Red Wine Balsamic Pot Roast

Pot roast is something that I feel is very personal to me.  When I created this recipe it wasn't based off of or really inspired by anything that I had seen or looked for.  I started making this a couple years ago and ever since it has been one of the best foods for me to have when I am a little meat crazed and need some comfort.  It will make you smile and your belly happy.  I know for a fact it is one of the best things that I make.  The way that I like to make pot roast is a little different than the traditional way and I don't like to cook my vegetables inside the liquid because I don't really tend to like mushy vegetables.  Also I should note that in my experience cooking roast I prefer to cook it on the stove top rather than the oven because I find it becomes more tender.  This recipe is a great recipe if you want to make something impressive, but don't really want to put a lot of fuss into cooking.  Enjoy!


R E D  W I N E  B A L S A M I C  P O T        R O A S T  R E C I P E


Ingredients 
☂ 2½ lb. chuck roast
☂ 1 tsp. salt
☂ 1 tsp. black pepper
☂ ½ Tbsp. olive oil
☂ 1 cup red wine
☂ ¾ cup balsamic vinegar 
☂ 14 cups water
☂ 2 Tbsp. Organic Beef Better Than Bouillon (if you don't have this variety then you may just use 6 cups of beef broth and 8 cups of water)

Directions
☂ Cut roast in half width wise and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper on each side of both pieces.
☂ Heat large pot to medium high heat and add in olive oil and roast.  
☂ Brown roast on all sides.
☂ When all the meat has browned on each side add in red wine, balsamic, water, and beef bouillon.  Give everything a mix and turn the heat to high.
☂ Once the pot has come to a vigorous boil, turn the heat down to medium low (around 2 or 3 setting).  Place a lid on top of the pot and cook for 2½ hours. 
☂ When the meat is cooked take it out and shred it and moisten with the liquid from the pot.
☂ You can serve this with mashed potatoes, a baked potato, asparagus, cooked carrots, or whatever your heart desires :)
☂ WALAH!  Enjoy and start feeling nourished♥

(just wanted to share a photo of the pretty cherry blossoms that are blooming everywhere around here!)

Southwest Citrus Chicken Marinade

So the weather is getting a little warmer and I'm craving more fresh and bright flavors.  A good marinade can change everything (YES EVERYTHING!)  I'm serious though, I think marinading meat is one of the best ways you can make sure what you're making is going to come out straight up delicious.  What I like about this marinade is that it is really healthy and fresh because there is no oil in it.  It's great for those who are looking to eat healthier and don't want to skip out on good tasting food (like everybody).  I like to serve this chicken it tacos, burrito bowls, or even on a southwest inspired salad!


S O U T H W E S T  C I T R U S  C H I C K E N  M A R I N A D E  R E C I P E

Ingredients
☂ 1½ lbs. chicken tenders
☂ 1 Tbsp. orange zest
☂ olive oil

Marinade
☂ ¾ cup of fresh squeezed orange juice (make sure to use delicious oranges and this will take around 3 oranges)
☂ 6 garlic cloves
☂ 1 chipotle pepper (from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)
☂ 1 cup of cilantro (it's okay if there are some stems included)
☂ 1 tsp. black pepper
☂ 2½ tsp. salt

Directions
☂ Place all marinade ingredients together in a food processor and blend until smooth (it will take about 2-3 minutes).
☂ Place chicken tenders in a large bowl and pour marinade into the bowl.  Mix the marinade together with the chicken until all the chicken is well coated.
☂ Cover the bowl and you can marinade the chicken on the counter for an hour or in the refrigerator for up to 10 hours.  
☂ After marinating (I typically just do an hour of marinating), heat up a large pan on medium-high heat and drizzle in a little olive oil.  Then place in about half of the chicken tenders (place as many as will fit in a single layer) and give each tender a little shake before adding it into the pan so the chicken in the pan isn't swimming in marinade.  
☂ Cook the chicken tenders for about 4-5 minutes on one side (flip when the chicken starts to brown), and then for about 2 minutes on the other side.  (Just cut one chicken in half to make sure they're cooked through before removing from the pan).  Repeat this cooking method with the remaining chicken.  Also, if you notice the chicken is burning a bit just turn down the pan to medium heat. 
☂ When all the chicken is cooked, top it with the orange zest to give it an extra fresh flavor!
☂ WALAH!  Enjoy and start feeling nourished♥

Sloppy Joes

I can't help but think about summer camp when I think of sloppy joes.  I use to really look forward to them because I never had them any other time of year.  They also remind me of this scene in the Olsen twins movie It Takes Two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3jBWs5oR08 when one of the Olsen twins eats a sloppy joe for the first time and calls it a "big gooey messy burger" haha.  I use to be obsessed with the Olsen twins and always thought Mary-Kate was the coolest (I mean she was right? Kinda tom boyish and sportier haha!)  Anyways back to the sloppy joes, this is sort of a healthier version, but with all the same familiar flavors.  You can pack a lot of veggies in this meal without feeling like you're eating them if that makes sense.  My favorite way to serve these sloppy joes is over some gluten free cornbread, but they're also good in corn tortillas and tortilla chips!


S L O P P Y  J O E S  R E C I P E


Ingredients
☂ 2 lbs. ground beef (I use at least 90% lean)
☂ 6 celery stalks, chopped
☂ 2 onions, diced
☂ 2 green bell peppers, chopped
☂ 1 (15 oz.) can of tomato sauce
☂ 2½ Tbsp. corn starch
☂ 3 Tbsp. brown sugar

☂ ¾ cup ketchup 
☂ 4 Tbsp. yellow mustard
☂ salt and pepper to taste

Directions
☂ Heat a pan to medium heat and add in your ground beef.  Cook the beef until it is all the way cooked through and add it with a slotted spoon (so not to transfer the remaining fat in the pan) to a slow cooker on HIGH (4 hour) setting.
☂ In the pan that cooked the ground beef remove all the remaining fat except two tablespoons.  The remaining two tablespoons will be used to cook the vegetables.
☂ Add celery, onions, and green bell peppers to the pan.  Season with salt and pepper.  Saute until they begin to soften and then transfer them to the slow cooker with the ground beef.  
☂ To the slow cooker add the remaining ingredients and give it all a mix until everything is incorporated and make sure to put the lid on the slow cooker.  
☂ Let the sloppy joes cook in the slow cooker for 2½-3 hours, making sure to stir them every 30 minutes so the sides don't burn.  
☂ Serve with gluten-free cornbread, tortilla chips, gluten-free bun or whatever your heart desires!
☂ WALAH!  Enjoy and start feeling nourished♥

Flank Steak Fajita Marinade

I was just telling my Dad yesterday that in my next life I would like to be born in Mexico.  I hope that can be arranged because I am seriously a little bit Mexican food crazy.  And when I say a little bit I almost always mean a lot.  I would seriously love to have an amazing Abuelita to teach me all her secret recipes, but for now I'm just doing my best.  I'm a pretty big fan of tender meat (as I would think most people are) and usually marinade it when I want that soft texture.  This marinade is fast to make and you only need to marinade your steak for about an hour.  There is nothing worse to me then spending the money on flank steak and ending up chewy and unflavorful meat.  Please don't make that mistake.  This recipe is easy and pretty foolproof.  Plus it just makes some pretty damn good fajitas.  So enjoy!


F L A N K  S T E A K  F A J I T A             M A R I N A D E  R E C I P E

Ingredients
☂ 1½ lbs. flank steak
☂ olive oil

Marinade
☂ 1 cup of red onion, roughly chopped
☂ 2 tsp. cumin
☂ zest of 1 large lime
☂ 4 garlic cloves
☂ 4 Tbsp. olive oil
☂ 1 tsp. salt
☂ 2 chipotle peppers (from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)
☂ 2 tsp. adobo sauce (from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)

Directions
☂ Place all marinade ingredients together in a food processor and blend until smooth (takes about 2 minutes).
☂ Take your flank steak and slice it in thin slices AGAINST THE GRAIN [this is very important or you will get tough meat].  
☂ Place meat in a large bowl and pour in marinade.  Mix the marinade well with the beef and cover.  I leave my meat on the counter and let it marinade for an hour and then begin to cook.  If you wish to marinade your meat any longer than an hour make sure to refrigerate it!  When you are ready to cook it pull it out and let it sit for 15 minutes so that it isn't cold when you cook it because that can make it tough.  You can marinade the meat for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.  
☂ So after an hour I heat a pan to medium high-heat and drizzle in a little bit of olive oil.  Then I add in half of the flank steak and let it cook on one side until it slightly browns and then I flip it over and let it cook for another minute until it is cooked through (be careful to not overcook).  Then repeat this and cook the rest of the meat. 
☂ To serve with this flank steak fajita meat I often make cilantro-lime rice, sauteed red onions and green bell peppers, salsa, guacamole, corn, and black beans.  But serve this with whatever you like, it also makes great tacos and burritos.  
☂ WALAH!  Enjoy and start feeling nourished♥

Caramelized Onion White Bean Dip

Happy Friday!! These past couple of weeks have been real doozies for me.  I went from one cold to another which my body has just been thrilled about haha.  In all seriousness though this needs to stop because my nose is not a happy camper.  Anyways I don't want to jinx myself but I think I'm on the road to recovery.  So last night, because I'm feeling a little better I wanted to experiment a little in the kitchen.  I was planning on making greek burgers and wanted a spread to go on them that was something other than hummus, so I just threw this one together.  I have made similar ones in the past, but I didn't have a lot of time to spend on it and just wanted to make it simple.  I love the sweet taste of caramelized onions.  They are so easy to make, but they taste so rich and complex.  I am a huge fan of french onion soup which is a small inspiration for the dip that I concocted.  I love making dips with white beans as well because they are so creamy and smooth.  A little trick that I learned a while back is if you add in the liquid from the can of beans into your dip it adds great flavor without having to add more oil or fat into your dips!  Just wanted to add in that this is a super affordable dip to make, so if you're fighting with a budget and don't want to splurge on getting tahini to make fresh hummus this is a great alternative!  P.S.  As I am writing this it is pouring down rain here and I love it.  Many people think that it rains all the time in the Pacific Northwest and it does rain quite a bit, but we don't really get those intense down pours of rain, we usually just get drizzles.  So this is always a treat for me (hah I'm such a nerd!)


C A R A M E L I Z E D  O N I O N  W H I T E   B E A N  D I P  R E C I P E

Ingredients
☂ 2 cups of sliced onions
☂ 1 (15 oz.) can of great northern beans, drain the liquid into a cup and DO NOT RINSE BEANS
☂ 6 Tbsp. of liquid from the can of great northern beans
☂ 2 Tbsp. olive oil
☂ salt and black pepper to taste

Directions
☂Place a pan onto medium-low heat and add olive oil and onions.  Caramelize the onions until they begin to turn golden brown.  We are not trying to get burn marks on the onions, just trying to make them melty and delicious.  This will take about 30-40 minutes (this may seem like a while, but it is totally worth it to get the flavor we are looking to get) and remember to stir them occasionally.  
☂ Add salt and pepper to the caramelized onions and cook for another minute and then pull them off the heat and add them to a food processor. 
☂ Add beans and 6 Tbsp. of bean liquid to the food processor and blend until the mixture is completely smooth.
☂ Taste the dip and season it with salt and pepper to taste!
☂ WALAH!  Enjoy and start feeling nourished♥

[These are my lettuce wrap greek burgers that I served with the dip.  This will be a recipe I will post in the near future, incase you were wondering!]

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Treats

I have the most beautiful dog in not only the whole world, but in the universe.  It's a fact that really can't be changed so we accept it.  His name is Cody, but is also called Codychoms, Codery, Toady, Bumble Bee, Rumble Ree, and Buttface (by my dad).  He is a 14 year old border collie mix mutt and we've had him since he could crawl underneath the small space between our kitchen countertop/cabinets and the floor.  Sometimes he's been mischievous like when he use to dig out of our yard and run around the neighborhood which is why you may notice he has just one eye.  Sometimes he still is mischievous like when he steals our tissues and eats them (what is that all about?!)  Or when he hops onto the couch when he thinks no one is home (this secretly cracks me up.)  What I love most about him are the little things like when I let him go outside and he rolls around happily on his stomach.  Or when he gets exciting and runs back and forth around the house.  He's really a special guy to me and a great source of love and joy.  That being said I like him to know how much I love him and care about him so when I have the time I make him homemade treats.   He loves these treats and they are also very good for him!  Pumpkin is great for dogs; it helps their digestion because it gives them fiber and is believed to help prevent cancer!  When you're making dog treats yourself you know what's going into them, and I can guarantee you if you buy treats you're going to be getting more fillers than actual pumpkin or the good ingredients that you want for your dog. 


P U M P K I N  P E A N U T  B U T T E R  D O G  T R E A T S  R E C I P E

Ingredients
☂ 2 cups of white rice flour
☂ ½ cup. gluten-free oats
☂ 1¼ cups canned pumpkin (pure pumpkin with no other ingredients)
☂ 1 Tbsp. peanut butter (natural variety with no added sugar)
☂ ¼ tsp. salt
☂ parchment paper

Directions
☂ Preheat oven to 350F degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
☂ Mix together all ingredients until they are well combined.  
☂ Roll out the dough until it is roughly a ½ inch thick.  Cut into small rectangles (it will make around 20 treats) and place them onto the baking sheet.
☂ Poke each treat with a fork a few times so that the treats remain flat and don't puff and create air holes.  
☂ Bake for 45 minutes.
☂ WALAH!  Enjoy and I hope your doggie starts feeling nourished♥

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Happy Spring!!  Even though it's currently 40 degrees outside, there are flowers blooming and there has been a bunny eating the dandelion greens in my front yard the past few days. And yes it is one of the cutest things I've ever seen!  So last post I mentioned that I wasn't sick anymore, but oh boy was I wrong.  The sickness came back with a vengeance and about ten times stronger.  I was beginning to feel like I was one of those doomed who got sick with the black plague in the Middle Ages and never got better.  I can be dramatic sometimes, or most of the time.  That's the reason I've been slightly MIA.  That's also the reason why you're getting another soup recipe because that's really what I felt like having.  This recipe is really dear to my heart and I make it all the time, sometimes once a week.  I discovered chicken tortilla soup last year and ever since have been totally obsessed.  If you have read my about me, really I use any excuse to eat tortilla chips (we all have our vices, right? right.)  That being said, this soup has plenty of delicious elements.  Honestly, just typing about it is making me crave it and it's 8:30 in the morning haha.  I'll just get to it then and tell you seriously to make it because you are missing out if you don't.


C H I C K E N  T O R T I L L A  S O U P       R E C I P E

Ingredients
☂ 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, fully cooked, diced (I like to get bags of frozen chicken breasts because they are super convenient and I just follow the cooking directions on the bag)
☂ 2 red onions, diced
☂ 1 Tbsp. olive oil
☂ 7 garlic cloves, finely minced
☂ 1 jalapeno, finely minced, seeded (if you enjoy spicier food feel free to keep in the seeds or add in another jalapeno)
☂ 10 cups of chicken stock (I use Organic Better Than Bouillon Chicken Bouillon to make my stock)
☂ 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
☂ 15 oz. can corn, drained
☂ 15 oz. can black beans, drained, rinsed
☂ juice of 2 limes
☂ 2 tsp. ground cumin
☂ 1 cup cilantro leaves
☂ black pepper to taste
☂ 2 avocados, diced
☂ bag of tortilla chips

Directions
☂ Heat olive oil in a soup pot on medium heat.  Add in red onions and begin to saute.
☂ Once the onions have softened, add in jalapeno and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes making sure the garlic doesn't burn.
☂ Add diced tomatoes, corn, black beans, cumin, and black pepper.  Give it a stir and let it cook for a minute.
☂ Add in chicken stock.  Turn heat to high and let the soup come to a boil.
☂ Let the soup boil for 10-15 minutes so that the flavors begin to concentrate.  
☂ Turn the heat to medium high and add in diced chicken, lime juice, and cilantro.
☂ Once everything has warmed through turn the heat to low and the soup is ready to serve.
☂ To top your bowl of soup add diced avocado and tortilla chips.
☂ WALAH!  Enjoy and start feeling nourished♥