Shepherd’s Pie Stuffed Potatoes

w/ Gouda and Sweet peppers

Ingredients

• 4 large russet potatoes or sweet potatoes (paleo) – washed clean
• ½  red bell pepper & ½ orange bell pepper chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped, divided
• 1 pound ground sirloin
• ½ pound button or crimini mushrooms, diced
• Optional: 1 cup of peas (this is just a family preference)
• 2 cloves garlic or shallots finely chopped
• ½  sour cream/ greek yogurt
• 1 cup smoked shredded Gouda cheese  
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 ½ cups beef stock (see Stroganoff recipe for BEST Bouillon)
• 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
• 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Instruction:

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

On a baking sheet, toss potatoes with Olive oil and some salt. Bake in oven until tender, about 1 hour. Let cool. Switch oven to broiler.

While the potatoes are cooking…… On a medium-high heat- in a skillet with about 1 tablespoon olive oil, add the bell peppers, half of the onion, salt, pepper and cook until the veggies are tender. Transfer them to a large mixing bowl.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut a thin slice lengthwise off of the top. Scoop out the potato flesh, taking care not to pierce the wall of the potato, and transfer to the bowl with the sauteed veggies (reserve the potato shells). Add the sour cream, a little cheese and paprika, and mash.  Keep warm.

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with olive oil, add the ground sirloin to the pan and cook until golden brown, 5-6 minutes. Add the mushrooms, onion & garlic and cook until they start to turn golden brown, 4-5 minutes and cook until all the veggies are warm & tender.

Push all of the ingredients to the edge of the pan and add the butter to the skillet. Sprinkle the flour over the melted butter and cook for about 1 minute. Add the beef stock, mustard, soy sauce, Worcestershire, some salt and pepper to the skillet and stir to combine. Bring up to a bubble and simmer until thickened, 2-3 minutes.

Fill the potato shells with the beef-mushroom-veggie mixture......

Then top each of them with the reserved mashed potatoes. Transfer to a baking sheet and sprinkle with the cheese.

 Pop the potatoes under the broiler until the cheese is melted and tops are golden brown.

Serve with a green salad or a steamed vegetable of your choice. I served steamed broccolini.

ENJOY!

Heather

Beef Stroganoff with Dried Mustard

Prep Time:       Cook Time:       Ready In:

10 Min          20 Min          30 Min

This is a delicious savory meal that hits the SPOT!

Serve the Beef Stroganoff over egg noodles (my favorite) or any noodle of your choice along with crusty bread and a green salad, broccoli or brussels sprouts. Some people also serve it over mashed potatoes or rice.

Ingredients & healthy alternatives

· 1 pound ground beef or ground turkey

The BEST Boullion on EARTH.
Organic & LOW sodium

· 1/2 cup chopped onion

· 10 mushrooms, diced/chopped

· 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

· 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

· 1Tbs Worcestershire sauce

· 1/2 cup sour cream or non-fat sour cream

· 1/2 cup mayonnaise or Greek/plain yogurt

· 1/2 cup beef broth or organic & reduced sodium beef base

· 1 (8 ounce) package wide egg noodles

Directions

1.    Break up ground meat into a large skillet, and add onion, mushrooms, garlic powder, and mustard powder. Cook and stir over medium heat until the meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain off excess fat.

Add diced fresh mushrooms

Saute until onions are tender

2.    In a small bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, and beef broth. Stir into beef mixture, and cook over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes. Do not stir too much.

Simmer on low heat

3.    Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until done. Drain. Serve sauce over hot noodles.

My favorite: Egg Noodles

Jared's favorite: Pene Noodles

Bon Appetit!

Heather

The 'NEW' Morning

Cup-o-Joe

What did u Juice today?

Its a cold, crisp, sunny morning in Tacoma and this little glass is in my hand to help welcome the day.

Steak Fajita’s

Nothing is better than a meal with so many options like this one!

I Love toppings, and I love flavors!

Here are the steps I had to complete to make the meal a success:

·         Marinate Steak in seasoning of choice & a little citrus

·         Make the homemade Guacamole

·         Cook the raw tortilla’s

·         Sauté the Onions & Peppers till soft

·         Heat the black beans

·         Sear the steak in a HOT-HOT Pan, then slice

·         Assembly the fajitas’ and DEVOUR!

My Sous Chef
He is faithful to sit by my side ever night i cook!
He may be there to catch what i drop, but i appreciate the support. :)

Steak:

Season & marinate your steak to your liking. I marinated this thin-cut steak in Mexican Seasonings, lemon & lime juice & jalapeños. I let it stand in marinade as long as possible- all day preferably.  Heat skillet to HIGH, & once hot add a little olive oil and sear each side for about 30 seconds. Remove, slice & cover.

Guacamole:

My husband prepares this for me if he is around. Dice up 2 gloves of garlic, 2 roma tomatoes and set aside. Mash 3 avocados in a bowl with a fork then add tomatoes & garlic. Juice 1 lime into mix, a pinch of salt and stir.  Then when he’s not looking I add 1 TBS of my secret ingredient- and voila! Taste with a tortilla chip and adjust slightly as needed or desired.

Tortillas:

If you have not tried tortilla’s made by “Tortilla Land” you are missing out my friend! They are soft & delicious! They only take about 20 seconds to cook and are WELL worth the time.

Sautéed Vegetables:

Slice up one purple onion, and 4 bell peppers into nice thick slices. I say 4 bell peppers because i want ALL the colors in my meal. If 4 are too many - slice half of each pepper. Add olive oil to them in a pan and start to sauté on HIGH HEAT. After about 2 minutes add a few splashes of balsamic vinegar to the mix. (it draws all the flavors out!) Once they start darkening, reduce heat to med-low and cook until they are sweet & soft which is about 5-10 min.

Beans:

Our house loves black beans, but any bean will do just fine. Heat in the microwave or in a sauce pan till they are heated all the way through. You may decide on a kidney bean, pinto, white or any other bean of choice.

Toppings:

Now it’s time to assemble the fajita with all the different toppings!

Everything we had to add to our tortillas was:

·         Steak

·         Peppers & onions

·         Black beans

·         Diced tomatoes

·         Shredded lettuce

·         Sour cream

·         Cheese

·         Salsa: Pico, Mango & Corn

·         Cilantro

·         Lime

·         Guacamole

ENJOY!

Oh! And you can’t forget the perfect beverage- with lime!

Thank you Joey!

Heather

I DON’T MEAN KOOL-AID

Juicing…. I love juicing…Juicing has SO MANY health benefits!

Eating fruits & vegetables in your daily meals is also essential but there are some special benefits from drinking your fruits & veggies. I look forward to it every morning.

It has taken the place of our 1st cup of morning coffee. Instead of adding a caffeinated/dehydrating beverage into your system first thing in the morning consider adding a beverage that is PACKED FULL of energy, nutrients & flavor.

There are three main reasons why you will want to consider incorporating juicing into your daily routine:

1.    Juicing helps you absorb all the nutrients from the vegetables. This is important because most of us have impaired digestion as a result of making less-than-optimal food choices over many years. (Fast Food)

2.    Juicing allows you to consume a higher amount of vegetables. You should eat one pound of raw vegetables per 50 pounds of body weight per day. For most, eating that many vegetables is  difficult, but it can be easily accomplished with a quick glass of vegetable juice. (I'm not talking about 3lbs of potato's either!!)

3.    You can add a wider variety of vegetables in your diet. Many people eat the same vegetable salads every day. This violates the principle of regular food rotation and increases your chance of developing an allergy to a certain food. But with juicing, you can juice a wide variety of vegetables that you may not normally enjoy eating whole. (Come now, ANOTHER Cesar Salad... not good)

Below are some of the additional health benefits of juicing:

·         Improving the cardiovascular system and heart health:

Both antioxidant vitamins C and E prevent the damaging effect of free radicals on artery walls. They prevent blood from sticking, clotting, as well as becoming toxic. For the health benefits of juicing vitamin E you can use blackberries, kiwi, asparagus and spinach in your juicer recipes.

·         Detoxifying the liver:

The liver has 100′s of important functions. One of its main functions is to clean the blood and remove toxins and metabolic waste.

Certain nutrients are needed to provide the juicing benefits of liver cleansing. Antioxidants beta-carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E are potent liver cleansers. In addition, B-vitamins riboflavin and niacin also aid liver cleansing. Cabbage, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower have been found to be great for the liver.

·         Alkalizing your system (vegetable only):

All vegetables are alkalizing. Fruits on the other hand are not.( they are mostly acidic in nature)
The benefits of making your body PH level less acidic is a subject of its own, so here are just a few juicing benefits;

• Improved brain function
• Improved heart function
• Slowing down the aging process (ya girl!)
• Improved joint function – helping with arthritis
• Less disease-prone body environment. - Acid breeds diseases.          
• Better digestion

·         Healthy skin, hair, nails and eyes:

• The antioxidants vitamins C and E help to prevent skin damage.
• A deficiency in riboflavin (vitamin B2) can cause cracked lips, hair loss, dermatitis, greasy looking skin and other skin problems. Putting kale, spinach, and asparagus in your juicer recipes will provide you with vitamin B2.
• The most potent nutrient for healthy eyes is vitamin A, which is not found in plants. Beta-carotene, is found in abundance in orange colored fruits and vegetables & beta-carotene is turned into vitamin A by the body. Carrot juice is a very good source for both of these vitamins.

·         Increased energy levels:

This one is pretty simple. Lots of juicing means lots more vitamins and minerals which are responsible for all sorts of health and vitality and therefore lots more energy.

·         Rebuild blood cells:

Basically, taking chlorophyll is almost like getting a blood transfusion!
Chlorophyll is also a pigment that gives plants their green color. So put the green stuff in your juicer! The darker the green, the more chlorophyll it contains. GREEN = GOOD

·         Improved immune system:

Drinking 'juice' regularly is going to give you more than adequate amount of antioxidants which are essential for a healthy immune system. The antioxidants from fruits and vegetables include vitamins A, C, E, plus a wide range of plant chemicals called phytochemicals. Phytochemicals have amazing and varied health benefits, most notably anti-cancer properties.

So the 3 main reasons why juicing is SO beneficial:

* The juice requires hardly any digestion, so all its nutritional goodness gets rapidly into your system.

* When you juice, you use more fruits and vegetables than you could actually eat.     

* Liver detoxification

Lesson 1: Use pesticide free veggies.

It is wise to choose organic whenever possible. However, some vegetables are worse than others. Below are the vegetables that are the most pesticide loaded ones according to the Environmental Working Group.

So it would be wise to only purchase these vegetables if they are organically grown. The worst ones are listed first.

1.    Celery

           2.    Spinach

3.    Kale

          4.    Collard Greens

5.    Lettuce

6.    Carrots

           7.    Cucumber (not as bad if you peel the skin)

For this very reason, I purchase all the veggies listed above at Terra-Organics.

In our house we have a pretty standard combination of vegetables & fruit that we juice on a daily basis. We mix it up from time to time, to keep it interesting, but for the most part we juice:

  Green Kale                                                     
    Red Kale
Rainbow Chard
      Celery
      Carrot                                         Orange/lemon/lime
        Apple
(see how COLORFUL that is!)

I love to throw in a cucumber, pear, turnip, tomato, ginger, cilantro, or pepper from time to time! J Mix it up- be creative & ENJOY.

So basically if you want to have better hair and skin, lose weight, have more energy, detoxify & be healthier, you should start juicing YESTERDAY.

That’s a lot of information to think about, so I’ll leave it at that!

Heather