Stir Fry

1/2 lb ground pork or beef
1 1/2 c spinach or bok choy, sliced
1 - 8 oz packaged mushrooms, sliced
1 onion chopped
1/2 c sliced carrot
1 tbs sesame seed
2 tbs sesame oil
1/4 c soy sauce
3 tbs sugar
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tbs cooking oil
salt & pepper to taste
2-4 cups cooked rice

1. Cook meat in cooking oil.

2. Add mushroom, onion and carrot, saute until barely soft.

3. Add spinach and garlic, saute until soft.

4. Add sesame seed, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until combined. Serve over rice.

Grasshoppers, Weeds and Compost

I want to start documenting and becoming more serious about gardening. My garden this year isn't going to be what most people consider a traditional summer garden. I prefer to grow from Fall to Spring because our summers here in SE OK are brutal and just a few minutes in the heat triggers horrible migraines for me.

What I want to experiment with for myself are trying to naturally deter grasshoppers, kill weeds, and replenish my garden bed soil.

Grasshoppers: I found my first grasshopper yesterday and I immediately spread diatomaceous earth. I didn't see any grasshoppers today but I did find a lizard and frog in the garden.

Weeds and grass: I'm using grain vinegar to see how it affects grains and grass around my garden beds. This patch is looking a little wilted after two days of vinegar being sprayed on it.

Replenishing the soil. Once my fall/spring garden is spent, I want to plant a summer cover crop and apply compost to the soil so I can plant again in the fall. I started this compost bin in May 2012 and it started to have some beautiful compost by fall, but an armadillo found the bin and cleaned it out searching for larvae. I add shredded paper, kitchen scraps, gardening scraps and leaves. I haven't added manure yet to this batch.

Vegetable Minestrone Soup

Tomorrow is payday and the fridge and pantry are looking a little bare, so tonight I'm making another version of veggie soup (my first version is a roasted veggie soup that I need to post a recipe for). I spent some time in the garden this morning thinning out the carrots and Swiss chard so the carrots have more space to grow bigger as we are coming into spring and the Swiss chard can focus it's energy on new growth since I recently transplanted them. I also had some tomatoes, turnips, and jalapeno left over from the Fort Smith farmer's market. In the freezer I had a quart of white beans I cooked earlier in the winter, and in the pantry there were a couple cans of chickpeas. It all comes together to make an incredibly yummy soup!!! The ingredients are completely flexible based on what you have on hand. In some research, Minestrone traditionally has a bean based broth and contains whatever vegetables are in season.

Ingredients:

Onion, diced
Garlic, minced
Carrots, diced
Turnips, diced
Jalapeno, diced
Tomatoes, diced
Swiss Chard, chopped if needed
White Beans, previously cooked and frozen
Chickpeas, canned, drained and rinsed
Salt and Pepper to taste
Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base
Oregano
Basil
Parsley
Olive Oil
Water

Heat olive oil, onion and garlic in a stock pot with a pinch of salt and pepper. Once fragrant and starting to turn clear, add carrots, jalapeno and turnips. Cook for a few minutes more to help enhance flavors. Then add remaining ingredients, enough water to cover and season to taste. Bring to a soft boil, reduce heat and simmer for at least half an hour.

Gluten and Lactose-Free Creamy Chicken Poblano with Rice

Since I discovered I'm sensitive to dairy and gluten, I was really sad over not being able to have cream sauce. Tonight I nailed a gluten and lactose-free cream sauce!

2 tbs rice flour
2 tbs olive oil
1 onion, diced
6 poblanos, roasted and chopped
1 tbs minced garlic
4 oz soft goat cheese
2 cups unsweetened almond milk
2 cups cooked chopped or shredded chicken
4 cups cooked rice
Salt and pepper, to taste

Over medium heat, combine rice flour and oil and cook until bubbling. Add onion, poblano and garlic until onion and garlic are soft. Add goat cheese, almond milk, and chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until cheese melts and sauce is thickened. Serve over rice.

To make vegan omit goat cheese and chicken.

Chicken and Tomatillos on Rice

I adore tomatillos and this is going to become a favorite in our household. 

2 cups chicken diced or shredded
2 lbs tomatillos diced
1 onion diced
1 jalapeno diced
1 tsp garlic diced
1 tbs lime juice
salt
pepper
Olive oil
4 cups cooked rice

Cook the chicken if not precooked (I buy a whole chicken and separate the meat into 3 parts). Remove from skillet and set aside.

Add the tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapeno to a skillet with olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the tomatillos begin to reduce and become saucy. Add chicken to skillet and continue to cook until tomatillos have completely cooked down and are no longer bright green.

Serve over rice.

Broiled Salmon with Brown Rice and Broccoli

Broiled Salmon is becoming one of my favorite quick meals. I have found that I can change out the sauce and have a completely different meal. I can also buy wild caught salmon for inexpensive ($4 for 4 filets at Aldi), frozen broccoli ($1 at Aldi) and brown Basmati rice ($3-4 for 2 lb of Lundberg at iHerb.com), $2 with the amount of rice I use for the two of us (1.5 c uncooked). Then I use a honey based sauce each time and maybe use about $1-2 worth of local honey. Bringing the total of the meal under $10. I have two sauces I've created so far that are gluten-free and I'll add more sauces to the list at the end as I create them.

Ingredients:
Cooked brown rice (as much as you need for who you are feeding, I make 3 c cooked)
Bag of frozen broccoli
Salmon filets (however many you need for the people you are feeding)
Sauce of your choice (see options below)

I allow an hour for the rice to cook if I need to cook it first. When the rice is done (I like to let it sit for at least 15 minutes after cooking), I broil the frozen salmon for about 5-10 minutes on each side, steam the broccoli (I'm lazy and do the steam in the bag even though I know it's not the healthiest way to cook it, I could try broiling it with the salmon), and make the sauce. It all comes together in about 15 minutes. Then I plate the rice with the broccoli and salmon, then drizzle with the sauce.

Honey-Soy Sauce

Honey
Liquid aminos
Vinegar (white wine, rice or apple cider)
Sesame seeds and green onions for garnish

I do about 3 parts honey to 1 part liquid aminos and .5 part vinegar. I eyeball it and mix it until I happy with the taste. I usually start with 1/4 c of honey and go from there.

Honey Mustard Sauce

Honey
Yellow Mustard
Dijon Mustard
Coarse Ground Mustard

I start with about 1/4 c of honey, then add a tablespoon of each mustard and add whatever I think is needed until I'm happy with the taste.

Sourdough Bread

A link was shared with me in an Endometriosis nutrition group on Facebook about how people who are gluten-intolerant can sometimes tolerate real sourdough. I want to give it a try, so I'm bookmarking the links for myself here and anyone else who wants to read more about it.

Top 10 reasons to eat real sourdough bread even if you're gluten-intolerant

Sourdough Bread and Starter Recipe

King Arthur Flour Wholemeal Flour

Fermented Bread