5 Minute Magic Green Sauce

from pinchofyum.com

1 avocado
1 cup packed parsley and cilantro leaves (combined)
1 jalapeño, ribs and seeds removed
2 cloves garlic
juice of one lime (or two - get lots of limey goodness in there!) 
1⁄2 cup water
1⁄2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 cup pistachios 

1. Pulse all ingredients - except pistachios - in a food processor until incorporated.
   
2. Add pistachios and pulse until mostly smooth (depends on what consistency you want).
   

Serve as a dip, spread, or sauce -- or add additional water or oil to thin the sauce for use as a dressing or a marinade.

I only used 1/2 a jalapeño because I don't like my food too spicy. This was not spicy. It was perfect! I also used the juice of two limes.

As you can see I spread this sauce over my chicken but it didn't take long before I brought the sauce to the table so I could drown my meat in the sauce. It was just that good! The author of the pinchofyum website says this is one of her favorite recipes. I can see why! Oh, and if you have to shell the pistachios, you should really plan on 10 minutes prep time!

Check out pinchofyum.com. The photography is outstanding. 

My rating: 5 stars

Whole Grain Oatmeal Pancakes

from ourbestbites.com, with minor changes 

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted, or vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk or plain kefir

Preheat a griddle to medium heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flours, salt, sugar, and cinnamon. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla, melted coconut oil or vegetable oil, and buttermilk. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. 

Drop by 1/4 cup onto the hot griddle. When the edges are firm and the bubbles start popping and forming holes, flip the pancakes and cook until golden brown on the other side. Serve immediately with your favorite pancake toppings. 

Follow the instructions to set your griddle at medium heat. I had mine too high which resulted in pancakes that were burned on the outside but not quite done on the inside. These are dense pancakes and cook best for a longer time over a lower heat than you might use for other pancakes.

Delicious!

Husband rating:  4 stars

Boys say: more please! Two thumbs up!

Curried Pork and Sweet Potatoes

adapted from Betty Crocker's Good and Easy Cookbook

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tbsp curry powder

1/2 tsp salt

1.5 lbs pork boneless loin, cut into thin strips

2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into thin strips (about 2 cups)

1.5 c apple juice

1 large green bell pepper, cut into thin strips (about 1 cup)

2 tbsp apple jelly

Mix flour, curry powder and salt in medium bowl. Add pork; toss to coat.

Spray 12-inch nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Cook pork in skillet 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown. Remove pork from skillet to a plate and cover with foil.

Stir sweet potatoes and apple juice in skillet; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in bell pepper. Cover and simmer 3 to 5 minutes or until bell pepper is crisp-tender. Stir in pork and jelly  and heat until jelly is melted. 

We had this with an apple walnut salad and naan. The kids think garlic naan is the best!

We moved recently. All my cookbooks were in boxes for months. When I was able to go through the boxes I saw them with fresh eyes. Instead of books that sat in a cupboard they were books in my hands that I had to decide what I should do about them. I didn't want books that just sat in cupboards.  So I went through this Betty Crocker's Cookbook and marked all the recipes I wanted to try. This recipe caught my eye because I love sweet potatoes. 

This is a good tip for any books you have-if they don't bring you joy to have them, you never use them, they are just there collecting dust-get them out and use them or give them away so someone else can use them. Go on-you can do it!

Husband rating:  4 stars

Boys say: thumbs up

Pork Shoulder Roast

recipe by Stephanie Baldock

2-3 lb pork shoulder roast

1/2 c cinnamon applesauce

1 sweet onion, sliced

2 generous splashes of teriyaki sauce

Apply nonstick cooking spray inside a slow cooker, or use a liner. Place pork shoulder in slow cooker and top with cinnamon applesauce, onion slices and teriyaki sauce. Cook 1 hour on high heat, then reduce heat to low and continue cooking another 4-5 hours or until pork is tender and fully cooked.

I served this with this potato recipe from ourbestbites.com:

Ingredients:
1 potato per person (any kind of potatoes work; for the sake of sentimentality, I’m partial to Russetts, although red and Yukon Gold potatoes are so smooth and delicious)
1/2 small onion per person (the one pictured is a little large because I used some onions in the corn)
1 Tbsp. butter per person, cut into pieces
1/4 tsp. salt per person
Freshly-ground black pepper
Smoked paprika
Aluminum foil

Tear sheets (1 per person) of aluminum foil into about 16″ pieces. Fold each in half into a sqaure-ish and set aside.

Preheat grill. Slice potatoes into pieces about 1/8-1/4″ thick. Slice onions about 1/8″ thick. Place 1 potato in the middle of each foil square and dot with butter pieces.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then sprinkle generously with smoked paprika. Remember, paprika is super mild, so it’s hard to add too much. Top each pile with onions.

Fold edges in and secure tightly. It’s important to get a good seal because the moisture will cook the potatoes and onions and you want all those yummy juices, so if it seems like there’s not quite enough foil, wrap packet in another layer.

Turn heat on grill to low. Place each packet on the grill. Close lid for 15 minutes. Turn and allow to cook for another 15 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully open each packet (or, even better, let each person open their own packet–hey, less work for you, right??)

These can also be cooked in the oven at 400 for about 15-20 minutes (just check on them to see how they’re doing) or in a panini press for about the same amount of time.

I think we had a green salad with the pork and potatoes. 

Husband and guest rating: 4 stars
Boys say: thumbs up

Layered Banana Pudding

adapted from recipe by Peggy Decker

2 boxes instant banana cream pudding (3.4 oz each)

milk, as indicated in pudding box recipe

1 box of vanilla wafers

4 large bananas, sliced

1 container whipped topping (8 oz)

Prepare the pudding as directed on the box, using the amount of milk indicated.

Cover the bottom of your dish with whole vanilla wafers. Cover the wafers sliced bananas, then cover the banana layer with half of the prepared pudding. Repeat layers with wafers, bananas and pudding.

Spread whipped topping over the top and chill dessert at least 2 hours or until ready to serve. Right before serving cover the top of the dessert with chopped wafer crumbs (I put mine in a food processor for a few seconds).

Two thumbs up!

Club Sandwich

In the very rare occasion that we actually have any left over bacon I like to make club sandwiches. First, I make a mixture of mayo and dijon mustard.  I use about 1/2 c mayo/1 tbsp dijon mustard. I toast the bread. Then I spread some of the mayo mixture on the bread. Next I add turkey slices(with a sprinkle of salt and pepper), bacon, tomato slices, avocado slices, a slice of cheese and some lettuce. Yum!

Husband rating:  4 stars

Boys say:  thumbs up

Salmon with Ginger-Soy Butter

from Cook This, Not That! by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1/2 tbsp minced chives

1/2 tbsp grated fresh ginger

juice of 1 lemon

1/2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

4 salmon fillets (4-6 oz each)

salt and black pepper to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

Mix the butter, chives, ginger, lemon juice and soy sauce. Set aside.

Preheat a grill or grill pan. Season the salmon with salt and pepper and rub with the oil. Wipe the grill grates clean and rub with a paper towel dipped in oil. Add the salmon skin side down and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the skin is lightly charred and crisp.

Flip the fish and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes on the flesh side, until the flesh flakes with gentle pressure from your finger but is still slightly translucent in the middle. (We believe salmon is best served medium, but if you want yours completely cooked, leave it on for another 2 to 3 minutes.)

Serve the salmon with a generous spoonful of the flavored butter, which should begin to melt on contact.

I had a hornets nest/hive in my grill that I didn't want to deal with so I ended up broiling our salmon.  My husband wasn't home to rate this but our boys loved it. I served this with rice and green beans.  I sautéed the green beans in a tsp or so of olive oil with salt and pepper, a little bit of onion, a slice or two of bacon broken into small pieces and a little minced garlic.

Two thumbs up!

Sweet and Sour Chicken Dinner

2 chicken breasts, chopped into small pieces

1-2 tsp olive oil

2 zucchinis, chopped

1 small onion, cut into thin slices

1 can pineapple chunks

1 jar of your favorite sweet and sour sauce

cooked rice

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion slices and cook for a few minutes. Add chicken and cook  for a few minutes. Then toss in the zucchini. Once the zucchini pieces are soft add the sweet and sour sauce and pineapple chunks. Let everything get warm and then serve over rice.

This is something I threw together one night.  The first time, pictured here, I didn't make it with pineapple. I thought it would be better with the pineapple so the next time I made this we included it. Tasty!

Husband rating:  3.5 stars

Boys say: thumbs up

Baked Garlic Chicken

lightly adapted from sixsistersstuff.com

6 chicken breasts

1/3 c California Olive Ranch olive oil (or regular olive oil)

1 tbsp garlic, crushed

1/2 c dry bread crumbs

1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil and lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.  In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil and garlic. In another bowl combine the bread crumbs, grated Parmesan cheese and the Italian seasoning.

Dip each chicken breast first in the olive oil and then in the bread crumb mixture. Place breaded chicken in the pan. Cook for 35-40 minutes, or until done.

Cowboy Quesadillas

from ourbestbites.com

1/2 C white rice
1/3 C black beans
1 cup diced cooked chicken
1/3 C fresh frozen corn kernels (no need to thaw)
2/3 C diced tomato
3 Tbs sliced green onion
1 1/2 C shredded cheese (any type or combo you like)
1/4 C bbq sauce
6 small tortillas (fajita size, about 6″)

Combine rice, beans, chicken, corn, tomato, green onion and shredded cheese. Add bbq sauce and stir to combine. Place about 1/3 C of mixture on half of each tortilla and fold over to close.

Heat a skillet to medium heat on the stove top. When hot, spray lightly with cooking spray, or drizzle with canola or olive oil. Place quesadillas in pan and cook for 2-4 minutes or until golden brown and slightly crisp. Flip and repeat on opposite side. Cool for a few minutes and then serve with BBQ-Ranch dipping sauce.

I have a small panini griddle. I put the mixture on half the tortilla, fold it over, then put it in the panini maker until the tortilla is browned. Super easy!

For the BBQ-Ranch dipping sauce you mix equal parts of your favorite bbq sauce and ranch dressing. That was fine. We also like dipping these in ranch or bbq sauce, depending on which family member you're talking to! This is a healthy, tasty meal our entire family enjoys!

Husband rating: 4 stars
Boys say: thumbs up

Apple Butter Ham Glaze

from allrecipes.com, submitted by CRAFTYLILDEVIL

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup apple butter 1/2 cup orange juice

1 tablespoon dried onion flakes 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Whisk together the apple butter, orange juice, dried onion flakes, and Worcestershire sauce in a small saucepan. Simmer until slightly thickened.

If you have a favorite apple butter recipe you can make your own and use it here. I bought a jar of it from the store. This was a very easy glaze. I put the ham slices in a pan, poured the glaze on and baked it in the oven, at 350 degrees, until it was all warm (about 25 minutes). You could also put this over the ham in a slow cooker.  We had this with our favorite sweet potato dish and some green beans.

Husband rating:  4 stars

Boys say: thumbs up