-
Herb Roasted Turkey Breast {Gluten-free, Paleo, Keto, Whole30}
Got a small gathering planned? This Herb Roasted Turkey Breast is a simple and easy way to enjoy the flavors of Thanksgiving without slaving over a HUGE turkey. The skin gets beautiful crisped and golden browned and the herbed butter (or olive oil) brings a beautiful flavor to the whole breast. Gluten-free, paleo, keto, whole30 – friendly.
Roast turkey breast is a really great alternative to roasting a whole turkey. Not only is it less work, it’s less time, too, which leaves the oven open for making some of the must-have sides, ahem – I am looking at you stuffing and roasted Brussels sprouts. A four- to five-pound turkey breast will feed six to eight people, it’s a cinch to carve, and it’s perfect for making those tasty leftover sandwiches or salads or a delicious soup the next day.
Enjoy this easy Herb Roasted Turkey Breast recipe for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Or really, you can make it any other time of the year; the leftovers are fabulous! I especially love that without fussing with a whole bird, all the cook time and the carving time, you get more time to spend with your loved ones, because that’s what it’s all about, am I right?
This turkey breast is tender, juicy and it’s delicious served alongside your favorite stuffing, cranberry sauce and some mashed potatoes 0r cauliflower mash and definitely some green beans. Don’t forget a pie for dessert.
-
How-to Make Perfectly Roasted Vegetables {+ Video}
How-to Make Perfectly Roasted Vegetables: Tips and Tricks
Roasting vegetables is one of the simplest cooking techniques. With very little time and effort needed, you get richly flavored vegetables with a caramelized exterior and a really nice, tender bite.
This time of year, roasted vegetables are on repeat around here. We, of course, have our most favorite go-to vegetables that we roast up super often, like broccoli and broccolini, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes, just to name a few, but the possibilities are truly endless. You can roast just about any vegetable, or any combination of vegetables — your imagination is the only limit, so I encourage your to experiment and have fun with different combinations of vegetables, seasonings and flavors.
With my fool-proof approach for roasting vegetables, I give you everything you need to make perfectly roasted vegetables every time. You’ll be armed with the tips and tricks to master your roasting. No matter the veggie or the quantity. No recipe needed.
I have some of my favorite vegetables called out by name and in the photos below, but remember, just about any vegetable can be roasted and honestly, go with my motto, if you’re not sure – ROAST IT! Worst thing that happens, it’s not your favorite! Best thing? You discover a new way to enjoy a favorite, in-season vegetable.
Check Out My Instructions on How-to Make Perfectly Roasted Vegetables. Every Time.
-
Miso Roasted Brussels Sprouts
As we head into the holidays, the focus obviously shifts to any and all dishes for entertaining. Side dishes and treats, mains and snacks. ‘Tis the season of all the eating! The Miso Roasted Brussels Sprouts are begging to be the star at your Thanksgiving or Christmas meal! Trust me, this is a veggie that can steal the show!
I enjoy creating the sweets and treats recipes, because let’s be real, the joy that healthy treats can bring is palpable. I’d like to wrap that feeling up with a pretty bow and give it as a gift. That said, when it comes to the holidays, my heart will forever remain with sides and veggies. I love a good, plant-based side dish. So much room for creativity in the vegetables. The mains are usually pretty traditional, those are generally on lock down. I just truly enjoy the challenge of creating exciting enough veggie dishes that will please the masses and especially those that won’t be the forgotten soldier at a table full of meaty mains and their carb-loaded friends. I literally have made it my mission when I feed people to make the vegetable(s) the first thing to disappear from the plate, rather than the last. This dish 100% is successful at doing exactly that.
-
One Pan Mustard Roasted Salmon and Veggies
In an effort to ‘Keep it Simple, Stupid’, today I am bringing you an effortless, one-pan recipe, perfect for the busy weeknights ahead. Without the overly-styled (not-so-realistic) plates of food and the fussy settings, I want to illustrate just how uncomplicated, yet still super tasty and nourishing, weeknight eating can be.
I have been loving the wide array of creative one pan and one pot meals that flood the internet this time of year. This is precisely the inspiration we all need more of, when life feels so hectic that take out seems the only way. Easy weeknight meals only have to be as complicated as we make them, I find one-pan, one-pot, under 30-minute real food meals to be way to go. Always.
-
Spicy Garlic Roasted Broccoli
What is most interesting to me about cooking and food, is it’s role as a common thread to connect us. Food is something that we all experience on a daily basis (at least I hope so), we can all connect over this need to eat for sustenance and also the collective memories we have created over this nourishment, on our own or together. Food knows no boundaries, it sees no limits. We all need to eat. Where you go with your choices for food and your personal approach to eating, that’s up to you. But we can all bond over the nourishment, the community and the beautiful moments and memories food can elicit, too.
When I created this website way back nearly 6 years ago, simply a hobby at the time, I had hoped to create a space where you, the readers, would always feel encouraged and inspired to get into the kitchen. Too often I find that cooking and recipes can become elitest and overcomplicated, so much so that it becomes less accessible to people with for-real busy lives and in some cases it can actually intimidate people from ever stepping into the kitchen first place. Then it’s back to the fast foods, the take out, the packaged foods and the meals of convenience. This idea is absolutely devastating, soul-crushing and heart-breaking, to me.
I always want to elicit excitement around cooking and creating in the kitchen. Some days I feel like this is my true life’s mission. There is so much joy that can come from constructing beautiful, nourishing meals, made with love. That said, I also think about cooking the way I do about most other things in my life: Less is more, keep it simple, don’t overcomplicate things and focus on what you love. These simple ideas have never failed me in life and they have also never failed me in the kitchen, either.
-
How-to Make Roast Chicken in the Slow Cooker
This tutorial falls under the category of simple, yet sweet. Or should I say, simple, yet savory! This is the perfect weeknight meal solution and as of recent, it is a near weekly occurrence in our house. I grab a fresh 3-4 lb whole pasture-raised chicken at the farmers market or Whole Foods, I rub it down, season it up, pile it atop some root veggies in the Crock Pot and voila, 4 hours later, dinner is ready.
The best part of a weekly whole chicken is how many meals we get from it. The meal from the whole roasted chicken is good for at least 2-3 meals, we enjoy it with the potatoes, as chicken salad, on top of big green salads, etc. Then I make a big pot of stock from the leftover bones and we get another 2-3 meals from that. This is truly a must for any busy family.
The seasonings on your chicken can vary with your preference and your mood. Generally I use this all-purpose herb and seasoning blend, that I love, occasionally I will opt for a spicy, chile pepper rub, it’s also great with lemon zest, garlic and freshly ground black pepper. The possibilities are endless. Seriously, you will never buy that rotisserie chicken from the store, again.
-
Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds with Garlic Infused Olive Oil and Fresh Herbs
Sometimes, less really is more. I feel like there can be a lot of pressure in the recipe developing world, to go further, to come up with super crazy flavor combinations, to mix unsuspecting ingredients together or to be the first to come up with the next big food idea. Those big ideas and crazy creations often spread like wild fires amongst other bloggers, some ideas may become infamous on Pinterest, but ultimately I find for me it can all just be a thankless rat race. When I am cooking for myself or others, I always come back to the idea that less is more, don’t over-think it, K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid). The most simple recipes here on Tasty Yummies are typically the most popular. I like to be able to cook recipes with ingredients that I already have on hand, on a week day, I don’t want to run to 45 stores to get all the ingredients for one dinner. I like easy, smart and quick.
Life has been busy this month, one of the busiest I can remember in a long time. There have been countless trips, more hotel rooms than I can count, flights, visits with family, conferences, events and so much more. When I come home and I look at my to-do list and the next round of travels, I feel overwhelmed, so the last thing I can imagine doing is developing some epic creation in the kitchen. If I feel that way, I have to imagine that many of you do, as well. The last few weeks have been about easy meals, bone broth and homemade soup, crock pot meals, grilled local grass-fed meats, ALL the veggies and lots and lots of salads.
As life has me spinning and the message to “Honor Yourself” has continuously presented itself to me over the past few weeks, I have been trying very hard to give myself the space to do this. This isn’t an easy feat when life is feeling wildly out of control. I found myself fighting a cold last week, likely from all of the going and not properly taking care of myself and I am sure being on planes and in hotels with lots of germs, didn’t help either. Since I didn’t have the space to fully allow my body to heal, earlier this week I felt myself fighting off a sinus infection. I realized no matter how hard it would, I had to stop. Breathe. Give myself space to ground in. I found time to meditate, I sat with my feet in the sand at the ocean, I took a walk with my hubby and our pooch.
It isn’t easy to stop going when life is crazy and it doesn’t always feel good to say no to the bigger and “better” things in life, but ultimately when we can nourish ourselves, we are in a much better place to then nourish those around us, in our family and in our community. A fact I was reminded of recently by a friend.
-
Honey Balsamic Roasted Apricots with Mint and Feta
Hving a weekly delivery of organic produce really keeps me on my toes. When we happen on the times where a certain food is repeated after a week or two, I really find myself getting creative. I pull out my Flavor Bible (if you don’t have this book on hand, you really, really must get it) and I study up on various flavor profile pairings that I maybe hadn’t think of. I’ll also grab random foods I have on hand, toss then together into my mouth and see what comes of it. Much like one of those cooking game shows where you have to make do with the random ingredients you are given, this is how many of my most favorite recipes are born. There are plenty of fails, of course, but most of the time I discover a new combination I never would have tried.
After a few weeks of apricots in a row, which I was mostly just eating like candy, from the fridge, I was inspired to come up with a quick snack with some of my favorite flavors. As with most of my recipes, there are many variations you can take on this recipe (I feel like there should just be a disclaimer about this at the bottom of my website).
For those that are 100% dairy-free, whether because you are allergic/can’t tolerate, vegan, paleo, on AIP, etc – simply leave off the feta cheese. You can also opt for goat’s cheese, if you prefer. I can tolerate a very small amount of sheep’s and goat’s milk on occasion, so I added a very small amount. The same goes for the coconut oil, this would be delicious with butter or ghee, if you prefer. If you don’t do honey, try maple syrup or another liquid sweetener of your choice, you could also try coconut sugar, for a deeper, richer taste.
-
Vanilla Roasted Stone Fruit with Masala Chai Infused Coconut Whipped Cream
This time of year is one of my favorites, for fresh local fruit. Stone fruit season means some of the most flavorful and sweetest fruits you’ll find all year. Peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums and the hybrids apriums, pluots — just to name a few.
I find, much like with various vegetables and other fruits, roasting the stone fruit truly brings out it’s inherent sweetness. The natural sugars as well as the small amount of coconut sugar also caramelize and we end up with an incredible rich and deep flavored sauce. The finely ground, fresh vanilla bean compliments stone fruit so well by bringing a fragrant and almost smoky, earthy depth to the light sweetness. Many times if I am working with particularly ripe stone fruit, which can tend to be very juicy, I will actually pour off some of the sauce, after roasting and I simply reduce it down by more than half, over a medium heat. This creates a delicious, rich syrup, perfect for drizzling over the coconut cream topped fruit or over yogurt or other treats.
This recipe is a pretty simple one, I really enjoy the roasted fruit as it is, topped with the creamy hint of spiced masala chai infused coconut cream. You can feel free to follow the same recipe and simply use whipped heavy cream or even creme fraiche instead of the coconut cream. This roasted stone fruit would also be wonderful layered with yogurt, sorbet, ice cream or frozen yogurt for a delicious parfait. You can top it with nuts and seeds or your favorite granola. Of course, you can always stand over the oven and eat the roasted fruit straight from the pan, which I may have done a time or two.
-
Roasted Baby Bok Choy with Lemon Garlic Cashew Cream
I know it’s been a quiet week here on TY. I was away in Northern California for the long weekend, for our women’s empowerment retreat RISE and it’s actually taken me more than a few days for me to come down from it all. Wow! What a weekend. I am still riding high on the incredible energy and vibes from the beautiful women that I had the pleasure of sharing space with for those 4 days. I plan to write up a whole post in review of the weekend, sharing photos, thanking brands and all of that good stuff, so look for that some time next week. For now, I am still buzzing and processing all of the amazingness that happened and slowly getting back into the routines of my regular living. Gosh this has actually been quite a challenge, this retreat changed me and it’s been hard to just jump back into life, as if nothing has happened.
Since I have returned I have slowly been getting back into my everyday routines, yoga, exploring recipes in the kitchen and I am actually finding more time for myself. I am making more time to write and to meditate and using the extra hours in the day to read and just unplug, as much as I can.
Wednesday of this week, our organic produce box from Beachgreens arrived at our front door, loaded with organic produce – it was like Christmas morning to me. Nothing fills me up the way cooking in my own kitchen does. After two weeks of traveling and lots of going, I was happy to see my own personal stash of goodies. This is the stuff that gets me excited to eat and keeps me going. I sincerely adore vegetables and most meals in our home are based solely around what vegetable I want to cook with. These beautiful Shanghai Bok Choy immediately had me excited. I typically go with Asian-inspired flavors, making stir-fries or serving alongside a ginger soy-glazed fish of some sort.
-
Red Curry Roasted Pumpkin and Fennel Quinoa Salad
Well, Thanksgiving is officially done and over (insert sad face) and everyone is already onto Christmas (ok, insert happy face). Self included. We decorated the entire house this weekend, inside and out. That said, it is still Autumn, people. Despite the gnarly winter storms that have already clobbered the east coast, we still have another three weeks of fall. I feel like poor fall always gets rushed. We want to hang onto the last bits of summer and then we rush into winter with the holidays. My point is, how quickly we discard all things pumpkin for gingerbread, egg nog, peppermints sticks and the like, the minute Thanksgiving is over.
Many winter squashes and pumpkins are still in season and need our attention. Don’t leave them in your dust in favor of a Peppermint Mocha, quite yet. You can have your holiday yummies too, but just remember that pumpkins and other winter squashes are still in season. Need more convincing not to ditch these orange beauties just yet? Read this amazing History of Pumpkins from my friend Tori Avery for PBS Food.
-
Roasted Beet and Persimmon Salad with Goat Cheese and Toasted Walnut Vinaigrette
First of all, I have to be honest and tell you that I really wanted to call this post “Ode to Persimmon”. If you can believe it, just a couple weeks ago, I finally tried a persimmon for the first time ever. Yup, to my knowledge, I had never had one until very recently. I haven’t been actively avoiding them, by any means, it just hadn’t happened. I mostly attribute it to growing up in Western New York, where they don’t seem to grow and aren’t as common. On the contrary they seem to be everywhere out here in California.
For me, it was love at first bite. A persimmon is unlike anything I have ever tasted before. I honestly can’t compare their flavor or even their texture to anything else, they are a completely unique and beautiful creation. Their size and look seems more like something of the tomato family than any other fruit. The flesh is soft and creamy, similar to a peach or nectarine, but not as juicy. Something about the sweetness reminds me of dates, but I can’t put my finger on it. The skin of persimmons is edible.
So far, I have enjoyed the persimmons I have been getting in my CSA boxes, raw, sliced or eaten like an apple, in smoothies and in salads. This particular salad has quickly become a favorite of mine. It has the earthy rustic flavor of the beets, with soft sweetness from the persimmons, the creamy, richness of the goat cheese in contrast plus the fresh and bright flavor of the micro-greens (ir a baby green if you so choose instead) and finished with the toasted nuttiness of the tart vinaigrette.
-
Za’atar Roasted Squash with Crispy Kale and Pomegranate
Squash season is my favorite of all the seasons! I honestly have a really hard time believing that squash is good for me, that it isn’t one of those foods you absolutely LOVE, but really know in your heart you should enjoy in moderation, like white potatoes or chocolate cake! This time of year, I find myself planning all of my meals around what squash we are going to eat.
Lately, I have been enjoying these beautiful Chile Delicate Squash Rings for breakfast with an egg , I made a bit pot of this Butternut Squash and Roasted Red Pepper Soup for lunch and I have been roasting butternut squash like it’s my job. Of course, though I haven’t yet, I will be making my popular Butternut Squash and Chickpea Slow Cooker Curry very soon, too! I could go on and on telling you the ways I have prepared squash over the last few weeks but instead I will share this amazing, simple new recipe with you.
This recipe features two of my favorite varieties of squash, at least this week, acorn and delicata. I love how sweet and delicate they both are and I love that you can eat the skin on both varieties. Both of these squash are insanely versatile and are wonderful in a savory dish, but just as good with a little maple syrup and some fresh cinnamon and nutmeg.
-
How-to Make Restaurant Style Salsa
As summer’s end nears, we are left with the last few bites of the season to savor. I feel like a bit of a hoarder whenever I go to the markets this time of year and I see the beautiful heirloom tomatoes, the beautiful Hatch chiles, fresh herbs and all the other goodness. I can’t help myself. I want it all.
What better way to enjoy the final tastes of summer than a perfect fresh homemade salsa. For me, though I love a chunky, classic-style pico de gallo, what I don’t love is the amount of time all of the chopping takes. This restaurant-style salsa is a smoother, classic salsa and it is a cinch to whip up.
When Blendtec offered to send me one of their beautiful high-powered blenders, I immediately became excited about all of the possibilities. The middle of the road KitchenAid blender we got for our wedding 7 years ago, was nearing the end of it’s life and though it’s made literally hundreds and hundreds of smoothies, it also never overly impressed me, it was no powerhouse and it definitely couldn’t handle anything too thick.
-
Greek-Style Roasted Green Beans and Tomatoes with Feta Cheese
Each week, when our farmer Tony drops off our CSA box, besides gabbing about all the luscious, seasonal produce he has for me and his perfectly perfect fresh eggs, maybe talking about the weather and how business has been, we always spend a few moments sharing our stories of growing up Greek. We chat about our favorite foods and our fondest memories of the traditions and I try to impress him with the 3 or 4 Greek words that I know. I love it!
This past week when Tony dropped off the box and I saw that I got some of his beautiful green beans, we spent a good couple of minutes talking about one of my favorite Greek dishes, Fasolia (aka Fasolakia Fresca), a traditional Greek Green Bean Stew. As much as I wanted to make a large pot of that with these beans, the idea of cooking a hot steamy stew on the stovetop all day, it just wasn’t appealing to me, with this crazy heat.
-
Grain-free Zucchini Fritters with Roasted Garlic and Heirloom Tomato Compote
This second to last week of August is always about the time I start to get sad that summer is nearly over. My garden is producing less and less, the sun is setting earlier and I know fall and winter are just around the corner. To be honest though, with living in Southern California, it is hard to remember all of that. We’ve still been having 90 degree days and the sun has been shining like crazy. But in looking at my garden and our various fruit trees, seeing many of them nearing the end of their cycles, I am reminded the next season is nearly upon us.
My veggie garden has been a source of so much joy and great food for us this summer, but it has also been a source of much frustration for me. I am still learning how to garden out west, it is so much different than it was in New York. With the lack of rain plus watering restrictions due to the draught, I struggle to remember to water my garden in the proper times. What ends up happening is it gets watered every few days. Somehow the weeds are all growing at alarming rates, they are taking over in fact, while my vegetable plants have moments of looking like they could just keel over and die at any moment.
Thankfully, though they are both slowing down significantly, I am still getting a decent amount of heirloom zucchini and heirloom tomatoes from our garden. Two things I could never tire of. So, I have been trying to get creative and come up with fun new ways to enjoy them.
These crispy Grain-free Zucchini Fritters are so simple to make and they are so beautifully complimented by the fresh and flavorful Roasted Garlic and Heirloom Tomato Compote. To me this is just summer in one perfect dish!
-
Zucchini Noodles with Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes
I have to be honest, I debated even sharing the recipe for these Zucchini Noodles with Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes. It is quite simple and really no frills. But, what it lacks in complexity and concept, it more than makes up for in flavor, ease and satisfaction. I can tell you that while there really is nothing extra special or innovative about this dish, for me lately with the craziness of life, when it comes to cooking, I am drawn to perfect summertime simplicity. As I was trying to decide on photographing this to share, I stepped back for a moment and realized how I actually live on dishes like this, in between all of the fun recipe development stuff. No frills, just classic flavors, easy, fresh, seasonal and light. Most days you will find me eating zucchini noodles, cucumber ribbons or a lettuce wrap of some sort for lunch. If these types of recipes and meals make me dance around my kitchen with joy and really satisfy me, surely I cannot be alone!
Stepping outside first thing in the morning, walking barefoot through the dew covered grass, making my way across the yard to my garden – has to be one of the highlights of my day. Many times this early morning stroll determines the rest of the meals for the day and I just adore that. Letting nature and the season decide for me.
While having a garden can at times feel like another job, most of the time it feels like pretty much THE most brilliant thing you could ever do. It legitimately feels like free food whenever I bring that morning’s bounty into the kitchen. Plus, I really love knowing exactly where my food is coming from and I enjoy connecting with my home and my surroundings in this way. Pulling weeds and looking for things ready to be picked, it is all quite therapeutic and meditative, in a way.
-
Roasted Grape and Rosemary Savory Goat Cheese Mini Tarts {Grain-Free}
For me, I really don’t think there can ever be too much of the good things in life. Whether that be the grapes growing on the vines in our yard or the incredible lady friends I have met through blogging. I just can’t get enough of either these days.
When my girls Gina of So Let’s Hangout and Emily of The Pig and Quill invited me to be a part of #soletspigout, their virtual summer potluck – I just couldn’t say no! I mean what I would really love is to hang out with all of these fantastic bloggers in person, in the real life – stuffing our faces with food and chatting it up about blogging and all the weird things we do. But, I suppose this is the next best thing – virtual food with virtual friends. All of the fun, none of the calories?
In honor of #soletshangout, all week long these two adorably charming, witty gals have been serving up some tantalizing dishes for their weeklong fest! They’ve shared Sticky BBQ Korean Chicken Wings, Fizzy Herbed Pineapple Limeade, Grilled Thai Beef Salad With Sesame Lime Vinaigrette, Sinless Superfood Devil’s Food Donuts and Grain-Free Stone Fruit Cobbler with Lime Coconut Cream. Phew – are you drooling, yet?
Oh and to see all the fun surround this potluck, be sure to check out the hashtag #soletspigout on Instagram.
When it came time to decide what I would be bringing to this virtual get-together today, with 20+ other food-obsessed bloggers, I knew immediately I would have to bring something that included grapes! If you haven’t heard me mention already here on the blog or on my social media, I am literally overwhelmed by the amount of fresh grapes we are getting from the grape vines we have here at our house.
I have been picking them by the 5 and 10 pound bags. No joke. I’ve been forced to get super creative with all of these grapes, which I have actually been loving and I hope you have been, too! (Did you see this Red Grape and Goat Cheese Salad with Walnuts or the Bacon Roasted Grape Salad?) That said, I have also taken to literally giving them away by the several-pound bags, to anyone that will take them. So, please be warned, if you come within even 1 mile of our home or if you invite me to your place, I will send you away with grapes. Lots of them.
-
Forbidden Rice Spring Veggie Bowls with Tahini Lemon Dressing
To know me, is to know that I get weirdly obsessed with things. Currently I am obsessed with two things, first is my new spiralizer (yes you will see lots of recipes made with it very soon) and secondly, any and all meals that can be served in bowls! As you can imagine the cross-over on these two obsessions is quite high so one is perpetuating the other right now.
Today we are just talking about my love of any and all meals served in a bowl. I am not talking about your traditional soup or salads, though I still love both of those, I am talking more about creative, complete and hearty meals with everything you might possibly need or want, all served in one big bowl.
To me, there is something just so comforting and so appealing about a meal in a bowl. Whether it be a Sprouted Quinoa with a Kale Almond Pesto Bowl, a 30-Minute Sweet Potato and Kale Coconut Curry over rice, a Buddha Bowl with Garlic Turmeric Cashew Cream or just a big ‘ol salad with loads of gorgeous bits and bops from your pantry and fridge. Mostly I find these bowl meals to be an opportunity to cram as much seasonal goodness as I can into one dish and to arrange it in a beautiful color coordinated way that turns it into a work of art.
The other bonus of a bowl meal, is the organized and seemingly planned out way to eat up what you have on hand and to make it appear that it was done with great purpose. I have been known to do that a time or two around here.
-
Slow Cooker Chicken Chile Verde {Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Paleo-friendly}
I have really come to love my slow cooker over the years. Crock Pot cooking is one of my favorite ways to make easy dinners, especially recipes that make multiple meals. I have said it before and I will say it again – a meal made in a slow cooker is just about the closest I may ever come to a personal chef. I load it up in the morning and by dinnertime the house is filled with incredible aromas and all I have to do is set the table and serve. It is amazing.
I have shared many plant-based slow cooker recipes here on Tasty Yummies, over the years. Like this Butternut Squash and Chickpea Coconut Curry or this Chipotle Black Bean and Quinoa Crock-Pot Stew, which is a reader favorite. I also have a simple recipe for Slow-Cooked Black Beans, that are great for vegan tacos or it can just be pureed into an amazing soup. Speaking of soup, this comforting Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup can be made with or without ham, to be vegan. Or for a really different Crock Pot experience, try my Creamy Crock-Pot Pumpkin Risotto recipe.
Since I have shared so many plant-based Crock Pot recipes, I thought it was time to share a meat-based recipe since, I know many of you are like me and do eat meat from time-to-time. Plus, when I asked on my Facebook page, a good majority of you were lookin’ for a “meaty” recipe. I had tons of ideas I was working on, but I had a beautiful locally-raised whole organic chicken that I thought would be perfect to create something different with. I thought about making my Chicken and White Bean Chili again with the whole chicken, but then I saw the beautiful tomatillos at the market and came up with the idea for this Slow Cooker Chicken Chile Verde.
This post is extra special – because it’s actually a two-part recipe. Besides the amazing chile verde, first – I have a super simple salsa verde/sauce that can just be used as-is, a salsa perfect for dipping your favorite corn tortilla chips into, or even better, served warm in this amazing chile verde or it’d also be great as a topping for homemade veggie enchiladas. So many possibilities. This salsa verde is just loaded with amazing fresh flavors, so bright and unique. You could certainly use the tomatillos raw if you wish, but I have found that roasting the tomatillos first really brings out their incredibly bright flavor. I have a feeling I will be making homemade salsa verde way more often now. It was so easy. Read the rest of this entry »
-
Spiced Maple Roasted Baby Carrots with Toasted Coconut – Gluten-free + Vegan
*The following post is sponsored by Grimmway Farms. All content and opinions are my own.*
It is a rare thing that I serve carrots as a side dish with meals around here. My hubby Mark tends to be quite vocal about his disdain for carrots, if they are served any other way than raw. However, I have been on a mission to get him to enjoy carrots other than just being dipped in ranch, blue cheese or hummus. So, when Grimmway Farms contacted me to create a simple holiday side dish with their amazing baby carrots, I was very excited for another opportunity to win my hubby over with this nutrition-packed veggie!
Carrots are a nutrition powerhouse and they are just so darn good for you, which is why I am always trying to get Mark to eat them. Carrots provide over 15 essential vitamins and minerals along with phytonutrients and fiber that are important for good health. One serving of baby carrots (85 grams; about 9 medium baby carrots) provides just 35 calories and is a source of over 15 vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals, including vitamin A, vitamin K, vitamin C, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and niacin. Read the rest of this entry »
