French Dip Roast (Beef and Broccoli over Rice Variation)

1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp rosemary
pepper
chuck roast
edamame
broccoli

Put first four ingredients into slow cooker. Stir. Add roast, fill with water to cover roast. Cook on low for 24 hours.

Shred beef. Poor sauce in skillet and add a little flour to thicken. Add broccoli and edamame. Serve over rice.

This was so good. Everyone loved it (even me!). We put some of the sauce in the freezer and the rest of the roast in the fridge so we'll be having this again soon!

Pancakes!

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 1/4 cups coconut milk

1 egg (1 Tbs flaxseed meal, 3 Tbs water)

3 tablespoons margarine, melted

This was yummy! The kids ate them, no complaints, and my husband said, "If I HAVE to give up milk, then this is an OK alternative."

White Wine Mushroom Sauce over Chicken and Rice

Margarine
Sweet Onion
Cayenne Pepper
Olive Oil
White Cooking Wine
Mushrooms
Onions
Chicken Stock

This was the same white wine sauce that I'd made before and loved, but this time had with chicken, pasta, and corn. It was... OK. I'm just not a fan of chicken, I think.

Quinoa Veggie Salad

Salad:
Olive Oil
Garlic
1 cup Quinoa
2 cups water
1 tsp seasoning
Edamame
Corn
Cucumber
Tomato

Dressing:
Lemon Juice
Olive Oil
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp salt

Toast the Quinoa and Garlic in Olive Oil (about 5 mins). Add water and seasoning, cover, and let simmer for about 7 minutes. Add frozen Edamame. Simmer covered for another 5 minutes then add drained canned corn. Take off heat and allow to cool. In a separate bowl, combine dressing ingredients and stir. Stir in with Quinoa, and add cucumber and tomato.

Rick loved this. Me, not so much. I think I just don't like the cumin flavor and it seems to be a pretty strong seasoning. Good thing we had a yummy salad smothered in Ranch (not dairy-free) and sweet potato casserole. Yum!

White Wine Mushroom Sauce over Pork

Margarine
Sweet Onion
Cayenne Pepper
Olive Oil
White Cooking Wine
Mushrooms
Onions
Chicken Stock

1 tsp Flour
1 tsp Margarine (Smart Balance Light)

Canned Pork or other meat

Saute mushrooms, onions, and cayenne pepper in olive oil and margarine until translucent. Add white wine. Boil out the alcohol. Add chicken stock and let simmer. Mix together flour and margarine separately and add to thicken sauce just slightly. Stir in meat and serve over grain of your choice.

Sorry for the lack of amounts. I found this recipe online and didn't follow the amounts at all, just threw things in here and there. It turned out amazing. AMAZING. We served it over oatmeal bread toast (not dairy-free), but I think it would be just as amazing over rice or noodles or anything else. We will definitely be making this again soon. We served it with garlic bread (also not dairy-free) and edamame. Yum!

Molasses Cookies

2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp ginger
3/4 cup margarine (Smart Balance Light)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses

To replace egg:
1 tbsp flax seed

3 tbsp hot water

Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and ginger; set aside. 

In a medium bowl, beat margarine and sugar until fluffy.  Beat in molasses and egg (replacement).  Fold in flour mixture. 

Roll into 1 1/2" balls. 

Bake at 350 for 9-12 minutes. 

I rolled these into little dime sized balls so they were small enough for Elijah to enjoy and not make a huge mess. I also rolled them in powdered sugar (the more calories the better!). They are so yummy! I only cooked them for 4 minutes because they were so small and they were the perfect amount of soft and chewy. 

Orange Cranberry Chicken

1 cup fresh cranberries
3/4 cup onion, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
3 lbs chicken
1 cup orange juice
3 tbsp margarine, melted
3 tbsp flour
2-3 tbsp brown sugar 

  

In a deep pan, combine cranberries, onion, salt, cinnamon, and ginger, orange juice. Cover and cook until cranberries are soft and mixture turns pinkish.

Combine margarine and flour until smooth; add to pan.  Cook on high until thickened. Stir in chicken and brown sugar; heat through. 

Serve over rice.

We added way more sugar than the recipe called for. This one was much better than the previous orange chicken recipe I posted, but still was not great. I served it over brown rice, which I really need to find an easier way to cook, and with corn. Rick and Reise loved it though, so it's up to them to eat the left-overs.

Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes

1 lb ground meat
1 onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 can (10 oz.) condensed tomato soup
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp yellow mustard
dash pepper

1/2 cup water

 

In a large saucepan, cook and crumble the meat, onion, celery.  Pour into slow cooker.

Stir in the soup, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and pepper.  

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. 

Holy Yum! My mom stopped by right before dinner and couldn't keep her hands out of this. Elijah couldn't get enough. I think my husband had five sandwiches. I had three. We will definitely be doing this more often. Also, when you're cooking it in the pan, the onion and celery seem like overkill, but it cooks up quite nicely. Also, I used a seedy mustard rather than yellow since we never have yellow mustard in the house. I'm not sure how big of a difference that made.

Shrimp Scampi with Asparagus Lemon Quinoa

Shrimp Scampi with Asparagus Lemon Quinoa

1/4 cup olive oil, divided
3 tbsp. margarine, divided
1 onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups quinoa
salt and pepper
1/2 lb. asparagus
zest from 1 lemon
juice from 1 lemon

2 lbs. shrimp, peeled
4 cloves garlic, minced 

1/2 cup white wine
cayenne pepper
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped 

In a large pan, heat 2 tbsp. of oil with 1 tbsp. margarine.  Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the quinoa and cook, stirring constantly, until it smells toasty, about 4 minutes.  Add 2 3/4 cups water and 1 tsp. salt, increase heat to high, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is just tender, about 12 minutes.  Remove from heat, add asparagus to pan, replace the cover, and set aside for 12 more minutes to allow asparagus to cook.  Add the lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper to taste, and stir together. 

Transfer the quinoa to a serving platter and place in a 200 degree oven to keep warm.  In the same skillet, add 2 tbsp. of oil.  Saute the shrimp about a minute per side or until fully cooked.  Pour shrimp over the quinoa. 

In the same skillet, add the remaining 2 tbsp. of margarine to the pan.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute.  Add the wine and a pinch of cayenne pepper.  Stir to blend.  Pour sauce over shrimp and quinoa dish, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with parsley. 

This dish was AMAZING. So good. The only downside I see is that it felt very light in my stomach so I was hungry again soon after; however, I am pregnant so that could be part of the problem. It also took about 30 minutes to prepare, but was well worth it for the taste.

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

Orange Chicken over Rice with Green Beans

1 1/2 lbs. chicken breasts, cut into 2" pieces
1/2 cup flour
2 tbsp. olive oil
6 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
6 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. ketchup 

Dredge chicken pieces with flour and shake off the excess.  

Heat olive oil in a large skillet and brown chicken on all sides.  Place chicken in slow cooker.  

In a small mixing bowl, combine orange juice, brown sugar, vinegar, salt, and ketchup.  Pour sauce over chicken and toss gently to coat.  

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.  Serve over rice.

Although I think I get points for looks, I screwed up the recipe and put too much orange concentrate in it. Not only did it burn in the crock pot a bit, but it tasted terrible. It went straight down the garbage disposal. I'll have to try this again another night.

Greek Chicken on Pita

Greek Chicken on Pita

Chicken:

2 tsp dried dill weed
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste 

Canned Chicken

Mix ingredients in a bowl and coat chicken. Marinade for at least a couple hours.
 

Toppings:
1 small cucumber, diced
1 tsp dried dill weed
2 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper
1 tomato, chopped 

Mix juice and spices and toss with cucumbers and tomatoes. 

Pan fry chicken until warm and place on pita. Top with cucumber mixture.

To be honest, this meal was tasty, but dry. I think that next time I attempt this it will be over rice or noodles of some sort.