Squash Quinoa Stew

Here is another recipe that you can use your winter squash for. I really liked this stew, I say stew because it was very thick like a stew is supposed to be. It didn't have a lot of broth like a soup has. I love the quinoa in it, so it is very filling. It has a very nice, almost sweet flavor to it. I used some left over butternut squash that I had already cooked. So I pureed it into the broth, which is why it is more like a stew than a soup. If you want to, you can follow the original recipe and use chunks of butternut squash. Add it at the same point you would the other squash, just not pureed with broth before hand. Then add more cooking time before you add the rest of the veggies. I personally liked it better more thick and it cooked much more quickly this way. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Squash Quinoa Stew

Ingredients

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

3 1/2 cups water

3 1/2 teaspoons 'better than bullion'

2/3 cup apricot nectar

1 lb. cooked and smashed butternut squash

3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 small yellow squash, halved lengthwise and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 teaspoon salt, then to taste

Directions

In a small bowl mix water and better than bullion until dissolved to make a broth. Then pour into blender or food processor and add butternut squash. Puree until smooth.

In saucepan cook chicken and onion over medium heat until chicken is cooked completely, stirring occasionally. Add broth with squash, apricot nectar, quinoa, and cumin. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 5 minutes. Add zucchini and yellow squash. Cover and cook 10 minutes more or until squash and quinoa are tender. Add salt and black pepper to taste. As it cools the quinoa will soak up most of the liquid. Can top with Parmesan cheese, my kids did and loved it. Serve warm and enjoy!

Wisdom Wednesday!!

Okay I'm going to talk about it. I didn't think that I would, but I found this article, and I wanted to talk a little bit about it and.... Losing Weight.
It's January, the month where people make their New Years resolutions. Most people make a resolution to loose weight. I'll admit I have, in years past, and by that I mean the last time I made a goal to loose weight was about 5 years ago. Since then it's been more about being healthy and making healthy decisions. If you do that then the weight will come off. This year I've heard a lot of different people talk about eating the same things that you are already eating, just eat 1/3 less then you usually do. It's a good idea, but if you are eating fast food all of the time and then only eat 3/4 of the bacon cheese burger, then it's really not going to help you loose weight. Your body is still getting a large amount of fat and not the vitamins and minerals it needs. I truly believe that you first have to be eating the right foods, then start looking at how much you are eating. I think that is enough on that topic.
So now back to the article. It is entitled, "What does a 1,500 Calorie Day look like?" It has a picture of three meals and some snacks that all add up to 1,500 calories. The foods are not empty calories, they are healthy foods rich with vitamins and minerals. The thing that I found the most interesting about this article, something I didn't know, was actually setting your goals based on a specific calorie count. For example did you know that if you want to maintain your current weight, you multiply your current weight by 12 and that is the calorie intake you should be eating every day? I didn't know that. I did the math for my own weight just to see what it would be, and to be honest, most days I don't know if I get that many calories. I'm going to start counting them. But I also don't work out as much as I should. At the end of the article it talks a little bit about adjusting calories if you are very active or not. If you are active and exercise, which is very healthy and good for your body, then you need to bump up the calories a little at a time until you are satisfied, not starving. I do like this article because it gives some good suggestions on breakfast, lunch, dinner, and some snacks. Of course you can also take some of the things away such as cheese and add more fruits or vegetables to help fill you up and take away some of the calories, if you're not feeling like you're getting enough food.
So there you go. That is my little 10 cents on dieting. Go check out the article for more helpful information and remember Happier Healthier Eating!!

Yeast Free Spelt Bread

I don't like to eat a lot of things with yeast in them. In fact before I made this bread, I can't remember the last time I even had a sandwich or a piece of toast. So you can imagine my excitement to find a bread recipe that didn't call for any yeast! Besides all of that the best part about this bread is that it gets better tasting everyday. It has a nutty flavor from the spelt and it is a little more dense than your normal whole wheat bread. It is packet with nutrition not only from the spelt, but tons of iron from the molasses, and lots of protein from the quinoa. I've used this bread in recipes to come and loved it! I've used it eating sloppy joes, and loved it! If you are gluten intolerant and trying to stay away from yeast or not, this is the bread for you!

Yeast Free Spelt Bread

Ingredients

4 cups spelt flour

1/4 cup quinoa seeds

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/2 tablespoon blackstrap molasses

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups rice milk

2 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon gluten free dough enhancer (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease one 9x5 inch loaf pan. (This recipe can be double very easily. I only make this much because I don't go through it that fast. I store it in my fridge)

In a large bowl, mix together the spelt flour, quinoa seeds, salt, baking soda, xanthan gum, and dough enhancer. Then add molasses, milk, honey and mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until golden, let cool and enjoy! Remember it gets better each day. :]

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

All I have to say is where was this recipe when I was experimenting with all of the other butternut squash soups that were horrible?! This one takes the cake by far! I like it better than the last butternut squash soup I posted. My children loved it and even asked for seconds. My daughter ate it for lunch for three days in a row after we had it for dinner. Then when it was gone my youngest cried because he wanted the "smooth" soup. I laughed at that. :]

This soup is very creamy, has a very nice texture, and the flavor is a nice comforting flavor just like soup should be.

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pound butternut squash, either precooked about 2 1/2 cups; or peeled, seeded and cubed
5 cups water with 5 teaspoons 'better than bullion' or 5 cups chicken stock

4 small red potatoes, cubed

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 cup almond milk

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped chives

1 teaspoon salt, then to taste

pepper to taste

Directions

In a large pot on your stove top on medium heat, melt the butter add the onions and cook for 5 minutes, until onions have softened. Add potatoes, squash, chicken stock and paprika. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover the pan and simmer gently for 25 to 35 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft. Using either a drink blender or an immersions tick blender, process until smooth. Return soup to the pan and stir in the almond milk and salt. Season with pepper and more salt if you need. Reheat gently. Stir in chopped chives or add separately to each bowl, and enjoy!

Fun Food Find Friday!!

Back in December when I found the Organic Candy Canes, I also ordered these. Organic Mint Swirls Candy. As you can see they are a little off white in color because they are made with evaporated cane juice. The red ones taste just like candy canes and the green ones, spearmint, are so delicious! My kids were so excited to get something a little different from Santa. It was great fun.

To order them go here. Or just go to www.naturalcandystore.com.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

Growing up my mother used to make homemade rolls and cinnamon rolls every Sunday. I know we were spoiled! We also had hot breakfast every morning. We only got to eat cereal on the weekends!! I thought my friends were lucky being able to eat cereal so much. Now that I am older I truly see how I really was the lucky one.

So any who, last Sunday I decided that I should make some Cinnamon rolls for my kids. They were so excited! Cinnamon Rolls are really easy to make. So if you haven't ever tried to make them, now is the time to start.

*I use the same dough as I do when making whole wheat bread. I'll give you that recipe here again.

Ingredients

2 cups warm water

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon yeast

5 to 6 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon vital wheat gluten

1 teaspoon dough enhancer

Directions

Put yeast in a small glass bowl. Pour 1 cup of the warm water over yeast. Pour remaining cup of water in mixer. Add honey to water and stir until dissolved. Then add oil and salt. When the yeast has doubled in size and when you can slightly tip the bowl and nothing sticks to the bottom, add to the mixer. Start mixer on low speed and add one cup of flour. When mixed in well add another cup of flour along with the gluten and dough enhancer. Then add one more cup of flour. After it is mixed in well, change mixing blade to kneading blade. Continue adding flour a little at a time until the dough no longer sticks to the sides. Kneed for 10 minutes.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

Take 1/4 to 1/3 of the dough from the recipe above.

2-3 tablespoon of melted butter

1/4- 1/2 cup organic brown sugar

Ground cinnamon

Directions

On a floured surface, roll dough out to 1/4 inch thick rectangle. Pick up dough and place back on counter making sure it relaxes and will not stick to counter. Spread melted butter all over rolled out dough. Sprinkle organic brown sugar to cover entire surface of dough. Then sprinkle with cinnamon, making sure to cover. Then roll dough up like a jelly roll and cut into 1 inch slices, using a serrated knife to make clean cuts. Place on a greased cookie sheet or pie pan. Let raise until doubled in size. Bake in a 400* F preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

**If you don't want to use all of the dough for cinnamon rolls. Simply shape into ball for rolls, let raise to double in size, then bake in a 400* F preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Or, put in greased bread pans, let raise to double in size, then bake in a 400*F preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Wisdom Wednesday!!

Melting Carob Chips

During the Christmas break I did a lot of browsing on the Internet about food and things I might be able to help people with. Well I found there were a lot of people who have had problems melting carob chips. So for today's Wisdom I thought I could help you understand what I have learned about Melting Carob Chips.

The first thing you should know about carob chips is that they are very sensitive. They can go from a smooth consistency to a thick paste very quickly if you are not careful.

Second, there are two ways to melt carob chips. You can do in a double broiler or in the microwave. If you choose to do it in a double broiler you have to be very very careful about the heat. Just like you would with melting chocolate you don't want the top of the double broiler to touch the water. And the water should not come to a boil. You just need a little steam. When I use a double broiler I usually add a little coconut oil to help stabilize the carob so it doesn't transform into the paste. I like to use the double broiler method if I am doing something with the carob that takes a little longer such as the peanut butter cups. If you don't want to add oil then I suggest you use the microwave method. I will demonstrate with pictures.

Here you can see that I am using a glass bowl. Never put plastic in the microwave! I started with about 1/3 cup of chips, but these same rules apply if melting more than that.

I put the chips in the microwave for 25 seconds on full power. You can see that they really did not melt very much, but if you feel the bowl you should be able to feel that it is a little warm.
I then returned the bowl to the microwave for another 15 seconds, again on full power. You can see that they are starting to melt more and the glass bowl should be warmer.

I then returned the bowl to the microwave for only 11 seconds, on full power. When stirring you can see that not all of the chips are melted. At this point you might think you need to put it back in for more heat, well... DON'T! The glass bowl should be plenty warm by now. If you were to return it to the microwave for more heat the bowl would get too hot and the chips would turn into paste while stirring them.

As you can see all I had to do was keep stirring and the chips melted just perfectly. The consistency turned out just like if they were chocolate chips.

After that you can do what you want with the melted carob chips. You can dip cookies in it like I did here, you can add it to batter like I did here, or you can dip gluten free pretzels in it like I did today. :]

So just remember, don't get the carob chips too hot. They will melt with just a little heat.

If you ever have any questions feel free to ask me, and Happy Healthier Eating!!