roasted brolcolli hummous

Roasted Broccoli Hummus

Makes 2 cups

Unlike most traditional Hummus recipes my version uses water rather than oil to create a dip consistency. This helps to keep the calorie count low and also allow the flavors of the garlic and broccoli to be the stars. Serve with a drizzle of oil over the Hummus.

1 15 oz can white beans

½ pound roasted broccoli (recipe follows)

2 garlic cloves, roasted (these are roasted with the broccoli – sweet on the outside with a pleasant garlic heat internally)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon Tahini

salt

Add all the ingredients to a food processor or blender. Add a little bit of water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to help blend and to achieve desired consistency. Taste and add salt. Taste again. And again.

Can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Serve with a drizzle of a fine olive oil.

Roasted Broccoli

1 pound broccoli florets

¼ teaspoon chili flakes

4 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Pre-heat oven to 400*

Scatter broccoli across a parchment lined sheet tray. Do not overcrowd the tray as this will cause steaming rather than roasting. Add chili flakes, garlic, olive oil, and salt. Stir to coat.

Roast 20 minutes or until cooked through with parts of the florets having a nice bit of char.

Let cool slightly.

Tomatoe and Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced into 1/4" slices
4 to 6 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges or sliced
crumbled feta cheese to taste
sliced greek olives to taste
balsamic vinaigrette to taste
pepper to taste


Directions:
Arrange sliced cucumbers and tomatoes in a decorative pattern on a platter or plate. Spread olives and feta cheese evenly over the top. Drizzle balsamic vinaigrette over the top. Sprinkle with pepper. 

Baked Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:
sweet potatoes, desired quantity
aluminum foil
butter
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Scrub sweet potatos. Pierce several times with a fork. Wrap each potato in foil and place on foil-covered baking sheet. Bake for one hour or until potato yields easily to a gentle squeeze. Split open and serve with butter, salt and pepper to taste.

Soy Sauce Spinach

Ingredients:
1-1/2 to 2 lbs spinach, cleaned
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T olive oil
2 T soy sauce
1 tsp chili powder


Directions:
Pour olive oil into large pot with lid.  Add garlic to pan.  Top with spinach.  Sprinkle spinach with chili powder and soy sauce.  Put flame on medium and cover pan.  Stir every few minutes, being careful to scrape the bottom of the pan so the garlic doesn't burn.  Steam until wilted.  Drain and serve.

Meals

1. Chipotle Chicken with Sausages, Baked Sweet Potatoes, Sauteed Soy Sauce Spinach, Cucumber and Tomato Salad - Colorful, Delicious, Nutritious - Everyone Raved!

Chipotle Chicken with Sausages

Craig's mom taught me this family recipe - I added the chipotle, capers and olives

Ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

5-6 spicy sausages

1 small can smoked chipotle chilies

2 red or yellow bell peppers

2 medium onions

4 T capers

1/2 cup sliced black olives

2 T olive oil

1 can artichoke hearts, quartered

freshly ground black pepper to taste
optional chopped green onions as garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Spray or oil a baking pan. Pulverize the chipotle peppers until they are a paste, using a blender or food processor. Rub chipotle paste over chicken breasts and lay breasts in the pan. Slice sausages and lay them on top. Bake for 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, cut the onions and bell peppers into large chunks. Cut the artichoke hearts into bite-sized pieces. Toss with olive oil and capers. Pull the chicken out of the oven. Spread onion and bell pepper mixture over the chicken and sausages. Top with sliced olives. Return to oven and bake for approximately 40 minutes, or until the breasts test as done (no pink in center). If desired, top with green onions before serving.

Yum!

Note - Items purchased at Costco:

chicken breasts
sausages
large jar of capers (saves a lot of $$)
onions
bell peppers

Oven-Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients:

2 lbs asparagus spears

2 T olive oil

1 tsp sea salt or kosher salt, or to taste

Directions:

Place rack in center of oven.  Set oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly oil a jelly roll pan or other large, rimmed baking pan.  Rinse asparagus and trim woody ends.  Drizzle spears with olive oil and sprinkle with salt; toss to coat.  Roast for about 10 minutes, or until crisp-tender, turning once during roasting. 

(Note to self - try with a drizzle of truffle oil and/or squeezed lemon and/or minced garlic.)

Family Favorite Fajitas

Ingredients:
2 T lemon juice
2 T vegetable oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp chili powder
1-1/2 tsp ground cumin
1-1/2 tsp seasoned salt
2 cloves minced garlic
1-1/2 lbs sliced, skinless chicken breasts
3 to 4 T oil
1/2 c sliced onion
1/2 c sliced green onion
1 c sliced bell pepper
8 flour tortillas, warmed

2 avocados, sliced

salsa

sour cream

shredded cheese

sliced black olives

Directions:

Combine first seven ingredients to make a marinade. Combine with sliced chicken and marinate for two hours. Quickly sauté veggies in oil until lightly browned. Remove from pan. Saute marinated meat until done. Toss with veggies.  Spoon into warm tortillas. Top with avocado, salsa, sour cream, cheese and black olives.

Oven-Roasted Garlic Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:

2 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved (quartered if large)

5 cloves garlic, minced fine or pressed through a garlic press

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

Move oven rack to the upper third and preheat to 425 degrees.In a 9x13 inch baking dish, toss together Brussels sprouts, garlic, water, oil, salt and pepper and spread out in a single layer.

Bake for 40-50 minutes until caramelized to taste, tossing once about 25 minutes into cooking time. Remove from oven and toss Brussels sprouts in the pan scraping up brown bits into the sprouts.

Recipe & photograph by Laura Flowers.

Coconut Short Grain Brown Rice Pudding

I discovered short grain, brown rice pudding for breakfast - yum!


Ingredients:

2 cups cooked short grain brown rice

1/2 can coconut milk

1 T coconut sugar

yellow raisins to taste

cinnamon

red pepper flakes

salt

toasted walnuts

Directions:
Mix all ingredients except for walnuts in a pan and warm over low heat until bubbly. Makes 2 servings. Top with toasted walnuts.

Cleanse

The Rules:

No coffee
No dairy

No gluten

No alcohol

No (well a teensy, tiny bit of) sugars

No processed foods

Only clean chicken and fish for meat

Plenty of veggies and fruits and nuts

I discovered the joys of juicing and drank 2 servings of "mean green juice." (Not sure whom to credit for the recipe - I got it from a friend.)

My new juicer is amazing and I really like this juice!

Mean Green Juice Ingredients:

3 kale leaves

4 celery sticks

2 green apples

1/2 lemon

1/2 cucumber

ginger

1 beet

Coconut Brown Rice

Ingredients:

2 cups short grain brown rice

3-1/2 cups water

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 ts. salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes

1/8 tsp cardamom

1 T agave nectar or coconut sugar

(try adding shredded coconut)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a pot.  Bring to a boil.  Stir once.  Simmer, covered for 50 minutes. Take off heat and let sit, covered for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork - serve and enjoy!