Fa-La-La-La-La...Stuffed Cucumber Bites with Bacon

Confession: the above photo I found on Pinterest. I didn't get a chance to snap a pic of my finished product before they were GONE, but I documented the process (below). However, this is how they looked, just on a pretty Christmas platter :)

Ok, moving on, so in one of the clean eating accountability groups our team is hosting for the Holidays, a fellow coach posted this recipe. I knew right away that I wanted to try them, but my Mom is allergic to cucumbers, so it had to be a party setting. Enter the annual Christmas party with friends where we find our Christmas trees! 

Let me just say, these are simple, easy, clean and SO tasty! Hubby and kid-approved! We will totally be sharing these at one of our Christmas get togethers with family.

Mmmmm...here it is:

What You Need

6-7 strips of uncured bacon (we use Simply Nature from Aldi's, comes in 12 oz package)

1-8oz block of cream cheese, room temp or softened

1-16oz container Stonyfield organic plain Greek yogurt

2 tbsp dill (dried; organic if you have it)

1 tbsp dried onion flakes OR organic onion powder (Wal Mart has Wild Oats organic spices locally)

Dash of fresh ground pepper

4-5 longer cucumbers (organic if you can find it)

Put It Together

Cook bacon by using your preferred method. I like to cook it in the oven, 400 degrees, about 40 minutes, on foil lined cookie sheet. Remove from oven when crispy, transfer to paper towel to cool.

Mix next 5 ingredients with a hand mixer, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. When you're ready to assemble, put this mix in a plastic Baggie, snipping the corner to easily fill the "cups".

Wash cucumbers well and peel, alternating stripes. Cut off ends and slice approximately 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Scoop out seeds with a melon baller, leaving 1/8 to 1/4 on the bottom to form a "cup". Just get as close as you can. 

Fill the cups with your tasty, creamy mixture, there is enough filling to fill them nice and *slightly* heaping. Top with chopped bacon pieces and enjoy!

Take Out Fake Out - CLEAN Sweet & Sour Chicken

I have such fond memories of going to a local Chinese restaurant with my parents when I was a teenager. For a while, we went every Friday night, sometimes just us, other times with friends. Good food, great memories!

Knowing what I know now about food, I'm glad I enjoyed it then, because I have to admit, going out for Chinese just makes me feel guilty and can leave me feeling kinda cruddy. Since most Chinese restaurants include MSG in most of their dishes, buffets are nearly impossible if you're highly sensitive. Ordering off a menu can sometimes yield an MSG free entree, but even then your choices can be limited. And soy sauce - while it sounds simple - is far from it, being loaded with sodium and wheat (right? who knew?), what's a Clean Eating Mommy to do? Make it at home, make it quick - and make it TASTY! That's what we do now, so rest assured this recipe is kid-friendly (and husband-friendly, too!).

 Don't let the ingredient list or length of instructions scare you (I'm wordy) - this is almost a one pot meal (well, except the pot you cook the rice in) and goes from start to YUM in about 40 minutes. No Lie.




WHAT YOU NEED
1lb clean chicken*, more if you prefer, cut up into bite size chunks
2 Tbsp sesame oil or organic sesame oil blend
pepper, to taste
crushed red pepper, optional

16 oz bag frozen stir fry vegetables, or fresh chopped celery, carrots, mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, Organic (when possible)
1 20 oz can of pineapple, in its own juice
1/4 - 1/2 c white vinegar or rice vinegar (if you have it)
appx 3oz tomato paste or 3-4 Tbsp organic ketchup
1 - 2 Tbsp Braggs Liquid Aminos (this is a soy sauce alternative)
1 - 2 Tbsp Organic honey
1 - 2 Tbsp Arrowroot Starch - you can sub non-GMO cornstarch if you don't have arrowroot on hand
1c organic brown rice, quick cooking or long grain - your preference - cooked according to directions

PUT IT TOGETHER
Start cooking your rice according to package directions.

Heat oil in a large frying pan on medium heat, add chicken and pepper to taste. Cook the chicken until done all the way through, about 5-7 minutes. Add veggies and cook, stirring, until they are hot and cooked to your liking (I cook mine longer for the little ones). I'm also going to add that I usually toss in extra veggies - there are 5 in our household, and sure the bag says "5 servings" but you can't go wrong adding more vegetables, so if I have another 1/2 bag of frozen broccoli or some mini sweet peppers on hand, I toss them in, too. If you're adding crushed red pepper, for a little heat, you can add it now. We usually don't use it, but I've heard it can be tasty.

When the veggies are done how you like them, add your can of pineapple - juice and all - as well as about 1/4c white vinegar. I usually start slow and add more according to taste. Add tomato paste and stir in, I had 1/2 of a 6oz can that I needed to use up, so that's what I used. You can also substitute Organic (or clean, no High Fructose Corn Syrup) ketchup, adding a couple tablespoons at a time. By using tomato paste your sauce will thicken a bit on its own, if you use ketchup you may need more arrowroot starch. Add your Braggs Liquid Aminow and 1 tbsp Organic honey, stirring in completely. I usually add by taste, if you like your sauce sweeter, add a little more and taste again. Lastly, sprinkle arrowroot powder across the top of your tasty chicken, stir in completely and bring sauce to a boil. If you prefer a thicker sauce, sprinkle more arrowroot and stir in completely again until your sauce is as thick as you prefer.

Serve over rice and enjoy immediately!


*I like to look for a variety of chicken that has been raised vegetarian, non-GMO and has low sodium - less than 100mg/serving is best; for us the cuts don't matter - breast, thigh, bone in, boneless - just so when you make it, you chunk it up boneless; if you have access to Organic, local chicken, that is preferred, but we usually make the best choice we can while staying in our budget :)

Soup is finest in the fall - "Copycat" Pasta e fagioli soup!

Its a beautiful, sunny fall day here and soup has been on our menu a lot lately. I love soup because its easy, tasty, hot and SO flexible. I have been to the Olive Garden ONCE, while my hubby and I were dating, and while I'm sure their soup is tasty, I don't know that I've ever had their "pasta e fagioli" soup. The recipe, however, boasts that it is a "copycat", so I won't dispute it.

Ok, I'm not sure if EVERYONE on pinterest has their favorite blogs for things like recipes, decorating, etc, but for me when I'm searching for a recipe, I have my fav "trusted" pins that I will click on first - above all others - because I know they make tasty food. One of them is Damn Delicious and another is Cooking Classy (which is where this recipe has been adapted from). I'm not much for curse words, but I've come to give this a little leeway - the recipes are just that good, and generally they are pretty "clean" as well.

Naturally, since I give all recipes the once-over, this oh-so-delicious soup is pretty simple and easy to make and my family (yes, kiddos too!) have found it to be a favorite. I like to think of it as kind of an Italian chili (we don't put noodles in our chili - I know there is much debate on this so I'll just leave it at that) and in our version of this soup we use organic brown rice noodles (whatever shape we might have on hand) to make it a gluten free dinner in our house. I also make sure to buy fresh ground sweet italian pork sausage that is not in casing and is nitrite/nitrate/MSG/preservative free (locally, it's found at the fresh meat section, you may have to look around). If I have fresh tomatoes, I toss em in. If not, I use organic canned tomatoes as the recipe calls for.

For the full recipe and great, detailed photos, please visit DamnDelicious (one of my favorite food blogs of all time, seriously) :)

WHAT YOU NEED
1c organic brown rice pasta
2tbsp organic coconut oil, more or less - you could use organic olive oil, careful not to heat it on high :)
1# "clean" sweet italian sausage (you could use hot, whatever your family prefers)
3 cloves garlic, minced, or a strong shake of garlic powder
1 onion, diced
3-4 carrots, diced (peel if you like, we wash and eat in our house)
1 head of celery (more or less, depending how much you like - I toss a bunch in!)
1-2 small zucchini or summer squash, diced (if not organic, I usually peel, otherwise I leave the peel on)
3c chicken broth (homemade is best!), or water and a spoonful of organic "better than bouillon"
1 16oz can organic tomato sauce
1 15oz can organic diced tomatoes
1tsp each dried basil and dried oregano
3/4tsp dried thyme
"Real" salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1 can organic red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can organic great northern beans (or canelli beans, or whatever organic white beans you have), drained and rinsed

PUT IT TOGETHER
Heat oil in large soup pot and brown italian sausage about 3-5 min, crumbling as you cook it. Then (I always just leave it in the same pot), add garlic, onion, carrots, zucchini and celery, cooking until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, seasonings and 1 c water. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and add pasta. Simmer about 15-20 min, until vegetables are tender.

Stir in beans and simmer until everything is warm. Enjoy!

NOTE: I sometimes let this soup simmer longer, kind of like chili, I find that it doesn't hurt the flavor and things hold up just find. However, adding beans before the last 5-10 min or so will make them more mushy and they'll be more likely to fall apart in the soup.

Really, For the full recipe and great, detailed photos, please visit DamnDelicious

Question time: does your family like soup? what is your favorite soup for fall?