Portobello and black bean burgers

In an effort to reduce our waste, save money and eat even better I have seriously cut back on our intake of meat. I normally only purchase ground turkey, chicken breasts, the occasional pork loin and ever more rare- the elusive ground beef (the good kind of course!) As the kid is mostly vegetarian at this time (Yippee!) I found myself not cooking it. He likes to help me cook and pick things up at the farmers market each Wed. Each wed. morning we go and pick up our CSA box (go Tanaka Farms!) and with excitement go through and see what are prizes are this week. Veggies have become everything that surrounds us.

For the most part we have been eating beans and grains with our veggies. A lot of black beans, quinoa and couscous or wild rice. Cheese is a big one as well! So, while I am no vegetarian (uh, BLAT pizza anyone?) I have decidedly decreased the amount of meat we eat. Wouldn't you know that our grocery bill has been cut in half- not that meat took up that much at all but it really helped us focus on our waste or needs versus wants. Plus, those organic good for you meats and darned expensive and I will not feed my family anything less than that. We love burgers and on the rare occasion we eat one- Father's Office anyone?- we are happy folks but I don't make them in the home much anymore. I have been searching for a veggie burger that holds together and tastes delicious. I think I have found it this time. The portobello's- which the kid eats like an apple- really help the hearty factor. You can change out the black beans for pinto, kidney- whatevs. I liked topping them off with cheese and a little BBQ sauce. I served up some simple steamed green beans tossed with lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and mustard. I don't want to forget, the recipe came from Self magazine. Normally I twist and turn a lot of recipes but I kept this one to the original- mostly and it came out perfect. Next time I plan on making some variations on it- maybe some soyrizo mixed in with cilantro? Yum!

Enjoy!

2 medium portobellos, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 egg whites
1 tablespoon mustard
1 tablespoon soy sauce or Worcestershire
6 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook mushrooms, onion and bell pepper, stirring occasionally, until pepper begins to soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Add beans, paprika, garlic powder and black pepper. Cook, smashing beans with the back of a spoon, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer mixture to a bowl and mix in eggs, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and breadcrumbs. Form into 4 patties. Wipe out skillet; heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat and cook burgers until brown and firm, 6 to 7 minutes per side.

broccoli and three cheese calzones

Different take on pizza night- the calzone. Same dough, different fillings. The kid and I spent all day making garden decorations out of various items. Dinner time came fast and the same ol pizza didn't seem like enough. The dad is always asking for calzones and he was in for a lucky treat tonight. They came out beautiful. Creamy and veggie filled instead and brown and toasty on the outside. I poured a little marinara on top and what a meal!

Enjoy!

Pizza dough for bread machine- 2 pounds

1 1/2 cups Clean water- 80-90 F
1 teaspoon natural cane sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt or sea salt
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
3 1/4 cups organic unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup organic whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour
few dashes of dried basil and garlic, each
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

Place ingredients in order listed in bread pan with kneading paddle. Select dough/pizza dough setting. Press start. When done remove. Roll out how you wish and top!

1 head of broccoli, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
dried basil
salt & pepper
olive oil
3-4 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup blue cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
8 fresh spinach leaves

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add in broccoli, red peppers and tomato. Saute until soft. Add dried basil and salt and pepper. Remove from heat and add in cheese.

Divide pizza dough into 6 or 8 pieces depending on how big you want them. 6 will yield big calzones and 8 slightly smaller. Roll them out into 8 inch rounds. Top one half with 2 spinach leaves and scoop of veggie mixture on top. Fold dough over to make a half moon. Crimp edges. Place on baking sheet coated with cornmeal or semolina flour- I like semolina! Brush lightly with olive oil and make 3 small slashes to let steam out. Bake 25 minutes until lightly golden brown. Remove and serve with marinara sauce.

Bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado pizza. BLAT pizza heaven!

Friday night pizza with the neighbors turned into me eating super healthy all week so I can dream and devise the most perfectly delicious pizza and not hold any lingering guilt. Great!

BLT pizza started as a dream and morphed into my mouth a smoky, creamy, cool and cheesy delight. You will have those who love you love you even more after this pizza. It's that good. Try it!

Enjoy!

Pizza dough: (I always remove 1/4 lb of dough some the 2 lb ball to make a small cheese pizza for the kids enjoyment! We adult refer to it as the appetizer pizza!)

Pizza dough for bread machine- 2 pounds

1 1/2 cups Clean water- 80-90 F
1 teaspoon natural cane sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt or sea salt
2 tbls extra virgin olive oil
3 1/4 cups organic unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup organic whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour
few dashes of dried basil and garlic, each
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

Place ingredients in order listed in bread pan with kneading paddle. Select dough/pizza dough setting. Press start. When done remove. Roll out how you wish and top!

BLAT-Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, Tomato pizza

1 onion, diced
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil
3/4 block organic Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
10-12 slices good quality bacon- no preservatives, no hormones! I like apple wood smoked uncured from TJ'S
2 fresh organic tomatoes, diced
4 cups finely shredded greens- I used green leaf lettuce
2 avocados, diced

Heat oven to 450F. Roll out dough and transfer to pan. Set aside.

Cook bacon until crisp. Drain, cool and roughly chop. Set aside.

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until soft and translucent. Do no over cook the garlic. Keep it on med heat.

Top pizza with onions, garlic and olive oil mixture. Top with bacon and tomatoes. Sprinkle shredded cheese over pizza.

Bake about 25-ish minutes. (I have yet to clock the cooking time.)

When pizza is done let sit for 10 min. Then top with lettuce and avocado. Slice up and serve!

Tacos al Pastor- easy and good!

What can I say. Smoky, earthy chunks of pork. Handmade corn tortillas. Fresh juicy tomatoes tossed with lime, creamy perfect avocados, garlic and cilantro. Wrapped up and fit perfectly to the hand. Tacos al pastor and a simple and totally satisfying little taco and couldn't be easier. I served the tacos with grilled zucchini spears and yellow peppers tossed with black beans and lightly seasoned. When the weather is toasty these perfect tacos just need a beer for the other hand and all is well!

The marinade came together in the blender. I used 1/4 of an ancho chile pepper that I ground up in the spice grinder. Fresh is really best since you can really get the full flavor. If you can't find whole dried ancho chile peppers you can use a dried chile powder like New mexico or pasiilla, not cayenne!
Enjoy!

1 pork tenderloin, diced in chunks
1 large white onion, roughly chopped
3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup chile powder
3 tbl ancho chile powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
3 garlic cloves, peeled
pinch of salt

In a blender combine onion through salt. Pour over pork in a bag and marinate for at least a few hours or over night. I had a little marinade left over which I plan to use on chicken for enchiladas next week!

Heat grill pan to med high heat with a touch of oil. Add pork and some marinade to coat all over. This stuff is good! Saute until cooked through 5-9 min, depending.

Serve in a corn tortilla with you favorite salsa, avocados or guacamole. Cilantro, lime wedges and a side of veggies.

Orange cinnamon muffins

Each month I spend $25 and receive a big box filled to the top with locally and organically grown oranges of all varieties. My favorite right now are the blood oranges! The box also contains the BEST! avocados I think I have tasted. Creamy, beautiful green and the best addition to almost any meal. All this produce comes from a farm in San Diego courtesy of one farmer Steve.

I use the oranges mainly for juicing each day for our beet, spinach and strawberry smoothies. They also make there way into our baked goods! These little muffins are super light and fluffy and warm up or cool off any early morning or mid day slump. They are easy to make and easy to eat!

Enjoy!

2 cups organic whole wheat or white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup organic pure cane sugar
2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup organic butternut squash puree (Trader Joe's make a great canned alternative to fresh.) (you can also use unsweetened applesauce or vegetable oil)
1/2 cup of fresh squeezed orange juice
1 TB orange zest
1/2 cup organic unsweetened coconut milk (can use buttermilk, milk, almond milk or soy milk)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 lg organic eggs
1/4 cup organic flax seeds- the whole seed

3 TB organic pure cane brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

handful of raw wheat germ for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 359F. Line muffin tin with liners. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon together in small bowl.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt in large bowl. Whisk squash puree, orange juice, zest, coconut milk, vanilla extract and eggs together until combined. Pour into dry and gently fold until just combined. It should be nice and fluffy. Fold in flax seeds.

Spoon a few TB into muffins liners and sprinkle with about a half TB of brown sugar/cinnamon mixture. Top with remaining batter. Sprinkle wheat germ on top of muffins.

Bake 22 mins. Cool and serve.

The best cinnamon raisin bread for the bread machine!

This loaf was soft and slightly sweet and probably the most precise and perfect recipe I have used. It makes a great snack and even better french toast! The littlefoodie loves cinnamon raisin bread as much as he loves telling jokes about pooping on someone's head. Kids are fun!

1 cup organic milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter or organic coconut oil, melted
1 lg organic egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup organic pure cane sugar
1/2 cup organic unsweetened coconut flakes
3 cups organic white whole wheat flour
1 tsp aluminum free baking soda
2 1/2 tsp instant yeast

1 cup organic raisins

Combine ingredients in order listed in bread pan fitted with kneading paddle for bread machine with an exception of the raisins.
Set the bread machine to white bread. I am not sure how different each bread maker is so you will just have to follow your machines directions. This recipe will yield a 1 1/2 pound loaf. When my mix-in signal beeps I add the raisins right before the rise.
When done let it cool off and then slice. It is truly delicious!

Strawberry, beet and spinach smoothie- kid approved!

I pretty much make this everyday for either a breakfast treat, snack or just when the mood strikes. First I juice the veggies and then I add the rest to the blender with the frozen fruit. The kid loves it, downs it and asks for more. To be honest, he has no clue of what is in it. Am I lying? Of course not, its just that he has never asked... he trusts me to not put those horrible vegetables in his beloved smoothie, hee. I stick with same ratio just about every time I make this. Occasionally, there isn't much sweetness for one reason or another and I add just a touch of organic agave nectar to the kids. I like mine more on the veggie side. A handful of flax seeds is also a nice little addition as well. I omit the flax seeds for the kid since flax seeds help to keep those bowels healthy if you know what I mean and he'd be in the bathroom not a happy camper. Oh, and the promise of pink pee- from the beets- is pretty awesome to a 4 1.2 year old.

Enjoy!

1 peeled whole organic beet
2 carrots, cleaned
2 stalks celery
2 cup organic washed spinach
1 whole organic apple, washed
2 handfuls organic whole frozen strawberries
1 handful organic frozen blackberries
small handful of frozen pineapple tidbits (TraderJoe's make some seriously yummy frozen fruits!)
1 handful of frozen mango
juice of 1 organic orange
sprinkling of frozen blueberries

In a juicer, juice beets, carrots, spinach, celery and apple.

Pour juice into blender and squeeze in orange juice. Add in frozen fruits and blend. Drink and be healthy!

Friday Pizza night- BBQ chicken pizza and sneaky chocolate chip cookies

This Christmas I became the proud owner of a Cuisinart 2-pound Convection Automatic Bread Maker). To say I am happy with it is downplaying my giddiness. Every loaf, roll and pizza dough has turned out gigantically fantastical (as the kid would say). From the moment I ripped that sucker out of the package I have been using it non-stop. A couple months ago we started a new family tradition- Friday night pizza- with the neighbors! Once a week I can count on good friends, BOOZE, pizza of all varieties, laughter and well, booze! Sound great? It is!

Last night we had a very simple and totally and insanely delicious pizza. BBQ chicken with black beans. The best part of this pizza is that unlike the take-out or frozen versions there is very little fat, all coming from the cheese which was in part low-fat! The sauce came from Trader Joe's and the the pizza maker took care of the dough! Easy as pizza pie!

For dessert, I made a recipe from the book Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. I have been twisting and turing all these recipes because well, for the most part- the recipes are very poorly executed and I get the feeling that someone didn't really test these out prior. They are awesome in theory but not so perfect in practicality. I have seen these chocolate chip cookies with the addition of chickpeas or garbanzos floating on the information super highway for a long time now and finally decided to make them. They turned out pretty good and the kid liked them. I am in awe of how the book is supposed to be aimed at healthy cooking for our kids but really aside from the sneaky veggies here and there, there is no real nutritional added value to the recipes- no whole wheat flours, organic ingredients, natural sugars or butters. I think it's time!

Enjoy!

Pizza dough for bread machine- 2 pounds

1 1/2 cups Clean water- 80-90 F
1 teaspoon natural cane sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt or sea salt
2 tbls extra virgin olive oil
3 1/4 cups organic unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup organic whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour
few dashes of dried basil and garlic, each
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

Place ingredients in order listed in bread pan with kneading paddle. Select dough/pizza dough setting. Press start. When done remove. Roll out how you wish and top!


BBQ Chicken Pizza

2 lb pizza dough- roll out to desired shape- set aside for topping
3 organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts- I like to use poached chicken but you can slice and saute
1 can organic black beans, rinsed and drained
1 chopped organic tomato
half of red bell pepper, diced
giant handful of roughly chopped organic cilantro
salt and pepper
1 bottle of fav bbq sauce- I use trader joes- it is very mild!
few cups of organic mozzarella cheese
cup of shredded cheddar (use as much or as little cheese as you like!)

Preheat oven to 450F.

Toss chopped chicken, beans, cilantro, tomato, bell pepper and salt and pepper together to combine.

Spread a nice thick layer of bbq sauce over rolled out dough. Top with chicken mixture.

Sprinkle very generously with cheese. I like a lot of cheese!

Bake for 25 minutes. At this point I don't follow how high or how long I bake things. It has become a sixth sense of sorts. When it is bubbly and cheese is brown then take out, slice up and devour.


Chocolate Chip Cookies with Garbanzo Beans

1 cup organic dark brown cane sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 lg organic egg
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 15 oz can of organic chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 cups chocolate chips
2 cups organic whole wheat flour or white whole wheat
1/2 cup organic oats
1 tsp baking soda
1.4 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 350F.

In mixer beat sugar and butter until fluffy and combined. Add in egg, beat. Add vanilla and chickpeas and mix until combined. Add chocolate chips.

Combine flour, oats, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix until combined.

Drop dough by large tbl onto baking sheet and flatten just a bit. Cook for 11-13 minutes.

Eat!