Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

1. 1 large zucchini, grated (about 1 3/4 cups)
2. 1/2 - 3/4 cup packed brown sugar or coconut sugar
3. 1 tablespoon organic cane sugar
4. 2/3 cup organic coconut oil
5. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6. 2 large eggs
7. 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour, (I use sprouted wheat)
8. 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
9. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
10. 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
11. 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
12. 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 
13. 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
14. 3/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan, and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together sugars, vanilla, and eggs.
3. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, and stir to combine well. Stir in grated zucchini, and coconut oil.
5. Pour batter into greased pan, spreading evenly. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean.
6. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Then cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

Easy Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb ground beef or lamb
1 onion, chopped
2 cups frozen vegetables-corn, carrots, peas (I use Trader Joe's Organic Quatro)
1 1/2-2lbs russet potatoes
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup beef broth
2 tsp naturally fermented soy sauce
2 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
salt & pepper to taste
splash of cream

Directions:

Peel and quarter the potatoes and boil in salted water for 20 minutes or so until soft. Meanwhile, melt half of the stick of butter in a large frying pan. Cook the onion until soft over medium heat. Add frozen veggies and cook for a few more minutes. Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink. Add thyme, roesmary and salt and pepper to taste. Add soy sauce, tomato paste and beef broth. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer beef and onion mixture to one 9x13 greased baking dish. Mash the potatoes with the remaining 1/2 stick of butter and some cream or whole milk and distribute on top of the beef and onions. Use a fork to smooth out the potatoes.

Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes until bubbling and brown.

*I sometimes make two 8x8 dishes instead of a 9x13 and then freeze one for later. If you decide to do this then freeze the second one before baking it in the oven. When you are ready to eat it then just thaw it in the fridge and then follow baking instructions.

Sausage Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches

This is a simple recipe for a hearty make-ahead breakfast for busy mornings. We use either pork sausage patties or bacon but you could really use any meat you want. You may also want to scramble your eggs or add chopped up veggies like peppers or spinach. I like to make a batch of 10 and then freeze a half dozen for later. We just reheat them in the oven right in the aluminum foil for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees while we get ready but you could definitely microwave them for 2 minutes or so if you like. You may not want to toast the muffins if you plan on microwaving because it might make the muffin too chewy or hard. Just don't put the aluminum foil in the microwave! :)

Ingredients:
10 large eggs
10 slices of sharp cheddar cheese (I cut mine into circles but you don't have to do that)
10 precooked sausage patties, ham or bacon (I use Wellshire Maple Pork Patties from Whole Foods)
10 English muffins (I used the Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Wheat Muffins from Whole Foods)
Salt & Pepper
Butter
Aluminum Foil
Small ramekins

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease ramekins with butter. Crack one egg into each ramekin. Drag a knife through the egg to break the yolk. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place ramekins on a baking sheet and bake until eggs are set, about 15 minutes. You may need to do this in batches depending on how many ramekins you have. While the eggs are baking, toast each English muffin and lightly butter each side.  Slide the eggs out of the ramekins and allow to cool briefly. Place a sausage patty, egg and then the cheese on the English muffin to make a sandwich. Either enjoy immediately or wrap in aluminum foil and freeze.

Curry Meatballs

I was super shocked when my whole family loved and devoured this meal. Although my kids are pretty adventurous eaters I thought curry might be pushing them too far. The flavors were mild enough that it did not turn them off but strong enough to keep the grown-ups happy. As far as meatballs go these are much simpler than the swedish meatballs I am used to making so I felt like they were prepped and ready in no time. This recipe originally comes from the Everyday Paleo blog. If you plan on serving these meatballs over rice or with veggies then you'll probably want to double the sauce. We like to eat ours with naan bread from the freezer section of Trader Joe's.

Curry Meatballs

1 pound ground beef
1/3 cup finely diced red onion
1/3 cup finely diced apple
1/3 cup quick oats
1 egg
3/4 Tablespoon curry powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, place all of the meatball ingredients and mix well. Form into golf-ball sized meatballs and place in a glass baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes. Makes 8-10 meatballs.

Sauce

1 Tablespoon coconut oil (I use Nutriva brand)
1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon honey
1 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 Tablespoon tomato paste (I used Bionaturae brand from Whole Foods in the glass jar)
1/2 cup chicken broth

In a large skillet saute the garlic in the coconut oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the honey, curry powder, and tomato paste and whisk together. Add the chicken broth and continue to whisk until the sauce is smooth. Bring to a simmer. After the meatballs come out of the oven, add them to the sauce and turn to coat well. Cover and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes.

Sloppy Joes

I still have traumatic flashbacks about these horrifically awful sloppy joes that a babysitter of mine used to make for me when I was in elementary school. She served them to us all the time with canned mandarin oranges. They basically consisted of ground beef, lots of ketchup and soggy buns.  Or there was that one time that my grandma put raw beef onto hamburger buns, squirted them with ketchup, broiled them in the oven and then called them sloppy joes. They were really just bloody, ketchup covered, piles of goo. Sounds good right? Gag. Cringe. Puke. She doesn't have the internet so I can call her out like that. . .sorry Gram.

Needless to say sloppy joes needed to be redeemed for me in a major way. I found this recipe in my "Skillet Suppers" magazine put out by Cook's Illustrated. After I got past the initial feelings of dread and horror that I usually associate with this meal I decided to give them a try. They were so good and so easy that I now feed them to my family on a regular basis. I hope that they have more positive memories about sloppy joes than I do. :)

You can modify this recipe however you like. If you want a lower fat version then you can substitute ground turkey for beef. If you like things spicy (Sloppy Joses) then increase the chili powder to 1 T, add 2 T of ground cumin and 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper with the spices and 1 chipotle chile, seeded and minced and a can of black beans after you cook the meat. Enjoy!

Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped fine

1/2 tsp salt

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 lb 85 percent lean ground beef (I use grass-fed)

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp brown sugar

1 cup tomato puree (I use Bionaturae Organic Strained Tomatoes)

1/2 cup ketchup (I use Organic Ketchup from Trader Joes)

1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce

hamburger buns

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, salt and stir until coated with oil. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook, stirring occasionally until onion is soft, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and chili powder and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add beef and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until just pink, about 3 minutes. Add pepper, brown sugar, tomato puree, ketchup, and hot sauce. Simmer until sauce is slightly thicker than ketchup, 8-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon onto hamburger buns. Serve with sweet potato fries or chips.

Black Bean & Sweet Potato Burritos

I got this recipe from my friend Amanda a long time ago and since we end up cooking it almost every other week I thought I'd share. I try to cook vegetarian meals once or twice a week to save money and this one keeps popping up on our menu board. I cook both the sweet potatoes and the black beans ahead of time in the crock pot so the burritos are very easy to assemble. Here's what I do- one day I'll chop, cook (in the crock pot w/a little bit of water) and freeze the sweet potato.  Then that same night I soak the black beans in water over night, drain that water, rinse and fill with fresh water and then cook in the crock pot all day the following day. Then you just have to saute the onion in the olive oil and add the sweet potato, beans and spices.  You can also just use canned black beans. I just prefer the taste of fresh cooked beans. This makes 10 burritos which is way too many for our family to consume in one sitting so I bake half of them and then freeze the other half to bake on a different night. You can also freeze them individually for easy lunches. 

Black Bean & Sweet Potato Burritos

Ingredients:
3 cups sweet potatoes, diced
1 onion diced or chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 cups cooked black beans
2 tsp ground cumin
1 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 T brown sugar or sucanat (or 3 T if you like it sweet like my hubs & kids)
10 tortillas (I use whole wheat or ezekiel sprouted wheat)
12 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Sour cream & salsa

Directions:
Sauté sweet potatoes until tender (Or cook in a little water in the crock pot ahead of time).  Add black beans, onion, cumin, cinnamon, salt and brown sugar/sucanat; cook until heated through.  

Divide bean mixture among tortillas, give a healthy sprinkling of shredded cheddar and roll up.   I usually secure each burrito with a tooth pick so they stay rolled up. Place in a 9x13 pan. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20-25 min. Remove foil and cook for another 5 minutes.

Serve with salsa, sour cream, and/or avocado.  Garnish with cilantro. Also great with mexican rice and corn on the cob!

Quesadilla Pie

So easy and so yummy. I got this recipe from a different blog but here is the edited version for how we made it. This will be a new Lucht family staple. Brad loved it and it was a great way to use up left-overs. Enjoy!

Quesadilla Pie

Ingredients:

4 large flour tortillas (9-10 inches diameter)
Butter
1/2 pound grated cheese- sharp cheddar, or Monterey Jack
3/4-1 cup of cooked black beans
1/2 a tomato, chopped and seeds removed
1/4 cup onion
1 large chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1/4 corn & chili salsa (from Trader Joes! It is a tomato-less salsa)
Cumin and/or chili powder for extra heat

Garnishes:
Chopped avocado
Chopped cilantro
Thinly sliced iceberg lettuce dressed with vinegar and salt
Sour cream
Salsa

Directions:
1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush the bottoms and sides of a pie dish with butter, approximately the same size as your tortillas (I used a 10-inch pyrex pie dish for 10-inch wide tortillas). *Don't skip the butter! It is what makes the tortillas crispy, not soggy

2 Place one tortilla on the bottom of the pie dish. Sprinkle some shredded cheese over the tortilla. At this point, you will begin to add your chosen filling ingredients, and layering the tortillas. Just make sure each layer has a generous sprinkling of cheese.

Here is what I did but you can do whatever you like:

Layer 1: cheese, black beans, corn & chili salsa (I used a slotted spoon w/the salsa to remove the liquid)
Layer 2: cheese, chicken, sprinkle with cumin and chili powder
Layer 3: cheese, tomato, onion

3 Place your last tortilla on top and give it a generous brush with butter. (For real, don't skip the butter!) Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Put in oven for 30 minutes on 350°F. Then remove the foil and increase the heat to 400°F. Cook for another 15 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and cheese is bubbly. Remove from oven. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Cut into quarters.

Serve with garnishes.

Chicken Tikka Masala

This is hands down my favorite food of all time. When we lived in Bloomington-Normal there was an awesome Indian restaurant that we'd get Tikka Masala and curry from all the time. I had a fellow Indian food lover friend and we'd stuff ourselves silly at Puran. Now, here I am in St. Louis, MO with tons of delicious Indian restaurants to choose from and no one to eat it with me! Brad likes it but doesn't love it and none of my other friends (that I know of) are into it. So alas, I looked up some recipes and I made it myself. It was sort of time consuming but pretty simple. My house smelled scrumptious all day and I have a new favorite recipe. :)

Chicken Tikka Masala

Marinade:

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in 1-inch cubes
2 teaspoons powdered ginger
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice--about 3-4 lemons
2 teaspoons garam masala
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 quart plain whole milk yogurt

Mix together, ginger, garlic, lemon juice, garam masala, oil, salt, chili powder, and yogurt. Stir in chicken until well coated.

Cover tightly and chill overnight, or for at least 8 hours, stirring once or twice.

Next Day:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove chicken from marinade and place on baking sheet in a single layer. You will have to sort of shake off each piece before laying it on the sheet. Bake for 30 minutes.

Transfer to CROCK POT set to HIGH setting.

Meanwhile, make sauce:

Sauce:

2 teaspoons coconut oil
1 medium size white onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons powdered ginger
2 teaspoons fresh minced garlic
15 oz. Bionaturae Organic Strained Tomatoes (It comes in a jar not a can-hurray for no BPA!)
2 teaspoons garam masala
salt to taste
6 ounces organic heavy whipping cream
1 Tablespoons fresh cilantro (optional)

Saute onion, garlic, and ginger in the oil until the onion is clear. Add strained tomatoes, garam masala, and salt.

Heat through, stirring often. Add cream in 1 ounce portions, stirring to mix well after each addition.

Add sauce to chicken in hot crock pot. Switch the setting of the crock pot to low. Mix well, stirring to coat all the chicken in sauce. Cook for 2 or 3 hours on low setting, stirring every hour, if possible. When cooked, garnish with cilantro and serve over basmati rice with naan bread.

*This recipe makes a lot of Chicken Tikka Masala. I would say it could serve 6-8 people.

Easy Crock Pot Chili

I was craving chili the other day so I modified a recipe that I found in my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook and made a huge batch. We have neighborhood dinners on Tuesday nights so this was a good recipe to feed a crowd. I know that everyone and their mother already knows how to make chili but this recipe was easy and tasty so I thought I'd share. Also, you can save a buck and buy all the ingredients at Trader Joe's! :)

Easy Crock Pot Chili

2 lbs Grass Fed Ground Beef

1 large onion diced

1 4 oz can of fire roasted diced green chilis

2 14 1/2 oz cans of Organic Tomatoes Diced and Fire Roasted w/green chilis

2 14 1/2 oz cans of Organic Kidney Beans

1 15oz can of Organic Tomato Sauce

2T Chili Powder

1 1/2 tsp Cumin

2 cloves minced garlic

Brown beef on stove top, drain fat and then transfer to crock pot. Stir in all other ingredients. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Serve with sour cream, cheese, oyster crackers and corn bread.

This recipe can easily be tweaked to fit your tastes. :)

Meatloaf Muffins

Meat loaf just sounds like something old ladies make so I didn't make it forever. Once I found a recipe I liked it became a staple in our home. I make a pan full of these and we eat half and freeze half for another night. Meatloaf is great for hiding veggies.

Meatloaf Muffins

• 1 1/2lbs Grass-fed Beef 
• 1 T Olive Oil
• 1/2 C chopped carrot
• 1 C chopped onion
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 C ketchup (make your own!)
• 1 C breadcrumbs (also, make your own from sprouted bread!)
• 2 T mustard
• 1 tsp naturally fermented soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• Butter for greasing

* You can easily add other veggies like zucchini or squash. You can also use ground turkey to cut back on fat.

Preheat oven to 350. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and saute onion, carrot, oregano and garlic for 2 min over med/high heat. Allow mixture to cool.

Combine onion mixture with remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Spoon mixture into 12 muffin cups coated with butter. Squirt the top of each "muffin" with ketchup before popping in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes and enjoy!