Pumpkin, Chickpea and Red Lentil Stew {slow cooker}

We have to create our own sense of Fall here in Phoenix. Sadly, it's still in the upper 90's most of the day, cooling down to a brisk 85F by dinner time. *sighhh

No worries. Flavors of the season can still make me feel like it's actually Fall outdoors and if I close my eyes and breath in deeply, inhaling the scents of pumpkin, and spices coming from the kitchen I can almost imagine the oranges, yellows and reds of changing leaves.

Then I open my eyes, look out the window and remember cacti don't have leaves. Oh well. Bring on the stew!

This was the first of many delicious, full of flavor comforting autumn foods we will enjoy this season.
It did in fact have more broth than the picture showed but I must not have put enough in this bowl. I love slow cooker meals as they are a life saver during the busy school and work weekdays. With 4 kids we have practices, cub scouts and dance lessons most every evening. It's so nice to walk in the door to a hot, home made dinner we can all sit down to together.

Is there anything better than slow cooked pumpkin in mild spices? The ginger was amazing in this and I think I will add a bit more next time, maybe a pinch of cinnamon too. This dish is full of good for you protein and is a very filling dinner. The kids all loved it!

Makes: 6 servings

Prep 25 minutesCook 8 hrs to 10 hrs  (low) or 4-5 hours (high)

ingredients

• 1                     pound pie pumpkin or winter squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1
  1 cup dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans),  soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
• 3
  medium carrots, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1
  cup chopped onion (1 large)
• 1
  cup red lentils, rinsed and drained
• 2
  tablespoons tomato paste
• 1
  tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1
  tablespoon lime juice
• 1
  teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4
  teaspoon salt
• 1/2
  teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4
  teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4
  cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/4
  cup chopped peanuts
• 2
  tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 
  
• Plain nonfat yogurt (optional)
• 
  

directions

1.In a 3-1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker, combine pumpkin, chickpeas, carrots, onion, lentils, tomato paste, ginger, lime juice, cumin, salt, turmeric, and pepper. Pour broth over all in cooker.

2.Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours. Top each serving with peanuts, cilantro, and if desired, yogurt. Makes 6 (1-1/3 cup) servings.

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Tuna and White Bean Cakes with Shaved Spring Asparagus and a Light, Lemon Tarragon Sauce {gluten free}

Question.  How do you make crab cakes when you're craving them like nobodies business but you   a.) don't have any crab and  b.) are on a budget? 

Answer.  You doll up some tuna with fresh herbs, lemon and shaved asparagus, dip it by the forkful with no shame into a tangy lemon, tarragon yogurt sauce and wash it down with a glass of Pinot Grigio.


Delima averted.





Then, just to gloat, you tell yourself that you are being super health conscience because you ate a practically perfect meal by utilizing the antioxidants in the wine and gave your body a good dose of healthy Omega 3's which are hard to come by these days, thereby forgetting all about the fact that you aren't  in fact  having crab cakes.  Pssshhhh, who needs em?

These tuna cakes are easy enough for a Monday night dinner -- or in my case a Tuesday night dinner. Tuesday's, without fail, are the crazy busiest Orthopedic days in surgery for some reason. Coincidentally (or not) it's also when people tend to call in sick, have some sort of emergency or just decide to spend the day soaking up the Spring sunshine (I would choose option 3 but I'm too chicken to make it happen).


This particular Tuesday provided to be all of the above plus an added curve ball. Seeing as we were short staffed (more than usual) I didn't get to work with the Ortho Doc who I usually assist during Makoplasty surgeries. Instead, I ended up doing total hips and knees with a Dr. I hardly ever work with meaning I couldn't rely on my "Auto Pilot" and had to use my memory/mommy brain instead....  at least until my coffee kicked in.... around noon. Not good.


My point,  I am mentally and physically and in all other ways exhausted on most every Tuesday. These tuna cakes are just a tad bit more complicate that spaghetti and meatballs or in our house, spaghetti and Italian sausage. You get the point. They are super easy to throw together.


A few chopped veggies and herbs thrown in a bowl with an egg and a can of tuna and you have yourself a  not so  fancy meal.

How can you not add asparagus to every meal during the Spring? Wait, am I the only one who worships this gorgeous veggie? No wonder since it's cousins are onion and garlic! 

I pulse a bit more than half of the white beans in my food processor and reserve some to add texture. 

Instead of using bread crumbs which you already know are high in gluten and cause bloating, stomach fat and various other ailments, I used finely chopped veggies and green onion and  nutritional yeast to bind the ingredients together. As you can see, they formed patties quite nicely.

If I had to pick one one of my top 3 favorite kitchen tools, my stone baking pan would and will be on the list forever! It browns veggie patties quickly and evenly using NO added oil and cleans by scraping with a spatula and hot water. Good bye fryer! 

{If you are at all interested in purchasing a stone baking sheet or any of my other favorite kitchen gadgets or ingredients, please consider buying through Simply Healthy Family's 'Store' and help support this blog. It's very much appreciated!} 

Using a simple veggie peeler, shave thin strips of asparagus and pile on top of your cooked tuna cakes. There is no need to cook or even blanch the asparagus, it tastes amazing when shaved into such thin strips and pairs perfectly with these tuna cakes. In fact, I found myself nibbling on my pile of curled asparagus while admiring the beautiful purple and green of my favorite vegetable.

Oh, you'll want to cut off the very tips of the asparagus, the spear, and save it for tomorrows salad or stir fry. The tips don't shave well but are conveniently most peoples favorite part.

This light and tangy dressing is the key to these tuna cakes.  I must admit that however healthy and flavorful they are, tuna cakes as well as any other fish cake are a bit dry without some sort of sauce to jazz it up. It makes a mundane meal extraordinary.

Crab cakes usually come with some version of aioli paired with them not only to compliment the flavors, but to add moisture. My tuna cakes are no exception. Instead of aioli, which base is mayo (if you know me, I can't stand mayo) I made a thick and creamy yogurt lemon-tarragon sauce to spoon on top of my cakes.  Not sure which I ate more of, the tuna cakes or the sauce.

TIME    30 MINUTES        SERVES    4-6

INGREDIENTS

2, 6 oz cans of Chunk Light Tuna, drained

1 cup cooked (or 1 can, drained and rinsed) cannellini beans

1 lemon, juiced 

2 eggs

1/4 cup red bell pepper, finely diced

2 tablespoons green onion, finely diced

1/4 cup carrot, grated finely (optional, adds sweetness)

2 tablespoons green onion, finely diced

 4 asparagus spears (tips removed and saved for future use) 

2 tablespoons Nutritional Yeast

1 tablespoon dried Tarragon

salt and pepper to taste

 1 cup Greek yogurt 

1 lemon (from above) zested

1 tablespoon dried Tarragon

pinch of sea salt

Preheat oven to 400F

In a food processor, pulse 3/4 of the beans until smooth. Spoon beans into a large bowl and add remaining whole beans. Add tuna, eggs, lemon, bell pepper, onion, nutritional yeast, tarragon, salt and pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined. 

Using hands, shape mixture into small patties and place onto stone baking sheet or parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake at 400F for 10 minutes. Flip patties over and cook another5-7 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare lemon tarragon sauce by mixing all ingredients in a small bowl. 

Shave asparagus as instructed above. 

Remove tuna patties from oven and place on plate.  Dollop with lemon, tarragon sauce and top with shaved asparagus.

Serve with a side of mixed Spring field greens and chilled Pinot Grigio.

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Orange and Honey Roasted Carrots with Candied Pecans: Healthy Easter Sides

One of these days I'm gonna get the hang of this whole food blogging thing. I'll be able to throw together simple meals and snacks without completely devastating my kitchen or taking ten times longer than it should. I'm also in high hopes that my food photography will, in the words of FoodGawker be 'Better Composed' and have 'Better Lighting'. It's true, cant' say I blame em', there are some pretty amazing foodie sites out there who really seem to have it all together. (Do they have a kid-free home? A team of professional food stylist following them around? A Master's degree in Food-ology? That's gotta be it! ;)

What I have going for me:

I know the foods I make are actually really delicious and usually super simple. I take basic, healthy recipes and give them more flavor. Mamma likes flavor. I take common 'kid friendly' and 'comfort' foods and make them healthier without sacrificing flavor.

The dishes and snacks on Simply Healthy Family are do-able. Real Food for Real People. There may be some foods or ingredients you haven't tried before but everything's found at your neighborhood grocery store, nothing fancy. Not that I don't like gourmet, I'm just not in a gourmet point in my life at the moment. *sigh

The foods I end up posting on Simply Healthy Family are all Kid Friendly and Busy Mommy/Person Friendly. I have 4 kids and so I know all to well the 'Dinner Time Show Down' with getting kids to eat veggies, beans, grains ect. That's why I created this blog. To help people with these issues. Give you new and simple ideas, ones that actually taste good.

So sometimes, regardless of how simple my recipes are, the finished picture doesn't turn out as planned. Poor lighting and composition is usually to blame (according to FoodGawker), but I like to also blame my kids for this. What loving mother wouldn't?  ;) 

Let me explain. I'm losing my mind you see. Plain and simple. The with-it-ness is being sucked out of me little by little. I used to be a with it girl, spunky and smart. Never used to forget anything. Those days have sailed, approximately 2 or 3 kids ago to be exact.




We are lucky in that we have very big families on both mine and my husbands side. So holidays are always busy and fun and with tons of good food. This means I usually have to cook very little or not at all. More importantly, there's less to clean up! We celebrated yesterday because my dad and step-mom are going to be at their house in Mexico on Easter weekend. I thought I'd bring a healthier veggie dish to share. I didn't want to freak any one out by bringing steamed spinach or kale chips however, baby steps.

I decided to bring these Orange and Honey Glazed Carrots with Candied Pecans. Besides, they'd look good in my beautiful new ceramic pot from Italy. ;)  All day Sunday we were busy doing some much needed Spring cleaning and I didn't get started on my dish until about an hour before we had to leave. So in the rush to throw things together and take a picture to share I forgot to sprinkle on my beautiful candied pecans. Dangit! I also discovered that the carrots shrunk a bit while roasting and didn't come near enough to feed 15 people or to fill my pretty pot. Oops.

Imagine how good the candied pecans taste with these Honey-Orange Carrots!

Soooo, at the last minute while Jim was throwing kids in the car, I'm pressure cooking some more carrots and throwing them into the pot and drizzling some honey over them and a bit more orange zest. Voila! Disaster averted, sort of. There are still no pecans in my picture so now they just look like plain ol' carrots,
The Shame! Oh well, I gave you my disclaimer so you understand right? Right?


They tasted really fabulous and got rave reviews and so you must try them. I recreated this recipe from some very basic ones around the Internet. Steaming them for a couple of minutes before roasting them quickens the cooking time and helps them not to dry out I think. I used my pressure cooker at the 1st red ring for just ONE minute then released the pressure by running cool water over the lid.

What are your favorite healthy side dishes?

 

SERVES  6-8 as a side dish      TIME 40 MINUTES

Ingredients:

4 lbs baby carrots (pretty heirloom carrots with little stems still attached would be lovely but I used mini-carrots to save money)

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

2 TBSP Organic honey

zest from 1 orange

2 TBSP orange juice

small handful of fresh curly parsley

1 TBSP fresh chives, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 400F

In a large pot (I used my pressure cooker, see above note if you have one)  add lemon juice to 2 cups water. Steam carrots for just 2 minutes. Drain. Add carrots to a large bowl and toss with olive oil, honey, orange juice and zest. Spread onto a shallow baking dish lined with foil. Sprinkle with salt.

Bake for 20-30 minutes till fork tender. Remove from heat and toss with chopped parsley and chives just before serving.

Top With Pecans! ;)

FOR THE CANDIED PECANS: Make these ahead of time (unlike me ;)

1 cup pecan halves

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup turbinado (Raw) sugar (use white if you must ;)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 egg white

Pre-heat oven to 300F. Line a shallow baking pan with wax paper.

In a small sauce pot, combine water, sugar and vanilla. Over medium high heat bring to gentle boil, whisk occasionally. Bring to simmer and cook for 5-7 minutes whisking occasionally. Remove from heat, whisk in cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg white. Add pecans, toss to coat. Pour sugar mixture over pecans, toss to coat.

Spread pecans on prepared baking dish trying not to let them touch if possible. Bake at 300F for 12-15 minutes. Keep an eye on them being careful not to let burn. Turn with spatula if necessary. (I didn't have to)

Remove from oven, break apart any pecans stuck together. Set aside.

So, I guess I didn't make the cut to be on babble's Top 100 Mom bloggers of 2011.

That's o.k. *sniff sniff    I'm totally o.k. with that and congrats to those who did, I look forward

to visiting each and every one of your sites!

Now onto my next Goal/Wishful Thinking favor.

Maybe I can at least get on the list to be voted for on Saveur's Best Food Blogger Award.

Ya think? Maybe....

If you do, please 'nominate' me

HERE

Nominations end April 22

Voting for the finalist *crossing fingers  starts April 26

Much Thanks!

This post is linked to:

What's Cooking Wednesday's

Mouthwatering Monday's

Meatless Monday's

Tasty Tuesday's

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Carrot-Date Energy Ballz

Right now in the valley of the sun it smells sickly sweet like orange blossom heaven. It only last for a few short days when the dozens of orange trees that line so many streets here in Arizona start to bloom. The petite white flowers make me swoon as I drive home from work taking in deep breaths of the fragrant, cool March air. Add that to the brilliant multi colored desert sunsets behind the darkening mountains that surround us here and I am in euphoria.






It makes me miss one of my closest and dearest friends, Becky. She went to school with me here in Phoenix many, many years   not to long ago and the blooming orange trees were one of her most favorite things. She moved back to her home town of Indianapolis shortly after we graduated but she keeps coming back here to visit me as often as life permits...... usually around orange blossom season. I so do wish I could bottle up natures most perfect fragrance for her.

PHOTO CREDIT

I'm glad that this no-cook, no-fuss sweet and healthy snack that I'm going to share with you has orange zest in the ingredient list, otherwise my little story would seem superfluous, because I always have a well thought out point to my ramblings and didn't want to throw you all off......  errrr.


I just love healthy grab-and-go snacks, especially when they take all of 10 minutes to throw together. I cringe when I see people with all of the boxed, processed "health" snacks in their carts and wonder if they really believe that they are healthy and convenient.

I found this recipe on Skinny Jeans Food and was pleasantly surprised at how amazing these little snacks were. I was a bit skeptical about the raw oat thing but they turned out to be one of our new favorite snacks. Sweet, simple and the orange zest really made the flavors POP.

Eight ingredients, THAT'S IT!

Using a food processor to finely shred your carrots is key to getting the ballz to stick together.

Chia Seeds are an excellent source of fiber, fatty acids, proteins, vitamins, and antioxidants. They are also the richest source of Omega-3 fatty acids among non-marine whole food items

I used barley oats instead of regular oats because they were in my freezer but after doing some research it seems that barley oats are higher in {nutritional} calories and a bit lower in fiber and protein than regular oats. So unless someone knows of a good reason other than to help your teenage wrestling champion put on some weight than I'm going to stick with regular whole oats next time.

Grind the oats to a fine consistency in your food processor.

Silvia at Skinny Jeans Foods named these wonderful goodies Amaze Ballz  and  fittingly so. I enjoyed them at work for an afternoon pick me up and just two of them kept me satisfied until dinner.  I brought a couple with me hiking for an energy boost and packed them in kids lunch boxes for a fun surprise.

Skinny Foods site is dedicated to single serving portions for those of you without an army to feed. I obviously had to double this recipe. They didn't last long between school snacks and me grabbing a couple every day to take with me on my adventures. Next time I will make even more as they keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Amaze Ballz

1/2 cup rolled oats

5 medjool dates (the organic ones at whole foods are amazing!)

7 walnut halves, chopped

1 TB chia seeds

zest of one orange

1/2 TB maple syrup

1/2 ts vanilla extract

1 carrot, grated

Pour the rolled oats in the food processor and chop until finely ground. Remove the pit of the medjool dates, and chop them with a knife. Add piece by piece to the ground oatmeal flour (so that they distribute better). Process long enough that the mix starts to get sticky. Now add the remaining ingredients, and processes until the mix comes together (quite a sticky dough). Take small portions and roll them between your hands in a ball like shape. Store in the fridge! Enjoy!

1 amazeball: 54kcal

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