Squeaky Gourmet

The Superbowl is creeping up on us real fast so I tried to steer my thoughts to making something party worthy.  Well I ended up eating this for my lunch for a couple of days so…so much for the party but it sure killed a huge craving for nachos I’d been having since I saw a monstrous plate of them at Margaritaville in Las Vegas.  So enough on the cravings and on to the deliciousness.  I love beans.  We eat them several times a week around my house.  I usually make a huge pot from the dry stage but sometimes I just used canned. Even better if I can find ones that don’t have anything added to them.  So this is a Really quick recipe that is truly yummy and worthy of your bestest of buddies.

Creamy Bean Dip
Serves 4 (or 2 if it’s your lunch)

1 can refried beans – you can get vegetarian, no fat, regular…whichever you like

1 ripe avocado

½ c salsa

½ t garlic power

2 T lime juice

No fat greek yogurt for garnish- you can omit

Salt to taste- please taste to make sure you get enough

In a medium bowl, scoop out the avocado and mash really well with a fork.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix really well.  Let sit for 10 minutes and then mix some more.  At this point I heated the dip in the microwave, topped with some yogurt, finely sliced scallions and some really HOT salsa.  But if you like, you can add some cheese, then melt it all in the microwave, then garnish as mentioned above.  Enjoy!

Some other great ideas…

Chopped tomatoes, lots of diced scallions, make your own tortilla chips

I can always tell when the really cold weather has set in here in Wyoming.  Apart from not really wanting to venture outside very often, I find myself cooking stews and soups every week.  The comfort that I know I have a big pot of healthy, heartwarming stew in the fridge for the week makes lunches and the occasional dinner really easy.  Here’s what I cooked up Saturday.

White Bean and Barley Stew
Serves 4 or more

1 large onion chopped

1 ½  c chopped celery

1 t garlic chopped

1 red sweet pepper chopped

1 T olive oil

1 can no salt diced tomatoes

2 cans great northern beans- rinsed

1 carton 32oz  organic chicken or Veg stock

1/3 c uncooked barley

2 bay leaves

1 t oregano

1 t basil

½ t marjoram

1 t sea salt

1 t pepper

½ t or more red pepper flakes

2 T dry parsley or 1/3 c fresh- chopped

In a large soup pot, add the oil and the onion and garlic and sauté for a few minutes.  Add the rest of the chopped vegs and cook 10 mins on medium.  Now add the rest of the ingredients, stir well, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer (low) and cook for an hour.  Serve with hot sauce if you are so inclined.  Yummy.  This could also be done in a slow cooker on low heat all day.

Other good ideas…

Fresh spinach would be great added before serving.

Tomato sauce would work well.

A squirt of lemon before serving would be yummy too.

Enjoy!

–Jamie

I cannot say enough about how awesome salads are to have on hand for your personal path to  greatness um, health and wellness.  Jamie created this beautiful and delicious salad for all our readers to enjoy and devour! YUM!  This salad is super easy to prepare and is filled with nutrients and flavor. (seriously click the image to see how beautiful this salad is! Who wouldn’t want to eat it?)

Barley and Lentil Salad

Serves 3 or 4

½ c chopped scallions

1 c chopped carrots

1 yellow or red pepper chopped

4 ribs celery chopped

1 15 oz can of lentils rinsed

2 ½ c cooked barley

Dressing-

1 t balsamic vinegar

4 t olive oil

1/3 c cider vinegar

1 t spicy brown mustard

1 t sea salt

½ t pepper

2 t Mrs. Dash original flavor

Combine all ingredients and chill for ½ hour.  Serve over a big bed of greens.

Did you know right now there are people wearing safety glasses and white lab coats who are staring into beakers adding chemical substances and hoping to create new and exciting foods for us. Yeah–these test tube foodies are hoping that the magic mix of just the right chemicals will give you that melt in your mouth, cooked for hours by your loving grandmother feeling when you have their new food dance on your taste buds.  There is no thought to the lasting effects these chemicals have because they are food chemicals–approved for consumption and digestion. You will not drop dead from the toxic levels of these additives at all according to the Food Police in the higher levels of the test tube foodie office building.  So, drop by drop they are bringing you the newest flavor –the most exciting life like creation they can figure out. You can picture this as the real world creation of Willie Wonka’s 3 course meal gum–we all know  Violet Beauregarde’s reaction to the amazing reality of the flavors of the gravy and mashed potatoes as she chewed the gum. I think these test tube foodies are surpassing Mr Wonka’s hopes and dreams with the new way they can conjure food up out of nothing but some chemical additives, some water and a few solids. So–where does that leave the people who want real food? The people on the outside of the industry who are choosing not to follow in Violet’s footsteps and turn into a giant blue blob because of the unforeseen reaction yet to be discovered by these lab coated food chemists.  Not only is it hard to create foods free from chemicals but also to create the same WOW PEP and ZEST flavor that only the artificial world can bring you. I mean, by evolutionary design we like the things that are MORE MORE MORE!

Well that is where the real foodies come in. Throw backs from the kitchen, if you will. People who remember a real pie crust made with butter /lard not margarine–or–shortening (YUCK!) People who took the time to create flavors from nature–French cooking, Italian cooking–European cooking! It takes no time, it creates an experience. Just a few tricks, a few tools and you too can bring back the moments of food that are safe to enjoy and are great for your body.

Enter for exibit–the Stewpendous Chicken! My family loved this dish, the house smelled divine while it was cooking and I even manged to get those lentils past the mouth of my husband who usually runs the other way when I say I added lentils to anything in the kitchen aside from the garbage bin.

Stewpendous Chicken
serves 8
4lbs  boneless skinless chicken sliced thin (breast or thighs–use what you want)
1 cup raw lentils
6 cups water
4 stalks of fresh celery-chopped
1/2  sweet onion-chopped
4 medium carrots cut into sticks
2 baked and peeled red sweet potatoes mashed
2 cloves garlic-diced
2 springs fresh Thyme
2 springs Rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 tbls butter

In a large pot, set on medium heat, add the butter and allow it to brown. (not blacken, stir the butter and let it cook–not die!) Once the butter is nicely brown  add all the vegetables and lentils (leaving out the mashed sweet potato)** and spices and stir to coat in the butter. Keep stirring for about 10 minutes more, your house will now be filled with the scent of goodness.  Now add in 2 cups of water and the chicken slices, making sure all the chicken fits in the pan you chose. Now, here is the thickening trick–add in the mashed white sweet potatoes and mix well with the rest of the ingredients in the pan.  Now cover the soup with the remaining water, turn the heat to low and allow to simmer for about 3 hours.

Serve hot in large bowls! Allow the family to compliment you on the amazing stew and bask in your greatness. You have fed them well and the meal is feeding their body well!

** Here is a red skinned sweet potato–the flavor is this was drastically different from the orange fleshed relative. I  found it to be sweet and earthy–like a happy married between a red bliss potato and a sweet potato.  You will see how this adds a great thickening property to the stew as well as creates a new dimension of flavor.

Here is what it looks like after you bake it and peel it–this picture was for informational purposes only and I was not trying to humiliate the potato in away way. OK–well maybe a little.

This recipe is happy to be part of Real Food Wednesday! Join the carnival!

A lot of people venturing into a clean eating diet eventually are faced with thoughts of  ”Chicken again!?” We open up the fridge in hopes that there is something far more tantalizing than that darn bird. Well, here is a fast easy solution for you if you have left over cooked chicken that will not be a repeat of the meals prior! This is also an excellent low calorie, healthier choice party dish to share with people!

since Squeaky Gourmet blog is part of the Foodbuzz tastemaker program,  Pace Picante Sauce sent us a few samples to try out with some of the recipes we concoct for our clean eating readers. I was thinking as I pondered what to make–most people have salsa in their fridge–especially clean eaters! What else do we usually have–well I always have cheese, chicken and organic rice in the fridge.  So, I put them together and was super pleased with the recipe inspired by my friend Beth–thanks Beth!

Magnifico Chicken
serves 8

16 ounces canned black beans rinsed well
1 cup cooked rice
1 cup Pace Picante Sauce
8 cooked boneless/skinless chicken thighs shredded
1/2 cup onion chopped
1 large fresh tomato diced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika ( I prefer smoked for this recipe)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Set aside the cheese and combined all the other ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix well making sure to incorporate the spices into the entire dish.

Add to a glass baking pan and cover with cheese and bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese begins to brown.  Serve hot with some corn chips and a side salad.

Simple. Clean. Food. really–this is a super easy and amazing dish!

Other Good Ideas:
–bring to a party to use as an tortilla chip dip
–make extra because this is especially good reheated!

–wrap in a whole wheat tortilla top with avocado
–perfect to add to a crock pot!