Pesto Feta Turkey Burgers

When Caitlyn, my 5th baby was born, my friend Denise brought turkey burgers.  I never forgot that meal.  I craved it actually.  I asked her for the recipe so I could enjoy them again.  This is basically her recipe, it may have changed a little bit over the years.  These turkey burgers are now a staple meal at our house.

The ingredients are simple but really flavourful when added together.

Really, that's all you do, throw them together and fry them up.

On this day, I served the turkey burgers two-bite sized by themselves as an appetizer.  Sometimes we eat them in lettuce wraps, sometimes they are an addition to a big salad.  Every once in a while we eat them with a bun.  When we first started taking grains out of our diet, I could not imagine how a burger could be enjoyable without a bun.  It is funny how your tastes change as you modify your eating habits.  We don't really miss the bun part of burgers anymore.

PESTO FETA SPINACH TURKEY BURGERS

Ingredients:

-2 pounds ground turkey

-1 cup chopped spinach

-1/2 cup feta cheese

-1/2 cup pesto sauce

-1 tsp. salt

-1 tsp. garlic powder

-1 tsp pepper

-1 Tbsp coconut oil

Steps:

-combine all ingredients in a large bowl

-heat coconut oil in a pan on medium-high heat.

-I like to use a scoop to create even "scoops" of the mixture, and put them in the pan.  Use a fork to flatten them out to a 1/2-1/4 inch thick. (the old fashioned way of using your hands to make patties works too but my way keeps my hands clean:)

-you can add more seasoning at this point if you choose.

-when cooked though, flip burgers to brown the second side.

Barley Bison Stew

I can never make enough of this dish.  I love mealtime when there is no complaining.  This stew accomplishes a blissful happy mealtime.  Everytime.

We use Bison but this would work equally well with beef stew meat.

If you want it to go further, you could add filtered water and change this from a stew to a soup.

BARLEY BISON STEW

Ingredients:

-1 pound stew meat (bison or beef)

-1 Tbsp coconut oil

-1 tsp salt

-1 tsp pepper

-1 tsp garlic powder

-1 Tbsp thyme

-2 cloves garlic, chopped or minced

-2 onions, chopped

-4 stalks celery, chopped

-4-6 carrots, chopped

-1 cup barley (rinsed)

-3-5 cups filtered water, or beef broth if you have it.

Steps:

-sprinkle half of the seasonings all over the meat.

-brown the meat in a hot skillet with the coconut oil

-add garlic, onions, celery and carrots, cook until almost soft

-add barley and water and seasonings, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer.

-keep stirring every once in a while.  This should simmer for at least an hour.

-you may need to add more seasonings, to your own taste:)

*you can add everything to the crock pot in the morning and let it cook all day on low.

*some people prefer a less "starchy" consistency, this can be accomplished by boiling the barley separately.  A lot of times I do this so those who are avoiding grains can have the stew without the grains and the others can add them if they like.

Potato and Broccoli Bowl

This is the ultimate comfort food for my family.  I make this once every two months or so and everyone goes wild.  Everyone but Cambria, she doesn't like potatoes.  Weird, I know:)

POTATO BROCCOLI BOWL

Ingredients:

-potatoes cut into quarters (5-8)

-broccoli cut into bite sized pieces (1-2 heads)

-1 c. grated cheese (I use raw Jerseyland cheese)

-2 Tbsp. butter (olive oil can be used instead)

-1 tsp. salt

-1 tsp. garlic powder

-1 tsp pepper

-1/2 c. coconut milk

Steps:

-boil the potatoes until they are soft but not mushy

-drain the water from the pot and throw the broccoli in with the potatoes, close lid!  The heat and steam from the hot potatoes will com the broccoli.

-add butter, cheese, spices and milk.

-mix everything together and serve

Banman's Favourite Hummus

We enjoy hummus as a snack on a regular basis around here.  It's really quick to prepare and can be paired with raw veggies or crackers or as a side to a meal.  

In this video, my lovely Mikayla demonstrates just how easy it is to make our favourite hummus.

BANMAN'S FAVOURITE HUMMUS

Ingredients:

1 large can chick peas (also called garbonzo beans)

juice of 1 lemon

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp. cumin

2 tsp. chili powder

2 tsp salt (you may want to adjust this to taste as you go)

Steps:

-Dump everything in your Vita Mix. (If you don't have a Vita Mix, you can try your blender and if that doesn't work use a food processor and put the Vita Mix on your Christmas wish list:)

-blend until smooth and creamy

-enjoy!

Oat Fudge Bars

I'm certain that Starbucks made Oat Fudge Bars with me in mind.  They are my absolute favourite.  I decided it was high time to figure out a better option for this oat-fudgy obsession. Here's what we've come up with (I say we because there have been many batches and my older daughters have all weighed in and helped as we tweaked our recipe.)

I just want to clarify, oats are not a staple around here.  My philosophy when it comes to food is always changing as I learn.  I feel it is important to come up with exciting options that will deter us from choosing the really bad stuff.  When I make these Oat Fudge Bars I use organic, GMO free oats, pure organic maple syrup, and other ingredients that I have carefully selected.  I believe this is a better option for a special treat than driving through and "splurging" on the real thing... Get my drift?

OAT FUDGE BARS

ingredients:

base:

-2 bananas, mashed really well

-4 Tbsp coconut oil, melted

-2 eggs

-4 Tbsp maple syrup

-1/2 tsp salt

-2 1/2 c .organic oats

-1 c. oat bran

-1 c. spelt flour

-1/2 c. ground flax seeds (I like the golden ones)

-1/2 c. shredded unsweetened coconut

(this mixture can vary so get creative with what you have, you may like more flour and less oats or you may want to substitute the oat bran with more coconut...you can get away with many varieties here.)

fudge:

-1 1/2 c. chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life, if you have a chocolate that you like that is in bar form, you can use that by just chopping it up)

-1 c. coconut milk

steps:

-preheat oven to 350

-mash the bananas really well

-add oil, eggs, syrup and salt and mix well.

-combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl

-add dry ingredients to wet until mixed

-press this mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 and an 8x8 (I have a big crew, you may have lots of leftovers!   They freeze really well:)

-in a double boiler, warm up the coconut milk.

-add chocolate and stir until it makes a chocolately, fudgy sauce.

-pour the chocolate mixture on top of the oat base

-bake for 10-15 minutes

-i like to let these cool completely before we eat them but my family usually has other ideas.  If you have self control, you can let them cool in the fridge for an hour or two.