At Home w/ GCH

Lemon Basil Cookies

October 16, 2015 by Dana Kim

If your FaceBook newsfeed or email are anything like mine, you’ve got dozens of recipes to view every day. From pages you ‘liked’ to friends sharing recipes, I’m bombarded with recipes for tasty treats all day long! However, I saw this recipe for Lemon Basil Cookies on the Elana’s Pantry website, and I said to myself – that’s the one I’m going to make today!

I still have lots of basil growing in my flower bed, so that was handy to come by. Almond flour is easy to find at the store now, and you can also make your own if you choose. These cookies are herbal and fresh tasting, with a nice balance of flavors. In fact, I tasted a bit of salt in mine from the salted butter I used, which offset the sweetness. You may choose to add another tablespoon of honey, because these cookies are not overly sweet. Try them and see – perfectly balanced, deliciously different!

Lemon Basil Cookies (Recipe from Elana’s Pantry)

Ingredients:

2 cups blanched almond flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup coconut butter (I used regular butter and they came out great!)
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon lemon zest

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F.
In the bowl of a food processor, blend together the almond flour, salt, and baking soda.
Add the butter, honey, basil and lemon zest. Blend again until a ball of dough forms.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper, or use a Silpat mat. Scoop a teaspoon full of dough and drop it on the parchment paper. These cookies spread, so give them some room!
Cook for about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheets for an hour.
Store in a sealed container. This made about 18 cookies for me.

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: almond recipes, At Home w/ GCH, Cookie Recipes, Dana Kim, Dessert Recipes, Elana's Pantry, Frugal Girlmet, GCH, Girlfriends Coffee Hour, Gluten-free recipes, Lemon-Basil cookies, Paleo Recipes, Snack Recipes

Gingery Roasted Shrimp and Asparagus

October 13, 2015 by coleen hayden

We all need a few tried-and-true QUICK suppers for our menu planning; yes? This Roasted Shrimp and Asparagus is just that! From starting the oven to preheat to plating this dish takes maybe 30 minutes (or less). And it fits so well into our healthy but-oh-so-yummy POV. Low carb, low fat but not low in flavor! Between the ginger and garlic, the tangy-ness of the soy sauce, and finished off with the smokiness of the sesame oil—just delish! Enjoy!

(Oh! Keep your eye on the shrimp while roasting…they won’t take very long at all. Don’t forget that they have their own built-in thermometer: they turn pink when perfectly done!)

Ginger-y Roasted Shrimp and Asparagus

ingredients:
1 cup quinoa (cook according to package directions)
1/2# (or more) raw shrimp, cleaned
1 bunch asparagus (about 1#), ends trimmed
1 T olive oil
2 T soy sauce
2 T minced garlic
1 T honey
1 T fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp sesame oil
sea salt, freshly ground pepper

directions:

preheat oven to 425
line a baking sheet with parchment paper
place asparagus stalks on the baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil; roll back and forth to thoroughly coat the asparagus
in a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, garlic, honey, and ginger
using a pastry brush (or your fingers!), brush about half the mixture on the asparagus
place in over and roast for 15-20 minutes, ‘til almost tender
remove pan from oven and toss shrimp onto the pan; brush with a little of the sauce mixture
return to oven for 5 minutes or so (depends on the size of the shrimp)
when everything is done—pile the quinoa in the middle of your plate, add asparagus spears and top with shrimp
drizzle the remaining sauce over top along with a few drops of the sesame oil

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

God loves you! ♥ (Don’t ever forget that!)

♥ coleen

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: asparagus, At Home w/ GCH, coleen hayden, GCH, ginger, Girlfriends Coffee Hour, healthy but oh so yummy, quinoa, shrimp

Oven-Roasted Pork Chops with Lemon-Caper Sauce

October 9, 2015 by Dana Kim

Where others have a sweet tooth, I have a sour tooth. I’ve been known to use only vinegar, and skip the oil, when dressing my salad. I eat cornichons like other people eat bonbons. So when I saw this recipe for Oven-Roasted Pork Chops with Lemon-Caper Sauce , I knew I was going to like it.

Using a recipe from my “Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook”, I skipped the step of brining my pork chops, mostly because I didn’t read the recipe far enough in advance to do it before dinner. They came out fine without it, and were very juicy. These were easy, quick, and nearly fool-proof. They were tart and tangy (but not puckery, so if you are not a sour-lover like me, you won’t be put off.)

Oven-Roasted Pork Chops with Lemon-Caper Sauce

(adapted from The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook)

Ingredients:

4 pork chops, about 1+1/2 inches thick, trimmed of excess fat
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium shallot, minced
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup juice from 2 lemons
2 tablespoons capers, drained
3 tablespoons butter, softened

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat, and brown the pork chops on one side, for about 2 minutes. Flip and brown the other side, another 2 minutes.
Transfer the chops to a foil-lined baking sheet, or large, wide baking dish (so they aren’t crowded or touching each other.) Roast in the oven until the internal temperature reaches 140 to 145 degrees on a thermometer, about 15 minutes, turning them over halfway through the cooking time. Remove from the oven, place on a platter, and cover with aluminum foil. Let them rest for about 5 minutes, and check to make sure the internal temperature has reached 150 degrees.
While the chops are in the oven, add the shallot to the skillet you cooked the pork chops in, and cook over medium heat until softened, about 30 seconds.
Increase the heat and add the broth, stirring to scrape up any bits stuck to the pan. Add the lemon juice and capers and cook until the sauce reduces to about 1/3 cup, about 4 minutes.
Off the heat, whisk in the butter, and pour over the pork chops.

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: At Home w/ GCH, Dana Kim, Dinner Recipes, Frugal Girlmet, GCH, Girlfriends Coffee Hour, pork chops, pork recipe

Herb-licious Roasted Cauliflower Skillet

October 6, 2015 by coleen hayden

So, to spare you another butternut recipe 😉 here’s one that is delicious—HERB-licious, that is! Whether you are blessed to have fresh herbs on hand or are relying (like me) on your stash of dried herbs, this is a very tasty way to serve roasted cauliflower.

Large, beautiful heads of cauliflower are super-abundant in our area now and for the rest of the Fall season. Cauliflower makes for an excellent low carb stand-in for more traditional carb-laden foods like potatoes and rice. Here are some nutrition facts which will show the value of eating (often!) this wonderful veggie.

And this whole recipe from cutting up the cauliflower (here’s a link to an efficient way to do that job) to grating on the Parm right before serving will take you just about one half hour…really!

Herb-licious Roasted Cauliflower Skillet

ingredients:
1 head cauliflower, about 2#
3-4 tablespoons olive oil (or coconut oil), divided
2-3 teaspoons (combined) of dried herbs (thyme, tarragon, crushed rosemary), your choice
sea salt, freshly ground pepper
2 (or more!) tablespoons of minced garlic
3 links of uncooked chicken (or turkey) sausage, removed from casings
1/2 # ground chicken or turkey
1 medium onion, diced
handful of grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese

directions:

heat the oven to 425; line a baking sheet with parchment paper
cut the cauliflower up into bite-sized florets; and place into a large bowl
add 2 (or 3 if necessary) tablespoons of oil, all the herbs and a teaspoon each of s&p; combine
pour onto the lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes; pull out of the oven
scatter the minced garlic and tomatoes over the cauliflower and gently combine
continue to roast for another 5 minutes or so ‘til cauliflower is lightly browned and easily pierced with a sharp knife; remove from oven
meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat
add the onion and sausage and cook for 5 minutes, using a spoon to break up the meat as it cooks
crumble in the ground meat; and continue to cook for another 6 minutes or so ‘til all the meat is thoroughly cooked through and broken up into small-ish chunks; reduce heat to very low
taste the <thoroughly cooked> meat, add s&p to taste
when cauliflower is ready, add to skillet and stir to combine
top with cheese, if desired

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

God loves you! ♥ (Don’t ever forget that!)

♥ coleen

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: At Home w/ GCH, cauliflower, coleen hayden, Girlfriends Coffee Hour, herb-licious roasted cauliflower skillet, low-carb, nutrition, roasted cauliflower, simple supper, substitute

Korean Sweet and Spicy Chicken

October 2, 2015 by Dana Kim

This Korean Sweet and Spicy Chicken is GOOD. My family scarfed it up last night. If you don’t have gochujang – Korean red pepper paste that is both fruity and fiery – you can add hot sauce instead. The longer you marinate the chicken, the better, but don’t go more than 24 hours. You can put this together in the morning before work and come home and cook it. Serve with rice, a salad, or a full table of ban chan!

Korean Sweet and Spicy Chicken

Ingredients:

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, sliced into strips
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon gochujang – or more! – or hot sauce of choice
2 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
1 teaspoon grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons rice or apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
sliced green onions and sesame seeds, to serve

Directions:

Place the chicken in a large Ziplock bag, or other resealable / Tupperware-type container. Add the soy sauce, gochujang, ketchup, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, vinegar, and sesame oil. Mix thoroughly to combine. Let marinate at least one hour, but less than 24 hours.
In a large skillet, add 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil. When hot, add the chicken in two batches, stirring occasionally, and making sure both sides get browned, about 5-8 minutes per batch. Discard any leftover marinade. Serve chicken heaped in a bowl, topped with sliced green onions and sesame seeds.

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: At Home w/ GCH, Chicken recipes, chicken thighs, Dana Kim, Dinner Recipes, Frugal Girlmet, GCH, Girlfriends Coffee Hour, Korean Recipes, korean sweet and spicy chicken

Apple-Butternut Soup

September 29, 2015 by coleen hayden

Oh! ‘Tis the season…apple season, that is! Here in NY State, our farmers grow a huge portion of the country’s apple crop…and it is a GOOD one this year! We are going apple picking next week but I didn’t want to wait to start with the recipes. This one, Apple-Butternut Soup, included a few tart green Granny Smith apples. The tartness of the apple along with the sweetness of the squash melded together nicely. This recipe is simple and easy, (and quick too!) and makes a smooth, thick soup which was very filling and satisfying. If you would like to keep your soup vegetarian (or vegan), just use vegetable broth. This soup fits perfectly into our healthy but oh-so-yummy POV, too. Enjoy!

And please don’t let the task of cutting up the squash scare you off! Be sure to use a sharp knife and just be careful. I used a melon baller to scoop out the seeds and all the string-y business. Here are a couple of pics of the process.

Apple – Butternut Soup

ingredients:

1 large butternut squash (3#), peeled and seeded, cut into 1-1+1/2″ cubes
2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
sea salt and freshly ground pepper (I use lemon-pepper blend)
1 sweet onion, chopped small
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons chopped garlic (I use jarred)
2 or 3 apples, peeled and chopped
2 quarts chicken stock
1 cup cider (or additional broth)
1 cup water
big handful fresh greens (baby spinach, kale, arugula), sliced thinly

directions:

preheat oven to 425
line large baking sheet with parchment paper
in a large bowl, use just enough olive oil to lightly coat the squash and season well w/ s&p
pour seasoned squash onto the baking sheet; spread them out in a single layer…use two pans if necessary (I needed two)
roast until just beginning to brown, about 20-25 minutes; remove from oven and set aside

meanwhile…

in a 6 quart stockpot, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and saute onion for 8-9 minutes over medium heat (or ‘til softened and translucent)
reduce heat to low; add ginger and garlic and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes stirring constantly ’til fragrant
add chopped apples, cider, chicken stock and water; bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer
save out a cup or so of the roasted butternut; add the rest to the pot and simmer for 15 minutes or so
using an immersion blender**, puree soup ’til almost smooth
carefully taste and season, if necessary, with salt and pepper
place a handful of sliced greens and some of the reserved squash in bottom of bowl; fill with soup

**also can be pureed in a standard blender but be very careful and puree in batches

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

God loves you! ♥ (Don’t ever forget that!)

♥ coleen

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: apples, At Home w/ GCH, coleen hayden, fall recipes, Girlfriends Coffee Hour, healthy but oh so yummy, low-carb, soup, vegan, Vegetarian

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

September 25, 2015 by Dana Kim

Happy Fall, everyone! Time to harvest – clean out your garden, gather all your herbs, and start prepping for the cold. If you have any zucchini left on your vines, pick them and make this! Ready? Go!

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Ingredients:

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups flour (I used half regular flour, half whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 stick butter, melted
2 eggs
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 zucchini, grated
1/2 bag chocolate chips (about 6 oz. or 2/3 cup)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease muffin tin or use paper liners. (I just use Pam.)
In a bowl, combine first six ingredients (all the dry ones).
In a larger bowl, whisk vanilla and melted butter into eggs, then mash the banana and add that to the mixture. Whisk in sugar and stir in grated zucchini. Stir in the chocolate chips.
A little at a time, stir the dry ingredients into the wet. Pour into muffin tin and bake for 20-25 minutes.

This recipe made 18 muffins for me. We ate a bunch and froze the rest. To thaw, microwave for 30 seconds, but be careful, the chocolate chips get all hot and melty again!

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: At Home w/ GCH, Chocolate Recipes, chocolate zucchini muffins, Dana Kim, Frugal Girlmet, Girlfriends Coffee Hour, Muffin Recipes, zucchini recipes

Veggie-full Chicken Chili

September 22, 2015 by coleen hayden

It’s getting to be that time of year when a soup or a stew or a chili are often on the menu around here; how about at your house? If you have followed this blog for a little while you have heard how VERY MUCH my husband enjoys soup—any kind of soup…the more variety the better! So, I figured I should dust off my soup recipes and find a few more that I could add to our soup repetoire.

This—Veggie-full Chicken Chili—filled a vacancy amongst the recipes I rely on. And it fits so well into our healthy but oh-so-yummy POV. NOTE: Important to keep the size of the veggies approximately the same size so that they will cook well together.

And this easily could be adapted in a few different ways to make it just exactly the way YOUR family would enjoy it:
– increase the spices
– use a different bean (or more beans)
– add more liquid
– skip the tomatoes (now it is a White Chicken Chili)
– add more variety of veggies and leave out the chicken

I would love to hear how you tweaked it and made it your own! Enjoy!

Veggie-full Chicken Chili

ingredients:

2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
1# ground white-meat chicken
1 medium onion, diced
1 large red, orange or yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 small zucchini, diced
5-6 ounces baby bella mushrooms, diced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chipotle powder
2 teaspoons dried coriander, or oregano
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 jar of salsa (I used salsa verde)
2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 of a 28 ounce can chunky crushed tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
toppings: chopped fresh cilantro, diced avocado, shredded cheese, sour cream

directions:

heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat
carefully add the chicken; cook for 5-6 minutes, gently chopping so that it breaks down into small pieces and ‘til the chicken is cooked through
remove to a bowl and set aside
add a tablespoon of oil to the pan; when heated, add the onion and peppers. cook for 5 minutes
then add in the zucchini and mushrooms; stir together to distribute the oil (adding a bit more if necessary); cook ‘til all veggies are softened
lower heat; add garlic and spices; stir constantly for 1 minute or so ‘til fragrant
increase heat again to medium and add in the chickpeas, salsa, tomato products and broth; stir well to thoroughly combine; bring up to a simmer
reduce heat and allow to simmer for 15 minutes or so
serve along with any of the toppings you prefer

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

God loves you! ♥ (Don’t ever forget that!)

♥ coleen

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: At Home w/ GCH, chickpeas, coleen hayden, ground chicken, healthy but oh so yummy, lots of veggies

Pease Porridge

September 18, 2015 by Dana Kim

“Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold, pease porridge in the pot, nine days old!”

Yes, it’s a real dish; and, yes, it’s delicious hot (but I would recommend skipping it cold – and DEFINITELY don’t eat anything left out for a week!) With fall coming next week, I thought I’d beat the rush and share my recipe for Pease Porridge.

Okay, I’ll be honest…this is just Split Pea Soup with less liquid added. It comes out more like a stew—or even a pudding—when I make it like this. Same ingredients though — if you want soup, just add 2 more cups of water or broth. Easy! You can add other ingredients to it as well – maybe a diced potato along with the veggies, or a smoked turkey leg as well as the ham. Warm up your belly with this old favorite!

Pease Porridge

Ingredients:

8 ounces of ham, diced (use Soyrizo for a vegetarian version)
1 onion, diced
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 pound bag of split peas
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper

Directions:

In a large pot, saute the ham for a few minutes. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and stir over medium heat until the onion is translucent.
Add the peas, broth, water, and bay leaf. Cover and simmer until thickened, 30 – 45 minutes. Add more water if you like a thinner consistency (or add up to a full two or more cups of water or broth to make split pea soup.) Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: At Home w/ GCH, Dana Kim, Dinner Recipes, fall recipes, Frugal Girlmet, GCH, Girlfriends Coffee Hour, ham recipes, pease porridge, Soup Recipes, split pea recipes, split pea soup, Stew Recipes

Indian-spiced Chicken and Spaghetti Squash

September 15, 2015 by coleen hayden

Have you noticed ALL the squash at the grocery store (even more abundant, probably, at your local farmer’s market)? Oh, h-a-p-p-y me! This week there were quite a few small-ish spaghetti squash…so I snatched up 3 of ’em! They are the perfect size for a meal for two (and some leftovers). Spaghetti squash, as most of you know I am sure, is a really good substitute for traditional spaghetti…minus most of the carbs. Here is some nutrition info for spaghetti squash. This fits in so well with our ‘healthy but oh-so-yummy‘ POV.

My husband Robert’s favorite rendition of “spaghetti squash and…” is with Italian spaghetti sauce and meatballs. But me…I am not a huge fan of so much liquid being dolloped over top the prepared spaghetti squash. So this is what spaghetti squash #1 became…. The ‘warmth’ of the garam masala, the cumin, and turmeric spices added so much to fairly flavor-less ground chicken and spaghetti squash. Enjoy!

Indian-spiced Spaghetti Squash

ingredients

small (2#) spaghetti squash
1 pound ground chicken (or turkey)
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon coconut oil (or extra-virgin olive oil)
1 small sweet onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons minced garlic
10-12 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
handful (or two) of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup chicken broth (or water)

directions

cook the spaghetti squash (wash the skin off first). I usually just microwave it…in 5 minute increments ‘til the outside is softened and a sharp knife easily pierces the skin. (there are a number of other methods, click this link for some suggestions.) when done, set aside ’til cool enough for you to scoop it out
in a large saute pan, add 1 T of the oil and heat over medium heat
add the ground chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes; remove from pan and set aside…season w/s&p
add the diced onion to the pan (and additional 1 tsp of oil, if necessary); saute for 5 minutes or so
reduce heat and then add the seasonings and the garlic; continue to cook, stirring constantly, for another 3-4 minutes to allow flavors to blend together
then add the spinach, halved tomatoes, and peas; stir to combine. pour broth evenly over top; cover the pan and simmer ‘til broth has been absorbed (just a few minutes).
meanwhile, using a fork, scrape out strands of spaghetti squash; season well with some additional s&p. pile up in serving bowl to make a nest of the ‘noodles’; top with meat mixture (NOTE: if spaghetti squash has gotten cold, place in a small saute pan along with a pat of butter and gently heat)

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

God loves you! ♥ (Don’t ever forget that!)

♥ coleen

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: At Home w/ GCH, coleen hayden, Girlfriends Coffee Hour, ground chicken, healthy but oh so yummy, indian seasonings, low-carb, spaghetti squash