Coconut Curry Sauce with Brown Rice or Quinoa

This tasted so good and the best part is it is healthy too. It is a great recipe you can make ahead and have when you want it. I love all the combinations of flavors. Delish!

2 1/2 T olive oil
1 onion chopped up
3 cloves of garlic minced
2 tsp salt
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp thyme
2 T honey or other sweetener
2 C water
1 can full fat coconut milk
1 can drained and rinsed garbanzo beans
1 squirt of siracha sauce *optional
3 C cooked brown rice or quinoa or coconut rice
garnish with cilantro if desired

Directions

1. In a large skillet heat oil on medium high until it gets hots. Stir in onions until they start to soften. Stir in the garlic cook on medium heat for a couple minutes.
2. Stir in the salt, curry and thyme.  Stir until all combined cook a couple minutes.
3. Add in the honey or sweetener, water, milk and cook all together on medium heat a couple minutes. Then turn down to medium low and add the garbanzo beans and siracha sauce.
4. Let cook for at least 15 to 20 min to let all of the flavors meld together.
5. Serve with rice or quinoa. Garnish with cilantro if desired. Enjoy!
* The sauce is not thick. It is similar to soup.

Chicken Sweet Potatoes and Rice

Sweet Potatoes are a wonderful addition to a dish they add color, nutrition and a natural sweetness to your dish. I loved what they added to this chicken dish. I think the sweet potatoes were my favorite part of the dish.

Ingredients

2 T olive oil
2 garlic cloves minced
1 onion chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
1/4 C chia
3 cooked chicken breast chopped
2 sweet potatoes cooked
3 C brown rice
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions

1. Heat up skillet on medium heat and add the oil. Stir in garlic and onion. Let cook together about 3-4 minutes until the onions start to soften.
2. Stir in the peppers and chia and let all of them cook together for about 3-4 minutes.
3. Toss in the chicken, sweet potatoes, brown rice, thyme, salt, and pepper. Let all of it cook together on medium low with the lid on. Stir a couple times. Let the flavors meld together for about 10 minutes. Don't over stir. It will get mushy. If you need to add a 1/4 cup of water if it needs more moisture.
4. Serve while it is warm.

Stuffed Mexican Mini Peppers with Quinoa

This has been a recipe I have been wanting to make for a while. I finally made it yesterday and they were so good. I have been making a lot of vegetable recipes this week. It is fun to enhance the flavors of the vegetables and make them more exciting to eat. I think the color of this add a lot to the presentation of the dish. I love all the red, orange and yellow. These would make a great snack, side dish, or appetizer. They are a winner. You can cook the peppers or eat them uncooked. I enjoyed them uncooked. I loved the having the crunch as I ate it. I love the fact that it is a healthy appetizer that is hard to find.

Ingredients

3-4 T olive oil
1/4 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
4 T chia  seeds *optional
2/3 C cooked quinoa
2/3 C cooked brown rice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cumin*
1/4 tsp chili powder*
1/4 C cheese shredded *optional (for vegan leave out)
handful of cilantro
12 mini peppers washed
garnish with cilantro

Directions  Heat oven to 350 if you are going to cook the peppers

1. Place skillet on the stove on medium heat. Pour in the oil and let heat up on medium heat.
2. Pour in the onion, and garlic and stir them around. Let them cook until they start to turn a light golden color. Stir in chia and let cook another 2 min.
3. Stir in the quinoa, rice, salt, cumin, chili powder and *cheese. Let them all cook until they are all warmed up. Toss in the cilantro after you take it off the heat.
4. While the stuffing is cooking. Cut a slit lengthwise on the peppers.
5. Get a small spoon and stuff the mixture into the peppers.
6. Place them on a greased cookie sheet if baking. Bake for 15-18 min until softened. Take out of the oven and let them cool.
7. If you want to eat them raw. Stuff the peppers and eat them immediately. I think they taste better when the filling is warm.
8. Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container. A great little snack. Heat them up in the microwave when you are ready to eat them.

*You can substitute 1 tsp of taco seasoning for cumin and chili powder.

Delicious Mexican Brown Rice

Love this smile

Mexican Brown Rice

The world would be a really sad place without children. I saw this picture of grandson from Christmas and it put a smile on my face. When I am out and about and smile at complete strangers they will smile back. I know it makes my day better and hopefully there's too. It is such a simple act but something we all can do. I love children's smiles and their enthusiasm. I know I could benefit from them rubbing off on me more. I love it when I ask my grandson about preschool. I will say, "How was preschool ? His response every time is. "It was great. It is always great! " Love It! We can make the world a better place one person at a time.  

This was part of our Mexican fiesta on New Years Day. It was a delicious way to enjoy brown rice. It was a great addition to our fajitas. The turmeric in it gives it a nice golden color along with great health benefits. Another great way to enjoy a healthy 2014.

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
1 onion diced
5 cloves garlic minced
3 C Brown rice
6 C water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chicken seasoning
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 tsp turmeric (gives it a pretty golden color)
1 tsp cumin
1 10oz can of diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

Directions
1. In a large pot heat up the oil on medium heat. Stir in the onions and the garlic. Cook until lightly browned.
2. Stir in the rice and water. Then stir in the salt, chicken seasoning, chili powder, turmeric, cumin, and tomatoes. Let it come to a boil. Let it boil for a couple minutes.  Turn down to medium heat and cook until the rice is soft and the liquid is absorbed.  It should take about 45 to 60 minutes. If you have a pressure cooker it will take about 20 minutes.
3. Serve warm.

Lucky Brown Rice Pudding

Recipe Redux this month is featuring "Good Luck Foods." Does your family have a traditional food to serve New Year's Eve to bring in good luck with the new year? I like the idea of traditions, and I think they help bind a family together. I have not previously had a tradition for New Year's, but I like the idea.

Here is a fun thing to do with friends or family before the new year starts. Serve up this pudding and place an almond in the bottom of one of the dishes before you put in the pudding. Whoever finds the almond in their pudding gets good luck for the coming year!

Ingredients 
4 C cooked brown rice
3 C milk of your choice
2/3 C honey or sweetener of your choice
1 C currants or raisins (optional)
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp of cinnamon or 1 tsp freshly ground
1 tsp nutmeg or 1/2 tsp freshly grated 
1 almond
milk to drizzle on top if desired (optional)

Directions (serves 8)
1.In a saucepan place the rice, milk, And honey together. Bring to a boil on medium heat. 
2. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Until it thickens.
3. Remove from heat, stir in the currants, vanilla nutmeg, and cinnamon.
4. Put in serving dish(es) and put a "lucky almond" inside one of the dishes.
5. Garnish with additional cinnamon (optional) and drizzle on milk if desired.
6. The finder of the almond is the winner and gets luck for the new year

* Currants are smaller than raisins. I like then. Here is some information on them.  

An InLinkz Link-up

Healthy Fried Brown Rice with Vegetables

Last Sunday I had a craving for fried rice and this recipe was fast and easy.. It was a great way to get my family to eat vegetables because it was tasty and looked appetizing. You could get creative and add some more vegetables and you could also add some meat if desired. It was all gone by the end of the meal. I hope you are doing something fun this weekend. I am enjoying some time with a couple of my grandsons.

Ingredients 
3 green onions chopped or 1/3 of purple onion chopped finely
3 T Grapeseed oil
2 zucchini chopped up small (add other vegetables too)
1-2 T Grapeseed oil
3 eggs
dash of salt
1 T light soy sauce
4-5 C cooked brown rice
salt and pepper to taste
Sweet and sour sauce for topping

Directions:
1. In a bowl beat the eggs with the salt.
2. In a frying pan or wok heat up the oil.
3. Pour the vegetables into the hot oil. Stir and cook about 2 to 3 min. (Until softened) Take out of the pan and set a side. Keep cover and hot.
4. Heat the remaining oil in the pan and scramble the eggs.
5. Pour in the cooked rice in with the eggs. Add the soy sauce. Toss in the vegetables.
6. You can serve hot or cold. We enjoyed sweet and sour sauce on it. I think next time I am going to stir in some cooked shrimp. Yum!
   


  

Garden Veggie Burgers Yum!

It is always a great night when we have hamburgers and this night was no exception eating a garden burger.  I was in search of a yummy garden burger instead of the prepared ones in the store. I changed around a recipe, and came up with this. They were so good. I ate two of the patties without out the bun. They tasted so good. I loved the flavor of it. Yum. Great way to eat a lot of nutritional foods.

Ingredients:
2  4 oz cans of sliced portobella mushrooms drained
2 T olive oil
1 shallot minced
1 1/2 C shredded squash ( you could use crookneck or zucchini)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 T Parmesan cheese *optional
2 C cooked quinoa
3/4 C brown rice
1 C black beans
2 eggs
1 C whole grain bread crumbs
1 T mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T olive oil
Top with your favorite toppings:
avocado, tomato, spinach etc.. 

Directions: Make 1 hour ahead so it can thicken. Serves about 6
1. Pour mushrooms in a blender pulse until chopped in small pieces.
2. Heat oil in skillet pour in shallots stir and cook until soft. Stir in the squash, (get extra moisture out of squash with a paper towel if needed.) red pepper flakes, and cook with mushrooms for 3 min. on med. heat.
3. Take off of heat. Stir in the cheese, quinoa, rice, beans.  Then stir in the egss bread crumbs, mustard, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire. Place in the fridge to help it to thicken.
4. Form into patties. Heat skillet pour in the olive oil. Cook a couple minutes on each side. (Freeze uncooked or cooked patties individually in the freezer. They will be ready for a fast meal.)
5. Top your burger with your favorite toppings.
* They were a little crumbly but so good.   

Enchilada Casserole with Black Beans and Brown Rice

Nice meal with lots of fresh vegetables with it.

Enchilada Casserole

I love eating enchiladas. Well I could just about eat Mexican food every night. This was an easy way to eat enchiladas without a lot of preparation.  I liked that! It made a delicious meal last night, and great lunch today too. Enjoy your weekend. Its a beautiful day here. 

Ingredients:
2 C cooked brown rice
2 cans of black beans  rinsed and drained  (* i used beans I cooked)
2 small cans of enchilada sauce or one large one (*I used this sauce)
2 C sharp cheddar cheese
Serve with:  Salsa, guacamole and  tortilla chips and fresh vegetables 

Directions: Serves 8. Heat oven to 350
1. Grease 9 x 13 pan. Spread brown rice on the bottom of the pan. Drizzle evenly over the rice 1/4 to 1/2 C of enchilada sauce.
2. Then spread the black beans evenly over the rice.  Spread about 1/2 C of cheese over the beans.
3. Pour and spread the enchilada sauce over the beans.
4. Pour the remaining cheese on top.
5.Place pan in the hot oven and cook about 25 min until heated all the way through.
6.  Take out of the oven and serve warm with fresh salsa, guacamole, tortilla chips and fresh cut up vegetables.      
* I had frozen the sauce in a zip lock and it was great!
* I made black beans in my pressure cooker. I soaked them for 2 hours. Cover them completely with water. Then rinse the beans and pour drained beans in the pressure cooker. Cover the beans in water about 2 C of water to 1 C of beans. Add 1/2 tsp baking soda. (It helps them to not cause as much gas.)  Cook them on high pressure for about 30 to 35 min. Let the pressure release on its own. Drain  and use or, freeze them in airtight containers and they are ready to use when you need them. Just thaw them and they are ready to go.      

Lettuce Chicken Wraps

Good Morning !

Chicken wraps

Good Morning! I was looking out the window this morning, and had to take a picture of it. I love mornings. It is such a peaceful time of day. It is a new beginning too. It is so wonderful to watch the sun come over the mountain. It is a perfect time of day to go on a walk.  My daughter and I planted our garden yesterday. We will proabablly add some more along the way. We got it all planted and it started to rain. It was perfect. It was nice spending time out in the sunshine.

My daughter requested I make these last night. They were delicious. I love using the lettuce to wrap the chicken in. It is a nice way to get some greens into your meal. It is a complete meal you don't really need anything else. It is a fast meal to serve if your chicken and brown rice are already cooked.  

Ingredients: serves 4
1 1/2 C cooked shredded chicken
1 T oil
2 T chili garlic sauce
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 T lime zest
3 T Lime juice
7 T fish sauce
2 T honey
1 tsp salt
3 C cooked brown rice
1/4 C fresh basil chopped
4 green onions chopped
Romaine lettuce leaves washed

Directions:
1. Heat skillet to medium heat, add oil and chicken. Cook and stir a couple minutes.
2. Stir in the garlic sauce, garlic, zest, juice, fish sauce, honey, salt, and brown rice cook and stir about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in basil and green onions. Take off the heat and scoop on to lettuce leaves. Serve.   

Green Curry Chicken with Brown Rice

A couple of days ago one of my daughters came to make some freezer meals. This is one of the meals that she made. She let us have some too. It is always fun to have someone else to make your dinner. We enjoyed her company as well. It is always a treat to have our family come home.

This is a yummy meal. That we enjoyed for dinner. :) Thanks to my sweet daughter.

Ingredients: Serves 3-4
4 green onion washed and chopped up
1/2 of a small can of green chilies
1 small piece of ginger peeled
2 cloves of garlic
1 1/2 tsp fish sauce
nice handful of fresh cilantro
3 T water
2 T grapeseed oil
4 boneless chicken breasts cut in cubes
1 green pepper. sliced in thin pieces
1 can of coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste
3 C cooked brown rice

Directions:
1. Place in blender or food processor green onions, chilies, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, and water. Blend until it turns into a nice smooth paste.
2. Heat  1 T of the oil on medium heat. Brown chicken on both sides. Take out of the pan and place in dish.
3. Heat 1 T oil and cook the peppers for a couple minutes. Then stir in the paste. Stir and fry together a couple of minutes. The mixture should thicken up.
4. Pour the chicken back in along with the coconut milk. Bring the mixture to a boil. Turn down the heat. Put a lid over the skillet. Allow some space for a little air to escape. Simmer for 10 min.
5. Serve over hot brown rice.
* This could freeze nicely in an airtight container.   

Shrimp salad with Brown Rice

Shrimp Salad

I love recipes with shrimp. :)  Shrimp is my favorite way to eat fish. This was a nice combination and easy to make as well. That makes it even better. It is nice to have options for light easy meals. You could put this mixture into taco  shells or tortillas, if you cut off the tails ahead of time. This would be a wonderful summer salad.


Ingredients: 4 servings
1 1/2 lb frozen cooked shrimp
1 T oil
1/3 C water
1/4 to 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 to 1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp fresh lime juice
1 avocado chopped up
2 roma tomatoes chopped
1/4 C purple onion chopped up
1 to 1 1/2 C chopped coleslaw or cut up cabbage
2-3 C cooked brown rice
top with lime juice and chili powder 


Directions:
1. Heat skillet with oil. pour in the shrimp and water and chili powder. Heat for just a couple minutes. Place lid on to let them heat up faster. Don't over cook they will become tough. Add salt after cooking then set aside with lid on the pan. 
2. In individual bowls place 1/2 C of brown rice, then place the shrimp on top 6-7 (you could cut off the tails ahead of time), then 1/4 C coleslaw or cut cabbage, then chopped up avocados, onion, and tomatoes on tossed on top. Sprinkle chili powder on top if desired, a little salt and fresh lime juice. Enjoy! 

Sweet Balsamic Pork

I needed something quick for dinner, and this fit the bill. I just put everything in my pressure cooker! It would also work in a crock pot, although it would take a little longer. It was pull-apart soft after 75 minutes, and we had it over brown rice. The weather has been too nice to spend as much time in the kitchen!


Ingredients

Frozen pork roast (mine was about 2 lbs.)
1 tsp sage
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder (or 2 crushed cloves)
1 C water
1/3 C brown sugar
1/3 C balsamic vinegar


Directions

1. Place pork roast in pressure cooker or crock pot.

2. Mix the remainder of ingredients together. Pour over pork roast.

3. Set the pressure cooker on high for 75 minutes, or leave in the crock pot on low for 5 hours or on high for 3.

4. Serve over brown rice.

Asian Turkey Wraps in Romaine Lettuce (Info. about Romaine Lettuce)

Asian turkey wraps

I made this meal for my daughter Britney's birthday a couple weeks ago. It had a wonderful new flavor combination that we really enjoyed. It was fun to roll it up in the romaine lettuce as well. I have been reading about health benefits of romaine lettuce.  It made a nice light meal. My family loved having the leftovers the next day. It was fun to change things up a little bit. It was a great way to eat more vegetables too.It is easy to get in a rut eating the same fruits and vegetables. It is great when we mix up the fruits and vegetables that we eat and get a variety of nutrients.

Romaine Lettuce

Some of the health benefits of Romaine lettuce are:

1. Vitamin C and beta carotene that can aid in healthy heart, helping to prevent oxidation of cholesterol, which can help in reducing strokes and heart attacks. There is also folic acid which aids in keeping blood vessels healthy.

2. Potassium can help lower blood pressure. Potassium can also help improve your muscle strength if you combine it with strength training.  There is also fiber which is always helpful to improve the functioning of our bodies. It also has phosphorus, calcium and magnesium.

3. It can help in burning fat because of the fiber that is in it. It makes your body work as it digests the lettuce. It also fills you up faster. It is a low calorie food with no fat.

4. So find some fun ways to add it to your families diet. It was fun to learn some more information about romaine. I had no idea it had so many great health benefits. :)

Ingredients:  Asian Turkey wraps
2 C cooked brown rice
1 1/2 lb lean ground turkey
1 T oil (I used grape seed oil)
1 jalapeno pepper seeded chopped fine pieces
3 to 4 garlic cloves minced
2 tsp lime zest
3 T fresh lime juice
5 T fish sauce
2 T honey or brown  sugar
1 can of diced green chili *optional 
1 tsp cornstarch or  1 T ultra gel
1/4 C fresh basil chopped up
4 green onions chopped
head of Romaine lettuce washed and seperated

Directions:

1. In a frying pan pour in the oil brown turkey and break into small pieces.

2. Stir in the chili's, garlic, and the zest. Cook stirring together a couple minutes.

3. In a small a whisk lime juice, fish sauce, honey, rice, and cornstarch or ultra gel. Cook until the it thickens.

4. Then take the skillet off the stove and toss in the basil and green onions. Scoop on to the lettuce and roll the lettuce as desired. Enjoy!


     

Coconut Brown Rice Pudding with Currants

I love learning about new foods. It is exciting having new ingredients to add to my recipes. Today the new food is currants. I learned some great information about them on this site. I was so excited to see all the health benefits. They are similar in taste to a raisin, and smaller than a raisin. My daughter liked them, and she doesn't like raisins. I happened upon them at a sale I was at. Hooray!

Today I made a nice rice pudding, and loved having the currants with it. This would make a nice light dessert or a nice breakfast as well.

Ingredients:
2 C milk
2/3 C coconut milk
2 C cooked brown rice
1/4 to 1/2  C packed brown sugar or sweetener
1/8 tsp salt
1 T cornstarch
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp orange zest optional
currants* optional
milk for on top if desired

Directions:

1. Heat in a saucepan pour milk,coconut milk,sugar,salt and cornstarch. Mix together with a wire whisk. When it starts to boil stir in the rice.

2.Beat the eggs in a separate bowl. Stir a 1/4 C of hot mixture int the eggs. Then stir the mixture into the milk mixture. Turn down the heat to low and continue to stir until the mixture thickens. Stir in the spices and *orange rind if desired.

3. Take off the stove and stir in the vanilla. Dish into bowls and garnish with currants, and cinnamon, or your favorite topping.

My Cuisinart Pressure Cooker (My Review) and Some Pressure Cooker Recipes

I've been meaning for a while to tell you a little bit about my favorite kitchen gadget--the
Cuisinart Pressure Cooker. I've mentioned it several times, but here's my official soapbox about the thing. And just so you know, I'm not getting paid or reimbursed in any way for this post.

I love my pressure cooker. So much so that I would pay to buy it again every year (even though it usually costs around $100) for all the time and work it saves me. For example, this week I wanted to make dinner for my sister-in-law and her family. Instead of slaving away over a stove, getting multiple pots and pans dirty, etc., I just threw some frozen chicken, brown rice, water, and spices into my pressure cooker. It cooked on high for 40 minutes, and when it was done, I had a complete chicken and rice dish for both my family and theirs. Here's a picture: (see recipe below)


And one of the great things about it is that while most cooking boils away nutrition, this pressure cooker is sealed so tightly that more of the nutrients stay in the food.

I even bought it for two of my kids this Christmas.

A Few Pressure Cooker Recipes
Everyday Brown Rice Mixture
Barley Pilaf
Thai Fried Sweet Brown Rice
Easy Whole Grain Sweet Brown Rice Risotto
Chicken Vegetable Soup
Sweet and Sour Chicken and Brown Rice
Seasoned Cross Rib Roast
Chili Chicken with Brown Rice and Quinoa
It also is great for a lot of other recipes in which you use rice--even if the other ingredients aren't cooked with it.

Simple Chicken and Rice in the Pressure Cooker

Ingredients:
3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
2 1/2 C brown rice
5 C water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp coconut oil

Directions:
Add all ingredients to 6 qt. pressure cooker. Turn on high power for 40 minutes. Let it release on its own. Serve.