Slow Cooker Asian Glazed Chicken

10 minutes prep/6-8 hours to cook

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs

½ c. soy sauce

4 t. honey

3 cloves garlic, crushed

½ t. ground ginger

1 T. Sriracha hot sauce

½ c. water

2 T. arrowroot powder

1 T. water

2 T. green onions, finely chopped

1 t. sesame seeds

Grease crockpot.  Place chicken in crockpot.

Combine soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, honey, garlic, ginger, hot sauce, and ½ c. water in a bowl and pour over chicken.  Cook on LOW 6-8 hours or HIGH 3-4 hours.

Once done cooking, pull chicken out and place on a large plate.  Mix arrowroot powder and 1 T. water in a small bowl and pour into remaining liquid in the slow cooker.  Turn heat to high and cook another 15 minutes.

Shred chicken and add back to slow cooker.

Serve over rice or steamed broccoli, topped with green onions and sesame seeds.

Pizza

24 hour soak/20 minutes prep/ 25 min to cook

2 cups yellow lentils
1 1/2 cups water (plus water for soaking and rinsing)
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons dried herbs of your choice (such as oregano or basil)
1/2 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder (optional)

Frozen spaghetti sauce

Desired toppings: SUPREME: sliced salami, crumbled sausage, shredded cheese (we omit the cheese and it's still delicious), sliced onions, olives, bell peppers, mushrooms, fresh diced tomatoes (added after it's cooked) HAWAIIAN: deli ham (we use a nitrate free, preservative free deli ham), fresh pineapple chunks TACO: ground beef cooked with taco seasoning, added taco seasoning to the spaghetti sauce, shredded lettuce, salsa, green onions, olives


Wash lentils (removing any stones or other impurities) and soak overnight. Drain and finely grind in food processor.  Add 1 ½ cups water, oil, salt, and herbs and blend until mixed completely. (If you have a high powered blender like a BlendTec or Vitamix you can skip grinding the soaked lentils in the food processor and just blend all the ingredients with the soaked lentil in the blender until a smooth batter.

The consistancy is a very thick batter, not a doughy bread.  Spread onto greased cookie sheet or pie pan. I like to use ground flax seed to sprinkle the greased cookie sheet with prior to pouring the pizza batter on it.  It seems to pull away from the sheet better after it's cooked.

Preheat oven to 400 °F.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

For best results if using for pizza, bake first, then add toppings and heat until cheese melts and toppings are heated (approximately 10 more minutes).

The pizza is easily removed from the pan if it is allowed to cool for about 15 minutes. If you like your pizza hot, it's still delicious and holds together, just the very bottom layer of the pizza dough might remain on the pan.

We like our pizza served with a green salad!

Seasoned Chicken

15 minutes prep/ 10-15 minutes to cook

2 full chicken breasts or 8 chicken thighs

¼ c. butter or other cooking fat, melted

2 T. Organic No-Salt Seasoning (Kirkland brand found only at Costco...it has dried carrots, basil, celery seed, oregano, , onion, garlic, and so much more.  It's a delicious blend and I use it for seasoning my veggies too.  If you don't have access to this particular blend you can make your own by combining any of the herbs listed above and expanding to others like rosemary and thyme, and just use approximately 2 T. of your own blend)

¼ t. salt

¼ t. black pepper

Mix last four ingredients in a bowl.  Baste chicken with HALF the seasoning mixture.  Grill at medium to low heat for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until chicken is done, while basting frequently until all of the butter mixture is gone.

This seasoned chicken goes with almost any side dish.  We love it with any kind of potatoes (baked, diced and seasoned, fries, potato salad, etc.), any kind of vegetable, or even rice.  It's flavors

Spaghetti

20 minutes prep/ 45 min to cook

1 spaghetti squash (or 1 lb. brown rice spaghetti noodles)

1 lb. ground beef

Spaghetti Sauce:

4 T. cooking fat or oil

2 large onions, chopped (2 c.)

2 small green bell pepper, chopped (1 c.)

4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 qt tomatoes or 2 each 30 oz. tomatoes, undrained

2 each 16 oz. tomato sauce

4 T. chopped fresh or 4 t. dried basil leaves

2 T. chopped fresh or 2 t. dried oregano leaves

1 t. salt

½  t. pepper

For spaghetti squash: Slice the spaghetti squash lengthwise.  Remove seeds and pulp.  Place  cut side up in a baking dish with about 1” of water.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until the squash easily shreds and is tender.

For brown rice noodles:  Bring 6 cups water + 1 Tablespoon salt to a boil.  Add noodles.  Cook, stirring constantly for 13 minutes.  Rinse immediately with cold water for best texture.

Brown ground beef; drain. 

Spaghetti Sauce: Heat cooking fat or oil over medium heat in a 6 quart saucepan.  Cook onion, bell pepper, and garlic in oil 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in remainder of sauce ingredients, breaking up tomatoes with a fork.  Heat to boiling; reduce heat.  Cover and simmer 45 minutes. 

RESERVE ½ OF THE SPAGHETTI SAUCE FOR PIZZA:  Combine HALF of cooked sauce with the noodles or squash and ground beef for tonight’s meal.  Divide remaining sauce into 2 quart size bags for pizzas later this month.

Combine cooked squash or noodles, ground beef, and spaghetti sauce.

We love this served with a side of green salad and organic baby peas.

Hawaiian Grilled Chicken

HAWAIIAN GRILLED CHICKEN

Jeff Tibbitts

8-24 hours marinade/15 minutes prep/ 15 minutes to cook

3 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs

2 c. soy sauce

2 c. water

1 ½ c. honey

1 bunch of green onions, chopped (reserve some for garnish)

¼ c. white onion, chopped

½ t. minced garlic

1 t. sesame oil

1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk


Mix the soy sauce, water, honey, onions, garlic, sesame oil, and coconut milk in a large bowl.  Marinade chicken for at least 8 hours or overnight to make sure the flavors infuse.

Grill chicken for 5-7 minutes per side, or until done, at a low heat so that the marinade doesn’t burn.

We love this with a side of Garlic Butter Broccoli. YUM!

Southwest Burgers

SOUTHWEST BURGERS

1 lb. lean ground beef

¾ cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided

½ cup finely chopped red onion

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon ground pepper

¼ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 Tablespoon lime juice

1 Tablespoon chopped chipotle chili in adobo

1 bell pepper, thinly sliced

4 slices tomato

4 thin slices red onion

Place beef, ¼ cup cilantro, chopped red onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, pepper and salt in a large bowl.  Gently combine, without over mixing, until evenly incorporated.  Form into 6 equal patties, about ½ inch thick.  Combine the remaining ½ cup cilantro, mayonnaise, lime juice and chipotle in a small bowl. 

Grill the burgers about 6 minutes per side.  Assemble the burgers on a plate with the chipotle mayonnaise, tomato and sliced red onion.

We like these served with green salad and potato salad or green salad and home made french fries.

Our Spring Dinner Menu

I intend to update this as I perfect our menu, but I'm posting what I have right now.

I found an inspiring blog on Seasonal Rotation Menu Planning, and decided to implement it, and it is working great!  I have tried a 90 days rotating menu plan, and I never stuck to it because we were eating the same foods in the summer as we were in the winter and the summer foods didn't sound good in the winter (or ingredients weren't available), and vica versa.  So this idea of having a four week seasonal rotating menu made sense to me.

I have these in a generic calendar of four weeks of meals that are in season (so I have a Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter menu and each menu is for only four weeks) and the idea is to apply it for 12 consecutive weeks.  However, I found that at the end of the Winter menu rotation, there had been some changes to our schedules or meals planned lasted for two meals, and I had quite a bit left in my freezer.  I cleaned out my freezer and had a no-buy menu planned that turned into almost four weeks, so we'll have this Spring menu in an eight week rotation.  I'll plan on a no-buy menu to clean out the freezer and cupboards again before beginning the Summer menu.

Also, organic vegetables aren't always available when I want them, so I listed main dishes, but not side dishes.  I buy what's available and then work it into the menu.  Some organic vegetables I can buy frozen at Costco (broccoli, green beans, peas, and occasionally asparagus) or fresh (spinach, kale, lettuce), and those I plan into the menu prior to shopping, otherwise I plan them in when I get back.  I make a notation on my shopping list of how many days I need vegetable sides for so I don't over buy or under buy when shopping.  I have a separate posts for our favorite side dishes and vegetables.

Week 1:  
MON: GB (Ground Beef) Southwest Burgers
TUE: Hawaiian Grilled Chicken, Broccoli
WED: GB Spaghetti, Green Salad
THU: Seasoned Chicken
FRI: Supreme Pizza, Green Salad
SAT: SC (Slow Cook) Asian Glazed Chicken
SUN: Chef Salad

Week 2:
MON: Egg Salad Lettuce Wraps
TUE: Spring Rolls, Soy Sauce Green Beans
WED: GB Onion Mushroom Burgers
THU: Chicken Fajitas, Green Salad
FRI: GB Hawaiian Burgers
SAT: Grilled Citrus Chicken
SUN: Roasted Garlic Sausage, Potato Salad, Green Salad

Week 3:
MON: GB Tacos, Refried lentils, Green Salad, Peas
TUE: Buffalo Wings, Broccoli
WED: GB Burriot Bowl
THU: C. (Canned) Chicken Salad Wraps
FRI: Sausage Pizza, Green Salad
SAT: SC BBQ Chicken, Brown Rice
SUN: Fajita Grilled Steak, Green Salad

Week 4:
MON: GB Cajun Burgers
TUE: C. Chicken Tacos, Green Salad
WED: Chicken Glazed Stir-Fry, Brown Rice, Soy Sauce Green Beans
THU: Honey-Glazed Drumsticks
FRI: Balsamic Burgers
SAT: Zesty Roasted Red Pepper Chicken
SUN: SC Shredded Beef Tacos