Ratatouille

I love it because I can hear my dad screaming from here! He HATES squash!!!! Hates it with all his heart. I on the other hand love it and luckily our posse does too..

I call anything that I just make up Ratatouille. Attaching it to a kid movie makes me think I can sell, "random invention" better. So far, so good. If my answer is Ratatouille when Izze asks her next comment is, "Seriously, I need to know what's in it". My answer, "Does it really matter? You are eating it either way". Deep down I am certain she is longing to hear chocolate, marshmallow, candy...

I didn't add chicken to this but had intended to. We were down two tonight and those left are not of the "Where's The Beef?" school of thought. Had they been home the chicken would have been necessary. Otherwise, this is a super easy lots of color and full of worthy of eating items all mixed together.

Ingredients:
Tomatoes (I used the little cute ones that come in a clump and a couple roma)
Squash (this was yellow squash and mexican gray squash)
Onion
Bell peppers (my kids prefer red, orange and yellow over green. They are sweet)
garlic (2 cloves)
parsley
basil (20 large leaves)
sea salt
pepper

I cooked the tomatoes with the basil, half the onions, 1 clove of garlic and parsley together in a saucepan. When the rest was finished I dumped it in the blender and chopped it together for sauce. The squash, onion, peppers, another clove of garlic, salt and pepper went into a big skillet with some coconut oil. I sauted it all together. I usually add the things that cook faster last and vice versa so typically all the veggies are finished together (great for fajitas too) When finished cooking I dumped the tomato sauce over it and we ate it. Charlotte ate some and threw some. Ryder ate enough to keep him alive and Izze ate it without a single negative comment. Her only questions were in regards to identifying what was orange.

Would I make this again? YES

**A huge slice of buttery bread would have been awesome. Daddy is at work tonight so I could have totally snuck that in. However, I have to remind myself (literally hourly) that his kids have his genes. The whole purpose and goal is to fuel everyone appropriately and safely in a manner that it feels natural and desired for their lifetimes as well. I did have some salad available but the three at home are not the rabbits of the house. Izze will eat it but was already in veggie overload. Ryder and Charlotte gag, throw it and attempt to give it to the dog.

Citrus Beef Salad

It smelled and tasted just like Pei Wei (faster food version of PF Changs).

* I figured I had better start adding pictures to prove I made it!


**smallest children (Ryder 4, Charlotte 1) would only most likely eat the meat and fruit so that's all I gave them. The big kids like lettuce and spinach. Seriously, I just never made it an option when the were little. We would cause a scene at McDonald's because those two ordered salads! These next two...not so much. Charlotte wakes up and asks for a "doc dog" and Ryder would live on frozen waffles or Gogurt. Anyway, it was a logical and fair enough dinner that everyone can eat!

Ingredients:
coconut oil
1 lb tender beef cut into thin strips;
1 sliced onion
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tsp ginger (I use powdered)
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp orange zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp orange juice
Bunch of spinach
1 lemon, segmented
1 orange, segmented

Stir-fry the beef with coconut oil. Remove the beef from the wok or pan, make sure the wok regains its temperature, add more coconut oil and stir-fry the onion, ginger and garlic for about 3 minutes. Return the beef to the wok and add the orange and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and add the bunch of spinach. Cook until just wilted. Throw in chopped up orange and lemon (chop lemon really little or it's too sour) Serve on a bed lettuce, left over spinach..

Would I make this again? YES

BECOME A FOLLOWER, MAKE ME ACCOUNTABLE!

To the right there is a link to become a FOLLOWER! Do it! Force to me to ride this train. It's hard. It's not american yet it's 100% necessary! I need you!!

Chicken Fajita Salad

This is a hit with our whole family. OK...fine the littlest ones don't like the salad part but otherwise awesome!

Ingredients:
Chicken breast (cut in strips)
1 Onion
Bell peppers (various colors)
Garlic
Sea Salt
Pepper
Chipotle
Lettuce
Fat-free Ranch dressing (Matt's cardiologist said mayo and Ranch should be illegal)

Cook chicken, add onions and bell peppers. Season and cook until chicken is cooked thoroughly. Shred and wash lettuce. Add chipotle seasoning to ranch dressing. Pour over lettuce. Top with onions and bell pepper mix. Serve. *For kids I add a handful of tortilla chips. **For those that like hot I sprinkle on a little extra chipotle spice before serving.

Would I make this again? YES

Let's do it! (eat healthy, clean, low fat, low cholesterol)

I have been to the moon and back trying to come up with dinner ideas. We can't just eat any ole thing! We need to eat hearty healthy which means low fat, low cholesterol and while we are at it let's cut anything refined and sugar. That's boring and not easy. One thing I don't want to be is boring and I am far from consistent. So, I decided to create this blog really for myself (so that I might keep my hubby alive). I am going to track my dinner recipes so that we might have more to choose from in the future. Not only that, maybe someone else is walking in our shoes. If I can make their lives easier...Yahoo! So, if you are someone that can benefit from healthy, clean food that will keep you alive, taste good and not require a bunch of freaky ingredients than WELCOME! Please share as well. We are all in this together!