Pretty Little Apron

garlic

Parmesan Encrusted Shrimp

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Parmesan Encrusted Shrimp

Shrimp is one of my favorite ingredients for a quick under 30 minute meal. This Parmesan Encrusted Shrimp is SO GOOD and SO EASY. Not only is it delicious and simple, it also remind me of something you would order as an appetizer at a nice restaurant. It feels like meal that requires you to sit down with your family and enjoy a glass a wine and forget about the dishes!

Today Pennsylvania announced there will be no school for the rest of the year due to the Covid-19 virus. I can’t say that I was surprised, as it doesn’t seem there is an end in sight to this pandemic. My heart goes out to the teachers and students in Pennsylvania and all other states who left their classrooms for the last time in March. Most were unaware that this would be the last time they would all together for the rest of the school year. It makes me sad that there were no goodbyes. My heart hurts for the teachers who are at home thinking about what they missed and their students.

When they announced on March 13, 2020 that Pennsylvania schools would be closed for 2 weeks, I definitely did not see this coming. As weeks went on, I realized that it was only a matter of time until they announced the kids would not be returning from school.

You guys, this is why I love cooking and baking. It makes my heart happy. Cooking gives me an outlet to create and it has been getting me through not only the Covid-19 pandemic quarantine, but also a lot of other heartbreaking issues in my life. It helps me forget about everything I’m upset about. My hope is that everyone has something that they love to do during this time. Hugs to anyone having a bad day today or any other day. Just know that you are loved.

Parmesan Encrusted Shrimp Recipe

Parmesan Encrusted Shrimp Tips and Tricks

  • For Frozen Shrimp: Make sure you defrost your shrimp before adding it to the pan! If it is still frozen it will make your butter and garlic mixture watery.
  • For Pre-Cooked Frozen Shrimp: Again, make sure your shrimp are defrosted. After you melt your butter and cook your garlic, simply add your defrosted shrimp and give them a little heat until they are warm. Since your shrimp are already cooked, there is no need for additional cooking.
  • Your breadcrumb mixture will be wet. This will give you a nice and crispy coating on top of your shrimp.
  • I served my shrimp with rice and green beans. This combination was delicious! However, the shrimp would also go great with pasta.
  • Be sure to watch your shrimp under the broiler. It can go from perfect to disastrous in a matter of seconds.

Parmesan Encrusted Shrimp

Parmesan Encrusted Shrimp

Honey Cilantro Lime Shrimp

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Honey Cilantro Lime Shrimp

Have you ever been eating shrimp and thought… wow…. I just ate half of what I cooked?!?! This Honey Cilantro Lime Shrimp will quickly vanish into thin air just like shrimp always does! This is a super simple recipe with a nice balance of sweet, acidic, and salty flavors. It is great for parties, game days, or a nice dinner with the hubby and kids. The sauce is customizable so if you aren’t feeling the balance, add some additional acid/sweetness to make it your own. You really just can’t go wrong with a beautiful pile of shrimp and a few fresh ingredients for the sauce!


Honey Cilantro Lime Shrimp

Welcome to the paragraph on this post about my life in the current moment. I don’t have a ton to write today, other then the fact that I’ve been pondering how Mom’s ever stop looking at all the pretty little things for baby girls!?!

WHEN. DOES. IT. END.

You guys, if you haven’t been following I have 4 boys. For 11 years I’ve walked by the baby girl section longing to buy it all. Like every single cute headband and bow and delicious little onsie with the cupcake and sprinkles all over it. For a really long time I completely shut out that side of the clothing store because I had come to the realization that I was a boy Mom and that meant green and brown striped onesies covered in dump trucks. I didn’t even want to peek at what may be on the other side of the store because I had nobody to purchase the cuteness for.

Until I did! 🙂

Don’t get me wrong, boys clothing has come a long way since my first was born. PRAISE JESUS. However, for me it still just doesn’t even compare to the bows and leopard print and leggings and dresses. It is, in the end, just clothing that will be shat upon and peed in and thrown up on. But the baby girl waiting game has been getting the best of my lately and my internet browsers are filled with all the cuteness that is out there and able to be purchased. Lord help my bank account and self control! Who has a favorite place to shop for little girl’s clothing?

Honey Cilantro Lime Shrimp

Honey Cilantro Lime Shrimp Recipe Tips

  1. As mentioned above, if you need to balance out your sauce, go ahead and add more lime/honey to your liking.
  2. I LIGHTLY sprinkled the shrimp with adobo seasoning, and went even lighter with the cumin. These flavors really bring the dish together though, so don’t skip out on them! If you aren’t familiar with adobo seasoning, I use Goya brand and it has never failed me.
  3. If you don’t want to stand and peel two pounds a shrimp like I did, look for the pre-peeled shrimp! Generally I always buy frozen shrimp because… Hello… Mom of 4, soon to be 5 over here doesn’t have a million dollars to spend on seafood each week, so frozen it is! I was not able to find wild caught shrimp that was pre-peeled.
  4. The fresh cilantro kicks this recipe up about a million notches so don’t skip out on it unless you are the 10% who thinks that cilantro tastes like soap. 🙂
  5. I served this shrimp over rice with avocado slices on the side. It made for a fantastic dinner!

Honey Cilantro Lime Shrimp

honey cilantro lime shrimp #shrimprecipes, #honeylimeshrimp, #cilantrolimeshrimp, #shrimpdinners, #seafoodrecipes

 

Honey Barbecue Bacon Meatballs

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Honey Barbecue Bacon Meatballs

The Super Bowl is right around the corner, and these Honey Barbecue Bacon Meatballs are a crowd-pleasing appetizer worthy of bringing to the big game!


Truth: I don’t care about the Super Bowl. I don’t follow football, my husband doesn’t follow football, and well… we just aren’t a sporty family. I GUESS I’m rooting for the Eagles because my Mom is a super fan and I’m close to Philadelphia. 🙂 We usually go to a family friendly party, and I’m strictly there for the food so don’t ask me about the game or even the commercials because I could care less!

My ALL TIME favorite Super Bowl appetizer is Buffalo Chicken Dip. It is addicting, delicious, and expected to be at every party. Wings are also right up there on the list of must haves, but you will always need a few other items to fill in for the folks who aren’t into spicy foods. Shrimp, meatballs, guacamole, pizza… you know all the good stuff!

Honey Barbecue Bacon Meatballs

For these Honey Barbecue Bacon Meatballs, I did make my meatballs from scratch because it is super simple to do! HOWEVER…. if you happen to pick up frozen meatballs to make this recipe, no judgement here! That is what I love about this recipe, it is customizable and can be made in even less time if you are in a hurry. Getting all of my family ready and out the door for a Super Bowl party is stressful enough, so I totally get it. If you are running low on time or just don’t care…. GET THE FROZEN MEATBALLS. 🙂

Homemade Honey Barbecue Sauce over meatballs. Smoky sweet meatballs.

Honey Barbecue Bacon Meatballs Recipe Tips

  1. Again, this recipe is totally customizable. Don’t have time to make meatballs from scratch? Buy frozen! Want your sauce a bit sweeter? Add more honey! Really love ranch dressing? Drizzle some on there like I did!
  2. If you are making meatballs from scratch, the meatball recipe is a basic tried and true recipe. There isn’t anything particularly different about it, because the sauce and the bacon are really making these meatballs.
  3. The sauce is WAY better the next day. I would suggest maybe making it the day before, and letting all of the flavors come together overnight in the refrigerator. Here is the thing about homemade sauces like this…. they need time. Just like the sauce you buy in the grocery store has been sitting for a period of time, it is also good to let your homemade sauce sit and mingle together.
  4. If you’d like to make these as a meal, they are great with a simple side like buttered egg noodles or jasmine rice. We have eaten them as a meal with rice and they were fantastic.
  5. If your party is large, I would suggest making a double batch. If you’d like to stick with a single batch, you can always make them mini-meatballs to stretch them farther.
  6. For the meat… I prefer to use a meatball/meatloaf mix of meats. It includes beef, pork, and veal. I know, I know. But listen, the meat matters! My local grocery stores do sell this already pre-mixed specifically for meatballs and meatloaf. If you can’t find a meatball mix at your grocery store, I would ask the butcher there to make you a mix, or just purchase 1 pound of each and make a large batch and freeze the extras.

Honey Barbecue Bacon Meatballs #meatballs, #meatballsrecipes, #barbecue, #honeybarbecue, #gamedayrecipes, #superbowlrecipes

 

Sticky Sesame Apricot Chicken

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Apricot Chicken Recipe


This may not seem very interesting to most people, but something really epic happened to me today. I FINALLY found maternity jeans that I don’t hate. AND… I got new shoes. 3 pairs! AND… a new bra. AND… a few other nice shirts to get me through the rest of my pregnancy. Life is good. I look like a normal human being again. It feels good!

If anyone ever tells you a new pair of jeans that fit right isn’t life changing, please have them reference this. IT IS. This baby bump and Mama are so happy!

When I arrived home from my epic shopping adventure, food was necessary. Walking around the mall is exhausting when it feels like there is a bowling ball, that may or may not pop out at any time, between your legs. So I put together this Sticky Sesame Apricot Chicken and sat down!

Apricot Chicken Recipe

What I really love about this Sticky Sesame Apricot Chicken recipe is it combines so many flavors. The apricot preserves I used are a bit tart. Mix that with the sweetness of brown sugar, and the saltiness of soy sauce….and you have the perfect combination! I’ve mentioned my Jasmine Rice cravings, and this recipe did not  disappoint! It goes great over a giant heap of perfectly cooked Jasmine Rice, and some additional soy sauce on top. 🙂

Sticky Sesame Apricot Chicken

Recipe Tips

  1. I mentioned this in my Honey Mustard Garlic Chicken recipe as well, but when coating chicken it really helps to get everything in place before you start so you don’t have to continually wash your hands and then reach for the forgotten items. I’ve only done this a million times before I started telling myself over and over again to get everything in place before starting!
  2. Use one hand to dip in the egg, and then the other to coat in cornstarch. If you try to use the same hand you will have a hot mess! After working in restaurants and coating about a million pieces of chicken, sometimes this still isn’t second nature to me. The temptation to dip with the same hand is still there! haha
  3. This is a base recipe. If you like more salty, add more soy sauce! If you like more sweet, add more brown sugar!

Sesame Apricot Chicken

 

 

 

 

Sundried Tomato Feta Baked Salmon

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Sundried Tomato Feta Baked Sallmon

Friends… this one is no joke. This Sundried Tomato Feta Baked Salmon is the best salmon I have ever made! Not only does it taste absolutely amazing, it is SO EASY to make. I repeat SO EASY.


I have mentioned, I am about to pop. About to pop as in numerous strangers have asked me if I am having twins. The conversation usually goes something like this:

Stranger: “Oh my, when are you due?”

Me: “March.”

Stranger: “Wow, I thought you were going to say next week! Are you sure there is only one in there?”

Me: “Yes, I’ve carried all of my kids like this.”

Stranger: “Your belly is really low! Thank goodness you are all belly! This must be your first child!”

Me: “No, I actually have 4 boys already.”

Stranger: *Now completely stunned. “My word you have your hands full.”

Me: “No shit.”

Ok so maybe I just smile and walk away, but seriously folks if one more person tells me I have my hands full. It is just a statement that has no answer. It is awkward. It is annoying. Find a more encouraging statement!

**Pregnant rant over. Just leave the preggo ladies alone from now on.

Moving on to this Sundried Tomato Feta Baked Salmon. It is really all of my pregnant dreams come true. PLUS it is healthy and provides little unnamed babe with lots of healthy fats and proteins. I can’t say my diet has been entirely healthy throughout my entire pregnancy, but this is a meal that I can feel good about. It doesn’t even hurt my back or the rest of my body to make because it literally takes minutes to throw all the ingredients on the salmon, wrap it up in the foil, and bake! Instant pregnancy cravings gratification!

Sundried Tomato Feta Baked Salmon

Recipe Tips

  1. There isn’t much to say about this recipe because it is super simple. The main tip I would suggest is making sure you generously season your salmon before baking. I used coarse kosher salt.
  2. I always look for sundried tomatoes that don’t contain sulfur dioxide. Mine came in a jar in oil and seasonings and were perfect because they weren’t super dry after being baked. I found the jarred ones in the healthy-ish section of the grocery store. The sulfur dioxide commonly added to the bagged ones is only there for color retention.
  3. If you are feeling adventurous, a squirt of lemon over this salmon would probably be a delicious addition!

Sundried tomato baked salmon

Sundried Tomato Baked Salmon

Sticky Honey Mustard Garlic Chicken

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Hello! Welcome to my first post in 2018, and my first post under a brand spankin’ new name! This Sticky Honey Mustard Garlic Chicken is the perfect way to start off the new year, but first….


What gives on the name change!?!?!

I’m ready to drop a few truth bombs right now, and it may not be pretty but it is genuine and it is me. I was struggling with the name 3boysunprocessed. Struggling for a very long time. In 2018 one of my goals was to make this blog a more comprehensive look at my life. To do that I desperately needed to change the name and break out of the box of unprocessed eating.

Four years ago, my life was completely different! When I started this blog, I was so passionate about cooking with the least processed ingredients. What you saw was what I was feeding my family. It was fun to me then, it was my own little project that I loved and babied. It grew my love for photography, it gave me a reason to talk about my children and document my life, and it was great. I was stunned when people actually cared. But then….

Life happened. My husband started a new career that took him on the road and away from home 5 days a week, we had another baby (and have another on the way now), I started a photography business, and my wee little babes who would eat anything suddenly didn’t want my whole wheat macaroni and honey sweetened delicious treats anymore. Things were different, my family was growing and changing, and my blog needed to reflect that.

Life can be extremely busy at times. Every time I thought to myself that I’d like to post a new recipe, I realized that it may not fit into the unprocessed box I had put myself into. I want to share my love for food here, and ultimately I have to be true and honest that this is not how I cook anymore. Of course, I am still cooking fresh, homemade meals for my family. However I’ve stopped stressing over certain ingredients such as white pasta and cane sugar. My sanity needed a break from hyper obsessing over my kids going to a birthday party and eating a hotdog bun. So I let go a little, and it feels great!

Looking into 2018, I’m really ready to share more stories about life, my family, my cooking, my Lipsense business, my love for photography, and so much more! I absolutely love looking back at all of my posts from when my boys were all super tiny, and I want to keep sharing the special little details without the stress of being in any kind of box. Cheers to 2018!

Sticky Honey Mustard Garlic Chicken

Now that the cat is out of the bag, shall we move on to this Sticky Honey Mustard Garlic Chicken? It is oozing with delicious Asian inspired flavors, simple ingredients, and my latest pregnancy craving… Jasmine Rice and soy sauce! It combines a few simple ingredients to check off every box on the BEST CHICKEN EVER list… sweet, salty, perfectly crunchy, and smothered in a delicious and easy to make sauce.

THIS IS CHICKEN HEAVEN.

Sticky Honey Mustard Garlic Chicken

The Recipe

One of my favorite way to make takeout inspired chicken is to dip it in egg, coat it with cornstarch, and then cook it on the stovetop. It gives a deep fried texture without actually deep frying or ordering takeout from a place that may or may not be using trans fats to fry their food. I love me some Panda Express, but I hate the way I feel after eating mystery ingredients. This is the perfect way to make it at home and know exactly what you are eating.

The most important step when cooking this Sticky Honey Mustard Garlic Chicken is to make sure your meat is properly seasoned. Don’t forget to season your chicken before you bread it. I always use coarse Kosher salt to season meats, it has never let me down! A sprinkle over all of your chicken chunks will work wonders.

Coating the chicken is easy, but can be messy! One thing I learned while working in restaurants and coating millions of pieces of chicken is to get everything where you need it before you start, and use one hand to dip and the other to coat. No matter how bad you want to just go right from the egg to the cornstarch with the same hand… DON’T DO IT or your hands will be a hot mess.

The sauce is super easy to put together! Cook the garlic, then add the rest of the ingredients and viola! It is super versatile, so if you like it a little more sweet, add more honey. If you like it a little more salty, add more soy sauce! If you don’t have whole grain mustard, use dijon! The sky is the limit here, this is really just a base recipe.

Also, apparently is is really easy to burn Jasmine rice. That is all I’m going to say about that. HAHA

Chicken Parmesan Alfredo

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Chicken Parmesan Alfredo: Two classic Italian dishes combined to create a simple dinner your whole family will enjoy! || www.3boysunprocessed.com

Have I told you lately how much I LOVE my cast iron skillet? Yes, it’s true. A few years ago I traded in my non-stick cookware for all stainless steel and cast iron. It did take me a while to get used to not burning stuff to the bottom of them like EVERYTIME but after adjusting my heat (much lower!) I realized I didn’t need those chemical laden pots and pans after all! 🙂


Today I’m sharing this chicken parmesan recipe that goes to a whole new level by adding a super yummy Alfredo sauce to the pasta and lots of mozzarella cheese before baking it in the oven to get that nice, crusty mozzarella we all love. The best part is I used my wonderful cast iron skillet to get a nice, crispy piece of chicken without a deep fryer or any unhealthy oils. If you don’t own a cast iron skillet no worries, you can do this in just about any sauté pan, however I do love the results I get from my cast iron. Just take a look and you’ll understand! Now that’s a piece of chicken to be proud of!

Chicken Parmesan Alfredo: Two classic Italian dishes combined to create a simple dinner your whole family will love! || www.3boysunprocessed.com

Another thing I love about his recipe is the versatility. If you are short on time and don’t feel like taking the extra steps to make the Alfredo sauce you can absolutely toss your pasta in extra red sauce and call it a day. Sometimes I go the red sauce route, sometimes I go the Alfredo route. Sometimes I even toss my pasta in extra red sauce AND ricotta cheese and that is delicious too. Either way you will end up with a dinner your family will love!

Whenever I use a convenience product like the panko bread crumbs I used in this recipe I always caution folks to READ INGREDIENTS!  These are the products most notorious for adding a bunch of crappy ingredients that don’t need to be there just for the sake of keeping the product on a shelf for years without it going bad. I get so frustrated with brands like Progresso who willingly put profit and production above ethics. When it comes down to it, there should be no reason any breadcrumb product contains ingredients like partially hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup. When I started reading labels one of the first products I immediately threw away were the breadcrumbs that had been lingering in the back of my pantry forever. That alone should have indicated to me that something just wasn’t right with the product to begin with. Since that time I’ve experimented with making my own breadcrumbs (which works wonderful too!) but this time I opted for an organic panko product I’ve found in most mainstream grocery stores (check their organic section).

Here’s the product I used as well as my favorite cast iron skillet! 🙂

*This is a bulk listing.

Chicken Parmesan Alfredo: Two of my favorite Italian favorites combined to create a delicious dinner your whole family will love!

 

One Pot Italian Pasta

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One Pot Italian Pasta


Once upon a time I asked my husband for a Dutch Oven for Christmas. Do I need ONE more pot? Probably not. But I couldn’t resist the thought of cooking up a delicious roast in the oven with a pretty colored, straight-out-of-a-magazine looking Dutch Oven. However, instead of getting the Dutch Oven I got a….wait for it…. a cheese shredder and a dish drying rack from Walmart!*insert sarcastically excited emoji here* The best part about this is we never go to Walmart. Like ever. Everything about that place irks both of us, so how he ended up there shopping for me for Christmas is beyond me. *insert confused emoji here*

Ok, so he tried. I’ll give him that. Heck, he even braved the busted carts and weird people at Walmart! But really? A dish drying rack for Christmas? Ok, so long story short I ended up with a beautiful, photo-worthy Dutch Oven anyway, thanks to a gift card from my Grandmother and my heckling skills at Boscov’s. I used it today for this One Pot Italian Pasta and it was just glorious! Husband officially forgiven for his random Walmart presents! 🙂

As I was putting this One Pot wonder together today I just couldn’t help but marvel at the deliciousness that was about to happen + wholesome, healthy ingredients! This beautiful pot includes:

  • 100% whole wheat linguini
  • mushrooms
  • cherry tomatoes
  • strained tomatoes
  • spinach
  • fresh basil

Big plus: This recipe is completely customizable! Don’t have spinach? No problem. Hate cherry tomatoes. Leave them out! Want to sub something else? Give it a try! Want to force more greens on your family? Double the spinach. Is there anything this pot can’t do?

One Pot Italian Pasta

……And then that huge picture happened. 🙂

Cooking Tips and Techniques (Full recipe below)

    • Biggest tip: Must stir pot while pasta is cooking! I’ve made a few one potters before and didn’t need to stir as much as I did with this one. Not sure what was making things stick, but I was stirring frequently. It is worth it though!
    • This recipe makes a fairly large batch. If you are cooking for a family this should be enough for 4+ people with leftovers. If you are cooking for just 1-2 people I’d suggest halving the recipe.
    • Beef, mushrooms, and garlic are browned first then everything else is added.
    • I use Bionaturae strained tomatoes because they come in glass jars. If you can’t find this product I would suggest subbing a 15 ounce can of whole tomatoes in juice and crushing them before adding them to your pot with juice included.
    • Depending upon what stock/tomatoes you use (I used no salt added tomatoes and low sodium homemade stock) you may need to adjust your salt. I would suggest starting with 1/4 tsp and adding more as you go if you are using any products that are salted. I used about 3/4 tsp of kosher salt, but like I said I was starting with a pretty bland base.
    • And that’s all folks!

*Here is a link to the tomato product I use. Price is based upon bulk quantity.

One Pot Italian Pasta. Everything you love about beef, linguini, and tomatoes with a hint of creamy. A dinner the whole family will love! || www.3boysunprocessed.com

 

Whole Wheat Kale and Prosciutto White Pizza + #52NewFoods GIVEAWAY!

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Remember that time you got that genius idea to make homemade pizza with whole wheat flour and it was a total flop? Been there, done that! There has always been something I really hated about how the crust turned out, because truth be told shaping a pizza is really hard!


I was looking for recipes on Martha Stewart’s website and there it was..one of the most genius food hacks I have ever seen! A pizza in a cast iron skillet! Where has this idea been my whole life? I know, I know, Pizza Hut has essentially been doing this forever and calling it panned pizza but it never occurred to me that maybe this would be the tool I needed to fix my homemade pizza problems.

I decided to incorporated kale into our grocery list this week, because it isn’t something I pick up very often. This week was different though, because Jennifer Tyler Lee’s new book, The 52 New Foods Challenge, made me realize I have been ignoring a few vegetables that I’d like to start using regularly. You know, when you get into a grocery shopping routine and forget about all the other stuff the grocery store has? Yeah, that has been me lately and I wanted to challenge my family to trying something new!

What better a way to introduce kale to my children then pizza? I can’t remember a time my kids refused pizza and the dough is an awesome way to get the kids involved and having fun. I kid you not, my toddler had a piece of dough that he played with for hours. Who needs toys when you have pizza dough? 🙂

If you haven’t checked out my Sweet-Fire Chilli post, Jennifer’s book is based upon challenging your family to try just one new food a week. This is a genius way to handle transitioning to cooking from scratch and eating healthier because we all know how busy life with kids can get. Jennifer suggests dedicating at least one day a week to cooking with the whole family and trying something new. Not just that, she has made it into a game for kids to play to entice them to actually eat the new food! Again, where has this idea been my whole life?

Sometimes it is important to step back and take a look at the big picture. With Jennifer’s book, the big picture of eating healthier, getting your kids to try healthy foods, and cutting processed foods seems so much more attainable for families who aren’t sure where to start. Can you imagine though, a year from now having 52 new healthy ingredients to cook for your family with? How amazing is that big picture?

Pizza Dough = Hours of fun! I do believe that is Batman getting wrapped in dough!

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I know this question is coming, so I’m going to go ahead an answer it! Is prosciutto processed?

No. Prosciutto is cured, which means it was heavily salted to draw moisture out of the ham and make it safe for consumption. Although this is a process, the prosciutto I used only had 2 ingredients that were ham and salt. Some companies will use nitrates as well, but shop around and find a brand that doesn’t. Since the prosciutto is cured, it is very high in sodium, so I wouldn’t suggest using it as anything other then a heavy garnish in a dish like this. Just a few shreds will give you flavor enough to bring a really great taste without adding gobs of sodium.

If you are intimidated by mixing the pizza dough and using yeast, do not be! It is honestly easier then making cookies, I promise. 🙂 The dough only takes about 8 minutes to mix up, then rests in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, although you can refrigerate it for up to 24. I highly suggest using whole wheat white flour which is  a softer wheat, therefore yields a softer and less dense product. Whole wheat white flour can be confusing because it sounds like it is similar to bleached, enriched, white flour but it IS NOT.

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The Giveaway

Jennifer’s book can be pre-ordered below, PLUS I am giving away a copy this week! Simply leave a comment with 1 ingredient you’d like to challenge yourself to cook with this week! Next Thursday, I will randomly select a winner. 🙂

*Whole Wheat Pizza Dough Recipe adapted from 100 Days of Real Food’s recipe Homemade Whole Wheat Pizza. Thanks Lisa!

Lunchboxes Love Mini-Whole Wheat Pizzas Too!

If you find yourself with extra dough, simply cut it into squares and press it into muffin tins. Top with garlic oil, cheese, and veggies.

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Marsala & Veggie Brown Rice Risotto

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Ok let me just state the obvious… I got new little dishes and I LOVE THEM! It’s like I’m a little kid again playing around with a tea party set or something. Although my real childhood tea party set was not near as cool because it was plastic and I ate boxed Hamburger Helper out of it. Really parents, really?


Now that I’m an adult I get to go to Pier 1 with my big girl pants on and pick out some awesome little dishes to take pictures of food in. Scratch that. I get to go to Pier 1 with my oldest son who REALLY wanted to break something  in there, so I was basically panicking the whole time because the associates were glaring at me like I was a totally inadequate parent for bringing my child in there. Single with no kids much? I promise associates, one day you’ll totally get it.

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Enough about my awesome dishes, let’s talk about this brown rice risotto because lawdy this stuff is amaze-balls. So amaze-balls I get to say amaze-balls. I love, love, love cooking with marsala wine, and anytime marsala is involved so are baby bellas. Baby bellas + marsala + me = LOVE, just incase you didn’t get that when I said amaze-balls.

Now let me just tell you beforehand, making risotto is more time consuming then just throwing the lid on a pot of brown rice and walking away. You DO have to ladle the liquid into the pot little by little, but I think it is worth it in the end when you have a ol’ pot of this risotto that you might just want to keep all for yourself. Making it isn’t technical, it just requires a little extra attention. Also, make sure you use quick cooking brown rice or this will take an eternity to cook!

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#52newfoods Challenge: Sweet Fire Chilli

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Dana Carvell (3BoysUnprocessed)
One of the most common questions I get regarding healthier eating habits is “Do your kids really eat that stuff?”

In short, the answer is yes! They do. However, they are all their own little selves, so  there are some exceptions to that statement. After all, my kids aren’t heath-food robots and neither am I. We are a real family, trying to live a healthier lifestyle by cutting processed foods and cooking from scratch. Believe me, some days go better then others, but what I know at the end of the day is everything my kids eat in our home is home cooked, real food. Nothing comes from a package, they don’t eat boxed cereals and pop-tarts for breakfast, and I cook nearly every single meal from scratch. I also have the job of being a mom, in my home, where my food goals are easily attainable. Not to mention, I am already a trained pastry chef and cook, so cooking form scratch was never an issue for me. However, I would be foolish if I thought this was everyone’s life, and I know busy families will quickly fail if the only advice they are given is “cook from scratch.”


Removing processed foods from my household didn’t happen over-night. I was desperate to loose my baby weight, and I knew the key to doing that was getting rid of packaged stuff and replacing it with fresh stuff. Little by little my husband and I made smarter choices, came home from the grocery store with more produce, and started incorporating new foods into our family dinners. When my husband was grocery shopping alone I would ask him to bring home one mystery item for me to create a new recipe with, and to encourage all of us to try something new.

When I started sharing pictures on Facebook of what I was feeding my toddler for lunch, people were instantly interested.

” How do you get your kids to eat that stuff and how can I learn to do the same thing?” came from just about everyone I knew.

Unfortunately I don’t really have any fun or interesting answers! I changed the way we ate little by little, and began cooking everything from scratch instead of using convenience items. The more and more I read ingredient labels, the more I understood just how much food companies take a simple item and turn it into something horrible and unhealthy. I also realized relying on marketing wasn’t going to cut it. I began realizing the more items I purchased THAT DIDN’T EVEN HAVE PACKAGES, the easier making healthy choices became.

Since starting the blog I’ve been on the look-out for helpful ideas for parents trying to solve the never ending mystery that is getting their kids to try new foods. I know every family has their own story, way of life, and eating habits so I was really looking for something that was relatable to all families. When I came across Jennifer Tyler Lee’s new book: The 52 New Foods Challenge, I knew this book was exactly what I was searching for!

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The Book

Have you ever considered forgetting about pushing “healthy” foods and just asking your kids to play a game with you? How about pitting your oldest against your youngest to see who can eat the most colors and score the most points? What if broccoli and kale scored higher so they were now the most sought after foods at the dinner table?

I know, I know, it sounds crazy but when I was reading The 52 New Foods Challenge, I started thinking “Why didn’t I think of this before?” My boys absolutely LOVE to out-do each other and dinner time is no exception.

What about considering taking just one hour a week and putting it toward trying something new? No need to completely over-haul your life, just one baby step at a time, and you will be reaching your food goals in no time! Can you imagine next year at this time if your kids were familiar with 52 new fruits and veggies that you could now incorporate into your family dinners?

The 52 New Foods Challenge lays all of this out in a fun and exciting new way to deal with food. No more stressful evenings fighting with your children about why they won’t eat their veggies! Not only does Jennifer explain the game, the point system, and the foods, she also talks about how she plans her meals and packs lunches. Last but not least, Jennifer suggests NO SNEAKING! This was one of my favorite things in the book because I feel the same way. Foods don’t count if your kids can’t see them, and feel their texture.

*For more about Jennifer Tyler Lee’s new book The 52 New Food Challenge, check out her website here!

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The Recipe

One amazing thing about The 52 New Foods Challenge is that the foods are listed in season. We try to eat in season as much as we can because I can get a ton of produce at local markets, and it is cheaper! I also prefer food that comes from my area, and eating in season makes this goal really attainable.

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Sweet potatoes have long been a staple in our household. When my son was a baby I started feeding him sweet potatoes and he’s been loving them ever since. When he was small I would steam them really soft, and when he got a older I made fries with them. I still make my kids sweet potato fries a few times a week because I know for sure they will always, always eat them! Most of the time they are gone before I even get a chance to grab one!

When sweet potatoes became a staple in our home they started finding their way into our family dinners, and when I put them in chilli I knew I had a winner on my hands. It was absolutely the best chilli I had ever made, and I have been making chilli with sweet potatoes ever since! When I was thinking of a fall recipe to share, I knew this Sweet-Fire Chilli had to be the one. I take fire roasted tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and great northern beans to make a colorful, delicious dinner that your whole family will love. My kids love the color, I love the nutrition, and everyone loves the cheese and sour cream we get to put on top. 🙂 How many colors can you count in the bowl?

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Jennifer also suggests getting kids involved with food preparation, so I let the kiddos cut up their dessert, a fruit salad. The used baby oranges, strawberries, and pomegranate seeds to mix together to make themselves a snack after school. They had fun eating their fruit as they were cutting, and even helped me with some of the tomatoes for the chilli. It actually went a lot smoother then I thought it would because typically I don’t let them help.

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Creamy Lemon Basil Shrimp Pasta

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This pasta though! Move over fancy-pants Italian restaurants because this pasta just swooped in to remind everyone cooking Italian food at home is SO EASY! That’s right, if you have 25 minutes and a few fresh ingredients then you are on your way to this delicious pasta soaked in a creamy sauce, and topped with fresh basil and parm cheese. You in?


Of course you are in or you wouldn’t be here, gawking at that pour shot like a 13 year old boy with a nudie mag. I mean, not that I was ever a 13 year old boy or anything, but I was just thinking.. well.. ya know what forget I ever said that and let’s get back to the food porn!

And now…. it is food blogger confession time brought to you by 3Boys Unprocessed! Confessions are as followed:

  • This pasta is not whole wheat
  • I’m not as excited about this post because it isn’t a cupcake
  • I’ve recently become obsessed with cupcakes
  • Did I mention the word cupcake?

Yes, you read that correctly. I’m using refined pasta but baking whole wheat cupcakes. That totally makes sense doesn’t it? Hmm… I know, I know it’s totally crazy but just let me go on with my crazy self and let’s all pretend they are both whole wheat so I can feel a little less crazy.

My refined pasta was imported from Italy and had a sparkly and official “Italy” sticker on the bag. You know, like the best sticker EVER that we all longed for in Elementary School. A seal of approval, if you will. I looked at it EVERY TIME I was at the grocery store, longing for it’s beautiful ridges to take pretty pictures of and plop some big bad shrimpies on top of. Last time I was at the grocery store somehow it ended up accidentally falling into my cart and I totally thought it was whole wheat when the cashier swiped it over that cool scanner. You know, because my kids were yelling about wanting coloring books and other crap they throw near the cash registers to lure all the parents into buying. Even though I totally said NO WAY to the coloring book, somehow the pasta slipped by my radar. Ok, truth is, it looked cool so I bought it! A slight lapse in Real Food judgment but hey, we are all human right?

And about those cupcakes… you see I was always kind of obsessed with cupcakes (hence a big ol’ pink cupcake tattoo on my foot), but my cupcake obsession was lying dormant for a while I was on an ice cream binge.. I mean eating healthy. 😉 I kid, I kid! The ice cream binge never happened but babies did and I just haven’t had all the time in the world to bake pretty things. Now I have a food blog as an excuse so the cupcake madness just might be back for good!

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Now that all my dirty food laundry is aired I guess we can get back to this creamy and delish pasta that could be served up for any occasion, including a Monday night! You can totally throw a curve ball in your life by making this epic pasta on a Monday and surprising your spouse like you are newlyweds or something. Remember, it only takes about 25 minutes to put together so throwing this together on a weeknight is do-able and easy!

Just a little FYI, I used a homemade chicken stock that I did not season yet. If you are using a boxed stock, check the ingredients for MSG (labeled MSG, autolyzed yeast, yeast extract) and choose a stock that is lower in sodium and doesn’t contain anything you wouldn’t put in your own stock. If you are interested in making your own (super easy I promise!) check out my post on Everything you Need to Know About Making Your Own Chicken Stock.

And then that pesky sauce went all up on the side of my sauté pan to ruin this beautiful picture. Please ignore and maybe it won’t happen again! 😉

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Healthy Loaded Nacho Skillet

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It is officially Football season and the first day of Fall! Yay* for pumpkin everything and tailgating. A bigger *yay* for pumpkin spiced lattes from my good ol’ Nespresso and cold brewed coffee with my very own Pumpkin Spiced Coffee Syrup. Ok, ok we are getting all coffee snob up in herrr so let’s move on to nachos because who doesn’t love some gooey melted cheese, spicy black beans, corn chips, sweet corn off the cob, rice, veggies, and even more gooey melted cheese. And not the fake stuff folks because we don’t get down with Velveeta like that!


That’s right.. nachos do not have to contain Velveeta because cheese is WAY TOO GOOD on it’s own to add a bunch of crap that makes it look like plastic when in cools. You pickin’ up what I’m puttin’ down? Thank You, Thank You, I knew you would understand!

Now let’s forget about that crap and get back to the good stuff because these nachos are the perfect balance of all the cheesy goodness you would expect from nachos, and a bunch of other goodies that are whole and nutritious. Sweet bell peppers, a big bed of lettuce, brown rice, black beans, oh yeah! Loaded nachos say whhhhhaaatttt?

Ok, ok I’m calming myself down but this is something to get excited about. One of my all time favorite snack foods, in a skillet, with nutrition on top?

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Now that my rambling nacho madness is over the voice of reason is here to tell you what exactly this Loaded Nacho Skillet is PLUS the fact that it only takes 30 short minutes to put this bad boy together. Cook the rice, add the beans, the cheese, the frozen corn, the chips, more cheese, the peppers, more cheese, and finally broil it for a few minutes until everyone is happy. Got it? Since that way A LOT of steps here is a pretty picture for you to see exactly how to achieve this nacho goodness:

 

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Now if you really want to take these nachos totally over the top try adding a dollop of my Homemade Ranch right in the middle of a big pile of nacho goodness. These two things are basically a match made in food heaven and I would not tell you to do another step if I didn’t think this ranch was basically the best thing that ever happened to these nachos. Nachos meet ranch. Ranch meet nachos. And they lived happily ever after all up in my tummy!

*I used my Taco Night Freezer Corn in this recipe as well!

Creamy Tomato Soup With Cheesy Pita Dippers

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Creamy tomato soup with cheesy pita dippers. That is it, that is all she wrote. Need I really say more? If there was ever a time I wanted to leave it at that, the time is now!

Before we start can we just take a quick moment of silence (aka pity party) for me, the mom at the grocery store whose kids are repeatedly yelling the word “Crotch.” I don’t know how, I don’t know why, but one day that word rolled off my lips while telling my son to zip his pants and the rest is history. NOT…A…DAY has gone by since then that they haven’t used it in every way, shape, and form they could and at the grocery store is the worst! Can you imagine, me, a young looking mom, standing next to the smug, know-it-all old couple while my kids say “I’m working in the crotch.” What does that even mean!?!?!? Please, pray for me people. Pray that my kids will find it in their hearts to stop saying “crotch” in the grocery store because if it happens again I might just jump into a bulk bin and never come out!
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Moving on, this soup is the perfect blend of creamy and tomato with a hint of cheddar. Not only that, it is very dip-able, hence the pita dippers! The dippers can be put together in just a minute and thrown in the oven to complete the soup in a way that your kids will love. This soup is lunchbox friendly, freezer friendly, and versatile as I have even made it with extra veggies. This recipe is a large batch recipe, so I created it specifically for the moms looking to save some time by making a large batch and freezing some for later. The recipe filled my 8 quart stock pot, so the large batch is large! I freeze this soup in half pint ball jars to use specifically for my son’s lunchbox thermos and it is always a big hit. If you are only looking for a regular sized batch, just cut the recipe in half (included below).

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Cheesy Pita Dippers

Ingredients:

  • Store bought pitas (Food for Life Prophet Pockets Recommended, if you can’t find them check the ingredients in your pitas! They should not contain any weird ingredients, especially partially hydrogenated oils, preservatives, or bleached flours!)
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Pink Himalayan or Kosher salt
  • Freshly grated cheddar/parmesan cheese or cheese of your choice

Directions: Cut pitas in triangles and brush with olive oil. Lightly salt pitas, top with cheese, and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes until slightly browned and crisp.

Regular Batch Measurements

  • 1 stick butter (1/4 pound)
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 4 cups milk (whole or 2% recommended)
  • 4 ounces cheddar cheese
  • 6 cups (48 ounces) strained tomato (I buy strained tomatoes in a glass jar as I am not fond of canned tomato products. You can use any jarred/canned tomatoes as close to measurement as possible that are smooth and do not contain added salt)
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 +1/4 tsp pink Himalayan or Kosher salt
  • black pepper to taste

*Just for reference, this is the tomato product that I use. Look in your local organic section or specialty store and they should carry it. If you can’t find it, again any smooth and unsalted tomato product will work. Amazon also carries the product but it is more expensive online even in the bulk quantity.

Cajun Shrimp and Broccoli Pasta

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My husband went away for an over-night trip with friends and dropped one of my boys off at his Meme’s house on the way. Boy, did my house seem eerily quite! I don’t know if any other moms can relate but don’t things seem so weird even if just one child is gone? Sheesh it was like I was on a vacation from my life or something! So naturally, I decided it would be a great time to cook a spectacular meal seeing I was dealing with a 1 year old who could obviously care less, and a 7 year old who was convinced I was trying to hide copious amounts of broccoli in his food (it was parsley!!) Off to Wegman’s I went to purchase the biggest, most beautiful wild caught shrimp I could find. I came home and slathered those babies with a creamy sauce, cheese, and generous amounts of Cajun seasoning and boy did I ever feel bad that the rest of my family was gone when I sat down to eat this meal!


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I mentioned that naturally the baby would care less about this pasta. How wrong did he prove me when he was begging and begging for more! Not only did he beg for more, he continued to climb into his high chair over and over until I fed him more pasta. Then when he was done with that he grabbed his brother’s plate off the table and proceeded to park his little tushy on the floor and have a little feast by himself! How could I really be mad at that cute little face covered in sauce though? 🙂 Plus, he was eating broccoli so that made Mama happy!

For the noodles in this dish I used whole wheat lasagna sheets and cut them in half (they were really narrow to begin with). I have been looking for whole wheat lasagna sheets for the longest time and was finally able to find some! Funny how a product that is so widely used is so hard to find in whole wheat. Regardless, you can use any pasta you’d like for this dish because the pasta doesn’t really make the dish. I did enjoy a different type of noodle in this but if you want to switch it up a whole wheat rigatoni or penne would work fantastic! I used 8 ounces of pasta total.

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Here are the Steps I Took to Cook this Meal:

  1. Cook the Pasta: I used 8 ounces of lasagna noodles, you can use any kind of pasta you’d like!
  2. Season and Roast Broccoli: Sprinkle broccoli generously with Cajun seasoning and roast in the oven for about 25 minutes while you are cooking your other ingredients.
  3. Boil the shrimp: Self explanatory! After you boil the shrimp peel them if needed.
  4. Make the sauce.
  5. Layer in skillet.
  6. Bake.
  7. Be Amazed at How Delicious it Was! Ok this is bordering on being a gimmicky catch phrase food bloggers use, but seriously it is really good!

The quicker way to do this would be to boil the pasta, and within the last few minutes throw in the shrimp and broccoli. I prefer oven roasted broccoli so that is why I didn’t do that, but if you are looking to save time this would be the way to do it!

 

Old World Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

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This Old World Spaghetti and Meat Sauce recipe is truly a classic! It combines the best of both worlds, an oil based pasta sauce and a tomato based pasta sauce. This is also a really quick and easy way to make a homemade sauce, without spending hours letting it simmer and cooking down a bunch of vegetables. This is a great “beginner” homemade sauce, so if you haven’t made your own sauce in the past, don’t worry… you’ve got this!


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The really unique thing about this sauce is it is actually made in a food processor instead of on the stove. Of course the meat portion of this sauce is cooked on the stove but the sauce itself is just a whole lot of flavor blended together and combined with the cooked beef and onions. After you combine the meat and sauce, just toss in pasta and top with fresh asiago cheese (or parmesan) and that is it! It doesn’t stop there people… this pasta is also amazing cold! I was actually inspired to create this after I created a cold pasta salad using the same flavor combination a few weeks ago. Not only is this a great dinner, you can throw it in your lunch the next day and you have an amazing pasta that would be great over a bed of spinach or by itself.

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Pineapple Chicken Stir-Fry Over Cauliflower Rice

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If you like Chinese takeout, but hate the fact that there may be some unknown ingredients in it, this Pineapple Chicken Stirfry recipe is for you. I was never really a Chinese takeout type of person but my husband really loves it. When we really started thinking about what we were putting into our bodies and why, we began realizing Chinese takeout food really doesn’t fit the bill so to speak. There are a few reasons I’m going to discuss but let’s get to the deliciousness that is cauliflower rice!

My real goal isn’t to cut calories, and try to make a bunch of “low fat” or “low carb” substitutions to make my meals healthier. Instead I prefer to use 100% real ingredients as much as I can (which is pretty much 99% of the time). I don’t really have any issues with rice but I’ve been finding cauliflower so diverse and delicious lately that I just HAD to try cauliflower rice. Let me tell you, I saw so pleasantly surprised at just how good it actually is! Not only does it taste great it is super easy to make and has a really nice texture. I followed this Simpler Version of Cauliflower Rice from Nom Nom Paleo, however I used different seasonings in sticking with my takeout theme. If you are on the fence about cauliflower rice just take the plunge and try it because you will never look back! I promise you will be making it to go with everything and loving every bite. I love the feeling of eating a ton of veggies and this “rice” helps me do that without feeling like I’m missing something. I seasoned the rice with Tamari (Japanese soy sauce, GMO-Free, no additives or unnecessary ingredients), garlic, and white pepper and it was perfect for this stir-fry!

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I mentioned the Tamari, and this has been one of my best finds at the grocery store to date! It is basically soy sauce without any sodium benzonate or caramel color. I also opted for a Non-GMO and Organic brand because we do stay away from GMO products, and when in doubt I will always purchased a verified brand over a brand that is not verified. I also opted for a reduced sodium Tamari because I’m a little bit salt sensitive and soy sauces are loaded with sodium. The brand I used and highly recommend is San-J, which is also gluten free. I found this brand in the organic section of my local grocery store. Here is a link if your interested in San-J Tamari sauce.

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Nope, not missing any rice OR flavor here! Even my 2 year old gobbled this up like there was no tomorrow! One last thing I will mention about this recipe is that I used a homemade and unsalted beef bone broth. If you have homemade broth (chicken, beef, or vegetable), that would be ideal for this recipe because of the sodium content of  boxed broths along with the sodium content of the Tamari (can someone say salt bomb)! Anyways, if you don’t have homemade broth on hand I would suggest a low sodium vegetable broth in place of the beef broth. You may need to adjust the amount of Tamari you put in, so start with less and add additional Tamari based upon how salty you like things.

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 Takeout Inspired Cauliflower Rice

Ingredients:

  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1/2 onion
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 tsp tamari sauce
  • 1/4 tsp paprika
  • 1/8 tsp white pepper

Directions: Roughly chop cauliflower head and put in food processor or ninja. Pulse a few times to obtain a rice-like texture. Put olive oil in small sauté pan and allow to heat up over medium heat. Dice onion and garlic, add to pan, and sauté until translucent and tender. Add cauliflower, tamari sauce, and spices. Stir cauliflower together with onion and garlic, then place lid on pan and allow to cook for 5-10 minutes or until soft.

 

Thick and Creamy Cheeseburger Macaroni Soup

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Ok, I admit my husband was right on this one. Don’t expect that I’ll be singing his right-praises any time again soon, but this one was a homerun! No, it was a grand slam. But don’t ask me anything else about baseball because those are the only two terms I know so let’s just move on.

While I was slaving over a hot pot of soup my husband walked by and suggested I add some mustard. Like, for real. Sometimes he is the voice of reason, but I was skeptical about this one for a minute. Then I remembered this genius little pizza we used to make at a café I worked at and I thought maybe he was on to something. I reluctantly added a little and it was pure manly goodness. It was reminiscent of those two love birds ketchup and mustard coming together on one bun, and oozing out in some sort of orange goodness that only ketchup and mustard can produce. If you are totally salivating right now this one is for you! Now where’s the bacon!?!

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This is one of those dishes that just won’t go away. You think you are done but you just keep coming back for more until your day is officially a fat day now. You know, one of those days where you’ve eaten like a cow for the past 10 hours but your still considering a huge bowl of ice cream after the kids go to bed? Yeah, this may or may not induce a day of shameless eating because it is just so good and you can’t get away from it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

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Some tips for this recipe… you may need to adjust the seasoning to taste. Also, if you prefer a thicker soup add 2 Tablespoons of flour at the end to thicken it up more. This will reduce the amount of broth you will have. This isn’t a super brothy recipe to begin with, so if you’d like it thinner I would suggest adding an additional cup of milk.

Complete Meal Monday: Garlic, Shallot, and White Wine Flounder with Spinach, Watercress, and Strawberry Salad

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At times it is easier to find inspiration when you have the whole meal in front of you! I decided to start doing complete meal inspiration to help viewers visualize what unprocessed and real dinners look like. I get a lot of questions about what we eat, and while some of the recipes give a little insight, this lays out exactly what we eat in a meal. I’m not able to attach two recipes to one post, so for the red wine vinaigrette for the salad click here.

The Fish


We love fish, especially Flounder (sorry I know I need to mix up my fish recipes!). I think part of eating unprocessed foods is using different ingredients and keeping it fresh. My husband and I were both thinking about shallots for some reason so he picked up a few at the grocery store, and BAM! I have a brand new recipe to share. He tends to get random things at the grocery store which is awesome because so many new recipes of mine come from him picking up unexpected items each week. If you are just getting into eating unprocessed foods one of the best things to do is try new things, and fill your refrigerator with fresh produce and herbs. I made a nice white wine sauce to bake over this flounder, which included butter, shallots, garlic, lemon, white wine, and fresh parsley. Not only is it beautiful, it tastes amazing!

The Salad

I can’t stress this enough.. making your own dressings is an essential part of eating unprocessed foods because store bought dressings are some of the worst products on grocery store shelves. It gets even worse because almost all of the companies making bottled dressings use unethical labeling to trick consumers into thinking they are getting a quality product. In reality 95% of bottled dressings are made of soybean oil, MSG, preservatives, and unlabeled ingredients under the “natural flavors” loophole. I’ve talked about Hidden Valley Ranch, so I won’t go over that again. However, sometimes vinaigrettes slip through the cracks because people assume they are just oil and vinegar. Here are the ingredients in WishBone’s Balsamic Breeze Salad Spritzer (I couldn’t find the Red Wine one online, hopefully they don’t make it anymore):

Ingredients: Water, Balsamic Vinegar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Soybean Oil, Salt, Distilled Vinegar, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Onion Juice, Garlic Juice, Xanthan Gum, Natural Flavors (Soy), (Sorbic Acid, Calcium Disodium EDTA) Used To Protect Quality, Wine, Sulfur Dioxide (Used To Protect Quality).

These ingredients just make me sad. I would honestly look at this product and think it was a healthier alternative to regular bottled dressing because you just spray it on. The only ingredients this product should have are olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and spices. I have NO idea where the high fructose corn syrup, EDTA, or emulsifiers came from. Shame on WishBone for tricking consumers like this!

With that being said, this salad is one of my favorites! I’m a feta lover, and the saltiness of feta cheese pairs perfectly with strawberries. I also threw in some walnuts, spinach, and watercress and had a delicious salad loaded with tons nutrition. I mentioned previously, I can’t attach two recipes to one post, so if you want the dressing recipe click here. To make this salad just desired amount of ingredients with a small amount of dressing and enjoy! A little bit of this dressing goes a long way!

 

Classic Alfredo and Herb Sauce

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I don’t know anybody who doesn’t love a good pasta dish. This recipe is simple to make, takes only a few minutes, and can’t be beat by ANY jarred version. My toddler loves this served with whole wheat penne pasta and topped with sautéed mushrooms and eggplant (I’m eggplant obsessed). I love it topped with spicy chicken or even fish. All around, it goes great with any vegetables or protein, which makes it one of my go-to recipes.


White Bean Tacos (With Avacado Cilantro-Lime Sauce)

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I love mixing things up with meatless Monday meals! We were on our way home from a trip with the in-laws for Memorial Day weekend and we spent a good part of the day traveling. I can’t even explain how tired I was when we arrived home. The latte I had on the way home just wasn’t cutting it! Needless to say we arrived home with nothing to eat and take-out was calling my name. The problem with take-out though is NOTHING fits our lifestyle. We have not found any places in our area that don’t serve refined food bombs, so take-out for us is almost non-existent. We do bend the rules once in a while but  I’m always left feeling really drained after eating highly refined foods. My body quickly reminds me how much it doesn’t like bad food choices, and I always experience pretty bad “crashes”. This is reason enough for me to stick with the good stuff because with 3 kids I need energy, and I was already drained from traveling.


I pinned the Avocado Cilantro-Lime Sauce from The Garden Grazer on the way home from our trip, which she paired with another bean taco recipe (thanks for the inspiration!). I switched a few things up with the bean filling and it was amazing. My kids didn’t even question the fact that the tacos weren’t beef and after I ate 2 tacos the only words I could utter were “I really needed that.” The best part was, it took about 5 minutes to make the filling and another 5 for the sauce. 10 minutes to an amazing and healthy meal is where it is at!

I should also mention that we are really choosey when it comes to taco shells. We purchase certified Non-GMO shells from Garden of Eatin because they are Non-GMO and do not contain soybean oil. They are a dollar or two more then the big name brands but the extra money is worth it when you are getting a quality product from a good company. We also love their blue corn tortilla chips!

*Here is a link to the strained tomatoes I use, that are jarred instead of canned. This product is about as good as fresh as it gets, and contains no added salt! LOVE IT!

Spicy Black Eyed Pea Burgers (Morningstar Alternative)

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Buying good food to feed a family of 5 can be expensive! One thing we try to do to save money, try new things, and be healthier overall is take the focus off of meat in our meals. There are so many unknowns about the meat industry in America, and quite frankly I just don’t trust any of the big name brands. We do buy organic meats, but they are super expensive! I do use a few tricks to stretch the meat we buy, but I also love throwing in one or two meatless meals every week. I like experimenting with new ingredients and creating new recipes that do not contain meat and so far my family has really loved all of veggie friendly meals I’ve served. My kids do love beans and I’ve been serving lentils to my toddler since before he could even talk. Both of these are awesome alternatives to meat and contain tons of protein and fiber.


Flounder Cakes (With Whole Grains and Mushrooms)

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If you saw my Toddler Lunch post today you might have known a Flounder Cake recipe was in the works! Most people think of Crab or Salmon cakes when it comes to a dish like this, but the truth is you can use any type of fish that you like. My husband always buys Flounder but the fish in these is the interchangeable part. This recipe would go with just about any type of fish so you can use what you have on hand.


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I have to admit that making these, or any type of fish based cake, is a process that looks “ugly” until the end when they are cooked. There is something about grinding up fish that is slightly disturbing but having worked in restaurants for years I am used to it. If you are making these and start thinking I’m completely crazy for suggesting this, just wait until they are cooked! I promise they are delicious! This recipe does use my Whole Grain Breadcrumbs, and if you check out that post you will see why I never use store bought breadcrumbs (I’ll give you a hint they contain 59 ingredients!). I serve these cakes a number of ways but they go great on a bed of spinach or with some brown rice and veggies.

Sweet and Spicy Chili

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If you have seen any of my other posts you may have noticed I do serve sweet potatoes often! My kids love to eat them as fries, and I like to put them into many dishes. The hint of sweetness they provide compliment many other ingredients. I started putting sweet potatoes in my chili after my husband bought a butternut squash that I needed to use before it went bad. It worked so well I moved right on to sweet potatoes and now I rarely make chili without them. This is a staple recipe in my kitchen and I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

I also serve this with whole wheat cornbread, and you can find that recipe here. I followed this recipe but instead of using cream I used milk and it came out perfect.

Also, here is a link to the tomato product I use. We do stay away from canned tomatoes because of the possibility of chemical leaching into the product.