Happy Cinco de Mayo!

 

















Tonight, to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, we had guacamole burgers (homemade guac over our regular old hamburgers). I also had a Bud Light Straw-ber-Rita to keep it really authentic ;) We also tried Alexia's all-natural frozen waffle fries...excellent! I was shocked when I went to buy frozen french fries for the first time after we went all-natural and discovered all kinds of preservatives, so I was happy to find the Alexia's brand. We don't eat french fries often, but it's nice to have an all-natural choice. Hope your Cinco de Mayo was festive! Ole!

Zucchini and Yellow Squash Gratin

Sorry I don't have any pictures of this! I made it for small group last Friday night and we devoured it before I thought about taking any pics :) It was excellent!! I can't wait to make this dish this summer with zucchini and yellow squash from my garden. I left out the Panko to make it a little bit more low-carb friendly and used regular white onions instead of shallots because that's what I had on hand.
 
Zucchini and Yellow Squash Gratin 
2 tablespoons butter
2 medium zucchini (about 7 ounces each), sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
2 medium yellow squash (about 7 ounces each), sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
2 shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup panko
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 450. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat; add zucchini, yellow squash, shallots, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until zucchini and squash are crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes.

Add cream, and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat; stir in 1/2 cup panko and cup Parmesan.
Spoon mixture into a shallow 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining panko and Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Bake until top is golden, 8 to 10 minutes.

Amy's Organic Pizza

As I've mentioned many, many times before, I love pizza. I recently got a coupon for Amy's Organic Pizza and decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, a majority of frozen pizzas (and pizzas for that matter) are definitely not all-natural. Fortunately, this one (it was a pesto pizza with broccoli and tomatoes...yes, really there was broccoli on my pizza!) was pretty good. The pesto was a little bland, but over it had good flavor. Plus, lots of servings of veggies in every slice!

Homemade Cream Corn

As I mentioned at the start of this blog, I would be sharing some swap recipes, where I swap out a not-so-natural staple in our pantry with an all-natural substitute. Tonight I made homemade cream corn to go with my baked lemon pepper tilapia and it was WAY better than the canned cream corn we used to eat. And, we used to love canned cream corn!
 

Creamed Corn with Parmesan
From Martha Stewart

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 cups fresh corn kernels (about 8 ears)
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken stock
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces), plus more for sprinkling (optional)
 
Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat until it starts to shimmer (but not smoke), about 2 minutes. Add corn, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and slightly browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
 
Add cream and stock, and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened slightly, 2 to 3 minutes.
 
Remove pan from heat, and stir in Parmesan. Transfer to a serving dish, and sprinkle with more Parmesan if desired.

Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken

 

Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken 

Adapted from Six Sisters' Stuff

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thigh tenders or chicken breast tenders (I used chicken thighs with the bones)

Sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar b/c that's what I had on hand)
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup cashews

Directions:
Place chicken in slow cooker. Combine soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, sugar, garlic, and pepper flakes in small bowl; pour over chicken. Cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours. Add cashews and stir. Serve over rice. Makes 4-6 servings.
If you want like sauce and want to have some to pour over the chicken and the rice, double the sauce ingredients.
I also added a bag of frozen broccoli into the crock pot about 10-15 minutes before serving.

All-Natural Sprinkles

 

We love sprinkles in our house...seriously, my daughter could eat them in anything if I would let her. She puts them in ice cream, oatmeal, pudding, yogurt, etc. I was continuing to let her enjoy sprinkles even though they are so not natural, just because they are such a small portion of what she intakes...80/20 rule! I was wandering around Whole Foods last week with my mom when I came across organic, vegan, all-natural sprinkles! Granted, they were almost $4 for a tiny box, but it's worth it to be able to give my kids a special treat.

Homemade Alfredo Sauce

Another family favorite that is so good and so easy! It's thinner than a typical Alfredo sauce, but has all the same wonderful flavor. If you want, double the recipe and freeze the extras. 

Alfredo Sauce
4 oz cream cheese, cubed
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (use the real stuff to stay all-natural)
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Mix all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cook on low heat until the cream cheese and butter melts and sauce is well blended. 

We serve ours with pasta, sauteed red onions and mushrooms and grilled chicken.