Featured Favorite Recipes

You can visit my entire recipe list and archives HERE.

Sauteed Sunflower Sprouts

Ingredients
  • 4-6 ounces of sunflower sprouts
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/4 lemon, juiced
  • dash of salt, to taste
Directions

In a pan, heat olive oil then add in sunflower sprouts. As spourts begin to wilt, add in the squeezed lemon juice and salt, mixing thoroughly. Serve when sprouts are soft but not mushy.

Heart Healthy Pasta Alternatives

Spaghetti Squash

Bake at 400 for about an hour or until flesh is tender and flakes off with a fork. Goes great with ground turkey, sauce, and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Chickpea Pasta

Boil in salted water for about 7- 10 minutes or until al dente. Makes a great alternative pasta for any dish.

Shirataki Noodles

Rinse and drain very thoroughly, then heat for 1-2 minutes in a microwave or toss in a sauté pan. Can be used as spaghetti, stirfry, noodle salad, or soups.

Zoodles

Microwave for 1 minute at a time until warm.  Be careful not to overheat; they will get mushy.  Can also be sautéed in a pan just until hot. Makes a great noodle-esque side dish or stirfry addition.

Detox Tea

Ingredients
  • 24 ounces water
  • 1-1½  inches fresh ginger, peeled
  • ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 whole lemon, juiced
  • 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 4 tablespoons honey
  • Dash of ground cayenne pepper

Directions

In a small pot or kettle, bring water to a boil.  Peel ginger and slice thinly into 5-6 thin pieces.  To peel, you can use a spoon to scrape off the skin without removing the flesh.  Add ginger slices to hot water and let steep for 10-15 minutes.  Add in all other ingredients and mix thoroughly before serving. 

I like to combine all ingredients (including the ginger slices) in a bottle or container that I can shake up before pouring.  You want all of your spices to be mixed in before you pour.  Keep a spoon on hand to regularly stir as you drink so the spices don’t all settle to the bottom of your cup. 

All of these measurements can be tweaked to your personal taste preferences.

This makes 4 6-ounce cups of tea, which is enough for two in the morning and two in the evening.  It can be made ahead of time or the night before.  It can also be served chilled.  Keeps in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

For best results, drink a cup of Detox Tea first thing in the morning, before coffee or food.

One Stop Pumpkin Pie Shop

Buttery Pie Crust

  • 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup butter, chilled and diced
  • ¼ cup ice water

Preheat oven to 375.  Combine flour and salt in a large bowl.  Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.  I hand-mix mine for the best results.  Stir in water, one teaspoon at a time, until mixture forms a ball.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Spray a little nonstick spray on bottom of pie dish.  Roll dough out to fit a 9-inch pie pan, pressing evenly into the bottom and sides of dish.  With a fork, poke holes in bottom and sides of dough. Fork tines make a great, quick decorative pie crust.

Cover bottom of pie shell with parchment paper or aluminum foil.  Add pie weights of a pocketful of coins or a can of vegetables to weigh the bottom down.  Bake for 10 minutes, then remove weights and put pie crust aside.  This is called blind baking and will help reduce dough shrinkage.

My REAL LIFE confession to you:  I have not yet gotten my pie crust to not shrink.  I have heard that glass pie dishes amplify the problem, but my husband gave me these dishes and I love them.  So, there.  But when I finally perfect it, and I will, you’ll be the first to know!  (Okay, maybe the second.)

Pumpkin Pie Filling

Cut a pie pumpkin in half, remove seeds (save these to bake later!), and place open side up on baking sheet.  Cover with foil and bake on 350 for about an hour.

Once pumpkin is cooked, blend together the following in a blender:

  • 1½ cup pumpkin
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 eggs

NOTE:  If you are using a regular pumpkin instead of a pie pumpkin, increase your pumpkin amount to 2 cups and add one extra egg yolk.

For your spices, put the following in a spice grinder or coffee grinder:

  • 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon whole allspice
  • 1 teaspoon whole clove
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Grind until spices are processed as much as you can get them.  When you’re done, take a small strainer and strain powder into a separate bowl.  What’s left should just be small pieces.  Take out any larger pieces (sometimes cloves leave behind stems).  Anything else that didn’t strain through can be ground more in a mortar and pestle or with a meat tenderizer.

Mix all the spices together very thoroughly, then spoon 3 teaspoons into the pumpkin mixture.  (You will have about half of the spice mixture leftover, and some of that will be used later for the whipped cream.)  Stir and blend pumpkin mixture thoroughly, then pour into pie shell.  Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 and bake for an additional 40-50 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing to ensure pie has completely set up.  

Honey Spiced Whipped Cream

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (from above)

Combine all ingredients in bowl and mix with electric mixer until stiff peaks form.  Pipe or dollop onto pie.

Gingerbread Spice Latte

Equal parts of the following:

  • Cinnamon
  • Nutmeg
  • Dark Chocolate Powder
  • Ginger

Add or remove whatever you prefer to this mix. 

For a little more kick (about 1/3 of above amounts):

  • Cloves (opt)
  • Allspice (opt)
  • Salt (opt)

Mix all ingredients and stir a spoonful in with your coffee grinds before you brew, about 1 tablespoon per 4 cups.

Smashed Turnips

Ingredients
  • 2 bunches of turnips, about 6-7, greens still attached
  • ½-1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, to taste
  • splash of vinegar, optional
Directions

Cut the greens off of the turnip roots.  Set aside for later.  Peel the turnips, then dice.  In a pot of salted water, boil the turnips until soft.  Drain, then return to pot.  Add butter, cheese, and seasonings.  With a potato masher or large fork, smash the turnips until well blended and mostly smooth.  There will still be some smaller chunks, but that’s okay.

In a sauté pan, heat olive oil.  Rinse and rough chop the turnip green leaves 1-2 inches from the root end.  Throw away those last pieces.  With the remaining greens, you can trim the stems away or leave them intact; it’s up to you.  Sauté with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders until soft.  If the greens get too dry and hot, you can add a little water to the pan.  

When they are completely softened, you can add the vinegar of your choice.  Sometimes I use balsamic, sometimes apple cider.  It just depends on your preference.

Apples, Onions, & Potatoes

Ingredients
  • 3 large potatoes (red or russet)
  • 2-3 sweet apples (I love Honeycrisp)
  • ½ large sweet yellow onion
  • 3-5 tablespoons butter
  • salt, lightly to taste
Directions

Dice onions and unpeeled apples and potatoes and boil in salted water until tender.  Drain and combine with butter and salt back in the pot.  Smash together until fully blended. 

Carrot & Potato Mash

Ingredients
  • 3 large potatoes (red or russet)
  • 3-4 large carrots or 8oz baby carrots
  • ¼ red onion
  • 3-5 tablespoons butter
  • ¼ cup milk
  • salt, pepper, onion & garlic powders
Directions

Dice onions and unpeeled potatoes and carrots and boil in salted water until tender.  Drain and combine with butter, milk, and seasonings back in the pot.  Smash together until fully blended.

Energy Bombs

Ingredients
  •  1 cup uncooked oats
  • ½ cup almond slices
  • ½ cup other nut of choice,
    all the same, or ¼ cup each of walnuts, sunflower, pepitas, etc.
  • 1 cup dates, pitted
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • ¼ cup coconut oil
  • 2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions

Combine all ingredients in a food processor, scraping the sides as needed, until fully blended together.  Shape into 1” balls and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  Makes 26-30 Energy Bombs.

Breakfast Muffins

Ingredients
  • 1½ cups oatmeal flour
  • ½ cup agave
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • 1½ teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 banana, mashed
  • chocolate chips, opt
Directions

Preheat oven to 400º.  Grind old fashioned oats in a food processor until they are flour consistency.  Thoroughly combine oat flour, salt, and baking powder.  Add oil, vanilla, and banana.  Mix until dry ingredients are wet, being careful not to over mix.  It should be somewhat lumpy.

This batch makes 8-9 muffins.  Don’t ask me why, haha.  It just does.   So I fill a muffin tin with 8 or 9 liners and fill liners ¾ full with mixture.  Top with 3-5 chocolate chips, or as desired.  Put a little water in the other spots to evenly distribute the heat during bake time.

Bake for 15-20 minutes.  They won’t look quite like normal muffins due to the agave (bonus: no huge sugar crash) and oatmeal “flour,” but I love knowing that I packed my kid full of some good carbs, fiber, vitamins … and yeah, a little chocolate … right before school.

Chickpea Salad

Ingredients
  • 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt (1/2 cup if you like it creamier)
  • 12oz chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • ¼ cup red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
  • ½ cup red seedless grapes, sliced in half
  • ¼ cup sliced almonds
  • salt & pepper
  • onion & garlic powder
  • Squeeze of lemon juice
Directions

In a large bowl, combine yogurt, chickpeas, red onion, and celery.  Add salt, pepper, onion and garlic powders until you get the “chicken salad” flavor you’re looking for.  Add grapes, almonds, and lemon juice.  Boom!  Lunch is served!

Mixed Berry Vinaigrette

Ingredients

1 cup whole berries, mixed as desired with strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons honey
splash of lemon juice

Directions

Put all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend away until as smooth as possible.  Adjust flavors as desired.

Try this with a red wine vinegar, a different combination / ratio of berries, too.

Extra tip: Get an Italian dressing kit with the bottle from the grocery store (Good Seasons, etc.).  The bottles are so pretty and you can keep them for more of your own homemade dressings!

 I put this on a fantastic salad made with the following goodies that go unexpectedly well together:

  • romaine or spinach or arugula (or all three)
  • strawberries
  • radishes
  • cucumber
  • almonds, walnuts, or peanuts
  • shredded Parmesan cheese

Smokin’ Summer Shrimp Wraps

Ingredients

1 pound large shrimp
4 ears of corn
6 small sweet peppers
1 small red onion
1 pineapple
2 avocados
3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon onion & garlic powders
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt & pepper
white wine (opt)

Directions

Peel and devein the shrimp. Cut the corn off the cobs. Dice the peppers, onion, avocados. Cut top off pineapple and cut off about a 2-inch thick slab. Carefully trim the outer skin and cut fruit away from the fibrous center, then dice.

In a pan, heat about 2 tablespoons of the olive oil on medium heat. Add onions, corn, and peppers. Sauté until the peppers have a little charred look to them. Put the mix into a separate bowl and set aside.

Rinse the pan, return to medium heat, and add shrimp and 1 teaspoon of the butter. Generously sprinkle salt and pepper over the shrimp, then add the smoked paprika, onion & garlic powders over the shrimp. Add a splash or two of white wine if desired, 2 tablespoons max. Sauté for about 1-2 minutes, or until shrimp is pink on one side, then turn shrimp over in the pan. Sauté for another 1-2 minutes until other side is pink.

Turn off burner and add the last 2 tablespoons of the butter. With a fork or spatula, slowly swirl the butter around until it is fully melted. Continue to stir shrimp in the sauce every few minutes as the sauce thickens. Sauce should be silky and well-blended with the spices.

Detach the largest leaves from the bibb lettuce. Use two lettuce leaves to make one wrap shell. Fill the wrap with corn mix, then shrimp, then top with avocado and pineapple. Stir the sauce again to be sure all the spices are mixed in, then drizzle the sauce over the shrimp mixture.



Even though they’re wraps, you’ll want to grab a fork anyway, because they make a fun mess but you won’t want to stop eating. Long live Summer!








Faith Harvest Sunrise

Ingredients

Pineapple Bubly
Tropical Mango Juice
Maraschino Cherries, in juice and with stems

Directions

Find your favorite fancy glass, the one that makes you feel like the queen you truly are.  Fill it 2/3 of the way with Pineapple Bubly and 1/3 of the way with tropical mango juice.  SLOWLY drizzle a little cherry juice down the side so that it settles on the bottom in that glorious sunrise kinda way.  Garnish the glass with a cherry on the rim.  Today is going to be fabulous and so are you. 

You can visit my entire recipe list and archives HERE.