Supper-Time Sunday!

I gotta say... of all of the posts that I do these ones are probably my favorite. I really love sharing all of the delicious eats that we have been able to enjoy lately with my lovely family and friends - and all of you that I don't know but would love to! We had another great week of eats this week!

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FRUIT SWEETENING PASTE (PURE FRUIT SWEETENER)

Photo + Recipe Courtesy of Primally Inspired

I have to talk about this one first because it is the one that I am most excited about. When you are sugar intolerant it is easy to feel that your options are very limited - because they are. When I saw this all natural fruit sweetening paste on Primally Inspired I knew that I wanted to try it out!

Our local Winco Foods has a large section of bulk bins and I was able to get all of the ingredients for this paste from there. The recipe says that you can use any amounts of any combination of dried fruits so, really, the sky is the limit. I got the recommended fruits and made sure none of them were listed with added sugar. (Another great benefit to Winco Foods bulk section - they list the ingredients and nutritional information on all of their bins). I got 0.47 lbs Deluxe Raisins for $0.36, 0.36 lbs Dried Apricots for $1.23, 0.57 lbs Dried Adriatic Figs for $1.18, and 2.94 lbs Dried Whole Pitted Dates for $1.46. Total weight = 4.34 lbs for $4.23. Pretty awesome, right? 

What is even more awesome is that it tastes DELICIOUS! My husband had some spread on a piece of toast and I had some spread on my Tone It Up Protein Pancake at breakfast IMMEDIATELY after I finished making it.

And if that weren't awesome enough... We ended up with about 40 ounces of the finished product ~ 40 ounces for $4.23. If you buy honey at Sam's Club it costs $12.80 for 80 ounces. And pure maple syrup (grade A) at Costco is over $13 for 33.8 ounces. This is a delicious and very cost effective alternative!

You can see that we have already dug into the smaller jar

I am so happy to have this all natural product to sweeten my eats with and to finally have something that resembles jam again! 

PIN IT!

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SUPER THICK SHAMROCK SMOOTHIE

Photo + Recipe Courtesy of Lauren at Oatmeal After Spinning

There have been a lot of St. Patrick's Day eats going around right now. Since today is St. Patrick's day it seems to make sense, right? Well it is no fun to be left out of favorite traditions when you are trying to eat healthy so there have been a lot of copycat shamrock shakes going around as well. I even blogged about one last week that we enjoyed.

However, this one takes the cake for me. I loved this recipe and made it twice this week. One time I hoarded it for myself as my lunch and hid away from the kids so I wouldn't have to share. The second time I was feeling more generous so I made the same amount but distributed the goods throughout my little family so everyone could enjoy it. Cute hubster is not a fan of peppermint but even he enjoyed it!

I made a couple of changes to this recipe. The first time that I made it I didn't have a frozen banana or peppermint extract.... so instead I used 1 whole small banana and pure mint extract. I used 1/2 tsp mint extract (*DISCLAIMER! Only use this much if you like STRONG mint flavor!) and I used frozen kale instead of the spinach. It got incredibly thick and I ate it in a bowl just like mint ice cream - DIVINE!

When I made it for the family I actually had peppermint extract. I kept my other changes the same but used 1/2 tsp peppermint extract. It was pretty good still but I liked the strength of the mint extract and will probably continue to use it for my own hoarding smoothie purposes.

Overall this is, by far, my favorite copycat Shamrock Smoothie!

PIN IT!

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CROCKPOT JAMBALAYA

Photo + Recipe Courtesy of With Just a Bit of Magic

This is a recipe that my wonderful sister-in-law posted about and I knew that I wanted to try it. I love Jambalaya but usually can't eat the ones that you get at restaurants around here because they are made with noodles. (No gluten for me!)

I had a bit of a hectic day and didn't get the ingredients for this one in the crockpot until there were only about 4 hours left to dinner time. I placed the ingredients in my "depths of Mordor" crockpot and set it to high hoping that it would be ready in time. 

Well, it was and it wasn't. The brown rice is extremely finicky about when it will cook right and it was still a little crunchy by the time it was time to eat dinner. We didn't mind it and we ate the jambalaya anyway. Cute hubster took the leftovers to work and didn't mention any bad crunchiness so I assume it was fine.

What we particularly enjoyed about this recipe was the delicious flavor. I used all natural Sweet Apple Chicken sausage and the contrast of the sweetness with the hot sauce we added to our bowls was divine. 

I didn't want to buy fresh thyme so I used 2 tsp dried thyme instead of the 2 tbsp fresh that it calls for. I also didn't want to spend the money for the shrimp so we just left it out completely. If you have a food processor the chopping of the veggies for this dish is a cinch, otherwise it would be a bit time consuming. 

*Side Note: I have found the PERFECT method for cooking even the most finnicky and stubborn of brown rice:

COOK THE PERFECT BROWN RICE

Photo + recipe courtesy of Pinch My Salt

Seriously. This technique has NEVER failed us. We love it!

Overall, this jambalaya recipe was very good and if I am in the mood for jambalaya again I will probably pull this recipe out of the archives; however, there are so many other recipes out there that I want to try that unless I am specifically craving jambalaya I will probably not revisit this recipe.

PIN IT! (Jambalaya)

PIN IT! (Brown Rice)

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CARROT CAKE OATMEAL

Recipe courtesy of Life After Bagels

I love my morning oatmeal greatly and I am always interested in finding new ways to switch things up. I used to love carrot cake greatly when I was still eating sugar and gluten and so this recipe particularly caught my eye. Especially since this is a great way to add some veggies to the most important meal of the day!

And it was delicious! Very hearty, flavorful and filling. However.... I did change several things about the recipe.

I didn't want to bother cooking steel cut oats so I just used my normal 1/2 cup of gluten free old fashioned oats. To that I added all of the gratings of 1 medium carrot, 1 small banana (sliced), 1 tbsp ground flaxseed (optional), and a large sprinkling of pumpkin pie spice. I cooked it on high in the microwave for 3 minutes and then added 2 tbsp of unsalted almonds to the finished product. Like I said, it was delicious and it was quite sweet enough for me with the carrot and the banana to not need the additional maple syrup.

I am sure the original recipe is just as delicious - this is just what worked for me!

*Note: If you would like to see a picture of this recipe, the recipe itself, or pin this recipe please click on the "Life After Bagels" link under the title above. This link will take you directly to this particular recipe on Life After Bagels site.

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QUESTIONS FOR MY DEAR READERS: What was the best thing you ate this week? Are you doing anything special with your food for St. Patrick's Day?

Loves...Shayla

Spicy Vegan Peanut Butter Tofu Rice Bowls

I have made this recipe several times and every single time it gets rave reviews. Cute hubster loves it and my boy {N} always eats his entire bowl. My girl [A] is skeptical of sweet potatoes and so she kind of picks through her bowl - mostly eating all of the tofu pieces she can find. Am I a mean mom for insisting she keep trying sweet potatoes each time we have them? I don't force them down her but I always insist that she try everything once!

This recipe is based off of the sauce and technique of Kalyn over at Kalyn's Kitchen. You can view her recipe here. The picture right below here belongs to her as well. I have to use alternative pictures wherever possible because I don't have my own camera - I only have my Android smartphone. Sorry for my sloppy pictures but at least you can get the idea!

SPICY VEGAN PEANUT BUTTER TOFU RICE BOWLS
Original idea by Kalyn at Kalyn's Kitchen
Arranged by Shayla Bentley
Makes a VERY large amount (at least 8 servings)
PIN IT!

14-16 oz. extra firm tofu (you can also used cooked, shredded chicken if you don't like tofu)
1 T sesame oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2-3 T diagonally sliced green onions (for garnish, optional... I never remember)

2 cups uncooked brown rice (for the perfect technique on cooking brown rice that has NEVER failed us check out this site here)

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and shredded

2 cups green or red cabbage, sliced

1 - 2 cups eggplant or mushrooms

Sauce Ingredients:
6 T reduced sodium soy sauce (or Tamari if you need to keep it gluten free)
6 T rice vinegar (not seasoned rice vinegar, can substitute white vinegar)
4 T smooth natural peanut butter (or 6 T crunchy)
2 T pure maple syrup (or agave)
4 T vegetable stock or water (I always use water)
Sriracha to taste (only if you like things spicy!)

Make sure to get your brown rice started first if you aren't using leftover rice. The rice takes at least 40 minutes to cook! 

Once rice is cooking and about 10 minutes into cooking time heat sesame oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Prep your tofu by removing from package and squeezing as much moisture as you can out between a thick layer of paper towels. Chop tofu into small pieces. 

Add garlic to skillet and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tofu to skillet, sprinkle with ground ginger, and cook until nicely browned. Turn skillet to low.

Mix all sauce ingredients together and add to skillet. Your peanut butter will most likely start out a little chunky still but as it heats everything will blend together nicely. 

Turn your oven on to high broil. When the rice has about 8 minutes left spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray and place sweet potatoes, cabbage, and eggplant (or mushrooms) on the sheet. Toss together and heat in the oven for 5-7 minutes. You do NOT want it to burn and you do not want the veggies to get totally soft. A little bit of crunchiness does WONDERS for this dish.

Once the rice is finished toss it in the skillet with the sauce and tofu. Fold together well trying not to destroy your tofu until the rice has a nice even layer of the sauce. Serve by putting a few scoops of veggies in the bottom of a bowl and add the rice/tofu mixture on top. *Note: if you let the hot rice mix sit atop the veggies for a few minutes they will soften even more. You can also add green onions and add the Sriracha to individual portions for those that like things spicy. 

Enjoy!

This is my I-am-about-to-shovel-this-deliciousness-in-my-mouth picture. Notice how the Sriracha bottle is sitting by my bowl? Yeah... I like spicy!

QUESTION FOR MY DEAR READERS: Do you like tofu? Have you ever tried it? 

Loves...Shayla

Supper-Time Sunday!

Overnight Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats (Slow Cooker)

Rating: A

Hearty and delicious - this recipe is definitely a keeper! Since I don't eat added sugars if I can avoid it I didn't add the brown sugar to this recipe at all. I doubled the cinnamon and substituted the butter for coconut oil 1:1. My family just added pure maple syrup to their portions when it was done. I ate mine with just the sweetness from the apples. You also have to be really careful about cooking time. Although this calls for 7 hours mine only took 3 in my INSANE crockpot. 

LINK: http://jamiecooksitup.net/2012/03/overnight-apple-cinnamon-steel-cut-oats-crock-pot/

Instant Mug 'O Mac in the Microwave

Rating: ...B-?

This is a really great idea for a toddler who loves macaroni and cheese. They get to have their favorite dish and you get to feel more confident that they aren't eating a bunch of preservatives and added colors. That being said, however, this technique didn't work for me. I bought a big box of noodles from Sam's Club and I guess the noodles are too "premium" quality for microwave. I had to cook them on the stove top after all. Which is fine. Abrielle still loved it. Maybe you'll have better luck!

LINK: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2012/05/17/instant-mug-o-mac-cheese-in-the-microwave/

Pasta with Fresh Garden Tomato Sauce

Rating: A+

We have established that I haven't liked tomatoes for my whole life, right? Well I had no anticipation that I would like this but I was making dinner at my parent's house in exchange for my mom cutting Jake's hair. I decided to try it and WOW!!!! I absolutely loved it. Love love love love love. We topped ours with feta instead of parmesan cheese and didn't drizzle any additional olive oil on it. We had it again the next day on top of bread, and again a few days later. It is amazing. Make it. Soooo easy and wonderful!

LINK: http://www.marthastewart.com/904229/pasta-fresh-tomato-sauce

Chocolate Protein Power Balls

Rating: A+

These are excellent! I made a big batch and keep them in the freezer. I take 2 of them with me to eat after a big workout or eat 1 occasionally for a snack. The only substitution that I made was to use natural peanut butter instead of almond butter (I didn't have it). LOVE the flavor, texture, everything!

LINK: http://www.damyhealth.com/2011/04/damy-health-protein-power-balls/

Thai Turkey Burgers

Rating: A+

We have had these twice now. Once I made them with ground chicken and the second time I did turkey. Both were fabulous. The sauce is a perfect combination of sweet and spicy and they are very filling. We will make these again and again!

LINK: http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/meal-ideas/best-healthy-recipes-around-world?page=9

Baked Cinnamon Breakfast Bites

Rating on cooking technique: A-, Rating on crowd consumption: A

These were quite easy to make and seemed to be a great hit at the party I took them to. My husband tried one for me and said they were great and my aunt asked me for the recipe for them. The only change that I made was to use cake flour instead of just all-purpose flour. If you don't have it on hand you can make it by measuring out 1 cup of all-purpose flour and taking out 2 tbsp of it. You then replace those tbsp with 2 tbsp of cornstarch. It helps them to be a little bit lighter and not quite so dense. 

LINK: http://ohmysugarhigh.com/scrumptious-baked-cinnamon-breakfast-bites-recipe/

NOTE: I didn't actually taste these so I can't give you a rating on taste... I can only tell you what others told me!

Clean Eating Gingerbread Waffles

Rating: A-

I really like gingerbread... although Jake does not. I decided to try these anyways and I really liked them. It calls for 5 cups milk and I only used 3 although next time I will probably use 3 1/2 because they turned out very thick. Still delicious. I need to draw your attention to the fact that the recipe calls for NO added sugar. I like them this way and only topped mine with fresh banana slices and peach slices. That was perfect for me. My kids loved them also. I think it could use a little bit of salt added to the batter but otherwise I think it is great.

LINK: http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-ginger-bread-waffles/

Clean Eating Turkey Rice Bowls

Rating: B-

These were okay but were honestly kind of bland. We remedied this situation by adding Sriracha to our portions but it isn't one that I would make again. And if I did I would use fresh pineapple and not canned. But I don't plan on making it again. Maybe you'll like it better?

LINK: http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-curry-pineapple-turkey-rice-bowl/

The "Best" Snickerdoodle Cookie

Rating on cooking technique: A-, Rating on crowd reception: A

These were pretty easy to put together - Abrielle and I did them together. I refrigerated them for too long though and I had to leave them out for a while before they were not too hard to roll out. However, if they get too warm then they flatten a lot more while cooking. They are a bit finicky like that. But my hubby and our neighbors loved them and so I will probably make them again.

LINK: http://www.lovintheoven.com/2010/03/even-better-snickerdoodle.html

Best Spanish Rice

This is a huge go-to side dish in our house. I LOVE this recipe and we frequently have it with all of our Mexican dishes. It is super easy too. I make mine in our pressure cooker but I am sure you could do it in a rice cooker or a normal pan as well. I do several things differently than the original recipe but if you want to see the original you can find it and the source of the picture at this site here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-spanish-rice/detail.aspx

BEST SPANISH RICE
From Allrecipes.com

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice
2 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth
1 cup chunky salsa

Place all ingredients in rice cooker. Stir twice and cook as you would normal rice.

OR

Place all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cover. Cook, COVERED, for 20 minutes - DO NOT LIFT LID!

Fluff with fork before serving.

Maple Meatballs

Are any of you frequent potluck-party-goers out in the grand blogosphere familiar with Lil' Smokies? They are miniature sausages in a barbecue sauce - normally heated in a slow cooker. They are quite popular here in Utah and frequently grace a potluck table. Well my confession is... I am not a fan. It is probably because I am not a big fan of sausage but I like sausage a WHOLE lot more than I like Lil' Smokies.

But I always like a nicely flavored meatball and so when I ran across this recipe I knew it was one that I wanted to try. I have had it saved for a long time because it is not a recipe that calls for ingredients I would normally have on hand. If you have pure maple syrup and chili sauce on hand - props to you. I have actually never even purchased either of those. The chili sauce bottle looks just like a ketchup bottle and it tastes a lot like it too (with a slight kick to it). I was expecting a lot more heat and was pleasantly surprised when I tested it before dumping it into my pan. Not that I don't like heat but when it calls for as much maple syrup as it does chili sauce you have to worry a bit... If you have an aversion to heat, this is not a recipe that you need to avoid. The finished product is nothing I would consider "hot."

Everyone loved these meatballs and the aroma they gave off drove everyone mad with longing. Everyone talked about how good they were and praised my cooking abilities.

We'll just keep it as our secret about how simple this recipe really is. Now I just need to make some more meatball meals to use up the other 4 pounds of meatballs I have....

The picture and recipe are courtesy of Real Mom Kitchen and can be found at this site here: http://realmomkitchen.com/456/maple-meatballs/

Maple Meatballs
Real Mom Kitchen (I doubled the recipe - meatballs and sauce.)

1/2 cup real maple syrup
1/2 cup chili sauce
2 teaspoons dried chives (or 2 tablespoons fresh chives)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
26 (1 pound) frozen, fully cooked meatballs, thawed

In a saucepan, combine syrup, chili sauce, chives, soy sauce,and ground mustard. Bring to a low boil. Add meatballs and then return to a boil. Simmer over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until meatballs are thoroughly heated. Serve as an appetizer with toothpicks or over hot cooked rice. Makes 5-6 servings. 

Classic Repeat: Mom's Chicken Sour Cream Enchiladas

We love enchiladas and this one is definitely a keeper! I also tried the Spanish rice again and it turned out MUCH better once I remembered not to add the powders too early.... This is a relatively easy meal with relatively basic ingredients! Try it!!!

http://shaylaskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/12/moms-chicken-sour-cream-enchiladas.html

http://shaylaskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/01/oven-fried-chicken-chimichangas-spanish.html

Oven-Fried Chicken Chimichangas & Spanish Rice

We are Mexican people. That is all there is to it. We love Mexican food and I have a whole arsenal of recipes. This was a new one that I got from Campbell's Kitchen. They send me recipes daily. They turned out FANTASTIC and were so easy to make. I really liked the Spanish rice although Jake wasn't a big fan. I think I will try it again to see if I can improve it. I really liked it though - it was fast and easy and a great compliment to the chimichangas.

OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN CHIMICHANGAS

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Pace® Picante Sauce
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves, crushed
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken
4 oz. shredded Cheddar cheese (about 1 cup)
2 green onions, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
6 (8-inch) flour tortillas
2 tbsp. butter, melted
fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:

Stir the picante sauce, cumin, oregano, chicken, cheese and onions in a medium bowl.

Place about 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla. Fold the opposite sides over the filling. Roll up from the bottom and place seam-side down on a baking sheet. Brush with butter.

Bake at 400°F. for 25 minutes or until they're golden brown. Serve with additional picante sauce. Garnish with cilantro.

Tip: For 1 1/2 cups chopped chicken, in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, in 4 cups boiling water, cook 3/4 pound boneless chicken breasts or thighs, cubed, for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Drain and chop the chicken. Serves 6.

EASY SPANISH RICE

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups rice
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup plain tomato sauce*
3 cloves finely chopped garlic *
1/4 of a medium onion*
2 tablespoons oil
4 heaping tablespoons of finely chopped parsley (optional)

Preparation:

In a medium sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add in the fresh garlic and onion. Saute for 1-2 minutes until softened. Add in dry rice. Stir for about 5 minutes until rice becomes a golden brown color.

Add in broth and tomato sauce (Slowly into rice, not directly onto hot pan!) Add in the parsley if you're using it. Stir it up and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling, turn the heat to low and cover. Let it simmer for 20 minutes and fluff with a fork.

*If you don't have fresh garlic or onions on hand you can use the equivalent in powder form. Do not saute the powder, just skip that step and add the garlic powder and/or onion powder when you add the liquids. If you don't have tomato sauce you can use unseasoned stewed tomatoes, or canned diced tomatoes with their liquid.