Super Easy Camp Fire Roasted Potato, Onion & Cheesey Bake

Roasted Potato, Onion & Cheesey Side Dish

You might remember my Memorial Day Camping recipe for Camp fire baked Tilapia that I posted last year. Well, now we have a fire pit in our back yard and we've really been enjoying our "camp fire" in the evenings.

For "Clean Eating" my husband and I stick to baked onions to top our steaks with... the pescatarians eat grilled fish, and Kainan chose grilled chicken.  Whatever your tastes or restrictions, this is a super simple way to make an amazingly deeply flavored side dish for your meal.

Directions:

• Set out some pieces of foil about 18" long (this is a good "assembly line" type of family prep if you like)
• Using coconut butter, oil the foil, leaving just 1-2 inches around the edge
• Add your choice of vegetables (we've used garlic, onion, potato, cheese so far **Slice the potato into somewhat thin slices, and make a short stack.
• Fold the foil and wrap up tight.  Since our foil this time is the cheap stuff, I  used two layers... the turning of the packets in the fire can be a little hard on these little packets!
• Once your camp fire (or grill) is hot and has the hot coals *don't put the packets in the direct flames*, put your packets in the hot coals.  After 8-10 minutes, use grill tongs to carefully turn the packets. 
• Another 8-10 minutes and you'll have scrumptious baked onions/potatoes!

Grilled onions are fantastic as a steak topper!

The steaks, fish and chicken... I have to admit, my mouth is watering just remembering how good this was last night!

What are your favorite fall dishes? 

(Ie:  I need new ideas.  I'm bored with my own ideas!:) 

I must admit that this year, Fall has definitely won out for my favorite season.  The weather is gorgeous, I am in love with our new house and yard... and things are shaping up to so well, I am ALMOST happy to see winter get here.  Okay, not really.  Unless its really REALLY mild, I'd really prefer to just go straight from fall to spring!

The kids sitting by the fire eating dinner.  Look at all that wood in the background that they  helped chop & carry today!

Clean Eating Recipe: Beef Burgundy Pot Roast & Veggies

I was inspired by this recipe that I ended up at when I was reading the Paleo Blog.  I've been researching the whole "Primal" or "Paleo" diets for a while, because carbs have always been a... bad thing for me.  I like reading about diet, nutrition and health regardless, but since I'm soon going to be doing the 90 Day Challenge, I think the issue is more in the forefront of my brain lately.  This recipe is NOT Primal/Paleo, the above recipe IS... but it definitely inspired me to want some pot roast:)

I added a lot more carrots and potatoes, because I have vegetarians in the house, and those are their preferred veggies when it comes to a pot roast type meal.

My kids are SO weird.

It has been SO nice lately, we've been having our meals on the back deck.  I'm loving this weather!

Ingredients:

2-4 lbs.* of Steak, Roast, basically BEEF!:)

*I use less meat because I'm cheap and because two of my kids are vegetarians, so we don't need as much. Plan accordingly if you have a bunch of carnivores in your house or they might revolt.)

1 tablespoon of coconut oil

1 bottle of Red Wine

1 32 oz. Box of beef brother

1 32 oz. box vegetable broth

3 16 oz. cans of tomato sauce

3 lbs. onions quartered

2 lbs. of potatoes quartered

2 lbs. of baby carrots (or regular carrots, chopped)

1 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. worchestershire powder

2 tsp MsDash Garlic & Herb seasoning

OPTIONAL:  2 Tbsp of Almond Flour or Corn Starch for thickening

First: Heat the oil in a skillet on high

Add the steaks and sear for just a minute on each side to help seal in juices.

Second:  Toss everything else in the crock pot, except the potatoes (unless you don't mind slightly mushier potatoes... and I don't, but if you do, add those later because they cook faster than everything else:)

Next, you have three options:

A) Use a big enough pan in the first place

B) Use half the ingredients so that it all fits in your 5 qt crockpot.

Or C) The option I inadvertently chose:

When its time to add the potatoes, realize that you don't have any room left.

Transfer half of the ingredients to your spare crock that you have from the last crappy crock pot you had.  The base doesn't even exist anymore because it was so crappy so you have to use the oven and heat the entire kitchen because you didn't think ahead.  

*I don't recommend this one unless its really cold outside, and then I most definitely do.

Cook on high in your crock pot for 4-6 hours or in the oven at 350 for 3-4 hours.

If you add cornstarch or flour, put that in a separate bowl with some of the liquid and make sure you have all the lumps out before adding to the stew.  Leave the lid off for the last half of the cooking time to let the sauce thicken.

Optional step #3:  While that's cooking, realize at 4:50 that it is indeed Thursday and that your youngest child has gymnastics at 5:00.  Rush out the door... get back and still have dinner cooking because crock pots are awesome that way.

Finish with a lovely family dinner with your crazy children on your pink and brown deck.**

YUMMY!!!

 I am SO in love with our yard!  And this weather!

**If you don't HAVE a pink and brown deck, I apologize profusely for getting your hopes up.  If you don't have crazy children... you can borrow some of mine.  They'll rub off on yours and soon you will have your own crazy children.  Really.  I've seen it happen.

Mostly Raw Food Sunday with Salad Bar

Casual Sunday Salad Bar

My Family & a couple of the kids friends that were over for dinner:)

We have started back with the tradition of family dinners!!!  With our family, that makes for some interesting conversations, interesting AWESOME conversations.

We've discussed all sorts of things from the Cold War, to my husband's somewhat... unusual past (so far I've avoided being questioned, but the kids are merciless on their dad... and the reactions are priceless.  Apparently they thought he'd most been a goody two shoes most of his life.)  Kainan being in Public School now always brings new and interesting topics as well.  He is SUCH a character.  Basically, a table full of really good story tellers makes for EPIC dinner conversations!

We're doing well during the week, but on the weekends, there seems to be too much running this way and that, so I decided that I'd just lay out some fresh veggies and salad fixings.  I've found that my kids rarely think to open up the fridge and grab veggies, but if I have them out and easy to access, we all eat a lot more of them.

Patrick playing chess with the kids, noshing on veggies and hummus between turns.

Family Salad Bar with some of our favorite toppings:

**Except when linked to a website, the rest of this information is from the awesome book Eat Well, Be Well by Pierre Jean Cousin

Sesame Seeds:

"The seeds are also very good source of dietary proteins with fine quality amino acids that are essential for growth, especially in children. Just 100 g of seeds provide about 18 g of protein (32% of daily-recommended values)"

Kale:

Kale is now recognized as providing comprehensive support for the body's detoxification system. New research has shown that the ITCs made from kale's glucosinolates can help regulate detox at a genetic level.

Spinach:  Rich in antioxidants and stimulates pancreas function.  Vitamin C, Folic Acid, Iron, Zinc & Carotene

Sprouted Lentils:  Folic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Potassium, Protein, Carbohydrates.  "Lentils are nutritious, digestible, regulate colon function and should be eaten frequently as a part of a healthy diet."

Lettuce: 

Vitamins A, C, D, Folic Acid, E, Iron, Manganese, Potassium, Zing, Lactucarium.  "Because it is rich in fiber, it helps food to pass quickly through the intestines and aids digestion.  Lettuce contains lactucarium, a substance that has sedativeand analgesic properties, and is thought to be useful in the treatment of mild insomnia."  (wow.  Maybe I should eat more lettuce, my insomnia is AWFUL!)

Carrots:

"Carrots are rich in antioxidants and protect the body from certain types of cancer.  They boost the immune system and are useful in treating a range of ailments, from poor night vision to stomach ulcers."

Flax Seeds:

Almonds:  

Vitamins A, B, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Oleic Acid.  Almods are an energy providing, nutritious snack.  They have a balancing effect upon the nervous system and are useful for digestive problems.

Dried Cranberries:

A substantial number of recent studies have shown that whole cranberries consumed in dietary form—in comparison with purified cranberry extracts consumed in either liquid or dried supplement form—do a better job of protecting our cardiovascular system and our liver. Several groups of researchers have summarized their health benefit findings by pointing out that it is the synergy among cranberry nutrients (rather than individual cranberry components) that is responsible for cranberry's health benefits. This synergy is only found in the whole berry as consumed in food form. This rule about whole dietary intake appears to apply to the antioxidant benefits, anti-inflammatory benefits, and anti-cancer benefits of cranberry.

Cabbage:  

A long established remedy for a variety of digestive ailments.  It is also rich in antioxidants and can strengthen the immune system and help the body to overcome infection.

Cheese:  

We keep to a minimum.  Some of us avoid most dairy (except yogurt), so we go light on the cheese, but my hubby especially likes cheese on just about anything:)

Salad!!!  With Poppyseed Dressing

Paris created a happy face Grilled Cheese & Apple Sandwich for herself and Patrick:)

This made for a mostly raw day for me (except for the hummus), and I think it was AWESOME.  I woke up feeling so much better the next day.  I don't think I could pull off an all raw diet right now, but I certainly like having it be a part of every day, and then a full day of it on Sundays sounds perfect!  (Other than the hummus I ate with some of my veggies!:)

I've decided that hummus is not a very pretty food, but its SO yummy!

We finished off our day in the front room where some of us worked off and on with a big Hollywood puzzle, talked about the Avengers and why Patrick doesn't "buy" the Iron Man concept, because no one explained how Tony Stark doesn't die when he's thrown through a tree just because he's wrapped in a suit of metal.

I just stood in the middle of the room and snapped a few pics as I turned... This is our front family room/office/art/game room (You can see more photos of our front room here on my Always Family Blog)

And our dog, Kitty laid around being spoiled by Kainan, as usual.

Clean Eating #149: Super Healthy Mexican Taco-Bean-Chili-Soup-Like-Dish

Super Healthy Mexican Taco-Bean-Chili-Soup-Like-Dish

Yummmy!!

Relax Ladies and Gentlemen, Children, Puppies and other small pets who may or may not have been waiting for me to come back...

Because I'm BACK!!

*Sort of.  Actually, next Wednesday, I'm heading out to L.A. with my two girls where we'll stay with several of my mom's friends, be all touristy and I'm going to audition for "The Voice Season 2".  We'll be gone about two weeks.  Unless we hate it, then we'll come back sooner.  Although I imagine a 33 hour train ride after a 4 hour drive will make anything seem tolerable... and, basically, anything that isn't rural town USA will surely be tolerable.

The ingredients (I made a HUGE batch of this and it was REALLY cheap, so it would be great for a big family gathering, potluck or some kind of group gathering.  My family ate half of it in one 24 hour period.  All 6 of us (except the ten year old doesn't really eat much... she prefers to paint):

Oh wait, I was going to start with the recipe.  With school starting soon, my A.D.D. is in full swing... my apologies!

THE INGREDIENTS:

1 bottle of Low Sodium Tomato Juice

1 Large, Industrial sized can of Tomato Sauce 

(if you're going small, just use about equal amounts of sauce and juice and vary according to your tastes)

1 Carton of Vegetable Broth

2 bags of Kidney Beans

2 bags of small red beans

2 bags of White Navy Beans

1 bag lentils

1 bag of frozen spinach

Seasonings:

Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy (1/2 bottle)

Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle Seasoning

And here I am modeling the secret ingredient (well, if secret means that I told everyone, but you can't SEE it, then that's what I mean by secret).  You guessed it, pureed spinach in tomato sauce.  I AM that good.

You can also see some of the 20 pounds I've put back on since the epic stress has taken over my summer.  And on a perhaps unrelated note, let me just say that parenting can be hard as hell.  Even if all the things you THOUGHT might go wrong DIDN'T ~ you get new, EXTRA surprises... ahhhh... yeah, its lovely.

Directions:

Prepare your dried beans (you might want to do this the night before, I just did it in the morning and had the soup for dinner.  You could even use a crockpot if yours works well and you're gone for the day)

*I soak mine for about 3-4 hours or even overnight if I remember.

*Then bring to a boil on the stove, then turn to medium or med-high heat & cook until soft. (they grow a LOT, so keep them covered with lots of water!)

*Do NOT add anything with salt until the skins of all the beans are soft

ONCE YOUR BEANS ARE READY:

Drain 2/3rds of the liquid.

Puree your frozen spinach with some tomato juice **Note:  Do NOT do this if the juice is hot, thinking that SURELY the frozen spinach will cool it off enough.  Scroll back up if you think you might forget this tip.

Add all of your other ingredients (including the lentils) and simmer until you're ready to eat.

This soup tastes fantastic with grilled cheese, tortilla chips or whole wheat tortillas.  My kids all have their own way of eating it (all of these include cheese:).  As my resident carnivore, Kainan even cooks ground beef to throw in his.  I tend to 'toast' a whole wheat tortilla under the broiler and use it as a dipper:)

Verdict: This was AWESOME.  Even my meat eaters didn't miss the ground beef in this.  With all the different textures of the various beans, it was just wonderful.  The pureed spinach seemed to deepen the flavor without actually adding any 'green' taste to it.  My husband is reading this book:

 

And is totally sold on the "Slow Carb Diet", so he wants a lot of lentils and spinach.  This soup is a great crowd pleaser, it fits his diet, its incredibly versatile and tasty and HEALTHY!  Yay!!

And for anyone who came back to read again, thank you!:)  I'll try to be better now that it isn't constantly over one hundred and ten degrees outside!

Clean Eating #146: Super Easy Roasted Asparagus w/Sesame Seeds

Super Easy Roasted Asparagus w/Sesame Seeds

Ingredients:

1 bunch of asparagus

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

handful of sesame seeds

Directions:

Coat the asparagus with oil

Place on a baking sheet and sprinkle with sesame seeds

Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes 

See?  Super easy!  That's all you get today because my hubby is on his way home from work and we have no kids this week!

Enjoy your day!

Clean Eating #140: Super Quick & Easy Egg White Veggie Scramble

Super Quick & Easy Egg White Veggie Scramble

Ingredients:

8 Egg Whites

1/2 bunch of Green Onions, chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped thawed and drained spinach

4 small, sweet tomatoes

Direction:

Sautee the vegetables until most of the liquid is gone

Add the Egg Whites

Cover & cook on med to med-low about 10 minutes.

Remove lid and cook, turning as needed (and if you have a nice pan, it will probably even turn out looking pretty, unlike mine) and cook until done.

See?  I told you mine wasn't pretty.  I used a bad BAD pan, apparently.

HOWEVER, it tasted WONDERFUL. 

I had meant to make two servings so my hubby could have some when he came home... but I think I ate all but two bites:)  I love all the flavor!!

Clean Eating #138 & 139: Green Onion Soup

Green Onion Soup

or 

Spinach & Green Onion Soup

Truth time.  Even thought I recently discovered a love for French Onion soup, I didn't think this recipe would please me at ALL.  It seemed too... bland.  Too... green.  I love green.  I love green onions, but I like variety and this seemed like it would just be too... single minded.

I DID end up messing with my original recipe, but even without the additions, I ate a bowl and enjoyed it.  I just needed a bit more flavor.  Yeah, it had plenty of green onion flavor, but I guess I needed more variety of flavor.

Since my pantries are pretty much bare, I had to go with what I could find, namely frozen spinach and extra caramelized onions.  I then pureed them to give a little bit of thickening to the soup without adding any wheat.  I'm cutting out wheat for the next three weeks for a cleanse I'm doing.  I should probably go wheat free, if not gluten free altogether, just knowing how much better I do without it, but I'm just not sure I'm up for that quite yet.

I figure giving up refined foods, additives, artificial sweeteners, and now most meats... I'm doing what I can:)

Anyway, on to the recipe(s):

Green Onion Soup:
2 bunched of green onions, chopped
1 Tbsp Oil (EVOO or coconut oil)
1 small-medium Vidala onion, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, pressed
3 cups vegetable broth/other broth
1 cup water
salt & pepper to taste

Caramelized the Vidalia onions on medium heat with a tablespoon of oil for about 15 minutes
Add pressed garlic & chopped green onions for another 10 minutes
Add broth and water and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot.

Spinach & Green Onion Soup:

2 bunched of green onions, chopped

1 Tbsp Oil (EVOO or coconut oil)

3 medium Vidala onion, finely diced

1 cup of chopped frozen spinach

3 cloves of garlic, pressed

3 cups vegetable broth/other broth

1 1/4 cup water

salt & pepper to taste

Caramelized the Vidalia onions on medium heat with a tablespoon of oil for about 20-25 minutes

*Separate out approximately 2/3rds of the caramelized onions and set aside

Add pressed garlic & chopped green onions for another 10 minutes

Add broth and 1 cup of water and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Take the separated caramelized onions, spinach & 1/4 cup of water and puree thoroughly in the blender

Add puree to your soup and simmer on medium low for another 20 minutes until thickened.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Verdict:  I Liked the first version.  I LIKED it.  It would have been really good as a small SIDE to another, really rich dish, but since I was eating it by itself, it needed more.  If you have a more simple palate and prefer less flavor explosion, this will be your speed.

*The added spinach puree?  Loved it.  I probably should have done without the puree and just added the onions and spinach chopped, but I was curious:)  Plus, I don't much care for really 'broth' liquid soups.  I prefer more substance.  I don't know why.  Something I should probably get over.

Anyway, take your pick!  Those are the recipes for today.  Or right now, anyway.  What is your favorite onion based recipe?

I think the French Onion Soup Tartines are still my favorite!

Clean Eating #130: Potato Garlic Bake

Potato Garlic Bake

Okay, so I know that potatoes aren't the cleanest food to base a dish on, but again, we're broke and potatoes were on sale.  I threw together whatever I could find for a nice side dish to the tuna patties I made.

Ingredients

7 potatoes, chopped

3 heads of garlic

8-10 pearl/stew onions

2-3 fresh kale leaves, freshly chopped

4 oz baby portabello mushrooms, chopped/sliced

1 bunch of green onions, diced

Directions:

Chop the Onions in half & peel

Add to potatoes and lightly drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Cut the tops off of the garlic and brush with EVOO

Add some "Extra Spicy" Mrs. Dash

 Add chopped green onions to your pan

Bake at 400 for about 30-40 minutes until potatoes and garlic are cooked through.

This makes an EXCELLENT side dish to have with a nice salad.

Verdict:  As you can imagine, with as much as my husband loves onions and garlic, this dish was a major hit as well.  Really yummy, really filling and CHEAP.  The operative word around here lately... unfortunately.