Product Review: Fresh, Organic Apples

I have ordered over 20 pounds of apples each month for the past 3 months and they have been wonderful!  I have ordered a 20 pound box of Braeburn apples, a 3 pound bag of "In Season" apples, and many 3 pound bags of Fuji apples.  I leave them sitting on the counter and after 4 or 5 weeks, when we eat that last apple, it is just as good as the first one we ate.  I always sort through my apples and set out any that have bruises (usually only a few out of 50 apples will have some bruising) and we eat those first.  The price on these apples is fantastic, $.83/pound right now and I've seen it lower than that!  If you haven't already, why not buy some apples next month?  It is so convenient to have a healthy, simple snack at the ready. 

Gluten Free Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Well, you can see that these muffins didn't rise at all and are not the prettiest things you've ever seen, but they were moist and tasty and DEVOURED by my two littlest ones (the big kids were out-of-town).  I found this recipe on Food.com.

Dry Ingredients: 
1/3 cup sucanat
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum

Wet Ingredients:
*2 tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 4 tbsp water
*(or 2 eggs)
3 tbsp oil (melted coconut or palm oil or butter)

Flavorings:
1 apple, grated
1 tsp cinnamon

Optional:
cinnamon and sugar blend for sprinkling on top

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl and quickly add to the dry ingredients.  Add the flavorings and stir very briefly.  Divide among 12 greased or paper-lined muffin cups and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar blend.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Chicken Taquitos

This was my first time to make taquitos.  I thought it would be time-consuming, but it really wasn't that bad.  Here are my "just winging it" instructions.

I used leftover cooked chicken, chopping it up kind of fine.  I then seasoned the meat with whatever I felt like: sea salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder...

Then, heat some oil (coconut or palm oil)  in a skillet or griddle.  I used just enough oil to almost cover the bottom of the pan.  Lay your corn tortillas in the hot oil and leave them just long enough to become pliable (a few seconds).  Pull them off, fill with chicken, roll up and place seam-side down on a  plate.  Repeat this process until you've used up all of your chicken. 

Add some more oil to your pan if necessary and place the taquitos seam-side down in the hot oil.  Let cook several minutes until crispy, then flip over cooking the other side.  Remove and drain on paper towels.

I served these with some last minute Spanish rice (I mixed leftover brown rice with some salsa), and soaked black beans.  Next time it'd be nice to have some guacamole, or ranch dressing, or green sauce, or queso...  to dip the taquitos in.   These were a big hit with everyone in our house.

Product Review: Fresh, Organic Pineapple

Mmm, mmm, mmm....  The pineapple I received in my May order was absolutely delicious!  It sliced like I was cutting through butter.  Not woody at all.  Super juicy and wonderfully sweet!  It was gone in no-time and I wish I had more.  If you haven't already, be sure and look into Azure Standard's fresh produce.  They should have more options available as the northern states get into their growing season.

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

I really love this soup.  I know it's May and I shouldn't be talking about pumpkin-anything, but just file this away for use in the fall!

This is another great recipe that I found on Food.com.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry powder
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp thyme
1 cup pumpkin puree (I just use the whole can)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp sucanat
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained (or soak and cook your own)
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup sour cream (optional)

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil.

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil for about 4-5 minutes.

Add the cumin and curry powder and saute for an additional 4-5 minutes.

Add the broth, thyme, pumpkin, sea salt, pepper and sucanat.  Bring to a boil.

Stir in the black beans and tomatoes.

Reduce heat.  Cover and gently simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat.

Stir in the 1/4 cup sour cream.

Lemon-Scented Sauteed Poulet with Legume Ragout

This is my slightly altered take on a Rachael Ray 30-minute recipe... it was SO good!!!  The six of us gobbled it ALL up.

Zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp dried thyme
sea salt
pepper
4, 6-oz boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 pound bacon (about 5 slices), chopped
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 3/4 cups chicken stock
1 lb frozen cut green beans
1, 15-oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (or soak and cook your own)
2 tbsp dried parsley

Combine lemon juice, 1 tbsp olive oil and half the thyme.  Place chicken breasts in shallow bowl, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.  Pour lemon mixture over top of chicken.  Set aside.

Heat a skillet over medium heat.  Add a tbsp of olive oil.  Add the bacon and cook until crisp, 3-5 minutes.  Add the onions, sea salt and pepper and the remaining thyme.  Cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes - get the onions nice and brown.  Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Add the frozen green beans.

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat with the remaining tbsp of olive oil.  Add the chicken and cook on each side for 5-6 minutes, or until cooked through.

When chicken is cooked, add cannellini beans to green bean mixture, heat through (about one minute more).  Top the beans with parsley and lemon zest.  Check for seasoning.  Serve the chicken breasts sliced on an angle over a serving of the beans.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 1 lb of cooked chicken)
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp cumin
sea salt
pepper
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 small zucchini, small dice
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup frozen corn
1 (28 oz) can tomatoes
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
3 cups chicken stock
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained (soak dried beans if can!)

Heat a soup pot to medium high. Dice chicken. Add oil to hot pot. Add chicken, season with poultry seasoning, cumin, sea salt and pepper. Lightly brown chicken on each side. Add bell pepper, zucchini, onion and garlic. Cook vegetables with chicken 5 to 7 minutes to soften. Add corn, tomatoes, tomato sauce and stock. Bring soup to a bubble, reduce heat and simmer at least 10 minutes. Add black beans and heat through.