Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce

Are you still needing some help for Thanksgiving?  Well, here's a fantastically simple and delicious cranberry sauce.  Honestly, I never touched the stuff until the past year or so, but I love the rich, tart sauce combined with savory meats...it really is a perfect match.

My favorite way to eat cranberry sauce is actually not with turkey, I know strange.  My favorite way is sandwiched between french toast and a ham steak...seriously, if you have leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving, give this a try, it's AMAZING!

Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce
12 oz Fresh Cranberries
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup pomegranate juice

Directions
Combine the cranberries, honey, and pomegranate juice in a sauce pan and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat.  Cook, while stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or once the cranberries have burst and the mixture thickens into a sauce.  You can serve it warm or at room temp.  It keeps well in the fridge, so it can definitely be made ahead of time.

This post was shared on 5-Ingredient Mondays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays, Whole Food Fridays, and Gluten Free Fridays.

Thanksgiving Roundup

Thanksgiving is this week, are you ready?  Here are some ideas, just in case you are still not sure what to do.


Main Dish
I haven't put any of my own turkey or ham recipes up, but there's plenty out there to choose from. A couple basic recipes that I use are:

Traditional Holiday Turkey (just use gf flour)
Honey brine for Turkey

Side Dishes

Bacon and Turnips

Green Beans and Mushroom Saute

Maple Roasted Acorn Squash

Sweet Potato Casserole

Grandma Tolman's Sausage Stuffing

Grandma Potatoes

Dinner Rolls

Sorghum Millet Rolls

Teff Bread or Rolls (just scoop into muffin tins and bake at 400F for 20-25min)

Seeded Teff Pull Apart Rolls

Desserts

Pies:

Banana Cream Pie

Caramel Apple Pie

Chocolate Cream Pie

Coconut Cream Pie

Fresh Strawberry Pie with Coconut Whipped Cream

Raspberry Cream Pie

Razzleberry Pie

Pumpkin Pie

White Chocolate Peppermint Cream Pie

Other Desserts:

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Pumpkin Citrus Frosting

Pumpkin Bars

Pumpkin Hazelnut Cake with Spiced Yogurt Frosting

Raspberry Peach Crisp

Ways to use leftovers

Barbecue Turkey Recipe

Chicken Salad (using the Turkey)

Enchilada Casserole

Turkey and Green Chili Gorditas (or use homemade flour tortillas and make soft tacos)

Mashed Potato Cakes

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Turkey Noodle Soup

Weekly Menu

This week in our Bountiful Basket (which we share with my brother and his family) we got:

• lettuce
• cucumber
• carrots
• celery
• sweet potatoes
• russet potatoes
• onion
• cantaloupe 
• cranberries
• grapes
• apples
• bananas

The kids are in school now so breakfasts will consist of their choice of:

• cereal
• muffins (banana chocolate chip, blueberry, pumpkin chocolate chip, or double chocolate zucchini muffins)
• scrambled eggs and toast
• hot cocoa
• etc.

 lunches will consist of:

• Sandwiches (Peanut Butter and Jelly or Ham)
• or Pizza Flatbreads (Schar crispbread topped with cheese and pepperoni)
• or Crackers, veggies, and hummus
• chips or crackers
• fruit (usually apples or bananas)
• milk

Sunday: 

• breakfast:  scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: cucumbers and hummus
• dinner:
• clam chowder
• sweet potato biscuits
• green salad

Monday:

• breakfast: smoothie
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: carrots with hummus
• dinner:
• tacos with homemade tortillas
• grapes and cantaloupe

Tuesday:

• breakfast: smoothie
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: apple slices and peanut butter
• dinner:
• honey oat pancakes
• hash browns
• grapes and cantaloupe

Wednesday: We are headed down to my sister's for the Thanksgiving weekend.

• breakfast: smoothie 
• lunch: sandwiches and fruit (on the road)
• snack: grapes
• dinner: 
• Not sure yet, we may be at my sister's at that point...if not, we'll find somewhere to stop and eat or eat sandwiches. :)

Thursday: Happy Thanksgiving!

• breakfast: muffins/cereal
• lunch: 
• Turkey
• Mashed Potatoes
• Sweet Potatoes
• Rolls (these ones and these ones)
• And pies (pumpkin, apple, coconut cream, chocolate cream, and lemon meringue) 
• snack: nothing
• dinner:
• leftovers

Friday:

• breakfast: muffins/cereal
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: nothing
• dinner:
• not sure yet...

Saturday: 

• breakfast:  muffins/cereal
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: nothing
• dinner: 
• Dutch oven ribs and potatoes

White Chocolate Peppermint Cream Pie

Thanksgiving is just over a week away!  Do you know what you are going to eat?  Do you need ideas for pies?  Well, here's one that's not your normal Thanksgiving Pie, hope you enjoy it!

White Chocolate Peppermint Cream Pie
1 8-9" pie shell, baked (instructions are below, for baking the pie shell, also the recipe for the pie crusts makes 3 single crust pies...I make a full batch and freeze what I don't need)
2 1/2 cups So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage or other non-dairy milk
1/2 cup agave nectar or honey
1/3 cup GF flour blend
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 1/2 oz pure cocoa butter, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla

1 can coconut cream or full-fat coconut milk, chilled
1 1/2 tablespoons agave or honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4-5 drops Peppermint essential oil or 1 teaspoon peppermint extract (more or less to taste)
1/2 oz dairy-free mini chocolate chips, melted

Directions
Have the baked pie shell ready. To bake my pie crust, prep it as outlinehere. Once prepped and in the pie tin, prick the bottom ~8 times with a fork. Cover it with a double layer of aluminum foil and bake at 450F for 8 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5-6 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool on a cooling rack.

In a saucepan, scald the milk and agave. In another saucepan, combine the flour and salt. Gradually whisk in the scalded milk.

Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Cover and cook for two more minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Stir a small amount of the hot mixture into the beaten yolks, to temper them, then add the yolks into the hot mixture. Cook for another minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and add in the cocoa butter and vanilla. Let the mixture sit until lukewarm.

When the mixture has cooled, pour the mixture into the pie shell. Allow to chill in the fridge before  topping with peppermint coconut whipped cream.

While the pie is chilling, remove the top portion of coconut cream from the can of coconut milk, leaving the water behind in the can.  Place the cream in a stand mixer and whip on high until soft peaks form.  Mix in the agave, vanilla, and peppermint.  Spread even over the pie and drizzle melted chocolate over the top.

This post was shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Gluten Free Tuesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays, Gluten Free Fridays, and Whole Foods Fridays.

Weekly Menu (11/17/13-11/23/13)

This week in our Bountiful Basket (which we share with my brother and his family) we got:

• lettuce
• cucumber
• carrots
• sweet potatoes
• russet potatoes
• mangoes
• pomegranates
• clementines (or satsumas, not sure which)
• grapes
• apples
• bananas

We also got the hostess add on pack:

• butter lettuce
• pineapple (which my brother got)
• cranberries
• herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme, and parsley)
• potatoes
• parsnips
• green apples
• limes
• onion

The kids are in school now so breakfasts will consist of their choice of:

• cereal
• muffins (banana chocolate chip, blueberry, pumpkin chocolate chip, or double chocolate zucchini muffins)
• scrambled eggs and toast
• hot cocoa
• etc.

 lunches will consist of:

• Sandwiches (Peanut Butter and Jelly or Ham)
• or Pizza Flatbreads (Schar crispbread topped with cheese and pepperoni)
• or Crackers, veggies, and hummus
• chips or crackers
• fruit (usually apples or bananas)
• milk

Sunday: 

• breakfast:  smoothie
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: cucumbers and hummus
• dinner:
• pot roast with potatoes, parsnips, carrots, etc.
• rolls
• green salad

Monday:

• breakfast: scrambled eggs with veggies
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: carrots with hummus
• dinner:
• chili
• baked potatoes/sweet potatoes
• clementines

Tuesday:

• breakfast: smoothie
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: apple slices and peanut butter
• dinner:
• BBQ ribs
• oven fries/sweet potato fries
• green salad

Wednesday: I will be teaching a GF cooking class that night at Macey's in Providence, UT at 7pm on Pies and Crisps (and I'll be using up most of my apples for that) :)

• breakfast: scrambled eggs with veggies
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: grapes
• dinner:
• sweet chicken
• homemade tortillas
• basmati rice
• green salad

Thursday:

• breakfast: smoothie
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: cucumbers and hummus
• dinner:
• french toast
• ham steaks
• cranberry-pomegranate sauce (modifying it to use with honey, instead of sugar)
• hashbrowns

Friday:

• breakfast: scrambled eggs with veggies
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: clementine
• dinner:
• Potato soup
• green salad
• carrot sticks

Saturday: 

• breakfast:  green smoothie
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: apples and cashews
• dinner: 
• Calzones
• green salad

Persimmon Banana Smoothie

I love the change of seasons, because we get a change in produce.  We've been eating Persimmons the last few weeks, and have been quite enjoying them.  I usually just peel them and pop them in my mouth, but they work really great in smoothies, too, and that's usually how I can get my kids to eat them.

Persimmon Banana Smoothie
2 ripened fuyu persimmons
1 banana
1 cup almond milk or other nondairy milk
6-8 ice cubes (or you could add in 1 cup of frozen pineapple, instead of the ice cubes)

Directions
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

This post was shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Gluten Free Tuesdays, Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Whole Food Fridays, and Gluten Free Fridays.

Weekly Menu (11/10/13-11/16/13)

This week in our Bountiful Basket we got:

• lettuce
• zucchini
• cabbage
• spinach
• asparagus
• tomatoes
• mushrooms
• clementines
• watermelon
• coconut
• bananas

We also got the add on pack of root vegetables:

• russet potatoes
• red potatoes
• sweet potatoes
• beets
• onion
• green onions
• garlic
• carrots

We also has persimmons, apples, and celery

The kids are in school now so breakfasts will consist of their choice of:

• cereal
• muffins (banana chocolate chip, blueberry, pumpkin chocolate chip, or double chocolate zucchini muffins)
• scrambled eggs and toast
• hot cocoa
• etc.

 lunches will consist of:

• Sandwiches (Peanut Butter and Jelly or Ham)
• or Pizza Flatbreads (Schar crispbread topped with cheese and pepperoni)
• or Crackers, veggies, and hummus
• chips or crackers
• fruit (usually apples or bananas)
• milk

Sunday: 

• breakfast:  fasting (as part of my religion)
• lunch: fasting
• snack: fasting
• dinner:
• grilled steak
• baked potatoes
• roasted asparagus
• green salad

Monday:

• breakfast: scrambled eggs with veggies
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: carrots and celery with hummus
• dinner:
• chicken nuggets
• oven fries (and sweet potato fries)
• sliced watermelon

Tuesday:

• breakfast:  green smoothie
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: apple slices and peanut butter
• dinner:
• tacos with homemade tortillas
• sliced watermelon

Wednesday:

• breakfast: scrambled eggs with veggies
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: veggies and hummus
• dinner:
• grilled ham and cheese (Daiya) sandwiches
• tomato soup
• roasted zucchini, beets and red potatoes

Thursday:

• breakfast:  green smoothie
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: apple slices and peanut butter
• dinner:
• one-eyed sandwiches
• ham steaks
• hashbrowns

Friday:

• breakfast: scrambled eggs with veggies
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: veggies and hummus
• dinner:
• Pizza
• green salad

Saturday: 

• breakfast:  green smoothie
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: apples and cashews
• dinner: 
• clam chowder
• green salad

Happy Birthday to my Little Man!

My youngest is turning 6 today, so I may or may not get my essential oils post in.  Here's what I've been doing instead:

It's definitely not professional quality work, but he loves it...he told me exactly how he wanted it painted and everything. :)

Indian Spiced Chicken Soup

So, I have this chicken that I absolutely love.  The marinade is divine.  The last time I made it, I had the thought that those spices would make for a great soup base...so, I finally have made it, and it does, in fact, make an absolutely amazing soup!

Indian Spiced Chicken Soup
2-3 tablespoons coconut oil
3/4 cup onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon  ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or thighs)
3 medium potatoes, cubed (about 2-3 cups)*
4 cups chicken stock or broth
2  cups chopped kale*
1 can coconut milk (I used Trader Joe's Lite Coconut Milk)
juice of one lime (~2 tablespoon)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions
In a large sauce pan heat coconut oil over medium high heat, add onion and cook until transparent.  Add in garlic and cook for another minute.

Stir in seasoning and cook for a minute, then add in the chicken, potatoes, and chicken stock.  Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender.

Remove the chicken from the pot, and allow it to cool for a few minutes, before shredding or cubing it. Return the meat to the pot and add the kale, coconut milk, lime juice and salt and pepper and heat through.

*You could substitute any vegetable you want for the potatoes and kale...cauliflower, chickpeas, broccoli, etc., would all be delicious in this soup.


This post was shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Gluten Free Tuesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays, Gluten Free Fridays, and Whole Food Fridays.

Weekly Menu (11/3/13-11/9/13)

This week in our Bountiful Basket we got:

• lettuce
• zucchini
• cucumbers
• red onions
• fennel
• tomatoes
• bananas
• apples
• green chilies
• apples
• winter squash
• pineapple
• white grapefruit

We also got the add on pack of persimmons and the Italian add-on:

• eggplant
• yellow squash
• mushrooms
• garlic
• parsley
• herbs

We also has potatoes, carrots, and celery.

The kids are in school now so breakfasts will consist of their choice of:

• cereal
• muffins (banana chocolate chip, blueberry, pumpkin chocolate chip, or double chocolate zucchini muffins)
• scrambled eggs and toast
• hot cocoa
• etc.

 lunches will consist of:

• Sandwiches (Peanut Butter and Jelly or Ham)
• or Pizza Flatbreads (Schar crispbread topped with cheese and pepperoni)
• or Crackers, veggies, and hummus
• chips or crackers
• fruit (usually apples or bananas)
• milk

Sunday: 

• breakfast:  smoothie
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: cucumbers and hummus
• dinner:
• leftover chicken soup
• grilled cheese sandwiches
• green salad

Monday:

• breakfast: scrambled eggs with green chilis and tomatoes
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: cucumbers and hummus
• dinner:
• chicken and eggplant unparmesan
• GF pasta (we like Jovial)
• sauteed yellow squash and zucchini

Tuesday:

• breakfast:  smoothie
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: grapefruit
• dinner:
• Chicken with Fennel and Rosemary
• mashed potatoes
• green salad

Wednesday:

• breakfast: scrambled eggs with green chilies and tomatoes
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: cucumber and hummus
• dinner:
• Clam Chowder
• Van's crackers
• persimmons

Thursday: My little one's birthday!

• breakfast:  smoothie
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: persimmon and cashews
• dinner:
• Pizza Pie Cafe
• Birthday Cake (he wants a monster truck cake)

Friday:

• breakfast:  leftover pizza :)
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: persimmon and cashews
• dinner:
• Chili
• Baked Potatoes
• Pineapple slices

Saturday: 

• breakfast:  scrambled eggs and veggies
• lunch: leftovers
• snack: cucumbers and hummus
• dinner: 
• Teriyaki Chicken
• Basmati Rice
• salad
• Pineapple slices