Pretty Little Apron

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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!

 

Homemade Hamburger Helper

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This Homemade Hamburger Helper takes a classic boxed item and turns it into a homemade favorite that the whole family will enjoy! Just a few simple ingredients will knock the boxed stuff right out of the ballpark. 

 


*This post was originally created in 2014. The next year I updated the images, and now in 2018 I’m revamping the whole post to reflect all the feedback I have gotten from readers who have tried the recipe.

Homemade hamburger Helper

First and foremost, this Homemade Hamburger Helper has kept PLA running since the beginning! This post is my first VIRAL recipe, the recipe that just would not quit. I felt the need to revamp it because my writing and photography skills have drastically increased since the time I created the post and I wanted my #1 post of all time to reflect how much I have grown.

I have to admit, I’m still making this recipe on a bi-weekly basis and my kids ask for it all the time. I NEVER have to worry if my kids will actually eat when I cook this Homemade Hamburger Helper. It is just a great recipe all around if you are cooking for a family!

Reader Reviews

If you scroll down to the comments, you’ll notice a lot of readers added additional garlic powder + onion salt to the recipe. By all means, have at it! I just made this again today to re-test the recipe, and I stand by what I initially posted. The recipe called for 1/4 tsp of each. I do add additional course kosher salt at the end as well so that really bumps up the flavor.  The recipe is super customizable! I would suggest if it is your first time making it to follow the recipe and then tweak it to suit your taste.

A couple other readers suggested they needed to add more liquid. This really depends upon what kind of pasta you are using. Today I used elbow macaroni and I did need to add an additional 1/2 cup of water.

Kitchen Essentials

I have been asked quite a few times what kitchen gear I use, specifically my pots and pans. I couldn’t find the exact set, but I do have a full Kitchen Aid set that my husband picked out all by himself. Scary, I know. But he did a great job and didn’t even go cheap, which is really surprising. 🙂 I wanted to share because I absolutely adore these pots and pans as they have cooked so many wonderful meals for my family. There isn’t a day in my home that they aren’t used!

Products from Amazon.com

Homemade Hamburger Helper Recipe

Vanilla-Almond Freezer Pancakes

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If your mornings are super busy making breakfast ahead, freezing it, and getting it out as needed is a great idea. These pancakes are loaded with nutrients and oats, which will give you lasting energy. I love knowing when I send my school aged son off to school that he won’t be super hungry before lunch time! If you don’t want to freeze this recipe I recommend cutting it in half.


Another reason to make your own pancakes to freeze instead of buying the store bought version are the ingredients. Here are the ingredients from Kellog’s Eggo Buttermilk Pancakes:

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The Red Flags

  • Soybean oil: Highly refined, unhealthy fats, GMO, never a good option!
  • High Fructose Corn Syrup: Highly refined, GMO, will likely give a spike of energy, and a crash!
  • Enrichment: The fact that they are enriching these means they are not using a whole flour that still has natural nutrients in tact. If you are consuming whole, unrefined grains there is no need for enrichment. Our bodies are also more efficient at processing naturally occuring nutrients so that is always the best way to go.

Overall, the ingredient list is just in my opinion inferior. They use the worst ingredients in each category, then go back and enrich it. I know I don’t want to start my day with unhealthy fats, gmo’s, and HFCS!  Also, if you are thinking of going the boxed mix route, some of those are even worse! Check out this post for the reasons why.

*To freeze simply place in ziplock bags and store in freezer.

 

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.


Fruity Nutty Oat Squares

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The Ninja

Not to brag but I have a pretty awesome husband who is completely on board with eating unprocessed foods and supports everything I do. He knew I wanted a food processor because the small one I had a while back broke and I never replaced it. We went to Target for sponges last week and came home with a Ninja Masterprep Professional blender, chopper, and ice crusher.! My husband picked it out and brought it to the counter so it was a spur of the moment purchase but I’m very happy with it. The machine is a processor, chopper, and bullet all in one and it is AWESOME!!!! It  was relatively inexpensive for everything it does and it could crush just about anything. If you are in the market for a cool kitchen gadget here is a link to this machine:

The Squares


I had been looking a recipes for date and nut bars (LaraBars) and realized a lot of them looked super sticky. We always have rolled oats on hand so I decided to try my own version with some oats to help with the stickiness of the dates. These came together like a charm and with no trial and error I had created exactly what I was thinking of. These squares are versatile and could easily be modified using different types of dried fruit and nuts. My toddler was curious to try them right away and approved! These would be a great breakfast, snack, or lunchbox treat! With no added sugars, whole oats, and raw almonds these squares are something I feel good about feeding my children.

Whole Grain Mozzarella Sticks

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Who doesn’t love a good mozzarella stick once in a while? I know I do, and making them at home is simple and easy. You will not miss the fried version after tasting these, and your kids won’t either! This is a great recipe for a party, or just as a snack for your kids. You will need my Whole Grain Breadcrumb Recipe for these, which is simple and easy as well, taking only about 5-10 minutes from start to finish. I did omit the parmesan cheese from the breadcrumbs because I didn’t really think they needed any extra cheese! A batch of the breadcrumbs will give you more than enough to bread a few sticks, and save some in the refrigerator for another meal. Tonight I am making Fish Cakes so I knew whatever I had left would be used up in those. I love a recipe that is versatile and helps me plan future meals.


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.

Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup

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chickensoup8 We invited some of our friends from church over so I decided to make a nice big pot of chicken noodle soup. I love this soup and make it often. I always think I will make extra and we will have a lot leftover to eat throughout the week but somehow it always disappears quickly! One thing I do not use in a soup like this is boxed chicken stock or bullion cubes. Although these products can make a soup taste good, they all contain MSG or some form of it (yeast extract, autolyzed yeast). I have not found a boxed product that does not contain these ingredients. Even stocks that are labeled as containing “No MSG” still contain the yeast extract and autolyzed yeast. I would stay away from these products especially because these companies are being deceitful about what is in their products, which is not the type of company I want to support. Not only is MSG linked to obesity, depression, eye damage, and fatigue, it also over-excites your brain cells and tells you that you want more.

This recipe does take some time to make, but 95% of that time is spent just simmering to create a tasty broth. I can put this on the stove and do a number of things before I go back to the soup for the next step. It is a great soup to make on a weekend when you cleaning the house or playing with the kiddos. I also use half regular potatoes, half sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes give the broth a hint of sweetness that sets this soup apart from any other chicken noodle soup you have had!


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“Ditch the Campbell’s” Fish and Noodle Casserole

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campbells sucks I have a confession… I HATE canned soups! What I hate even more is browsing Pinterest and viewing recipes that are using the slogan “Healthy” only to click the link to find it is actually just another recipe using cans of 98% fat free cans of soup and adding extras. Yes these recipes may be low calorie but they aren’t low sodium or by any means “healthy” due to the fact that your getting a whole lot more then just mushrooms and milk. Here are the ingredients in a can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup:

WATER, MUSHROOMS, VEGETABLE OIL (CORN, COTTONSEED, CANOLA, AND/OR SOYBEAN), MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, WHEAT FLOUR, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: SALT, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, DEHYDRATED CREAM (CREAM [MILK], SOY LECITHIN), YEAST EXTRACT, FLAVORING, DEHYDRATED GARLIC.


What these ingredients tell me is that Campbell’s wants to make their soup out of highly refined soybean oil instead of real cream or milk because it is cheaper for them to produce. Then to make you think you are actually getting cream they add some fillers to thicken it up as well as two forms of MSG and “flavoring” (whatever that means). Obviously this soup can stay on the shelf because there is nothing remotely “healthy” about it.

That was the bad news. But now I have some good news to tell you. You can make a fresh, creamy mushroom sauce in about the same time it would take you to open that can and heat it. It isn’t much more expensive either because other then buying the mushrooms, which run in the $1.78 range, you probably have the other stuff on hand. I know the classic “Campbell’s Tuna Casserole” recipe that everyone is familiar with also includes canned tuna, but since canned tuna contains soy and “chicken broth” we stay away from that as well. The chicken broth is a huge unknown because the ingredients in the broth are not labeled.

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I know the process of making this is not that picture worthy but these pictures basically spell out the steps. Melt the butter while cooking the mushrooms, add flour until gritty, add milk and stir until it thickens and THAT’S IT! If you have other recipes that include canned soups you can easily switch the ingredients up to copycat the canned version. If you aren’t using mushrooms just melt butter, add flour, add milk. Super easy! As I mentioned I don’t use canned tuna so I baked some wild caught Flounder and topped the pasta with the fish. Alternatively, you could break it up in the mixture (my kids like it that way). I called this a “casserole” even though I didn’t bake mine but you could throw it in the oven for a few minutes if you wanted to and top with some sharp cheddar or homemade bread crumbs. That would be even more delicious!

Stuffed Pepper Skillet

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peppers6 Making an entire meal in one pan has one huge benefit…. less dishes! Any dinner with easy clean up is on the top of my “to make” list and this Stuffed Pepper Skillet did not disappoint. My father-in-law picked up some beautiful peppers for us at the Gratz auction and when I was thinking about what to make for dinner stuffed peppers seemed like the obvious choice. The last time I made stuffed peppers I noticed that both my husband and I didn’t finish our entire pepper because there is too much bulk at the bottom with no stuffing. I hate to see food go to waste so I decided this time around I’d go the skillet meal route.  I can confidently say we will be sticking to the skillet version because it was so much more delicious! In this recipe I do use a strained tomato product in a glass jar. I am very untrusting of canned foods with the whole leaching aspect,  so when I found these tomatoes at the grocery store I was happy to have an alternative to canned. They also do not contain any added salt which I appreciate because then I can control the sodium content of my meals. Here is a link to the tomatoes. I also bake off two bone in chicken breasts at the beginning of each week to use in meals and in place of lunchmeat for my 1st grader’s lunch. For this reason I did not include cooking the chicken in the directions, however I simply season them with salt, pepper, and olive oil and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. When they cool I pull the meat from the bones and store in the refrigerator until I need the chicken. It is so simple and saves me time throughout the week. If you want to use boneless chicken breasts, you can cut them into small chunks and sauté with the diced peppers and garlic. Alternatively, a half pound of ground beef or a can of black beans would be great in this recipe as well. stuffed pepper skillet

Homemade Chicken Tenders

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Whole Grain Chicken Tenders

Whole Grain Chicken Tenders


For some reason people classify chicken nuggets and tenders as food for kids. What irritates me about this is the fact that chicken nuggets are made from scraps and other parts of chickens that was otherwise unable to be used.  Basically we are saying “Let’s feed our kids all the scraps” instead of saying “Let’s feed our kids the most nutritious food we can.”  See how this doesn’t really make sense? If your wondering about chicken nuggets here is a great video to set the record straight about what is really in them. Chances are you have seen the “pink slime” but it is a great reminder to me of why my family stays away from this stuff!

The good news is you can make your own chicken tenders (or nuggets) with whole ingredients. I do have a few secrets when it comes to my chicken tenders and I’m going to share them with you today! The most important factors to making your own are seasoning them correctly and pounding your chicken.  I use chicken tenderloins and pound them until they are thin. Thin chicken gives you the nice crunch kids love. Here is an example of how I do this. I simply place a plastic baggy over the chicken and pound lightly to flatten.

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If you are not sure of the tool you would need to do this it is just a simple meat hammer or tenderizer. Here is the link to one.

For this recipe, you will also need my whole grain bread crumbs. To learn how to make them click here.

 

Easiest 5 Minute Flounder

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I often hear from busy families that they don’t have time to cook dinner every night. I understand this is a concern when trying to get homework done, change diapers, wipe faces, and get someone to baseball practice all at the same time! I use the phrase “I am only one person” a few times a day myself! On busy nights I know I can make this flounder quickly because there is very little prep time and it doesn’t take long to cook. I also know my kids will always eat it and I can leave one section unseasoned to give to the baby. You could also use other fish varieties as this recipe is pretty basic. Make sure when choosing fish you select a wild caught variety. Fresh or frozen work just the same so we usually buy them frozen because it is a bit cheaper.


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This recipe is also really helpful to people who have been purchasing pre-seasoned frozen fish. I was visiting my mom one day and I was going through her freezer to help her weed out the highly processed junk disguised as health food. When we came to the fish she said “Well that’s just Tilapia.” I thought the same thing but when I read the ingredients I realized you can never assume anything is healthy until you actually read what it contains. Here are the ingredients listed in the Gorton’s Signature Grilled Tilapia:

Ingredients: Tilapia, Water, Canola Oil, Salt, Dehydrated Garlic, Spices, Paprika, Red Bell Pepper, Modified Corn Starch, Dehydrated Onion, Yeast Extract, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Parsley, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Maltodextrin, Natural Flavoring, Ascorbic Acid, Natural Smoke Flavor, Carrageenan, Yeast, Corn Syrup Solids, Onion Juice, Sodium Tripolyphosphate (to Retain Fish Moisture), Propyl Gallate and Tocopherol (to Protect Flavor).

I bolded anything that is a questionable or unknown. Here is what you should know about these ingredient:

  • Canola Oil is highly processed and not an oil I would be using on fish at home
  • Yeast extract is just another way to say Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
  • Natural Flavoring could be literally anything, we have no idea what that means
  • Carrageenan is controversial because it may cause cancer
  • Corn Syrup Solids are very much like High Fructose Corn Syrup.. Highly processed and lacking any nutritional value

So it is clear that making your own is a much better option, and I promise it will only take a minute or two more then just taking something out of a box and putting it in the oven!

 

Fresh Mint Ice Cream

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icecream If there is one thing my household loves it’s ice cream! When we started eating unprocessed foods ice cream was one  item that disappeared from my freezer. If you take a stroll down the freezer isle in your local grocery store and read some of the ingredient lists one thing is clear… there are a ton of additives in ice cream that do not need to be there.  I am not talking about tons of sugar because the sugar is the least of worry in this case. Ingredients I have seen on ice cream containers range from carrageenan to polysorbate 80 to propyl paraben. I am guessing you don’t have those ingredients in your house and neither do I. So why allow someone else to put them in your food?

Making your own ice cream is really simple. All you need is something to freeze the ice cream in and a few real ingredients.  For my husband’s birthday this year I knew I wanted to make some fresh mint ice cream to go along with a dark chocolate tart. If you have never tasted fresh mint ice cream you are missing out big time! It is so much better then the store bought stuff! Here is the recipe I used for my husband’s birthday and it turned out fantastic.


*If you are having trouble finding the Mocobado Sugar at your local grocery store here it is on Amazon.

 

 

 

Greek Pasta Bolognese- Simple and Delicious!

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Bolognese sauce is traditionally a red sauce with beef. It is simple and common in the Italian cooking world and surely a comfort food for many people. This recipe takes traditional Bolognese sauce to a whole new level by adding just a few simple ingredients. If your trying this for the first time don’t be put off by the clam juice! It makes the sauce. This is great for entertaining and will leave your guests trying to put their finger on what made the sauce so delicious. If you like it with beef you can also try it with shrimp as the recipe that inspired this was originally paired with Shrimp.  I put this sauce over 100% whole wheat fettuccini or spinach pasta.

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