Simple Sautéed Asparagus

These days I am having to keep it pretty simple in the kitchen. At least until we have more of a schedule figured out. Ha right? Anyway, little nugget was content in her highchair this afternoon, so I decided I would through together dinner to give Hubs a break.

I knew we had asparagus in the fridge and we always have canned salmon and potatoes on hand so salmon croquettes, sautéed asparagus, and easy roasted potatoes it is. If you haven't had my salmon croquettes you really should give them a try. They are so simple to make and even if you don't like salmon, you will like these!! 

For the potatoes, I just sliced them really thin and sprinkled with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and parmesan. I roasted them at 350° for about 20 minutes, stirring a few times.

Okay on to the asparagus. Y'all, these are so simple and use ingredients that most of us have in the fridge already and they are healthy! 

Printable recipe here!!

Simple Roasted Asparagus

naturally GF/DF

Ingredients:

1 bundle fresh asparagus

2 T olive oil

3 garlic cloves 

1 lemon

1/4 t salt or sea salt

What to do:

Wash and trim the asparagus.

Discard the tough ends and then cut the asparagus into thirds.

Mince your garlic.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in sauté pan. 

Add in your garlic and sauté for about 1 minute, or until fragrant, stirring constantly. 

Add in your asparagus and toss everything together.

Sauté for 7-9 minutes, or until slightly softened and browned. 

Turn the heat off and squeeze the juice of the lemon over the asparagus and sprinkle with the salt.

Stir everything one more time and you're done! 

Thanks Y'all!

-Wise Wife 

Pork Piccata

Hubs has been taking over the kitchen lately, so sorry about the lack in blog posts. With thanksgiving last week, my schedule got thrown off and I didn't really realize I hadn't cooked in a while. I am back in the kitchen today. Hubs was wanting pork the other night and I just wasn't in the mood, so now I feel bad and wanted to cook tenderloin for him. However, I also wanted to keep it simple. What is more simple than a one pot dish? Okay well you technically need two because I serve it over brown rice, but you get the idea.

I love this recipe because it has just a few ingredients, yet has lots of flavor. I feel like this is one of those recipes that seems like you have lots of skills in the kitchen, but really its pretty simple.

Okay enough blabber, lets move on to today's recipe. 

Printable Recipe here!

Pan Seared Pork Tenderloin

GF/DF

Ingredients:

3 T all purpose flour (GF works fine)

1 t salt

1 T dry mustard

1/4 t black pepper

2 cups fresh brussels sprouts

about a 1 pound pork tenderloin

2 T extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 C chicken broth

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 - 2 cups cooked brown rice

What to do:

In a small bowl, mix the first 4 ingredients together well.

Wash, trim the ends, and slice your brussels in half.

Remove any dark green outer leaves.

Trim an excess fat off the pork tenderloin.

Slice tenderloin into 1 inch medallions. 

Cover both sides of the pork medallions with the dry ingredient mixture.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large, deep skillet. Swirl the pan to make sure the oil covers the entire pan.

Place pork medallions into the hot skillet.

Sear the meat, about one minute per side. 

Once all medallions are flipped, add in your brussels sprouts.

Pour your chicken broth and water into the hot skillet with the meat and vegetables.

Lower the heat, cover, and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes. Watch the mixture as you may have to add a little more chicken broth to keep the pain from drying out.

Serve over brown rice and you have dinner!

Thanks Y'all!

-Wise Wife 

Quinoa Turkey Chili

Since I am hopeful the 80° weather will be ending this week, I opted to toss some chili into the slow cooker. I have wanted chili for weeks now and finally had to give in. I have expressed my love for my slow cooker before, and this is another recipe that is a set and forget type recipe. 

What I love about this recipe is you can't really over cook it. If your workday ends up going a little long, no worries. It will be just as delicious when you finally make it home. Also, if you know you need to let it cook a little longer than 6 hours, just cut your sweet potatoes a little larger and they will take a bit longer to cook, assuring they don't get mushy. 

You could use any type of ground meat in this recipe. If you prefer beef or chicken, feel free to substitute. I choose to use ground turkey to keep dinner a little lighter that your typical chili. 

If you don't have a slow cooker or want to cook your chili faster, cook your sweet potatoes before you but them in your chili. Once you chop them, pop them in the microwave with a little water in the bottom of a bowl and cook them for 15 minutes. You can then cook the chili over a low simmer in a large sauce pan for about 30 minutes. I just feel the flavors marry together better when slow cooked.

Lets make some chili! Printable recipe here.

Quinoa Turkey Chili

naturally GF/DF

Ingredients:

about 1 1/4 pound ground lean turkey

1 medium white onion

3 cloves garlic

1 medium sweet potato

1, 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 can red kidney beans

1 can great northern beans

1 cup quinoa

1/4 t red pepper flakes

1 T chili powder

1/2 t paprika

1 t cumin

salt and pepper to taste

3 cups low sodium chicken broth

What to do:

Dice your onion.

Mince your garlic.

Peel and chop your sweet potato into bite size pieces.

Drain and rinse your kidney and northern beans.

Rinse your quinoa.

Add your ground turkey and diced onion to a large skillet.

Using a wooden spoon, break up the turkey. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and allow to cook until no longer pink.

Transfer your meat and onions to your slow cooker.

Add in garlic, sweet potato, beans, quinoa, spice, and lastly the chicken broth.

Give it a good stir. 

Cook on low for 5-6 hours, or until the sweet potatoes are fork tender. Before serving, taste for salt levels. You may have to add a little more. It took mine right at 6. 

Ladle into bowl and grab a spoon! If you get to have cheese, top with a little monterey jack cheese. 

Thanks Y'all!

-Wise Wife