I love to make my own spice blends and rubs! They taste so much fresher, plus they don't have any anti-caking agents or preservatives added to them. It takes just a few minutes to blend, and they store really well. There are a few brands I buy in bulk because I make a lot of blends, linked below. It's worth the savings for things we use all the time, or for things that I don't grow and dry myself like cinnamon.
Homemade Greek Rub 3T dried oregano 3t pink Himalayan salt 2T onion powder 3T garlic powder 2t black pepper 4t dried parsley 2t dried thyme 3T paprika 1/2t cinnamon 1/2t nutmeg Blend all ingredients well in a coffee grinder or bullet. Store in a small ball jar until ready to use. There are no preservatives, so it may clump a bit but breaks up again when shaken or crushed with your hands. Coat the chicken drums with Greek seasoning. I use approx. 1T per 5 drums. Allow to sit in the fridge for at least 30 min up to several hours. Bake at 500 for 20 min, turning once, until the skin is bubbly and crisp and the internal temp reads 155. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. |
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Heat the olive oil in a pan on medium high heat and add the onions, mushrooms and salt. Saute for 5 minutes until all liquid evaporates, then add the aminos and allow to evaporate again. They will start to brown. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Meanwhile, assemble your salad, dividing all ingredients into 4.
Dressing Ingredients 1/4c grapefruit juice 1/4c avocado oil 1T tahini 1T honey (vegans use agave nectar) 1T dijon mustard 1/2t salt 1/4t pepper Blend all ingredients with an immersion blender or in a bullet. Divide over the four salads and serve immediately. * Variation: This dressing was just as good over mixed greens with cucumber, kalamata olives, blackberries and goji berries.
I have included links for your convenience; some of these are affiliate links. It doesn't cost you any extra to order from them, and if you do purchase something using one of these links, I am given a small compensation from the seller. This helps me keep my blog up and running! For more questions please see my disclosure page.
Place 1/2 the beans in a bowl and mash with a fork. Add in the cut up chicken and mix fairly well. Add the onion, herbs, oil, vinegar, lemon juice and zest and toss well to combine. Add the last half of the beans and gently toss so they stay fairly whole. Serve immediately! You can do all of the herbs or just one or two. Just add a little more of each if you don't use all four. I had mine in romaine lettuce cups. So fresh and delicious!
I have included links for your convenience; some of these are affiliate links. It doesn't cost you any extra to order from them, and if you do purchase something using one of these links, I am given a small compensation from the seller. This helps me keep my blog up and running! For more questions please see my disclosure page. Hoisin Chicken Marinade
1T Hoisin
1/4c Sesame Oil 1/4c Olive Oil 1/4c Liquid Aminos or Soy Sauce 2T fresh chives, chopped 1t salt 1t onion powder 1t garlic powder 1T Rice Vinegar Whisk together all ingredients until mixed well. Pour over chicken and marinate at least 3-4 hours or overnight. I split my marinade between two freezer bags, one with 4 chicken breasts and the other with 1.5lb of chicken thighs. Grill 3-4 min per side, or bake in the oven at 425 for 20 min, or until an internal temp of 155. Mango Avocado Salsa
2 Mangos, cubed
1 Avocado, cubed 1 Shallot, minced 2T Fresh Basil, chopped 3T Lime Juice 2T Olive Oil 1/2t Pink Himalayan Salt 1/2-1t Crushed Red Pepper, depends how spicy you like Fresh Ground Pepper Combine all ingredients and toss well. Allow to chill at least 30 min before serving. Try changing up the flavors by using cilantro or mint instead of basil. Yum!
I have included links for your convenience; some of these are affiliate links. It doesn't cost you any extra to order from them, and if you do purchase something using one of these links, I am given a small compensation from the seller. This helps me keep my blog up and running! For more questions please see my disclosure page.
Just in time for the weekend! These bunless burgers are amazing!!!! One bite and your mouth will be screaming Aloha! I've had my eye on a few recipes and just knew I needed to create one that was more friendly to our diet. If you aren't gluten free, by all means, have yours on a bun and just add some shredded cabbage on top. We didn't miss the buns at all! We had ours with a side of cilantro lime rice (recipe below) and some grilled plantains. Yum!
Ingredients
Fire up the grill, and grill each burger 4-5 min per side or to an internal temperature of 155 degrees. Grill the pineapple and onions 2-3 min per side. Stack your cooked burger into the cup of a cabbage leaf, then layer the pineapple and onions on top. If your leaves are big, you'll only need one to fold over the top. If your leaves are smaller you can add a second leaf, cup side down, on top. I added a few homemade refrigerator pickled carrots and cucumbers to mine.
Cilantro Lime Rice
3c jasmine rice
3c water 2T cilantro, finely chopped 1T coconut oil 1 lime, juiced Add the rice and water to your Instant Pot*, seal the lid then use the manual setting for 4 minutes. Do a 10 min natural pressure release, then release the rest of the steam and open the pot. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and serve immediately. If you want a more dominant lime taste, zest your lime before you juice it and add the zest in. *Note: if you don't have an Instant Pot, cook your rice however you normally cook it.
I have included links for your convenience; some of these are affiliate links. It doesn't cost you any extra to order from them, and if you do purchase something using one of these links, I am given a small compensation from the seller. This helps me keep my blog up and running! For more questions please see my disclosure page.
Toast the almonds lightly, then allow to cool. Whisk the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Add the arugula, mint, watermelon, onion and cooled almonds to a bowl, then drizzle with the dressing, toss well and sprinkle the lemon zest over the top. Enjoy! This made a nice side dish or light lunch. If you wanted to make it a little heartier meal on its own, add some cooked chicken or shrimp on top! We had ours with grilled chicken and blistered oven baked
potatoes.
This is such an easy, refreshing, colorful salad. Perfect for May's Juice Plus+ theme of Color Your Plate! When I was meal planning this morning, I knew I needed a dish I could easily get to school for the Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week Potluck, and I thought this would be delicious and colorful. Plus, I had all the ingredients. Win.
Health
Turmeric Green Tea So, I eat and drink some funky stuff, but this was really terrible. I couldn't get it down without adding some raw honey to sweeten it up a bit because it's just hot turmeric water. I used my favorite Emperor's Mist green tea from Teavana but it just didn't cut it. I'm not sure I'll make this again, since I'd much rather do the lemon honey turmeric I'm used to eating by the spoonful. EDIT: I hear Teavana has shut down their ecommerce site, so if you're a green tea drinker check out The Republic of Tea. Fun We harvested more beautiful veggies from our Tower Garden, like the swiss chard I cooked up above. I managed to finish a good portion of a suitcase prop I'm making for the second grade school play, plus I took the kids to the zoo for some splash park fun. I love watching my boys interact with their little sister, and they all had a great time brushing goats in the petting zoo. We ended the week with a fun beach day and dinner out. There you have it for this week. I hope y'all have a great week this week! Stay healthy!
This has been a family favorite for years! My middle child begs for it and brings a huge thermos full of it for lunch to school whenever I make it. The recipe was first given to me years ago by my brother and I've made many variations of it over the years, based on what ingredients we have in the house. Any tomatoes will work just fine, I used grape tomatoes this time. If we have leftover corn on the cob from another meal, I shave them and use that instead of frozen. Adding cucumbers or avocado changes the flavor a bit, or even a bit of diced bell pepper. You can really make this your own!
I batch cook black beans in the crock pot and freeze them in baggies so we always have them on hand. If you aren't there yet in your meal planning, canned beans work just fine! I get about 6lb of cooked beans from 2lb of dried beans, so it saves money and we have the freezer room to store them. I'll add my crock recipe for beans at the bottom if you want to give it a try! UPDATE!!! Now I cook my beans in the Instant Pot. Recipe added below!
This recipe was inspired by a complicated recipe I saved years ago and never tried. You know why, because it was complicated and I don't have time for that! I threw this together right in the middle of my crazy holiday prep and it was simple and delicious. I'm totally lacking in pictures this time because I was too distracted with the craziness, but you don't need pictures to make this.
The bonus here is my homemade chicken rub recipe that you can make and store for future use! It's preservative free and absolutely fantastic. I use it by itself or as a base for BBQ, and in this case to season a chicken before I covered it with delicious fresh Florida citrus. You know I'm always looking for new orange recipes to try when we get our lake oranges every year around Christmas. Plus a good friend has the most amazing lemon tree that just produces and produces, so we always look forward to her lemons around the same time! This chicken dish looks fancy and tastes like you put in a lot of effort, without taking too much time. I prepped it ahead and refrigerated until I was ready to bake it. It doesn't need to marinate, but at least 30 min in the fridge allows a little time for the flavors to really enhance. It can be prepped the night before or moments before baking. Topping it with dried herbs adds great flavor, but if you have fresh herbs on hand (hint, hint Tower Garden) WOWZA! You really can't go wrong! |
About Dana Merrill
I'm a busy mom of three, determined to maintain a healthy lifestyle amidst the beautiful chaos. Links
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