Greek Salmon, Vegetables & Tzatziki Sauce (S)

Greek Salmon, Vegetables & Tzatziki Sauce (S)

If every healthy meal tasted like this one, I would never been tempted to eat unhealthily again! This recipe was inspired by the veggies I had in my refrigerator and a friend who recommended a greek chicken recipe. This was easy, and out of this world tasty!

Greek Salmon, Vegetables & Tzatziki Sauce (S)
(Makes one serving.)
Ingredients:
– 4oz Alaskan Sockeye salmon
– Garlic powder, dill, oregano, salt & crushed red pepper to taste
– 1 tsp Lemon juice
– Vegetables for roasting: cabbage, artichoke (I used canned), black olives (canned again), chopped tomato
– Shredded Parmesan (optional)
– Pepperocini peppers
– Taziki sauce ingredients:
— 1 small/medium cucumber
— 1/4-1/3 cup 0% greek yogurt
— garlic powder, dill, salt, 1 tsp lemon juice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place salmon in a glass baking dish, add lemon juice, enough water to cover the bottom of the dish, and sprinkle spices on top of the salmon. Allow salmon to marinate for 30 minutes.
2. In a second baking dish, add cabbage, artichoke, olives, and tomato. Spray lightly with coconut or olive oil spray (or just massage oil into veggies), then sprinkle on garlic powder, dill, oregano, salt & pepper.
3. Place baking dishes with salmon & veggies in oven and bake for 20 minutes or until salmon is cooked and veggies are roasted.
4. While the other dishes cook, make the Tzatziki sauce. Chop up cucumber. Mix greek yogurt with spices and lemon juice. Add cucumber to yogurt & stir well. Refrigerate until ready to eat.
5. After plating all food, garnish veggies with pepperocini peppers and shredded Parmesan.

Serve and enjoy!

Advertisement

SO EASY Frittata (S or FP)

SO EASY Frittata (S or FP)

If you have never before made a frittata, I must be honest and telling you that you having been missing out on one of the easiest, healthiest, and most frugal meals in existence… and we need to fix that quickly!

Ingredients
– whatever veggies you have on hand (today I used bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, kale and mushrooms)
– oil to grease your skillet and pan
– eggs (or egg whites for FP)
– salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Step 1: chop your veggies

Step 2: saute you veggies in your skillet with just a little oil

Step 3: While your veggies are cooking, scramble some eggs (or egg whites for FP) and add salt and pepper to your liking. How many eggs? Stop making this complicated! This is supposed to be “SO EASY Frittata,” remember? 😉
Use however many you have available. I used 8 for a thinner frittata. Use more if you want it to be thicker.

Step 4: Place veggies in a greased 9×13 pan & pour eggs evenly over the top of veggies. (At this point you can also sprinkle some shredded cheese on top if you’d like, but I didn’t because we didn’t feel like taking a field trip to the E.R. today with my dairy allergy child, haha!)

Step 5: Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until eggs are set and edges start to pull away from the pan.

Now it’s ready to serve! How easy was that?!?

Make your toddler a plate…

And make yourself a plate… and also make and eat it with Sheri Graham’s Pumpkin Pie Cake with maple cream cheese frosting. Oh, MY!

And then sit and enjoy this marvelous breakfast!

In case you were wondering how all these veggies went over with the toddler…

This was taken as he was finishing his second plate.

And this hungry mama also had two helpings of frittata and that incredibly good pumpkin cake with her tea!

Cheesy Ranch, Ham & Mushroom Bake

Cheesy Ranch, Ham & Mushroom Bake (S)

Yesterday my bulk spice order arrived, so I spent part of the afternoon putting together the Gwen’s Nest recipes for Ranch Dressing Mix & Taco Seasoning. I am waiting on the white chalk pen that I ordered so that I can add my chalkboard labels to make my mason jars all cutsie!

Today I experimented with the Ranch Seasoning Mix. I am so glad that I did!

Lunch was an “E”asy way for a busy mama to R”E”fuel and R”E”charge. I mixed the ranch seasoning with some greek yogurt and used it as a quick dip for all sorts of veggies alongside a few egg whites and an apple (not pictured are the green beans and kale I also ate).

Then for dinner, I made what I am calling “Cheesy Ranch, Ham & Mushroom Bake.” I had some leftover spaghetti squash, so I whipped that up with the leftover ranch dip from lunch, and a few other ingredients I had on hand to make this delicious lighter “S” comfort meal! It is great with water and also a glass of watermelon lime GGMS!

Cheesy Ranch, Ham & Mushroom Bake (S)
1/2-1 cup cooked spaghetti squash
1/8 cup greek yogurt
1 tsp ranch seasoning
1/4 cup low fat cottage cheese
4 oz can sliced mushrooms
1-2 slices of chopped deli ham
2 slices of mozzarella cheese
Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place cooked squash in a small glass baking dish. Mix ranch seasoning with greek yogurt & add mixture to squash. Add cottage cheese, mushrooms, and ham to the squash & stir ingredients well. Add salt & pepper to taste and then spread mixture evenly in baking dish. Cover mixture with 2 slices of mozzarella & bake until cheese starts to bubble (about 10 minutes in my oven). Broil until cheese is slightly brown (about 3-5 minutes in my oven).

EAT!!!!! 🙂

Nutritional Info
Calories: 345
Fat: 11.5g
Carbs: 7.5g
Protein: 37g
This recipe would be considered a THM style “S”

Baking day… THM style! (and my version of Cheesecake in Jars)

It’s been a busy day around here as I have been doing lots of baking… THM style! Here’s what has been cooking in my kitchen:

Fudgy No Bake Cookies (S) – dairy free, nut free, grain/gluten free
From Sheri Graham
See my “tweaks” in my Pinterest comments.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (S) – dairy free, grain/gluten free
From Sheri Graham
See my “tweaks” in my Pinterest comments.

These cookies are EXCELLENT once cooled. Crunchy!

Cheesecake in Jars (S) – grain/gluten free
Combination of GNOWFGLINS & Mrs. Criddle’s Kitchen

I got a little more creative with this idea and didn’t follow just one recipe.
I preheated my oven to 350 degrees.
Crust
– 1 cup of almond flour
– 1/8 cup of coconut oil, melted
– 1 TBSP Pyure
– Sprinkle of sea salt
– dash of homemade vanilla extract
Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and mix well. Place in the bottom of 4 small mason jars. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, then let jars cool before adding filling.
Filling
– 4 ounces full fat cream cheese
– 4 ounces 1/3 fat cream cheese
– 1 TBSP Pyure
– 1 TBSP lemon juice
– 1/2 TSP homemade vanilla extract
– 1 pastured egg
Place cream cheese in blender and blend well. Add Pyure, lemon juice & vanilla extract and blend until mixed well. Add egg and blend just until mixed in well. Pour filling mixture into cooled mason jars & bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until filling is set and top is just slightly golden brown. Cool jars on counter for a few minutes & then place in the refrigerator (on a towel) for an hour or until cold.

…then top with a little all fruit raspberry jam, a few blueberries & a dollop of FF Reddi Whip! YUMMY!!!!

Cookies for breakfast & cheesecake for lunch? Yes, please! I LOVE baking days! 😉

Frugal Friday: Slow-Cooker Meat Lover’s Chili

It was around 100 degrees outside yesterday… and I made chili for dinner. Who says chili is only for cold weather? I love chili almost any time of year. But can I tell you a secret? I don’t love beans in chili. I know that some people do, but it’s just not my favorite. However, we live on a pretty tight budget around here, so I found it vital to come up with a beanless chili recipe that didn’t break the bank… even though it’s a cheaper cut, quality grass-fed ground beef is expensive! The ingredients in this chili may surprise you, but trust me, you won’t be disappointed by the flavor and it is packed with nourishment! To top it all off, this recipe is one you can throw in the slow cooker, so it’s very simple to make and not very time consuming. *ding, ding, ding!* We have a winner!

So, what is this surprising ingredient? Beef liver! Now, before you “x” out of this page in disgust, please know that I am not a lover of the flavor or texture of liver. However, in this recipe the bold flavors of the tomatoes, chiles & spices completely mask the flavor of the liver while still giving you the nutritional value and making your wallet smile. Beef liver is not only a super-food powerhouse, but also very economical to purchase. I am all about combining nutrition, good taste & smiling wallets, aren’t you?

This is seriously my favorite chili recipe now. I don’t know if I will ever make another chili recipe again! Hubby also loved this chili & had no idea that there was liver hidden in it.

(Photo to come soon… I forgot to take one yesterday)

 

Frugal Slow-Cooker Meat Lover’s Chili
(Paleo, Gluten/Grain Free, Dairy Free, No Beans)

Ingredients
1.5 lbs uncooked ground beef (I use frozen)
1 lb uncooked beef liver (I use frozen)
1 28oz can diced tomatoes (preferably BPA free)
1 7oz can green chiles
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2-1 large onion, chopped (depending on how much you like onion)
1 cup of chicken broth (homemade is best)
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp dried oregano
2-3 tsp cumin
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sea salt

Instructions
1. Place ground beef and beef liver into your crockpot, on opposite sides. Set slow cooker on high for 3-4 hours. If you are using already cooked ground beef and beef liver, you can skip this step.
2. After 3-4 hours, carefully spoon the beef liver out of the crockpot and into your food processor. Puree well.
3. Add the beef liver back into the crockpot along with the rest of the ingredients in this order: onions, garlic, tomatoes, chiles, spices & chicken broth.
4. Give a light stir (you want to mix it a little while keeping the meat and onions near the bottom of the cooker), cover & set on high for another 2-3 hours.
5. Serve as is or optionally with rice, avocado, cheese, organic corn, etc. as meet your dietary needs… and you could even serve over cooked beans if you have bean chili lovers in your family! If you are grain free and/or paleo, you could serve over cauliflower “rice” or zoodles (zucchini noodles). Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

Simple, frugal, and oh, so yummy!

Tell me in the comments: Do you prefer your chili with or without beans? What other ingredients do you love in your chili?