"Guilt-Free" Ribs

"Guilt-Free" Ribs

So, I thought I had invented the holy grail of delicious clean food. BUT I didn't. When I make ribs, I usually use the crockpot and, fit people look away..., use a soda, coke, dr pepper, etc and pour it over the ribs close it and I'm good to go. But since we're trying to be clean, I decided to think outside of the box. I opened my fridge and saw organic apple juice and thought, oh. my. gosh. I'm a genius, but I'm not.. this is a totally documented way to make healthier version of ribs. Oh well, it was still mighty tasty!

2lbs Pork Ribs

2 cups organic apple juice

1/4 cup brown sugar

2Tbsp white vinegar

1Tsp garlic powder

2Tsp Worcestershire Sauce

S&P

1/4 cup BBQ Sauce (you can sub in something organic, or homemade)

The best ribs are cooked low and slow. I didn't really have the time so I did high for 5 hours. An hour before it was finished I put a light coating of bbq sauce on top.

Alana's Review

Taste: 4/5

Ease: 5/5
Comments: This was amazing and I didn't feel guilty for eating it (I rarely do - baha). The only complaint I had was that my ribs were super thick and a little fatty. So, it was extremely moist, and I much prefer it a little drier and some char. I didn't broil it either, which I will do next time!

Almond Crusted Scallops w/ Potatoes and Asparagus

Almond Crusted Scallops w/ Potatoes and Asparagus

Ever since I found the nice-looking seafood section at my local grocer, I keep experimenting with different types of seafood dishes. I saw a picture of almond crusted scallops and thought that sounded delicious, so this is my attempt at creating that.

Ingredients:

8 red or yellow potatoes (I used 4 of each)

20 asparagus spears

Dash of garlic powder

8 oz. package frozen bay scallops

1/4 cup unsalted almonds, chopped finely in a food processor

1/4 whole wheat panko bread crumbs

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp dried parsley

1/2 tbsp italian herbs

1/2 tbsp butter, melted

S&P

Preheat the oven to 375. Scrub the potatoes clean then put them in a pot to boil until fork tender. While that's boiling, clean 20 asparagus spears and toss them in a bit of olive oil with a dash of garlic powder, salt, and pepper (or whatever seasonings you prefer) and put in the oven for about 13-15 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, heat a skillet with a little olive oil in it over medium heat. Once hot, drop in the scallops and cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side. Once they're cooked, put them onto a baking sheet. Be sure to place them close together, they should all be touching. Mix together the almonds, bread crumbs, garlic powder, parsley, herbs, butter, and salt and pepper, and layer over the scallops. Once the asparagus is done, put your oven to broil and broil the scallops for about 2-3 minutes, or until the topping looks brown and crispy. Once the potatoes are done, drain and drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, and some dried parsley for garnish.

Sarah's Review 

Ease: 3/5

Taste: 3/5

Comments: I think diver scallops (the bigger ones) would work better with a recipe like this because the crust would stay on them. The crust fell apart when I scooped them off the baking sheet and it became more of a scallop crumble. Also, I would add some olive oil to the topping as well to make it more moist. The topping itself had a really good taste though, I liked the almonds a lot with the scallops. All in all not bad for my first attempt, I'll try this recipe again with the changes and let you know how it turns out!

Fresh Tomato Penne

Fresh Tomato Penne

I had planned on making pasta tonight because I found an awesome quinoa pasta and I was excited to try it. And it just so happened that a good friend of mine had gone to the farmers market and pick up some tomatoes and may have gotten too many. She didn't think she would finish them so she gave them to me, SCORE! I included them along with some Vine ripe tomatoes and two handfuls of spinach stirred into Hunt's organic pasta sauce. a couple splashes of organic chicken stock and 1 splash basamic vinegar and a couple pinches of sugar, salt, & pepper. 

Alana's Review 

Ease: 5/5

Taste: by itself 3.5, but with (a lot) Parmesan 5/5

Comments: More Cheese Please! 

Toddler Review: I don't know if he was just enjoying playing with the food and then eating it but he ate almost all of it! 

Summary: Toddler Approved! 

Classic Roast

Classic Roast

This is definitely not the prettiest picture I've taken since the gravy decided to spill all over the plate, but man was it delicious! I had been craving some good ol' roast and mashed potatoes, and my local grocer was having a fantastic sale on London broil so I decided it was time to try my hand at making a roast. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. London broil roast

5 whole carrots, peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces

1/2 of a sweet onion, quartered

1 tbsp rosemary

1 tbsp parsley 

1 tsp garlic powder

S&P

1 Bay leaf

2 russet potatoes

1 tbsp butter

About 1/4 cup milk

3 tbsp corn starch

I put the carrots and onion in the bottom of a mini slow cooker (my meals usually feed just myself or myself and my boyfriend), then I cut the roast in half, sprinkled it with the seasonings, and placed on top of the veggies. I filled the cooker with water until the water just covered everything, threw in the bay leaf, and covered and cooked on high for about 5 hours. About 30 minutes before time was up, I peeled and sliced the potatoes and put them in a pot of boiling water. While those were cooking, i drained the slow cooker liquid into a bowl, scooped off the top layer of fat, and put the liquid in a pot and brought to a boil. I mixed together about 3 tbsp of corn starch and 1 cup of hot water, and added to the liquid to thicken into a gravy. Once the potatoes were tender, I used a hand blender to mash them until smooth, added the butter, milk, and some salt and pepper, and blended until smooth and creamy. Then I plated up!

Sarah's Review 

Ease: 4/5

Taste: 5/5

Comments: It tasted like the roasts my mom used to make when I lived at home.  I was pleased with how it came out and I loved the flavor of the gravy! 

Eggs in a Basket

Eggs in a Basket

Today I wanted to share with you my favorite breakfast to make. It's quick, easy, and very filling. I first learned to make eggs in a basket my sophomore year of college. My best friend and I were starving one night while staying up late to study for an exam and she suggested we make eggs in a basket, and that was when I got hooked on them. Seriously, I probably ate them every day for two weeks after she showed me how to make them. So yummy! So here is how to make quick and easy eggs in a basket:

Ingredients: Bread (I used white bread from a local bakery but whole wheat would work well also)

Eggs

Black Pepper

Paprika

First spray a skillet with olive oil spray and set to medium heat. Next cut a whole in the middle of the bread. Back in sophomore year we just used a butter knife and cut around the perimeter, but now I used a heart shaped cookie cutter to make a pretty diamond-esque shape. Whatever you use, just be sure not to cut too close to the edges or they'll break and all of the egg will run out. Butter the edges of the bread on both sides (you can omit this step if you want to cut extra calories, I just like doing it so the bread has a buttery crispness to it). Once the pan is warmed, put the bread in and crack an egg in the middle whole you cut out. Be careful not to break the yolk. Now, the next part is up to what you prefer. For true eggs in a basket (the kind I like), you cook it over easy so the yolk is runny and creates a little sauce for everything, but if you don't like runny yolks then you can cook it through. I've overcooked them before and they are still tasty with fully cooked yolks, so just cook to your preference. For over easy, cook for about 2-3 minutes on the first side then flip and cook another 1-2 minutes on the other side. You can tell where the yolks are at in the cooking process if you poke them with the corner of your spatula. If it looks like a waterbed then they're runny. Once they're cooked to your liking on both sides, take them out and sprinkle with black pepper and paprika. Voila!

Ease: 4/5

Taste: 5/5

Comments: As I said above, you can sub whole wheat for the white bread to make this healthier. Also, this isn't a dish to use farm fresh eggs in if you're wanting to make the eggs runny. I'd recommend using pasteurized eggs (the kind you get at the store) versus fresh eggs straight from the chicken. You're safe using pasteurized and eating runny yolks, but farm fresh eggs would be iffy.

Broccoli Tots

Broccoli Tots 

http://gimmedelicious.com/2015/05/17/healthy-baked-broccoli-tots/

Let me first just say... I LOVE broccoli. And after years of carefully including it into my tastiest dishes, my husband finally likes broccoli too! Our toddler, however, does not... yet! So, in effort to recruit him to the broccoli-loving side I decided to try these broccoli tots. If you ask me I'd say I much prefer plain steamed broccoli, but this post is for my little buddy. 

I altered the above linked recipe a little.

2 cups steamed broccoli, chopped finely 

3/4 cup cheddar cheese

3/4 cup finely "chopped" unsalted saltine crackers

To taste: salt & pepper

3 eggs

Mix 'em, mold 'em, bake 'em.

22-25min @ 450 degrees

Alana's Review 

Ease: 2/5

Taste: 3/5

Comments: It was good, and my son ate it. So, it's a win. BUT like I said I like the broccoli by itself better. One nice thing about this is that I was able to freeze the left overs to heat up for baby boy when I'm short a veggie for him come dinner time.

Parmesan Greek Yogurt Chicken

Parmesan Greek Yogurt Chicken

As unappetizing as the picture looks is as tasty as it was. Haha. So, here is my recipe. 

Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 cup plain greek yogurt

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Pinches: salt, pepper,  garlic powder, Mrs. Dash lemon pepper

Mix everything but the chicken in a bowl. Place the chicken in sprayed or oiled baking dish. Top each breast generously with mixture. I baked @ 375 for 40-45minutes.

Alana's Review

Ease: 5/5

Taste: 4/5

Comments: I liked it very much! It was so cheesy and moist. By the end it was a little too lemony, even for me. My husband doesn't like lemon chicken, like at all. I thought it wouldn't be as lemony as it was. So next time I think I'm going to switch it up and instead of a lemon taste I'm going to use chopped spinach. 

Ground Turkey Shell-less Tacos, Take 2!

Ground Turkey Shell-less Tacos,  Take 2!

I finally got around to remaking my Shell-less Tacos described here: Take 1!

I did everything exactly the same, except I made my own salsa! I used the store bought salsa to flavor the ground turkey like before. I just wanted to make sure my salsa tasted good before I mixed it all up in my food. 

Salsa:

Extra virgin olive oil, heated

1 small onion chopped finely, sauteed

1 & 1/2 tsp dried cilantro

Pinches: salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder

2tbsp honey (in many recipes I saw people used sugar, so this was my substitute)

A splash of organic chicken broth

While I cut up 3 large Roma tomatoes I threw the squishy insides in the sauté pan.

I threw the chopped tomatoes in at the end and turned off the heat but left the pan on the warm burner while I mixed it all together and then prepared the other parts of the meal

Alana's Review

(salsa)

Ease: 5/5

Taste:3.5/5

Comments: less onions, more spice! 

Protein Pancakes

Protein Pancakes

I'm a huge fan of pancakes, they're my favorite breakfast bread behind french toast. I used to make my pancakes from a box mix, but it has a lot of additives which aren't very clean. They also aren't usually super filling, I have to stuff myself in order to get full, so I wanted to make a pancake that will be more filling (which in turn means less pancakes I need to eat and most importantly less syrup). Here's how I made them:

1 1/3 cup 100% whole grain oats

3 tbsp whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Grind the oats, flour, and baking powder in a food processor until oats are fine. Remove to a separate bowl, then add all of the wet ingredients to the food processor and blend until smooth. Add this to the bowl flour and oats and whisk everything together. Spray a skillet on medium heat with olive oil spray, and drop 1/4 cup batter to make each pancake. Flip when the bottom brown. Serve with pure maple syrup and fruit.

These pancakes were super filling, I struggled on the last few bites. They are denser than normal pancakes, but they have a lovely cinnamon flavor and I love the hearty wheat taste. These are a great way to start off your day without the mid-morning hunger setting in!

Sarah's Review

Ease: 4/5

Taste: 5/5

Turkey Meatball Soup

Turkey Meatball Soup

My favorite thing to do is make a big pot of soup at the beginning of the week and take it to work for lunch throughout the week. Unfortunately, I'm super picky when it comes to soup so I usually stick to some variation of chicken noodle soup. Well, I decided I needed to jump out of my soupy comfort zone and try something new, so I decided on a turkey meatball soup (based off of this recipe: http://chefsavvy.com/recipes/turkey-meatball-vegetable-soup/). I'm not a big fan a ground turkey, but it's so much healthier than beef so went ahead and tried this soup anyways. I made the meatballs like the recipe says to but I also added some garlic powder to the meatball mixture to give it a little more flavor. My motto is you can never have too much garlic. After they were done, I added a head of chopped broccoli and 2 chopped carrots and sauteed those until they were tender. About halfway through I also added 4 big baby portabello mushrooms that I had sliced thin. Once the carrots started getting tender, I added the garlic, sauteed for a minute, then added 4 cups of chicken broth with roasted vegetables*, 1 cup water, and about 2 tbsp dried onion flakes. Once this started simmering I added a few dashes of black pepper, about 1 1/2 tbsp dried parsley, 1 tsp chili powder, 2 handfuls of spinach, and the meatballs I cooked earlier and let this cook until the spinach wilted. I then served with some fresh sourdough bread slices. 

This soup was quite tasty after I first cooked it, but it honestly was way better the subsequent days when I took it for lunch. The meatballs had soaked up more broth and all of the flavors had melded together beautifully. This soup is definitely going to overthrow my usual chicken noodle soup.

*So let me tell you about this broth. One day in Walmart I saw they had these cans of chicken broth with roasted vegetables on clearance, and since they hadn't expired I figured I'd give them a shot. These definitely lifted up this soup way more than normal chicken broth would have. It had a fantastic flavor and little bits of veggies in it. Now, a disclaimer, it's not really "clean" broth, but I'm not about to sit around making homemade broths so it will have to be a cheat. Feel free to add homemade broth to this soup, but I really think this broth is amazing and gave this soup a great flavor.

Sarah's Review

Ease: 3/5

Taste: 5/5

Warm Bruschetta

Warm Bruschetta

The inspiration for this dish came from none other than Alana! My boyfriend and I wanted a snack to munch on while we binge-watched the new season of House of Cards, and I checked up on the blog to see Alana's new post and it looked delicious! If you haven't seen it, go to the next post immediately. 

I've never made bruschetta but had the basic ingredients on hand, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I'm not a fan of raw tomatoes or cold mozzarella, so this is a warmed up version.

I quartered yellow sun burst tomatoes, sprinkled them with salt, and roasted in the oven at 425 for 15 minutes. While that was doing its thing, I sliced a loaf of sourdough bread about half an inch thick and drizzled with olive oil. Once the tomatoes were done, I switched the oven to broil and put the bread in for about 2 minutes. I mixed the tomatoes, mozzarella cheese pearls that I cut in half, garlic powder, dried parsley, and dried Italian seasoning and spooned onto the bread. Then I put it back in the oven at 375 for 3 minutes so the mozzarella could warm through. Once I took them out, I sprinkled with a little pepper and dug in!

These came out wonderfully and were the perfect snack for our night of laziness.

Sarah's Review

Ease: 4/5

Taste: 5/5

Clean Bruschetta

Clean Bruschetta

We had left over spaghetti from last night, so I threw together a classic at our home. I have made this many times, and it's always been unintentionally clean. So I thought I'd share! I like my bruschetta fresh and simple. I ran out of dried basil and dried oregano (AHHH!). So I had to make due with what I had, but typically I would use both of those items.

3-4 chopped Roma Tomatoes (love these)

Fresh Mozzarella, cubed

3/4 cup chopped spinach

Pinch: Salt, Pepper

(Again - I try to use the left over ingredients from previous meals, I had a couple loaves of delicious bread that my husband picked. I used this as my toasted bread)

Brush Olive Oil over sliced bread. 

Sprinkle: Garlic Powder, Thyme, & Rosemary over them

With the oven still hot from reheating my spaghetti, I turned it off and turned on the broiler. 

They did come out a little more burnt than I would have liked, but honestly it was still amazing. This is one of my favorite things to make. So fresh and easy.

Once plated, we dusted with Parmesan.

Alana's Review

Ease: 5/5

Taste: 5/5

Comments: Put Oregano and Basil on my grocery list.

Chopped Cajun Chicken with Cheddar Corn Quinoa

Chopped Cajun Chicken with Cheddar Corn Quinoa

Ok, so this was kind of a cheat. Before I had fully committed to clean eating I purchased this meat.  Kroger had a super sale on meat, and there was a huge package of pre-seasoned Cajun Chicken, seriously it was like 4 bucks! I know this had more seasoning and other things I wouldn't have put on it, but I didn't want to keep it frozen forever! So I cooked it ahead of time and tasted it. It was, as I expected, super sodium packed. So to diffuse the situation, I decided to pull all the meat off and chopped it up.

I paired it with some "plain" sides. I cooked quinoa (aka my new favorite thing) in chicken broth and water. I cooked frozen corn, and then mixed the corn, quinoa, and chopped cheddar from a block together, then placed everything on some remaining romaine hearts I had. It may not look pretty, but everything tasted really good together.

I guess the moral of the story is, even though there was part of the meal that was not the best you can take actions to lessen the blow to your diet or program. Again remember, this isn't a hit or miss challenge, this is your life, it's a journey. We're slowing progressing to our goal of a healthier lifestyle and I'm pretty happy with this meal. 

Alana's Review

Ease: 5/5

Taste: 3.5/5

Comments: The side was perfect, the chicken was too salty, next time, I'll do my own seasoning! 

Breakfast Repeat

Many times when we don't post, we're either remaking a simple meal or we are eating leftovers that are exactly the same with no add-ons.  This morning that is the case for me. I made the eggs described in this post: http://sofresheatclean.blogspot.com/2016/02/cinnamon-fried-bananas-with-almonds.html?m=1

In the previously posted recipe I only used olive oil,  spinach, egg whites, and salsa (no milk, no butter). Today I did the same thing, but this time I knew I'd be sharing with my son so I did 7 eggs, 2 of which the yolks were used also, my son likes the yolks. Anyways it looked exactly the same as the one in the old post (old pic also posted below), but you could definitely taste the yolk. My son LOVED it. Me, not so much. I much prefer only the egg white, but seeing as how he loves breakfast time and I don't really care for breakfast (don't ask me why!) I'd rather make something he'd enjoy! 

Anyways, that was my morning meal! Now I need an embarrassing amount of coffee. Being the mom of two kids under the age of 2.5yrs (one who is under 2 months old!), there's no hope of sleeping past 6:30am. Today, they decided 6am was better, but boy does that extra 30 min make a difference! *yawn!* I think mana will be joining in on naptime today!

Alana's Review

Ease:5/5

Taste: 3.5/5 // toddler's review: 5/5

Comments: egg whites only please! 

Swedish Meatballs

Swedish Meatballs

So, while scrolling through Twitter last night, I scrolled past a picture of Swedish Meatballs. I scrolled past but couldn't get them out of my head, so I tried to find the tweet to give credit today but I couldn't find it. I had never made swedish meatballs before so I did a bunch of research, threw out my other dinner plan, and put together my own recipe, I also tried to make it clean.  So, here you go! 

Meatballs (measurements are approx.)

1lb Extra Lean Ground Turkey

1 Cup Plain panko bread crumbs with crushed saltine crackers (1. Bc I like to use them & 2. I ran out of panko)

3/4 cup Chopped spinach

1 Tsp Garlic powder

Pinch Salt&pepper

1 tsp Dried rosemary

1 tsp Dried basil 

One small chopped finely onion (I usually use the use the mini chopper, but the babies were sleeping in the other room)

2 Splashes of Worcestershire sauce

2 eggs

Make them into meatballs, and spread them out on a non stick sprayed baking dish

Baked @ 350 for 35 minutes

Sauce

3 cups organic free range chicken broth

1 cup water

1/2 cup soy milk

1&1/2 Tsp rosemary

2 dashes of soy sauce

1&1/2 tsp honey

Salt&pepper

3 heaping tablespoons (the kind you eat with) flour

Mix it up

Put the baked meatballs into a pot, pour the sauce over it. I simmered it for about an hour and a half, but you can adjust to your preference and needs. 

The side was nothing crazy, baked potatoes and green beans coated in olive oil topped with salt, pepper,  and Parmesan

Alana's Review

Ease: 2.5/5

Taste: 4/5

Comment: Use wheat flour instead of white for the sauce, I didn't have any on hand (I know... shame on me) just to make it more clean. Also, while I think the honey did add something special,  I kind of want to try maple syrup, worse case scenario I have to redo the sauce. But I think it turned it really well considering I've never made it before  (and actually only have eaten it once, maybe twice? But for some reason I just HAD to have it). It was a great first attempt and my toddler kept asking for more, so it must have been pretty good! 

Lemon Butter Chicken w/ Parmesan Zucchini and Green Beans

Lemon Butter Chicken w/ Parmesan Zucchini and Green Beans

http://www.fivehearthome.com/2014/06/21/baked-parmesan-zucchini-rounds/

http://wonkywonderful.com/lemon-butter-chicken-thigh-recipe/

If you know me, you know I love butter. I put an embarrassing amount on my baked potatoes, butter and parmesan pasta is my favorite go-to meal...I just can't get enough. So I got just a little excited when I saw the above recipe for lemon butter chicken thighs. Pro #1: I already had all of the ingredients on hand. Pro #2: It involves butter. Sounds like a winner to me! It was pretty easy to make and had a nice garlicy lemon flavor. But here comes the twist in the story: it wasn't the star of the dish for me. No, not the buttery braised,  moist chicken, but the parmesan zucchini! That stuff was delish. That cheesy, crispy bite was flavor heaven. And only two ingredients? Winner winner zucchini dinner.

Sarah's Review

Ease: 3/5

Taste: chicken 4/5. Zucchini: 5&5

Comments: I'd recommend lightly spraying whatever you bake the zucchini on, they like to stick. Also, I used skin-on chicken thighs, but I'd recommend skinless as the skin gets very soggy in the braising.

Leftover Veggie Sauté over Quinoa

Leftover Veggie Sauté over Quinoa

So, I had some leftover veggie sauté from last night and my husband was working late so I was just cooking for me tonight (I had planned something else for my toddler). I decided to put this sauté over quinoa. The sauté kind of tasted like a stew and I like to put stews over white rice. Since I'm trying to limit my intake of white rice I decided to cook some quinoa in some chicken broth with ginger, salt, and pepper. I like to infuse my rice with powdered ginger so I just did that with the quinoa and it turned out pretty good!

Alana's Review

Ease: 5/5

Taste: 4/5

Comments: This was very tasty but very hearty, maybe a little too much so.  So I ate an apple after,  but I think a cool and light salad would go nice and would help break up the heaviness. 

Non-Fancy Sandwich

Sandwich

I'm going to just post what I ate today, even though there's nothing too special about it. I was trying to make lunch while trying to get my toddler fed. And it just so happened that my baby woke up about 10 minutes too early! I would have just skipped it, but I had already skipped breakfast because, well, you know... baby stuff. Just an fyi, health-wise, that is a super big no-no! So I had to eat something! Anyways...

It's super important to have healthy food staples on hand for times like this where you're in a pinch. While this isn't what I would consider ideal clean food, it was better than grabbing a burger. 

100% Whole Wheat Bread (to be honest, I am not a fan of whole wheat bread, but maybe eventually I will be)

Ham

Gouda Cheese Slices

Cherry Tomatoes

Alana's Review:

Ease: 5/5

Taste: 2/5

Comments: It was eh - If I had more time, I'd have put on some lettuce, tomato, and other toppings. I also need to pick up some less processed deli meat. 

Homemade Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Walnut Pesto

Homemade Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Walnut Pesto

While I was searching the internet for clean recipes to try, I came across the one listed 

above and was so excited. It looked and sounded amazing and I couldn't wait to try it, it looked so easy! Boil some pre-made gnocchi, blend some simple ingredients, saute all together, and presto: a delicious dinner. I instantly ran to the grocery store to get all of the ingredients, but my heart sank when I picked up that package of gnocchi: there were quite a few ingredients that I had no idea what they were. I couldn't use the gnocchi if I wanted to make this meal a clean eating one, and I REALLY wanted to make this meal. What's a gal to do in a situation like this? Put on her chef hat and make her own gnocchi, of course! So there in the grocery store I scoured the internet in search of gnocchi recipes and came up with one that seemed to use the best aspects of all of the recipes I looked at. I won't lie, I was very nervous while making these gnocchis as I had no clue how the dough should look, how long I should knead the dough, or pretty much how the heck one was to make gnocchis, period. But i persevered on. I made the dough, cut them into (not so pretty) pieces, threw them in the water, and said a prayer or two. Once they rose to the top of the pot, I tried one and couldn't believe my taste buds. They tasted like gnocchi! Didn't look so much like them, but I can get over that. I was surprised by how easy it actually turned out to be, and that's coming from someone who didn't know how to make gnocchi at all yesterday. It's a messy task, but well worth it to know what all exactly is in your gnocchi and get delicious, and clean eating, yummy little dumplings.

Here's how to make the gnocchi: peel and slice one big russet potato, and boil until they're easily pierced with a fork. Drain really well, then put in a bowl and mash with a fork until there's no lumps. Take 1 cup of this and mix with 1 cup all purpose flour and 1 egg. Once the dough starts looking really lumpy, dump onto a well floured surface and start kneading until the dough comes together. It'll be a little sticky, but if it's too sticky just keep kneading in flour until it's the right consistency. Then take a small chunk and start rolling into a log on a lightly floured surface. Roll until it's about 3/4 inch in diameter, then cut into half inch pieces (if you want prettier gnocchis, roll on a flour fork to get the pretty grooves.) Then toss in salted boiling water and wait for the gnocchis to float (this takes about 2-3 minutes), then drain. I did my gnocchis in small batches, make sure to not overcrowd the pot. And that's it, you now have beautiful, homemade gnocchis you can brag to your friends about! (Feel free to tell them it was a laborious process, they sure do taste like it 

Sarah's Review

Ease: 3/5 

Taste 5/5 

Comments: next time I'd like to try using whole wheat flour and flavoring the Gnocchi dough with spices

Baked Chicken w/ Sweet Potato Asparagus Saute

Baked Chicken w/ Sweet Potato Asparagus Saute

I had a pack of chicken thighs left over from a big freezer meal prep session, so I thought I'd use it. I lightly salted the chicken and and baked it in the oven. During which I mixed together a little sauce I basted the chicken a couple times and then poured the remainder all over for the last 5 minutes. The veggies, I sauteed onion with some extra virgin olive oil, then threw in the sweet potatoes and asparagus. I hit it with some balsamic vinegar then let covered it and let it cook on medium heat. I then put in the roma tomatoes, put another dash of balsamic vinegar and topped with some honey and pepper. This was to mimic the mixture for the chicken. 

Chicken basting mixture (just an fyi I do everything to taste and hardly measure anything):

olive oil

balsamic vinegar (just a splash)

honey (a tbsp or two)

pepper

salt

chicken broth (about 1/4 cup)

Alana's Review:

Ease: 4/5
Taste: 3.5/5
Comment: So I definitely enjoyed this one, I liked the chicken, and I liked the veg. mix, but I think I would add maybe another vegetable to the mix, and the chicken I think  I would use a couple more spices. It was good, very traditional, and I prefer it to be a little zestier!