Cosmic Rhino

This is a family favorite and I’m posting it at my mom’s request:

Ingredients:

• 1 organic whole chicken thawed
• 1 lemon
• Olive oil
• Salt, pepper and garlic powder (feel free to add any additional dry herbs if you have them handy)
• Optional: any fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, fresh garlic

Instructions:

I’ve been working on a quick version of this Cosmic Rhino recipe and finally figured out the right formula. This version has no cream and uses Trader Joe’s frozen vegetables so no chopping required. I’ve been making this on Sunday so that we have breakfasts or lunches for the next couple of days already made.

Ingredients:

• 2 bags of TJs frozen spinach - I used the 10oz pesticide-free bag
• 1 bag of TJs frozed roasted bell peppers (red,  yellow, green) and onions.
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

My mom was in the mood for a healthy but hearty stew and found this on WebMd. She said it was lovely with a nice flavorful broth and thickened up nicely.

Ingredients:

• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 1/2  onion (or more, to taste)
• 1 lb of lean beef, cut into 1″ pieces (grass fed, if you can find it)
• 1 cup of red wine (optional)
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 large carrots cut into 1 inch pieces
• 3 stalks of celery cut into one inch pieces

Here’s a great recipe from Girl Gone Primal. It was so good, my mom and sisters and I made it twice in one week.

Ingredients

• 1 large head of cauliflower
• 2 cups cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, or a combo of both)
• 2 eggs
• Optional herbs (thyme, fennel, oregano, basil & parsley all work wonderfully)

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line pan or pizza stone with parchment paper.
3. Rice the cauliflower by putting florets into a food processor and buzzing until finely processed (but not mushy). Place cauliflower into a microwave-safe bowl and zap for 6-8 minutes. You should end up with about two cups of riced cauliflower.

Ok, all you grain-free people out there, this is a great pizza alternative. This makes a medium/large pizza, depending on how thin you roll out the dough. We liked it thinner, as the almond flour is a bit heavy.

We got the recipe from one of my new favorite websites, Mark’s Daily Apple. It’s chock full of interesting stuff.

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Almond Meal/Flour
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Tsp salt

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

I’ve been meaning to put this one up for a while. My sisters and I made a double batch of this a couple months ago and enjoyed the leftovers all week.

Ingredients

• 3 small dried chipotle peppers
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 lbs extra lean ground turkey breast (this is a lot of meat; can use less)
• 1 cup sweet onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 1/2 lb fresh tomatillos, husk discarded and skin rinsed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp cumin, ground
• 1 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

My sisters and I made this for breakfast this morning and honestly, I can’t think of a better way to get anyone to eat a boatload of spinach. It’s like a quiche except that it has no crust and has more spinach than a typical quiche.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for dish
• 6 shallots, thinly sliced
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 8 large eggs
• 1 cup half and half
• 4 10 oz packages frozen spinach, thawed and drained
• 2 cups (8 oz) grated gruyere (or jarlsberg)

It always seems like such a challenge to find dinners that are fast, healthy and delicious. It seems like you can always get two of the three (simple and quick but not healthy or healthy and quick but not tasty, et). But here’s one we stumbled on. My sweet husband came up with this recipe one night when I was away.  When he went to make it for me last week, I was dubious but now I love it.

Ingredients:

• 3 fresh or frozen chicken breasts
• 1 cup broth (water ok too but add a little salt)

The past two week’s I’ve received celery root in my Beachgreen’s produce delivery and I must admit, it didn’t make me excited. But my lack of enthusiasm is due to my lack of experience with this tasty little vegetable.  What made me change my mind? This recipe which came from Aliye, owner and chef extraordinaire, at Beachgreens. I tried it yesterday and it is so darn good (Warning: if you are a celery-hater, this isn’t one for you). It’s fast and easy and perfect for a rainy day like today.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 stick butter (I used 2 TB plus 1 TB olive oil)

I just started making my own pizza dough not too long ago, and although it creates a floury mess in my kitchen, it’s easy, fun, and really tasty. I have tried the Trader Joe’s dough and it’s fairly good, but nothing compares to making it from scratch.

I started with a basic recipe in the Joy of Cooking cookbook and loved it. But it was made with all white flour, so I set off to see if I could modify it so it would be healthier but without compromising the flavor or consistency (I have a very picky pizza lover at home). After a couple of tries, I am happy to pass on this version. My friends T & J enjoyed this version so a shout out to them for being my test kitchen once again.