Crock Pot Sloppy Joes

These sloppy joes are unique as far as sloppy joes go. The flavor is a little different than normal sloppy joes, much much better if you ask me. They are a little more sweet and slightly tangy. They are very addicting! I could just eat the mixture one it's own by the spoonful!! Because they are a little different I found that they go great on baked potatoes, and make delicious meatier nachos! This recipe makes a lot so you can use it for leftovers, once on bread, once on baked potatoes, and then nachos!

Crock pot Sloppy Joes

Ingredients

3 pounds uncooked ground turkey or uncooked ground chicken

4 8oz cans tomato sauce

2 teaspoons dried basil leaves

2 teaspoons dried parsley leaves

6 teaspoons dried onion flakes

1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

6 teaspoon evaporated cane juice

2 cans diced tomatoes with garlic and onions

2 cups (yellow, green, red) sweet peppers chopped small

Directions

In a skillet over medium-high heat; cook ground turkey or chicken until no longer pink, stirring to break apart. In a 3 1/2 or 4 quart slow cooker add tomato sauce, basil, parsley, onion, oregano, garlic, salt, evaporated cane juice and stir. Then add diced tomatoes, and peppers. Add cooked chicken or turkey and stir well. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8-9 hours. Serve on whole wheat bread or buns with mozzarella, provolone, or Cheddar cheese.

original recipe found here.

Butternut Squash Breakfast Muffins

Since I suggested that you go out and take advantage of the great sales on winter squash, I thought it would be good for me to share with you some more recipes containing squash. :]

I love these muffins!! I didn't have to change very much from the original recipe. They are delicious, surprisingly sweet but not too sweet, and they are packed with great nutrition! They are the perfect quick breakfast to start your day off on the right foot. And the best part is my kids love these and will eat tons if I'm not watching.

Butternut Squash Breakfast Muffins

Ingredients

1 cup spelt flour

1 1/2 cups oats (I used gluten free oats)

3/4 cups organic brown sugar

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 1/4 cup roasted butternut squash, mashed

2 eggs

1/2 cup all natural applesauce

1/4 cup orange juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease muffin pans. Run 1 cup of the oats in a food processor or blender until it's ground to a coarse cornmeal consistency.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Mix well. In a small bowl, combine all the wet ingredients using a hand held blender. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Make sure all of the flour has a chance to absorb some of the moisture. Use either a 2 inch scooper or a large spoon to fill the muffin pan. Fill close to the top. These are dense muffins and don't raise as high as cupcakes do. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the spring back if slightly pushed on. If baking small muffins only bake for 15 minutes. Serve warm or let cool, place in a bag and have them for breakfast the next day. The become more moist each day. Enjoy!

Fun Food Find Friday!!

Today our Fun Food Find was given to me over Christmas, World Table Zesty Chipotle Cheese Tortilla Chips. They are so delicious! Packed with lots of flavor and a little kick, but not too much. When I looked at the package I couldn't believe that not only are they gluten free but you can find these at Wal-Mart! To be complete honest I don't do hardly any of my food shopping at Wal-Mart. I guess I need to take a little stroll down the isles to see what they have. Try these they are yummy!

Cornmeal Blueberry Scones

These scones were absolutely delicious. When I first saw the recipe here, I just had to try them. You bake them instead of frying them. Always a plus in my book. :]

The blueberries I used were huge! So when my 7 year old saw them he really didn't want to try them. Of course I made him have at least one bite. Then he ate three!! I really like the blueberries with the hint of lime, it really make these.

Cornmeal Blueberry Scones

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups spelt flour

2/3 cup yellow cornmeal

2 tablespoons evaporated cane juice

2 tablespoons organic brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon xantham gum

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup coconut oil, solid form

1/2 cup sour cream

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon finely shredded lime peel

1 cup frozen blueberries*

1 teaspoon cornstarch

3 to 4 teaspoons lime juice

1 cup organic powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 450*F. Coat a cookie sheet with non stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl combine flour, cornmeal, evaporated cane juice, organic brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in coconut oil until flour mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in center. In a separate small bowl combine sour cream, egg, and lime peel. Add all at once to flour mixture. Stir with a fork just until moistened.

Toss berries with cornstarch to coat; add to flour mixture. Stir gently 3 to 5 turns, just until berries are incorporated. Do not over mix. Using a large spoon, drop dough into mounds on baking sheets, leaving 1 inch between mounds. They don't spread very much. Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until tops are golden.

For icing, in a small bowl whisk enough lime juice into powdered sugar until drizzling consistency. Drizzle over warm scones. Serve warm and enjoy! Makes 12-15 scones.

*Leave berries in the freezer until ready to toss with cornstarch.

Wisdom Wednesday!!

Winter Squash

Did you know that winter squash can last through March?! Because they have such thick skins they can last several months in a cold dark place. These are the winter squash that I've stocked up on: spaghetti squash, acorn squash, and butternut squash. I just love them! Some other winter squash are: banana squash, buttercup squash, Cushaw squash, and really the list goes on and on. There are several different types.
The good thing is right now, in most grocery stores, they are on really good sales. I didn't get very many butternut squash in my garden so I've purchased more, and I didn't grow any acorn squash this year so I've bought a bunch of them too. There is one very important thing to remember when buying a winter squash. If you are planning on storing it in your basement or garage make sure there are no nicks or cuts into the shell of the squash. If there are, they can go rotten. Winter squash is a great way to still get fresh vegetables and those amazing vitamins through the winter months. So go and get some, then come back and look up some of my delicious recipes on how to cook them. Happy Healthier Eating!!

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Well, FINALLY here is my version of this recipe. I say finally because it has taken me a few tries to get them right. The flavor was always so delicious, but the cookie it self struggled just a bit. So here is the final recipe that did, and has worked.

I love this recipe not only because it is very tasty, especially if you like peanut butter, but it is also so easy to make and you can do extra things* to them to make them look like it took you hours to do. You can keep it a secret that it only took 5 minutes to mix up and then bake them. :] Have fun with them and enjoy this gluten free goodness of a cookie.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup organic peanut butter (make sure it is mixed up well, if separated)

1/2 cup evaporated cane juice

1/4 cup organic brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

2 eggs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350*F. In a medium sized bowl combine all ingredients, the dough will be firm. Drop balls by spoon on cookie sheet. Form balls a little with your hands and then with the back side of a fork slightly press into ball making little squares. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheet. Once cool remove from cookie sheet and enjoy! Makes just over 2 dozen cookies

*You can also melt carob and dip half of the cookie in melted carob. Place cookie on wax paper to cool after dipping.

* You can also drizzle melted carob over cookies while they are on wax paper for this affect.

Herb Roasted Vegetables

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season filled with happiness, joy, and of course good healthier food. :]

I've made these herb roasted vegetables several times. They are so yummy! The best part is that the herbs that I used seem to go with so many different vegetables. So if you don't have something from the recipe, just use what you have at home. I'll give you the recipe I used when I took this pictures. But it really is so good with a variety of squash too. :] Enjoy!

Herb Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients

2 teaspoons garlic powder, divided

2 teaspoons onion powder, divided

1 teaspoon dried basil leaves, divided

1 teaspoon dried parsley leaves, divided

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, divided

1/4 teaspoon dried dill seeds, divided

1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided

1/4 teaspoons pepper, divided

7 small/medium potatoes, quarted

1 small onion, cut into wedges

1 medium crooked neck squash, sliced

2 Roma tomatoes, quarted

1 red sweet pepper

1 orange sweet pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 425*F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a gallon sized Ziploc baggie put half of all of the herbs. Then add potatoes and onions. Close the bag and shake until all of the potatoes and onions are covered evenly with the herbs. Spread them on parchment lined cookie sheet and put in preheated oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender but still firm.

While potatoes are cooking; Add the second half of the herbs to your Ziploc baggie. Put all of the remaining vegetables into baggie, close and shake to coat evenly.

When the potatoes are soft but not complete cooked, remove from oven and stir. Add the remaining vegetables to the cookies sheet with the potatoes and return to the oven. Cook for another 10-15 minutes or until potatoes and other vegetables are cooked to desired doneness, stirring them once. Serve warm and enjoy!