Roasted Beet and Walnut Salad

Serves 4

3/4 Beets
4 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 C Walnuts, Pieces
1 TBSP Sugar
1/2 TSP Cinnamon
1/8 TSP Nutmeg
1/4 C Feta Cheese, Crumbled
1 TBSP Balsamic Vinegar
1 TBSP Honey
1 Bunch of Italian Parsley, Chopped

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees fahrenheit.

2. Cut stems and leaves off of all the beets and wash off all the dirt. Make foil squares, spray about two tablespoon of the oil in each of the squares, and cover the beets all around. Then bake for an hour.

3. Mix walnuts with sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and bake in oven for 10 minutes while the beets roast.

5. Let beets cool off for about 30 minutes, next peel the skin, and then cut in cubes.

6. In a medium bowl, mix together the balsamic vinegar, two tablespoons of olive oil, and honey. Then mix in the beets, feta, and parsley.Top with the candied walnuts.

7.  Finally serve right away and enjoy!

Lite Tomato Basil Soup

Serves 4

1 TBSP Butter
1 Medium Onion, Chopped
1 C Carrots, Chopped
3 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
4 C Tomatoes, Skinned, Seeded, and Diced
4 C Chicken Broth, Fat Free
1 TBSP Parsley Flakes
10-20 Basil Leaves, Chopped
2 Bay Leaves
2 TBSP Sour Cream, Fat Free

1. While chopping vegetables, boil to large pot of water for tomatoes.Once water starts to boil, drop in tomatoes and let them boil until the skin breaks. Then pull them out of the water and let cool. After they are cool, take out the stems, peel off skin, wash out the seeds, and dice.

2. In same pot, melt butter and add onions, carrots, and garlic and cook until soft which will take about 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Next add the tomatoes, chicken broth, parsley, basil, and bay leaves. Let it simmer for about 30 minutes.

4. Then remove the pot from the heat and the two bay leaves, and blend the soup together until it is a smooth puree. An immersion works best when blending hot soup.

* If you do not have an immersion blender, I suggest you cool the soup down a little before you add it to the blender. The hotter the soup is. The more ask risk you are for the soup to spit out of the blender.

5. Once the soup is a smooth texture, mix in the sour cream and serve. I added another dollop of sour cream to the soup and served it with a toasted cheese sandwich. (Toasting requires no butter, so it reduces the fat to the sandwich.)

Baked Beans

Serves 4
(I made this as a frozen meal, so I do not have end result pictures.)

2 15 Oz Cans of Pork and Beans
1/2 C Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 Medium Yellow Onion, Chopped
1/2 C Ketchup
1 TBSP Stone-Grounded Mustard
1 TSP Worcestershire Sauce
1 TSP Cider Vinegar
Salt and Pepper, for taste

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees fahrenheit.

2. In 13x9 glass pan, mix all ingredients together.

3. Then bake for an hour.

4. Finally enjoy with your BBQ of choice.

Tangy, Shredded BBQ Pork Sandwiches

6-8 Sandwiches
(I made this as a frozen meal to throw it in the crock pot later. Sorry I gave this to a family, so I do not have the end results. I promise it tastes great.)

1 1/2 LBS of Pork Loin Chops
1 1/2 C of BBQ Sauce, of Your Choice
1/2 C of Italian Dressing
1/4 C of Brown Sugar, Packed
2 TBSP of  Worcestershire Sauce
8 Hamburger Buns

1. Mix together pork chops, bbq sauce, Italian dressing, brown sugar, and worcestershire sauce in the crockpot.

(At this point, I froze the meat. If you plan on cooking it now, you can go forward with the cooking instructions.)

2. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 4 hours.

3. Before serving shredded the pork with two forks, and then serve on bun.

4. You can serve your sandwich with sides and or add coleslaw on top of the shredded pork.

5. Then enjoy!

Soft, Irresistible Banana Nut Bread

Makes 1 Loaf

1/2 C Butter, Softened
1 C White Sugar
3 Eggs, Room Temperature
1 TSP Pure Vanilla Extract

1 2/3 C All-Purpose Flour
1 TSP Baking Soda
1/2 TSP Salt

1 C Mashed Bananas, About 2/3 Bananas
1/2 Sour Cream, I used lowfat.
1/2 C Walnuts, Chopped

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees fahrenheit.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together, next add eggs one at a time, and then vanilla.

3. In a separate small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.

4. Next, the flour mixture slowly into the wet mixture then add the bananas and sour cream and then fold in the walnuts.

5. In bread pan, grease it with the butter wrapper and then pour in bread mixture. Shake pan back and forth until the batter is even.

6. Then bake in oven for 55 minutes to an hour.

7. Finally let it cool, and then you can enjoy with or without butter.

Make Your Own Toasted Tostadas

Serves 4

1 LB of Chicken Breast, I used organic chicken. It seems more tender.
1 Lime, Juiced
1 TSP Cumin
1 TSP Garlic Powder or Fresh Garlic
1/2 TSP Chipotle Pepper
1/2 TSP Cayenne Pepper
1 TSP Oregano

1 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4 corn tortillas
2 C Shredded Cheese
1 Can of Black Beans, Mashed
2 C Spinach or Lettuce of Your Choice, Chopped
1 Avocado, Sliced
1 Tomato, Seeded and Diced
1/2 Cilantro, Minced
1 Jalapeno, Minced (Optional)
1/2 Red Onion, Minced (Optional)

1. In a sealed container like a tupperware, marinate chicken for at least an hour with the lime juice, cumin, garlic, chipotle pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano. Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes to an hour.

2. In a large pan, bring it to medium high heat add the olive oil and then the chicken. Cover the chicken and cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until the chicken is cook. Make sure to flip the chicken halfway through the cooking process, so that it browns on both sides. Then once done and it has rested for about 5 minutes, you can cut it into strips.

3. While the chicken is cooking, you can start toasting up your corn tortillas. Set your toaster oven on 375 and let it bake for about 4 to 5 minutes until the tortilla is toasted. Not brown but lightly browned and like a non-pliable taco shell.

** I used a toaster over. If you do not have one, preheat oven at 375 degrees fahrenheit and bake for 4 to 5 minutes on a cookie sheet.

** Note: If you want melted cheese, you can add it to your tortilla before you cook it.

4. Then you are ready to assemble your tostadas: add mashed beans first on top of the cheesy or not cheesy tostada, next the chicken, more cheese if you want, and then whatever toppings you want like avocados, tomatoes, cilantro, jalapenos, onion, and then top with spinach or lettuce and lime juice.

5. Finally enjoy that tostada with a cerveza or margarita!

Quick Weekend Sausage Biscuit Sandwiches

Serves 4

1 Package of Refrigerated Biscuits

1/2 LB Package of Ground Pork
3 Eggs, I used cage-free eggs.
1/4 C Shredded Cheese
1/8 C of Milk, I used almond milk.
Pepper, For Taste

1. Bake biscuits according to package.

2. While those are baking, form 4 pork patties and put pan on the on the burner on medium heat then cook.

** Tip: I use this instead of breakfast sausage because it usually has a lot more preservatives and no monosodium glutamate, MSG.

3. Once the sausage is done cooking, set it aside on top of a plate with a paper towel to drain the fat from the sausage and pan.

4. Next scramble the eggs with milk and cheese, and then cook in the same pan as the sausage for about 3 to 4 minutes until it is cooked all the way. When taking out the eggs, you want to quarter the eggs and take them out like a sheet.

** Tip: Using a fork to scramble the eggs and adding the milk creates a fluffier egg.

5. Then once the biscuits are done, you can then assemble your sandwiches with the egg and sausage.

6. Finally, enjoy the sandwich with some juice or coffee!