Cooking | Page 2 of 7 | Coffee, Clutter and Chaos

Oct, 2016

Arbonne detox Cauliflower Shepherd’s Pie

Okay so life has been busy and I haven’t been blogging as often as I would like during this challenge. I have been cooking diner almost every night and putting it on Facebook live. That has been fun. So I wanted to share with you how I am feeling, my results and one of the recipes we really liked. Well, actually we have liked them all. There were two that really stand out though as super yummy and I will post both of those.

I will say that I feel great!! I have tons of energy and I have been sleeping very well. No problems falling asleep. I did think I was going to have a problem with the no eating after 8 because I am a night owl, but I just have a detox tea and that works GREAT!

And the BEST part: I lost 3.1 pounds last week!!!! Y’all don’t even know how huge that is for me!!! Well, if you have been reading my blog for awhile maybe you do know how huge that is for me!!! It is HUGE!!!!!!

So here is the recipe I made for Arbonne detox: Cauliflower Shepherd’s pie! It was really good. Substituting cauliflower for potatoes. I do not like cauliflower but I really enjoyed it and I would eat it again!

Cauliflower Shepherd’s Pie

2 tablespoons EVOO

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 celery sticks diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup chicken broth

2 teaspoons chopped parsley

1/2 cup fresh or frozen English peas

for the cauliflower mash

1 heads cauliflower, chopped

salt and pepper

splash of coconut milk

chives

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

2. Chop 1 head of cauliflower and place in a large pot of water to boil

3. While the cauliflower is boiling, sauté onions and carrots in the oil in a saucepan over medium heat until they begin to get soft.

4. Add garlic and stir to combine then add beef, salt, pepper, and cook until brown. Then sprinkle the meat with the flour, stir and cook for another 5 minutes.

5. Add the tomato paste, chicken broth, and parsley and stir to combine.

6. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer about 10 minutes.

7. Add the peas to the beef and spread evenly into individual ramekins or an 11.5 by 8inch baking dish.

8. Put boiled cauliflower in food processor and

season with salt pepper ( I also added a splash of milk).

9. Top beef mixture with cauliflower – and sprinkle with chives. Bake until golden brown and bubbling, about 25 minutes.

Jun, 2016

Clean eating: Caprese Chicken Recipe

So we have trying to be eating clean for a few years, and this year we even went a step further and removed ground nuts, gluten, dairy (except cheese on occasion), and believe it or not we have removed coffee on most days. It really hasn’t been that challenging, and to be honest now when I eat sugar and gluten and ground nuts I don’t feel well.

Now that’s not to say that we are always good about what we eat. We are humans, and definitely imperfect ones. We eat healthy most of the time, but sometimes I want a cookie, or brownie, or pizza. So we give ourselves one day to eat whatever we want, and then get back on track with clean eating.

Recently I have also reduced my complex carbs, and lost 3.5 pounds last week, which is amazing, since I hardly ever lose anything. Wednesday we will see if this trend will continue or it was a fluke…

Well, Karol saw a recipe on Facebook that appealed to her and so I made it for dinner a few weeks ago. I will say it was quite yummy, and I wanted to share it with you today. It isn’t as pretty as the video by Delish, but it is my version, in a regular kitchen with regular people. So without further ado I give you my Caprese Chicken recipe:

Chicken Caprese

1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts

kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

2 tbsp. shredded basil

4 slices mozzarella

Brown Rice spaghetti, cooked according to the package

Directions

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil.Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook until golden and cooked through, 6 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Add balsamic vinegar to skillet an let simmer for a few minutes (deglazing), then add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and season with salt. Let simmer until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in basil.Return chicken to skillet and nestle in tomatoes. Top with a slice of mozzarella and cover with lid to melt cheese. Spoon tomatoes over chicken and serve over the cooked pasta. (This would also be quite yummy without pasta, served with some veggies or salad)

Chicken breasts in olive oil over medium heat

Then cook 6 minutes on each side:

Remove chicken to a plate and add balsamic vinegar and garlic to hot pan. (I probably used less that 1/4 cup as I am not a huge fan of balsamic vinegar)

Then add the tomatoes and let simmer for a few minutes:

Put chicken back in the pan:

Put a slice of mozzerella cheese on each breast and let it melt:

cheesy chicken, tomatoes, vinegar, and basil...yum! — cheesy chicken, tomatoes, vinegar, and basil…yum!

Serve over pasta:

It was sooooo good! I used the basil from my garden. Can’t wait until we have some grape tomatoes from the garden and can use those!

I truly believe you will love this dish! Let me know what you think if you try it!

Aug, 2015

Creamy Quinoa Chicken Broccoli Casserole

So, I have a secret to share….a bit of a confession to make…..

Ready for it???

I am the person who doesn’t let my food touch on my plate. Whew, there I said it out loud. **weight lifted off my shoulders**

Yes, I am THAT person. I separate my food on my plate. Nothing touches, AND I really don’t like mixing flavors, for example I don’t like sweet and sour, fruit with meat, sweet AND savory. I like my flavors to be separate.

However there is always an exception, right?? Well I do have an exception. I LOVE LOVE LOVE casseroles!! Chicken and dumplings, Minnesota hot dish, stews, chicken broccoli and rice, pot pie, shepherd’s pie, now those foods feed my soul y’all……not even joking! But, they are less than healthy at times. So I do my best to recreate these super yummy dishes in a more healthy version.

Today I am sharing one with you. I absolutely adore the Cheesy chicken rice broccoli casserole, but white rice, cream of chicken soup, and lots of cheese is not so friendly to my waistline! So instead I found and tweaked a recipe to make it healthier. I now want to introduce you to:

Creamy Quinoa Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients:
2 cups natural chicken broth (I use organic chicken base, and mix with water)
1 cup almond milk (Can use fat free milk instead if no lactose issues)
1 tsp of poultry seasoning
½ cup almond flour (If you don’t have gluten issues, you can use white whole wheat)
2 cups of water, divided
1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1 pound of boneless chicken breasts
3 cups of fresh broccoli florets
Sea salt and pepper to taste

(optional: 1/2 cup shredded organic cheese)

Directions:
1) Sauce: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a 9×13 baking dish. Bring the chicken broth and 1/2 cup of almond milk to a low boil in a saucepan. Whisk the other 1/2 cup almond milk with the poultry seasoning and flour; add the mixture to the boiling liquid and whisk until a smooth creamy sauce forms. Do not add to quickly because it can get quite lumpy.

2) Assembly: In a large bowl, mix the sauce from step one, one cup water, and quinoa, and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Dice the chicken and mix it into the quinoa mixture. Sprinkle with more poultry seasoning if you like. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

3) Broccoli: While the casserole is in the oven, place the broccoli in boiling water for 1 minute until it turns bright green and then run under the cold water to blanch it. Set aside.

4) Bake: Remove the casserole from the oven, check the mixture by stirring it around in the pan, and if needed, bake for an additional 10-15 minutes to get the right consistency. When the quinoa and chicken are cooked and the sauce is thickened, add the broccoli, shredded cheese, and a little bit of water (up to one cup) until the consistency is creamy and smooth and you can stir up easily in the pan. The amount of water will depend on how thick you want the sauce to be. I don’t always need to add any more water.

This was truly a delightfully yummy dish. You could change it up to make it vegan by removing chicken and chicken broth, and adding in more veggies, or tofu in place of chicken.

Chicken broth base I used: (I bought it at Harris Teeter)

Category Archives: Cooking

Oct, 2016

Jun, 2016

Aug, 2015