Category Archives: Food

Chicken Chili

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First of all – what’s easier than awesome Chicken Chili? I don’t know.. Little prep, super easy, slow cooker Chicken Chili! This is a fantastic slow-cooker/crock pot recipe! And let me say that I haven’t always been a huge fan of the crock pot (let’s just say we have a love/hate relationship). I’ve had many recipes turn out as just a pot of mushy vegetables (well what do you expect after 8 hours of cooking?). BUT – there’s hope – some recipes lend themselves very well to the crock pot and you can rest assured that I’ll be sure to try them before posting here! I also put them to the toddler/husband test and will give options for adjusting spices, etc. 🙂 blog chicken chili

Ingredients

  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 chicken breasts
  • 2 c chicken broth
  • 2 green, yellow or red peppers, seeded and chopped
  • 2 tsps ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder or cayenne (careful, as this adds heat!)
  • 1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes
  • 1 Tbsp chopped jalapeno (careful, this also adds heat)
  • If you are not doing the paleo thing, a can of corn and one of cannellini beans are an excellent addition

Garnish/topping

  • Shredded cheese
  • Sliced avocado or guacamole
  • Chopped cilantro

Directions

  • In the slow cooker, combine onion, chicken, chicken broth, tomatoes, peppers, and spice
  • Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 6 hours
  • Once cooked shed the chicken with two forks
  • If you are adding corn and beans, do that now
  • Return lid and let the soup heat
  • Sprinkle desired toppings on individual bowls of soup and serve hot

So easy, so yummy!

Super mom tip: the recipe above makes a large batch. Ladle into freezer containers and store for easy re-heating!

Paleo what? What’s up with the whole Paleo thingy? Read more about my journey and some great resources on my food blog, Les Petits Pois!

dit-elle-Esther

Wellness Remedies

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It’s the season – coughing and sneezing everywhere! And then suddenly YOU are coughing and sneezing and feeling miserable.

I hate being sick. When I do get sick I’m a grouchy patient. Who isn’t? So I’m super motivated to stay well. Here are some wellness tips for cold season!Blog StayHealthy

  • Fresh garlic, crushed and served in a bowl of hot broth or soup at the first inkling of a cold
  • Honey – it’s antiseptic and sooths sore throats
  • Ground turmeric in some hot milk – love this one – turmeric looks like ginger root in its fresh form, but is smaller and usually is found in powder form as a spice. I learned about it from an Indian friend who gives it to her children regularly to strengthen immunity. In our house we take some every day.
  • Fresh ginger root – freshly minced or in powder form. Peel some fresh ginger root, slice it up and boil it in water and drink as tea. This is also excellent for your digestion.
  • Vitamin C – plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the year, some fresh lemon juice in hot water with honey can soothe a sore throat
  • Salt – mix hot water and salt and gargle – this will soothe a raw throat and is also antiseptic. Maybe that’s why salty soups taste good when you have a sore throat.
  • Water, plenty of it!
  • Hot shower and steam bath – helps clear sinuses and feels good for achy limbs and head

As a proactive measure you can use “Four Thieves Oil” – not ingested – but a drop or two on wrist/neck before going on an airplane or if around a sick people may ward off germs. The smell is kind of refreshing (ingredients include wormwood, thyme, rosemary, peppermint, cinnamon, clove, lavender, sage, camphor, juniper, pine..)

Probably the most important healing and wellness remedy is SLEEP.. with or without a furry dog laying on your feet to keep them warm. Socks will also do. 🙂

Super mom tip: if you are nursing there’s not a whole lot of medicine you can take without interfering with either milk supply or passing ingredients to baby, but by all means keep nursing. Your body creates powerful antibodies when you are exposed to germs and passes these on to baby. When you have a cold chances are that baby may avoid it! Yay!

dit-elle-Esther

Carrot Soup with Avocado, Lime and Cilantro

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It’s a damp October evening in Seattle. Get your cozy on with this hot soup that is so bright and cheery you will forget about the rain!

Fresh ginger, lime, cilantro, coconut milk and carrots.. create a delicious fusion of flavors! I won’t say this is super easy as there are some steps to prepare this soup, but it’s worth the effort!Blog Carrot Soup-1 Blog Carrot Soup-3

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp ginger, finely chopped
  • 2 lbs carrots
  • 1 lime, divided – grated (for zest) and squeezed for the garnish
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • salt, pepper
  • 1 quart vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1 avocado
  • Cilantro
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk or heavy cream

Preparation

  • Melt butter in large pot
  • Chop the onion and the ginger into small pieces and grate the lime zest, and add to pot
  • Sauté the onion, ginger and lime zest in a pan with the butter
  • Add the carrots and some pepper and then sauté for another 2 minutes
  • Add the broth and bring to boil. Simmer for 20 minutes
  • Puree the soup with a hand blender and add the cream

Garnish

  • Cut the avocado into pieces, chop the cilantro add some lime juice, salt and pepper and toss together lightly. Set aside.
  • Serve soup w/2-3 spoons of avocado mixture in each bowlBlog Carrot Soup-2

Paleo tip: use coconut milk, not cream, that’s it!

Super mom tip: Use a 2lb bag of peeled baby carrots – who has time for peeling or scrubbing carrot skins anyway? If you are peeling them, consider that there are good nutrients in carrot skins and just scrub them with a vegetable brush to clean.

Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates

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So simple, so easy, so tasty – hello goat-cheese stuffed dates!StuffedDates

Ingredients

  • Fresh dates
  • Goat cheese
  • Balsamic vinegar

Directions

  • Slit open fresh dates and remove pits
  • Stuff w/goat cheese
  • Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes (or until toasty)
  • Top with balsamic vinaigrette

Super mom tip: These can be prepared up to a day in advance, refrigerated, and popped in the oven when you are ready to bake.dit-elle-Esther

Rosemary shortbread

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These are kind of amazing!Shortbread

Ingredients

  • 2 3/4 c brown rice flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 c coconut oil
  • 1 c maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • handful of fresh rosemary, leaves removed from stalks
  • handful of white sugar for sprinkling on top (optional)

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 375*
  • With a stand mixer with paddle attachment combine oil, syrup, salt and vanilla until well mixed
  • With mixer on low speed, add flour a little at a time until well mixed
  • Spread batter evenly into parchment lined 9 x13 baking dish
  • Sprinkle on fresh rosemary and pat down a bit or roll over with rolling-pin. Then sprinkle on sugar.
  • Bake until edges harden slightly, about 15 min. While dough is still hot, cut with a knife into desired size pieces, easily makes ~24 squaresdit-elle-Esther

Velvety squash soup

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Ah, squash season is upon us. It’s fall, it’s raining in Seattle, and with a hint of curry and ginger, this squash soup will truly warm your mind, body and soul! This recipe is pretty straight forward, but it does take a while to make given that the squash needs to be cooked first. Squash soup

This soup pairs well with bacon wrapped dates! Dates

Ingredients

  • 1 butternut squash (~3 lbs)
  • 1 large acorn squash (~2 lbs)
  • 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
  • 1 apple
  • 2 tsps canola or olive oil
  • 5 c. chicken broth
  • 2 Tbsp molasses
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • pinch of ground red pepper
  • 2/3 cup coconut milk or half-and-half
  • Garnish: fresh thyme

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 425*
  • Cut each squash and the apple in half lengthwise; discard seeds/membranes. Place, cut sides down on a greased baking sheet
  • Toss onion and oil and spread around squash in pan
  • Bake @ 425 for 45 minutes or until squash and onion are tender
  • Cool and scoop out squash pulp from skins, discard skins
  • Place onion, squash and apple in large pot and add broth, molasses and spices
  • Bring to a simmer and then remove from heat
  • Use a hand blender (also called inversion blender) and blend until smooth
  • Return to heat and stir in coconut milk or half-and-half
  • Cook until heated
  • Garnish with thyme and some additional coconut milk

Paleo note: omit molasses and use coconut milk for a delightful and truly paleo soup!

Super mom tip: this is another dish that can be made in a big batch and frozen in smaller portions for easy reheating!

dit-elle-Esther

Bacon wrapped dates

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Looking for a delicious hot appetizer that is super easy to make? Bacon wrapped dates are amazing – a combination of sweet hot date wrapped in salty crispy bacon – yum! This is lovely as an appetizer or pairs well with Velvety Squash Soup for a warm lunch on a chilly September day.DatesOriginal

Ingredients

  • Dates, pits removed
  • Bacon, cut in half, cross-wise
  • Garnish: fresh thyme (optional)

Directions

  • Wrap dates in bacon slices
  • Bake @ 365 degrees for 25 minutes
  • That’s it! :-)

Super mom tip: getting ready for a dinner party? Make these a day ahead by wrapping dates in bacon slices, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake them!dit-elle-Esther

Buckwheat pancakes

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Buckwheat pancakes for a rainy Sunday morning in Seattle, topped with butter and maple syrup makes for a cozy and delicious breakfast! buckwheatPancakes

Buckwheat is an interesting ‘non grain’ (yes, it’s gluten free!). It’s a plant cultivated for its grain-like seeds, and also used as a cover crop. Per Wikipedia, despite the name, buckwheat is not related to wheat, as it is not a grass; instead, buckwheat is related to sorrel, knotweed, and rhubarb.

Ingredients

  • 1 c buckwheat flour
  • 1 c buttermilk or Greek yogurt (+ water to thin it out)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 Tbsp melted butter
  • Butter or other fat for cooking

Directions

  • Mix flour, baking soda and baking powder together
  • Whisk egg with buttermilk and butter
  • Mix dry ingredients with liquid and mix well
  • Ladle batter onto hot griddle
  • Serve with butter & maple syrup

Super mom tip: Unused batter can be refrigerated for several days if you don’t want to make it all into pancakes at once. Better yet – make it all into pancakes and then store those in the fridge or freezer for an easy snack – toast or microwave until hot, add butter and your favorite toppings and go!

dit-elle-Esther

South of the border turkey loaf

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I wanted a turkey loaf that was reminiscent of south of the border flavors – this turned out to be excellent, juicy and flavorful. It is delicious topped with sour cream and sliced avocado! This is another dish that you can easily double or triple and freeze in smaller portions. Minus the dairy, it’s a wonderful paleo dish.Meatloaf

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 1 red, orange or yellow bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 carrot, shredded
  • 1/2 onion, finely chopped
  • can of chopped mild (or hot) green chiles
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • salt & pepper
  • 1-2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
  • Garnish with: sour cream, sliced avocado, cilantro

Directions

  • Heat oven to 375*
  • Prepare all the veggies
  • Beat eggs, add spices and veggies and mix
  • Add ground turkey and mix well
  • Top with shredded cheese
  • Shape into greased loaf pan or 9×13 pyrex baking dish for double batches and bake for ~50 minutes

Super mom tip: run all your veggies through the food processor to quickly chop! Grater blade works great for carrots and use the chopper blade (pulse 10-12 times) for onion and peppers.dit-elle-Esther

Tomato salad

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It’s tomato season in Seattle.. the late summer sun is warm and ripening the tomatoes on the vine. Fresh, warm tomatoes drizzled with olive oil.. the taste and smell is reminiscent of an Indian summer. I used heirloom tomatoes in this salad, but any good ripe tomato variety would work. Love tomato season!IMG_6073

A most delicious tomato salad is perhaps  the simplest one..

Ingredients

  • Tomatoes, sliced
  • Olive oil
  • Salt & pepper
  • Basil for garnish

Directions

  • Arrange tomato slices on a plate
  • Drizzle with olive oil
  • Sprinkle with salt & pepper
  • Serve at room temperaturetomatosdit-elle-Esther