Flavorful Friday- Broccoli and Shrimp Recipe!

Welcome to Flavorful Friday!  This is where I will share a great and healthy recipe with you to try out in the coming week.  Be sure to comment here and let me know how it goes!  And now that I have the link fixed, you can even sign up to receive these and other posts directly in your inbox, how cool is that?!

After receiving wonderful response from my Facebook post, as well as at my own kitchen table, I thought this week I would bring you my new Broccoli and Shrimp recipe!  My husband, who is a total foodie and spent 4 years living and learning to cook in Italy, says this is "at least as good as anything I ever had in Italy."  Wow!  I am honored!  From him, that is really saying something.

There are many variations and options on this dish to make it fit your personal needs and tastes, and feel free to experiment beyond my suggestions as well.  This is a really basic and easy recipe that anybody can do, and it's sure to impress!

Happy Crunching!

~Brandi

Broccoli and Shrimp

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1- 14 oz Bag of Frozen Broccoli Florets

2 Tbsp Butter

1/8 tsp Celtic Sea Salt

¼ tsp Red Chili Flakes

2 Tbsp Minced Garlic from a jar

1 Pint of Grape Tomatoes- sliced

1- 12 oz Bag of Frozen Extra Small Shrimp- thawed

1-4 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese as topping

Instructions:

Preheat an 8-10 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat.  Add Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Frozen Broccoli Florets to pan and stir to coat broccoli in oil.  Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add Butter, Celtic Sea Salt, Red Chili Flakes, and Minced Garlic to pan and stir.  Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add Grape Tomatoes and Extra Small Shrimp to pan and stir.  Sauté 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until food is hot throughout.

Serve hot and top each portion with grated Parmesan Cheese!

Serves about 4.

Optional:

•  You can leave off the Red Chili Flakes to make a mild dish.  When preparing this for our family, I use a 6-inch cast iron skillet for our son’s portion.
•  You can leave off the Parmesan Cheese and Butter for a dairy free version.
• Adding chopped Fresh Spinach leaves provides more vitamins and an extra layer of flavor.  Add these when you add the tomatoes and shrimp.  Doing this will also increase either your number of portions or portion sizes.
• Add fresh basil leaves when you add the butter, salt, chili flakes and garlic for an extra punch of flavor and minerals.
• You can serve this atop your favorite pasta or spaghetti squash as well.
• This dish could be make with pre-cooked chicken or beef cubes instead of shrimp.

Tags: Fast, Easy, Low-Carb, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Healthy, Recipe, Dinner, Shrimp, Broccoli, Wow

Debut of Flavorful Fridays- Roasted Chicken Recipe!

Happy back to school week!  With school back in session, many families are now getting back into routines, including regular family meals at the dinner table.  To help you keep things fresh and interesting, as well as healthy while sticking to your budget, I am happy to announce the debut of Flavorful Fridays!  Once a week, and generally on Friday, I will be posting a family-friendly and fully gluten free recipe that you can try out.  Be sure to "follow" this blog so you won't miss out on any of these delicious recipes!  Most of these recipes will be my own creations, and I would love your feedback on them as I work on writing my very own cookbook (details to come)!  I will also occasionally feature recipes from blogs I love, and guest contributors from the community.  If you have a healthy and gluten free recipe that you would like for me to consider, email it to me at bouncybrandi at gmail dot com.

I've been spending a lot of time out on a local farm with my family lately, and we have been blessed to be able to bring home frozen Organic Free Range Chickens!  Many thanks to Peter and Katherine at Stonefield Organic Farm for your friendship, your generosity and your willingness to teach me and my family the ways of the farm.  You'll be hearing more from me in weeks to come about the value of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farms and the importance of eating fresh, organic foods, but for now, you can contact them with any questions at 734.395.8955.

And now on with today's recipe, inspired by the farm!

Roasted Chicken

Ingredients:

One Whole Roasting Chicken, 3-4 pounds, thawed in refrigerator, innards removed

(Free Range Organic preferred)

2 Tbsp Butter, softened

2 tsp Celtic Sea Salt

¼ - ½ tsp Ground Pepper Medley

1 tsp Herbes de Provence

½ tsp Onion Powder

2 Tbsp Butter, sliced into several pieces

1 Small Yellow Onion, sliced

8-10 Garlic Cloves, peeled

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Set aside softened Butter in a small bowl.

Mix in another small bowl Celtic Sea Salt, Ground Pepper Medley, Herbes de Provence and Onion Powder and set aside.

Place the Butter slices across the bottom of a large lidded Roasting Pan.  Spread the Onion slices across the bottom of the pan on top of the Butter.  Place the Garlic Cloves around the perimeter of the pan.

Place chicken on a plate or in a glass casserole dish.  Using your hands, spread the Softened Butter all over the outside of the Chicken.  Using your hands, sprinkle and/or rub the seasoning mix all over the outside of the Chicken.

Place seasoned Whole Roasting Chicken in the Roasting Pan atop the butter and onions.  Cover and cook for 45 minutes.

Remove Roasting Pan from oven.  Using tongs to grab the outside of the Chicken, and inserting a long handled plastic spoon in the inside cavity, turn your chicken once, like on a rotisserie, placing it back in the pan with the side that had been the bottom now on top (this is not as tricky as it sounds.)  Replace lid and put chicken back in over to cook for another 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and insert meat thermometer into chicken breast to check for doneness.  Thermometer should easily reach 180 degrees Fahrenheit.  If it does not reach 180, replace lid and cook for another 10 minutes.

Let chicken rest for 5 minutes, uncovered, and then remove from roasting pan and place on serving dish, or carve and serve.  (Note: I like to use my hands and pull all the meat off the bones instead of trying to use a knife, seems way easier to me.)  Include 2-3 Garlic Cloves per person when serving.

Serving suggestion: Serve with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Sesame Collard Greens.  (Recipes for these will be included in my cookbook!)

Happy Crunching!

~crunchymamahippechic

(AKA Brandi)

Gluten Free Fabulous Juicer Pulp Muffins

Gluten Free Fabulous Juicer Pulp Muffins

Dry Ingredients:
1 C organic buckwheat flour
1/4 C sorghum flour
1/2 C almond flour
1/2 C organic coconut flour
1 C gluten free rolled oats
4 tsp unmodified potato starch
2 tsp xantham gum
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp Celtic sea salt
1/4 tsp ground mace
2 tsp organic cinnamon
1/4 C raw walnuts, chopped
1/4 C raw almonds, chopped
1/4 C roasted salted pepitas, chopped
1/4 C roasted salted sunflower seeds, chopped

Wet Ingredients:
1 large ripe banana, peeled and mashed
2 Cups juicer pulp (I use whatever I have, a combo of fruits and veggies)
1 Tbsp organic salted butter, softened
2-3 Tbsp chia seeds, soaked in filtered water to cover
4 Tbsp organic raw honey
2 Tbsp Blackstrap molasses
1 Tbsp organic grade B maple syrup
1/2 C organic whole milk plain yogurt
1/4 C organic whole milk plain kefir
1 tsp organic vanilla extract
3 organic eggs, room temperature

Unsalted butter to grease pans.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Remove eggs and butter from refrigerator and set them on the counter to warm.

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Optional step: Mix all wet ingredients except eggs in a high powered blender such as a Vitamix to puree the pulp.  You can skip this step, you'll just end up with stringy pulp in your muffins which is fine, really.

Use a hand-held mixer on low to medium speed to blend all wet ingredients, including eggs in a bowl.  Adding only one to two ingredients at a time works well.

Slowly add dry ingredients to wet mixture, blending periodically on low-medium speed to fully incorporate.  Note: do not over blend!  Gluten free dough and batter do not like to be over-handled and will yield a dense finished product.

Allow batter to "rest" for a few minutes while you butter your pans for baking.
With this recipe I use:
1 24-cup mini-muffin pan- buttered
1 6x4x2" mini-loaf pan- buttered
1 10x6" cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, spread batter to even depth, about 1/4" to make a "bar".

Cook mini muffins and "bar" for 25 minutes or until golden brown and mostly firm to touch.
Cook mini-loaf for 40 minutes or until golden brown and mostly firm to touch.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for no more than 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.  Gluten free breads will get too spongy and soggy if left in the pan too long.
Cut the bar into squares or rectangles.  Allow to cool fully and then store wrapped in a towel, or in a tupperware with the lid sitting on top but not attached, or in a plastic storage bag not sealed.  These need to breathe or they will get too soggy.  You can also cool them in a freezer safe bag in the refrigerator and then transfer in the freezer.  Thaw on the counter a few hours or the night before eating.

Serving suggestions:
-All by themselves!
-With raw, spreadable honey
-With jelly, jam, or preserves
-With your favorite nut butter
-Loaf can be cut and then use butter to make skillet toast, top with nut/seed butter (sun butter is fantastic!) and serve with milk kefir, a fried egg, and a small side of fruit for a complete and yummy breakfast!

Bone Broth Recipe

By popular demand, here is how I make Bone Broth (also known as Soup Stock) from scratch!

Enjoy and bon appetit!

I would love to hear creative ways you use this recipe in your kitchen, feel free to send me an email at bouncybrandi at gmail dot com or leave a comment below.

And remember to follow my blog for more recipes and random thoughts and tidbits from the crunchy side of life.

Happy crunching!

~Brandi

Bone Broth:

I like to make my bone broth using both beef and chicken bones.  This recipe is loosely adapted from one that my nutritionist gave me years ago.  For the best results, use organic produce and organic free-range beef and chicken whenever possible.

Ingredients:

• ·      The bones of one chicken (Make sure to debone it by hand and not with your mouth, to avoid germy contamination.  You may include the skin as well, and leave on little bits of chicken if you like for more nutrients and flavor.)
• ·      About a pound of beef soup bones or meaty bones or marrow bones, or a combination thereof
• ·      Raw Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar
• ·      The inner pieces of a stalk of celery, all the ones you may not normally eat by themselves, leafy tops included
• ·      A few carrots, or a large handful of baby cut carrots
• ·      One medium onion (I use yellow, but you could use whatever you like)
• ·      One half to one head of garlic
• ·      Celtic Sea Salt to taste
• ·      Fresh course ground pepper medley to taste
• ·      One bunch fresh parsley (at the end)

Place bones in large pot (the biggest one you have, mine is 6 quart).  Add about ¼ cup of Raw Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar (the kind with “the Mother” in it.)  Add enough filtered water to cover the bones.  Cover and let sit about half an hour, while you wash and chop your vegetables.

Rough chop celery, carrots, and onion.  Smash garlic cloves to release their flavor and goodness, you may also cut them in half if you like.  Add all veggies to pot with bones and cover with filtered water, leaving 1 inch between the top of the water and the top of the pot.  Bring to boil and then use a strainer spoon to remove the scum that rises to the top.  Add Sea Salt and Pepper.  Reduce heat to the lowest setting and cover.  Let simmer, stirring occasionally, for 24-72 hours. 

Ten minutes before you are done, rinse the entire bunch of fresh parsley and add it to the pot, stirring it into the mix. 

Remove from heat and let cool about half an hour.  Use slotted spoon to remove the large chunks of veggies and bones from the pot and dispose of these.  Then pour remaining contents of pot through a fine mesh metal strainer.  I strain into a 3 quart saucepan.  Cover and refrigerate over night.  The next day, remove the fat that has risen to the top and you are done!  (Or, if you need more fats in your diet, you may leave the fat if you like.)

Bone broth may be used right away to make any kind of soup or beans, or you can freeze or refrigerate it for later use.  I generally make one pot of soup right away, and then freeze the rest.  Ice cube trays are perfect for this job!  Simply fill the trays (I used two) and freeze overnight.  Then remove the cubes and put them in a freezer safe plastic bag.  These are great for adding nutrition and flavor to practically any recipe!  Examples: sauted veggies, boiled veggies, scrambled eggs, sauces, soups, beans.  You can also add a cube or two to a cup of warmed water for a comforting and nutritious boost when you feel tired and wore down or when you are getting sick.  The possibilities are endless!

Atmosphere

This concept keeps presenting itself to me, and my husband suggested I blog on it, so here we are!  The concept is atmosphere.  The idea that we each have the power to create and shift the atmosphere around us, in a room, in a family, in an organization, in our household, and even in our own selves.  How we are being truly affects everyone we touch.  Often how we "be" is in direct relation to how we "feel" (although with mastery the "be" can come first.)  How we feel is a choice, not a result of our circumstances, the situations we find ourselves faced with.  As long-time Navy Seal Robert O'Neill puts it, "All stress is self-created."  So true.  It is our response that determines how we feel, determines the atmosphere inside of ourselves.  How we respond is a choice, every time.  With any situation, do we choose gratitude or complaining?  Do we take responsibility or play victim mode?  Do we look for solutions or dwell on problems?  Do we celebrate or condemn?  Do we congratulate or criticize?  Do we look for opportunities for growth, or wish life was easier?  Do we look to be blessed or to be a blessing to others?

This ties in, sort of, with a recent question I posted on Facebook: Is happiness an idol?  God's word is clear, that joy and "peace that surpasses all understanding" are available through Christ.  I heard recently that "the most joy-filled part of the Bible, Philippians, was written from a jail cell.  What right did he have to be happy?"  Many times we see people who have nothing in the material world, yet their hearts are filled with love and joy, their faces quick to smile, their generous spirit happy to share what little they have with others.  And yet there are plenty who have so much, so many material things, yet their faces are set in frowns, they yell and criticize everyone and everything around them, they never seem happy (finger pointing straight at self.)

So what is the trick?  What is the key to holding that inner atmosphere of peace, tranquility, goodness, kindness, and so forth.  The Bible calls these the "fruits of the spirit" and promises they are ours to live out when we call forth and allow the Holy Spirit to fill us.  (Cue one of my favorite songs "Holy Spirit you are welcome here, come flood this place and fill the atmosphere...)  And I think that's the catch, we have to allow ourselves to be entirely filled with something that is not us.  We have to continually "die to self", to pick up our own cross and walk with Jesus, to lay down our very lives, that we may have life in Him.  So simple, yet so very hard to do.

So on this Good Friday, as we remember our Savior Jesus Christ who died on the cross for us, let us also remember that true joy, true peace, comes from dying on our cross daily for Him who loves us so.  And let our atmosphere, within ourselves and all around, be filled with His Holy presence.

"Crunchy" headlight defogging

We drive a completely paid off Mazda Protege that I bought brand in 2003.  My baby.  We have taken good care of it and it is a great car!  But... it is starting to show its age.  I have been thinking that my night vision is getting really bad because I have a hard time seeing while driving at night, but, after further consideration, I think it may just be time to de-fog the headlights.  They have gotten pretty cloudy, indeed.

After our last road trip we decided it might be time to do something about this.  The car wash place where we go offers this service for $45.  My hubby did some research and found out he could buy the supplies on e-bay for around $20.  We live on a budget (see my post on Nerd vs Free Spirit) so I didn't really like the idea of spending all this money to restore our headlights, even though it now seems to be a safety issue.  Hubs and I were talking and he offered that maybe toothpaste and baking soda would accomplish the same goal (I love my crunchy guy!).  I did a little research and found a lot of "home remedy" articles agreeing with him!  I took my research and his idea and we set to work (which means he did all the work and I got out the camera- thank you, honey!)

First, I went around the house and collected some toothpaste samples.  We use "crunchy, hippie" toothpaste, and I didn't want to "waste" it on this project.  Plus, all the recipes call for a white paste, and not a gel or anything else.  We (my husband and 4 year old son)  squeezed out all the paste into a bowl and mixed with baking soda and water to form a thick paste.  We then filled a separate bowl with water for the rinse and collected some old rags, a sponge and a toothbrush.  Ready to rock!

The basic process is, apply paste in circles like a wax, then rinse with damp cloth.  Repeat until you are happy with the results.

This first step took a whopping 5 minutes for one light and definitely made a difference (though I'm not sure you can tell it in the picture.)  But, I had also read that you could follow up with a vegetable oil polish for extra shine, and our 4 year old volunteered to apply the oil, in circles with a cloth.  Definitely improved things even more!  (Side note: we do NOT cook with vegetable oil, very bad for you, and I did not buy this oil, inherited it and it has come in handy for a few projects around the house...)

End result: shinier, more clear headlights ready to light our path!  We still need to take off the light covers and do the same process on the inside to get the full effect, but for a 15 minute 2 cent fix, I'd say job well done!  Yay for crunchy home remedies that work!  (And yay for hubby who gets as excited about this as I do!)  Let me know if you try this out, and if you have a crunchy home remedy that I should know about.  = )  Happy crunching!

Nerd vs Free Spirit

I have long considered myself a free spirit.  Those who know me would well concur.  I set my own pace to life, generally stray from the pack, and do my own thing to my own tune, dancing along the way.  I even have the t-shirt.  You can imagine how shocked I was to recently discover that I am actually a nerd.  Yup.  Fully so.  Scored 100% on the nerd test and everything.  How is this possible?

You see, hubs and I are in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, and he believes all people are either Nerds or Free Spirits, or on some continuum between the two when it comes to money and how we deal with it.  There is a quiz to see where you fall to help you figure out what your role is and how to play off each other's strengths, and to balance each other's weaknesses. Without hesitation I was straight down the line full on Nerd.  Wow!  It is true though.  I LOVE balancing the checkbook.  I get a sort of giddy delight when everything balances out the zero.  I like to be right and I like to be perfect and I like to be in control, traits that can be hard to manage in life, but apparently come in quite handy when it comes to mundane things like budgeting.  I say mundane a little jokingly here, apparently most people don't like the "B word".  Did I mention I love spreadsheets, too?  Columns, sums, color coded areas.... mmmm, almost as good as a hot cup of coffee on a cold morning, or any morning for that matter.  = )

Ok, so I'm a Nerd, big deal.  It gets crazier.  My husband, the tie wearing business man financial advisor who loves analyzing and researching things with names like "prospectus" (eeewwww), he, HE is a Free Spirit!  I know, totally nuts, right?!  Surprised us both.  But here again, we see deep truth.  At our home, I am the one who keeps the checkbook, I check our bank balance and manage the upcoming bills, I make and relish in the budget spreadsheet and email him the "everything's good" report.  And here's the great thing: he is grateful for it.  You see, he has his hands full with running his business, helping families realize their financial goals and dreams.  He is an amazing big picture person.  He takes care of our long-term needs like making sure our family is protected with proper life and health insurance coverage, and putting plans in place for college and retirement.  He helps me to dream big, to let go a little and enjoy the moment, to splurge on little treats every once in a while.  And I am grateful to him for those things and the balance he brings to our marriage.

So, at the end of the day, I am happy to say, that overall, I am a Free Spirited Nerd, or a Nerdy Free Spirit, seeking the balance that makes life work, staying present in the moment while ever striving for the best.  Whoever you are, Nerd or Free Spirit or somewhere in between, rejoice, celebrate your strengths, and find someone in life to balance you out.