Grape Tomato and Avocado Salad

Serves 3

This delectable salad proves that fresh, high quality ingredients taste superb with little adornment. Halved grape tomatoes and avocados join onions, parsley, cilantro, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt in this perfect side dish or simple appetizer with tortilla chips. Can be prepared up to four hours ahead of serving, making it convenient for those summer days when you're constantly on the go.

Ingredients

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley or cilantro, or mixture of both
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 white onion, chopped
2 avocados, chopped
High quality sea salt, such as Fleur de Sal

Method

In a non-reactive glass bowl toss together tomatoes, parsley, oil, lemon juice, and onions. Add avocados and salt and toss gently. Chill if not serving immediately.

Spanish Tortilla with Roasted Peppers and Spinach

Serves 10 to 12

A Spanish “tortilla” is similar to an omelet or frittata. Serve it up as a first course for 10–12 or in larger pieces as an entrée for 6.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons coconut oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 3/4 pounds red potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 packed cups (about 4 ounces) Organic Baby Spinach
1 cup thinly sliced roasted red peppers, drained well
8 free-range, antibiotic and hormone free Eggs, lightly beaten

Method

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick (or well-seasoned cast iron) skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onions, and cook about 2 minutes. Add potatoes, salt and pepper, stir well, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are just tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl, add spinach and toss well. Let cool 10 minutes. Wipe skillet clean. Stir peppers and eggs into potato mixture.

Heat another 1/2 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Transfer mixture to skillet and cook, running spatula around edges and gently shaking occasionally to prevent sticking, until eggs are set and bottom is brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Carefully invert onto a large plate. Heat remaining oil in skillet and slide tortilla back in, cooked side up. Cook about 5 minutes to golden brown. Transfer back to plate and let cool at least 10 minutes. Slice into wedges and serve.

Chicken Breasts with Grilled Pineapple and Tomatillo Salsa

Serves 4

Sweet onions and juicy pineapple hit the grill for a little extra flavor before being paired with tomatillo salsa, fresh cilantro and lime juice. Tender grilled chicken breasts are topped with this perfect balance of mild spice and sweet crunch for a show-stopping dish with minimal prep.

Ingredients

1/2 large sweet white onion (such as Vidalia), cut into 1/2-inch-thick ring slices
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups pineapple chunks
1 1/2 cups roasted salsa verde (Herdez makes a wonderful salsa verde with no added junk)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Juice of 1/2 lime (or more, to taste)
2 skinless, boneless whole chicken breasts, halved

Method

Heat grill to medium-high. Place onion rings in a bowl and toss with 1/2 tablespoon of the oil, salt and pepper. Grill, turning from time to time, until just charred and soft. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to let cool.

Rub all sides of the pineapple with 1/2 tablespoon of the remaining oil then arrange on grill and cook for about 1 minute per side. Remove and let cool.

When cooled, roughly chop onions and pineapple and place in a bowl. Add salsa verde, cilantro and lime juice.

Rub chicken breasts all over with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then arrange on grill and cook until golden brown all over and completely cooked through (about 165° on an instant read thermometer), turning from time to time to create hatch marks, if you like.

Transfer chicken to a platter, spoon grilled pineapple salsa over the top and serve immediately.

Almond Crusted Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Basil

Almond meal, which is made from ground blanched almonds, forms the nutty crust on this baked chicken, topped with slowly caramelized sweet onions and fresh basil. Serve this dish as a main course along with roasted or mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables and a green salad.

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons coconut oil
1 Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup basil leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 to 1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 cup almond meal
1 T mustard (I prefer Great Value because it doesn’t have added “Spices” (a.k.a. MSG))

1/4 cup agave nectar

4 (4- to 6-ounce) chicken fillets, skin removed
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

Method

Heat coconut oil in a large skillet over low heat. Add Vidalia onions, basil, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and slightly caramelized, 30 to 45 minutes. Stir in lime juice and keep warm.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375ºF. Grease the bottom of a baking dish with coconut oil or use non-stick foil; set aside. Put almond meal on a large plate; set aside.

I pounded the chicken flat and it made it wonderfully crispy, but this step is not necessary. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Combine the agave nectar and mustard. Spread 1 teaspoon of the mixture over the top of each chicken fillet then gently roll each in the almond meal, pressing to make sure it sticks. Arrange chicken in prepared baking dish in a single layer and bake until chicken is done to your liking, 15 to 25 minutes.

Transfer chicken to plates, top with caramelized onions, garnish with green onions and serve.

Homemade catsup

Ever notice that all of the store bought catsups contain either high fructose corn syrup, "Spices" (a.k.a. MSG), or refined sugar? I got tired of it, so I played some different recipes to come up with a homemade catsup without all of the junk.

1 Can Tomato Paste

1/4 Cup Water

1/8 Cup Agave Nectar

1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1/2 teaspoon Cumin

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cloves
2 T. Chili powder (or to taste)
1 tsp. minced garlic (or just the oil if you don't want the chunks)

1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

Mix together, cover and refrigerate. Remember that when you make things from scratch, they don't have as many preservatives (good and bad). You are going to have to use it up in a month or so.

Monkie Mama's Italian Salad Dressing

We go through this dressing like crazy. Tasty on all sorts of salads (green, bean, pasta, or fresh cut veggies, etc). I often double or triple this recipe or else I'm constantly making more. Thank goodness it's so easy!

• 1 C Olive oil
• 1/2 C white vinegar (you can get creative with different kinds of vinegars for different tastes)
• 1 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 tsp Pepper
• 1 tsp Basil
• 1 tsp minced garlic

Combine all ingredients (put the mixture through the blender for a creamy dressing). Refrigerate (best in a glass container). Dressing will separate so shake well before each use.

Monkie Mama's Black bean salad

• 2 cans organic black beans
• 2 ears fresh corn
• 1/2 red onion (more or less to taste)
  
• 1 green, red, or yellow pepper (heck, all three if you like em!)
  
• 1/2 lb diced tomatoes (I prefer grape tomatoes)
• 1 can olives, sliced
  
• 1 Cup (or to taste) of Monkie Mama's Roasted Red Pepper Dressing (or 1 bottle Annie's Roasted Red Pepper Vinagrette)

1. Drain and rinse black beans. Dump into a large bowl.
2. Cut the corn off the cob, rinse thoroughly. Add the corn to the beans.
3. Chop the onion and add.
4. Dice and add the pepper(s).
5. Slice tomatoes (dice if using larger tomatoes). Add to mix.
6. Slice olives and add.
7. Dump Salad dressing on the mixture and stir until combined.

Flavors will mix and the salad just gets tastier as it refrigerates. Also makes an excellent salsa.

Sweet Potato Muffins

These are a major hit with my family. Fabulous for a main dish or as a snack. I often make this dish a day or two after I've made mashed sweet potatoes as a side dish for a dinner. The leftovers are perfect for making these muffins. The recipe can be halved and it makes about 1 1/2 dozen, but I find we gobble them down very quickly and the following amounts are barely sufficient.

• 3 C. Mashed sweet potatoes (canned sweet potatoes or pumpkin are a good substitute)

• 6 ripe bananas
  

• 1 tsp. Cinnamon

• ½ tsp cloves

• 1 tsp. allspice

• 1 C. Water or until desired consistency (can substitute almond milk or coconut milk for richer flavor.)

• 2/3 C. Coconut oil

• 1 tsp. Vanilla extract

• 1 tsp. Almond extract

• 1 ½ C. Nut flour (I usually use Almonds and walnuts. See step 1 below for instructions on how to make your own)

• 3 C oat Flour (make your own by tossing whole oats in the blender until fine powder)

• 3 tsp. Baking soda

• 1 tsp. Salt

• 1 tsp. baking power
  

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin tin with muffin papers.

2. Toss nuts in a blender or food processor and grind until it becomes a pasty flour.

3. In a large bowl, combine the prepared mashed potatoes, bananas, spices, water (or milk), coconut oil, vanilla, and almond extracts. Mix with an electric mixer.
   

4. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until combined well.

5. Pour the batter into baking cups.

6. Bake until the tops spring back to the touch, 25-30 minutes. Yields about 3 dozen muffins.
   

Hummus

* Fresh ingredients are the best

1 regular size can of garbanzo beans (Don't drain!)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 C. cup lemon juice
2 heaping spoonfuls of tahini
1/2 tsp salt

Olive oil
Paprika
(Cumin is also excellent sprinkled on top)

Boil garbanzo beans in their own water for about 5 minutes, until tender. Put beans and juice in blender/food processor. Add all other ingredients except olive oil and paprika. Blend until smooth. Spread onto dish and drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with paprika or cumin. Delicious with pita bread, naan bread, or cut up vegetables.

Mashed sweet potatoes

2-3 medium sweet potatoes, washed, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 t. sea salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
dash ground cloves
1/2 t. vanilla
2-4 T. coconut oil (can substitute butter)
1-2 T. agave nectar (optional)

Place sweet potatoes in enough water to cover potatoes plus 1 inch. Cook for 10 minutes or until tender. Turn off heat and drain. Place saucepan back on burner for 30 seconds more to dry potatoes.

Add remaining ingredients and mash until all ingredients are mixed well. Potatoes will be slightly lumpy.

Can be made ahead and frozen in sealed container.

Makes eight to ten 1/2 c. servings.

Herb roasted chicken

This is another recipe from the What's cookin' good lookin' series on the website What's in it for me? Check it out!

Ok, this chicken is awesome and quite easy if you own a large (whole-chicken size crock pot).

I prefer to use boneless chicken breasts and modified the recipe thus:

Half the ingredients:
3 cups water
1/4 C sea salt
etc.

1 and 1/2 lbs of boneless chicken breasts (or approximately 6 breasts)

1. I followed the directions for step one above (halving the ingredients in the first step). The longer you soak the chicken, the more AMAZINGLY TENDER the chicken is. I think I ended up (unintentionally) soaking for two days and it was like slicing into butter! Yum!

2. I'm all about the grill lately, so instead of using the crock pot, I combined the remaining spices, and substituted butter for olive oil. I mixed it around/rubbed it on the breasts. On medium heat, grill 5 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. What you get is an amazingly sweet, amazingly tender chicken breast. I couldn't get enough of it.

This chicken was delicious with mashed sweet potatoes.

**as a side note, the hubby liked it the first time, but the second time he confessed that it reminded him too much of fish (??! I hate fish just as much as he does, I don't see see fishiness in it). Ironically, this is one of my very favorites. Figures! What are ya gonna do? **

Mimi's Pico De Gallo

1 large can petite diced tomatoes (drained well)
2 tsp diced or minced garlic
1/2 - 1 bunch fresh cilantro (if using only the tops use most of the bunch)
1/2 large onion (we prefer the taste of red)

Combine and mix well.

This is a staple in my house! Yum!

Also good with the juice of a small lime.

Black Bean Burritos

This recipe came from the fabulous website What's in it for me? This Texas gal has a series she posts called What's cookin' good lookin' that I stalk regularly for good recipe ideas. Check it out!

We made this the other night. Trying to do more veggie dishes. This was pretty good, especially on sprouted tortillas and grilled (wrapped in tin foil). Pretty tasty. This recipe didn't make enough for the whole fam and I ended up making a second batch. Doesn't it look beautiful? I also left out the corn to lower the glycemic factor.

Black Bean Burritos

1 can black beans drained

¾ can corn drained

1 small zucchini chopped

3 roma tomatoes chopped

1 stalk green onions chopped

1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used melted butter since all except coconut oil become toxic when heated)

juice from 3 limes

salt to taste

Marinate together for a few hours. Place a large spoonful of veggies (Drain out the juice. I use a sloted spoon.) on burrito shell and top with mozzarella cheese. Close with toothpick (we wrapped them in tin foil). BBQ or grill under the broiler until lightly browned on both sides.