Ingredients
Filling

• 1 lb. ground beef, raw
• 1 cup carrot, finely chopped (about 1 carrot)
• 1 cup onion, finely diced
• ½ cup celery, finely diced
• 1 clove of garlic, finely diced
• ½ cup of beef broth
• Salt and pepper to taste

Topping 2 sweet potatoes, peeled & diced


Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Filling

• On medium heat, in a frying pan, sauté carrots, onions and celery. Cook until the onions are translucent.
• Add the ground beef, garlic and sprinkle generous amounts of salt and pepper.
• Cook until the beef is cooked.
• Add the broth and barbecue sauce. Cook on low for 10 minutes.
• Place everything in a 6 x8 oven proof dish.

Topping

• Place the sweet potato in a pot of salted water. Turn to a boil and cook until tender and you can easily poke a fork through.
• Drain and mash the sweet potato.
• Drop spoonfuls of the sweet potato over the beef mixture. Then spread it all over. 

Bake for 30 minutes. Broil on high for 5 minutes.
Serve warm.

Ingredients
Cabbage Rolls

• 1 large head green cabbage, about 2 to 2¼ pounds
• 1 pounds ground beef 
• 1 lb turkey
• 1 medium onion, grated or minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup cooked brown rice

Tomato Sauce

• 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce or one 32-ounce can whole tomatoes, pulsed in a food processor with juice until pureed.
• 2 tablespoons (or more to taste) apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup honey
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Peel cabbage - I used this method:
2. Mix the meat, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, cinnamon and rice.  
3. Mix or blend together sauce.  Place about 1/4 of meat mixture in each cabbage leave and roll like a burrito.
4. Line of the bottom of a 13 x 9 roasting pan or glass dish with a layer of sauce. Place cabbage rolls, seam side down, on top of sauce. Top cabbage rolls with remaining sauce then cover the whole pan with tin foil. Bake for 2 hours in a preheated 350F oven.

Oh my oh my!  This is a new favorite in our house!  I could have eaten the whole pan plus it was super easy and I made it in less than 30 minutes.


Ingredients 

• 1 (14 ounce) package kielbasa, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 yellow, red or orange bell pepper, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 small or 2 large white sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Instructions 

1. In a heavy bottomed skillet (I like to use my cast iron), heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Fry until golden brown and cooked through, around 8-10 minutes, stirring a few times to ensure even browning. 
2. In a separate skillet, brown the sliced kielbasa for around 5 minutes in 1 in a slightly greased pan over medium high heat. Remove the kielbasa from the pan and set aside. 
3. Add the peppers and onions to the skillet.  Sautee until softened, stirring occasionally.
4. Mix everything together in 1 pan and serve hot!

So delicious especially for fall!  Make a big batch on the weekend and have it for breakfast all week!



INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons almond butter
• 1 medium apple, chopped
• Pinch of sea salt (unless almond butter is salted)

INSTRUCTIONS

• Add oats and almond milk into a large mixing bowl
• Add in chia seeds, cinnamon and vanilla extract and stir everything together
• Divide batter into two 12-ounce Mason Jars or containers
• Top with diced apples, a sprinkle of sea salt and a dollop of almond butter
• Cover with lid and place in refrigerator overnight
• In the morning, they are ready to eat! No cooking or heating required. Enjoy!

I got a request to find a good Paleo Pizza recipe and it took a few tries, but I finally got it down!  This would be fun to get the kids involved too and have them add their own toppings!

• Preheat Oven to 350.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the following:
• 2 1/4 cups almond flour
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1 teaspoon Italian herbs (optional) 
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• In a separate mixing bowl (or measuring cup), add: 
• 3 large eggs 
• 2 tablespoons olive oill
• Beat together until frothy and fully combined.
• Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix together until dough forms.
• Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a parchment paper-lined work surface. Top with another piece of parchment paper and roll the dough 1/4″ thick. Remove the top piece of parchment paper and slide the crust onto a rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges have started to crisp and the crust has started to brown.

These are perfect for Sunday football!  And the best part is they are healthy and gluten free and Paleo and delicious!



Ingredients
Meatballs

• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 green onions thinly sliced

Sauce

• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 3/4 cup hot sauce (check ingredients - I used Frank's Red Hot Sauce)
• 1 Tsb. Honey

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Mix meatball ingredients together with hands.  Form into meatballs and place on pan.
• Bake meatballs for 4-5 minutes until outsides are brown.
• While baking mix together sauce ingredients.
• Transfer meatballs from pan into slow cooker and top with sauce making sure to coat all sides of the meatballs.
• Cook in slow cooker on low for 2 hours.
• When meatballs are done cooking, strain sauce into a sauce pan and reduce until thick whisking frequently.

Gretchen gobbled these up super fast this morning!  They are perfect to make a big batch on the weekend and freeze them.  Then just pop into the toaster when you are ready to enjoy!

• 1/3 Cup Coconut flour
• 1/4 Cup Almond meal/flour
• 1/4 tsp Baking soda
• 1/4 tsp Sea salt
• 2 Tbsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Nutmeg
• 4 Eggs
• 1/2 c full fat Coconut milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp pure Maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp Ghee, melted (could sub grass-fed butter like Kerrygold but wouldn’t be dairy free)
• 2 medium Zestar or Pink Lady Apples, skinned and shredded
• 1/4-1/2 c Water
• Coconut oil for greasing the skillet
  

Directions

• Sift or whisk your dry ingredients in a large bowl, set aside.
• In a medium bowl combine eggs, coconut milk, vanilla, maple syrup, and melted butter and whisk thoroughly.
• Add wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine.
• Fold in the shredded apple and stir until it is evenly distributed throughout the batter.
• Let the batter sit for 5 minutes and then add enough water for the consistency of your liking, I used a little more than 1/4c for the ones pictured.
• Heat your skillet to 300 degrees and lightly coat with coconut oil.
• Using a 1/4 Cup measure pour the batter onto the skillet (use slightly less than a full 1/4c for best results).
• Let cook for 4-6 minutes or until the bubbles on the top pop and you can easily get a spatula underneath.
• Flip and let cook for another 4-5 minutes.

Serve with maple syrup, apple butter, almond butter, a sprinkling of walnuts or pecans or by themselves!

Recipe makes ~16 pancakes

I was seriously craving something sweet today and had these beautiful plump peaches sitting on the counter just staring me in the face.  Dave and I are doing Whole 30 this month, but I figured I could still whip together something super delicious.  Holy cow they were delicious and super easy!!


Ingredients

3 medium ripe peaches, cut in half with pits removed 

1 tsp pure maple syrup

1 can coconut milk, refrigerated

Honey

Cinnamon (to taste)

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Instructions
Heat a cast-iron skillet to medium and add the coconut oil. While that's melting. Wash and dry the peaches, then slice them in half and remove the put. When the oil and pan have heated up enough, place the peach halves face down in the pan and cook 2 minutes. Flip and cook for another minute.

While peaches are cooking, whip together the coconut fat from the top of the can and the maple syrup.

Remove peaches from pan to a bowl or rimmed plate.  Drizzle with honey.  Pour coconut milk mixture into the middle of the peaches and let rest.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and chopped pecans.  Enjoy!

I made this for dinner tonight and it is soooo delicious.  I am on day 9 of my Whole 30/Paleo adventure and I am feeling great.  This soup is one that I will definitely make again and again this fall!
Ingredients 
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¾ teaspoon whole fennel seeds
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¾ pound uncooked Hot Italian Chicken Sausage (or Pork), crumbled
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into ⅛" rounds
1 medium stalk celery, cut into ⅛" half-moons
8 cups chicken broth or stock
1 dried bay leaf
1 head Lacinato Kale, stems removed, cleaned and cut into bite sized pieces
1 13.5-ounce can full fat coconut milk

Directions
1. Heat a large soup pot over medium heat. Once hot, add oil then chopped garlic, onion and spices (salt, fennel, black pepper, red pepper). Cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and spices are fragrant.
2. Add crumbled sausage and use a wooden spoon or spatula to break up even further into bite sized pieces. Cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the pink is gone.
3. Add carrots and celery. Saute 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Next, add broth and bay leaf. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil.
5. Once boiling, add kale, cover and immediately lower heat to a simmer. Continue cooking for 8 to 10 minutes or until kale is softened.
6. Remove from heat and discard bay leaf (if you can find it hehe). Slowly stir in coconut milk until fully dissolved. Serve warm and Enjoy!

This is an awesome recipe to whip up a batch on the weekend and eat it for lunch all week!


INGREDIENTS

• 1 red and orange bell pepper chopped 
• 1 onion, chopped 
• 1 lb 99% fat free ground turkey 
• 1/4 cup Southwest Seasoning 
•  1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (or 6 blue containers) 
• 1 cup of fat free refried beans (or 2 red containers) 
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil 
• 12 Corn Tortillas 

DIRECTIONS

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and add peppers and onions and cook until tender.
• Remove from the skillet and set aside.
• Brown your ground turkey in the skillet until almost done.
• Add cooked onions and peppers to meat mixture, along with southwest seasoning and 1/4 cup of water.
• Simmer for 10 minutes.
• Spray the bottom of a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.
• Line the bottom of the pan with 6 tortillas.
• Spread with one red container of the refried beans.
• Spread 1/2 of the meat and vegetable mixture over the tortillas and beans.
• Layer the remaining 6 tortillas on top of the meat mixture.
• Repeat spreading the refried beans and remaining meat and vegetable mixture.
• Sprinkle shredded cheese evenly over the top.
• Bake at 375 for 30 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is hot and bubbly.

Makes 6 Servings

21 Day Fix Container Count (1 Serving) = 1 green, 1 red, 1 yellow,  1 blue, 1 tsp.

One of my favorite parts about summer is being able to dust off the BBQ and put it to good use!  We made these Kabobs last night and they were delicious!  My favorite way to have veggies is from the grill and we had plenty left over for lunches so we both got to eat them two days in a row!  Score!!!

These are definitely my new summer go-to dinner.

Ingredients 

• 1 red pepper, one inch pieces 
• 1 orange pepper, one inch pieces 
• 1 yellow pepper, one inch pieces 
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed 
• 1/4 cup of soy sauce or tamari 
• 1 tsp of ginger, grated 
• 2 tbsp honey 
• 1 large red onion, one inch pieces 
• 2-3 tsp Sriracha 
• 4 chicken breasts, chopped in one inch pieces 
• 1 tsp sesame oil 
• 7 wooden skewers (soak in warm water for 30 minutes)
  

Instructions

• Scewer the chicken, peppers and onion on the soaked wooden skewers and set aside. 
• Combine garlic, soy sauce or tamari, ginger, honey, sriracha and sesame oil in a small sauce pan.
• Place sauce pan over medium high heat and bring the sauce to a boil. 
• Reduce heat to medium and let the sauce continue to bubble, stir often. 
• Remove from heat once sauce becomes thick like syrup. I cooked mine for about 6-8 minutes.
• Preheat your grill to about 400 degrees. 
• Cook kabobs for about 3 minutes per side and then remove from the grill.
• Brush sauce on kabobs

1. Banana Berry Yogurt

• 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1/4 banana

2. Egg Nest

• 1 piece of whole grain toast
• 1 egg

3. PB&J Waffle 

• 1 whole grain waffle
• 1 tsp. all natural peanut butter
• 1/2 cup sliced strawberries

4. Southwest Scramble

• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 cup chopped veggies (I usually prep a bunch of random veggies on the weekend and use them throughout the week.  My favorites are green peppers, onions, and mushrooms.  Pictured is spinach.)
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tsp. Southwest Seasoning 

5. Hawaiian Breakfast 

• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice (prepped ahead of time)
• 2 eggs
• 2 turkey sausage links

The conclusion:  This omelet is soooo yummy, quick, easy, and kid friendly.


Ingredients 

• 3/4 cup blueberries (allow for the extra ones that accidentally fall into your mouth before and during cooking.)
• 2 eggs
• Splash of vanilla
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
•  ½ banana, sliced
• 2 tsp. all natural peanut butter

Instructions 

1. Over low heat, put blueberries in pan with a splash of water and warm through until they start to break up. If you are really strapped for time, this step can be done in the microwave:  it should take less than a minute before the berries start to soften.  
2. Move berries to a bowl and set aside.  Give the pan a quick wipe down. 
3. Whisk together eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon.
4. Turn stove up to medium heat.  Once the pan is hot spray with non-stick cooking spray and pour in the egg mixture.  
5. Place the sliced bananas in the egg mixture like so:
   
   
6. Cook the mixture until eggs have solidified.  I gently raise the edges while cooking and tip the pan so that the eggs run underneath and cook.  This stops the bottom from overcooking and makes for a more even omelet.
7. Once eggs are cooked, spread peanut butter on half and top with 3/4 of the berries.
8. Gently fold omelet.  This can be done with a spatula or while you are sliding it out of the pan onto a plate.
9. Top with remaining berries.

Makes 1 omelet.
21 Day Fix Container Count = 1 red, 2 purple, 2 tsp.

One of my favorites!  I love to make a batch on the weekend and have them for lunch all week long.  This is one of those "I can't believe this is a 21 Day Fix recipe" recipes.


Ingredients 

• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 
• 1 tsp. minced garlic 
•  ½ medium onion diced
• 1 yellow pepper diced
• 4 cups torn fresh spinach (about ½ bag) 
• 2 cups shredded chicken (about 2 medium chicken breasts)
• 1 4-ounce can diced Green Chiles (undrained) 
• 1½ cup Greek yogurt 
• 2 tablespoons Southwest Seasoning 
• 1 tsp. lime juice 
• ½ cup water
• 6 7-inch whole wheat flour tortillas 
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 
• 1 medium tomato chopped 

Instructions 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. In a skillet, heat olive oil and sautee garlic, onions, and pepper over medium heat. 
3. Add torn spinach leaves to sauteed mixtures and wilt (about 3-4 minutes) 
4. Remove from heat, stir in chicken and diced Green Chiles
5. Meanwhile, prepare sauce of yogurt, Southwest Seasoning, lime juice,  and water. 
6. Pour half of the sauce into the filling mix. 
7. Fill six whole wheat tortillas (I used gluten free tortillas) with filling mix and roll, placing seam side down in a baking pan. 
8. Top with remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheese. 
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and browned. 
10. Top with tomatoes.

Makes 6 enchiladas.
21 Day Fix Container Count (1 enchilada) = 1 green, 1 red, 1 yellow,  1 blue, 1 tsp.

When you are cutting onions, make sure to wear your onion cutting goggles!  Best Mother's Day present every!

This is seriously my favorite seasoning.  I usually quadruple the recipe because I put it on everything!  It goes great on eggs, chicken, or even your broccoli to give it a little Southwest flare.
Ingredients

• 1 tbsp Chili Powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp sea salt

What a productive weekend for us! I wish every weekend were a three day weekend. I feel both like I got a ton done and I still got to relax and rest.

First, Dave and I finished organizing the guest room, downstairs, and our bedroom. I also organized the refrigerator, freezer (indoor and outdoor), and pantry. I even put some pictures up in our room and Dave cleaned the entire house by himself and started making some storage units for our living room.

On Monday, my brother Isaac and his wife Kalee came over. Isaac put together the baby’s swing and stroller for us. My mom and step dad came over along with my grandparents and they all helped me make 40 Crock Pot freezer meals so hopefully I won’t have to cook at all this summer! I can’t believe my due date is in 9 days!!! I still have some closets I want to organize and I have yet to pack my birthing bag…I guess it just hasn’t seemed real until this point. I better get on that.

What our counter looked like after all of the assembly was complete.

A lot of people keep asking me about how I planned and made the freezer meals so I figured I would share some more details. Below are links to the recipes I used. I spent a lot of time planning and searching the web for gluten free recipes (or recipes I could easily make gluten free since Dave has Celiac disease). To make it easier, I found 20 recipes that looked good and made 2 of each one.

Planning, I must say, was the hardest part. After I found the recipes I wanted, I compiled all of the ingredients into a spreadsheet, combined the ones that were the same (multiple recipes called for chicken, onions, broth, etc.), and I doubled everything (since I made two of each meal). I then went shopping in my own kitchen to cross off what we already had so I knew exactly what we needed to buy.  And by me shopping in the kitchen, what I really mean is me sitting on the couch shouting out different foods and spices to Dave who then checked if we had them.  Overall, the list of ingredients we had to buy wasn’t as long as I expected – mainly just meat, veggies, a few spices we don’t use on a daily basis, and a couple of things we had on hand but not enough of. The meat was definitely the most expensive part but we bought all of it frozen from Costco and it wasn’t too bad (especially considering we got 40 meals and some leftovers out of it).

It was a good thing I organized the fridge, freezer, and pantry beforehand because we had a lot of food after our big shopping trip.  The hardest part of my weekend was the grocery shopping. I am so thankful I have David to help me. Walking around Costco at 38 weeks pregnant is no easy task my friend, especially when you have more than normal to buy. We also had to go to Fred Meyer to get some of the ingredients we didn’t need in bulk and by that point I was so exhausted and was having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions from walking that I opted to use a motorized cart. I felt like such and idiot and couldn’t stop laughing at first and David was all paranoid telling be to stop because he didn’t want us to get kicked out of the store. Anyways…below are the recipes. If you have any questions leave them in the comments!

Chicken Recipes
Butternut Squash and Chicken
Honey Pineapple Chicken
Ranch Chicken
Orange Chicken
Hawaiian Chicken Sandwiches
Salsa Chicken
Chicken and Tomatoes
Creamy Italian Chicken
Ugly Chicken Dinner
Lemonade Chicken
Lime Garlic Chicken
Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
BBQ Cranberry Chicken
Honey Bourbon Chicken
Apple Sauce BBQ Chicken

Pork Recipes
Pepsi Pulled Pork (BEST Pulled Pork recipe out there and did not require any prep work so I just bought the ingredients.)
Sweet and Sour Pork
Pineapple Pork

Beef Recipes
Cheese Burger Soup
Ginger Beef

Our freezer full of food!