Preserving the Good Life

When Saturday nights roll around, we take advantage of any opportunity to get together with friends and have a Taco Bar!  I got in such a hurry making this one that I failed at making many pictures.  I was in a time crunch.  There’s a lot of manual prep work when you’re prepping food for tacos!

• 8 ripe medium avocados, diced
• 1-2 limes, juiced
• 1 jalapeno, diced
• ½ medium red onion, diced
• 2-3 medium cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 large bunch cilantro, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Cut avocados in half and remove seed. Cut the flesh into squares, scoop the flesh out with a spoon and add to a mixing bowl.  Squeeze lime juice over avocado squares.  Dice the onion, jalapeno and tomatoes, then add to the avocado.  Chop the cilantro and mince the garlic over the mixture and stir well.  Salt and pepper to taste.

If you like a chunky guacamole stop here.  If you like a smoother guacamole, take a mixer to it for just a minute, it will give it a much creamer texture.  Chill for 1 hr before serving.

Sometimes we make the chunky version, but this time we made it creamy.  This is usually the last thing that we make right before guests arrive.  If it sits any length of time, it will change colors.

I’m a fan of any type of Mexican food so when we decided to host a get together for our Sunday School class it was only fitting that we have a Taco Bar!

Pico de Gallo is a MUST!  Not only is it good – but it’s good for you!

• 1/2 purple onion, diced
• 6 roma tomatoes, diced
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1 small jalapeño, diced
• juice of 1 lime
• sea salt & pepper to taste

Dice the tomatoes and onion. Add to a medium bowl.  FINELY dice the jalapeño removing any seeds to make it more kid friendly.  Add to the tomato/onion mixture.  Mince the garlic and roughly chop the cilantro to add to the bowl.   Juice the lime over the bowl, add salt and pepper to the desire taste. Refrigerate at least 1 hr before serving.  ENJOY!

PS…stay tuned, I will figure out a way to can this recipe this summer!

I am all for quick and easy.  It doesn’t get any quicker than browning burger or easier than mixing a few ingredients together.  I ran across this recipe and thought I’d give it a shot.  It’s really good and much leaner and better for you than some I’ve made before.

You all know I’m not a fan of processed foods, so eventually I plan to make this with my own sauce and paste (GOALS)….gotta keep those Goals in from of me!  Ok here’s for simple and easy.

I have to switch things up to keep my boys interested and engaged in a meal prep plan.  If I do the same thing day after day, week after week, they get bored.  When searching for a recipe to offer them something different and nutritious, I found options of “Baked Oatmeal”.  I substituted some things, added some stuff and adjusted it to our liking…..

Here’s your chance to get creative, blueberries and strawberries may not be your pick, so why not try apples or peaches….pumpkin..bananas…..your options are endless!  I have not tested the variations, because so far we love the mixed berries.  I will eventually switch it up and try them all.  As we try them I will update the post to let you all know what we think….

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish really well.  Combine all the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.  Slice or dice the fruit as needed.

Dry Ingredients – Mix in one bowl.

• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cup unpacked brown sugar
• 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats

Wet Ingredients – Mix in a separate bowl.

• 2 eggs
• 2 ½ cups Almond Milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp butter or coconut oil, melted

Fruit

• 2 cups berries (I prefer 1 cup blueberries and 1 cup strawberries mixed)  If you don’t like berries, there are different variations listed below.

In the baking dish layer 1/2 of the oats mixture, topped with 1/2 the fruit and then the remaining half of the oats mixture.  Pour the wet ingredient mixture on top.  Place the remaining 1/2 of fruit on top.

Bake for 40 minutes until the oats are tender and it has a cake like texture.  Cut into individual servings and refrigerate.  This is great to eat straight out of the oven or warm up the next day.  It makes for a quick and easy breakfast or snack.

If you prefer a different variation, substitute the following in place of the 2 cups of berries.

Variations:

1. Banana Nut – 1 cup of mashed bananas and 1/2 cup of pecans.
2. Apple Cinnamon – 2 cups of diced apples
3. Peaches n Cream – 2 cups of diced peaches
4. Pumpkin – 1 cup of puree pumpkin and 1/2 cup pecans (for a little extra kick – add 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice!)

ENJOY!

One thing about cooking – I’m not afraid to experiment!  And a true test of “if it’s good” is if my 5 yr old eats it without being badgered.  This passed the test when he cleaned his plate!  The combination of flavors is amazing…I never dreamed garlic and cinnamon would go together, but WOW!  Talk about waking up the taste buds!!!   I’m a fan of pork, cinnamon and Granny Smith apples cooked together, if you’ve never tried the 3 together, you’re missing out.  (I have a great simple crock pot recipe for a pork tenderloin that uses cinnamon and apples.)

• 4 Boneless pork chops
• 2 Granny Smith Apples (sliced)
• Brussels Sprouts (trimmed and halved)
  • To trim Brussels, cut the stalk ends off and discard.
• Red Onion (sliced)
• 4 Garlic Cloves (minced)
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Pepper
• 3 Tbsp Olive Oil

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Slice the apples, onion and brussels sprouts and arrange in a sheet pan.  Mince the garlic over the pan.

I added a little extra cinnamon, salt and pepper by sprinkling it over the pan as I minced the garlic. Drizzle the pan with 1/2 the olive oil.  Be sure to coat everything with oil and spices.  You can peel, dice and add a sweet potato if you have one on hand and want to add some color.

Place the pork chops in a zip-lock bag, drizzle 1/2 of the olive oil over the meat, add the cinnamon, salt and pepper and shake!

Place the pork chops on top of the brussels, apples and onions.  Bake for 25-30 mins until the pork chops are cooked thoroughly.

Enjoy!!