Zucchini and Corn

This is the side dish I made to go with the Mexican Picadillo from my last post.  I thought it was really good together and I will for sure be making both recipes again.  I also like that this recipe uses fresh summer produce!

Zucchini & Corn - Click to link to recipe.  To make dairy-free, simply omit the Parmesan cheese.

Chicken Fiesta Salad

In our continual attempts to try to eat healthier, my husband and I are trying to eat more salads.  But for him to really be on board with that, I need to keep them somewhat interesting and tasty!  He loved this Fiesta Salad.  I know you all probably don't really need a recipe for salad, but I always find it helpful to see salad recipes to inspire me!  So, I thought I would share.

Chicken Fiesta Salad

Mixed greens

Chicken, shredded (I used rotisserie chicken.)

Easy Corn Black Bean Salsa

Carrot, shredded

Cheese, shredded 

Black olives, sliced

Ranch (We like Wishbone Ranch and Chipotle Ranch.  They are egg-free and gluten-free.)

In a large bowl, combined desired amount of each ingredient, omit some, add others, depending on your tastes.  I find that if you add a little dressing and mix it into the salad, then you can get away with using a lot less dressing.

Easy Corn Salsa

Salsa is a great way to add flavor without much added calories.  This is a super quick, easy corn salsa.  We had it on salad.  I think it would be great on tacos, nachos, grilled chicken or steak or just about anything you can think of!

 

Easy Corn Black Bean Salsa

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can corn, drained

1 can Rotel tomatoes, drained

Put all ingredients in a bowl and gently mix until evenly combined.  Serve immediately or refrigerate for later use.

Cowboy Caviar

I love recipes like this one because you can really make it into whatever you like.  You can add or take away ingredients that don't suit your tastes or adjust simply based on what you have available.  My sister makes this often for her family.  She sent me her recipe but I have misplaced it.  So, I looked up several similar recipes online for inspiration.

This is a great summertime dish to share with friends!  Enjoy!

If you like this recipe, you may also like Avocado Salsa (EF, DF, GF).

Cowboy Caviar 

Inspired by:  I Wash You Dry

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can corn, drained and rinsed

2 roma or plum tomatoes, seeded and diced

1/2 small purple onion, diced

¼ c cilantro, chopped

Juice of 1 lime 

Garlic salt, to taste

2 avocados, diced

Drain and rinse black beans.  Set aside.  Drain corn.  Mix all ingredients, except avocados until well combined.  Gently fold in avocados.  Serve immediately with tortilla chips.

Taco Chili {Slow-cooker}

It doesn't get much easier than this recipe!  I love it because it works well on a day when I am running low on fresh produce.  I can pull the meat out of the freezer and almost all of the other ingredients out of the pantry.  It is also nice to put this on in the morning and have a nice hot meal at the end of a long cold day.  I thought I better share this before our cooler days come to an end, soon I hope!

The taco chili pictured below was actually made with one pound of lean ground beef and one pound of venison.  Our neighbor gave us several pounds of ground venison.  My kids didn't even notice anything different in the chili.  Chili has so much flavor, it is a great way to feed your family wild game without them even knowing the difference.

This recipe goes great with Cornbread (EF, DF) or Honey Wheat Cornbread (EF, DF).  If you like this recipe, you may also like Chicken Taco Chili {Slow-cooker} (EF, DF, GF).

Taco Chili

2 lbs lean ground beef

1 lg onion, chopped

2 (14oz) cans no salt added diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (10oz) can tomatoes with green chilies, undrained

1 (15oz) can chili beans, undrained

1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15oz) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 (14oz) can corn, drained

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 pkg chili seasoning

Brown meat and onion together.  Drain.  Place in slow cooker and add all other ingredients.  Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.  Top with shredded cheese and serve with tortilla chips or cornbread.

Serves 8-10

Vegetable Beef Soup {Slow-Cooker}

It has been two years since I started this blog!  By the end of 2012, my blog was up to about 2,000 page views a month.  At that time, I was hoping it would get to 5,000 page views a month by the end of 2013.  As of the end of 2013, I have been getting 7,000 page views a month!  Thanks to you all for following my blog!  My hope it is helping some with food allergies cook and enjoy somewhat normal foods.

Here is a recipe for Vegetable Beef Soup.  It is inspired by the recipe for Amazing Beef Vegetable Soup from The Vintage Mom's food blog.  The recipe says to simmer all day.  Anytime I read this, I think slow-cooker.  That is how I cooked mine.  I also made a few ingredient adjustments and additions, as you can see below.  I love that this warm, comforting soup is so full of so many yummy veggies!

Note:  This recipe makes a lot of soup!!  You need a BIG slow-cooker.  I cooked Mine in a 6 quart capacity slow-cooker and it was almost filled to the brim.  We shared half of the soup with friends and still had enough for two meals for our family.  I even froze a couple of containers for lunches.  

If you like this recipe, you may also like Taco Soup (EF, GF).

Vegetable Beef Soup

Inspired by The Vintage Mom’s Amazing Beef Vegetable Soup

1 medium onion, diced

4-6 cloves garlic, minced

1 T olive oil

1 lb ground beef

1 carton low-sodium beef broth

1 large 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

½ head of cabbage, coarsely chopped

1 c frozen corn

1 c baby carrots, chopped

1 c frozen peas

1 c fresh or frozen green beans*

5 medium yellow potatoes, cubed

1 packet of Lipton Beefy Onion Soup mix

2 T celery flakes

2 T Worcestershire sauce

2 bay leaves

1 T ground black pepper

1 T dried parsley

In a skillet, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil.  Move onion and garlic to slow-cooker.  In same skillet brown the beef.  Drain beef and place in slow-cooker.  Add broth, tomatoes, vegetables and all remaining spices.  Cook on low for about 8 hours.  Remove bay leaves prior to serving.

*I used canned green beans, adding them about half way through the cook time because that is what I had on hand.  I also think you could put canned green beans in for the entire cook time.  They may just be more likely to come apart.