Honey baked lentils

Made this tonight with spaghetti squash - it was very good and will earn a spot in the rotation.  The pickier eaters didn't eat a ton but they said it was OK.  I used the brown/green lentil and honey option. Maybe someday we'll try red lentils and maple syrup. :)

Note: I have labeled this "wheat free" but I am unsure about the soy sauce...

Quinoa Turkey Veggie "Surprise"

There's really no "surprise" in this meal, but anytime I don't know what to call something here, I wind up calling it "ingredient ingredient ingredient SURPRISE!" and the kids smile. I like when my kids smile, especially when it makes up for the fact that they didn't like the dinner, lol.

At least with this recipe, this is not the case. Everyone ate it, even the picky 3 year old.

It was very easy to make. As usual, I cook by instinct and taste, so measurements are approximate.

1 lb ground turkey
2 cups quinoa (I used this and it was the whole bag)
2 1-lb bags of asian style veggies (I used our store brand "Mandarin style")
enough water to make the quinoa as indicated on the package
1+ lime(s)
garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste

Brown the ground turkey in the bottom of a large stock pot.  When browned, add enough water to cook the quinoa as indicated on the package directions, then add the quinoa.  Stir and add the bags of frozen veggies or  fresh cut vegetables if you are a purist. :)  Cover and bring to a boil; boil until veggies are tender and the quinoa is soft and cooked.  This took us 20-30 minutes.

At this point I added the juice of one lime, stirring the lumpy, sticky quinoa mess as I was doing so.  Because this was my children's first time trying this, I went easy on the spices. I think I personally would have enjoyed much more lime flavor. Your mileage may vary.   I did the same with the garlic powder (probably 2 tsp?) and salt and pepper.    Add as much as you like. :)

We seem to need a lot of protein in our meals, next time I make this I will probably add more ground turkey. It seemed to get lost with so much quinoa.

This amount fed the 7 of us for two full meals with a salad on the side.   On a good day we have 3 "adult portion" eaters, 1 in-betweener, and 3 kid-size portion eaters.

another take on pork and rice

Had this yesterday and dh wants it added into the rotation:

You all know how awful I am at measuring while I cook, so bear with me, it's all eyeballed:

cooked pork, cut in small pieces (cup or two)
shredded or diced cabbage (maybe two cups or more?)
rice (2 cups uncooked)
onion powder (1-2 tsp)
minced garlic (2 tbsp)
lemon juice (of half a large lemon)
coconut oil (to stir fry everything, I used a lot!)

Cook rice - we set aside and put the rest on top at the end, but think it would have been much better stir fried together with the spices.

Heat coconut oil in large skillet, stir fry cabbage until it's getting soft, then add pork (this is where I would have added the rice), onion powder, minced garlic, lemon juice, and stir fry all until warmed up. If I had added the rice to the stir fry while cooking, I think I would have upped the amount of spices and lemon juice because it was pretty mild (but tasty) as it was. The pork itself had been grilled a day or two earlier, brined with garlic/onion powders rubbed on before grilling.

Fruit Juice Gummies

I'm wondering if I can make these with our candy molds. Oh, the possibilities!

Ground Turkey Stir Fry

This one was a hit:

3/4 pound of ground turkey, browned (could sub. any other kind of cooked, chopped poultry)

1 can chicken broth (or 1 3/4 cup stock - this may vary if using instant rice, cook according to pkg directions for amts)

2 cups instant brown rice

3 cups sliced carrots

1 cup sliced celery

2 scallions, chopped up

2 Tbsp coconut oil

1/2 tsp garlic powder (or to taste)

1/2 tsp ground ginger (or to taste)

large pinch of salt



Brown the ground turkey and or chop up other cooked meat. Set aside to keep warm unless you can multitask and then brown this while some of the other things are cooking. ;-) Cook instant brown rice in the chicken broth, according to package directions, and set aside (alternately, cook *real* brown rice in broth!). Melt 2 Tbsp coconut oil in wok or large frying pan, and toss in all the veggies - cooking on med/high heat. Stir constantly. Sprinkle garlic powder, ground ginger, and salt on veggies as you are stirring/cooking. Cook until crisp-tender (or tender-tender if you have picky kids like I do, LOL). Mix cooked rice, cooked meat, and cooked veggies together and serve (or keep them apart for those picky toddlers).

Simple chicken and rice

Surprising amount of flavor for few ingredients:

Leftover chicken broth from roast/crockpot
Instant brown rice
Leftover cooked chicken, cubed
Frozen broccoli and cauliflower, cooked
salt and pepper

Make brown rice according to package directions using the chicken broth instead of water. Combine hot finished rice with cubed chicken and cooked frozen veggies, salt and pepper to taste.

Surprisingly tasty (tasted like soy sauce was added), healthy, filling, easy, and allergen free!