Cinnamon Apple Chips

♥♥ Intermediate

These are a huge hit at my house - and in all honesty they are beginner level cooking. The only reason that I gave it an intermediate level is because you may want to use a special tool called a Mandolin, AND they take a bit of time in the oven.

My kids love these. So much so, that I made them three nights in a row. Super easy, and super tasty!




What you'll need: 
3 Apples, Cored and Peeled (I use a mandolin to slice them 1/8" thick)
Cinnamon & Sugar mixture to taste

How it's done:

1. Core, peel, and slice your apples. I prefer 1/8" thick. They get really crispy if they are thinner.

2. Preheat oven to 170* or as low as your oven will go.

3. Put all of your apple slices on a cookie sheet that's lined with parchment paper. Do not let any of them touch! Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar to taste.

4. Bake for 1 hour on each side (I sprinkle on the other side when I turn them over), with the oven cracked. They will harden up even more once they have cooled.

Enjoy!!!

Homemade Taco Seasoning

♥ Beginner

We were starting to see behavioral problems in our four year old recently, and knew that we needed to make some changes. ADD & ADHD run very strongly through my family, and we were begining to notice some traits of it in our daughters behavior. I'm not a fan of diagnoses' like ADD, because sometimes I think it's easier to change the activities or nutrition to see if that can help eliminate the problems we were having without medication.

ADD & ADHD are on the rise in America. We're diagnosing hundreds if not thousands of children a day, some as young as two years old. So I went to work, doing some homework on how to assist my daughter in eliminating the behavior problems.

What I found, was that WAY back in the 1990's there was a study done that equated food dyes and preservatives with increases in ADD symptoms. It's been validated for the past 20+ years by parents all over the country who have followed a plan of eliminating food dyes and preservatives, and have seen ridiculous improvements. So here we are, embracing the elimination of those things in our diet as well. It's not been easy, but we're managing okay. I'm finding it's harder to control their eating habits outside of our home than inside it.

One of the things we are up against, is prepackaged foods like Taco Seasonings. Tacos are a favorite around our house, yet those seasonings are packed with preservatives. I did some research and found that making your own seasonings really isn't that hard. So off to work I went. And the results were fantastic!

What you'll need:

1 Tbsp. Chili Powder
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp. Onion Powder
1/4 tsp. crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 tsp. dried Oregano
1/2 tsp. Paprika
1 1/2 tsp. ground Cumin
1 tsp. Sea Salt
1 tsp. Black Pepper

How it's done: 

1. Combine all ingredients in a small container. Cover & label. Instructions: 2 Tbsp. to 1lb Meat!

Broiled Tilapia with Parmesan and Herb

♥ Beginner

We have never been "fish people" in this house. Sadly, I think it's mostly my fault. I would much prefer to cook with chicken over any other protein. Funny thing is, I can't resist a good meal that includes cheese. That's a fact. So when I saw this Tilapia recipe on the Whole Foods website, I knew I had to try it.

The first time I made it, I only made two fillets (thinking that the kids wouldn't eat it). To my surprise, they each had a few bites of ours and loved it. After that, I've made three fillet's and let the kids share one. It's a great family dinner, and super healthy (if you can get past all of the cheese....).

Let me know what you think of it too!

What you'll need: 

1/2 C. Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
2 Tbsp. Mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. Sour Cream (Or greek yogurt)
2 Tbsp. Melted Butter
2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp. Basil
1/2 tsp. Terragon
1/8 tsp. Onion Powder (I sub. for Garlic Powder... yummo!)
Sea Salt & Black Pepper to taste.
4 Tilapia Fillets (6-8 oz. each)

How it's done:

1. Combine 1/4 C. Parmesan and all remaining ingredients (except fish) in a bowl. Place fillets in a shallow baking dish or broiler pan. cover fillets in the mixture and let marinate for 15-20 minutes.

2. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan, and place in broiler (approximately 5" from broiler). Broil for 5-8 minutes until fish is white and flaky. I like to lift the fish up with a spatula to check the bottom for pinkness.

We like to serve the fish with steamed veggies or a salad. Enjoy!

Adapted from the whole foods recipe, here. 

Bourbon Chicken

♥ Beginner

There's this Asian fast food place in the mall that I've loved ever since I was a kid. I hardly ever go to that mall anymore, but whenever I do, I make sure to stop and get a free sample of the Bourbon Chicken. Now that our family is getting serious about eliminating food-dyes and preservatives, we're learning how to make much more of the food that we love at home. Bourbon Chicken being no exception. 

I'm not going to lie to you, when I read the ingredients list I thought to myself 'no way this tastes good'. I'm glad we made it anyway, because strangely enough it's delicious. Dare I say, even better than my fast food joint at the mall? Try it for yourself, this was a big winner at our house. 

What you'll need: 

2 Lbs. Boneless Chicken Breast, cut into bite size pieces

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 Garlic Clove, Minced

1/4 tsp. Ginger

1/4 C. Apple Juice

1/3 C. Light Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp . Ketchup

1 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar

1/2 C. Water

1 Tbsp. Cornstarch. 

How it's done: 

1. In a large skillet, brown all of your cut-up chicken breast. While the chicken is browning, combine all of the remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl. 

2. Once the chicken has browned, remove it from the pan and set it aside. Pour sauce mixture into the skillet and bring to a rapid boil. Let boil for 2 minutes, and then add chicken back to the skillet. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered. 

Serve over hot rice, and enjoy!

Slow-Cooker Honey Almond Chicken

♥ Beginner

Our Thursday evenings are pretty crazy, and we are typically pulling into the garage around 6:30pm. Anyone with kids (especially more than one) knows that at that point you just shove something onto a plate and expect them to eat quickly because you've still got bath's to give, PJ's to put on, a story to read, and the typical 1 hr. routine of putting them BACK to bed. So I've resorted to "Crock-Pot Thursday's" as it's affectionately known around my house.

My family loves Crock-Pot Thursday because it means that we get to eat a warm, home cooked meal, that didn't take an hour to prepare. It also means that we get to have a few of our favorites that are on rotations far enough from each other that they only come around every once in awhile. One of those favorites is Honey Almond Chicken.

What you'll need:

2 Large Chicken Breasts
1/4 C Slivered Almonds, plus more for garnish
1/4 C Soy Sauce
1/3 C Honey
1 Tbsp. Canola Oil (I used vegetable oil)
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced (Or about a Tbsp. of the already minced stuff)
1 tsp. Fresh Ginger, Minced
1/2 C. Snap Peas
1 Tbsp. Cornstarch
Cooked Rice, for serving

How it's done:

1. Place the chicken breasts, and almonds in the slow cooker.
2. In a bowl, whisk to combine soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, and oil. Pour over chicken and stir to coat.
3. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours.
4. Fifteen minutes before finished, remove the chicken to a plate. Whisk the cornstarch into the sauce, and return the chicken back to the crockpot & add the snap peas. Finish cooking for 15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
5. Serve over rice and garnish with almonds.

Recipe adapted from Spoonful.com