Tangy Stuffed Mushrooms

These are not your average stuffed mushrooms, but they are delicious.

What You’ll Need…

9 Large Button Mushrooms

2 Tablespoons Mustard (Honey mustard, Dijon, spicy brown, any kind you like.)

2 Tablespoons Guinness Glaze (You can substitute Maple Syrup for a slightly different taste.)

2 Teaspoons Chili Powder

2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder

1 Teaspoon Ground Mustard

1oz Grated Cheese (Any kind you like.)

Start out by wiping down the mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Once they have been cleaned carefully remove the stems and set the caps aside.

Finely dice the mushrooms stems and combine them with the remaining ingredients in a small mixing bowl.

Once the filling is complete carefully spoon it into the mushroom caps and place them on a greased baking sheet. Drizzle the tops of the mushrooms with olive oil and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Almond Pancakes

If you’re looking for a gluten free recipe, or if you just like almond flour for the taste these pancakes will be a hit at your weekend breakfast.

What You’ll Need…

3 Cups Almond Flour

3 ½ Teaspoons Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Sugar

1 ¼ Cups Milk

1 Egg

3 Tablespoons Butter (Melted)

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Cinnamon (To taste)

Add the Flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and cinnamon to a medium mixing bowl and combine with a whisk.

After the dry ingredients have been whisked add in the egg, milk, butter, and vanilla. Combine until it forms a slightly runny batter. You want to fruit or even chocolate chips, do so at this time.

Spoon into/onto a greased skillet or griddle, make any size cakes you want. When the pancakes are ready to flip you will see bubbles start to form on the tops. Flip the cakes and cook until cooked through.

You can keep the pancakes warm in a 200° oven until the rest are done.

Serve any way you like. Enjoy! 

Coconut Chicken

Have you run out of recipes for chicken breasts? Are you just looking for something new to try? Well, this just might be the chicken recipe for you. The only problem with this recipe is that you need to have a little bit of time.

What You’ll Need…

4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts (Completely defrosted.)

1 ½ Cups Coconut Milk

1 Cup Wheat Germ

½ Cup Sweetened, Shredded Coconut Flakes

1 Teaspoon Chili Powder

1 Teaspoon Black Pepper

Place the chicken in a small casserole dish and cover with the coconut milk. Allow the chicken to marinade in the milk for 2 hours in the refrigerator. You could even start the marinade before you leave for work in the morning.

Pre-heat your oven to 350°.

In another dish, such as a medium casserole dish, combine the wheat germ, coconut, chili powder, and pepper. Coat the milk soaked chicken in the wheat coconut mixture and place on a greased cooling rack that has been placed on top of a baking sheet.

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Serve with spicy ketchup and your favorite sides. Enjoy!

Quinoa Chili "Mac"

I absolutely love chili mac and I have for as long as I can remember. My mom still makes the best version of it, but I think that I make one that is pretty good too. The other day we decided that we would be having chili mac for dinner, but then remembered that we didn’t have any macaroni. I quickly came up with a solution and a recipe was born.

What You’ll Need…

 2 Cups Quinoa

3 Cups Unsalted Chicken Stock (You can also use water instead.)

1lb Ground Meat (Turkey, beef, chicken…)

1 Bell Pepper (Diced)

¼ - ½ Medium Onion (Diced)

1-1 ½ Cups Tomato Sauce

4-6oz Cheese (Grated, Your choice)

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Chili Powder

½ Tablespoon Black Pepper

1 Tablespoon Herbes de Provence

Start out by chopping your vegetables and then setting them aside.

Rinse the quinoa before adding it and the water or stock to a 3 quart pot. Add the chili powder, pepper, and herbes de Provence directly to the stock/quinoa mixture. Stir and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally.

While the quinoa is cooking brown the ground meat and sauté the vegetables, in separate skillets of course.

When all of the stock has been absorbed the quinoa is done, remove it from the heat.

Now, mix in the vegetables, meat, sauce (to your liking), and cheese into the quinoa.

Spoon into bowls, top with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese, and enjoy! 

Homemade Chunky Tomato Soup

I don’t know many people that will turn down a bowl of tomato soup; especially if it is partnered with a grilled cheese sandwich. However, the canned condensed soup always seems to need to be doctored up. After not wanting to add spices to my canned soup anymore, and after trying my mom’s homemade tomato soup when I was home in October, I decided to try my hand at making my own.

This is the recipe that I came up with and it was a hit. Give it a try; it is winter, the season for soup, after all. Let me know what you think of it.

What You’ll Need…

3 (14.5oz) Cans Whole Peeled Plum Tomatoes

1 (14.5oz) Can Diced Tomatoes

2 Fresh On the Vine Tomatoes (Diced)

6-7 Cups Vegetable Stock

1 Cup Whole Fresh Basil Leaves

¼ Cup Sugar

2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder

2 Teaspoons Herbes de Provence

1 Teaspoon Black Pepper

1 Teaspoon Salt

4 More Large Whole Fresh Basil Leaves

1 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Vegetable Stock:

8 Cups Water

½ Medium Yellow Onion

2 Carrots (Peeled and chopped into 3 chunks each.)

2 Celery Ribs (Washed and chopped into 3 chunks each.)

For this recipe we start out by making the vegetable stock. Peel the carrots, wash the celery, and cut each rib or carrot into 3 pieces. Keep the onion half whole by keeping the “hairy” end attached, but remove the papery outside. Place the vegetables in a large stock pot with 8 cups of water and allow it to simmer over medium heat, covered, for 1 hour.

When the stock is complete strain the vegetables out and set them aside. Make sure that you strain the stock into a bowl.

Allow the vegetables from the stock to cool, and while this is happening chopped the 2 fresh tomatoes and gather the rest of the ingredients.

When the vegetables from the stock have cooled, chop them into bite-sized pieces. Once they are cut add them, the fresh and canned tomatoes, stock, and 1 cup of whole, fresh basil, and sugar to the stock pot. Allow the soup to simmer, partially covered for 1 hour.

After an hour turn off the heat, add the remaining spices, whole basil and combine.

Now, spoon the soup into a blender and pulse the blender 5-8 times. No more. After the soup has been partially pureed place it in a bowl off to the side until it has all been through the blender. When all of the soup has been blended return it to the stock pot, add the cheese, and the soup is done.

Enjoy alone, with crackers, or along with grilled cheese or quesadillas. It is also great as a sauce over pasta!