Homemade Spinach Basil Pesto (Nut Free!)

I like to sneak veggies in anywhere I can. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes I have to get a little creative. One of my favorite easy recipes is Spinach Basil Pesto. This time of year Basil is easy to come by, so I get a few plants, and make a batch to keep in the freezer. Before we started our "real food lifestyle" easy mac was my go to food on my lazy mom nights. Now, I just add some Pesto from the freezer to whole wheat pasta, and my boys are happy! They have no idea they are eating spinach either. I'm not gonna tell.
I've also used this as a base for homemade pizza, rather than tomato sauce. Now, the hubby and I prefer it!
This recipe is so easy to throw together in the blender, and have fresh pesto sauce in minutes. You can use some right then, and then freeze the rest in ice cube trays for later!

So grab the blender, an empty ice cube tray, and go!
Ingredients:
4 cups fresh spinach leaves

2 cups fresh basil

1/4 cup parmesan blend

2 cloves minced garlic

1/2 cup Olive oil

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

Place all ingredients in Blender (I use my Ninja), and blend until all the leaves are finely chopped. This only takes a minute or so.

 Once it is the right consistency, you can spoon it out into ice cube trays. Place in freezer, and leave until its fully frozen. Usually I just leave it overnight.

Once it is set, you can place the individual "Pesto cubes" into a ziploc freezer bag. These usually keep for about 6 months in the freezer. 

When I make pasta for the kids, I typically add two cubes to boiled, drained whole wheat pasta. You can dress it up with some fresh tomato, and even add some diced chicken for a big kid meal! ~ C

Whole Wheat Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies - Made with RawMio Almond Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Spread

Anyone else out there a fan of all of the different varieties of nut and cookie butters? My personal favorite before switching to a more whole food based diet was speculoos cookie butter from Trader Joe's, so when RawMio offered to send me a jar of their Almond Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough spread I was so excited. My family and I have tried it a few different ways now, including straight off a spoon (because who can resist?!), on toast, and in the cookie recipe I'm sharing today.

This spread is seriously yummy and loaded with all kinds of super foods. I personally like it best when it's in a warmer form since it takes off a little of the edge from the raw almonds and takes on a little more of the dry-roasted almond flavor I love. In order to really highlight the cookie dough flavor of the spread I added cocoa powder to the cookies; the cocoa powder majorly enhances the flavor of the cacao in the spread.

The finished product!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

Virgin coconut oil, softened 

2 tbsp raw honey (use maple syrup for vegan version)
½ cup RawMio Almond Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough spread
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 egg (use flax egg for vegan version - how to make a flax egg)
1 tsp vanilla
¾ cup white whole wheat flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup oats

Instructions

1.   Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease cookie sheet or use Silpat to line cookie sheet.

2.   Add the coconut oil and honey to a large mixing bowl, and cream using an electric mixer. Next, add cookie dough spread, cocoa powder, egg, and vanilla to mixture; mix until combined.

3.   In a medium mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, and baking powder together; add salt. Stir to combine. Add the oats to the other dry ingredients, mix until combined.

4.   Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring to combine as you add the dry mixture.

5.   Using a cookie scoop, form tablespoon-sized balls and place the balls on the prepared cookie sheet about 2” apart. Use a fork to flatten the cookies slightly and form a cross-hatch pattern.  

6.   Bake for 9 minutes on the middle rack of preheated oven. Remove from oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before enjoying. 

Stay tuned for more recipes using RawMio products.... If you would like to check out more of their products you can head over to their website http://rawmio.com/. 

Note: All featured products were provided free of charge, but the opinions are solely my own. 

Grain Free Cauliflower Pizza Casserole!

I came across a pin of a healthy "Pizza Casserole" on Pinterest,  but could never find an actual recipe for it. (Isn't that the most annoying thing ever? Why pin it if you're not going to tell us how to make it??) Ok, rant over... It looked like it wasn't that difficult, so I threw this together for supper tonight, and was very pleased with the simplicity of it. The best part is that my boys are eating their veggies, without even realizing it!
--C

Ingredients:
4 cups cooked cauliflower, cut into bite size pieces.
1 cup freshly shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup of your favorite marinara or pizza sauce
Toppings of choice. I used Boars Head Pepperoni

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl mix the cooked cauliflower, marinara and 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese.
Pour into a 2.8 liter (3 quart) casserole dish.
Top with remaining cheese and any additional toppings.
Bake uncovered for approximately 20-25 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Creamy Spinach "Alfredo" Chicken Sausage

I have been thinking about making this all day. It's cold, and I want some creamy comfort food! Trying to accomplish creamy, and stick to real food can have it's challenges. But, I was on a mission, and I was determined to be successful!! And, I was! This turned out exactly how I pictured it would! It was pretty easy, and didn't take too long to make, even though I had several things cooking at one time. You could easily add more seasonings to the sauce, according to your tastes. I probably will next time, but this time I was focused on creaminess! (Is that a word?)
Yum, just yum!!!

Ingredients:

1 box (13.25 oz) cooked pasta of choice. I used 100% Whole Wheat
8 oz block of shredded white sharp cheddar
1 cup fresh or frozen spinach (I buy the bagged frozen so I can use as little as I want to)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp garlic powder
3 tsp tapioca powder/flour (you can sub corn starch or arrowroot powder)
1 1/4 cup plus 3 tsp milk of choice (I used unsweetened almond milk)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 package of Bilinski's Organic Spinach & Feta Chicken Sausage** (or sub meat of choice)



For the Meat:
Just heat and slice! I heated in a skillet while everything else was cooking.
For the Pasta: 
Boil as you normally would, then drain and place in a medium bowl that you can add the rest of the ingredients to as they get done.
For the Spinach:
While you have your pasta boiling, heat the olive oil in a skillet then add the minced garlic. When it is just starting to look toasted, add your spinach and saute until it is done. Add to the cooked pasta.
For the sauce:
Combine the 1 1/4 cup milk, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a small saucepan on low heat. While that is heating, have your shredded cheese close by. In a small bowl combine the 3 tsp milk and tapioca flour and mix until all the lumps are out and it forms a paste.
When your milk is heated, slowly add the cheese, stirring constantly to help it to melt and to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Once you have all the cheese melted, add the tapioca paste and continue to stir over the heat until you reach a creamy consistency. This should only take a few short minutes. If you do not think it is thick enough, you can make another paste 1 tsp at a time, equal parts tapioca powder and milk.
Once you get the creamy texture you are looking for, pour it over your cooked pasta and spinach.
Add the meat, and stir.
That's it, you are ready to eat it up!

**Here is the Sausage I found at our local Harris Teeter. For a sausage, it has a pretty minimal ingredient list. It also tastes fantastic!!