Kale, Swiss Chard & Jalapeno Sausage Frittata

Using up the last of the massive amount of Kale I purchased last week. Kale is SO amazingly good for you, and I would eat it every day if I could, I love it. This frittata was perfect for me... I wanted something quick and packed with protein for dinner. If you don't have kale or Swiss Chard, spinach or arugula can easily be substituted. This is what I came up with :)

1 bunch of kale, chopped

7 Swiss chard leaves, chopped

1 cup cup parmesan cheese

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1 pack of Jalapeno sausage links, cut small (Trader Joes)

12-14 eggs

1/2 cup milk

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon oregano

Directions:

• Remove sausage from casing and saute in the pan you will be making frittata in. Drain out excess grease if applicable. 
• Add onion and garlic and saute about 5 minutes. 
• Add the swiss chard and kale, letting it all cook down
• Whip eggs, milk, cheese and seasonings in a separate bowl, then add to the pan
• Stir to evenly distribute, reduce heat to low and let cook until eggs are set up and almost cook through- about 10 minutes
• Add pan to the broiler and let the center set, about 5 minutes.
• Free the egg from the pan and serve up!
• I served ours with a nice arugula side salad :)

Kale Soup

Had a pretty busy day today and had a later lunch so I was definitely not feeling like cooking when we got home at 6 pm. I figured I better make something or we would dive into the frozen pizza at like 9 pm... so kale soup it was. I saw a recipe similar to this online but didn't have 1/2 the ingredients so pretty much made this one up as I went. It only took about 30 minutes from start to finish, perfect for a weeknight meal!

1 large bunch kale, chopped

1 lb ground turkey breast

2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed

1 large yellow onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 zucchini, chopped

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

32 oz chicken stock

2 cups water

Directions:

• Saute onions and garlic about 3 minutes and add turkey meat and seasonings. 
• Cook the meat until cooked all the way through and add the chicken stock, water and zucchini. 
• Cook about 15 minutes until it starts to slowly boil.
• Add kale and cook another 10-15 minutes, until kale is wilted, but still tastes fresh and has some crispness. 
• Serve up! We topped with a little Parmesan cheese

Took me a while to get this post up, but I had to post some pictures of our trip to Seattle. We are so very lucky to have amazing friends, Mike and Kristyn, who live up in the Seattle area. They treated us to a fantastic vacation, complete with snow and a pretty epic "food crawl" as we like to call it. I don't think Stephen and I will even be able to find as many amazing eateries in SLO County when they come and visit. I LOVED Seattle. I knew I would, but it just blew all my expectations out of the park. We were fortunate to get probably some of the best weather Seattle has seen in months, clear skies, no rain, gorgeous. I can't wait for our next trip up there!

First Starbucks!

Kristyn & I 

Space Needle!

Our amazingly wonderful friends, Kristyn & Mike

Pesto Stuffed Chicken

You are probably thinking, "Anooottthheerr Pesto dish?!" Sorry, I can't get enough of pesto. For this recipe, there literally was NO good basil at the grocery store, so I bought a pre-made pesto. Typically I would make my own, and I think it would be great too- but the store bought turned out perfectly. This dish was super simple and I served it up with a salad with Gorgonzola, crab and blue cheese dressing & a side of sauteed zucchini! The recipe below makes 2 stuffed chicken breasts.

1 cup pesto (store bought or homemade)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese + 2 tablespoons

2 chicken breasts

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 eggs

1 tablespoon milk
salt and pepper

Directions:

• Pound the chicken breasts fairly thin between 2 layers of plastic wrap
• Lay out the chicken breasts and season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with parmesan cheese
• Spread with a layer of the pesto
• Sprinkle each chicken with the minced garlic.
• In a bowl, mix together the panko, cheese and Italian seasonings
• In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and milk together
• Wrap the chicken up like a swiss roll and then put in egg mixture, then cover with the panko mix
• Put a toothpick through the chicken so it doesn't unroll
• Put in a sprayed baking dish and cover with aluminum
• Bake for 45 minutes at 400 degrees
• Cook until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through
• Serve with your favorite salad!

Split Pea Soup

My friend gave me her grandmothers recipe for Split Pea soup, it is SO delicious. I forgot one of the ingredients and added a couple new ones of my own, I will definitely be making this recipe for years to come! To see the original recipe on Lauren's blog, click here. I have listed the recipe below, but it incorporates some of my changes. Warning, this recipe makes a bunch! I am going to freeze some left overs and see how it does.  I served this soup up with some toasted jalapeno asiago cheese focaccia bread! Just drizzled with olive oil and broiled in the oven for about 5 minutes.

2 pounds dried split peas

1/2 bag baby spinach

3 large carrots

1 bunch green onions

4 red potatoes

1 yellow onion

1 pound asparagus

1 large ham bone

2 zucchinis

18 cups of water

1 pound of bacon

salt and pepper

2 teaspoons garlic powder

Directions:

• Wash all the veggies and chop into large chunks
• Put all the vegetables through a food processor until they are the size of very large confetti
• Place all the veggies, water, peas, ham bone and spices into a large pot
• Bring to a boil, stir frequently
• Cut bacon into small pieces and saute until crispy and brown, drain and set aside.
• Simmer soup for about 2 hours.
• Add more salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve in a bowl and garnish with bacon!

Yonanas

My mom got Stephen this awesome gift for his birthday this year, its called Yonanas! It makes soft serve ice cream with just fruit!! There are tons of other recipes that use other ingredients besides bananas, but the bananas make it the perfect consistency. Stephen and I made a banana-berry soft serve last night. This machine is amazing!!! Just fruit, nutritious and satisfy s our craving for ice cream. I recommend this machine to everyone.

2 frozen bananas

1 cup frozen berries

Happy Birthday Stephen!

Stephen turned 27 yesterday!! We celebrated with a little surprise party with our family and a couple of his closest friends. Did I mention that Stephen hates surprises? :) As you can see below, I love that my husband humors me with the crazy stuff I make him wear. He is amazing.

Happy Birthday Taco Bar!!

lettuce

cabbage

purple onion & cilantro

avocado

sour cream

limes

black beans

tomatoes

hot sauce

jalapenos

corn & flour tortillas

salsa
homemade tomatillo sauce
crock pot salsa chicken

Directions for Salsa Chicken (for 12):

• Layer chopped onions and 6 cloves of garlic in a crock pot
• Put 6 chicken breasts on top of the onions and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, 2 teaspoons of chili powder
• Put 1 jar of salsa over all the chicken
• Cook on low for 6 hours. 
• Shred the chicken and mix with the other ingredients, drain out any excess liquid. 

Pesto Chicken & Feta Pizza

This is the ultimate pizza to celebrate the 49ers being in the Super Bowl. SO delicious  and of course, was another way to get my fix of my homemade pesto!

Trader Joes pizza dough

pesto sauce

spinach, chopped

artichoke hearts, chopped

feta cheese

mozzarella cheese

garlic

rotisserie chicken, chopped
purple onion
basil, chopped thin

Directions:

• Let your dough sit out about 40 minutes and then roll it out!
• Layer with the pesto sauce all over, followed by mozzarella cheese, spinach, artichokes, basil, chicken and feta.
• Sprinkle with a little garlic and red onion
• Bake for about 15 minutes on whatever pan you use. We have used everything from a cookie sheet to a pizza stone to a round pan w/ holes on the bottom. All awesome!

Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Found this recipe here- but just changed out the flour for AP Gluten Free flour and gluten free rolled oats! Delicious- the banana in them is perfect!

2 cups gluten free all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cups butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 mashed banana

1 cup rolled oats gluten free

2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Whisk together flour, salt and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside. 
• Please butter and sugars into a mixing bowl and beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy.
• Reduce speed to low and add egg vanilla and mix until combined.
• Mix in banana
• Add flour and mix until just combined.
• Stir in oats and chocolate chips. 
• Put balls of dough approx 12 inches apart
• Bake for 12-14 minutes. Mine were done every single time at exactly 12 minutes. 

Crock Pot Pesto Chicken

I can't seem to get enough of my pesto. I thought it would be delicious to make it with a protein  so what better than chicken? I made the pesto the night before and then put it in a crock with the chicken and magic definitely happened! You can also just buy store bought pesto and add if you are pressed for time- but really- homemade pesto is SO good and actually very easy.

2 chicken breasts

1 cup pesto sauce

1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
2 teaspoons dried minced onions

Pesto: 

Roughly 3 cups basil

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (can be vegan or dairy free version)

1/4 cup walnuts

1/2 cup olive oil

salt and pepper 

1 clove garlic

Directions:

• Put your chicken in the crock pot and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and dried minced onions. 
• Then put all of your pesto ingredients in a blender or food processor (minus the olive oil). 
• Pulse the ingredients until well mixed
• Slowly start to pour the olive oil into the blender or food processor until the pesto has the desired consistency. It should be somewhat liquid but still have some thickness to it. 
• Then add 1 cup of the pesto and the stock to the chicken breasts.
• Cook on low for 6 hours. 
• Shred the chicken in the crock pot and stir, let it sit about 15 minutes or up to an hour on warm. You can also just carefully pull the chicken out whole, but I like that the pesto gets all over every bit when you shred it!
• Serve over rice, pasta or just serve it with a side salad!