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Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

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We are kicking off our pumpkin craze with this amazing pumpkin smoothie.  Think pumpkin pie in a glass but without the guilt and all of the glory. Everyone looks forward to this time of year when pumpkin mania is in full swing and we are riding that bandwagon too.  I have an extra pep in my step when I go to Starbucks  to find the return of the forever anticipated pumpkin spice latte, it’s like the best day ever.  Or when I go to the grocery store and find that the pumpkin fairy made a visit and sprinkled pumpkin food all over the store. Score!  So why  not a pumpkin smoothie too?  Um duh, why not?

I think I have made this every single day for the last 5 days.  Nope, not sick of it yet but talk to me in November. This is a dairy free, naturally sweetened with dates, lick the inside of the cup and blender type of smoothie.  If you are a pumpkin lovah this smoothie is calling your name!

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Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
 
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Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 3 medjool dates, pitted
  • ½ C pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • ½ C Greek 0% yogurt
  • 1 large frozen banana (1 C)
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • ⅛ tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon + more for topping
  • 1 C almond milk
  • ½ C crushed ice
Instructions
  1. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on high until mixed. Pour into glasses and top with additional cinnamon or nutmeg if desired.

Fish Tacos with Spicy Cilantro Lime Slaw

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Fish + Tacos = Love

We are major taco fanatics over here, and we are not shy to say that these fish tacos give us some serious bragging rights.  They are everything a ligit fish taco should be, perfectly flakey white fish, slightly spicy slaw, fresh squeezed lime juice all stuffed into a warm tortilla.

Let’s taco about it, sorry – couldn’t help it!  If you want to make the slaw ahead of time go for it, it actually gets better if it has some time to let the flavors mesh together.  The heat comes from the jalapeño that’s blended in with the greek yogurt, lime zest and juice.  Mix that with thinly sliced cabbage and cilantro and you’ve got slaw! Purple cabbage brightens up the colors of the taco, but we only had green cabbage on hand when we were making this batch. Whatever type of cabbage you use, you can’t go wrong.

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If you can get your hands on fresh rockfish, grab it, otherwise cod, snapper, mahi mahi or another type of white, mild fish is perfect. Make sure to remove any bones before you start working with the fish.  Cut the fish up into 2 inch strips, dip in egg whites and run it through the seasoned flour.  Heat a little butter/oil in a large skillet and cook the fish for about 2 minutes per side.  You can work in batches until all of the fish is cooked.

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Time to assemble the grand prize.  We prefer corn tortillas but use whatever type of tortilla you like.  Sometimes we will even skip the tortilla and make a fish taco bowl instead for a lighter option.  If you’re going the tortilla route (which is the best route) pile your fish on the tortilla, top with the spicy cilantro lime slaw and garnish with your favorite extras like cotija cheese, avocado, more fresh cilantro and an extra squeeze of lime juice.  Time to sit back and enjoy your tacos, just a hint – a cold cerveza will most definitely add to the awesomeness of these tacos!

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Fish Tacos with Spicy Cilantro Lime Slaw
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the Spicy Cilantro Lime Slaw:
  • ½ C 0% greek yogurt
  • ½ medium jalapeno, seeded and diced
  • zest of 1 lime
  • juice of 2 limes
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • ½ C chopped cilantro
  • ¼ C red onion, sliced thin
  • 3 C green cabbage (can also use red)
  • ½ tsp salt
For the Fish Tacos:
  • 1 lb Rockfish or cod, cut into 2 inch pieces
  • 2 eggwhites
  • ½ C flour
  • 2 Tbsp cumin
  • 2 Tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • tortillas (flour or corn)
  • Optional garnishes (crumbled cotija, cilantro, avocado, sour cream)
Instructions
For the Spicy Cilantro Lime Slaw:
  1. Using a blender or an immersion blender, blend yogurt, lime zest and juice, garlic and jalapeno until smooth. Pour into a medium bowl and add remaining ingredients, use a spatula and fold together until incorporated. Let it sit in the fridge while you prepare the fish.
For the Fish Tacos:
  1. In a low bowl crack egg, seperating the whites and whisk the whites only. On a plate add flour, cumin, chili powder and salt and mix together. Working in batches add fish to egg whites and transfer to flour mixtures, roll fish in flour mixture to coat. Set coated fish on a separate plate, continue until all of the fish is coated.
  2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add butter and olive oil, when it begins to bubble add the fish cooking approximately 2 minutes per side, until cooked. Once all of the fish is cooked assemble the tacos with spicy cilantro lime slaw and desired garnishes such as avocado, crumbled cotija and additional cilantro. Serve with a lime wedge on the side.

Greek Salad

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After an intense hike yesterday I came home famished but wanted something light and refreshing. I started raiding the fridge, which happens all the time by the way. There are just some items that are staples in my kitchen. Tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese, red onion and kalamata olives are absolutely always on hand. Ask my kids, they will tell you that one or more of these items ends up in their lunch several times a week. Anyway, I also had some fresh mint which was an added bonus. Actually, more like a huge bonus because when you add fresh herbs to anything, it’s a total game changer. So, a Greek salad was happening and I was happy happy. Oh, and sometimes just a super simple vinaigrette like red wine vinegar and oil does so much more than you think. Talk about an easy, light and healthy lunch! Yum! I’ll probably make this one again tomorrow.

tomatosalad

Greek Salad

Greek Salad
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 C cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 English Cucumber, peeled, seeded & chopped
  • ½ C kalamata olives, chopped
  • ½ C feta cheese, cubed
  • ¼ C red onion, sliced thin
  • 2 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped
  • S&P to taste
  • 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp good quality olive oil
Instructions
  1. Whisk red wine vinegar and olive oil together in a small bowl. Add all salad ingredients together in a medium bowl. Drizzle with vinaigrette and toss. Season with S&P to taste.
  2. Garnish with additional mint if desired.

Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken

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How can you go wrong with stuffed chicken? Well, we happen to think that you really can’t! We have made a lot of stuffed chicken recipes in our time but this one is a current stand out. The combination of these ingredients is just so perfect and the best part is, it’s super easy to make! This is one of those dishes that can be an easy weeknight dinner for the family yet it’s pretty enough to serve to friends if you are entertaining. That’s a total Win in our books…it’s like a two for one! We are just so into the combination of tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, feta and fresh herbs and quite frankly, we were totally inspired to make this dish because these were ingredients that we had on hand.

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How lucky for us right? Sometimes you just have to get those creative juices flowing and you may surprise yourself! We assure you that you are going to want to make this dish soon! Like, this week. Or, tonight. Or right now!

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Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 2 portabello mushrooms - stems removed and chopped
  • ⅓ C chopped kalamata olives
  • 1 C cherry tomatoes halved
  • ¼ C chopped basil
  • 1 sprig rosemary, stem removed and chopped
  • 2 oz feta cheese
  • 4 skinless, boneless, preferably organic chicken breasts pounded out
  • 1 Tbsp good quality olive oil
  • S & P
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Heat a skillet over medium heat, add butter until melted. Add mushrooms and tomatoes, sautee for 5 minutes. Add olives, basil, and rosemary and sautee for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add feta. Season with pepper to taste - no need to salt because of the salt in the olives.
  2. Lay pounded chicken on wax paper. Place ¼ of mixture on the chicken and roll, secure with a toothpick. Follow same steps with remaining chicken breasts. Salt and pepper both sides of chicken.
  3. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in ovenproof skillet over medium high heat. Place chicken on skillet, flip after 3 minutes or until golden brown and cook the other side equally. Transfer chicken to oven for an additional 10-15 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
Good Thyme Tip - You can modify this recipe by grilling or roasting chicken and placing the olive/mushroom mixture over the top instead of stuffing the chicken.

Caramelized Onion & Bacon Dip

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Football season is in full swing and that calls for some down home “cheat meal” dip.  The kind of dip that it doesn’t matter who won the football game because you had a good dip type of dip! Rich caramelized onions and smoky bacon mixed with cream cheese and sour cream…come to mama! If  you are going to food splurge, it might as well be on THIS!  The key to making this dip is to perfectly caramelize the onions, which takes about an hour.  You want to make sure the onions turn the perfect color of golden brown, once you’ve achieved that golden hue it’s time to add the balsamic vinegar and keep the onions on the burner for an additional 5 minutes.  Your sauté pan should look like this…

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Ok, wipe up the drool..it’s almost time to dive into this.  The rest is easy, add the remaining ingredients into a food processor setting aside part of the crumbled bacon and chives to garnish.  You can make this ahead of time so you are all set for game time.

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Caramelized Onion & Bacon Dip
 
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Serves: Makes about 2 cups
Ingredients
  • 2 large yellow onions, chopped in ⅛ inch slices
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • S&P to taste
  • 4 slices cooked uncured applewood smoked bacon, cooked and chopped, (nitrate free is always best)
  • 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 C sour cream
  • ¼ C chives, chopped plus 1Tbsp for garnish
  • ½ tsp fresh ground pepper
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
  1. In a large sautee pan heat olive oil and butter over medium low heat. Add onions and spread out evenly in pan. Stir occasionally as the onions break down and begin to turn golden brown...do not burn! After the onions are nice and golden brown (approx 45 mins - 1 hour) add the balsmamic vinegar, stir until incorporated and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
  2. In a food processor combine onions, cream cheese, sour cream and ¼ C chives. Pulse about 10X stopping to scrape down sides with a spatula. Add 3 strips of chopped bacon and S&P and pulse 1 or 2 more times to combine. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with remaining chopped bacon and chives. Serve with your favorite crackers.

Flourless Peanut Butter M&M Cookies

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If you are a peanut butter fanatic, these are the cookies for you. They are rich and ridiculously moist – sorry to use the “M” word but it’s necessary when describing these cookies! The best part is that they can be in your mouth in 15 minutes flat.  Only 4 basic ingredients go into these cookies with 1 optional but really (NOT optional) ingredient..the m&m’s or dark chocolate chunks.  We say they are optional but who are we kidding? Just do yourself a favor and throw the m&m’s in too. If you are gluten free these cookies should be an absolute staple in your life.  Oh and by the way, you might as well double the recipe because we guarantee they won’t last long!

flourlesscookies

Flourless Peanut Butter M&M Cookies
 
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Serves: Makes 12 cookies
Ingredients
  • 1 C peanut butter (We use Skippy natural for this recipe)
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • ½ C dark brown sugar, packed
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • ¼ C mini m&m's or dark chocolate chunks (optional)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350. Add peanut butter, egg, brown sugar and vanilla together, mixing thoroughly. Either fold in m&m's or top with m&m's. Using a cookie scooper, drop cookies onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Use the back of a fork (may need dip fork in water so it doesn't stick to the cookie dough) to score and slightly flatten cookies. Top with m&m's if they weren't folded into the dough. Cook for 10 minutes, let cool for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Quesadilla Bar with Fresh Pico de Gallo

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Sometimes it’s the simplest of recipe concepts that create the biggest buzz.  I think it’s because they tend to be a spin on foods that we are comfortable with and have come to love.  Make your own quesadilla night at our house is something that I NEVER get complaints about.  Not only is it a family favorite but it’s fun to change it up each time with different ingredients.  One thing that is always included is homemade pico de gallo, quesadilla night is just not an option if pico is not on the table.

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If you have 5 minutes then you have enough time to make pico, and you will be so happy you did. It’s simply a mixture of chopped tomatoes, jalapeño, red onion, cilantro and fresh lime juice.  You can make this ahead of time which is even better because it gives the flavors time to marinate together.

As far as the quesadilla ingredients, that’s entirely up to you!  On this night we chose to go meatless and fill our quesadillas with roasted vegetables.  I used baby bell peppers, zucchini and a couple of ears of corn and it was a winning combination.

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There are so many ingredient options to choose from, we also  like grilled chicken with sautéed mushrooms or black beans with sweet potatoes, just to name a few. If you are roasting vegetables, you can roast the vegetables ahead  as well so they are ready to go at dinnertime.  Now all this talk about quesadillas is making me hungry, I think it’s time to plan another quesadilla night STAT!

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Quesadilla Bar with Fresh Pico de Gallo
 
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Serves: Serves 4
Ingredients
For the Pico de Gallo:
  • 4 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
  • ½ jalapeno, seeded and chopped - use more if you like it spicy
  • ⅓ C chopped red onion
  • ⅓ C chopped cilantro
  • ½ lime, juiced
  • pinch of kosher salt
For the Roasted Vegetables:
  • 2 zucchinis, cut into 1 inch strips
  • 12 (or so) mini bell peppers, seeded with membranes removed and cut into strips
  • 2 ears corn, shucked
  • 2 Tbsp good quality olive oil
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
For the Quesadilla:
  • 8 flour tortillas
  • 1½ cups grated jack cheese (pepper jack, mozzarella, cheddar and gouda work well too)
Instructions
For the Pico de Gallo:
  1. Mix all ingredients together and serve or make up to one day in advanced and store in the refrigerator.
For the Roasted Vegetables:
  1. Preheat oven to 450
  2. Toss peppers and zucchini in a bowl with 1 1/12 Tbsp olive oil
  3. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and lay vegetables out on baking sheet. Rub remaining olive oil on corn and place on baking sheet as well. Sprinkle vegetables and corn with salt. Roast for approximately 30 minutes until vegetables are tender and slightly brown around the edges.
  4. Remove corn from cob and place vegetables on a platter or in individual serving bowls.
For the Quesadilla:
  1. Create your own quesadillas by placing cheese on one side of a tortilla and piling your favorite ingredients on the cheese. Top with another tortilla and cook over medium-high heat in a skillet until golden brown (about 2-3 minutes). With a spatula flip the quesadilla over and cook the other side. Remove from heat and cut into sections like a pizza. Serve with pico de gallo.

Spiralized Beet Salad

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I have to admit that growing up there was no way I was going to touch a beet with a 10 foot pole much less take a bite of a beet salad. I’m sure if my mom would’ve tried smearing hot fudge on top I would’ve considered taking a little taste but it never came to that I guess. I should ask my mom why she never thought of that tactic! Fast forward to my adulthood and I eat beets like they are going out of style. Typically I place them on a parchment lined roasting pan and roast them in the oven, remove the skin once cooled, cut them up and throw them in salads or just eat them as is. Most recently Courtney and I discovered that beets make the perfect spiralized dish, not to mention they look gorgeous this way. Just a warning….yellow beets will turn to a brownish color (not pretty but still good) when spiralized and roasted or steamed. If you want to keep your spiralized beets looking vibrant, stick to red beets. We tossed this spiralized beet salad with creamy goat cheese, salty pistachios, drizzled with our favorite honey lime vinaigrette and set over a bed of frisee lettuce. This salad is delicate but filled with bold flavors and it tastes as good as it looks! I’m glad I got over my beetphobia!!

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Stych Photography

Red beets especially can get a little messy so don’t wear your brand new white shirt while putting this salad together!

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Stych Photography

Courtney adding the Honey Lime Vinaigrette

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Stych Photography

 

Spiralized Beet Salad
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the Salad:
  • 1 large red beet, peeled and spiralized *See notes on how to prepare beets if you dont have a spiralizer.
  • 1 large handful frisee lettuce, chopped
  • 3 oz goat cheese
  • handful of pistachio nuts, shelled
  • S & P to taste
For the Honey Lime Vinaigrette:
  • juice of 2 large limes
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • ⅓ C white balsamic vinegar
  • ¼ C good quality olive oil
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place spiralized beets on a parchment lined roasting pan and roast for 5 minutes. While beets are cooking, make the honey lime vinagrette.
  2. In a small bowl add all of the ingredients for the vinagrette except for the olive oil. Slowly drizzle the olive oil while whisking. Set aside
  3. Remove the beets from the oven and set aside to cool. Once cooled, trim the beets so they are the length of a spaghetti noodle. Place the frisee on a large plate, top with spiralized beets, sprinkle with goat cheese and pistachios, drizzle vinagrette over the top and season with S & P.
Good Thyme Tip - Thinly sliced oranges (skin removed) would be a great addition to this salad!
** If you do not have a spiralizer, leave skin on the beet and line roasting pan with parchment paper. Wrap beet in foil and roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool, remove foil from beet and pull the skin off. Cut into slices, approx 1 inch pieces and use in salad instead of spiralized beets.

 

Salted Caramel Apple Dip

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How do I say this without sounding a little bit like a bad mom? Ok, I will just come right out and say it…I’m happy that the kids are back in school, actually thrilled. It was time, summer was long enough and if I had to hear “I’m bored” one more time I was thinking of temporarily moving out. Those moms that look at me with a tear in their eye and tell me how hard it was to send their kids off to school and how much they miss them during the day. You know those moms? I often wonder if they really and truly feel that way or if they are just saying that because they think that’s what they are supposed to say. I think they are secretly doing cartwheels inside, but more power to them if that’s really how they feel. I on the other hand am a part of the thrilled that the kids are back in school club.

Okay, let’s regroup…sorry, I guess I’m just really excited about the back to school thing.  Since the kids aren’t as excited as I am about being back in school, I am making them this little slice of heaven to have when they get home today. Courtney and I started making this last year and it was such a hit with our kids we added it to our GTK favorite list. Salted caramel apple dip, yes it’s as good as it sounds. The caramel is simple to make and is actually healthy. Yes, healthy caramel exists when it’s made with dates and coconut oil. Your kids will love it and it just may end up being one of your favorite snacks too.

caramel apple dip'

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Salted Caramel Apple Dip
 
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Serves: Makes 1 cup
Ingredients
  • 10 medjooli dates, pitted
  • 1 Tbsp coconut oil
  • pinch of malden salt (or other course salt like sea salt)
  • 1 apple (honey crisp if available) sliced into wedges
Instructions
  1. In a food processor combine dates and coconut oil until mixed to a paste, scraping down sides. Romove from food processor and place in serving bowl, sprinkle with maldon salt. Serve with sliced apples, yum!!

Steamed Hard Boiled Eggs

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How frustrating is it when you boil up a nice batch of hard boiled eggs only to find that when it comes time to peel the egg, half of it gets stuck to the shell? That is seriously the worst!

Never fear, do we ever have the solution for you. Try steaming your eggs instead of boiling for a clean peel every time. This is seriously borderline life changing if you are as egg addicted as we are. We both wasted many years boiling our eggs, until our friend let us in on her little secret and it’s been steam city ever since. Peace out shell stuck eggs, our relationship is officially over!

steamedeggs

Steamed Hard Boiled Eggs
 
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Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 12 organic eggs - or desired amount
Instructions
  1. In a multi pot or steamer add eggs to the steamer basket, fill pot with approximately 1 inch of water, cover with lid and bring to a boil. Once boiling, continue to boil for 12 minutes. Remove from heat and remove eggs in steamer basket from pot. Let cool or if you are in a big hurry to eat the eggs, blanch the eggs in ice cold water.