Drunken Slow-Cooker Chicken

Drunken Slow-Cooker Chicken

Ingredients (*organic)

4 Chicken Thighs

1 Gallon Size bag of frozen, cored tomatoes-peeled 

1 Large White Onion (peeled and quartered)

1 Zucchini (sliced-I left the skin on mine)

2 Bell Peppers (cut into strips)

4 Cloves of Garlic

4 Scallions (chopped)

1c Water

1c Red Wine

6oz Tomato Paste

2T Chicken Bouillon

1T Oregano (I used Greek)

2t Sea Salt (I used Himalayan Pink)

Pinch of Pure Cane Sugar

Pinch of Cracked Pepper

I small Chili Pepper (chopped) **optional

Place all ingredients in a slow-cooker on high for at least 4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. Can be served over pasta or rice.

*****UPDATE*****
I had quite a deal of leftover sauce so I cut up a package of mushrooms (for extra protein) and added them to the sauce. I let it simmer for a while to cook the mushrooms then poured the sauce over brown Jasmine rice. This makes a great Meatless Monday Meal.

No Bake Energy Breakfast Balls

No Bake Energy Breakfast Balls

Ingredients (*organic)

1c Rolled Oats

1/2c Puffed Rice

1/4c Raisons

1/4c Pumpkin Seeds

1/2c Peanut Butter (I used crunchy)

2/3c Raw Honey

2T Ground Flax Seed

2t Vanilla Extract

1t Cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together until combined equally. Using your hands, roll the mixture into balls and place onto a sheet pan. Refrigerate for several hours until firm. Enjoy immediately after, or can be stored in fridge for at least a week or place in freezer to prolong freshness.

Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

Ingredients (*organic)

1 1/4c Flour

1/2t Baking Soda

1/2t Baking Powder

1/2t Sea Salt

1/2t Cinnamon

1/2c Quick Oats

1/2 Shredded Coconut

1/2c Butter (softened) 

1c Sugar

1T Raw Honey

1 Egg

1t Vanilla Extract

Pre-heat oven to 350. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; set aside. In a heavy duty mixer add butter, sugar and honey; mix until creamy. Add add honey, egg and vanilla. Slowly mix in your dry ingredients and finally add the oats and coconut. Drop heaping teaspoons full onto a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove and let cool on a wire rack.

Pumpkin Walnut Drop Cookies

Pumpkin Walnut Drop Cookies 

Ingredients (*organic)

2 1/2c Flour

2T Baking Powder

2t Cinnamon

1/2c Butter (softened)

1c Brown Sugar

1t Vanilla Extract

1/2c Raw Honey

2 Eggs (I used 2T ground Flax Seed mixed with 4T hot water instead)

1c Canned Pumpkin

1c Chopped Walnuts

1/4c Shredded Coconut (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 375. In a large bowl mix flour, baking powder and cinnamon. In a heavy duty mixer cream together butter and sugar. Add vanilla, raw honey and eggs (or ground flax). Mix in the pumpkin and coconut. Gently fold in the walnuts. Drop mix onto cookie sheet by the spoonful and bake for 12-14 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. 

Just Like Grandma's Chicken Dumpling Soup

Just Like Grandma's Chicken Dumpling Soup

Ingredients (*organic)

Soup:

4 cups Chicken Broth (I use low-sodium)

4 cups Water

1/2 Onion (diced)

3 large Carrot (peeled and chopped)

3 stalks of Celery (chopped)

1 clove Garlic (minced)

2T Fresh Parsley (chopped)

2t Wildtree Chicken Boullion Soup Base

pinch of Cracked Pepper

pinch of Sea Salt

2lbs Cooked/Chopped Chicken (I used boneless/skinless thighs)

In a large stock pot add all the above ingredients (excluding the chicken) and bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to a simmer for at least 10-15 minutes. Add the chicken.

Dumplings:

1 cup Flour

2t Baking Powder

1/4t Sea Salt

1/2 cup Water

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Mix in water. Mixture will be sticky. Remove the lid from the broth and bring back to a boil. Drop in spoonfuls of the dumpling mixture into the boiling broth and continue to cook at a high heat for 15-20 more minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Starting a Compost at Home

COMPOSTING AT HOME

How do I start a compost? What can I put in the compost? Are indoor composts going to make my kitchen smell? I had all the same questions before my husband and I (and 2 1/2 year-old daughter) rolled up our sleeves and jumped right in!

We started out by purchasing an indoor compost caddy. We found this for around $12 at Whole Foods. 

This came with one charcoal filter that will last roughly 4 months. You can purchase more filters separately. We collected our indoor compost for several weeks and to my delight did not endure any foul odors at at all! We keep ours under the sink next to our garbage can. You will notice how little you actually use your garbage can once you begin an indoor compost bin!

 Let's begin with items that you CAN compost:

• BROWN items with high carbon content: Cardboard/shredded paper (avoid ink). Mulch, wood chips  dry leaves, bark, hay/straw and cow or horse manure.
• GREEN items with high nitrogen content: Fruits, veggies, grass clippings (untreated lawns only), egg shells, coffee grounds and tea bags.

Items to AVOID are:

• Dairy products
• Fats/oils
• Meats
• Pet waste
• Charcoal
• ANYTHING treated with chemicals or pesticides. 

We started our outside compost by finding some old wooden pallets that were no longer being used (ask around at your local grocery stores/factories/etc.) and set up three separate stations. The beginning stage is your initial compost from your indoor caddy that has not began to decompose yet. Stage two is where it begins to decompose and stage three is your finished product: Compost Tea.

It's important to keep the outside compost moist and to mix/aerate it at least 2-3 times per week. You will soon begin to move your compost on to the next stage and eventually use it as a soil for your garden. Come back and visit the blog again for more tips as we continue our adventure into backyard composting. 

Berry Spinach Smoothie

Berry Spinach Smoothie

Ingredients (*use organic)

1c fresh Spinach

1/2c Strawberries (frozen)

1/2c Blueberries (frozen)

1 medium Banana 

1/4c Kefir (I used whole milk Kefir with  wildberries)

1/3c Almond Milk (I used Vanilla)

Blend all of your ingredients together and enjoy immediately! (If you are using frozen fruit there is no need to add ice...if not, add a few cubes of ice before blending)