Hearty Kale & Mushroom Soup

I hate being sick, even if it is just a sore throat.  A sore throat means I can't thoroughly enjoy the food I usually eat, which puts me in a crappy mood :-/

Whenever I start to feel remotely ill I get to the market ASAP and throw a ton of veggies in my basket.  I get home, start choppin', and pretty much just come up with some kind of hearty veggie concoction.

Last week's concoction consisted of the following:

1 bunch Kale

1 package Shiitake mushrooms

3 carrots chopped

3 celery stalks chopped

2 small golden potatoes

1/4 red onion diced (chop more if desired)

2 Roma tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

2 garlic cloves thinly chopped 

Juice of 2 1/2 limes

Himalayan pink salt to taste 

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Step 1 - Grab a fairly large pot throw in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté mushrooms with diced garlic cloves.  After about 5 minutes throw in the celery and carrots and sauté for an additional 5 minutes.

Step 2 - Throw in chopped kale to the pan of sautéed veggies.  When it is wilted after a few minutes I put in about 3 1/2 cups of water (add more or less to your liking).

Step 3 - Add some Knorr Chicken Bouillon, about 1 tablespoon (again, more or less to your liking).  I also added some salt free Fresh & Easy herb and spice mix, about two teaspoons (Mrs. Dash would work as well, and ground ginger.

Step 4 - I added the diced gold potatoes just a few minutes after I added all the seasonings.  I should have sautéed them along with the other veggies, but I was just going with the flow and forgot that I had potatoes.

Step 5 - Let soup simmer for about 15 minutes or so, until potatoes are soft.  While you are waiting on the soup to simmer, you can start on the aji (which is a similar to a pico de gallo, except I married a Colombian and they call it aji).

Instructions for Aji

Dice tomatoes, red onion, chile

Chop cilantro

Juice the limes and mix all together

 Add salt to taste

Step 6 - Serve a bowl and add as much aji as your heart desires (but don't hog it all! ;-) ... Enjoy!!

Yum!!

Nutty Homemade Granola

(Belated Mother's Day Treat post!!)

I never know what to get my mom for mother's day because she's picky about clothes, perfume, and accessories.  And even though I myself love gift cards, I don't like to get my mom something so impersonal. So, I know she loves breakfast food, and she likes to make her own granola, so I made her some yummy, homemade granola!  I am so glad I subscribe to Adrianna Adarme's food blog, A Cozy Kitchen, because a week before mother's day she posted her mother's day gift box.  My goal was to make my mom a similar gift box with homemade items including granola, lip scrub, a personalized mug and a box of organic tea, but I only got as far as the granola because I'm world's biggest procrastinator (don't judge me).

I followed the recipe as posted "Nutty, Seeded, Grain-Free Granola", however I used dried cranberries and golden raisins instead of the golden berries and goji berries.  It turned out just as delicious!  Try it!!

Fresh out the oven!

With the dried cranberries and golden raisins added, yum!

Blue Corn Chip Chilaquiles

If you're Mexican (or not) and you don't love chilaquiles, what's wrong with you?!  Tortilla chips, queso fresco, cilantro, poached egg, green sauce, red onions = Yum Yum in my Tum Tum :-)

Traditionally, chilaquiles are made with red sauce, well at least that is how I grew up eating them.  My mom always made red sauce from scratch and fried the tortillas in corn oil, so not exactly super healthy, but still delicious.  When I was younger I would exclude the egg and just have a side of beans, but I was lame back then and have learned the gloriousness of a poached egg.

My bestie and I got together on a Saturday morning to make this delicious version of chilaquiles.  I used the green sauce recipe from Pati's Mexican Table, so all credit for the green sauce goes to Pati Jinich.  The idea of using blue corn tortilla chips came from Pinterest, and pretty much because it sounded tasty.

I couldn't find blue corn tortillas at the grocery store, and ain't nobody got time to make blue corn tortillas from scratch! So my friend bought some blue corn tortilla chips from Trader Joes that worked out quite well. I had two servings, who wouldn't?

For the toppings we used:

Crema Mexicana

Cacique Queso Fresco

One poached egg

Red onions marinated in some lemon juice

Chopped cilantro for garnish

                                  

Nom Nom!!

                                                                                                                                                                                           

Beef Stir "Fried Rice"

First things first, you should know I am not a huge fan of red meat.  I enjoy a nice juicy burger or some carne asada, but the thought of eating a fat steak doesn't sound appetizing to me at all.  I even dislike preparing and cooking red meat, but I'm learning and trying because my husband is a carnivore!  I grew up eating beans, cheese, and tortillas.  Maybe I should start doing that again since my 95 year old grandma has been living off that since I can remember, so she must be doing something right!

Anyway, I got the idea for this recipe from an Instagram fitness guru @Mankofit!  If you need some fitness inspiration, she is sure to inspire you!

So on to the delicious healthy twist on Beef Stir Fried Rice!  I was really surprised that it turned out quite delicious for a non-red meat lover, yay!

Ingredients I used:

1 cup uncooked white Quinoa 

Lean Beef Strips for Stir Fry (6-8 oz)

1/4 cup of Diced Shallots 

1 cup Broccoli Florets

3-4 Diced Sweet Mini Peppers

1 package of White Mushrooms (Chop them Up!)

1 handful of Baby Kale and Baby Spinach 

2-3 Tbls Briggs Liquid Aminos (Healthy alternative to Soy Sauce)

2 Tbls Kikkoman Ponzu Citrus Seasoned Dressing Sauce

Season to Taste - Mrs. Dash Salt Free seasoning (Original)
2 Tbls Extra Virgin Olive Oil

For the Beef:  Lemon Pepper and Peruvian Chile Lime Seasoning

Tools:  Spatula and a Wok (If you do not own a Wok, a large pan would work just as well)

You need these in your kitchen!

Check out Savory Spice Shop!!

The first step is cooking the cup of quinoa and setting it aside.  I used a rice cooker to make it, so just follow the directions on the back of the quinoa package.  2 parts of water for every one part of quinoa, pretty much the same as cooking rice.  Feel free to use any kind of quinoa you have on hand, from tri-color to red quinoa.  I put one garlic clove in the rice cooker and about two-three pinches of Goya seasoning.

When the quinoa is almost done cooking you can start chopping up the veggies.  Heat up the olive oil and start sauteing the shallots until a bit translucent (you can also use red or white onions).  Next add in the peppers, mushrooms and broccoli.  Next add 2 cups of the cooked quinoa.  Sauté it all together for a few minutes and add the liquid aminos, ponzu, and Mrs. Dash.  In the meantime you can cook the beef in a separate pan.  I seasoned the beef with lemon pepper and a Peruvian Chile Lime seasoning from Savory Spice Shop (Feel free to use any kind of rub you have on hand, but this one is definitely delicious!!)  Cook beef until all the pink is gone, unless you like the pink :-)

Once veggies and quinoa are all sauteed, which you only have to do for a few minutes, you can turn off the heat for the Wok and add in the kale and spinach, and it will slightly wilt from the steam.  And instead of tossing it all with the beef, I just placed some beef on top when serving so that any leftover quinoa mixture you can enjoy on its own later.  Enjoy!

And don't feel like you need every single veggie I listed, if you want to use what's in the fridge go ahead, I was just thinking that celery would give it a nice crunchy texture.  Have fun and get creative!

If you have any questions, please leave me a comment and I'll respond as soon as I can.  Thank you!

COMING SOON!

Yummy recipes in the works :-)