Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

Gazpacho.

by Filed Under: Appetizers, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Mexican, No bake/cooking required!, Party Foods, Soups, Vegetarian, Vitamix, Wheat Free 4 Comments

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I love making vegetarian dinners for my family.  It’s important to me to do this a few times a week.  This one, I admit, is super easy when you have a bounty of fresh tomatoes flowing from the garden daily.  I typically make salsa or roast my tomatoes for sauce but I thought it would be a nice night for a cold soup with some crusty bread and tons of flavor!  If you love salsa, you will totally flip over this soup.  Also, great to make the night before or a few hours before dinner and let the flavors mingle while chilling.  Also great for an appetizer idea served in tall, thin glasses as shooters.  You can top this with fresh sliced jalapeños or cold shrimp would be perfection too!  Plus another great thing about this recipe, no heating up your kitchen and preparation is super fast!   Vegan.

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— Knead to Cook

Shrimp Salsa.

by Filed Under: Appetizers, Dips, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fish, Gluten Free, Mexican, No bake/cooking required!, Party Foods, Salsas & Guacamole, Seafood, Side dish, Snacks, Vegetarian, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

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Lately I haven’t been eating any meat, actually it’s been quite a few months since I have.  I haven’t had a taste for it so I adjust my sails and go forward.  I’m sadly not a seafood lover but I do love, and have since I was pregnant with my oldest 15 years ago, cold shrimp.  Not cooked shrimp, it has to be cold.  I actually think I love the spicy cocktail sauce more than anything (the shrimp being a venue to get that to my mouth) but as of late, I started venturing out of my comfort zone and this little dish is now one of my favorites that I cannot stop eating.  Hashtag addictive!  Ha ha.  This is the perfect salsa to serve with tortilla chips, as a side or straight up out of the bowl like I do it.  It is so good and so refreshing.  It also proves my point once again, clean eating can be easy, quite tasty and fun.  Plus the longer this has to sit in the fridge, the tastier it becomes.  Easiest recipe ever!

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— Knead to Cook

Pulled chicken taco soup.

by Filed Under: Mexican, Soups, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

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This pulled chicken taco soup was inspired by my youngest who, each and every week, begs for tacos.  I thought I would put a little spin on it and make my carnivore family a lovely little taco soup with pulled chicken.  I had a board meeting and sadly missed it but my husband’s report was that it was a great success!

Ingredients:

32 ounce low sodium chicken broth (I used Pacific natural organic low sodium)
4 chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1/2 of a medium onion, chopped
4 chopped tomatoes or 1 can of chopped tomatoes (smaller size can)
1 can of black beans or red kidney beans (low sodium)
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeño, diced with seeds removed (leave them in if you like more heat)
1 6 ounce can of tomato paste
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon of chipotle chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
4 cloves of garlic

Directions:

In your Dutch oven or large stock pot over medium flame, add your broth and chicken.  Bring it to a boil and cook until the chicken is completely cooked through.  This will take 10-12 minutes. Turn the burner down to low, remove the chicken slowly and place it in a bowl.  With two forks, start shredding the meat.   In your bowl, add the cumin, chili powder, cayenne, salt and pepper.  Then add the meat back to the broth.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Cover and stir occasionally.  Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed.

Garnish with jalapeño peppers, Chobani plain non fat yogurt, cheddar cheese or sour cream.

— Knead to Cook

Crock Pot Mexican Pulled Chicken.

by Filed Under: Chicken, Crock Pot, Mexican 4 Comments

 

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Easy peasy!  I needed a quick dinner idea because I wasn’t in a mood to prepare something big or fancy (yes, even food bloggers feel this way).  I normally do love cooking but I was busy and my daughters kept asking for tacos and this dish just came to me.  Adjust it according to your tastes.

Ingredients:

14 chicken tender pieces (use as much as needed to feed your family – skinless breasts etc.)
1/2 of a large onion, diced
1 16 oz. can of low sodium black beans
2 tablespoons of chipotle chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 jalapeño, stemmed and seeded (leave the seeds if you want it spicier)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons of ground cumin, use less if you don’t love it.
2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice
8 ounces or so of tomato sauce (puree works)
Salt and pepper
Cilantro (optional for garnish)

Directions:

Place the chicken first in your slow cooker, set on high for 2-3 hours, or on low to cook longer (4-6) hours.  Then add the remaining ingredients.  Cover and let it work its magic.  Prior to serving, I taste and adjust spices.  I shred the chicken with two forks.  You can use this as taco filling or as we did topping it over quinoa.

— Knead to Cook

Pineapple Jalapeño Salsa.

by Filed Under: Condiments, Dips, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fruit, Gluten Free, Mexican, No bake/cooking required!, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian 4 Comments

This recipe is so versatile.  It can be served with tortilla chip at your next soiree or atop fish or chicken for a healthy option.  You can control the spice level with the amount of jalapeño you use or if you remove the inner seeds which contain all the heat.

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Ingredients:
1 bell pepper (I used red), diced
1/2 pineapple, chopped into bite sized pieces
1 cup of cilantro leaves, washed and roughly chopped
1 jalapeño, finely chopped.  If you want  more heat – leave the seed in, if not, remove before chopping
Drizzle of good olive oil

Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients and place into a bowl.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to let the flavors enhance and combine to make their magic.

— Knead to Cook

Ground Beef Taco Soup.

by Filed Under: Mexican, Soups 5 Comments

 

We had our very first snow of the year, actually of all of 2012!  Although it was short-lived, it was fun while it lasted.  It put me in the mood for a nice, hearty soup to soothe my  soul and warm my bones. Every so often, you need a meal like that to make you smile.  To make it even more special, my youngest is home sick with me today and she helped me create this recipe – which makes it all the better.  She is my taco expert!

Ingredients:

Olive Oil
2 lbs of lean ground sirloin beef (92% lean)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped (I used one yellow and one green)
2 teaspoons of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of chipotle chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and Pepper
1 small (11 ounce) can corn
1 can of dark red kidney beans (low sodium)
1 tablespoon of diced chilis
10 ounce can of diced tomatoes with chilies or a can of diced tomatoes
20 ounces of chicken stock

Directions:

In a Dutch oven (I use my Le Creuset Dutch oven).  Pour a splash of olive oil in the bottom of the pan and turn the heat source to medium.   Add the beef, onion and peppers.  Break up the meat as you cook it.  This should take about 8-10 minutes.  Then you will add all of the seasonings.  Give it a good stir.  Then add the corn, beans, chills, tomatoes and stock.  Bring it  to a boil and then cover and reduce the temperature to low.  Same the stock about 30 minutes into cooking to adjust the seasonings to your taste.

You can easily substitute the ground sirloin for ground turkey.  Add or omit the spices you like/don’t.  Make this your own 🙂

 

 

— Knead to Cook

Crock Pot Cilantro Lime Chicken.

by Filed Under: Chicken, Crock Pot, Mexican 9 Comments

 

 

Tonight, again, I’m out doing a presentation and won’t be home for dinner.  Coincidentally, I’ve also had several requests for more crock pot recipes, so I thought I would feature one of my favorites.  For some reason, I haven’t made this in quite some time but I really do love the combination of cilantro and lime.  I pair this up with some brown rice or quinoa and you have a wonderfully easy, and flavorful dish.

Ingredients:

4-5 chicken breasts, washed and trimmed
14 ounces of chopped tomatoes
2 bell peppers, chopped
1 lime, juiced
1/2 onion, chopped
1- 14 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1 handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of chili powder (I used chipotle chili powder)
Salt and pepper
Dash of cayenne

Directions:

Place everything in the crock pot and give it a good stir to coat everything and mix all of the spices.  Cook on low for 4+ hours.  Serve over brown rice or quinoa.  You can also chop the chicken and use in fajitas or tacos.

— Knead to Cook

Homemade Tortilla Chips – You pick the flavor!

by Filed Under: Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Homemade Chips, Mexican, Snacks, Vegetarian 1 Comment

If you’re like me, you hate buying chips from the store.  Even the baked versions taste like “manufactured” food.  We do it out of convenience but really, after whipping up a bunch of these homemade chips, you won’t go back to the store bought version.  You control the spices, flavors and how crispy you want them.  Perfect for game day or any party.  Also, perfect alongside guac or salsa.

 

This recipe is so easy.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and pull out two baking sheets.  Set aside.  Then take your package of corn tortillas and place about 8 stacked up on a cutting board.  Cut them in half (doing this 4x) or cut to your desired size.  Cut in half.  Then rotate and repeat, so you have 4 equal triangles.  Then half those.  Place on your baking sheet.

Now if you’re going a savory route, I spray with an olive oil mister (light coat) then top with you favorite spice.  Cumin, cayenne pepper, chili lime sea salt, sea salt.  In this batch I used chili lime sea salt from The Mystic Blue Spice Company.  First I squeezed fresh lime juice on each chip, then topped with a pinch of the seasoning.

If you’re going sweet… spritz with olive oil and then top with cinnamon, cinnamon and sugar etc.

If you’re going plain… spritz with olive oil.

Baked for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

— Knead to Cook

King Arthur’s 00 Italian Pizza Crust.

by Filed Under: Mexican, Pizza 2 Comments

 

Today my friends at King Arthur’s sent me a big box filled with gorgeous flours to try.  It was perfect… my daughter has been begging me to make my Mexican pizza and I thought I would try a taco pizza instead.  I dove right in and this crust is beyond fabulous.

King Arthur’s describes this fabulous flour as the following:

why we love it

American flour is all about its gluten: it’s ready for action, headed for the highest rise. This version of Italian 00 flour, on the other hand, mirrors the warm, laid-back climate of its native land. Its protein is not only lower, but much more mellow. Make pizza or flatbread with this flour; you’ve never worked with such friendly dough! It’s incredibly extensible, practically flowing under your hands as you pat it into shape. And the resulting bread or crust? Light as air, tender, snapping crisp or soft as a cloud.

So here is the old 00 pizza recipe that I had on hand.  Tried and true… oh so good too.  We have NO leftovers remaining.  Positive sign that it was enjoyed by my family.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 quarter teaspoons of active dry yeast
1 + 1/8 teaspoon of granulated sugar
1 cup of warm water (110 degrees is perfect)
2 teaspoons of salt
2 tablespoons of a better quality olive oil
3 cups of King Arthur’s 00 flour

Directions:
In your measuring cup combine the yeast, sugar and warm water.  Let sit on the counter for 10 minutes until frothy.  If it fails to get frothy, throw out and start over with fresh yeast.  If the yeast isn’t active, it won’t froth up for you.

Once 10 minutes is over, add the mixture to your stand mixer bowl, dough hook attached, and add the salt and olive oil.  Blend for 30 seconds.  Then in 1 cup portions, add the flour.  Blend well after each cup added.  Once everything is in the mixing bowl, turn the speed up to medium and blend.  If the dough is too dry, add a few drops of water.  Too wet, add a tiny bit of flour.  Keep kneading for about 7-8 minutes.  The dough should form a large ball onto the dough hook and clean the sides of your bowl.  Remove and add the dough to a clean and oiled bowl.  Cover with a towel and set in a warm, draft-free location (I usually place it in my microwave).  Let rise for 1 hour.  Preheat your oven at this point at 475 degrees with your pizza stone.  To achieve a nice crusty pizza dough, let it preheat for one hour.

After one hour, remove, divide into 2 (for large pizzas) or 4 (for smaller, personalized size) balls.  Flour your surface well and roll out the dough to the desired shape.  Prick with a fork all over to avoid bubbles from forming.  Place on your pizza stone and pre-cook for 5-7 minutes or just until lightly golden.  Remove, top with your favorite sauce or pesto (I used that here) and other toppings and cheese.  Return to the oven or outside grill (again 475 degrees) until cheese melts.  Remove and slice.  Enjoy!

For my taco pizza, I used my pesto recipe for the sauce (find the recipe here) https://kneadtocook.com/?p=889.  Then I added organic lean beef that was cooked throughout, sliced tomatoes, cheddar cheese, jalapeños and whatever else you enjoy on a taco pizza.  Once cooked, top with cilantro leaves.  

 

 

 

— Knead to Cook

Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas.

by Filed Under: Crock Pot, Mexican, Pork 2 Comments

The one and ONLY reason I’m not a vegetarian is because I adore (okay LOVE pork).  I love it even more when I can toss it in my slow cooker and have to do pretty much nothing for a fab dinner.  Tonight my love and I met again and it was oh-so-good!

Ingredients:

1 -3 lb pork shoulder
1 -32 ounce Pacific organic chicken broth
3 tablespoons of ground cumin
2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt
2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons ground coriander
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Into your slow cooker, place the pork shoulder and broth.  Cook on low for 4-6 hours.  Remove the meat about 15 minutes prior to serving and place on a platter.  Strain the fat from the broth and discard.  With two forks proceed to shred the meat.    Season the meat with all of the seasonings.  Let this sit for about 4-5 minutes and then return the meat to the crock pot with the broth.  Keep hot until ready to serve.  Serve with flour or wheat tortilla shells.  Top with your favorite taco toppings.  Enjoy!

— Knead to Cook