins

We had these stuffed sweet potatoes the other night and really enjoyed them! Great by itself or with a salad on the side.

Prep time:  1 hour

Total time:  1 hour

Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS

• 3 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 can corn, rinsed and patted dry
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 tablespoon butter
• ½ yellow onion, chopped
• 2-4 INDIVIDUAL chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced or pureed (not the whole can!)*
• 1 ounce light cream cheese
• ¼ cup light sour cream
• 1 teaspoon salt (+ more to taste)
• ½ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
• 6 tablespoons shredded cheese (Pepperjack, Cheddar, Colby Jack... anything will work)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the sweet potatoes for 45-60 minutes.
2. While sweet potatoes are baking, place corn in a heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat with no butter or oil. Sprinkle with salt and other Mexican seasoning (as much as you want). Do not stir! Let corn roast for several minutes before stirring. Let it roast for a few more minutes before stirring again. Continue this for about 10 minutes, until corn is browned and roasted on the outside. Set aside in a small bowl with the black beans.
3. Saute the onion in the butter over medium heat until soft and translucent. Set aside.
4. Remove sweet potatoes from the oven when fork-tender. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Cut the sweet potatoes in half. Scrape the flesh of the sweet potatoes out, leaving the skins intact. Sometimes leaving a thin layer of potato inside of the skins helps them hold together better.
5. Mix the flesh of the sweet potatoes with the cream cheese, sour cream, chipotle peppers, and salt. You can use a mixer or just a spoon, depending on how soft the potatoes are. When well-mixed, gently stir in the black beans, roasted corn, sauteed onions, and cilantro.
6. Scoop the filling into the skins and top each with 1 tablespoon shredded cheese. Broil for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

*I would recommend starting with 2 chipotle peppers. I convinced Josh to use 3 instead of the 4 he wanted and it was just right for us, but I know many in the family don't like things too spicy.

Glazed Lemon Zucchini Bread

   Source: http://lilluna.com/glazed-lemon-zucchini-bread/

Ingredients

• 2 cups cake flour (I home-ground flour from red wheat, white wheat, barley & rye)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 TB lemon juice
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup grated zucchini (I used 1 cup blended yellow zucchini)
Glaze ingredients: (I only made 1/2)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 TB lemon juice
• 1 TB milk

Instructions

1. Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Then add oil and sugar until well blended. Add lemon juice, buttermilk, lemon zest to this mixture and blend all together.
3. Fold in zucchini until it is mixed well.
4. Add dry mixture to the wet mixture and blend all together until well combined.
5. Pour batter into greased 9x5 loaf pan (I used 4 small loaf pans and baked less time).
6. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.
7. While still warm, make glaze and spoon over the bread. Let the glaze set up before cutting and serving.

*We love this--even Lared, who doesn't usually like citrus baked goods, likes it. It has a nutty taste. Next time, I'll add poppy seeds, too.

Perfect Brown Rice

Sheri's favorite way to cook brown rice :)

1 1/2 cups brown rice (can substitute some quinoa)
2 1/2 cups boiling water (can use part chicken broth (but reduce salt) if you want the flavor)
   1 TB butter (or 2 tsp oil)
   1 tsp salt

Place rice in 8X8 pan.  On stovetop, bring water to a boil and add butter (or oil) and salt, stirring until melted and dissolved.  Pour water over rice.  Cover tightly with foil.  Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.

(Optional step, but makes it fluffier): Remove foil, fluff with fork, and cover with thin kitchen towel (wrapping around sides and tucked underneath tightly so it doesn't touch the rice), and let sit for 5 minutes (to absorb moisture). Uncover and stand 5 more minutes before serving.

*Sometimes I substitute quinoa for part of the rice so you have a rice/quinoa mixture, and it works great.  Substitute equal amounts of quinoa for rice (if you use 1/2 cup quinoa, use 1/2 cup less rice).  I usually use 1/2-3/4 cup quinoa when I do this.  I have never tried using all quinoa, but it would probably work with these same cooking instructions.

**Leftovers can be used with milk and cinnamon/sugar, in rice pudding, added to soups or burritos, or added while sauteing vegetables and meat to eat over salads or in fajitas.

Pork Tenderloin with Broccoli and Pineapple

Juice 3 lemons
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. sea salt
Pinch of Stevia (could use agave or honey as well)
Pinch of ground cinnamon
(6)- 4 to 6 ounces sliced pork tenderloin

Broccoli florets
Fresh pineapple sliced into rings

Prepare the marinade:  Mix the lemon, juice, garlic, parsley, rosemary, oregano, salt, Stevia, and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Put the pork in a large zippered plastic bag and pour the marinade into the bag.  Close tightly.  Marinate in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes, although overnight is best.

*I used fresh herbs instead of dried

Grill Pork, pineapple rings, and broccoli.  (Put pineapple and broccoli in a grill basket)

We put the pork and pineapple on a bed of brown rice.  I ate my broccoli on the side, but some put it with the pork and pineapple.

Source: "The Fast Metabolism Diet"