Millet and a Skillet

Several weeks ago I went to the health food store in town and picked up this fun box of goodies. I went to the store for some more buckwheat flour at hopefully a better price then the grocery store had it and came out with a few extra things.

Amaranth graham crackers, millet, soy nuts, wheat berries, mango green tea, pilaf mixture, dried green and red peppers, red quinoa, the buckwheat flour and that boom choco boom dairy free rice milk bar that was very delicious! I got all of that for $35 which I think was pretty good especially considering that the red quinoa was $14.95.

Back to the meaning of this post. The millet. I have had the millet in the cupboard for all these weeks but I haven't found a recipe that just grabbed me and made me want to try it so I did what any good food blogger does and made my own recipe last night.

This is what millet looks like before you cook it. It is almost like a bigger version of quinoa or couscous. It cooks very simply like quinoa or rice but the ratio is more like 1/2 cup millet to 1 1/2 cups water. I actually used 1 cup millet and the same amount of water and it turned out fine. There are various opinions of course but I did not want mushy millet so I went with less water. It may have been a bit undercooked but I was adding some moisture with the tomatoes and peppers.

And this is what it looks like when it is cooked. The trick with millet is to keep it from being mushy. So the cooking process is a bit different than rice or quinoa in that you need to leave the lid off, cook it for no longer than 15-20 minutes, and stir it a few times while it is cooking. Millet has a little hint of a corn kind of taste to it or I have heard others say it is like polenta but I wouldn't know. It has a better taste straight from the spoon not mixed with anything than quinoa does but I don't think it is quite as versatile as quinoa. I made 2 cups which equals more like 4-5 cups cooked.

So last nights recipe started with some green, yellow, and red peppers sauteed with red onion, and garlic in some olive oil. I cooked them just a bit not wanting them to loose any of their color and then added a can of fire roasted tomatoes and a can of diced chilies (no picture, sorry) and let that warm up and cook a bit longer.

I then moved this to a large bowl.

I diced up 2 chicken sausages and cooked them in the same pan but later added a third. Just a personal preference and I was taking it to small group to feed hungry men. Add that to the bowl of peppers.

I then added the sausage and millet to the bowl and stirred in a bit of reduced fat pepper jack cheese and dried cilantro because I had no fresh. Topped it off with a bit more cheese and kept it warm in the oven until it was time to leave.

So Yummy! Miles says it has a bit of a Spanish rice flavor only better and the ladies at small group requested the recipe, which is why I am posting this right now while I still remember what I did, and my best friend who is the pickiest eater I know even liked it. She doesn't touch anything resembling rice with a ten foot pole so it was a great compliment. Even her 11 year old daughter came and told me she liked the dish I had made. Compliments from kids mean the most! Winner, winner, millet dinner!

In case you were wondering millet is a very healthy ancient grain. It might not stack up quite as well to quinoa but it provides the following nutrients your body needs.

• Magnesium
• Calcium
• Maganese
• Tryptophan
• Phoshorus
• Fiber
• B vitamins
• Antioxidants

Studies have shown that magnesium can help reduce the severity of asthma and frequency of migraine attacks. So if you suffer from either you should definitely add millet to your diet. In addition it also provides serotonin which helps to calm and soothe your moods, is alkaline, is a heart healthy choice, and digests easily.

I ate some millet for breakfast with some warm coconut milk and blueberries and I think I will be stuffing some peppers with it later in the week. More experimenting will be necessary for sure!

Spanish Millet with Peppers and Onions

3 cups cooked millet (approximately 1 1/2 cups uncooked)
Half a red onion, sliced thinly
Half of each of a red, green, & yellow pepper
2-3 garlic cloves minced
1 can fire roasted tomatoes, undrained
1 can diced chilies
2-3 chicken sausages sliced and cooked
2 tbsp. fresh cilantro or 1 tsp. dried
1/2 cup reduced fat pepper jack, shredded
2 tbsp. olive oil

Rinse millet. Add 1 1/2 cups millet and approximately 3-4 cups water to a pot. Cook on medium, uncovered on stove for 15-20 minutes stirring a few times. Set aside and fluff a few times with a fork while it cools. Saute onions, peppers, and garlic in olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and chilies. Cook for 5-8 minutes until warmed through. Remove mixture to a large bowl and add chicken sausage to skillet. Cook until browned and add to the pepper mixture. Stir in cooked millet, most of the cilantro, and half of the cheese. Top with a bit more cheese and the rest of the cilantro for presentation. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Potato and Leek Soup

March has arrived. It came in like a lion so it better be going out like a lamb! We actually had our first snow storm of the year and the kids got a day off of school. I can't complain about it though since it now brings or total snow accumulation up to about 10 inches for the whole winter I think! WOW! Have I said how much I LOVE THAT! Snow is not my thing. Which does beg the question, "Why do you live in Minnesota?" Anyhow snowstorms call for homemade soup, don't they? Plus this might be the last weekend for making it because SPRING is coming and all this snow is movin' on out!

Sometimes I look in the fridge and find something I need to use up asap or something like that commercial for the Food Saver will happen, "I'd like 5 pounds of meat but just wrap up half of it because I am going to throw the other half away!" Produce is expensive and we buy a heck of a lot of it. It hurts to throw it away. This time it was cabbage but I didn't just want cabbage soup. Light bulb! Potatoes will work with cabbage I think.

Chop up about 4-5 small red potatoes and one leek. Place in a pan with some olive oil.

Cook them until they are starting to brown a little and the leeks are golden.

While those are cooking chop up in the food processor this soup base. This goes into every soup I make. You need 2-3 celery stalks, 3 carrots, a couple garlic cloves, and one small onion. You also need couple tablespoons of butter or butter alternative. I used Earth Balance. Sweat the vegetables for about 5 minutes.

I wanted to up the protein content of this soup since it would have no meat so I added a can of white beans to the potato mixture and heated them up a bit.

Toss gently so you do not break the beans apart. Then add this mixture to your sweated vegetable mixture.

You can either add this entire carton of chicken broth or do half water and half chicken broth. If you choose the whole carton you will get more flavorful soup but it might be necessary to add a little bit of water as well to make the proper broth to vegetable ratio.

Now add some chopped up cabbage. Even though we didn't taste it much in the soup it added nutrition, another vegetable, and I didn't have to throw it away!

I also added some chopped fresh oregano, and some pepper. You can use dried oregano also.  And of course...

A couple heaping tablespoons of chicken base. I never make soup without this either. Let that simmer on the stove for a good 30 minutes for all the flavors to blend.

Serve up a deliciously warm meal! I wish I had added some kale to the soup as well. It doesn't look like enough green food for me in this picture.

We did eat it with a side salad and homemade oatmeal bread however!

And here is our lovely snowman that my children were so excited to help make and then barely did so! Evan did roll me the middle ball and they did come running when it was time to put the fun stuff from our snowman kit on him.

I like him.



Note: I would suggest you buy organic potatoes for this soup since you will be leaving the peel on. Potatoes are on the dirty dozen list of foods grown with lots of pesticides. I suppose I should add that list to a post sometime soon!

Potato and Leek Soup with Beans and Cabbage

3 carrots finely diced

3 stalks of celery finely diced

1 small onion finely diced

2 cloves garlic minced

2 tablespoon butter/butter alternative

4-5 small red potatoes washed and chopped

1 leek thinly sliced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or 1 tbsp. dried

one can white beans, drained

half small cabbage chopped

1 32 oz. carton chicken broth (or use 16 oz. broth and 16oz. water)

2 tablespoon chicken base

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

Dice carrots, celery, and onion in a food processor one at a time and add to soup pot with butter and garlic. Sweat the vegetables for approximately 5 minutes. Then add chicken broth and water and chicken base and turn on low. In a pan with some olive oil brown potatoes and leeks until golden. Add white beans and cook just long enough to warm the beans. Add potato mixture to soup pot. Add cabbage and oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 30 minutes to bring flavors together.

Hummus

I know that several of you have waited along time for me to post my hummus recipe! Several of you have asked for it and I have been unable to deliver. You see my recipe has been someone else's family recipe and I have never bothered to ask her for permission to share it. She was one of my college roommates and her dad is from Jordan and the recipe is very good as you can imagine! I guess I have felt like I am lucky to have the recipe myself and it is kind of a secret.

I am a bit of a hummus snob if you haven't already heard me say that before. My sister worked at a Greek restaurant in Spokane, Washington, where I am from, for many years. I believe it was about 10. I worked there one summer as well which was super fun and a delightfully tasteful job! Many of my paychecks were spent on food. So that is my excuse for being a hummus snob. You can't work there and not become pretty picky about your hummus.

So I worked a little on my own recipe so I would be able to share it with you. Granted most recipes are going to have the same basic ingredients but here is what I have come up with.

Start with one can of organic chick peas. Do NOT drain the juice! You will need all of the juice from that one can. You can just dump your whole can into the food processor and skip the bowl  if you like.

Grab a couple large garlic cloves and run them through the garlic press. Add that to the chick peas and juice in the food processor. You may decide later that you need a little more garlic but it is best to error on not using enough. Trust me. I have made that mistake because I am a garlic lover and forget that it gets more flavorful with time.

You will need some tahini. Tahini is a sesame paste and is what really gives hummus its flavor. You cannot make hummus without tahini. This one isn't necessarily my favorite one but I can buy it here in town and it is organic and raw.

You will need the juice of one lemon. Yes, you must use fresh. If you use that bottled stuff it will taste disgusting and I will be mad at you for ruining perfectly good hummus.

I am not kidding.

This is where my recipe differs from most. I like my hummus to be extra smooth. Remember I am a snob about this! You can make hummus with just this flour and no can of chick peas but it involves a little cooking so I decided to just add it to my recipe plain to see what would happen. I ended up using 1/3 of a cup. It worked.

You will need some ground cumin, paprika, and salt as well. I add about a teaspoon of both the salt and ground cumin to the mixture. Blend well after each addition to the food processor. You will need more cumin for the top with a dash of paprika as well. I also really like pine nuts and a little more roasted chopped garlic on top as well but I didn't have the pine nuts because they are outlandishly expensive!

You will also need a bit of olive oil for the top of your hummus.

It definitely turned out smoother than it has before but I think I will give just the flour a try sometime to see how that turns out. If you are wondering if I ever by store bought hummus the answer is yes! I only like two kinds though. Sabra is my favorite and I like the roasted garlic flavor or Holy Land brand. I refuse to eat all other store bought brands! I do like the hummus at Persepolis in town and I would be willing to try it at another restaurant as well.

Unfortunately, Niko's, the restaurant where my sister and I both worked in downtown Spokane closed. We were completely devastated as you can imagine. I made my sister call the owner and find out why. He said it was just time to be done. I am so sad that I won't be getting anymore Niko's food when I come home for visits! You all know how I love my Greek food.

P.S. I am also a snob about coffee. My excuse for that is that I grew up in Washington state, the birth place of Starbucks, the coffe shack on every corner, and basically the whole coffee craze!

I apologize for my snobiness!

Pam's Homemade Hummus

1 can organic chick peas and juice from that can

1/3 cup garbanzo bean flour

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon Tahini (more if desired)

2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cumin

Topping:

olive oil

paprika

ground cumin

pine nuts

Blend all ingredients in a food processor mixing well after each addition. Place hummus in a serving bowl and top with more ground cumin, paprika, and olive oil

Blueberry Coconut Overnight Oats

I may have found a new oatmeal love and that is no easy task when I have such a thing for quinoa! It started when I found these at CashWise when I took my mother-in-law there on Saturday so she could stock up on a few items.

Organic Coconut Chips! SUPER CHEAP! And they only have one gram of sugar per serving. They are in the bulk section. If you don't live here check your local bulk section of the health food area or bug me enough to send you some.

Then we also decided to buy some of this after I saw my friend Melissa there with about 4 containers herself. In my mind I was thinking smoothies which I will probably still make but when I decided on overnight oats a light bulb appeared over my head!

Then I also remembered I had a couple containers of this left! I almost always eat Greek yogurt but when I am feeling like I need a little flavor I get some Fiber One. They have the least amount of calories and the least amount of sugar, which I believe is only 6 grams. That is really good when it comes to yogurt!

So into my jar went the oats, yogurt, coconut milk, and coconut chips as well as one packet of Stevia and some cinnamon that you can't see. I turned around and looked at Miles and said, "Would you like me to just double this for you too?" He said, "Um, Hmm, well, I really need to eat, um, OKAY, YES!" He was planning on eggs for the morning because we have been trying to be a bit more strict lately.

So I poured all the same ingredients in and mixed it all up. Then I added a few frozen blueberries, mixed it again gently, put the lid on, and stuck it in the fridge with a smile on my face! I like breakfast being taken care the night before!

I divided the mixture among two bowls, heated mine up for about 15 seconds to take the edge off the coldness, but not cook the yogurt, and then topped mine with sliced almonds, more frozen blueberries, and some agave!

The. best. breakfast.

Miles came along later and topped his bowl with the same I think and decided he was super glad he had me double the recipe instead of eating eggs!

Good to the very last drop! I wish I had picked up some more blueberry yogurt at the store today. Perhaps I can blend them into my Greek yogurt first and repeat this for tomorrow morning. I am now craving it!

This is a great recipe to try if you are wanting to get more of those healthy probiotics from the yogurt into you and if you have never tried any of the overnight oats recipes then start with this one! So many great flavors.

Blueberry Coconut Overnight Oats

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

1/3 cup Fiber One Blueberry yogurt

1/3 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup organic coconut chips

1 teaspoon/packet Stevia

1 tsp. cinnamon

frozen or fresh blueberries

Mix together all ingredients and place into the fridge overnight.

In the morning add: more fresh or frozen blueberries, almonds or nut of your choice, and a drizzle of agave nectar.

To Die For Date Bars

I have been so excited to finally get to this post to share this great and very simple recipe with you! These date bars are so delicious and they really satisfy ones sweet tooth in a very healthful way without added sugar! My kids even liked them, but I have been told recently that that doesn't mean anything anymore because my kids are too fixed. I suppose there could be some truth in that, but most kids are pretty honest if something isn't good, and my kids are still sugar hounds even though they are good at eating their vegetables!

So I found this recipe for Lemon Ginger Date Bars on a blog I read called The Edible Perspective. That is also where I found Cake for Breakfast and French Toast Oatmeal so it is worth checking out! It sounded so easy and I was planning on making them for small group. I had been looking for a way to use these Medjool Dates I picked up at Sam's.

Medjool dates are one of my favorite alternatives to sugar! They are plenty sweet on their own so you don't need any other sweetener. They also boast some great nutrition facts. They have lots of vitamins and are particularly high in vitamin A, have lots of minerals, especially potassium, they contain zero saturated or trans fats, have no cholesterol, are low in sodium, have some protein and amino acids and of course fiber, and the sugar contained in them is fructose which metabolizes slowly in your system so it is the good kind we need for energy!

So for the scrumptious date bars you need to grind up in the food processor one generous cup of almonds. Sorry for the blurriness of the picture but a picture is worth a thousand words and if I didn't show it you might forget to grind them up.

You will need 2tsp. lemon zest and 1 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice. You will also need 1/2 tsp. ground ginger. Add that to the chopped almonds and then move that to another bowl temporarily.

And about 12 of these delicious dates of course. Don't forget to pit them first though. Process the dates until they are finely chopped. Mine began to form a ball. Add the nut, lemon, ginger, mixture back into the dates and process. The mixture will come together nicely and you should easily be able to roll it into a ball. If it isn't holding together you may need to add more dates.

I pressed my mixture out onto a piece of waxed paper with my hands but that was after I rolled a few balls and popped them in my mouth!

I covered it with another piece of wax paper and rolled it into a nice square. I had to stop a few times and lift the paper and shape it with my hands. I found it actually worked just fine to not have the paper on top.

Since I was planning on taking these to small group I shaped them into little date squares. I ended up getting 30 out of the recipe and that was after Miles, his mom, and I all taste tested. So probably about 35 would be more accurate.

I know someone will ask how thick I rolled it so here is a picture for you! These little bars of goodness are so refreshing! I was contemplating rolling some into balls for a great energy snack before or after a workout but I have to say the bars are more satisfying. I will do the balls next time though since it will be handy!

Now if you would like to see better pictures and get the full recipe click here on Lemon Gingery Goodness. Ashley cut hers into bars to mimic something more like a Larabar.

I was not finished with just the lemon and ginger however! Something inside me was telling me I needed a chocolate version!

I followed the same beginning steps to process the dates and almonds but this time I also added cocoa, dark chocolate chocolate chips, organic coconut chips, orange zest and fresh squeezed orange juice!

HEAVENLY! Where the lemon ones are a refreshing pick me up, the chocolate ones are an indulgent treat! The chocolate ones are gone now because they were everyone's favorite. If you don't care for orange and chocolate together you could always use vanilla or almond extract instead.

Please try these VERY soon!

They are so awesome!

I am sure you will thank me!

I must now be on the hunt for these dates in town! If you find them first please let me know. If you are making the trek to Sam's I think I paid $8.98 for the tub of these so don't be alarmed by the price. You get a lot of them and they are totally worth it!

These will become a snack we have around here very often!

Inspired by Lemon Gingery Goodness Bars from the Edible Perspective

Chocolate Orange Date Bars

1 generous cup almonds, processed finely

10-12 Medjool Dates, pitted and processed

1/4 cup cocoa (more to taste if needed)

1/3 cup coconut chips/flakes

1/2 cup dark chocolate chocolate chips, finely chopped

2 tsp. orange zest

1 Tbsp. fresh squeezed orange juice

Process almonds then remove from processor. Process dates and add almonds back in along with the remaining ingredients. Process until mixture holds together nicely. If too dry add more dates. Press mixture onto a piece of waxed paper and flatten with a rolling pin to desired shape. Cut into squares or bars or alternatively, roll into balls.

Post Publish Update

I have since also made a Lime Coconut version that is also very delicious. Use the same basic steps to make these. Here is the recipe.

Lime Coconut Date Bars

1 generous cup almonds, finely processed

12 Medjool dates, pitted and processed

1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes finely processed

2 tsp. lime zest

1 Tbsp. lime juice (a little more if they are too dry might be necessary)



Remember it is really easy to roll these into balls too and store in a container in the fridge.



Found Something I Love!

Okay so I ate a late lunch and I am not hungry tonight so I scratched the dinner plans in favor of these new pretzels that I found a few weeks back and totally love! I always say if you find something awesome you should share right?? Well I will not share my pretzels with you. In fact I am having a hard time sharing them with Faith but I will share where you can find them. (If 5 year old daughter likes them, no loves them, then you will too!)

Hello pretzels!!!! I have truly missed the cracker/pretzel kind of snack in my life. There just aren't that many healthy versions of crackers and especially pretzels but as I was walking by the aisle at the store the word SPROUTED caught my attention so I stopped to investigate!

I really only eat sprouted grain bread or pita so I was thinking hooray a sprouted whole grain pretzel! Thank you Lord! I just might have a new favorite snack. After reading through the ingredient list and nutrition facts I decided to bring them home with me! Check out how big they are and I can eat 8 of those big pretzels for 110 calories so they are a decent snack! They do not disappoint.

Only 6 ingredients and I am loving the first two for sure!

I found these locally at CashWise in the health food section but good news for everyone, they ship anywhere! Check out how many flavors they make. I didn't see any of the other flavors but I will be looking and if I can't find them I just might have them ship me some! I am thinking garlic and onion next!

You see what I mean about the sharing??? The pretzels are gone. Poor girl. Somebody better get her some more! I actually just sent Miles to the store to get us some more because the crumbs that Faith and I just downed were not enough. He went willingly in case you are wondering. He needed some brownie points!

I might have them with some of my favorite green drink, "Green Goodness" from Bolthouse Farms. You can find this just about anywhere but when I saw the two pack at Sams for only $5.98 I snagged them up quick. They are gluten free, have no preservatives, no artificial colors or flavors, and no GMO ingredients. (genetically modified organisms) It tastes so yummy. Don't be too alarmed by the sugar content. It is all natural sugar from the fruits and veggies it contains. I still only enjoy it occasionally though, mainly because it is a bit spendy.

I know it doesn't seem like much dinner but I will probably eat some fruit and veggies with it as well and I am not really that hungry! Now go get yourself some pretzels! I do mean NOW!

DVR here I come!