Recipes from Amy

Chicken Lettuce Wraps
http://cooksanonymous.blogspot.com/2010/10/chicken-lettuce-wraps.html

Ingredients:
1/2 Tbls canola oil
3-4 chicken breasts (small-medium, and thin in size; if thick, try pounding first)
1/2 onion - 1 whole onion, white or yellow, minced
1/3 bunch green onions (aka scallions), trim off 3 inches from top & 1 inch from bottom
1/4 cup liquid aminos (Braggs), or lite soy sauce (Kikkoman's)
1/2 Tbls fresh ginger (pealed and grated)
1 clove fresh garlic, pressed
1 Tbls agave nectar (of course, sugar or honey can always be used instead)
1 Tbls stone ground mustard (with whole seeds intact)
1/2 Tbls Mexican hot sauce, of your choice
1/2 Tbls chopped walnuts
1/2 Tbls slivered almonds
1/2 tsp sweet paprika (or just paprika)
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (or a 1/2 tsp chili pepper fusion, like I used)
Sea salt & pepper (to taste, but the liquid aminos has a lot of salt)
Bok Choy, 1 head


*I had pre-cooked chicken breasts I made earlier that day, so it made this pretty fast and easy to make. I seasoned them with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika, and maybe some thyme. I set my oven on bake at 375, and cooked them for about 25 minutes (it depends on thickness).

Prep: Mince onion (while oil heats on pan), and while onion cooks dice chicken breasts into small chunks. Than chop green onions, grate ginger and set aside for later (and chop walnuts if needed).

Heat canola oil in a medium/large saute pan on medium heat. Place onions in pan first and saute until soft (about 3 minutes) than add chicken. Than add your garlic, ginger, and all remaining ingredients, BUT wait to add green onions. Stir and heat through on low/med heat (depending on your stove and pan -you don't want to brown or burn anything) about 5-10 minutes. When onions become very soft and translucent add the green onions and cook for 5 more minutes, and stir often.
Serve hot (or cold) with Bok Choy, or ice burg lettuce.
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Oatmeal Banana Pancakes -Gluten and sugar free

Blend:
-1 cup water
-1 cup choice of milk (I used unsweetened coconut or unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
-1 Banana
-1 cup whole oats
-1 Tbls ground flax seed (I used the sprouted flax seed)
-1/2 tsp pure vanilla
-1/2 tsp sea salt
-1/2 Tbls agave nectar (or 100% pure maple syrup)
-1/2 Tbls coconut oil


After blending let it set for a few minutes to thicken, while griddle is heating up. Then these pancakes take a while to cook before you flip them, maybe 4 minutes first side and 2 the second (? not sure -the good news is, they are hard to burn. I have my griddle almost all the way to 400 and I don't ever burn mine).
Serve with 100% maple syrup or unsweetened applesauce with fruit, like chopped peaches, strawberries and/or bananas! Yum!!
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Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe

1 Tbls olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
4-5 carrots, chopped
5-6 celery stalks, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 C green beans, chopped in thirds
1 can diced tomatoes (or 1 large tomato, fresh chopped)
½ C tomato sauce (or spaghetti sauce)
6-8 cups broth, low sodium (chicken or vegetable)
.5 lb browned beef, lean*
2 russet potatoes, chopped (& pre-cooked)
¾ C Barley

1 tsp oregano, fresh (or dried)
1Tbls onion powder
1Tbls garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil
½ Tbls kosher salt (or sea salt)
Sea salt & pepper, to taste
Dash of sweet paprika (optional)
Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
1 bay leaf

(1/2 C fresh or frozen corn, optional)

*Season beef with salt, garlic powder & onion powder while cooking, & set aside.

First, in a separate pot boil chopped potatoes, about 15 minutes, drain & set aside. While they cook do the following:

In a large pot, warm olive oil on medium/high heat. Add chopped: onion, carrots, celery, peppers, & green beans. Stir then sauté for 5 minutes. Add ½ of all the seasonings, except the bay leaf. Add canned tomatoes. Stir and sauté on medium heat for about 10 minutes. (Sometimes I put the lid on for the first 5 minutes to help them soften more quickly).
Once veggies are soft and onions are translucent add broth, tomato sauce & remaining ½ of seasonings & bay leaf. Heat to boiling, add BARLEY, & cooked beef then simmer on low for 10 minutes. Than add cooked potatoes and heat through. Season with salt & pepper to your liking.

** I wrote this from memory, so it might require more (or less) seasoning, more or less broth, etc. You can play around with it, but you can’t go wrong on the veggies and barley really :).