Pumpkin Bread (with sugar)

Ok everybody. 

I am going to shock you and give you a recipe with sugar in it. 

I know!!! Yum!

I don't use much sugar in the kitchen these days but 

since my husband likes it in his coffee we always  have it around. 

I did stop buying 'regular' sugar though and we opt for organic raw cane sugar. 

Lots of people disagree about if you are going to have sugar what you should use. 

I don't like agave and truvia seems very processed to me and honestly I have never tried stevia. 

My feelings are that if I want something to be sweet I usually 

prefer to replace sugar with pure maple syrup or raw honey but 

when you are baking that just doesn't always leave you with the same texture. 

Believe me I have tried TONS of purely clean baking recipes in this house 

and though I tend to like them my kids know the difference 

and instead of it being a treat it seems like torture to get them to eat the stuff 

and that is definitely not the point of baking. (at least not for me)

So last week the weather cooled off and I pulled out the first can of pumpkin (and my sugar container) and made this bread which was a total hit with not just my kids but the whole neighborhood. So here it is:

Patty's Pumpkin Bread

1 (15 ounce) can pure pumpkin puree

4 eggs

1 cup applesauce (unsweetened or homemade)

2/3 cup water

3 cups raw cane sugar (I KNOW!!! SUGAR!!!!)

3 1/2 cup whole wheat or white wheat flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

and 1/2 cup of chocolate chips if you are feeling super nice... 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Grease and flour 2 bread loaf pans.
In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin, applesauce, eggs, water and the sugar. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. 

Then add the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture. 

Stir until just blended and then throw in the chips (or you could add some chopped nuts here) and stir.

Don't over mix or it could make your bread tough. 

Pour into the prepared pans.
Bake for about about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. 

You know the bread is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Don't be afraid to treat yourself and your family once in awhile!

~eat well, be well

Patty

Salsa Chicken

So I am about 16 weeks pregnant and still craving all things carbohydrate these days. 

Much to my dismay this little baby does Not like lettuce. AT ALL. 

That means a huge shift in my menus and finding ways to trick my body into eating vegetables without noticing it.

One of the easiest ways I have found is to mix them into food that just seems warm and heavy and delicious. And if it happens to be super simple to make- all the better!!!

WIN, WIN!

This recipe is just that.

Put 2-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts in the slow cooker

Open up a can of black beans (try not to break off the tab because a can like this does NOT like can openers....)yay for me.

Once you finally get into those beans drain and rinse them and pour them into the slow cooker with the chicken and 1 container of your favorite salsa. I prefer to use fresh pico de gallo with chunks of fresh veggies, but you can use any kind you like.

Close the slow cooker, (plug it in...this step is important...and yes I have forgotten once or 5 times)

turn it on low for 4-6 hours stir it up to shred the chicken and enjoy!

You can eat this on its own, serve over some brown rice or in shells as tacos and top as desired with fresh cilantro and a dollup of greek yogurt. Yum and so so soooooo simple!

Your welcome for this one!

~eat well, be well

Patty

Chicken Marsala with Mashed Cauliflower

Want a quick meal for a weeknight dinner that tastes like you slaved over it all day?

This one is PERFECT!

From start to finish the whole meal should take less than 40 minutes

and that includes getting the table set.

Ingredients for the Mashed Cauliflower are:

1 head cauliflower

1/4 cup milk (or less depending on how wet your cauliflower is)

1 TBS butter

garlic powder*

parsley*

black pepper*

* to taste

Ingredients for the Chicken Marsala:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

3/4 cup Marsala wine

1/4 cup water

2 cups sliced mushrooms

2 Tbs butter or coconut oil

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 TBS parsley

1/2 tsp rosemary

salt and black pepper

 

Get the cauliflower cooking.

Chop up the head of cauliflower removing the green pieces and most of the stem

and then place in a steamer over a pot of boiling water.

You can boil it directly if you want I just find that by steaming it

I avoid it soaking up extra water and creating a very running mash later on.

Now onto the chicken.

You can pound this out if you want but I learned a trick a while back 

that is a whole lot faster and less messy.

Place one chicken boob on the cutting board and 

using a very good meat cutting knife 

(I use these serrated ones I got suckered into buying 

from a sales booth at the NEX one Saturday- 

they were supposed to magically cut tomatoes with no sharpening...

I have never heard the end of it from my husband but I am happy to announce 

they are dynamite when it comes to splitting chicken breasts!)

Anyway, I place my hand on top of the breast 

(fingers together and up to avoid any accidents!!) 

and then cut through the breast all the way through the middle 

so you end up with two halves of each breast that are thinner.

Place the now thin breasts on a cutting board or shallow pan 

and sprinkle evenly with a thin coating of whole wheat flour 

and a touch of salt and black pepper and set aside for a few minutes.

 

Once the chicken is ready (and you have washed your nasty chicken hands of course!)

warm up a medium to large size saute pan and place 2 Tbs of butter in there to melt.

Now as I noted you can replace the butter with coconut oil if you are trying to be super strict here but I have made it both ways and the butter does a better job coating the mushrooms instead of just soaking into them so I would choose butter if you twisted my arm for which is better 

(but REAL butter none of that 1 step away from plastic stuff 

that likes to masquerade as a healthier choice).

Throw the mushrooms in there and saute them until they are soft and browned fully 

(about 10 minutes). 

Once they are cooked through pull them out of the pan and set aside.

 

In the same warm pan place your flour coated chicken and cook about 4 minutes on each side or until the meat temp reaches 165 degrees and then pull it out and place in a serving dish.

While the chicken rests place the mushrooms back in the pan and pour the 3/4 cup of Marsala wine and 1/4 cup of water over them carefully and sprinkle with rosemary and thyme. 

Now you can buy Marsala cooking wine in the grocery store and use that instead of regular wine just beware that it will generally have added salt so I chose not to use it if I have a bottle of plain Marsala around.

 

 Let the sauce simmer together for 5-10 minutes

 

and then pour it all over the chicken in your serving dish and serve.

 

While the sauce is simmering you can throw together your mashed cauliflower. 

Once its soft enough to stick a fork easily through it remove the cauliflower form the heat.

Strain any excess water from it, using a colander or cheesecloth  and then treat it just like you would potatoes. I use my Vitamix because as you know- I am addicted to it and why not, but you could easily mash these by hand or use a hand mixer.

Add the milk and butter to the cauliflower pieces and blend or mash to your desired consistency and then add your preferred seasonings. I really like parsley and cauliflower together so I always use that and usually add some fresh ground pepper and garlic powder (of course feel free to add minced garlic instead if you prefer a more dense flavor!) also have fun experimenting!

Replacing the milk with Greek yogurt will give you creamy think mash and 

adding a dash of Parmesan cheese would be great also. It's your kitchen- you are in charge here so have fun and don't be afraid to try new things!

 

Now that everything is done, plate it and eat up! delicious

not-so-hard 'fancy' meal in 30-40 minutes!

Make sure everybody gets enough sauce and mushrooms on top of their chicken- 

that is the best part!!

 Hope your family enjoys this one as much as mine does!!

~eat well, be well

Patty

Peanut Butter Banana Clean Cookies

I am always in search of some clean eating baking ideas. I have about a zillion recipes pinned on my pinterest board but no matter what I try my kids reject them. I have liked almost every recipe I try but I do notice that without the sugar and flour the texture ends up moist or mushier than 'normal' baked items like cookies and muffins. I have tried and tried to find something my kids would happily eat and these cookies are the closest I have gotten. They both tried one right of the bat and liked it and have each had 1 more since then, If given a choice between them and any other snack item though chances are they are picking the alternative...I'm not sure why it really is but I am obviously still in search of the perfect baked good recipe to keep them happy so if you have found a great one please feel free to share it with me!

Anyway, since the kids like these and I think they are delicious I figured it was good enough to share. I followed this recipe originally posted by Sally's Baking Addiction.

If you try it and like it be sure to check out her blog and show her some love.

She highly suggested using quick oats here instead of regular ones. I have slowly replaced most of my pantry with clean items and was afraid I might only have steel cut ones up there but I was lucky enough to find half a container of quick oats hiding up there. If you don't happen to have them on hand though just pulse regular oats in a food processor for a few seconds. This will allow them to become a bit lighter and sticker so your cookies will hold together better and they will cook a touch faster.

Mash up your bananas (the riper the better because not only are they easier to mash but they will make for much sweeter cookies)

then fold in the peanut butter (you could totally use almond butter here if you prefer. I just LOVE peanut butter), oats, cinnamon, honey and salt and mix it up well until you have a big sticky messy ball of yumminess. 

 

 

Now pay attention here...there are NO EGGS in this batter so feel free to taste test it as you go...

just make sure you have enough left to actually form some cookies out of!

Now for the fun part. The add-ins.

Add whatever you like here, I thought if I added some chocolate chips

it would trick my kids into gobbling them up. And in all honesty I think that's why they were so willing to try them in the first place! I also threw in about 1/3 cup of sliced almonds and some chopped up craisins. 

A fun little healthy treat they discovered on a visit to my mom's house so in our house they are lovingly referred to as 'nana berries'

anyway, pick your add ins and fold them through the batter and drop spoonfuls onto some big cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.

 

Now this dough will not spread so flatten out the dough a bit to make sure they cook evenly and then pop in a 325 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.

Once the cookies have cooled you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for about a week, in the fridge for about 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Then pull them out one or two at a time for a quick breakfast on the go, a quick snack packed with energy or an after school treat. YUM.

Ingredients:

• 2 and 1/3 cups quick oats
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup Homemade peanut butter
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 3 medium ripe bananas, (mashed)
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds 
• 1/4 cup chopped craisins (or other dried fruit of choice)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325F degrees.
Combine everything together into a large bowl.
Mix everything until the dough is well combined and the dough is thick and sticky
(I found a rubber spatula worked great here).
Drop this yumminess onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and slightly flatten the tops into desired thickness. Don't worry about a bit of crowding, these little suckers don't spread.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until edges are very slightly brown. Be careful not to over bake them.
Allow to cool on the cookie sheets completely. Pack them into an airtight container separating with wax paper and keep in the fridge for about 2 weeks or the freezer for up to 3 months.

Creamy Potato Mushroom Soup

Yum. Soup.

Seriously. 

I LOVE soup.

It makes me feel warm and happy.

It is filling yet healthy

and now that I have my beloved vitamix it only takes minutes to make.

It's the perfect way to use up leftover veggies

and makes a super quick and easy lunch when I'm starving

and out of leftovers.

I make all kinds of soups and rarely follow a recipe.

The one I made a few days ago though

is a quick and easy standby and you don't need a vitamix to make it.

(I use mine of course because I love watching it work but it's not necessary)

So here is my (very roughly measured)

recipe for "no-cream" Creamy Potato Mushroom Soup

Why is called no cream you ask???

Because I want things I make myself to be as healthy as possible 

and heavy cream rarely makes the cut in this house unless its a birthday or \special occasion and that is pretty much only to be poured straight into the ice cream machine...yum...

but I digress-

So how do I make this creamy you ask? I use cashews.

Mix 1/2 cup of cashews and 1/2 cup of water in a blender on high 

or in a food processor until it is smooth and fully combined- no nut chunks here!

Just deliciousy creamy yumminess. 

Seriously- this is so surprisingly good that I use it to thicken any soup that I prefer a bit creamy.

Here is a picture of it all blended up and bubbly waiting to be the base of my soup:

While you are busy watching this magic cream come together

put a pot of 2 cups of chicken stock (I prefer homemade or organic 

but this is your kitchen so be free and use what you have-

this recipe is easily made vegan by using vegetable stock or plain water instead)

 peel 2 medium or 3 small potatoes and chop them up and throw them in the pot of boiling stock

and let them cook until soft enough to poke a fork through.

 Now lets turn our attention to the mushrooms.

I happened to have half of a large container of mushrooms in the fridge leftover from some chicken Marsala so I just threw all of them into a warm pan with about a teaspoon of EVOO and a chopped up onion but if you are the measuring type I would say about 1 1/2 cups of sliced mushrooms.

Saute those beauties up until they are glistening and soft and the onions are translucent.

Now for my favorite part....

turning chunky things into smooth things!

Pour the broth and potatoes and 1/2 the mushrooms and onions into your blender with the cashew cream blend on high until the potatoes have reached your desired consistency.

I hit the soup setting on my Vitamix and it ends up steaming hot and so creamy and fluffy.

Yum, perfect- except you are not quite done yet.

Now its up to you. You can simply toss the rest of the mushrooms and onions on top of each serving if you like the big chunks or add it all into the blender and pulse it a few times just to give the soup some texture.

and VOILA- soupe du jour fait par vous!

 

This recipe can be so easily modified by adding veggies you have in the house

but when I want something really satisfying there is no better solution for me than potatoes. by only using a few and layering in so many other vegetables and flavors it tastes like a huge treat

but it's still a healthy choice!

Have fun with your food. 

Good food does not have to be complicated

and easy food does not have to be unhealthy.

~eat well, be well

Patty

Creamy Potato Mushroom Soup

2 cups chicken stock

2-3 small to medium yellow potatoes (or whatever you have in the pantry)

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup cashews

1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 onion, chopped 

1 tsp EVOO 

peel and chop the potatoes and add to the stock in a sauce pan.

Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are soft. (10-15 minutes)

While the potatoes are cooking 

place the water and cashews in the blender and blend on high 

until a smooth cream consistency is reached. 

Leave the cashew cream in the blender while you heat up a saute pan

with the tsp of EVOO. 

Add the chopped onion and mushrooms to the oil and 

cook until mushrooms are cooked through and onions are transparent.

Once everything is cooked through add the stock, 

potatoes and half the mushroom and onion mixture 

into the cashew cream in the blender and turn on high. 

(if using a vitamix use the soup setting)

Blend to your desired consistency.

When the soup is creamy and smooth 

add in the remainder of the mushrooms and onions and 

pulse to chop them a bit if desired. 

Serve hot and then portion out the leftover soup and 

save it in the fridge or freezer for an easy lunch another day!

This generally makes 4-5 servings for me.