Chipotle Chicken Skewers with Black Bean and Corn Quinoa Pilaf

 

Serves 2
Ingredients:

Chicken:

1. 1 pound organic chicken breast
2. Juice of 1 lime
3. 2 Tbs chopped cilantro
4. 1 Tbs of agave
5. Salt & Pepper
6. 1/4 tsp garlic powder
7. 1 adobo chili pepper chopped and 1 tsp adobo sauce (you can find a can of these peppers with the sauce in the Mexican section of your grocery store)*
8.  2, 6-8 inch bamboo skewers

*Freeze the remaining peppers and the sauce in a glass jar. Next time you want to use one, either thaw, or just scrape out the pepper and sauce with a fork.

Black Bean and Corn Quinoa Pilaf:

1. 1 cup quinoa (rinsed and scrubbed very well)
2. 2 cups water
3. 1 can black beans (Cuban or Mexican Flavored)
4. 1 cup fresh or frozen corn
5. 3 green onions chopped
6. 3 Roma tomatoes chopped
7. Juice of 1 lime
8. 3 tsp. cumin
9. 1/4 tsp. chili powder
10. 1/4 tsp. black pepper
11. 1/2 tsp. salt
12. 2 Tbs. olive oil
13. 3 Tbs. chopped cilantro

Broccolini:

1. 1 bunch broccolini

Directions:

Chicken:

• Cut the chicken into small 1 x 1 inch pieces.
• In a glass storage bowl add the chicken pieces, lime juice, chopped cilantro, chopped adobo chili pepper, adobo sauce, agave, garlic powder and salt & pepper. Secure lid onto the bowl and let marinate overnight, or at least 30 minutes.
• Once the chicken has marinated, lace it onto the bamboo skewers.
• Set oven to broil and let pre-heat.
• Place chicken skewers on a cookie tray and cover the exposed bamboo with tin foil. Place under the broiler and cook 4-5 minutes. Flip the chicken over and cook another 4-5 minutes. You can also BBQ the chicken skewers, but make sure you turn the chicken half way through cooking.

Quinoa Pilaf:

• Rinse and scrub the quinoa thoroughly in a mental strainer. It is important to scrub quinoa very well to eliminate the bitter taste on the outside of the seed.
• Place quinoa and 2 cups water into a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and cover. Let simmer for about 20 minutes.
• While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the rest of the pilaf. In a large glass storage bowl, add the can of black beans (washed), corn, chopped green onions and chopped tomatoes. Add quinoa to the bowl. In a small bowl mix together the lime, cumin, chili powder, olive oil, cilantro and salt & pepper. Pour over the quinoa and gently toss the pilaf until all the ingredients are mixed together.
• Refrigerate the pilaf overnight so that the flavors have time to meld together. Serve cold.

Broccolini:

• While the chicken is cooking, bring some water to a boil in a double boiler steamer basket. Wash the boccolini and cut the tips off the stems. Place the broccolini into the steamer basket and let steam for about 4 minutes. Season with salt & pepper.

~Try these skewers on the BBQ~

Orange Coconut Quinoa Pilaf

 

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1. 1 1/4 cup quinoa (rinsed thoroughly)
2. 1 1/4 cup coconut milk
3. 1 cup water
4. A pinch of salt
5. 1 Tbsp olive oil
6. 1 can mandarin oranges (chopped)
7. 1/2 cup dried cranberries
8. 1/2 cup almond slivers (toasted with a little salt and olive oil)
9. 1/4 cup Grade B maple syrup
10. 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
11. 1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
12. 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

• Rinse the quinoa very, very well.  Place in a metal strainer  and rub the quinoa together under running water.  This will release the bitter tasting saponins that coat the quinoa.

• In a sauce pan or large skillet with lid, gently toast the quinoa, just like you would Rice a Roni.  Once quinoa is dry and slightly toasted, add coconut milk and water.  Bring to a boil, cover the pan, and reduce heat to low.  Let cook for 15-20 minutes.  Once cooked, remove from heat and let sit for another five minutes.
•  While the quinoa is cooking, toast the almonds in a small skillet.  Heat a little olive oil over medium heat and toast almonds for about 5 minutes.  Add a pinch of salt to the almonds.  Place in small mixing bowl.
• In the same mixing bowl,  add olive oil, maple syrup, nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon.  Mix together.  Gently fold in chopped mandarin oranges and cranberries.
• Place quinoa into a large bowl and pour the sauce that you just created over the quinoa.  Gently toss and refrigerate for about an hour and a half.  Serve cold.

 

~A Perfect side dish for Summer BBQ's~ 

Sweet Potato Fries

Serves 1-2
Ingredients:

1. 1-2 yams or sweet potatoes
2. Olive oil
3. Salt & Pepper
4. Italian seasonings
5. Garlic powder
6. Paprika
7. Cheyenne pepper (if you want them spicy) or cinnamon (if you want them sweet)

Directions:

•  Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
• Cut sweet potato or yam into julienne pieces.
• Coat with olive oil and spices.
• Bake for 25 minutes, turn at least once half way through.
• Once the fries are crispy remove from the oven.

~Makes a great snack~

Chicken Parmesan with Penne Pasta

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1. 1 organic chicken breast
2. 2 pieces Ezekiel bread
3. 1 tsp Italian seasonings
4. Salt & Pepper
5. 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
6. 3 Tbs whole wheat flour
7. 1 organic egg
8. Penne pasta
9. Spaghetti sauce
10. Parmesan cheese
11. Basil
12. Green beans
13. Cooking spray

Directions:

• Gently toast the Ezekiel bread until it is dry and slightly brown.  
• Pre-heat your oven to 475 degrees.
• In a food processor or blender add Ezekiel bread, salt & pepper, Italian seasonings, and red pepper flakes. Blend until you have fine bread crumbs.
• You will need three shallow bowls, one for the flour, one for the bread crumbs and one for the egg.  You will also need a wire rack for baking and a baking sheet covered with foil.
• Add a little bit of Parmesan cheese to the bowl with the bread crumbs and mix in.
• Pound down the chicken until 1/2 inch thick.  Season with salt & pepper and roll in the flour dish.
• After the flour, dunk the chicken in the beaten egg.
• Cover with bread crumb/cheese mixture and set onto a wire rank.  Spray the wire rack with cooking spray before you place the chicken on the rack.  Spay the chicken with cooking spray and place into the oven.
• Bake for 15 minutes.
• While the chicken is baking, cook the penne pasta al dente about 10 minutes.  Cooking pasta al dente is not only the proper way to cook pasta, but it also lowers its Glycemic Index number, which means it is slower to digest and easier on your blood sugar.
• Steam the green beans in a steamer basket for about 4-7 minutes, or until bright green and slightly crunchy.
• Heat the spaghetti sauce in a sauce pan while everything else cooks.
• Plate  your meal.

~Benissimo~

Carrot Muffins with Cashew Lemon Frosting

 

Makes 12 Muffins

Ingredients:

1.  2 cups whole wheat flour
2. 1/2 cup almond meal (if you don't have almond meal, just increase the flour by 1/2 cup)
3. 2 tsp baking soda
4. 1/2 tsp sea salt
5. 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
6. 2 tsp freshly grated ginger
7. 1 Tbs Saigon cinnamon or traditional cinnamon
8. 2 cups grated carrot
9. 1/3 cup canola oil
10. 1 tsp vanilla
11. 1/2 cup agave syrup
12. 2 eggs (use 2 Tbs of ground flax seeds and 7 Tbs of water to make vegan)
13. 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
14. 1/2 cup finely shredded coconut (check out the bulk section of the health food store)
15. 1/2 cup organic raisins
16. 1/2 cup crushed pecans

Frosting:
(recipe adapted from Ani's Raw Food Desserts (Kream Cheeze Frosting) by Any Phyo)

1. 1 1/2 cup raw cashews
2. 3 Tbs lemon juice
3. 3 Tbs agave
4. 1/4-1/2 cup water

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large mixing bowl add dry ingredient:  whole wheat flour, almond meal, baking soda and sea salt.  Grate in nutmeg, ginger and add cinnamon. I suggest using Saigon Cinnamon, which has a sweet red hot flavor.  You can buy a giant bottle from Costco for under $4.00.
• In a medium size mixing bowl, grate two cups of carrots using your food processor or cheese grater.  Add oil, vanilla, agave, eggs and applesauce.  Mix together and fold in coconut, raisins and pecans.
• Incorporate the wet ingredients into the large mixing bowl with the dry ingredients.
• Spoon muffin mix into a greased muffin pan.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes.
• While the muffins are baking, prepare the cashew frosting.  Using a blender or food processor add all frosting ingredients and blend until smooth.
• After muffins have cooled, transfer the frosting into a plastic freezer bag.  Cut one of the corners of the bag and squeeze frosting in a circular motion onto the muffins.

~Gotta love a recipe that can be breakfast or dessert~

Chocolate Peanut Shake/Ice Cream

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

1. 3 Tbs organic peanuts
2. 2 Tbs raw cacao or dark cocoa powder
3. 3 Medjool dates (available at Costco or the bulk section of your health food store)
4. 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
5. 1-2 cups ice
6. 1-2 cups vanilla hemp milk (available at health food stores)

Directions:

• In a blender, place the pitted dates, peanuts, cocoa powder and vanilla.  If you don't have a high speed blender, you may want to chop your dates and give this a quick pulse now.  
• Add ice and pour hemp milk over the ice.  If making this as an ice cream, then add less milk and more ice.  If you want to make a shake, then add less ice and more hemp milk.   Don't worry, you won't get high off hemp, but you will get some really amazing benefits; omega fats and protein, just to name a few.
• Blend to your desired consistency (I like mine a little bit chunky) and serve.

~Tastes just like a very popular candy bar!~

Hummus Plate~ A Super Fast Meal

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

1. Greek pita (you can make your own, click here for a recipe, but try it with whole wheat flour)
2. Hummus (you can make your own, click here for a recipe)
3. Carrots (I used orange and purple)
4. Cucumber
5. Zucchini
6. Hard boiled egg 
7. Any additional vegetables

Directions:

• Boil eggs.  Place eggs in water and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Once the eggs have reached a boil, turn off the stove and let them sit for several minutes.  Rinse eggs under cool water and let them sit in a cold water bath for a few additional minutes.
• Using a panini press or skillet, grill the pita bread until lightly browned.  Slice into triangle pieces.
• Cut zucchini lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices.  Grill on a panini press or skillet.  Once grilled, slice lengthwise into smaller stick pieces.
• Chop the remaining veggies into long matchstick pieces.
• Place a large dollop of hummus in the center of your plate and surround with the sliced vegetables.

Homemade Pitas are Amazing!

~Super Fast and Delicious~