I am generally not much of a comfort food person, but during a cold snap, this WAS pretty good for dinner after coming in from barn chores. I adapted this recipe from The Modern Proper, adding a few more vegetables than called for (including adding a half a bag of spinach that we had on hand), and subbing most of the dairy products. The only dairy I did leave in was the buttermilk. I find that if a recipe is calling for buttermilk, it’s probably there for a reason. This came out very well, but I made the dumplings too big, so they were a little gluey. Would definitely make this again with smaller dumplings.
Continue readingMain Dishes
Apple Cider Brined Turkey
This is our go to brine for our turkey every year. It comes from a Cooking Light recipe in the mid-2000s and we love it. The measurements for the spices are just a guide – add more or less to taste. Just make sure you have a pot big enough for your turkey to brine overnight!
Continue readingChicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
Now that the weather is starting to improve, I come in from the barn later in the evening and would rather have something convenient for dinner. Something that doesn’t end up being a handful of pretzels. I haven’t done this in a while, but it made sense to start trying out recipes for freezer meals (the challenge being they have to be adaptable for my diet – mostly stick to AIP). This was a winner that I took from several techniques to get something that worked. There is dairy in it, but cheese has been my hardest thing to give up, and I find if there is NO other dairy for a while, it works. This comes together quickly, it’s very good, will freeze well, and is modified for AIP.
Continue readingSheet Pan Sausage and Veggies
This was quite good and open to many interpretations! My friend Stephanie suggested this after I asked for recipe ideas. I have recently been put on a low FODMAP diet, which is a rude awakening for sure (but hard to argue as it is making a difference). It’s easy to become discouraged, but simple ideas like this work well! I’m planning to share some recipes (or just ways to prepare food) that work for us and keep me from eating nothing but eggs and cucumbers! 🙂
Stuffed Peppers Round 2
I have a pretty reliable stuffed peppers recipe we like a lot, but I thought it was time to try something new…we really liked this one! It was based on a recipe from Damn Delicious. I used ground turkey instead of beef, and quinoa instead of rice, both substations I prefer regardless. We did this in the slow cooker and it came out really well!
Quick “Cassoulet”
We had a couple of cans of white beans, and a kielbasa that needed a job, and it’s cold here on the farm. While we have more time than we used to on a weekday (horses live at home rather than me driving…amazing the difference!), we still appreciate a quick dinner. This was fun, tasty, open to whatever sausage you have on hand, etc. It is from Epicurious, and came up when I googled, “quick cassoulet!” I added a package of spinach for filling (and because it needed to be used up).
Smothered Drumsticks
This was a great older Food and Wine recipe when you’re looking for nice comfort food. It would do just as well with pork chops, but we loved the drumsticks. We had this with brown basmati rice and Brussels sprouts.
Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
Gotta love classic takeout curry, except it doesn’t necessarily work well with any kind of healthy diet plan. This worked well, though…easy to lighten, and we had it over cauliflower rice – it was very good! We would definitely repeat. You could use full-fat ingredients for this, if you were not looking to lighten it up.
Salisbury Steak Meatballs
Another pressure cooker adventure! Also another Skinnytaste recipe. We had this with cauliflower mash. Definitely one worth repeating.
Caprese Pasta Salad
This was a pretty pasta salad for our Kentucky Derby party this year. Colorful and it had a lot of flavor. And of course pasta salad is always great for a crowd.