Bean, Barley & Beef Soup

BBB Soup

Good thing it tastes better than it looks!

2 packages of Trader Joe's bean & barley soup mix (just beans and, uh, barley - no spices or ickies)
1 lb of ground beef
1 large red onion
6 carrots
2 celery hearts
Better Than Bullion Low Sodium Organic beef broth paste
TJ's 21 Season Salute
sea salt, fresh ground black pepper

Put beans in big pot. Cover with 3x as much water. Bring to a low boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Turn off and let sit while you go pick up your car from the shop, make dinner, and get the kid ready for bed.
Before going to bed drain the beans, put in the crockpot on low. Cook on low about 12 hours or overnight.
In a big pot cook the beef and vegetables until beef is browned, salt & pepper the beef.
Add beans (not the cooking liquid) to the pot. Cover with fresh water.
Add a lump of beef broth paste. Add 21 season salute to taste.
Simmer until vegetables are cooked through.

Bean and Sausage Soup

olive oil
1/4 red onion, chopped fne
4 green onions, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped fine
inside of celery - about 1/2 cup chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 beef kielbasa (even better if you get it on super sale for 99 cents!)
large can tomatoes, chopped with juice
60~ oz beef broth (more or less as needed)
2 cans low sodium black beans
1 can white kidney beans
3/4 a bag of frozen white corn
big handful of baby spinach, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped

Z - ate some
W - ate a full bowl, and some seconds
C - loved it, ate two giant bowls
K - loved it, ate two giant bowls

Kale-Bean Salad

I started with this recipe: http://ohsheglows.com/2011/06/17/weekend-glow-kale-salad/

My salad had:
sprouted bean trio cooked
kale chopped small
roasted red peppers
sunflower seeds
chopped carrot
cucumber
tahini-lemon dressing

And started with this dressing:

Lightened Up Tahini-Lemon Dressing

Adapted from Tahini-Lemon Dressing.
Yield: Just under 1 cup of dressing
Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Tahini
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons) (I ran out of lemon juice so used part apple cider vinegar)
• 1/4 cup Nutritional yeast 
• 2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp kosher salt + freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• 3 tbsp water, or as needed 
• mayo to taste to mellow out the flavor a bit

Lahmahjoon (Armenian-style Pizza)

brown:
1 pkg lean ground turkey (we tried to find ground lamb but our local ethnic butcher was out of it)

chop and add to turkey and cook a bit:
2 small red onions, finely chopped

Add to food processor:
2 cloves garlic
1 (14.5 ounce) can tomatoes
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
To taste: cumin, oregano, thyme, paprika, cayenne, tumeric, kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper

add turkey & onions to food processor and process (in batches if necessary) until it is a goopy paste

Spread turkey paste on to:
Flatbread (we bought lavash from the ethnic market but might try thicker round flat bread or Naan from TJ's next time)

Bake in 350+ oven until edges are crisp. Serve with salad on top or on the side.

Salad:

chop in uniform pieces:
green leaf lettuce
tomato
cucumber
fresh mint, basil and parsley

dressing:
1 part lemon juice
2 parts olive oil
smashed garlic clove
salt & pepper
sugar to taste

Mojo Chicken

• 10 cloves garlic
• 6 green onions
• 1.5 cup orange juice
• 1/3 cup  lime juice
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoon dried oregano flakes
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 cup grapeseed (or your favorite high smoke point) oil

Whiz all ingredients together in a blender. Pour over chicken (fabulous on super cheap chicken leg/thigh quarters) and marinate for 4+ hours. On a hot grill sear over direct heat for 3 minutes per side and then grill at a lower temp/indirect heat until 170 degrees (about 1 hour). Let rest for 10+ minutes. Super fabulously juicy and delicious. Great on corn tortillas with Bobby Flay's Jicima Slaw. Yum!

This marinade made enough to cover big 10 chicken quarters divided into 3 gallon size bags.

Cowboy Beans

1 package ground turkey

whites of green onions chopped - about 1/3 cup
1.5 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
4 cans of beans - different colors and types, drained & rinsed
1/3 cup ketchup
2/3 cup brown sugar (could use less - maybe 1/3 cup)
1 cup bbq sauce (could use less - maybe 3/4 cup)

Preheat oven to 375
Brown turkey
Add green onions and cook for a couple of minutes
Add everything else and stir well.

Taste.

If it is good put it in a baking dish.

If it needs more of something - add it.
Plop in to baking dish.
Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

Kids loved it. Super yummy but a little on the sweet side.

Creamy Greeny

"Creamy Greeny" -
1 frozen banana
1.5 cups unsweetened almond milk
1 serving (4 tablespoons) TJ's chocolate hemp protein powder
2 tablespoons TJ's unsweetened cocoa powder
1 huge handful baby spinach, rinsed (approx 2 cups)
1 handful ice cubs (approx 5-6)

Put it all in the VitaMix or other blend. Blend until smooth.

This is good stuff! Reminiscent of Jamba Juice's Peanut Butter Moo'd but at just 507 calories vs. 1200 for the same size. Plus cheaper and healthier! 

Stuffed Mushrooms

These stuffed mushrooms are gluten free, dairy free and Paleo friendly.

a dozen stuffable mushrooms
1/2 lb Italian sausage
1/4 red pepper
1/4 cup red onion
2 green onion
small handful of parsley
1 egg, whisked
2 T+ almond meal
garlic salt
fresh cracked sea salt & black pepper

Remove the stems from the mushrooms, mince mushroom stems and all other veggies. In a little olive oil cook the red pepper, red onion, green onion, mushroom stems for a few minutes. Add sausage and cook until cooked through. Add parsley, garlic salt and fresh cracked salt & pepper to taste. Put aside to cool.
Mix egg and almond meal to sausage-veggie mix. Add more almond meal if needed so the mix starts to sort of stick together. Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil and set up mushrooms. Spoon filling in to mushrooms, packing down and mounding the filling on top. Cook in a 400F oven until golden brown (about 20-25 minutes).

Pizza "crust"

1 egg, beaten
~3/4 cup spaghetti squash, cooked, chopped
~1/4 cup almond meal
shake of garlic powder
shake of dried basil

Mix together and scoop in to a medium frying pan coated with olive oil. Flatten. Cook until browned on the bottom and then carefully flip with a large spatula. When cooked through move to a cookie sheet and add toppings (pesto, red pepper, red onion, olives, mushrooms, prosciutto). Broil until toppings are done to your likeness.

Dairy Free Pudding

1 large frozen banana
1/2 can coconut milk
1 rounded tablespoon cocoa powder

Mix together in food processor until smooth.

Cranberries and Butternut Squash

Fill a jelly roll pan with cubed butternut squash and fresh cranberries. Drizzle with melted coconut oil. Sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice and sea salt. Roasted at 375 for about 30 minutes or until soft and browned.

Crockpot Gigantor Meatballs

Meatball Ingredients:

1.25 lb ground beef

2/3 lb Italian sausage

1 large stalk celery, minced

1 large-sized carrot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 of a large red onion, minced

2 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup almond meal

1 tsp dried oregano
sprinkle garlic poweder
a few turns of black pepper

dash of cayenne pepper
sea salt

Sauce Ingredients:

32 oz can Organic Diced Tomatoes

6 oz can Organic Tomato Paste

1 shake dried basil

5 cloves garlic, minced

salt & pepper

Mix together meatball ingredients by hand. Divide in to eights and make 8 gigantic meatballs. Place in a single layer in the bottom of a large oval (6 qt) crockpot. 

Mix together sauce ingredients and pour over meatballs.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours.


These were fabulous! (and HUGE) Great with spaghetti squash and a salad.

Roasted butternut squash, brussels sprouts and cranberries

brussels sprouts, halved (or quartered if huge)
butternut squash, cubed
cranberries, rinsed
coconut oil, melted
sea salt & fresh cracked pepper

Loosely fill a jelly roll pan with the sprouts, squash and cranberries about 2 parts sprouts, 2 parts squash and 1 part cranberries. Drizzle with melted coconut oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast about 30 minutes or until your liking. The tart of the cranberries goes great with the sweet of the squash. Excellent with pork loin chops.

Wilted Spinach Salad with Prosciutto and Almonds

a little less than a pound of baby spinach
2 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil
balsamic
3 sliced prosciutto, diced
sliced almonds

cook proscuitto until crispy, remove from pan
add olive oil and garlic
add spinach in batches, stirring to lightly wilt and make more room for more spinach
drizzle with balsamic and sea salt/fresh ground pepper to taste
serve sprinkled with prosciutto and almonds


A big hit with kids and adults in our house.

Dairy Free Hot Olive-Artichoke Dip

2 15 oz cans whole artichoke hearts, drained
half a 15 oz can of black olives
1/3 cup red onion, diced
2 eggs
few good dashes of Worcestershire sauce
2 - 8 oz containers of non-hydrogenated Tofutti Cream cheese
1 cup mayonnaise 
cayenne pepper, kosher salt and black pepper to taste

In a food processor pulse together all ingredients. You may have to mix in the mayo by hand if your food processor isn't big enough (mine wasn't). Scoop in to two pie plates or small casserole dishes and top with a bread crumb/Earth balance crumble and paprika or just paprika. Refrigerate until ready to cook/serve. Cook in a 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until set and bubbly.