Pesto with Chicken Sausage and Brussel Sprouts

Next time you make pesto pasta, save some of the pesto. It freezes great! Just thaw and use in this recipe and it's DELICIOUS!

Pesto with Chicken Sausage and Brussel Sprouts
1 lb fresh brussel sprouts, ends trimmed and any yellowed/browned outer leaves removed, then sliced in half
3 T olive oil, divided
1/2 t sea salt
1/2 t freshly-ground black pepper
1 lb rice pasta
4 chicken sausage links (I used the hormone-free ones from Publix)
5 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
Fresh pesto, store bought or HOMEMADE (EVEN BETTER!)
Parmesan cheese, for serving

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix together brussel sprouts, 2 T olive oil, salt and pepper. Gently stir until well-combined. Prepare a baking sheet with aluminum foil, then spread the brussels sprouts on it evenly. Roast for about 20 minutes, stirring once partway through, or until they are crispy on the outside and cooked on the inside. Remove from oven and set aside. 

Meanwhile, remove sausage from casings. Heat the remaining olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up the sausage into crumbles. Cook until browned and very fragrant. Add the garlic, and continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Once the pasta is cooked, drain the water (reserving 1/4 cup pasta water), and then toss together the pasta, pesto, cooked sausage and garlic, and brussels sprouts. Add in some of the reserved pasta water if needed for extra moisture. 

Serve warm, and sprinkle with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.

Fresh Lemonade...WITHOUT SUGAR!

My little gal can't have sugar...which really used to be a pain in the rear but ultimately has guided our family to much better health. Well, the other day there was a little boy in our neighborhood who was selling lemonade to support his baseball team. My oldest child's heart melted and she bought lemonade for all....forgetting that her sister couldn't drink it. Ohhhhhh, the tears! Well, I had just gotten home from my bestie's house where she and her hubs made fresh lemonade almost every day, and it tasted delicious on a hot day! I texted her for the recipe and my little one was, as you can see, pleased with the results!

Fresh Lemonade...without sugar!
2 lemons
water and ice
liquid stevia

Squeeze lemons into quart jar. Fill the rest of the way with filtered water and ice. Add a dropper or two of liquid stevia (to taste! Don't add too much!) and shake it up.
Enjoy!

New Lunch recipes! Energy Bites & Zucchini Carrot Raisin Muffins

 Energy Bites
2 c regular oats
1 c peanut butter (or other nut butter)
2/3 c raw honey
2 c shredded coconut
1 c freshly ground flaxseed
1/2 c mini chocolate chips
1/2 c raisins
2 t vanilla
1-2 T chia seeds

Mix everything above in a medium bowl until thoroughly incorporated.  Let chill in the refrigerator for an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls and enjoy!  I chill the night before, and then roll into balls the next morning.  Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week. Very filling and delicious!

Zucchini Carrot Raisin Muffins
1 c regular oats
2 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c coconut sugar (or sucanut)
1 T + 2 t baking powder
1 c grated zucchini
1 c grated carrot
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1 t sea salt
3/4 c raisins
3/4 c coconut oil
2 ripe bananas
1/2 apple
1/2 c agave

Preheat oven to 350. Combine the first 9 ingredients in large bowl. Combine the last 4 ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Pour over dry ingredients and mix well. Bake for 20-23 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. These freeze well and taste DELIGHTFUL!

Cherry Almond Granola

Cherry Almond Granola
4 c regular rolled oats
1 cup chopped almonds
1 c uncooked millet
1 c dried cherries
4 T ground flax seed
2 T chia seed
1/2 c coconut sugar (or sucanut)
1 1/2 t sea salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t cardamom (optional)
dried coconut (optional)
pumpkin seeds (optional)

4 heaping T applesauce
1/2 c raw honey
6 T nut butter (peanut, almond, sunflower, etc.)
2 heaping spoonfuls coconut oil
2 t vanilla extract
1 t almond extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 1 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients until well combined. In a microwaveable glass dish combine wet ingredients-MINUS THE EXTRACTS!. Microwave for 1-2 minutes and stir until well combined. Pour in extracts and stir again. Pour over dry ingredients and stir well until evenly coated. Scott onto baking sheets and bake for 40-50 minutes, stirring halfway through. Allow to cool before putting it into airtight container. It will still be a little bit wet, but will harden up as it cools.

This is delicious with almond milk and fresh fruit. We also eat it over vanilla goat yogurt, too! For most of us...this is our favorite!
Enjoy!

Fun Summer Yummies: Homemade Pickles, Roasted Potatoes and Asparagus and Quick blender Zucchini Soup

 We don't often have years when we have cucumbers coming out of the ying-yang, but this year has been one of those years! We only have 2 plants, but one of the plants isn't really producing a whole lot. However, an average week yields about 30 crisp delicious cucumbers from this one plant. We'll take it, baby!

Have you ever made homemade pickles? You taste one and it's so hard to go back to store-bought!! And it's so easy! Here's how you do it:
10 c cold filtered water
1 c white vinegar
1/2 c Kosher salt
6ish quarts cucumbers, washed and cut into spears, slices or however you like
3 cloves garlic, sliced
6 sprigs dill
Combine first 3 ingredients and stir until salt dissolves. Place in liquid in jars, about halfway up. Add a little dill, your cucumbers until full, a little garlic and 1 more small sprig of dill. Continue filling jars until done. Allow to sit on counter for 24 hours. Refrigerate and enjoy!

Roasted Potatoes & Asparagus
Red Potatoes
Olive oil
Spices of your choice
Basil
asparagus
shredded parmesan
Scrub and cut potatoes into pieces. Season with olive oil and whatever spices you would like (salt and pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, whatever your preferences are). Spread on prepared baking sheet (I line sheet with foil and spray with baking spray). Bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes. Add asparagus cut into thirds, woody ends cut off). Bake until tender, 15-20 more minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese.

 Creamy Zucchini Soup
1 oz raw cashews
1 1/2 c water
1 1/2 medium zucchini
sea salt, fresh herbs
Soak cashews in 1/2 c water for 1 hour. Place remaining water, zucchini, sea salt and fresh herbs (fresh basil is great and so is cilantro! Dill would be fun too!) to blender jar.  Add cashews (with water) to jar. Blend on high until blended through and hot.

Quinoa and Veggies

If you want the quickest of quick meals, this is for you! I just got back from a Momcation and my adorable best friend opened the doors of many possibilities, so many of the following recipes are attributed to her. Thanks, Jessie! xo!

This is quick, delicious, and you can totally be creative with it. A few ideas are listed below.

Quinoa and Veggies
Quick quinoa and rice mix (or make your own and freeze for crazy-busy nights!) I got the Seeds of Change one from Costco. It's expensive, so I think I'll make my own from now on!
Frozen veggies (Costco)
*Sauce (raw honey, coconut oil, ginger, tamari)
raw sesame seeds

Extra things: mandarin oranges, drained, slivered almonds, pineapple, cooked chicken or beef, etc, shredded coconut

Sauce options: clove of garlic, pineapple or orange juice, lime juice, shredded coconut
*My family is big so I did about 2/3 c raw honey, 1/3 c coconut oil, 1/3 c tamari, 1/2 inch ginger, cut into pieces

Blend sauce ingredients in blender...to desired taste and thickness...until smooth. Put quinoa/rice mix in large pan on medium head. Thaw your veggie in microwave and add to pan (or just add straight to the pan). Warm all and add your sauce. Mix well and sprinkle with sesame seeds. If you are adding fruit, add this last and gently stir, or just leave on top and let it warm slightly.

Cauliflower "Potato" Salad

This was a surprise for us! I saw something kind of like this on pinterest and have put off making it. Why???? We LOOOOOOVED it! In fact, the hubs said he liked it better then potato salad. Yeah. Let me know what you think!

Cauliflower "Potato" Salad
2 heads cauliflower, cut into large florets 
1/4 medium-sized red onion, diced finely
6 stalks organic celery, diced finely 
1 cucumber, diced
1 sweet pepper, diced
1-2 carrots, shredded
4 dill pickles, diced
2 t dried dill 
sea salt and black pepper, to taste 
sprouted sunflower seeds, optional (or any sprouted nut or seed!)
1 1/2 c almonaise 
2 T raw apple cider vinegar

Steam cauliflower until tender but not mushy. Rinse with cold water and allow to cool. Crumble the cauliflower into a large bowl, and add all of the ingredients except for the almonaise and vinegar. Thin the almonaise with the vinegar and stir into all of the other ingredients. Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving.