Green Bean Fries

During the summer, we spend a lot of time getting produce from the farmer's market.  We would love to grow our own but it just hasn't happened yet.  I have tried herbs and tomatoes but there are too many animals in my neighborhood that like to steal my good garden plants at night.  I am working on a way to put a cover on some garden beds.  One day, we will grow at least some of our own.  For now though, we buy and preserve during the summer.  I have posted before about canning green beans.  They are one of our favorite veggies.  We canned again this summer but my husband wanted to try some fried green beans.  His favorite Chinese restaurant has them.  We did and they turned out really good!  So I'll share.  We tried to convince the 5 year old to eat them by calling them green bean fries.  She didn't go for it.  One of these days...

Green Bean Fries

Ingredients: 
Fresh Green Beans (with the ends snapped off and rinsed)
Eggs
Flour Mix (we used the same one we use for our Fried Chicken)

Directions: 
Heat up oil for frying.  We use grapeseed oil and have a fryer.  Boil some water to blanch the beans.  Boil the beans for 2-3 minutes and immediately rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process.  Coat the beans in egg, then the flour mix.  Then repeat the coating process.  Double coating is key.  We did one coat first and it was okay, but two coats definitely made them crispier.  Then toss the beans in the fryer.  If you are able, you also get a crispier bean if you double fry by pulling the beans out and letting the oil heat back up and dipping them in for a second round of frying.  However, this must be done quick with the beans so you don't overcook them.  They cook much faster than potatoes or chicken.  When they are done, we always spread them out on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil.
We paired these with baked chicken and rice.  It was a really good meal.

Canned Green Beans

As my previous post mentioned, I've been canning and freezing several fresh vegetables this summer.  The last post was instructions for canning diced tomatoes.  This one is for canning green beans.  My picky family will almost always eat green beans.  There are so many ways you can season green beans to make them work with your meal flavors.  We like to experiment with them.

Just a note:  You will need a pressure canner for green beans.  I have a pressure canner which doubles and does water bath as well.  If you are truly interested in canning and preserving at home, then it is worth buying one.  They aren't very expensive anymore but they are big so you have to have a decent place to store them.  Now, on to the good stuff.

Ingredients:
Green beans
Water
Salt

Directions:
Break the ends off of the green beans and snap the beans into 1-2 inch pieces.  Rinse the beans.  I have a wonderful large, wire strainer that sits on the sink top.  I set it on the counter and snapped the bean pieces directly into it so it would be easier to rinse them after.
Now it is time to sanitize the jars and lids.  Boil water in a pot to sanitize the bottles and boil water in the canner to sanitize the lids.  Just pour the boiling water into the jars to sanitize and pour it back out when you are ready to put green beans in the jars.  Toss the lids into the canner when the water is boiling to sanitize them.  Remove them after they are in for a few minutes.
In the large pot, boil water to add to the jars after the green beans have been added.
Use the directions for your pressure canner to add the correct amount of water to the canner.  Mine calls for 3 quarts and has a fill line inside the pot.  Bring the water to a boil.
Add green beans to the sanitized jars.  Be sure to leave at least a 1/2 inch of head space.  I usually just fill them up to the threaded part at the top of the jar.  Add 1 tsp. of salt to each jar.  Add boiling water to each jar.  Again, only filling up to the threads.
Use a small rubber spatula to remove the air bubbles from the jars.
Wipe the jar rim of any water and salt.  Any of this left on the rim could prevent a proper seal.  Place a lid on each jar and tighten.  Do not tighten too much at this point but tighten enough so that no water can seep through.
Place the jars into the pressure canner.  Place the lid on the pressure canner and lock down.  Use the 10 pound pressure weight for canning green beans unless you live in a high altitude.  Once the weight starts to jiggle, cook for 25 minutes.
I won't give you complete directions on what to do for pressure canning because it is easier and safer to use the directions from your canner.  The time and pressure weight is the information you need for green beans.  For pressure canning, use the instructions from your canner.

When the timer goes off, your green beans are done.  Let the pressure vent and take your jars out of the canner.  I let them cool for at least 12 hours hours without moving them anywhere and tighten the lids down every few hours until they are cool and won't tighten any further.

My green beans turned out really well.  My mom and I worked together to can diced tomatoes and green beans.  It is much more fun and much easier with a buddy.

Chicken and Broccoli Penne

	Ingredients: Grapeseed or Olive Oil 1 bunch fresh broccoli or a few cups frozen broccoli 1 (12-16 oz.) bag penne 1 medium onion, minced 6 garlic cloves, minced 2 tsp. dried thyme 1/2-1 cup all-purpose flour 3-4 cups coconut milk (This made this dairy free until I added the mozzarella.  This recipe is flavorful enough without the cheese added if you need dairy free.  We added the cheese to ours but left one bowl without for our daughter who needs dairy free.  I tried it both ways and loved it both ways.) Salt Pepper 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces Mozzarella cheese, shredded (I used a small block but you can add or omit cheese according to taste and need.) Tomatoes (I used a couple of handfuls of grape tomatoes and chopped them up but you can use any tomato chopped up.)
	Directions: Use some of the oil to grease a 9x13 inch baking dish and set aside.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a large pot, bring the water for the pasta and broccoli to a boil.  Stir in some salt and the broccoli.  This part is going to be up to personal taste but we like our broccoli very soft so I cooked until the broccoli was tender.  If you want a little bite in your broccoli, you will want to pull it back out of the water pretty quickly.  Remove the broccoli with a slotted spoon, tossing it into the greased baking dish and add the pasta and a little more salt to the boiling water.  Drain the pasta and toss it with the broccoli in the baking dish. While the pasta is cooking, in a skillet, add some oil and start browning the chicken.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper or any other seasoning you prefer.  We like the herb and garlic Mrs. Dash.  When the chicken is done, toss it in with the penne and broccoli.  During this time is also when you should chop the tomatoes. Rinse and wipe out the large pot to make the sauce.  Add some more oil to the pot and add the onion and garlic until it starts to brown.  Add a few tablespoons of the flour and whisk.  Add the coconut milk (or other milk if you prefer) stirring constantly.  Add in the thyme and salt and pepper.  Add the flour a little at a time until the sauce is thick and creamy.  Taste regularly to add more salt and pepper.
	Toss all ingredients together in the baking dish. Put the dish in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. If you don't need dairy free, feel free to add the cheese before putting the dish in the oven. I divided the cheese into bowls so I could store it all in separate bowls for leftovers so we had some dairy free and some cheesy. This dish and it's leftovers went fast so I didn't get a picture. But we will definitely be making this again so I will add a picture later.

Roasted Coconut Sweet Potatoes

This is a yummy veggie side dish and it warms up well when left over.  If you like sweet potato, you will love this.  I am always looking for some healthy vegetable side dishes.  My family is very picky when it comes to vegetables, although they are getting better.  I have also improved in my tastes for vegetables in the recent few years.  This is a dish I could eat regularly.  I hope it is one that my daughter will eventually like to eat as well.  L still doesn't eat a variety of foods since she got so sick two years ago but she seems to be interested again.  She actually touches the food and asks what it is rather than screaming and running away.  We are making progress in very small baby steps.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
2 lbs. (approximately) sweet potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp.  fresh squeezed lime juice or grated lime zest (optional but adds a nice zing)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400*F.  After the sweet potatoes are cut into chunks, put them in a large bowl.  Melt the coconut oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Pour the melted coconut oil over the sweet potatoes in the bowl.  Sprinkle the salt and pepper.  Toss the contents of the bowl to evenly coat potatoes in coconut oil.  Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet.  Roast, stirring every 10-15 minutes for a total of 40 minutes or until tender all the way through the sweet potato chunks.  Toss with lime juice or zest, then serve.

I will come back and add pictures later.  I have many pictures but I am gradually catching up for now.

This recipe came from HERE.  I didn't alter it at all but I have cooked it different ways in different pans without any problems.  Sometimes you don't have enough pans to cook everything at the same time.

Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

I've seen several recipes of stuffed sweet potatoes, especially since the paleo diet has become so popular.  This is actually my own recipe.  I read several recipes and kind of mixed them as I though my family would like.  This is a recipe for two servings.  If you have more people in you family, just add a sweet potato, chicken breast and two slices of bacon per person.

Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes
2 chicken breasts (diced)
4 slices bacon
parmesan (or preferred) cheese (optional) (I think this would be really good with something like goat cheese as well)
coconut or olive oil (unless cooking chicken in bacon grease)

Directions:
Now I already had bacon cooked so I chopped up and reheated it.  We keep our nitrate free bacon cooked and ready to warm up for the toddler.  She loves and can actually eat this one type of bacon so we keep it around.  If you are cooking the bacon, just use the bacon grease to cook the diced chicken in.  If not, use the olive or coconut oil.  First, you will need to bake the sweet potatoes.  This takes at least an hour in my oven so those will cook for 30 minutes before you even have to start on the rest.  Then cook the bacon.  Then saute the diced chicken in the bacon grease or oil.  When the potatoes are done, split them in half, unless you baked them that way.  Hollow out the middle a little, pushing the inside of the potato to the edges.  Split the chicken and bacon evenly into the hollowed out centers of the sweet potatoes.  Top with parmesan cheese.  I topped with parmesan from a jar.  I'm sure it would be better with fresh but I get so few shortcuts anymore that I take advantage of the few I can.

Smoothies

I have been missing from the blogger world for awhile now.  We've had some major issues with my daughter.  She has been very ill off and on.  As I've stated before, we believed she had a food allergy, mainly to corn.  Well, in recent months, she has started reacting to almost every food she eats.  We have had so much trouble getting any pediatricians to help us so we are now trying a naturopath.  Basically, we have started over completely.  She was at the point she wasn't eating or drinking anything.  It was getting very scary.  After two and a half months with this naturopath, she now eats a few things and always drinks water and tea.  And she is finally gaining a little weight.  But her diet is very strict.  We started out only offering the following foods:  sweet potatoes, avocado, chicken, salmon, peas, spinach, apple, pear, banana, white beans and a nitrate free bacon.  On these, we put salt, olive oil and coconut oil.  At first, she wouldn't eat any and even stopped drinking for two whole days.  She lost a few pounds.  Since that wasn't working we had to take a different approach.  We still used that list as our base but I went ahead and let her eat a few of her fruit squeezers.  You know the ones you can buy and they can suck out through the top while squeezing.  I finally found one she would eat.  Then she started drinking water and tea.  Then she started eating the bacon.  And now she eats baked or grilled chicken and sometimes a regular potato.  She has finally slept through the night for several nights in a row.  She has never slept through the night before and she is two and a half years old.

With all of that, I just haven't had the time, energy or heart to work on blogging, cooking, crafting or job searching.  I hope we are on our way to a healthy child so we can all get back to life.  I still have blogs started from Christmas time that I haven't finished and posted.  But I do have a few smoothie recipes for you today.

Spinach and Fruit Smoothie:
2 handfuls baby spinach
1 apple, cored (you can peel too if you prefer but I like the peel)
1 banana
1 cup almond milk (I use almond but you could just as easily use any kind of milk)
5 whole strawberries
1/2 orange
2 scoops protein powder (optional, I use whey protein powder)

Blend all together.  This can be frozen for use through the week.  This actually made 2-3 servings.

Breakfast Smoothie:
1 cup peaches
1/4 cup blueberries
1/2 cup almond milk
1 scoop protein powder

Blend all together.  This one is also good to freeze if needed.  This one is enough for 2 small smoothies or 1 large.  I doubled the recipe and made 3 smoothies.

Beefy Potato Soup

This is my favorite soup and comfort food.  I can even eat it cold.  It is easy and great leftover.  Now I know the original recipe came from a newspaper or magazine from a long time ago.  I don't know exactly because it was just a clipping in my grandmother's recipe stash.  It seems like a strange recipe when you read it but give it a try.  Really!

Ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground beef
4 cups cubed, peeled potatoes (I always use a little more potato)
1 small onion, minced (I've also used dried minced onion)
3 cups tomato sauce (no cans for corn-free)
4 cups water
2 tsp. salt
1½ tsp. pepper

(Note:  The original recipe also included ½-1 tsp. hot pepper sauce.  We don't like hot stuff so we leave it out.)

Directions:
In a large soup/stew pot or dutch oven brown the ground beef with the minced onion.  Drain if needed.  Add the tomato sauce and water to the beef and onion and mix together.  Add salt and pepper.  Bring to boil then turn down to a simmer.  Simmer for 1 hour, stirring regularly, or until potatoes are tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste if needed.

And again, I forgot to take a picture.  I made this while I was sick so I didn't have the blog on my mind at the time.  I will be making it again at some point during the winter.

Cheesy Zucchini Rice

NOTE:  This is not corn-free as is since the cheese is in there.  I am working on this recipe.

As I have mentioned before, I have some picky eaters in my house.  L is actually pretty good about eating vegetables, but she is going through a phase where she refuses to try anything that looks different or is a bright or bold color.  This is a perfect way to neutralize the color and keep a smooth texture.  I think I will try this with other vegetables too.  I've used chopped up carrots in rice before and peas would be good too.  Spinach maybe?  Anyway, here is the recipe...

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked rice
3 cups chicken broth (watch ingredients)
2 tablespoons butter (oil would work too, but use a little less)
1 medium or 2 small zucchini, grated (my blender pureed the zucchini so I will be grating it in the cheese grater from now on)
1 cup shredded sharp or mild cheddar
1 Tbsp. onion powder
salt and pepper, to taste
splash of milk, if needed (mine did not need this)

Instructions:
Pour the chicken broth and rice into a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down to a simmer.  Simmer, stirring regularly, for 15 - 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Remove from the heat and add the butter, grated zucchini, cheddar, and garlic powder. (Note:  If you are using carrots and prefer to have them tender to be similar in texture to the rice, put the carrot (if shredded or chopped) in the chicken broth with the rice.  You may need to add a little bit more broth) Stir until well incorporated. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir again and add onion powder and salt and pepper to taste. Add a splash of milk if you'd like to thin out the texture a little bit.

This recipe was modified from the recipe I found HERE.