Vinegar Veggies

2 cucumbers
2 green peppers
1/2 sweet onion
1/2 to 1 cup vinegar
4 cups water
Italian dressing packet
1/4 cup sugar
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tomatoes

Add all ingredients in a large bowel- except for the tomatoes. Cover and put in fridge overnight. When ready to eat, add diced tomatoes.

The vegetables stay good for at least a week in this substance in the fridge.

Great for taking however much you want for a lunch or a snack and leaving the rest in the fridge.

I personally like the taste of the cucumbers the most, so I decrease everything by half and just add the cucumbers and tomatoes.

Lemon and Garlic marinade

• Luis and I tried this for grilled chicken, and it was delicious! Makes enough for 2 chicken breasts. 
• 1 lemon, without seeds or peel
• 2 garlic cloves, diced

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1/3 c olive oil

Add all ingredients together in a bowel. Put meat in a ziplock bag. Add the marinade. Close bag and start massaging the marinade into the meat for a few minutes. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 

Ginger Honey Cashew Chicken

2 large chicken breasts, cut into strips

2 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

1 T canola oil

2 tsp fresh minced ginger

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 T honey

2 green onions, chopped

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (just a sprinkle)

1/3 cup roughly chopped roasted cashews

Directions:

Lay the chicken breast strips in a pie pan or large plate. Sprinkle with cornstarch, salt and ginger. Toss so all the strips are coated well and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

While the chicken is in the fridge, whisk together the chicken broth, honey, green onions and cayenne pepper. Set aside.

Heat the oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Drop the chicken in and cook for about eight minutes. When chicken is done, remove and place on a plate to keep warm.

Deglaze the pan with the sauce and whisk well to get up any little bits of chicken stuck to the bottom of the pan. Simmer for a couple minutes and then add the chicken, as well as the cashews, back to the pan. Cook for another five minutes so that the sauce can thicken and the chicken can warm back up if cool.

http://www.eatliverun.com/ginger-honey-cashew-chicken/

Broiled Ranch Chicken

Super delicious and EASY chicken

2 large chicken breasts
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dressing or dip mix
1/4 cup olive oil
2 TBSP Red Wine Vinegar

Serves 3-4

Defrost chicken and cut into strips that are the same thickness (I do just smaller than 1/2 inch width)
Mix together ranch seasoning, olive oil, and red wine vinegar in a 1 gallon ziplock bag.
Add chicken to bag and coat the chicken with the mix. Seal closed.
With your fist or a tenderizer, pound the meat against the counter (while in the bag) for a few minutes.
Put bag in fridge for at least 30 minutes (I did 1 hour and it was really moist. Can also do overnight).
BROIL chicken in a glass dish for about 10-15 minutes. (Chicken will brown and will look done).

TADA!!! That's it!

Food Storage Honey Whole Wheat Bread

1 1/4 cup warm water
1 Tblsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup honey or 1/3 cup sugar
2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour (or whatever combination white/wheat you like. I use my own ground wheat)
1/4 cup wheat gluten
1 tsp salt
2 Tblsp nonfat non instant dry milk
1 Tblsp butter/margarine/oil
1 Tblsp vinegar
1/4 cup potato flakes (NOT potato pearls)

Mix ingredients in order listed in mixing bowl of mixer with dough hook attachment (like kitchen-aid) for 12-15 minutes. Let rise until double, 1- 1 1/2 hours. Punch down, and shape into loaf or rolls. Let rise again until double and bake 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Makes one loaf. 

If you are making this recipe in a bread machine, follow your bread machine’s directions for wheat or whole grain selection and add the ingredients in the order listed for their recommendations. (only one loaf will fit in a bread maker)

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/wonders-of-bread

Spinach Mandarin Salad

A great combo of veggies and fruits that makes getting your 5 a Day EASY!!

10 oz spinich

1/2- 1 head of romain, chopped

1/3 thinly sliced red onion

1 large avacado (I add 2)

8 oz mozzarella shredded cheese

1 large can mandarin oranges, drained

optional: 1 12 oz package bacon, cooked and crumbled (I omit this and it is still amazing)

Add all of this together, then add Sweet Poppy Seed dressing (recipe on blog). Delicious!

Sweet Poppy Seed dressing

Literally the best dressing I have ever had!!

1/3 c white vinegar

1 tsp kosher salt

a few turns of freshly ground pepper

3/4 c sugar

1 tsp mustard

1 green onion, ends removed

1/2 c. canola oil (or olive oil if you have it)

1 tsp. poppy seeds

In a blender combine first 5 ingredients. While blender is running, add the green onion. Continue running the blender and slowly add in the oil. Keep blender on until well combined. Pour into a serving dish and whisk in the poppy seeds. Store in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. Goes GREAT with Spinach Mandarin Salad.

Curry Noodle Soup

Note: This soup is excellent! For leftovers, the noodles soak up a lot of the liquid, but it still tastes great!!

3 cups canned unsweetened coconut milk

1-2 TBS Thai red curry paste (I prefer 1 TBS so it is less spicy)

1 TBS Tumeric

2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips (canned chicken works great)

1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth

2 TBS fish sauce (don't worry: this soup does not even taste fishy)

2 TBS soy sauce

1 tsp salt

3/4 lb egg noodles

1 TBS dry basil

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1. In a lg sauce pan, bring 1/2 c coconut milk to a boil. Add red curry paste and tumeric, stir to combine. Cook until mixture starts to thicken (about 3 min).

2. Add chicken. Add remaining coconut milk, broth, fish sauce, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook chicken about 8 min.

3. Add salt and egg noodles to boiling water. Cook until al dente. Garnish with basil and green onions.

Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Crust: 20 oz choc chip cookie dough, or your favorite

6 oz bittersweet chocolate

1/2 stick (1/4 c) unsalted butter cut into 1 inch chunks

1.5 lb cream cheese (3 8 oz packages) at room temperature

1 c sugar

2 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder

3 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 c sour cream

1. Melt chocolate and 1/2 stick butter in microwave with stirring every 30 sec until smooth. Set aside and let cool to about room temperature.

2. In lg bowel, cream together w/ electric mixer the cream cheese until smooth with no lumps. (about 2 min)

3. Add the sugar and cocoa and beat slowly.

4. Don't forget to scrape sides of bowel down with spatula so you don't get lumps in the mixture.

5. Add the eggs, one at a time and mix in between each one.

6. Add the melted choc/butter combination, vanilla, and sour cream with rubber spatula until smooth.

7. Place cookie dough on bottom of 10inch springpan about 1/2 inch thick.

8. Pour cream cheese mixture over the cookie dough. Bake @ 300 degrees for 15 min, then lower the heat to 275 and bake for an additional 1 1/2 hours- 1hr 45 min longer, until the edges of cake start pulling away from the edges and the top looks puffy and not wet. The cake will still appear wobbly when done. This makes cake creamier and moist.

9. Move cake to cooling rack and let it cool IN THE PAN for 1 hour.

10. Unlock springform and take the sides off, but leave on the metal base. Cool cake to room temp. and then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving or removing from bottom of pan.

Raspberry sauce

1 1/2 c. rasberries

1/3 c sugar

1/2 tsp cornstarch

Splash of lemon-to taste

Puree raspberries in a mixer. In a saucepan add raspberries and all other ingredients. Mix until sugar is dissolved (may need low heat. If heated, allow to cool before putting on top of cake). Spread over cooled cheesecake.

Chicken White Bean Chili

This is delicious, as are all the other recipes on here, but few things beat a good crock pot recipe.

½ an onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper

2 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth

3 cups chopped cooked chicken

3 (15 oz) cans white beans, drained

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Throw everything into the crock pot and cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Strawberry Romanoff

Uncle Rob deserves credit for this one. It is delicious and super easy to make.

1 lb of strawberries

1/2 tube of fat free sour cream

2 TBSP white sugar

2 TBSP brown sugar

Mix everything together except for the strawberries. Cut up strawberries into bite size pieces and fold into the mixture. It is also great as a fruit dip for bananas and other berries. If there is any recipe having to do with berries, Rob knows best!

Oven-Roasted Vegetables

This recipe makes eating vegetables easy! It may seem like a lot of vegetables, but in the end, this serves 4-6 people.

1 whole medium yellow squash

1 whole medium cucumber

10 sticks of asparagus

1 medium red onion (I used half. If you don't like onions, do it anyways, trust me.)

1 whole green, yellow, or red bell pepper (pick 2)

Cut all into bite size pieces. Put in large bowl and coat with 3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper and 1/2 tsp of salt. Spread veggies into a thin layer on a cookie sheet and bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Peanut-Butter Toffee Cheesecake Brownies

Heat oven to 350 In a medium bowl, stir brownie mix, 1/2 c. oil 1/4 c. water, and 2 eggs. Spread batter in pan and set aside. In a lg bowl, beat 1 pkg soft cream cheese (8 oz) until fluffy. Add 1 can sweetened condensed milk and 1/2 c. smooth peanut butter. Stir in 1 c. chocolate toffee chips (found in choc chip asile). Spoon over brownie batter. Spread evenly. Bake 30-40 min or until edges are slightly brown and top layer is set. Cool 30 min and refridgerate 40 minutes. In a sm bowl, microwave 1 c. choc chips and 3 T whipping cream (or whole milk) for 40-60 secs. Stir until smooth and spread over cheesecake layer. Sprinkle with toffee bits. Cool completely (about 1 hr). Store in fridge. We really really like this, and these taste best out of the fridge than room temp.

Pumpkin Pudding

1 huge can of 100% pure pumpkin

1 small box of sugar free french vanilla pudding (regular vanilla is fine too)

1 TBSP of Pumpkin Pie Spice (I actually just dump some in there, and if it needs more in the end, I I dump more in! Why have to wash more dishes, right?)

1 tub of Fat free whip cream

There ya go! Mix it all together, and enjoy! The only sugar comes from the whip cream, and it's

pretty insignificant. The pumpkin is full of fiber and other disease fighting nutrients. And it counts as a vegetable! :) The whole thing is a fat free treat as well. It kind of tastes like a light and fluffy pumpkin pie.