Sunday, July 29, 2012

Shake & Bake

Italian Herb Crusted Pork Chops
Do you enjoy the juicy, crunchy deliciousness of a breaded pork chop? Do you use Shake 'N Bake to make yours? Have you read the ingredients? Trans fats, sugar and MSG are a few of the things I am sure you don't want to feed your family on a pork chop. But you need quick & easy? No worries! Wildtree can help with the recipe below.

Shake 'n Bake Original Pork flavor contains the following ingredients: enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate Vitamin B1, riboflavin (vitamin B2), folic acid), salt, partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil, sugar, contains less than 2% of paprika, dextrose, dried onions, spice, caramel color, yeast, annatto (color), and natural flavor.
 
 
Try this recipe for a healthy and absolutely delicious version of Shake 'N Bake!
(The directions are for making this into a freezer meal, but you can skip that part and eat them tonight! Better yet, double your recipe and use half now and freeze the other half for another night!)
 
Italian Herb Crusted Pork Chops
8 pork chops, thin sliced (about 2 lbs)
1½ cup bread crumbs
2 Tbsp Hearty Spaghetti Seasoning
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
 
Instructions:  Combine all ingredients in freezer bag.  Seal and shake bag to combine ingredients and coat chops as much as possible.  Freeze. Thaw completely. Remove chops and place on a broiling pan. Gently press onto the pork chops any leftover crumb mixture. Broil on high temperature for 2 minutes on one side.  Lower oven temp to 350, turn chops over and bake for 15-20 minutes or until meat is cooked thoroughly (cooking time will vary slightly depending upon the thickness of your chops). This is a definite “kid-friendly” meal!!  You can even slice these in strips (like chicken fingers) to eat with your fingers.
 
Suggested Side Dish: Serve with sauteed green beans and ‘Garlicky’ roast potatoes by using Wildtree’s Garlic Galore and Garlic Grapeseed Oil.

To order your Wildtree groceries please go to www.jenwarr.mywildtree.com.

Gluten Free, Vegan Brownies


My Recipe for Gluten, Dairy & Egg Free Brownies

Ingredients
1 package Wildtree Gluten Free Brownies
4 TBSP Wildtree Butter GSO
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tsp baking powder
2 TBSP rice milk (more if needed)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x9 inch baking pan with Butter GSO. Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and the edges start to come away. Cool and serve.
Serves 16 (or one if you are me!)

Cook's Notes
If you can eat eggs, use 2 of them instead of the applesauce and baking powder. I find I need to add extra baking time when I swap out the eggs for applesauce. If you use 2 eggs instead, you will only need to cook 30-40 minutes.
 
To order your Wildtree Gluten Free Mixes please go to www.jenwarr.mywildtree.com.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Eat Your Greens

Our lettuce box
  
Spinach? Kale? Chard? Collards?
Do you eat any of these greens? Does the thought make you cringe?
I can honestly say that once I started eating them, I started to crave them!
Collards and Kale are my favorites over Spinach due to that funny after taste.

Ever wonder why you get that taste in your mouth? Here's an explanation...
"Oxalic acid in the spinach, which is released when spinach is cooked, is the culprit. Oxalates form insoluble salts that cannot be washed away by saliva; only other foods can work them off; this is the reason that the distinctive cooked-spinach aftertaste sometimes stays on your tongue so long.

This phenomenon does not, however, occur from raw spinach, and since the intensity of oxalic acid varies from crop to crop, you won’t always experience a gritty or chalky sensation. To neutralize the effect of cooked spinach on the teeth, try using spinach in recipes that also include high-protein foods, such as milk, eggs, and cheese. Or, when plain spinach has finished cooking, drizzle it lightly with freshly squeezed lemon juice."

Our chard & kale planter

Here's an excellent chart for why you should eat your greens!

Looking for some good recipes for greens? Here's my favorite...

Skillet Full o' Greens
chunk of pancetta, chopped
2 medium zucchini, quartered and chopped
1 large leek, halved, sliced and cleaned thoroughly
big ol' bunch of collard greens, stemmed and chopped
Wildtree's Garlic Grapeseed Oil
Wildtree's CA Garlic Pepper
Bragg's Liquid Aminos (optional)

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, add a little Garlic Grapeseed Oil and pancetta and cook until all fat is rendered and it starts to crisp up. Remove pancetta from pan and set aside. Add zucchini and leeks to pan and cook until tender and zucchini starts to brown. Add collards to pan, turn heat down and cook until collards are tender. Add pancetta back in along with a sprinkling of CA Garlic Pepper and a dash of Bragg's to taste.

Collards on our deck

To order any Wildtree groceries please go to www.jenwarr.mywildtree.com.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Watermelon Mediterranean Salad with Feta

This dish embodies the zenith of summer when watermelon and tomatoes are bursting in all their glory! Paired with refreshing cucumbers, buttery avocado, savory olives and the crunch of seeds makes this dish the perfect accompaniment to any grilled entree or just a fantastic afternoon snack!

Watermelon Mediterranean Salad with Feta
3 medium heirloom tomatoes, cored and cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1 cup watermelon, cut into cubes
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
1 avocado, cut in half, pitted and cut into cubes
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted, sliced
12 leaves spinach, torn
1 tablespoon chopped basil
1 tablespoon chopped mint

Toss all ingredients into serving bowl and then prepare dressing.

Dressing
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons Wildtree's Mediterranean Balsamic Dipping Oil
pinch of sea salt to taste

Whisk all dressing ingredients together and drizzle over salad.

To order your Wildtree groceries please go to www.jenwarr.mywildtree.com. To earn them for free contact me to host your own Tasting or Dinner Prep Workshop for Freezer Meals of become a Rep! 

Pesto Grilled Corn on the Cob

A yummy idea for all that seasonal corn on the cob! A pesto-packed twist on a backyard party classic, grilling corn in its husk yields tender kernels and a delectable natural sweetness.

Pesto Grilled Corn on the Cob
1.  Oil your grill and preheat to medium high heat.

2.  Fill a large bowl with cold water.

3.  Keeping the husks attached at the base. peel back the husks of each cob and remove the silk. Cover the cobs again with the husk.

4.  Soak the corncobs in cold water for 5-10 minutes to prevent husks from charring too quickly.

5.  Prepare Wildtree's Basil Pesto according to package directions.

6. Place corn, covered in its husk on the grill. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove from the grill, let it cool enough to touch and then remove the husks. Return to grill and cook, turning to lightly char all sides for an additional 5-7 minutes total.

7.  Remove the corn from the frill and generously brush with the pesto. Sprinkle with some fresh grated Parmeggiano Reggiano is desired.

To order your Wildtree groceries please go to www.jenwarr.mywildtree.com.