Vegan 3 Bean Chili

This chili is a staple in our household. Not only is it super inexpensive, it's easy to make, and the whole family loves it.

What you'll need:
*a cutting board
*knife
*big pot
*something to stir with

Ingredients:
*1 cup dried black beans
*1 cup dried dark red kidney beans
*1 cup dried pinto beans
*3 tomatoes
*1 bell pepper
*2 jalapeno
*1 onion
*3-4 garlic cloves
*1 cup of corn
Spices:
*1/4 cup of chili powder
*salt
*pepper
*cumin
*onion powder
*garlic powder

Now for the how to:
This recipe is not to specific. You can add as much or as little as you like of all the ingredients. Do note that because my little ones will be eating this chili I make sure to remove all the seeds and rib (the white part) of the jalapeno because that's where all the spiciness comes from. So first you'll want to chop up all your vegies. Then with just a tiny bit of sunflower oil I like to saute the peppers, onion, and garlic just until they're soft. Next toss in your beans and spices. Give it a good stir then add in the rest of your veggies and lastly plenty of water. You can either throw it in the crock pot and let it cook on low all day or if you'll be home you can leave it on the stove top on low until you're ready to eat.

Double Chocolate & Walnut Muffins

When I used to eat gluten I loved a good chocolate chocolate muffin from costco. They are so chocolatey, sweet, moist, and delicious. I have been wanting to try to make a healthier version of these muffins that can be eaten in the morning with little to no guilt. These muffins are not only gluten free but they are also vegan. I have a good friend who is on a vegan journey so I have been trying to experiment with vegan recipes from time to time. Its actually quite a bit easier that I thought it would be. This time I replaced one egg for one mashed up banana and it totally seemed to do the trick. These muffins rose so nicely. They are moist, have just the right amount of sweetness, and they are pretty simple to make. Hope you enjoy.

What you'll need:
2 bowls
Something to mix with
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Muffin Tin
Cupcake Papers or Non Stick Cooking Spray

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup gluten free all purpose flour
1 tablespoon flax powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 cup of cocoa powder
1 mashed banana
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup black coffee
1/2 cup sunflower seed oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup dark chocolate chocolate chips
1/2 chopped walnuts

Now for the how to:
Mash 1 banana then mix sugar, almond milk, coffee, and oil in a large bowl. In a separate smaller bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, flax powder, and baking powder. Once mixed together dump your dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix to combine. Lastly add in your chopped walnuts and chocolate chips. Bake at 350 for 18 minutes. This recipe yields 12 regular sized muffins.

{Gluten Free} Peach Cobbler Muffins

We are in the heart of peach season! Hip hip hurray! There's just nothing like a big juicy sweet peach. I grabbed a few huge ones while we were out the other day and they are so perfectly delicious. I was inspired to make something with them. I knew I wanted to make something on the healthy side & something my hubby could take to work with him for breakfast. So I landed on muffins. The flavor combination & the smells that we're coming out my kitchen while these little guys were cooking reminded me of peach cobbler. So here I give you peach cobbler muffins.

What you'll need: 

2 bowls

Something to mix with 

Measuring cups & spoons

Cutting board

Knife
Mini or regular muffin tin
Cupcake papers or Non Stick Cooking Spray

Ingredients: 

1 cup gluten free oats

1 cup gluten free all purpose flour 

1 tablespoon flax seed powder 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 

2 eggs 

1/3 cup coconut oil 

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup brown sugar 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1 cup fresh peaches

Now for the how to:

First thing I did was toss the oats into our magic bullet and blend them for a couple of seconds. Not quite to a powder but just enough to break the oats down a bit. Next thing peel your peach (discard or eat skin) and then dice. Combine all dry ingredients in one bowl and all wet ingredients (except peaches) in the other bowl. Then add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix to combine. Lastly toss in the peaches and mix to incorporate. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Yields 2 dozen mini muffins or 1 dozen regular sized muffins. 

Quiet Time

Almost every afternoon the kids have at least one hour of quiet time. It is a time to play quietly and to be apart from each other. Even though we are long past the nap stage it is still important for them to have a chance to unwind and for me to have a chance to catch my breath.
For a while there we were having a bit of a challenge with the little man staying in quiet time. He would get up (what felt like) almost 100 times asking if it was time to get up yet and I would get frustrated and he would get upset and really it was just a big mess. So I changed two things... First I started using a timer. This ensures that he knows he isn't stuck in quiet time forever. It also helps that I don't have to keep saying "No its not time to get up yet!"
The second things I did was create a little reward chart. Now I realize that some parents are anti-rewards system but for us it works. We don't use it for everything but for quiet time we do. It's as simple as a piece of paper, some markers, and stickers. When he stays in quiet time with out getting up he gets a sticker. When he completes a row he gets a treat. When the whole chart is completed we go out and celebrate (yesterday we got fro-yo). Its as simple as that. This is our second go around with the chart and it is working wonders. This time around he even wanted to help make the chart so I wrote it all in pencil and he traced over it with his markers. Quiet time isn't always perfect but it goes so much smoother now. Mamas happy so everyone else is happy too!

Re(not)fried Black Beans

I love going to the taqueria and getting refried beans! They are soooo good; deliciously flavorful and nice and smooth. But I'm sure they're full of lard & other things that I really don't have a problem with in moderation buuttt for meatless Monday I wanted to create a vegan re(not) fried beans that are just as delicious and flavorful with out all the additives.

What you'll need:

Medium sized sauce pot 

Cutting board 

Knife 

Blender 

Ingredients:

1 cup of dried black beans 

1 jalapeño 

1/2 of a pasilla pepper

1/2 red onion

1 clove of garlic

1 tablespoon of cumin

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of pepper

1/2 teaspoon of oregano 

3 cups of water 

Now for the how to: 

If you know that you're going to be making these beans the night before than before you head off to bed put your beans in a bowl full of water cover them with a paper towel, leave them on the counter, and go to bed. In the morning drain them before following the recipe. If you're like me and you forget to soak them or you decide in the morning you want to make beans here are the quick soak instructions: bring 1 cup of beans & 3 cups of water to a rapid boil. Once it comes to a rolling boil, turn off heat, cover & set aside for one hour. While the beans are soaking dice up the peppers, onion, and garlic. If you like things on the spicy side leave the rib (the white part) and seeds in but if you're feeding sensitive palates or little ones be sure to remove all of the seeds and the rib of the peppers. When the one hour is up drain your beans. Add in the peppers, onions, garlic, and spices. And lastly 3 cups of water. Cook on low heat all day. If you're a crock pot user throw those babies in the crock pot, place on low, and let them do their thing. When it comes time to serve these bad boys up toss them in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve them with whatever you like: rice, cheese, tortillas, chips... You name it... the possibilities are endless. 

Not Just Any Ole Mashed Potatoes

 I love potatoes - chips, fries, mashed. Its really hard to choose a favorite but when it comes to dinner I have to say mashed potatoes are one of my all time favorite side dishes. These mashed potatoes are not just any ole mashed potatoes these are the most flavorful yet simple mashed potatoes you could make. I've always really enjoyed some good roasted garlic mashed potatoes but I don't always have the time to roast garlic or sometimes I think of it to late and don't want to wait for the garlic to roast. This recipe eliminates that problem all together. I picked up this trick from watching food network.



What you'll need:
*Vegetable peeler
*Cutting Board
*Knife
*A strainer
*A pot
*Something to mash with (potato masher or hand mixer)

Ingredients:
4-5 medium sized russet potatoes
3-4 cloves of garlic
Water
Salt & Pepper
1 stick of butter
1 cup or so of milk

Now for the how to:
First things first peel your potatoes. Next you'll want to quarter them. This will help the potatoes cook evenly and will even help reduce your cooking time. Once the potatoes are cut drop them into a pot of water and salt the water with a couple teaspoons of salt. Next thing you'll want to do is add 3-4 cloves of garlic to the water. Before I put the garlic in the water I like to mash the garlic with the knife to help bring out its flavor. Cook on medium high heat until your potatoes are fork tender. This will take approximately 20-25 minutes. Once the potatoes are cooked strain them and set them aside while you move on to the next step which is heating up the milk and the butter. I heated up about 3/4 cup of milk and half of a stick of butter. Once the butter is melted you can turn off the heat and return the potatoes to the pot. Now its time to mash. You may notice that you'll need to add a little more milk. I ended up adding probably another 1/4 to 1/2 cup of milk. It depends on the consistency that you prefer. I like my mashed potatoes smooth and creamy. (So the more milk and butter the better.) Be sure to add salt and pepper to taste. Once you have the potatoes all mashed toss a chunk of butter on top and cover the pot until you're ready to serve. If you like mashed potatoes and if you like garlic I promise this recipe will not disappoint.

4th of July & Frogs

For the 4th of July this year we were lucky enough to spend the weekend up at my parents friends vacation house. Even if its only for a couple of days I love being on vacation. There's just something about lazy mornings, rescuing froggies from pool drains, warm sunshine, and cool water that is so good for the soul. I wish every day could be vacation but alas it can not. So I'll just sit here and relive the highlights with a few of my favorite photos.

{Gluten Free} Turkey Meatballs

I'm not sure if its the Italian in me or what but boy do I love a good plate of spaghetti and meatballs. When I make meatballs I always use ground turkey. I personally prefer it to ground beef. The only problem with using ground turkey is that it can easily dry out. So, I've been working on trying some new things. This recipe definitely delivers. It is flavorful, moist and seriously downright delicious.

What you'll need:
*cutting board
*knife
*bowl
*tongs
*frying pan
*blender

Ingredients:
*1 pound of ground turkey
*gluten free bread crumbs
*olive oil
*blended veggies: 1 zucchini, 1 large handful of kale, 1 red onion, 3-4 cloves of garlic
*1 egg
*grated Parmesan cheese
*spices: salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasonings 

Now for the how to:
First thing you'll want to do is chop up all of your veggies. Heat up your pan on medium high heat with some olive oil. Toss your veggies into the pan and season with the spices. Saute the veggies until they are fork tender. Then remove them from the pan and transfer them to your blender. Blend them until they are smooth. In a large bowl combine about 1/2 cup of the blended veggies, raw turkey, 1 egg, about 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, about 1/3 cup of gluten free bread crumbs, and some more of the spices. Mix together until all the ingredients are fully incorporated. Form meatballs to the size of your choosing. I like my meatballs on the

 smaller size so sometimes I use a tablespoon to measure the meat and make bite sized meatballs. Reheat your pan with some more olive oil. Once oil is hot carefully drop in your meatballs. These took about 15 minutes to cook through. I turned them about half way through. While the meatballs were cooking I took the remaining blended vegetables and added them to my favorite sauce. Tossed the sauce with my favorite gluten free spaghetti and plopped a couple of meatballs on top and viola pasta and meatballs. It's a delicious & healthy meal sure to make your taste buds & tummy super duper happy. 

 

{Gluten Free} Blueberry Cookies

I got a great deal on a couple of pounds of organic blueberries at Costco last week so I have been trying to make some new recipes using blueberries before they go bad. These blueberry cookies are the perfect little bite for an on the go morning treat. But really they can be enjoyed any time a day & are especially good paired with a nice steamy cup of coffee. They are pretty simple to make and they are topped with the most delicious candied lemon peel. {I seriously couldn't stop eating the stuff} Plump, moist, and not to sweet they'll make the perfect weekend treat. {I hope my poetic skills really make you want to try these} ;)







What you'll need:
2 mixing bowls
something to mix with

measuring cups
measuring spoons
cookie sheet
parchment paper or non stick cooking spray

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup of gluten free all purpose flour
1 teaspoon golden flax seed powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 stick of butter (room temp)
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1 egg (room temp)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk (room temp)
1 cup fresh blueberries

Candied Lemon Peel: mix together 2 tablespoons regular sugar & zest of one lemon

Now for the how to:
In a small bowl combine flour, flax powder (see previous post on how to make flax powder), salt, baking powder, cinnamon. Mix to combine then set aside. In large bowl combine butter, brown sugar,
egg, and vanilla. Once combined pour dry ingredients into wet. Note that the dough will be very thick! Don't worry you haven't done anything wrong. Now incorporate the tablespoon of milk. After the milk is all mixed in then you'll want to fold in the blueberries. Cover and refrigerate your dough while you make the candied lemon peel & while you're oven heats up. Set your oven to 350 degrees. Take a heaping spoonful of dough and top with a generous amount of candied lemon peel. Bake for 12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool a bit before you remove them from the cookie sheet. This recipe yields 12 cookies.

 This recipe was adapted from How Sweet It Is.

{Gluten Free} Blueberry Muffins

It's been a little while since I've created a new recipe but I'm back at it again. Muffin recipes are my favorite to create and I have a new trick that I'm excited to share with you all. Hubby says these are the best ones I've made yet. Hope you like them as much as he did.

What you'll need:
2 bowls for mixing
something to mix with
measuring cups
measuring spoons
cupcake pan
cupcake papers or nonstick baking spray

Ingredients:
1 cup of gluten free all purpose flour
1 cup of gluten free oats
3/4 teaspoon flax seed powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 egg
1/2 greek yogurt
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup of fresh blueberries
1 mashed banana

Now for the how to:
But first here's my new tip for you! If you have read any of my previous recipes you know that I have been using a flax seed "slurry" instead of xanthan gum. Well one day I got the brilliant idea to try and grind up the seeds to make a powder and use that instead of the slurry. I don't know about you but I don't always like having little seeds in my nice smooth muffins. So I took a couple of tablespoons of golden flaxseed, tossed them in my magic bullet, and grind them right down into a powder. Now instead of having to make a slurry I just toss some of the flax powder in with my dry ingredients and it seems to be doing the trick! Now back to the how to...

Preheat over to 400 degrees. Measure all refrigerated ingredients and set them aside to allow them to come to rooms temperature. (I find this to be extra helpful especially when using coconut oil). Mash your banana. In a small bowl combine are of your dry ingredients. In a large bowl melt your coconut oil and then allow it to cool. Once the oil has cooled you can mix in egg, yogurt, and sugar. Once that is all mixed together add your mashed banana. Then you'll want to dump your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and mix together. Lastly you'll want to fold in your blueberries. Fill your muffin tin almost all the way full. This recipe will yield one dozen muffins. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meal Planning

I have had several friends who know how religious I am about meal planning and have asked me to share my process for choosing meals, making grocery lists, budgeting, shopping, etc. So I have decided to put “pen to paper” and share my process. I am sure there are many different ways to do it and lots of great posts out there about how to get it done. But here’s how I do it.

First of all I do a major grocery shopping trip every two weeks. This schedule coincides with my husband pay day. When I shop I go to three different stores: Costco, Trader Joes, and Safeway. I have found there are a few items worth buying in bulk at Costco and we get our gas from there as well so it makes it worth the trip even if I’m only getting a dozen or so things. After shopping these stores for several years now I have also figured out what stores have better deals on certain items. Anyways so back to planning.

Step 1: We make a list of all the none meal meal related items that we are out of or close to running out of. I enlist the help of my hubby and kids since we all like and eat different things. They are able to tell me what they would like more of and what they have run out of.

Step 2: I make a list of 10-12 meals to get us through 2 weeks. Sundays are family dinner night with my folks so that is at least two meals in two weeks that I don’t have to do all the cooking. We might have take out once or twice in those two weeks and sometimes we have left over night. This would bring us to my 10-12 meals.
From all my years of cooking I have probably 20-30 meals in my repertoire. So I consult my list of meal ideas and I also hit good ole Pinterest of course to try and find some inspiration on at least one to two new meals to try. Once I have all my meals picked out its on to…

Step 3: I go back through my list of meals and jot down all the things that I need to purchase for each meal. Here’s a little money saving tip for you. As you’ll see from this weeks meal list I have chicken something more than once on my list. Safeway sells an almost 3lb pack of boneless skinless chicken thighs for a little over $2/lb. I bring the chicken home divide it up for my meals, put it in freezer ziplock bags and freeze it until I need it. I do the same thing for ground beef as well.

Step 4: I open up my handy Just4U Safeway app. What an awesome idea this thing is. I always wanted to be once of those cool couponing people but for whatever reason never took the plunge. But hey Safeway came through and I can do all my couponing through my phone. So I jot down the prices of things if there is something I normally buy at another store to make sure I’m getting the best price.

Step 5: I go through my two lists and mark what I will get from each store. As you can see from my picture I color coded for each store.

Step 6: Now this is where I get a little cray. I make my list for each store and because I have been frequenting these stores for several years now I know where everything in the store is. So I make my list according to the aisles of the store. This helps me stay focused and on track at the store. It saves me time and ensures that I don’t miss anything on my list. It also helps minimize my impulse purchases.
I’m telling you the effort that goes into the meal planning process totally out weighs the stress that would come with opening the fridge at 5 o’clock and not knowing what to cook or not having enough ingredients on hand to make what I want. It also helps cut down on waste and throwing away food that rots in the fridge because it was never cooked. I hope that you can find this helpful. Please feel free to comment and ask questions. I’d love to hear your meal planning process. What tips and tricks do you like to use when meal planning? What are some of your favorite go to meals?