Lunch at the Office - Organic Steak and Mushroom Soup

I take my lunch to work with me virtually every single day for several reasons. It's economical, I know exactly what's in it, I don't do fast food and I don't do GMO. For those reasons it's pretty much required that I do the cooking. So, fine...I will. Today I brought organic steak and mushroom soup. The steak I had left over (sometimes left over steak happens...every once in a while!) I made using this recipe and it makes really good soup! If you don't have steak, cooked organic beef of any kind will work. After it's done I pack the soup in a plastic container to carry it but take glass or stoneware to heat it up in. Microwaving in plastic transfers chemicals from the plastic to your food and I don't want to eat that. Home cooked soup at work makes the day a teeny bit better.

STEAK AND MUSHROOM SOUP

1/2 cup cooked steak cut into cubes

1 medium size fresh organic mushroom cut into slices

1/4 cup chopped organic celery

2 cups organic beef broth

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 tablespoon red cooking wine

Put all ingredients in a pan and cook until boiling and the vegetables are tender. Let cool and place in a plastic container to take with you. Heat it up in the microwave in the stoneware or glass and there you have it! And, btw, it makes my office smell like a gourmet restaurant and I've yet to have anybody complain.

Fried Sage Potatoes with Basted Farm Eggs

I love fresh sage. It reminds my of my Aunt Fairy who grew it outside and used it all year. I grow it outside myself now and use it all year. I love going out early in the morning and picking a few leaves and using it in breakfast. She would put it in fresh ground pork (that she and Uncle George raised) and make sausage. I don't do that but I did put it in fried potatoes this morning and served it with a basted farm egg. It was SO good! So, here's the recipe for you. It's simple, it's quick, it's healthy, it's from the earth. Give it a try. I think you'll like it. Aunt Fairy approved!!

FRIED SAGE POTATOES with BASTED FARM EGGS

(SERVES ONE)

1 medium organic potato sliced thinly (using a mandolin slicer makes it much easier to get them really thin)

1/4 small organic onion sliced thinly

3 fresh organic sage leaves, chopped or snipped into small pieces

1 tablespoon organic extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

Fry the potato and the onion until lightly brown. Toss in the sage leaves after chopping or snipping into small pieces. Cook until the potatoes and onions are as brown as you like. Sage will cook quickly and will burn if cooked too long. Salt and pepper to taste.

Basted Egg

Using a small skillet with a lid, bring about 1/2 cup of water to a simmer. Place the (hopefully) locally pasture raised organic farm egg (or eggs) in the water and put the lid on and cook at a simmer until it's a done as you like your eggs. Salt and pepper and serve with the potatoes and some sliced tomatoes if you like. I liked, so I did and they were good!! Happy breakfast! Or lunch, or supper for that matter.

Chicken Tenders with Pesto and Mozzarella

This summer I had a nice crop of basil so I turned it into pesto using walnuts instead of pine nuts, froze it in ice cube trays and then bagged it for use later on. Later on came today and I made this quick and easy recipe with it.

CHICKEN TENDERS WITH PESTO AND MOZZARELLA

2 pasture raised organic chicken tenders 

1 large tablespoon of pesto (you can use commercially prepared pesto if you don't have your own)

1 ounce of fresh mozzarella (I used 4 mozzarella pearls - two per chicken tender)

olive oil

Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

Lightly pound or roll with a rolling pin the chicken tenders wrapped in plastic wrap until they are flattened. Spread the pesto on the flattened chicken equally between the two pieces and place the mozzarella on one end. Roll up the chicken starting with the end containing the cheese and tuck in the ends.  Place in a small baking dish and brush the tops with olive oil and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 20 to 25 minutes (until the juices run clear). Slice and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste and serve with fresh veggies of your choice. Green peppers and roma tomatoes pair quite nicely as a side with the chicken.

Organic Chili Stuffed Green Pepper

This is really simple. I love simple recipes when I've worked all day and don't have a lot of time to cook in the evening. So, last night I took my own homemade organic chili straight from the refrigerator and made stuffed peppers with it. Took very little effort and I could just hang out while they were baking.

CHILI STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS

One large organic green pepper per person, topped and seeded.

Organic chili soup (your favorite variety and recipe, just don't use canned, chemical filled processed chili! Unhealthy and disgusting.)

Shredded cheese (1 tablespoon per pepper)

Chopped green onion, sliced olives, tomatoes, other veggies of your liking for garnish.

Organic tortilla chips**

Parboil the peppers for 5 minutes in boiling water. Put them in a deep baking dish (or individual large ramekins) and fill with cold chili. Top with 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese (I used raw cheddar) and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Top with chopped veggies and serve with organic tortilla chips. Delicious!!

**Organic tortilla chips - I never, ever (although I used to) eat tortilla chips made from processed ingredients because they're full of chemicals, unhealthy fats, they're addictive and because when I start eating them I can't stop!! However, I've found that with organic chips, I can stop with one serving (and I do pay attention to the serving size). They don't haunt me, they don't call to me from the cupboard and there are times I even forget I have them and they go stale. But, if they don't work that way for you, don't eat them. They really aren't worth it and this is good all on its own without the chips!

Eating Seasonally and Locally - Mashed Turnip and Sweet Potato with Sage and Parmesan

The lowly turnip gets very little respect. But it should! It's a nutritional powerhouse containing fiber, folate, calcium, potassium, copper, manganese, vitamins C and B6 and vegetable protein. They're readily available this time of year, economical and quite tasty, especially prepared like this.

MASHED TURNIP AND SWEET POTATO

WITH SAGE AND PARMESAN

1 turnip peeled and cut into chunks

1 sweet potato peeled and cut into chunks

2 tsp butter

1 1/2 tsp rubbed sage

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Boil the turnip and sweet potato until done and drain. Add the butter and the sage and beat with a beater until they have a whipped consistency. Add the cheese and continue beating until the cheese is incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Makes 2 servings. This is good! Might become a favorite of mine.

Oatcake with Cherries and Nutmeg

A slightly different version of a pancake with half of it being oats, this is a "stick to your ribs" kind of pancake. When I was about 6, or so, my great aunt used to fix oatmeal for me for breakfast and I really didn't like it! She would tell me I needed to eat it because it would stick to my ribs! That made it even worse because I could picture that gray sticky stuff stuck to my ribs inside of my tummy all day long! But, since then I've grown to appreciate oats, even to like them. Therefore, in memory of my Great Aunt Fairy (yep, Aunt Fairy), an oatcake topped with cherries. And I always have loved cherries, so that's no chore and they can stick to my ribs (along with the oats) if they want to.

OATCAKE WITH CHERRIES

AND NUTMEG

Makes one oatcake.

Oatcake

2 tbl organic flour

2 tbl old fashioned organic oats

1 tsp aluminum free baking powder

dash of salt

1/4 cup filtered water

Stir all ingredients and cook on a griddle like you would a regular pancake.

Cherries for the top

1 cup sweet red cherries (frozen works fine)

1 tsp natural arrowroot

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp honey

Mix together and microwave for 45 seconds. Stir and microwave for another 45 seconds. Let set until it begins to cool and spread it over the oatcake. Delicious!

Black Bean Taco Pizza

I love pizza! Who doesn't. But, pizza made from processed ingredients does me no favors! I'll overeat, feel lousy, be mad at myself and the cravings will begin and I'll want to eat again shortly after already overeating. So, because pizza made from processed ingredients affects me that way, when I have pizza I make it myself. This one - taco pizza from "refried" black beans with stone ground organic flour for the crust uses ingredients made by the earth and not a corporation that uses processed, refined, chemical loaded ingredients. This is a one person pizza made from real food and it's really good if I do say so myself!

BLACK BEAN TACO PIZZA

For the crust - 

1/3 cup organic stone ground wheat flour

1/2 tsp yeast

1/4 tsp honey

3 1/2 T warm filtered water

dash of salt

Dissolve the yeast and the honey in the warm water. Stir in the flour until it's well incorporated and shape into a ball. Cover and let it sit for about 20 minutes.

Sauce - 

1/3 cup black "refried" beans - my version of refried beans for this was to take organic black beans that I had cooked with garlic and mash them into a paste-like consistency. You can buy regular organic refried beans and use them as well.

1/6 cup organic taco sauce

Toppings

shredded cheese

sliced black olives

chopped green onion

chopped green pepper

Stir the beans and the taco sauce together for the pizza sauce. Spread the pizza dough onto a baking stone and top with the bean sauce and 1/4 cup of shredded cheese. Top with the sliced olives, chopped onion and green pepper and any other veggie you like. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.When it's done top with lettuce and tomatoes and salsa and maybe guacamole. Taco pizza!

Kamut and Oats Banana Nut Microwave Mini Muffins

These are SO good and really fast and cute! This recipe makes two mini muffins baked in the microwave in ramekins for a fast breakfast. Made with all organic ingredients including kamut flour and oats, they're healthy and delicious. And fast! Did I say fast? Speedy? I think I did.

KAMUT AND OATS BANANA NUT 

MICROWAVE MINI MUFFINS

1/2 ripe mashed ripe banana

1 T chopped walnuts

3 T kamut flour

1 T old fashioned oats

1 tsp honey

1 tsp softened butter or coconut oil

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp aluminum free baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

2 T unsweetened cashew milk

Mix all ingredients and divide evenly between two small oiled ramekins. Microwave for 45 seconds and breakfast is ready! You might have time to pour a cup of coffee and have a sip before they're ready to come out of the microwave. So, top them off with a couple of walnut pieces and a touch of honey and enjoy them with that coffee. Or, invite a friend over and share.

Creamy Mushroom, Spinach and Leek Soup

Soup is warm and comforting and for me must have healing properties because there's something about it that just makes me feel better. I think it reminds me of both of my grandmothers, although they each had their specialties. One made the most incredible vegetable soup and the other one always made chicken noodle soup when I wasn't feeling well. And, when the weather begins to turn cooler, it's just time to make soup! Which means I'll be making it in a lot of different varieties for the next several months. This one - crazy with mushrooms, non dairy, vegan, low carb, low calorie, gluten free (if you don't add croutons) - all of the good stuff and non of the bad. I took it to work with me and heated it up and had a healthy lunch that was so much better than the food from the fast food places. And, economically speaking, fixing you own lunch saves a lot of money!

CREAMY MUSHROOM, SPINACH AND LEEK SOUP

4 ounces chopped mushrooms 

1/2 cup chopped leeks

1 chopped celery stalk

1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach
1 T chopped red bell pepper

2 tsp mushroom bouillon

2 cups unsweetened cashew milk

2 T arrowroot powder
1/4 cup water
black pepper

Saute the leeks and celery and bell pepper in coconut oil (about 1 tsp if you choose) or just cook them in a small amount of water until they're tender adding more water to keep them from drying out and burning. Add the mushrooms and cook until tender. Add the spinach, the bouillon and the cashew milk and cook over medium heat stirring frequently until hot and bubbly. Dissolve the arrowroot in the 1/4 cup of water, add to the soup and stir until thickened. Season with black pepper and add some croutons if you choose. If you eat the entire recipe of soup and don't add coconut oil or croutons, it's about 160 calories. If you add the teaspoon of coconut oil, it's about 200 calories (again, minus the croutons). Soup made from the ingredients made by the earth and a soup my grandmothers both would have been proud of!