Recipe: Tuna with baby spinach (one of my top favorites)

It's so easy to prepare and it takes very little time.  In just minutes you'll be enjoying a yummy healthy snack or meal (depending on portion).

5oz
Solid white tuna, packed in water. 

Baby spinach

Sea salt

Black pepper

Green olives

Lime or Lemon (optional)

What I like about this quick meal, besides the fact that I LOVE tuna, there are so many different ways to enjoy it.  Add your favorite

Recipe: Sausage and Cabbage Delight

During our [4 day] Whole30 experience we searched for new and healthy recipes.  My first stop was definitely Whole Family Strong and here is one of our favs!

Sausage and Cabbage Delight:

(I added 'baby spinach' in this batch)

Recipe: Spaghetti Squash.w/ Meat Sauce

I have been hearing a lot about Spaghetti Squash, especially since changing up our eating habits.

We had purchased a spaghetti squash during our Whole30 and tonight was the lucky night!

I wasn't sure how time consuming it was, I kept thinking "oh, I'll just make pasta tonight -as long as we don't eat it often it should be fine... The spaghetti squash seems so difficult!  I'll just try making it another time..." But it kept bugging me, the thought of feeding my family pasta after how well we've been doing.  So I sucked it up and thought "okay, I'll try it. If it becomes too messy or too annoying, I'll just boil some pasta. It won't take that long anyway..."

I threw the ingredients together for my meat sauce:

1 lb lean ground beef 

1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes

1 small onion (slice or chopped. We love cooked onion so I like chunky pieces or even thick slices)

2 tsp minced garlic (or approximately 3-4 garlic cloves)

2-3 tomatoes, again, sliced or chopped to preference (I leave mine chunky to give more texture)

3 handfuls if baby spinach leaves

2 handfuls of sliced mushrooms

*optional: shredded carrots

1/2 tsp sea salt

1tsp Sage

1tsp Italian seasoning (the one I have is a mixture of marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano, and basil)

1/4 tsp paprika (or something spicier if you like a good 'kick')

I ground the beef, on a medium-high heat, with 2tsp coconut oil, and the onions and garlic. Then I add the veggies and toss it around. I add the spices and mix it around a bit. I add the crushed tomatoes last.  Once it starts to bubble just a bit, I lower the heat to a high-simmer, cover and leave the heat on for approximately 15 mins (until everything is tender and heated all the way. It normally starts to bubble again right around the 15 mins.).

I had already prepped my spaghetti squash last night, I thought to make it for yesterday's dinner. One of my favorite blogs, for Paleo recipes, right now is Nom Nom Paleo. I followed her directions for Spaghetti Squash.  Mine needed extra cooking time but turned out great!  And even though I really had no idea what I was doing, we were able to sit down and enjoy spaghetti squash, topped with meat sauce. (Although, will someone please tell me if it's normal for it to have a slight "crunch" to it... I enjoyed the crunch! Haha. I hope I got it right.)

I really enjoyed it!  But Chris only ate half of his serving, saying it was "good" but it was "different".  Hm...  And Kj didn't get to taste it tonight (she's getting over a stomach bug tonight).

It's definitely something I look forward to eating again and it sure filled my 'spaghetti' craving!

Oh-so-delicious Tortilla Soup

I made this tortilla soup last week; it was a HUGE favorite! ;)  I received this recipe from one of my sisters, this past summer (she made it and I just couldn't stop telling her how delicious it was!).  I'm so very thankful for such a yummy soup recipe.

~
Tortilla Soup

2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
4 or 5 cloves garlic
1 pablano pepper, seeded and diced - you can also use 1 bell pepper along with 1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and diced
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 or 1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
6 cups chicken stock (or broth)
1-2 chicken breasts
1/4 bunch fresh cilantro
juice of 1 lime


Boil the chicken breast and set aside to cool. When cooled, shred the chicken into bite size pieces.

In a sauce pan, heat the olive oil on med-high. Add the onions, pepper garlic, salt, cumin and coriander for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute and stir. Add the chicken stock and bring to a light boil. When a light boil is achieved, lower to a simmer for 20 minutes stirring from time to time. Add the shredded chicken and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cilantro and lime juice and stir well. remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Some people like to add some crumbled tortilla chips to the soup when preparing to serve as well as shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Sliced avocado also goes well with it. 
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ENJOY! :)

Not out of a can? Wow for me! (quick turkey chili)

This is how I made it:
2 tbs cooking oil
2 poblano peppers
1 yellow onion
1 clove garlic
2 lbs ground turkey
2 tbs cumin
6 tbs chili powder
1/2 tbs cayenne pepper
2 tsp salt
3-4 (14oz) cans of tomatoes
2-3 (14oz) cans of kidney beans

(actual recipe I started with:   http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,161,152191-240194,00.html)

heat oil (medium high).  saute the chopped onions, minced garlic, and poblano pepper.

add the meat.  mix it in well, letting the meat cook only slightly, and then add all the seasonings/spices.

add the tomatoes -mix well.

cover and lower to a simmer for approx. 45 mins (I let it cook for 30 mins).

add the beans and cover and let cook for 15 mins.  Then enjoy!