Clean Eats Day 1

I feel like I have been non stop all day.  Started with doing some work for my classroom, followed by making smoothies, then cleaning and putting away all things Christmas (including taking down our tree), baking snacks, cooking dinner, and making a salad per Morgan's request (however, I had the wrong recipe)

Look at all these crazy ornaments. I love setting up for Christmas but love, even more, putting the stuff away to return to some normalcy.

SWEET SNACK

Snacks.....we are snacking family.  I have to learn how to make clean snacks that will satisfy our cravings.  My first recipe I made was Pumpkin Oat Balls.  I found the recipe on Pinterest from this blogger: http://www.stilettosanddiapers.com/2013/09/pumpkin-oat-balls-recipe.html

Ingredients:

1 cup pumpkin 
3 cups oats, not cooked
4 Tbsp maple syrup 
1/2 tsp cinnamon 
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 
1 tsp vanilla extract 
1 Tbsp flax seeds 
1 cup walnuts 
1/2 cup grain sweetened chocolate chips. You could use dark chocolate pieces, regular chocolate chips or just skip them altogether. I did half with and half without.

Mix everything together in a large bowl. You kind of want to press and fold to get everything together. Roll into balls about 1" in diameter. Place on a wax paper or saran lined pan and chill for about 30 minutes. 

They turned out delish!  Everyone in the house liked them.  Hubby asked for seconds.

SALTY SNACK

Then I wanted to make something that would satisfy our salty cravings.  I made a home made version of cheeze-its.  These are called Cheddar and Jalapeno Cheese Crackers, although I did half with Jalapenos and half without.  We all preferred the plain cheddar ones.  I used my Ninja to make these.  Not too bad to make.  Pretty easy and not so many steps.  The most time consuming was cutting them and putting them on the trays to bake.  I got this recipe from: http://www.inspiredbycharm.com/2013/08/cheddar-and-jalapeno-cheese-crackers.html  Morgan kept commenting about how cool it was that I made our own snacks!

8 ounces Extra Sharp Cracker Barrel Cheddar Cheese, shredded
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons water
10 slices of jarred jalapeños, finely chopped

In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together butter, cheese, salt, and pepper until blended. With the mixer on low, slowly add flour. At this point, your mixture will become dry and crumbly.

Mix in chopped jalapeños. Add water, one tablespoon at a time. Beat until the mixture just comes together into a ball. At this point, the mixture should be moist. If it feels wet, simply add a touch more flour. Divide the mixture into two discs, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 25 – 30 minutes.

Once chilled, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough very thin, about an eighth of an inch thick.

Then, using a pizza slicer, cut horizontal and vertical lines into your dough to create about 1-inch square crackers. Poke each cracker with a wood skewer or fork. Place crackers on prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Cool before serving. Chill in an airtight container for up to three days.

*To make the Jalapeño Cheese Crackers, simply omit the jalapeños and replace the Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese with Jalapeño cheese.

DINNER

Then it was time to make dinner.  I saw a great looking recipe on Pinterest...Hearty Butternut Squash Chicken and Quinoa Stew.  Sad to report that this was a hit for only 2 of us.  Belle was not a fan of the chicken, but ate the squash.  Greg didn't like the sweet taste of the dish.  Morgan and I enjoyed it, especially when we countered the sweet with some kosher salt.  May not be a repeat dish, sad to say :(

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded & chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 tbsp olive oil 
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 can (14 oz) petite diced tomatoes
• 2/3 cup uncooked quinoa
• 3/4 cup pitted and quartered kalamata olives
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

1. Steam the butternut squash until barely tender, about 10 minutes. Remove half of the squash pieces and set aside.
2. Steam the remaining squash until very tender, an additional 4 to 6 minutes. Mash this squash with the back of a fork. Set aside.
3. In a large saucepan set over medium-high heat, bring the chicken broth to a simmer.
4. Add chicken thighs, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
5. Transfer the chicken thighs to a plate and allow to cool. Pour broth into a medium-sized bowl.
6. Return the saucepan to the stovetop and lower heat to medium. Add olive oil.
7. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is starting to turn brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
8. Add the salt, minced garlic and oregano. Cook, stirring, for 1 additional minute.
9. To the saucepan, add tomatoes, butternut squash pieces, mashed butternut squash. Stir to combine.
10. Stir in reserved chicken broth and quinoa. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the quinoa turns translucent, about 15 minutes.
11. Shred the chicken with your fingers or a fork.
12. Stir the chicken, olives and pepper into the stew and simmer, uncovered, to heat, about 5 minutes.
13. Stir in parsley and serve.

After I cleaned up the kitchen :(, Morgan requested that I make a Brussel Sprouts Salad so she could take to school tomorrow.  Well, she ate this when my sister, Joc, was here this week.  I thought I pinned the same one but I guess I did not.  I made something very different, but still very tasty, to say the least.  The recipe is Brussel Sprouts Quinoa and Cranberries. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked Arrowhead Mills® Quinoa
• 1 ½ cup water
• pinch of Hain Pure Foods® Sea Salt
• 5 heaping cups Brussels sprouts, halved
• ½ small yellow onion (or 2 shallots), thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon Spectrum® extra virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon Hain Pure Foods® Sea Salt
• ½ cup pecans, chopped – plus more for topping
• ¾ cup dried cranberries
• handful of chopped parsley

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 °F.

Add quinoa, water and pinch of salt into a medium pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce and cook for 16 minutes covered. Remove from heat and fluff with fork.

Add Brussels sprouts and onion slices to your baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and add salt. Toss to coat your vegetables. Place in the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes, removing to toss every 15 minutes.

Note: I added pecans to the baking sheet the last 2 minutes of cooking time to toast – but totally optional!

In a large bowl, toss together the quinoa, roasted vegetables, pecans, and cranberries. Season with salt and pepper. Before serving, garnish with additional pecans and parsley – if you prefer.

BEVERAGE

While doing all this cleaning and food prep, I made sure I stayed hydrated.  My drink of choice before today has been a soda stream water with a squirt of Mio....Mio is so full of chemicals.  When my sister was here this week, she was drinking lots of lemon water.  She would cut lemons, put them in the fridge, and squeeze them into her water whenever she got something to drink.  Well, I still like my bubbly drink, so I made my soda stream carbonated water then added lemon wedges to my water.  YUM!  Drank 3-4 of these today, and am still sipping one as I type this blog entry.

Until tomorrow....

Charlene