Burrito/Taco/Salad Crock Pot Meat

Ingredients
1 lb grass-fed beef
1 can black beans (drained)
1/2 cup corn
1 small chopped onion
1/2 cup favorite salsa
1 lime
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt
Pepper

Method
Put everything in the crock pot, squeeze in lime, mix together, and set on low for 4 hours. Serve in burritos, in tacos, or on salads with avocado, sour cream, salsa, and cheese. My, oh my.

Note: I put all the ingredients in a big plastic bag the night before because that's when I had time. The next day I put everything in the crock pot around noon. Easy as pie. Easier, in fact.

Almost-Gone Hot Coco

Ingredients
2 cups any milk you like (I used 1 cup almond milk, 1 cup whole cow's milk. YUM.)
1 Tablespoon cacao powder
Sweeten with agave to taste

Method
Put everything in a small saucepan and stir the dickens out of it. The cacao powder will want to sit on the top, but a good stir will put it in its place.
Heat until hot.

Serve with socks on a cold day.

Turkey Meatball & Peppers - Crock Pot

Ingredients
1 lb Ground turkey
1 yellow bell pepper, 1 red bell pepper
1 small onion
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 tomato sauce
1 egg
Garlic
Oregano
Salt
Pepper

Method
-MEATBALLS-
Place ground turkey in mixing bowl. Add 1 egg. Add garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Form meatballs with hands and place in baking dish. They can either go right into the crock pot raw OR you can bake them at 375 for about 20 minutes if you want to get them cooked faster (plus they won't break as easily in the crock pot if they're cooked a bit first). I suggest baking them first.

When meatballs are cooking, chop peppers and onions- add to crock pot. Add canned tomatoes and tomato sauce to crock pot. Add some salt, pepper, oregano, and garlic. When meatballs are baked a bit on the outside, take them out of the oven and place them on top of pepper mixture in crock pot. Set on high and ignore for 4 hours.

Serve over pasta or on yummy roles with parmesan or mozzarella or both!

This will make your house smell like an Italian oasis.
I'm actually eating this as I type and it is really, really good.

Delicious Fish Tacos with From-Scratch Lime Tarter Sauce

Ingredients
-FISH-
Your favorite white fish
Whole wheat flour (quantity depends on how much fish you have)
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 eggs (more or less depending on how much fish you have)
Sea salt & pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil

-LIME TARTER SAUCE SLAW-
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped sweet onion
3 Tablespoons chopped parsley
2 Tablespoons rinsed capers
Juice from one lime
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 sea salt
1/4 pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Shredded cabbage (be the judge of how much you want)

-OTHER-
Corn tortillas
Salsa
Fresh avocado
Slice lime for squeezin'

Method
-LIME TARTER SAUCE SLAW-
Make this first so the fish won't get cold.
Put everything (EXCEPT THE CABBAGE) into food processor or blender. Blend ingredients until it's a smooth sauce. Add small amounts of sauce to cabbage and mix until pieces are coated well. You may have left over sauce, which will keep fine by itself but not so well on cabbage. Place in 'fridge and start fish.

-FISH-
Cut fish into "two-bite" size pieces. Lightly beat eggs in bowl. Mix flour, salt, pepper, and lemon peel on plate. Dip fish into eggs, then flip it around in the flour until coated. Heat oil in pan. Place breaded fish in pan and cook until golden. Break a piece open to make sure it's cooked enough, but not too much!

Warm tortillas in oven or fry them up with a little olive oil, place fish on tortillas, squeeze some fresh lime, apply a heaping portion of the tartar sauce slaw, adorn with salsa and avocado, and ENJOY. This dish is so stinkin' good. Do it.

Cheesy Potato Soup

Ingredients
5 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 sweet onion, chopped
1/2 cup sliced green onion
1 carton vegetable broth
1/2 cup milk
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt & pepper to taste

Method
Put potatoes, sweet onion, and the entire carton of broth in a large pot. Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are cooked through. Bring down the heat to low. Add green onion, milk, garlic powder, and cheddar cheese. Stir gently until cheese is melted. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve hot.
A scrumptious comfort food!

 

Pear & Pecan Salad with Mustard Dressing

Ingredients
1 bag baby spinach
3 pears, cored and chopped
5 ounces Roquefort cheese, crumbled
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
1/2 thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pecans
Coconut oil for caramelizing pecans

Dressing
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard
2 gloves of garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Method
In a pan over medium heat, heat coconut oil and stir in brown sugar with the pecans. Stir until sugar starts to change in consistency. It will start to melt and cover the pecans. Remove from heat and place on a plate, spread out so they don't all stick together when they cool.
For the dressing, put the olive oil, vinegar, honey, mustard, garlic cloves, salt, and pepper in the blender and blend on low until smooth.
In a large bowl, layer spinach, pears, avocado, cheese, green onions, and pecans.
Enjoy!

Brussels Sprouts with Honey

Ingredients
Fresh brussels sprouts
Honey
Earth Balance Butter
Garlic powder
Salt & pepper
Coconut oil for saute

Method
Heat oil in a pan. Slice brussels sprouts in half. Add them to heated pan and toss them around for about 5 minutes. Turn the heat down a bit and cover. Careful not to burn! Check them around 5 minutes to see if they are gold and the leaves fall off fairly easily. At this point, add the butter (amount depends on how many sprouts you have...but you can't have too much butter) and let it melt. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic, and drizzle honey over the whole thing. Toss, remove from heat, and serve.