Goat Cheese stuffed Chicken Breast with Roasted Brussel Sprouts (GF, EF)

So I finally made myself sit down and put this recipe on paper.  Which for a lot of you that know me that is a big one. I have heard I have a little Grammy in my me. Little bit of this and pinch of that... But I have had many people ask for this one soooo here it is ;-)

This dish, if I do say so myself is A.... wait for it... mazing ;-)  My hubby gets pretty excited when he sees this one on the food calendar!  Hope you Enjoy

Ingredients:

2 chicken breast
4 oz container Goat cheese crumbles
1/4 lemon
2 T dry parsley
2 T Earth Balance ( butter )
Gluten free flour ( I use Quinoa)
16 oz bag of brussel sprouts.
Garlic powder
Salt & Pepper to taste
EVOO


Mash with a fork: Goat cheese, juice from 1/4 lemon, Parsley, and Earth Balance until throughly mixed together.  set aside.



So the picture I am showing you below is of two full sized breast but they were a little big to eat that way for just the Hubby and I. Last night I cut them in half and made four different stuffed smaller pieces.  So I would do that way instead.  I don't have a picture of that, but you will get the idea with the picture of what it is supposed to look like big or small ;-)

You will need to make a slit in the top but off to the side of the thickest side of the breast. You are making a pocket for the cheese to sit in.  Make sure you do not puncture the other side or the cheese will run out.  Stuff as much cheese mixture inside each pocket.   Season breast with salt and pepper.  Next step is to roll the breast in flour.

In a saute pan with a enough EVOO to coat the bottom of pan, saute chicken breast just until a light golden color is on each side. Only a few minutes.



While the chicken is sautéing you can start cutting up the brussel sprouts. Cute off stem and cut in half.  Lay them in a 9x13 baking dish. Drizzle them with EVOO. Mix them all up so they are nicely coated.  Season them with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. No measurements here, sorry! ;-) arrange Sprouts on the outer edge of dish.
When chicken is a golden color place meat in the middle of pan.  Cook dish at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked. Sometimes I will deglaze the pan that the chicken cooked in with a a 1/4 cup chicken stock and pour that mix over then chicken and brussel sprouts. It Gives a little more sauce at the end. If the chicken is not as golden as you would like turn on broiler for a few minutes. Make sure to keep your eye on it.  Sprouts can burn pretty quickly!



Um... Yummy!  Enjoy!

White bean and Artichoke heart pasta with homemade Cashew Cheese( vegan, GF, DF)

Holy moly this one is a keeper!!! ;-)  So we were running a little low on stuff in the cupboards the other night.  I had a can of white beans and of course a can of artichoke hearts.  I was CRAVING pasta.  I just bought a can of this amazing tomato basil sauce from new season.  It is all natural with only a few ingredients which always makes me happy.  No crap in this sauce ;-)  Any ways, I couldn't wrap my brain around that all these flavors would taste good together lol....  Sooo i googled, white bean and artichoke pasta.  Tons of links pop up, that was enough for me.  Went back to the kitchen and this is what I came up with.  You have to try it, it really is tasty. :-)



Ingredients:

:  One box of Gluten free elbow pasta
:  1/2 of a lemon
:  Palm of parsley
:  Palm of oregano
:  Can of artichoke hearts in water ( not the seasoned kind)
:  one can of white beans
:  pinch of salt
:  one big jar of tomato basil sauce





Cook pasta per box instructions.

While pasta is cooking in a large pan combine sauce, parsley, oregano, juice from 1/2 a lemon, chopped artichoke hearts, rinsed white beans, and salt. Mix all together and cook on med/low heat for about 15 minutes.




Once pasta in cooked add noodles to sauce and mix together.  Turn heat to simmer and cover pan. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes stirring every few minutes or so.  This helps sauce bind to the noodles better.



Now for the Cashew Cheese.  I have seen this done a few times and really wanted to try it myself. So here is my recipe for cashew cheese.  I only had 1 cup of raw cashews left, I would have made a lot more if we had more nuts ;-)  The hubby LOVED it, and it is soooo easy.  Gotta love a Raw vegan cheese.

:  1 Cup raw cashews
:  1/2 cup Hot water
:  garlic
:  salt
:  evoo

In a food processor or good blender, grind up cashews till it looks like powder.  Add Hot water and blend together. I didnt measure the next ones ( sorry Kathy, lol) add a pinch of salt, maybe 1 T Evoo, and garlic to taste.  Blend together until a smooth texture is created.

This taste a lot like alfredo sauce.  Crazy right?!?!



Next time, I am going to try to make more of this and do a Vegan Mac & Cheese.
Oh how we miss Mac & Cheese on a cold day ;-)



ENJOY!!!

Stuffed Portobello Mushroom. ( vegan, GF, DF)

So I had some cooked Quinoa and Two big Portobello mushrooms, and left over sun dried tomatoes in the fridge that needed to get used up asap. This is what I came up with ;-)



Ingredients:

:  2 Portobello mushrooms
:  Extra Virgin Olive Oil
:  1 clove garlic
:  A palm full of fresh chopped parsley
:  1/3 Cup pine nuts
:  1/3 Cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
:  1 1/2 Cups Veg broth
:  1/3 Cup water chestnuts ( chop into little bits)
:  3 cups cooked Quinoa


First you will need to scrap all the black stuff out of the mushrooms with a spoon.  This will give  more room for the stuffing.  Drizzle mushrooms with EVOO and bake on cooking sheet at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.



If you don't have left over Quinoa like I did, then you may need to take an extra step and cook that first
;-) You could also cook the Quinoa in the broth with all the goodies.  Just bring to a low boil turn heat down and simmer until Quinoa is cooked.

In a large frying pan drizzle bottom of pan with the EVOO, saute pine nuts and chopped garlic.  Cook until a nice light golden brown.



Once it looks like above add vegetable broth, parsley, chopped sun dried tomatoes, chopped water chestnuts, and Quinoa.



Add mix to mushrooms. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.



Yummo!!! Enjoy...

Lemon Basil Chicken (Gluten & Dairy Free)

Yummy!!! Love the flavors in this one ;-)  I had some basil and wine left over from super-bowl that needed to get used up, so this is what I created.  For all you vegans our there, just minus the chicken and use the Quinoa with everything else as a side dish. The citrus flavor is soooo good, didn't want you to miss it.

Lemon Basil Chicken


: Extra virgin olive oil
: 2 chicken breast
: Gluten free flour ( Quinoa flour is what I used)
: 1 T Earth Balance
: 4 T Chopped Basil
: 1/3 Cup fresh Lemon Juice
: 1 1/2 Cups Chx or Veg Broth
: 4 T White wine
: 1 Cup Quinoa
: Salt to taste

Cut chicken into little pieces and lightly coat with flour.  Saute Chicken in olive oil on medium heat. Lightly brown both sides of chicken.  Once lightly browned add to pan Earth Balance, broth, chopped basil, lemon juice, and wine. Stir until everything is mixed together.




Turn heat to low, add Quinoa. Make sure Quinoa is nicely settled into the liquid ;-)
Cover and cook until quinoa and chicken are cooked and liquid is absorbed. about 15-20 minutes.



All Done ;-)



Simple and Easy, but lots of flavor!!!

Quick note- The broccoli...  We love to bake it.  I use the baby broccoli, they have really long stems and not so full tops.  place on cooking sheet, drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I bake them at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.  They get a little crunchy. Try them you might be surprised that you actually like Broccoli.  

ENJOY!!!

Signs!!!

Of course as I am just starting to type I look at my clock and it says 12:11.....  That is what I was coming on here to blog about.  Signs!!! They are everywhere... Most of the time people aren't being conscious enough to notice them. Mine is the number 11. I see it everywhere right now. The last time I had this happen was right before my divorce when I was 25.  I kept praying for something better, for a day I could get back to myself. A day that wasn't filled with anger, confusion, and hurt. I started seeing the number 11 A LOT. So I started praying every time I saw it.  Lets just say, my prayers worked. I really haven't noticed seeing this very much since that year, until now...  It's been a few weeks now and it's very apparent that this sign is back in my life for a reason.  I looked up "what does number 11 mean" this is what the first page said. "The appearance of 11 is a powerful confirmation that we are on the right track, aligned with our highest Truth, a message from God" How AMAZING is that.  It made me smile from ear to ear.  Then today my mother in law sent me an email telling me how proud she is of me.  :-)  She gave me a scripture to read, Jeremiah 29:11  Yes 11 ;-)  it says,   "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the lord, Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future".  WOW!!!  I don't think I could find a better way to explain it then that.  "Not Harm You".  All of this is a plan.  How do I learn from it, grow from it, Inspire people from it!?!  Seeing the number 11 is a confirmation that God is here with me, and I AM on the right path.  Everything is balanced the way it should be.  Its my sign of hope.  I am so  blessed to be aware of this sign, and it makes me happy to notice it.  I believe that God is giving me this sign for a reason,  Even more AMAZING things are just around the corner.  

      

                                             
Signs are there for you, to give you that little boost of confidence.  It may not be a number or a thing. Maybe its someone coming into your life planting a seed. Giving you information that you have always wanted but just might not have the courage to take that step forward.  When ever things like this happen we usually say, "That was weird" or "That's just a coincidence".  I don't think that is it at all. For me now, I say Thank you and smile.  I guess for now it is my daily reminder that everything is OK.   I can keep moving forward with what I am doing.  Truly believing with all of my heart that I am not being punished for anything.  I have been giving a gift with my diagnoses.  For you.... Try to be open to what ever, if you don't, you might be missing the biggest sign in your life. You might miss something really great. :-)

Different "potato" ideas

I LOVE french fries and mashed potatoes!!! But we all know they aren't the greatest for us.  Soooo for french fries I do sweet potatoes. :-) Sweet potatoes are very rich in beta carotene, which is a great anti-oxidant.  They also have anti inflammatory properties, vitamin C and magnesium.  So these little guys are great to snack on for us that have hashimotos and pcos.  Helps keep inflammation down and glucose levels stable.


These are a great mid-day snack or a side for dinner.  All you have to do is peel your potatoes. Cut into french fry strips. Not to thick or they will take a long time to cook.  An easy way to season and coat with olive oil is to put them into a big Ziploc, sprinkle whatever seasoning you want and a little olive oil in the bag. I used salt and paprika for these ones in the picture. That's why they look a little red after cooked.  Mix all up so they are evenly coated.  Lay fries out onto a cookie sheet. I usually cook them at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.  I just check on them every five minutes or so and make sure they aren't burning. 











My second "potato" idea is cauliflower mashed potatoes.  I know it may seem weird but they truly do taste like mashed potatoes.  And its simple. Here is what you will need

Ingredients:

- 1 cauliflower head
- 1/4 cup rice milk
- salt
- garlic powder

Take a head of cauliflower, break it up and steam them for about 8 minutes. I use one of the double decker steamers.



Ones soft, place into food processor. I am pretty sure you can also use a blender.  Add rice milk, earth balance. blend all together until it looks and feels like mashed potatoes. Add salt and garlic to taste. You can  add any type of seasonings, this is just what I did the other night ;-)





What a great healthier option for mashed potatoes!   Dont ya think!?!?  ;-) Hope you enjoy...

Sweet & Spicy Chicken Strips ( Gluten, Egg and Dairy Free)

Dan LOVES these. When he smells these cooking he gets pretty excited.  This is my way of doing chicken fingers. It has a little kick, so if you don't like spicy just reduce the amount of cayenne to your liking.  This is a good way to have chicken strips but a much healthier version.

Ingredients:

- 2 chx breast
- Olive oil
- Quinoa flower ( find this at whole foods or new seasons, Bobs Red mill brand)
- 5 T organic light brown sugar
- 3 T Sweet Paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder

- 1-2 tsp salt

- 1 tsp pepper

Mix all dry ingredients together
cut chicken into strips.
Place about a quarter of the spice on a small plate and some flour onto another plate.



Roll chicken in spice...



 then roll in flour.
 Quick tip:  use left hand for rolling in spice and right hand for flour. if the chicken gets flour on it first the spices wont stick.  So the hand thing helps ;-)



Place in frying pan with heated oil on low-medium heat.



Because of the brown sugar these can burn easy if you have the heat to high. I like cooking them a little slower on lower heat, then close to the end turn up the heat to crisp up the outside.



YUM-O!!!  ;-)

We enjoyed a little salad with an amazing Gluten free, Vegan dressing. The brand is Organic Ville, Miso Ginger.  Found it at Whole Foods.  I added a little bit of toasted sesame seeds.

Hope you enjoy.

Sweet Potato Hash (Gluten, Egg, and Dairy Free)

Breakfast was pretty hard for me to figure out at first. I felt like everything had Gluten, dairy and eggs in a breakfast dish.  I LOVE hashbrowns. So I had to think of something like it. I didnt just want to eat potatoes for a meal though.  You of course can use regular potatoes for the Hash Brown part, But beacuse I need to keep my Glucose levels down I decided to use Sweet Potatoes. These are a Low GI food.  This is a very simple recipe but I had to share it with you. We make this at least once a week.  :-)

Ingredients:

- 1 big or 2 Medium Sweet Potatoes

- Turkey Bacon ( I use 6 slices for Dan and I)

- 1 Yellow or Red pepper

- Paprika

- Garlic Powder

- Salt

First step is to prepare The potatoes.  Peel and shred them.  

Because sweet potatoes have so much liquid in them you must squeeze this out.  Here is the way I do it. I am sure you don't need to do use paper towels, its just works better for me ;-)


Coat Bottom of a big frying pan with EVOO.  Fry Potatoes on medium heat.  Cook like normal hashbrowns.

Add Paprika, garlic powder, and salt. There is no measurements for this. Just add to taste.



While Potatoes are cooking chop Turkey Bacon and peppers.



Cook Turkey Bacon in a separate pan. Once Hashbrowns are golden brown on one side flip and add chopped peppers to the top of potatoes.



Once bacon is cooked add to hashbrowns. Mix all together.



All Done ;-)

A good topping for this is cubed avocado. We didnt have any this time. Try it if you have some. Hope you Enjoy...

Shrimp, artichoke heart and sun dried tomato pasta (Gluten Free/Dairy free/Egg free)

This recipe is so yummy!!! I threw this together a few months back when there was "nothing" in the house to eat. Or so I thought :-)  It's a very quick meal to throw together.  I have also done this without the shrimp and it is just as yummy.

Ingredients:

- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (enough to coat your pan)
- 30-40 Shrimp
- 1 T Earth Balance ( I use this instead of butter)
- 1/2- 3/4 Cup Sun Dried Tomatoes (if they are big chop into small pieces)
- 1 tsp Lemon Pepper
- 1 Cup Vegetable Broth (make sure it says Gluten Free)
- 1 14oz can of Artichoke Hearts
- 1 box of Quinoa Noodles. (Gluten Free)
- Salt to taste.



Cook pasta per box directions. I usually start cooking shrimp right after I add pasta to the boiling water.
I use frozen uncooked already cleaned shrimp.  Thaw shrimp in a bowl of water, just enough to cover shrimp.  This usually only takes a few minute's.  Once thawed and de-shelled (not sure if that's a word lol) add to a pan with EVOO, Veg broth, and Earth Balance. Cook Shrimp on medium heat until pink.




A little helpful hint. If you had your tomatoes in the fridge and the oil has become hard, I just set it in my pasta water for a few minutes while pasta is cooking. It will loosen the oil and make it much easier to get them out. ;-)   Please use tongs to get them out of the water!!!



Add Lemon Pepper, Sun Dried Tomatoes, and artichoke hearts.  The hearts are usually pretty big, so I like to break them up in the pan. Turn heat to low and let simmer.

Once pasta is cooked, drain and add to pan and mix all together.



Yay!!! Its all done now ;-) I hope you enjoy my dish. Let me know how it turns out.  ENJOY!!!

Gluten Intolerance

I have done a lot of research in the past year and am now 100% convinced that Gluten is a big NO NO for my body. Here is just a small list of things I have found that are linked to Gluten intolerance: PCOS, Infertility, Thyroid disorders, Autoimmune disorders, liver disease, cancer, Autism, osteoporosis, epilepsy, learning disorders, etc... The list goes on and on. I am not saying that this is all from Gluten. I am saying that research shows that taking Gluten completely out of your diet can dramatically improve your health.  I can't tell you how many times I have read "I stopped eating gluten and I got my period for the first time in years".  This is of course on the PCOS sites ;-).  It is recommended that any woman or man who suffers from hormonal imbalance try the no gluten lifestyle and see what happens. Many sites report women who have been "diagnosed" with un-explained infertility issues got pregnant after taking gluten out of their diet.  You do not have to be diagnosed with celiac disease to have a gluten intolerance.  This is why it is missed by many doctors. If you take it out of your diet and you start feeling better, such as... more energy, brain fog is gone, less irritable, depression is better, cycles regulated, you're not bloated anymore, etc... you just may be sensitive to Gluten.  

In my recent post I have noted that I have an Autoimmune disease called Hashimotos.  An autoimmune disease occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s own tissue. In me it's my Thyroid. In many cases, it’s the consistent presence of incompletely digested food molecules in the blood stream that leads to autoimmunity. This is especially the case with gluten because it contains peptides that closely resemble human tissue and provokes the creation of antibodies that attack organs, glands, joints and other important areas of the body. 

The good news is that as soon as you eliminate gluten from your diet, the healing process begins almost immediately. I have tried limiting gluten for many years but always found myself cheating. I have found that even cheating a little for me sets me back. So I am now 100% Gluten free, and am very optimistic for the future. I have done a lot of food research and created some yummy recipes along the way. I would love to share them with you on future blog posts. 

No matter what you are going through just be curious about going gluten free. Do your own research, maybe try it out for awhile and see how you feel. I understand this may not be for everyone or maybe it's just not the right time. That is ok, but if you do want to do this try not to be hard on yourself. If you hit a little speed bump and find yourself cheating, don't dwell on it and beat yourself up.  Just be conscious of it and move on. Try to stay positive and think about what it would look like to feel better.

This is what I do... I close my eyes and try to feel what it would feel like to be completely healthy. Thinking about finally getting that positive pregnancy test knowing that I did this. It always makes me happy not sad. Try not to be sad about what you are going through. If you have been diagnosed with something try not to let it define you. Instead try to learn and grow from it.  My Last Five Years is a true gift from God. I truly believe this and know that the outcome of all of this is going to be Amazing :-)  

2011 is going to be AMAZING!!!!!

This year is going to be amazing.... I just can feel it. My word for 2011 is "Amazing" I have gone back and forth with the word heal and amazing. I feel as though I am already healing so I want to just move forward and on with my "amazing" life. This Blog is a part of this new amazing chapter of my life. I started a blog a few years back and never really felt that I had anything to share. Well that just wasn't the right attitude to have now was it. LOL.... But now I know what ever I have to share will be great or should I say amazing!


For those of you who may not know my story I will give you the short version on how I got to this point. I met the man of my dreams a little over five years ago in November of 2005. We were married March 18th 2006. Yes that is Four and half months later if you are doing the math. ;-) He is strong, funny, has a HUGE heart, Brave, kind, amazing with kids, etc. I could go on and on but all I know is God mad him for me.



(pic by Kathy Carlisle)


We quickly started working on making our family, little did we know the journey that would take us both on. I got diagnosed with PCOS, Which is a hormonal imbalance linked to insulin resistance, in which prevents mature eggs to drop and then turns into ovarian cysts. Started on lowest dose of metformin and eventually went to the highest dose they could give me. Metformin is a diabetic medication that helps balance your glucose levels. The Doctor told me to eat a low sugar diet and I would be fine.... Lets just say that didn't work. Started on Clomid for 8 months, that also didn't work. About a year later we went to a specialist and was also diagnosed with Hashimotos, which is an autoimmune thyroid disease. I had this the whole time but was mis-diagnosed before. Did 6 rounds of IUI's with the specialist. Again this did not work. After three years of trying we were done trying!!! It was physically and mentally exhausting.


After about a 6 month break I started to see a naturopath doctor. Did some test and it showed my hormones were still way out of control. We also found out that I also had pretty severe food allergies. There was a lot on the list but the major ones were Dairy, Gluten, and Eggs. ( a year later my husband was also tested and found out he was allergic to dairy and Gluten. told you he was made for me... Ha) Did a lot of healing my body the next six months or so. In this time I was still so confused. I feel like I would get one thing figured out and let another thing slip out of control. So I never truly felt balanced. I then knew I had a lot of healing left to do mind body and soul. I started taking the power back into my hands. I gave so much power to the doctors because I wanted that quick fix. I just wanted to be pregnant soooo badly that at the time I would have done anything to achieve that. I am not saying that what I did was wrong. I just feel blessed that it didn't happen for us. I know it might sound a little strange but the journey that we have been on this past few years I wouldn't trade for anything.


This past year and half has been AMAZING :-) My friend introduced me to a company called Univera, Which has been a huge tool for me and my healing journey. This will be another post ;-) Also learning how everything I have been diagnosed with is linked. There are so many links between Gluten, Hashimotos and Hormone imbalance that it can't be ignored. This is the main reason I wanted to start this blog. One of the hardest parts of this journey was the start of the Gluten and Dairy free eating. I have so many people tell me they want to try it as well but don't know where to start. I pray that I can help even just a little. If I can inspire even just one person then that's enough for me.


Through all of this I have learned to be patient and positive. We may not know why things happen but we can learn from whatever lies in front of us. We may not be pregnant yet but I have now regained control of my cycles. They are "normal" and my body is feeling great. I know it's in all in the timing. With everything I have learned and am still learning This will only help me be a better mother and a better self.




(pic by Me)


I hope you enjoy my new blog. I will be adding recipes, featured companies, tips, photography and even showing my artsy creative side. Here is to an AMAZING 2011!!!!!