One pan balsamic chicken veggie bake - Whole30 recipe

Made this tonight and we LOVED it!

Thanks to The Real Food Dietician for the delicious recipe!

I subbed asparagus for the broccoli and served it with a side of mashed potatoes.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ¼ lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast, tenders or thighs (if large, cut in half)
• 1 head of broccoli, chopped into pieces (about 4 cups)
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into skinny sticks (about 1 ½ cups)**
• 2 cups button mushrooms, halved if large
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup avocado or olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 3-4 tbsp. fresh basil, finely chopped + additional for topping
• 1 tsp. fresh thyme (1/2 tsp. dried)
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ¼ tsp pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
2. Combine balsamic vinegar, oil, garlic, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Whisk to make sauce.
3. Place chicken in zip-lock bag with about 1/3 cup of the balsamic sauce. Toss and move chicken breast around to coat. Set in fridge (may marinate for longer period of time if you wish).
4. Meanwhile, chop veggies. **for more tender carrots, cut into skinny sticks. If you like carrots with a little crunch, cut them to the size as shown in photos.
5. Place veggies, EXCEPT for tomatoes, on the sheet pan. Pour remaining balsamic sauce over veggies and toss veggies to coat. Make sure all pieces are coated.
6. Remove chicken from zip-lock bag, move veggies around to make spaces for the chicken. Place chicken on pan.
7. Transfer pan to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove from oven and add tomatoes and toss veggies. Place back into the oven.
8. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. This will depend on the thickness of the chicken. For example, tenders or small chicken breasts (as shown in photos) will need to bake for 5-7 additional minutes.To ensure chicken is done, you could also use a meat thermometer. Once thermometer reaches 165℉, remove pan from oven.
9. Top with chopped fresh basil. Serve and enjoy!

Salmon with Avocado Salsa

I made this tonight and it was delicious. I used Trader Joe's farmed salmon Thanks to The Cookie Rookie for the great recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs salmon cut into 4 portions
• 1 tbs light olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp paprika powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
• 1 tsp black pepper

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FOR THE AVOCADO SALSA

• 1 avocado cubed
• 1/2 red onion sliced or diced
• 2 limes juiced
• 1 tbs fresh cilantro chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mix the salt, chili powder, cumin, paprika, onion and black pepper together, rub the salmon fillets with olive oil and this seasoning mix
2. refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
3. Pre-heat the grill.
4. Combine the avocado, onion, cilantro, and lime juice in a bowl and mix well, chill until ready to use.
5. Grill the salmon to desired doneness. (I grilled for about 5 minutes)
6. Top with avocado salsa and enjoy!

Ministrone Soup - Instant Pot and Stovetop versions

I made this last week - one of our very favorite soups ever!

From the Life Made Sweeter blog

My notes: I substitute a few fresh tomatoes (peeled) for part of the canned tomatoes. I added a little fennel seed and some cubed butternut squash.  Instead of all the different beans I just added a can of white kidney beans.  I didn't read the instructions carefully so I added pasta, spinach and balsamic right at the start - I ended up just cooking it all on sautee in the instant pot. I added extra spinach at the end. Oops - but it turned out perfect. Hope I can replicate it!

Ingredients

• 1 small onion about 1/3 cup, diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 medium carrot about 1 cup, chopped
• 1 large celery stalk about 1 cup, chopped
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 32 oz can diced tomatoes I usually use fire-roasted or Italian-style
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 32 ounce carton 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• water - add only as much as needed to cover vegetables
• 1 medium zucchini around 2/3 cups, sliced into halves or quarters
• 1/4 cup canned or cooked red kidney beans drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup canned or cooked cannellini beans or great northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup dried small shell pasta use gluten free if necessary or leave out and add chopped potatoes or cauliflower instead**(see note about freezing)
• 1 cup fresh baby spinach chopped (optional)
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar optional but adds great flavor
• Shredded or grated Parmesan cheese for serving
• Fresh parsley finely chopped, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

FOR THE INSTANT POT VERSION:

1. Press the SAUTE button on your instant pot and allow to heat up for 2 minutes. Add olive oil and saute onions and garlic for about 3 minutes, or until fragrant. Add the rest of the ingredients up to the water.
2. Press Cancel then close the lid. Press the MANUAL (older models) or PRESSURE COOK (newer models) button and set on HIGH for 3 minutes. Turn the valve to SEALING.
3. After the soup has finished cooking for the 2 minutes and the instant pot beeps, do a quick release by turning the valve to VENT to release the pressure.
4. Once the pressure is released, open the lid and add zucchini, all the beans and the pasta. Press the SAUTE button and cook for another 5-6 minutes, or until the pasta is tender and cooked. Stir in spinach and allow to sit until wilted. Add more water as needed if you like a thinner soup.
5. Season with more salt and pepper as needed and stir in balsamic vinegar (if using) and serve warm with bread and top with Parmesan cheese and garnish with parsley if desired.

FOR THE STOVETOP VERSION

1. In a large heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add carrots, onion, celery, garlic, and onion and saute for about 4 minutes, or until vegetables are slightly softened.
3. Add basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme and cook for an additional 1 minute. Add the tomato paste, bay leaves, vegetable broth, water, zucchini and both of the beans.
4. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes.
5. Stir in the pasta and and cook for another 10 minutes, or until pasta is cooked. Stir in the spinach and allow to wilt (about 1-2 minutes). Add more water as needed if you like a thinner soup. (***you can also cook the pasta directly with the soup but this soaks up more water so you may have to add more water. Just add the pasta after simmering for 20 minutes, then bring to a boil and allow to cook for another 8-10 minutes or until pasta is tender)
6. Season with more salt and pepper as needed and stir in balsamic vinegar (if using) and serve warm with bread and top with Parmesan cheese and garnish with parsley if desired.

Roasted Tomato Marinara Sauce

This recipe was given to me by a friend. It is absolutely delicious!

I quadrupled the batch and froze 2 cup portions in freezer bags.

Ingredients:
About 15 medium sized tomatoes, halved or quartered (no need to peel)
1 cup fresh basil
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 Tbs salt
1/4 cup olive oil
2 heads garlic
2 medium onions, quartered

Mix everything except garlic. Put in 9x13 pan.

Cut garlic heads (unpealed) in half (cross sectional) then place them in the tomato mixture, burying them slightly.

Roast at 400 degrees for an hour. Turn off oven and leave pan in for at least another hour.

Cool. Pick garlic off pan and squeeze so roasted cloves pop out. Discard shells. Discard spring of rosemary.

Blend or puree mixture.

Serve over pasta. Or add a little cream and serve as soup.

Easy Slow Cooker Peach Butter

This has all the flavors of fall - and it's so easy in the slow cooker

Peel and pit peaches (or apples, plums, apricots, pears). Use any amount that will fit in your slow cooked.

Crush or puree gently in the blender (don't turn into juice).

Measure amount of puree and add sugar - 1/2 cup sugar to each cup of puree.
(I used my vitamix so I could measure right on the container)

Add desired spices (see below).

Put in slow cooker with lid propped open so puree can reduce all day until it thickens to the consistency you like. I left mine 10-12 hours.

I poured my Peach Butter into clean half pint jars, added lids and processed in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

For more info on the canning process - check the National Center for Food Preservation instructions

Optional Spices
For 1 gallon of pulp use any of all of these: 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground allspice, 1/2 tsp cloves and 1/2 tsp ginger.

I was able to fit 1/2 gallon of pulp in my slow cooker so I added a little less than half of these - plus a little salt to boost the taste.

It's absolutely delicious! Can't wait to make some homemade whole wheat bread to spread it on.

Canning Peaches

 

My little tree decided I needed peaches this year lots of them. It's only the second year of producing and did it ever go crazy! Poor thing broke two branches because of the weight of the fruit. We aren't very good at taking care of trees. I did thing the peaches - lots - but obviously not enough.

So I dived back into ancient history and revived my canning skills. To be honest - I wouldn't go out and buy peached to can them. It's lots of work. But when they are a give from your very own tree, that's different.

Here's what I made:

Simple quarts of peach halves and slices in light syrup - haven't tasted them yet but I'm sure they will be fun in winter. I did learn something - the peaches peel and pull of the stone much easier after sitting on my outdoor table for a few days. They felt ripe but were hard to peal. Later when I made the jams it was much easier. So my pieces in the jars and a bit messy.

Raspberry Peach freezer jam based on the Sure Jell package insert - didn't like this one at al. It's way too sugary.

Peach freezer jam - better than the raspberry. I like it

and BEST OF ALL BY FAR

Peach Butter - much less sugar, added spices and so yummy! Recipe is in a different post.

Total so far (and there's still loads of peaches on the table:

28 quarts of peaches
8 half pints of peach raspberry jam
3 pints of peach jam
12 half pints of peach butter
4 bags of frozen peaches




Thank you tree!!!!

Orange Vanilla Frozen Custard

I've really really got to try this. We came across a dessert in Florida that I just can't forget - real orange slushie layered with orange custard. I've got to figure it out.

Here's a recipe for Orange Custard from the Food Network. I haven't tried it yet - but I will soon!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
• 4 teaspoons grated orange zest
• 
  

Directions

Whisk the cornstarch and 1/2 cup milk in a small bowl until smooth. Whisk the eggs, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan; whisk in the cornstarch mixture and the remaining 1 cup milk until smooth.

Cook the mixture over low heat, stirring, until thick enough to coat a spoon, 7 to 8 minutes (do not boil). Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, then set the bowl in a larger bowl of ice water. Add the cream and stir until cool. Remove from the ice bath; stir in the vanilla, orange juice concentrate and orange zest. Cover and chill until cold.

Freeze the custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Scrape into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe into cups.