Lemon Herb Salmon Patties. (GF/DF, Paleo)

These stunning Lemon Herb Salmon Patties are incredibly filling and so healthy! Enjoy them in a sandwich, on a salad, or with your favorite vegetables!

I’m slightly obsessed with these Lemon Herb Salmon Patties.
They’re super filling and hearty, plus they’re so healthy! Lots of protein and Omega-3’s going on here. Love it.

If you’re guilty of getting in a salmon rut like I am sometimes, you’re going to love this simple and fresh dinner idea, especially because it’s quick enough to make on a weeknight.
Getting the patties together took maybe 5-7 minutes, and then it’s about a 4 minute cook time on each side. You could definitely have these on the table in less than 20 minutes!

For this recipe, you’re going to use the food processor to cut up the salmon so it will form burger patties.
Yup. Did you know you can grind up your own meat in the food processor?!
I use my food processor quite a bit, but I had never done this before. Please tell me I’m not the only one!
All you have to do is cut your salmon into chunks, put it in the food processor and pulse it for maaaybe 10-15 seconds. Once it’s ground up it’s ready to go!
This machine is magic, y’all. Is there anything it can’t do?? No? Okay then.

I served the salmon patties two ways–once on top of a salad and once along some roasted vegetables (yay brussel sprouts!!), but you could definitely turn these into a sandwich if you’d prefer. They’re really sturdy and won’t fall apart on you.

To keep this meal gluten and grain free, I used almond flour as a binder. The original recipe called for a cup of cooked quinoa, which would be great if you have leftover quinoa, but having to make it is an extra step (and pot!) I’d rather not deal with since almond flour worked well!

You may be wondering what that dollop is on top of the patties. We noticed they’re a tiiiiny bit on the dry side if you don’t have some sort of sauce on them. Tartar sauce would be a good option. My husband used a thick blue cheese dressing in a pinch, but then I made a homemade ranch-type of sauce which is what you see pictured here. I’ll include directions for that below in case you want to make it. It’s super easy, but it does require an immersion blender.

Lemon Herb Salmon Patties

Ingredients:

• 1lb raw salmon, skin removed
• 1 egg + 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 cup almond flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 red or yellow onion, finely diced (as tiny as possible!)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp dried marjoram
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• juice of 1 lemon (If you only use 1/2, the lemon flavor doesn’t shine through)
• salt and pepper

1). In the bowl of a food processor, add the raw salmon and pulse until it’s evenly ground and starting to be sticky.

2). Combine all the remaining ingredients in a bowl and add the salmon. Mix to combine. Lightly score the mixture into 4 sections. Form the 4 pieces into burger patties.

3). Add a little bit of olive oil to the bottom of a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the salmon patties and cook for about 4 minutes per side. Remove when they’re cooked through and no longer pink. Enjoy!

Servings: 4. Approximate Nutritional Information per Serving: Calories: 364 Carbs: 3g Fat: 23g Protein: 32g Fiber: 3g Points+: 9 Recipe adapted from here.

For the homemade ranch-style sauce:

• 1 egg
• 1 cup extra light (must be extra light!) olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp dried dill
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp lime juice (optional)
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (optional)
• Salt and pepper, to taste.
• Immersion blender

1). Important: You will need an immersion blender to do this. Place the egg, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, and salt into a mason jar or container with tall sides. Put the immersion blender in the container so it’s resting at the very bottom, then turn it on. Let it blend like this for several seconds, then slowly and gently move it up so it blends all of the mixture. This should take less than a minute.

2). Once it’s blended through, add the remaining ingredients and stir together. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks! If you want to make it into a thinner dressing, add a tiny bit of water at a time and stir until you get the consistency you want.

Yield: about 1 1/4 cups. Serving size: 1 Tablespoon. Approximate Nutritional Information per Serving: Calories: 101 Carbs: 0 Fat: 11g Protein: 0g Fiber: 0g Points+: 3 Recipe adapted from here.

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30-Minute Shortcut Beef and Vegetable Ragu. (GF, DF, Paleo)

The most flavorful ragu ever! Perfect for a weeknight meal, and a great way to sneak in some veggies!

I had NO idea how amazing this meal was going to be when I made it.
So. Much. Flavor!!
My husband proclaimed it one of his favorite meals ever. So simple, but seriously amazing.

You know it’s a winner when you genuinely look forward to the leftovers, and this sauce reheats beautifully–it’s almost better the second day! You can serve it over pasta, gluten-free pasta, or spaghetti squash (my favorite!).

Speaking of which, click here to learn how to cook spaghetti squash!

Okay, so what makes this sauce so wonderful?

• From start to finish, you can have dinner on the table in 30 minutes. Always a win, especially on busy weeknights. Thanks, food processor, for making this so quick and easy!
• Everyone loves spaghetti and meat sauce, right? Right. Gotta love dishes that will appeal to your entire family.
• The ingredients are simple. Humble, even. But, when they come together, they create a rich, cozy sauce. The key is using high quality beef (grass-fed), and marinara sauce.
• The “shortcut” in this shortcut ragu is the marinara sauce. It’s (gasp) store-bought. Normally I’m all about making everything from scratch, but sometimessssss life gets crazy and you need a quick meal. Find a high-quality marinara sauce and it will make this meat sauce taste like it has been simmering all day.
• My favorite –> Hidden veggies! In order to sneak some vegetables into the sauce, I threw them in the food processor first until they were chopped up teeny tiny. My husband hates mushrooms but didn’t even know he was eating them!

Hooray for adding nutrition and making a meal go further in a healthy, cost-effective way! I love it.

Quick tip: double this recipe and freeze it!

30-Minute Shortcut Beef and Vegetable Ragu

Ingredients:

• 1 lb grass-fed ground beef (I used 90/10)
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped (I used a handful of baby carrots!)
• 1 rib of celery, roughly chopped
• 4oz sliced mushrooms
• 24 oz high quality tomato-basil marinara sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• cooked pasta (regular or GF), or spaghetti squash
• salt and pepper

1). Heat a large skillet or pot over medium heat and add the ground beef. While it is beginning to brown, add the onion and garlic to the food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper.

2). Add the carrot, celery, and mushrooms to the food processor. Pulse until minced. Add to the skillet and season with salt and pepper.

3). When the ground beef is no longer pink and the vegetables are tender, add the marinara sauce and chicken broth, stirring to combine. Reduce heat slightly and place a lid partially on top of the skillet. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4). Stir in fresh basil. Taste and re-season with more salt and pepper, if necessary. Serve over cooked pasta or spaghetti squash.

Servings of sauce: about 6. Approximate Nutritional Information per Serving: Calories: 203 Carbs: 16g Fat: 7g Protein: 18g Fiber: 3g Sugar: 8g Points+: 5 Recipe adapted from here. 

Roasted Tomato, Basil, and Garlic Sauce.

An easy, home-made version of my favorite jarred marinara sauce made with roasted tomatoes, garlic, onion, carrots, and fresh basil!

I’m pressing pause on the apple, cinnamon, pumpkin-everything recipes, even though we’re a few days away from the official start of fall. My garden is exploding with beautiful summer fruit (now more-so than ever!), and I bet I’m not the only one!

If you follow me on Instagram, you know this year was my first year planting a garden, and you also know I recently harvested dozens of tomatoes. Until now, I’ve been able to pick a couple tomatoes from the garden each day ad incorporate them in simple caprese or garden salads. Last weekend was a game-changer! I had two buckets full of tomatoes and I realized I was going to have to use them up in a large quantity all at once.

I asked for your opinion on what I should make. Some said marinara, some said salsa, and some said gazpacho. Having spent time in Spain, I loooove gazpacho and was ready to make it until I realized I would be the only one in my family eating it. I was leaning toward marinara sauce, but I dreaded having to peel so many tomatoes. I know the trick about blanching them in boiling water, but it still seemed overly time-consuming. I wanted big flavor without slaving away in the kitchen all day, ya know?

Thankfully, an extended family member suggested an easier alternative to marinara sauce that included roasting the tomatoes first (hooray for not peeling tomatoes!!!). I tweaked her recipe a little bit and included carrots for some sweetness with the onion and garlic.

Oh, and I roasted a WHOLE head of garlic for this recipe. I’m glad I did, because the garlic flavor was still subtle even with the large quantity I used! Have you ever roasted garlic before? I hadn’t either–but it is SOOOOO easy. Much faster than having to take out individual cloves. Are you ready? It’s done in 3 steps

1). Cut the top (pointy) side of the garlic bulb about 1/3 of the way down, so the tops of the garlic cloves are exposed.

2). Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

3). Wrap in foil and place in the oven. Ta-da!

I am probably going to be roasting garlic for everything now! The little garlic foil packet roasted right on the oven rack next to my giant pan of tomatoes and veggies for about 40 minutes. More room on my baking pan = more tomatoes get used!

When the liquid in the veggies has evaporated and all the tomatoes are shriveled up (lovely imagery, no?), you know they’re ready to take out. For me, that was about 40-45 minutes at 400F. Let them cool a little bit and then get out the food processor.

Seriously, I love my food processor. It makes fancy sauces so easy. If you don’t have one, use a blender. Scraaaaaaaaaaape all that yummyness off the pan, straight into the food processor. Don’t forget about the garlic!! The cloves are soft and easy to squeeze out, so add them all to the big roasted veggie party. Did I just call it a party? Yes I did.

Taste and add whatever you think would be good: balsamic vinegar, more olive oil, parmesan cheese, more seasoning, a touch of sugar, fresh basil, etc. I love basil in my sauce, so I added a small handful of leaves and processed them together. My sauce was thick (which I actually like), but you can thin yours out with more olive oil if you prefer a looser sauce.

What do you like to do with fresh tomatoes? Let me know in the comments!

Roasted Tomato, Basil, and Garlic Sauce

Yield: about 2 cups.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 large onion, roughly chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1-2 dozen chopped tomatoes, depending on size. (I used cherry and regular tomatoes, enough to fill 1 large baking sheet)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• Freshly cracked sea salt and pepper
• 1 whole garlic bulb
• Fresh basil (I used about 8 leaves)

1). Pre-heat the oven to 400F. For the roasted garlic: cut off about 1/3 of the top of the garlic bulb (pointy side). Cut enough so the tops of the garlic cloves are now exposed. Place on foil, drizzle with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Wrap up tightly and bake directly on the oven rack with the tray of tomatoes.

2). Place the chopped tomatoes, carrot, and onion on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.

3). Remove the garlic and veggies. Let them cool about 15 minutes before scraping into the food processor. Add a small handful of fresh basil. Pulse until smooth. Taste and re-season, if necessary. You may need to add more olive oil for a looser sauce, balsamic vinegar for tang, sugar to sweeten, or more basil based on your preferences!

Recipe courtesy of Audrey’s Apron. Thanks to family for the inspiration!!

 

Lightened-up Homemade Basil Pesto (Nut-Free!)

 All the bright, bold flavors of traditional pesto, but without all the calories! This basil pesto is easy, quick, and versatile.

Pesto.
So vibrantly green. Slightly salty. Fragrant. Rich. It’s great on sandwiches (like this pesto chicken panini), on pasta, on baked chicken, or even mixed in to rice! That last one is a brand new discovery that I am really excited about. Brown rice alone is bland, but mix in a little pesto and ta-da! Bursting with flavor!

3 summers ago I planted my first basil plant and successfully kept it alive for several months. This year I decided to plant 2 basil plants, knowing plenty of homemade pesto could be in our future.

That time is here! My husband and I both love pesto, but the traditional recipes are calorie-laden due to lots of olive oil, nuts, and cheese. So, I went on a hunt for a lighter pesto. Same great flavors, just a little healthier! The biggest difference between this recipe and most others is the absence of pine nuts. Typically either pine nuts or walnuts are used, but not here! Don’t worry, you won’t miss them.

From start to finish, this whole process probably takes less than 5 minutes (thanks food processor!). Add the basil, garlic, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper to your food processor and then slowly add in your olive oil. If I have enough basil in my garden, I’ll double the recipe to have on hand or freeze for use during the winter months.

Lightened-Up Homemade Basil Pesto

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 5 tbsp EVOO
• salt and pepper, to taste

1). Place the basil leaves, garlic, parmesan, salt and pepper in the food processor. Process until smooth. With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in the 5 tablespoons of olive oil until smooth. Store in a sealed container in the fridge or freeze for future use.

Servings: 10 servings of 1 tbsp each. Approximate Nutritional Information per Serving: Calories: 86 Carbs: .8g Fat: 8.3g Protein: 2.3g Fiber: 0.3g Points+:2 
Recipe adapted from: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/07/skinny-basil-pesto.html

 

Baked Falafel with a Spicy Feta Dip.

Quick update: #1) School is out and summer is here, so expect more weekly posts! #2) For my birthday, my husband bought me a DSLR camera, so hopefully the quality of my pictures will be improving (considering I was using my phone camera before!)

Ok, let’s talk about falafel. Such a funny word, isn’t it? Good thing it is incredibly delicious! We love Mediterranean food and falafel is high on the list. If you’re not familiar with falafel, it is made up of mashed chickpeas and spices, and usually deep-fried. My version is baked, but don’t worry, no flavor or texture is compromised, and it’s so much better for you! Falafel is gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan friendly. I think it’s pretty kid-friendly, too. You can eat them plain, inside a pita, on a salad, or dipped in this spicy feta dip I’m sharing with you today. Falafel is so versatile that everyone in your family will find a way to enjoy it!

Because falafel is awesome (and overpriced in restaurants), I wanted to make my own at home. My first attempt at making falafel was almost 3 years ago. Let’s just say that batch did not turn out right, but I learned from my mistakes. Really just one mistake, in particular: over-processing the chickpeas. I was new to using my food processor and went a little crazy with the pulse button until my chickpeas were well blended and, sadly, mushy! The horror! It has taken 3 years for me to forget how unsuccessful that trial run was, and this week I decided to go for it again. I am SO glad I did; they turned out perfectly.

Here’s what they look like before baking:

And after:

Other than the tasty end result, there are so many things I love about this recipe/falafel in general. First of all, it is cheap to make. You can easily make an entire batch for less than $5. Secondly, it’s good for you! In 3 falafel there’s 10g of protein and 10g of fiber, and virtually no fat. And lastly, the food processor does all the work for you! Chickpeas, garlic, green onion, spices/herbs, lemon juice, flour, baking powder…they all go in to the food processor, which makes for no chopping and easy clean-up.

I used the pulse button on my food processor instead of just turning it on and letting it go because it gave me better control of the texture of the falafel. I made sure to stop when the mixture was beginning to come together, but there were still visible chunks of chickpeas, as you can see above. This gave the falafel awesome texture!

I always make tzatziki sauce to go with our Mediterranean meals, but this time I wanted to switch it up a bit. Instead, I made a spicy feta yogurt dip from plain non-fat yogurt, reduced-fat feta cheese, olive oil, and cayenne pepper. Since I had my food processor out for the falafel, I used it to make this dip while the falafel baked. Another easy recipe: place all the ingredients in the food processor and turn it on! Done.

This dip has awesome texture AND flavor. It is thick and the feta is definitely noticeable. The salty and savory feta compliments the cool, creamy yogurt and the cayenne pepper adds a nice little punch of heat. The dairy in the dip cuts down the heat a lot, so feel free to taste and add more if you want more spice. You can use this feta dip with your falafel pita, in a salad or just plain! Bonus: it is a great dip for cold vegetables, too!

Baked Falafel

Ingredients for the falafel:

• 1 15 oz can chickpeas/garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 4 green onions, roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp lemon (about half a lemon)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp flour (I used white whole wheat)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• cooking spray

1). Preheat the oven to 400F. In a food processor, pulse the garlic a few times to get it smaller. Add the chickpeas, green onions, parsley, cilantro, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, red pepper, and lemon juice. Pulse until the chickpeas appear mashed, but not pureed. Add flour and baking powder and pulse a few more times. (See picture above in post for texture).

2). With clean hands, form 1 1/2 inch rounds using 2 tbsp of falafel mixture.  Flatten them slightly, place on a lined baking sheet, and repeat. Before baking, lightly spray with cooking spray.

3). Bake for 15-17 minutes. Remove from oven and gently flip the falafel over. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until golden-brown. Serve with spicy feta dip.

Yield: 9 falafel patties. Servings: 3. Nutritional Information per Serving: Calories: 156 Carbs: 29g Fat: 1g Protein: 10g Fiber: 10g Points+: 4

Recipe adapted from an awesome vegetarian friend!

Spicy Feta Dip

Ingredients for the spicy feta dip:

• 8 oz reduced fat crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup plain non-fat greek yogurt
• 1 1/2-2 tbsp EVOO
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more)

1) Place all ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until well-combined. Taste and adjust seasoning or add more olive oil for a smoother texture.

Servings: about 6. Nutritional Information per Serving: Calories: 152 Fat: 9g Carbs: 2g Protein: 6g Fiber: 0g Points+: 3

Recipe adapted from: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2014/02/baked-falafel-with-spicy-feta-yogurt-dip/

Creamy Cauliflower Alfredo (No Cream!)

When I first stumbled upon this recipe, I thought there was NO way a cauliflower sauce could even come close to tasting like alfredo. But then I read the reviews. And then a few weeks later, a friend of mine at church made it and raved about it. And then I made it, and fooled my husband into thinking it was alfredo sauce. A demolished bowl and a half of pasta later, he kept going on and on about how good it was, never once suspecting the main ingredient to be cauliflower. Folks, this recipe is pretty unbelievable. Cauliflower CAN in fact become a delicious alfredo sauce!

Traditional alfredo sauce is notorious for being really unhealthy. Full of butter, cream, and lots of cheese, it’s just not friendly to your waistband. Although there is a little bit of butter and cheese in this recipe, it is greatly reduced: only 2 tablespoons for 10 cups of sauce! It’s enough to add that great flavor that will fool your family into thinking it’s regular alfredo sauce, but not enough to derail you off your healthy eating. By the way, did you catch that…this makes 10 cups of sauce!! It’s perfect for large families, but if you’re cooking for 2 like I am, you can freeze as much of the sauce as you want! Win-win.

I served this over pasta for my husband, but I added it to brown rice and it was so good. It’s an easy way to add a lot of flavor for little calories…in fact, just 58 in a half cup serving! You can also use this to replace any recipe that calls for jarred alfredo sauce.

I used my immersion blender for this but I am including directions for a regular blender as well. The steps are basically the same, but depending on the size of your blender you may need to do this in batches.

Creamy Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:

• 8 large cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 5-6 cups cauliflower florets (I used one large head of cauliflower)
• 6-7 cups vegetable broth or water (I used a little of both)
• 1 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
• ½ teaspoon pepper (more to taste)
• ½ cup milk (more to taste)
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese (optional, can also add more)

1). Heat the butter in a large non-stick pan over low heat. Add the garlic and cook for several minutes until soft, but not brown. Remove from heat and set aside.

2). In a large pot, bring the vegetable broth or water to a boil over high heat. Add the cauliflower florets and cook, covered, for about 7-10 minutes or until the cauliflower is fork tender. Carefully drain the cauliflower, reserving about 2 cups of broth!

If using an immersion blender: Add 1 cup of broth back to the pot with the cauliflower, sauteed garlic/butter, salt, pepper, and milk. Puree with immersion blender, adding more broth/milk depending on how thick you would like the sauce to be. Stir in parmesan cheese (if using), and season with salt and pepper to taste.

If using a regular blender: Add the cauliflower, 1 cup of broth, sauteed garlic/butter, salt, pepper, and milk. Blend for a few minutes until the sauce is very smooth, adding more broth/milk depending on how thick you would like the sauce to be. Stir in parmesan cheese (if using) and season with salt and pepper to taste.

3). Serve hot over pasta, brown rice, or use in lasagna, etc. Refrigerate or freeze leftovers. Enjoy!

Note: original recipe mentions adding additional olive oil to smooth out the sauce. I did not find this necessary but you can add it if you’d like!

Yield: 5 cups. Serving size: 1/2 cup. Nutritional Information per 1/2 cup: Calories: 58 Carbs: 6g Fat: 3g Fiber: 3g Protein: 2g WW Points+:2

Recipe adapted from: http://pinchofyum.com/creamy-cauliflower-sauce 

Easy Homemade Taco Seasoning

Let’s talk about taco seasoning. You can buy it at the store in the form of those little convenient packets, or you can add maybe 3 minutes to your total cooking time and make your own from the spices sitting in your pantry.  It is EASY and tastes just as good (if not better!) than what you get in the packets. Plus, even if you don’t want to make it a habit of making your own, someday you may realize you are out of taco seasoning right before you wanted to whip up some tacos. Now that problem is solved!

All you need are 7 common spices, plus salt and pepper. Give them a stir in a little bowl and continue on with your dish as usual! Like I said, it’s so easy. One batch of this mixture is equal to one packet of taco seasoning. If you are making tacos, you will need to add 2/3-3/4 cup water just like you would with the seasoning packets.

Now, I’m going to jump on my soap box about why you may want to start making it a habit to prepare your own taco seasoning. Packaged taco seasoning has many unnecessary and even unhealthy ingredients. For example, take the list of ingredients from a name brand taco seasoning I found in my pantry: maltodextrin, chili pepper, salt, onion powder, corn starch, garlic powder, spice, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, yeast extract, silicon dioxide, sunflower and/or cottenseed oil, spice extractive, and ethoxyquin. Um, what? I can hardly pronounce some of those unrecognizable ingredients. And “spice”?? Why don’t they name the spice? The first ingredient listed, maltodextrin, as well as “yeast extract” are alternate names for Manufactured Glutamic Acid, aka MSG (source). And the partially hydrogenated soybean oil? Trans fats (source). The side effects of MSG and trans fats have been pretty well documented and I encourage you to read up on them if you haven’t already. Ok, ok. I’m done. All I want to say is if you are going to buy pre-packaged taco seasoning (which, let’s face it, we all probably will from time to time), read the ingredients list and make sure you select one where all they list are regular spices. No preservatives or ingredients you don’t recognize, k?

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp freshly ground sea salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

1). In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients. (This mixture will be equivalent to one packet of taco seasoning).

Recipe adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/taco-seasoning-i/ 

Easy Crock Pot Apple Sauce

This fall I found out making homemade apple sauce in the crock pot is easy! A cinnamon stick, apples, and sugar (optional) are all you need to make this recipe. The crock pot does all the work for you (well, except for chopping the apples!). A nice perk is that your house will smell like cinnamon and apples as it cooks away. I just love crock pot recipes, don’t you? (P.S. If you haven’t checked out my crock pot apple butter recipe, click here!)

You will want to adjust the amount of cinnamon/sugar you use depending on your apples. I used apples I picked myself but they were very, very tart, so I did have to add about 1/2 cup sugar to the batch. If your apples are sweeter, however, there may not be a need for sugar at all. For this reason, you may want to wait and add the sugar AFTER the apples cook down.

Did I mention you can double this recipe for a larger quantity or even half it for a small batch? This recipe is SO versatile I hesitate to even call it a recipe! Feel confident to adjust it any which way you like! After the apples cook down for about 6 hours, you can take a whisk or immersion blender to the apples to make the apple sauce smooth, or you can leave it chunky. Be sure to taste and add more cinnamon or sugar. It should look something like this when it’s done:

Ready to be jarred and used in delicious recipes, given away to family and friends, or just eaten as is!

Everything is better homemade, am I right?? The answer is yes. 🙂 Enjoy!

Easy Crock Pot Apple Sauce

Ingredients:

• 10 apples, cored, peeled, and chopped
• 1/4-1/2 cup sugar (white or brown will work. You may want to wait and add this after the apples cook down unless they are very tart!)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)

1) Spray your crock pot with cooking spray for easy clean up. Add the apples, lemon juice, cinnamon stick, and sugar (or add sugar at the end).

2) Set crock pot to low for about 6 hours (this can vary depending on your crock pot), stirring occasionally. Blend with immersion blender for a very smooth apple sauce.

3) Taste and add more sugar and cinnamon, as needed. Allow to cool before refrigerating.

Recipe courtesy of Audreysapron.wordpress.com.

Salmon with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

This roasted red pepper sauce is really unique and different, but in a great way! I served it over salmon but it would be great on tilapia, chicken, or mixed with steamed/sauteed vegetables, too. My husband took a bite of this and said, “wow, I’ve never had anything like this before!” and loved it. The food processor does all the work in this recipe, all you have to do is mix it up and spoon it over your perfectly cooked salmon!

This sauce can be described as slightly sweet, tangy, nutty, and very savory. With just a spoonful of this sauce the entire filet of salmon was transformed from a simple dish to an interesting one. I love that this is quick and easy enough for a weeknight meal but could also be a great dish to serve to company. The recipe makes enough that you will likely have leftovers unless you cook for 6, so be sure to plan different ideas for the leftovers!

Salmon with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup roasted sunflower seeds (original recipe calls for toasted, sliced almonds)
• 1/4 cup chopped jarred roasted red peppers
• 1/4 cup halved grape or cherry tomatoes
• 1 small clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
• 6 wild-caught salmon fillets, skinned (1 1/4 pounds)
• 2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise

1) In a small food processor, combine the sunflower seeds, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, salt, and pepper. Pulse until smooth.

2) Prepare salmon by preferred method–roasted (400F for 20 minutes) or in a pan (5 minutes per side over medium heat until fish is opaque). Spoon sauce over salmon and serve.

Servings: 6 Nutritional Information for sauce per serving: Calories: 67 Fat: 6g Carbs: 2g Fiber: 1g Protein: 1g 

WW PointsPlus for sauce: 2.

Recipe adapted from: http://www.handletheheat.com/2013/08/grilled-salmon-and-zucchini-with-red-pepper-sauce.html 

Crock Pot Apple Butter

One of my favorite fall activities is going apple picking. My good friend and I recently made the 90 minute trip up to the local orchards to pick apples, and I used a large portion of those apples to make this fabulous recipe. Did you know you can make apple butter effortlessly in the crock pot? The only time-consuming part is slicing the apples, but if you have one of those peel/slice/core machines it doesn’t take long at all! If you don’t have one, you really should get one…they are amazing!

Back to the recipe. All you have to do is combine sliced apples with some spices and sugar, and the crock pot does the rest. It cooks down so well that in the morning all it takes is just a quick swirl of a fork or whisk and the apples completely disintegrate into a jam-like consistency. The worst part about this recipe is having to wait 12 hours for the final product. But the best part of this recipe, other than the delicious apple butter,…

…It makes your ENTIRE house smell like a holiday candle. I let this cook overnight and we woke up to the most amazing autumnal smell of cooked apples and cinnamon.

This recipe makes a lot of apple butter, which is perfect because you can freeze apple butter to have year round or give it to friends in a cute jar as a gift. Mine made 11 cups!! We love having homemade apple butter at our disposal year round. We seem to use it often on top of homemade breakfast items such as biscuits, pancakes, french toast, muffins, etc. If you are really feeling bold, toss a spoonful of it into a milkshake. My husband makes himself milkshakes all the time and does this. It tastes like apple pie!

An important note about this recipe: it is easily adaptable and you should feel completely comfortable tweaking it to your taste. I suggest starting with the recipe below and adjusting from there. You will want to add more sugar based on the tartness of the apples you use, and you may want a stronger flavored apple butter. I always taste the apple butter after the initial 9-11 hour cooking window and add more spices then. Also, I have used various types of freshly picked apples in the past and it has always turned out amazing!

It is October, fall is here, and you MUST make this recipe!

Crock Pot Apple Butter

Ingredients:

• 5 1/2 lbs of apples (about 15 for me), peeled, cored, and finely chopped
• 2-2 3/4  cups of sugar (add more if you have very tart apples…I usually start with less sugar and add more if needed)
• 2 heaping tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Spray your crock pot with cooking spray. Place chopped apples in the crock pot and combine with sugar and spices. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour.

2. Cook on low for 9-11 hours (I always do this overnight). It should be dark brown and thickened. Uncover and cook on low (I sometimes kick this up to high) for 1 hour or longer until thickened to desired consistency.

3. Allow to cool; place in containers. Cover and refrigerate or freeze.

Serving size: 2 tbsp. Nutritional Information per 2 tbsp: Calories: 31 Carbs: 8g Fat: 0g Protein: 0g Sugar: 8g Fiber: 1g

WW PointsPlus: 1

Recipe adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/all-day-apple-butter-2/detail.aspx