Hillbilly Veggies

Every summer my family would go to Silver Dollar City in Branson MO for vacation.  One of our favorite things to eat there was a dish of sauteed veggies!
Follow the pictures and add or take away what you want.  YUM!

Spicy Pecans

This is the recipe I use for the Pecans I put on my Strawberry salad!
These have a kick but my 11 yr old daughter can't keep her hands off of them!

I most usually double or triple this recipe!


 Spiced Pecans:
1/4 cup Sugar
1 cup warm water
1 cup pecans

soak for 10 minutes

Drain and Discard Syrup

Combine:
2 T Sugar
1 T Chili Powder
1/8 t. ground red pepper

toss with nuts.

Bake 30 minutes at 350- turning very often. ( I tend to turn these every 7 minutes - this insures that I don't overcook them, because no one likes them burnt!)

Spiced Pecan Strawberry Salad

This salad is so major yummy!  I could eat my weight it in I often say!  You may feel like making this up for a side or often times I just have it for lunch! 

Spiced Pecans:
1/4 cup Sugar
1 cup warm water
1 cup pecans

soak for 10 minutes

Drain and Discard Syrup

Combine:
2 T Sugar
1 T Chili Powder
1/8 t. ground red pepper

toss with nuts.
Bake 30 minutes at 350- turning very often.

Serve with Green leaf Lettuce or your choice of baby greens, thinly sliced red onions (optional), sliced strawberries, and balsamic vinaigrette.

Balsamic Vinaigrette:
1 pkg of Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix
Follow Pkg instructions replacing the regular vinegar for balsamic.
Then add at least 1/4 cup of honey and vigorously shake to combine!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

When I first discovered Roasted Red Pepper Hummus it was a quick favorite!
I would go to our favorite grocer in Iowa, and splurge.  It was the most expensive hummus on the display.  I wish I would have known then how easy it was to make.  I would drop close to $4 for a tiny little tub of it. No more sister!

 Here's what you need:
2 cans Garbanzo Beans
2 Roasted Red Peppers
*or several little tri-colored peppers roasted
Olive Oil
Juice of 1or 2 lemons (or to taste)
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
Food Processor

 In the food processor, place your rinsed garbanzo beans with the juice of the lemon and about a fourth of a cup of olive oil.

 Add sea salt and the roasted peppers with the skins removed!
*to roast peppers, just place them on a cookie sheet in the oven at 400-425 and watch closely.  They will roast up within about 10-20 minutes depending on their size.  If you are a lucky girl with a gas range, you can totally do them stove top by holding them over the open flame with some tongs.  Some people do them on the grill.

 Next pulse until you have the consistency you want.

Taste it, see what you think.  Mine needed a bit more olive oil.  I added my pepper to taste here.
Pulse again.
Taste it once more to make sure you are loving all the flavors. Add whatever else is needed - more lemon juice, more olive oil, - maybe nothing!
Serve with fresh veggies for a delicious snack or appetizer.  Also great on Pita Chips!

Chicken Marinara with Millet

While trying to clean up my diet and find some alternative's to what I normally would eat, I discovered Millet!
This is a wonderful grain that I encourage you to read up on.  Here is a link for you to see all the benefits!

I love chicken marinara almost better than my normal meat sauce.  There really isn't much to making it, but time.  I love the taste of roasted chicken, falling apart in almost anything.  In this dish, I substituted the normal bed of rice or pasta for millet and was surprised by the result.

I had never prepared millet before so it was all a new experience, but the pasta sauce part is still the same.
Start with about 7 chicken tenderloins and place in the crock pot.  Top with your favorite jar pasta sauces.  Im just not that "from scratch" yet that I don't love a little convenience.
My favorite combo of sauces include a roasted garlic and basil sauce with a cheese blend sauce.  I also like the garden combinations with chunks of veggies.  You could get so creative with this dish.  I think that roasted zucchini would be amazing with this or tossed into the crock pot towards the end of the cooking.  The possibilities are truly endless. But for the sake of time on this particular day - my marinara was simple. 
I cook this in the crock pot on high for 4 hours and then turn it to low, for a couple more.  If you are going to be gone all day at work, you could cook it on  low all day long and it would probably be perfection by the time you got home! 
To prepare Millet, some say its best to soak this overnight or for 8-24 hours before cooking to cut down on cooking time.  I didn't know about this trick the first time preparing it.  I just followed the pkg directions for 2 parts water 1 part millet.  Millet expands 2 times it size.  You cook it just like rice, but for a longer time.  30 - 40 minutes until it has absorbed all the water.
For more Recipes with Millet, you can check out Whole Living Magazine online.  The article in the January issue about all the benefits of Millet and several other grains is what turned me on to trying it.  This is going to become a regular part of my diet!
Its Gluten Free, Hydrates the digestive system, full of awesome minerals, the list goes on and on!  I hope you try it and enjoy!

Leah's Power Breakfast

My girlfriend Leah is studying nutrition.  She has the best recipes ever and cooks amazing!  She called me the other day and told me to jot this recipe down and try it. This morning I did and man was it delicious!

 In a small skillet saute 1/4 cup chopped peppers in 1 tsp bacon grease for flavor or (for me this morning it was Olive Oil).  (Animal fat is actually good for your brain, so if you aren't on a special diet add it in for the health and flavor benefits).
Add in some mushrooms if you like them...
Next add in a large handful of baby spinach and toss.  Cook on medium for 2 minutes.

 Add two Eggs and bust the yolks.  I leave the yolks in because the Choline found in the yolk is good for you - it helps brain function. (If you are an egg white only diet - you will need another egg.)
Next add garlic salt and pepper.
Cook until it is cooked through and flip!
I served this up with Karina's Guacamole and grape tomatoes, but it is also good with toast and my Homemade Apple Butter!

Our Favorite Juice

 This recipe is simple.  It's just our favorite.  I wanted to take a beautiful picture of this so you could see it's pretty color but I couldn't resist just drinking it down. 
My kids were oooooing and awing over the taste and before I knew it - it was gone. 
Juice together:
2 apples
4 large carrots peeled
2 navel oranges