Home made Almond Butter

Do beforehand - roast raw almonds in the oven at 325 for 20 minutes - allow to cool.

Use a food processor with a large bowl or adjust amounts to fit your bowl.
3 cups roasted (unsalted) almonds
2 TBS Brown sugar

Turn the food processor on Hi and scrape down sides as necessary.
The almond butter will take 10 minutes or so depending on the food processor. I like to let it go until it seems liquidy, meaning it moves a little after the blade stops spinning. It will be quite warm and with thicken more as it cools. I store mine in the refrigerator to help guard against separation but we've never had it around long enough to separate.

Unstuffed Tomatoes

This is one of the first meatless recipes I made and my family loves it! 

It takes about 30 minutes and has minimal mess. Great with fresh in season tomatoes!

Here's what you'll need: (all veggies are washed and chopped)

HOT LAYER:

1 TBS Olive oil (basil infused if you have it)

1/2 chopped sweet onion

1 clove garlic minced

3 or 4 celery stalks 

2 or 3 carrots peeled 

1 med. sized zucchini (I like to leave the peel on for color)

1 med. sized yellow squash

6-8 mushrooms 

1 med red bell pepper 

sugar snap peas 

2 tsp season salt

1 cup uncooked orzo pasta (can use rice or couscous but the pasta is the best)

 - feel free to substitute as needed

FRESH LAYER

4-6 fresh tomatoes

1 TBS garlic salt

Fresh basil leaves

TOPPING

2 slices of dry or toasted bread  (Dave's killer bread with seeds or any will do)

1 TBS nutritional yeast

2 tsp jacks garlic seasoning

2 tsp coconut oil (basil infused olive oil is also really yummy)

1/2 cup shelled pistachios

COOK PASTA: In a Med sauce pan add some salt to water and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to directions. Drain but do not rinse.

PREPARE HOT LAYER:Chop veggies. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over hi to med hi heat.  When it's hot add chopped veggies and season salt. Don't be afraid to get a char on the veggies. Stir until tender.                           

While veggies and pasta are cooking add the TOPPING ingredients to a food processor until the bread is mostly chopped. Add the pistachios and chop until the bread is in fine crumbs but there are bigger chunks of pistachios remaining. 

When the veggies and pasta are done, combine them in the fry pan and set aside with a lid to keep warm.

Wash and slice the tomatoes, (*edited* it's best to cut them in bite sized pieces)and place into a colander with the salt. Allow the excess moisture to drain from the tomatoes for 10 minutes or so before adding the basil and transferring to a serving dish. Chop the basil while the tomatoes are draining.

 

 Put the vegetable/pasta mixture on the tomatoes and top with the bread crumbs. (My crumbs got more brown than golden.) Serve!

* I have recently been putting the hot mixture on the bottom, then added the tomatoes and then the breadcrumb topping on top.

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Breakfast? Steel Cut Oats

Steel Cut Oats. Breakfast of Champions.

  

People say they take too long to cook... 10 minutes is too long?(with most of that time available for you to do something else) Not a quick as nuking a pop tart but still....

If you cook them for a long time you get a bowl of mush - if that's what you're going for then regular quick oats would work just fine. 

But if you prefer texture - chewy bits of oats with your fresh berries and bananas then steel cut oats is the way to go. 


 SERVES 2 (one mama bear sized 1/3 and one papa bear sized 2/3)

Before you go to bed add:
1/2 cup steel cut oats
1 1/2 cups water
to a medium sauce pan with a heavy bottom and good fitting lid.

Allow to soak overnight (if you forget to soak it, plan to let it sit 10 minutes longer in the morning after bringing to a boil)

In the morning Bring the oats and water to a full rolling boil then turn off the heat. (I like to add a handful of Goji berries at this point but that's totally optional.) When the water/oats settle down, put the lid on it but leave it on the burner.

Full Rolling boil

Chop and or rinse any fruit you'd like and add it to your serving bowls. I usually add a whole banana (split between both bowls), blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. You can also add apples, peaches or any fruit in season.

Now unload your dishwasher while you're waiting for it to cook - or get dressed, feed your dog or whatever. The oats can actually sit for a while and not burn or get mushy. You may have to reheat them for a minute when you're ready to eat but they will be the perfect consistency!

READY TO EAT?
I like to add to the oats:

Ready to sit wth a lid on it

1 tsp cinnamon
1 TBS Chia seeds
1 TBS Hemp Seeds
2 TBS Brown Sugar (Honey or whatever sweetener you have is fine, or try it without)
2 TBS Almond butter *recipe below

Stir into the oats adding a few tablespoons of water if needed and turn the heat back up until they are hot again (it only takes a minute or two if you turn it on hi and stir)

Put it on your fruit with a TBS of chopped almonds.

* HOMEMADE ALMOND BUTTER:



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Vegetable Barley Soup

This soup is hearty and so yummy. You can eat it cold or hot. It's a great replacement for a salad. You can put any veggies you want in it but I really like this combination. This recipe involves a lot of chopping but if you use the slicer attachment on your food processor it goes really fast. Also, I cook the barley separately and rinse it in cool water before adding it to the soup. I have found that it prevents the barley from swelling and taking over. It has become a staple around our house. It makes about 6 quarts of soup, make sure your pot is big enough. Mark and I go through this in a week, easily.

BARLEY
In a med sauce pan, bring water to a boil to cook 1 cup pearled barley. I let the barley soak in a mesh strainer in a bowl while water comes to a boil. When the water boils, lift the barley out of the soaking water and rinse it for a minute before adding it to the boiling water. Let barley cook while making the soup. Check the package for the amount of water to cook it in and time. When it's done, rinse it in cold water. It should be chewy but not crunchy.

SOUP
In a large pot over med high heat bring to a boil:
1 qt. vegetable or tomato juice
2 cups broth of your choice
2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 tsp oregano
1 TBS dried basil
2 bay leaves
2 TBS Worcestershire

While the tomato base is heating, chop and add the following in this order:
(do wait for it to boil, stir the vegetables in as you go)
1/2 onion chopped
4 stalks celery chopped
1 cup chopped carrots
2 red bell peppers, seeds and stem removed and chopped
1/4 head of cauliflower cut into flowerets
about the same amount of Broccoli cut into flowerets
1/4 of a med or 1/2 of a small head of green (or red cabbage) thinly sliced/shredded
1 zucchini (I leave the peel on) sliced in half the long way and chopped.

Allow soup to come to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer for 10 minutes until vegetables are crisp tender. Taste broth and add salt and/or Worcestershire (if you want more heat).

Add a proportionate amount of barley to the soup you are going to eat right away. Allow the remainder of the soup to cool before adding the rest of the barely. Refrigerate.

Meatless Chili

Active prep time 20 minutes. Total time 60 min.
Makes 8 servings. Using a food processor to chop veggies makes it go really fast.

Heat in a large pot over med high heat:
1 TBS Olive oil

Add:
1/2 med sweet onion (red or yellow) chopped
2 tsp Cumin
2 TBS Chili powder
2 TBS Dried Oregano (Mexican if you have it)
1 TBS Salt
2 Stalks Celery Chopped
2 Red Bell Peppers diced (Can use green)
2 Jalapeno peppers chopped (wear food handler gloves while cutting)
3 cloves garlic chopped
Cook with lid on, stirring occasionally until onion is transparent, about 5 minutes

Add:
2 4oz cans chopped green chili peppers (choose heat depending on how spicy you like your chili)
3 28 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz) Can kidney beans drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) Black beans drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) Garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
Heat to a boil and turn heat to simmer for at least 30 minutes.
Taste to check heat. If you want it hotter add tabasco or ground pepper.
5 minutes before serving add:
1 (15 oz) Whole kernel corn

Serve in a bowl or over a baked potato.