Friday Favorites 11/22/13

November 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Homemade Taco Seasoning

Small size, big flavor!

Friday favorites is a place where I can talk about and recommend some of my favorite things.  From food to music to technology to great ideas, Friday favorites will feature them all.  If you have feedback on something that’s deserving of a Friday favorite, please don’t hesitate to use the comment section or send me an email at matthew515blog@gmail.com.  I want to hear about your favorites too!

Today’s favorite is a necessity in my house and is used in many of our favorite dishes.  Being a fan of Mexican and Southwestern flavors, Vicki and I used to buy Old El Paso Taco Seasoning on a weekly basis and use it in a variety of dishes.  Once we started to educate ourselves in the area of nutrition and to watch the labels on the items that we were buying, we were shocked to discover the amount of salt used in our favorite Taco seasoning: 560mg in 1/6th of a packet.  That’s 23% of your daily recommended salt intake in 2 teaspoons!

Thankfully, we now have an excellent alternative that is homemade, flavorful and so much healthier than the store brands.  We use this blend to flavor ground beef, chicken, refried beans, rice and even vegetables in certain dishes, one of which I will feature in a future Friday Favorites.

One final word about this blend.  While it tastes delicious, if you have been acclimated to the store brand stuff then you will definitely notice the lack of salt on your taste buds the first time or two that you use it.  After that, you will most likely enjoy it as much as I do and never notice the lack of salt again.  And I can guarantee you that your heart and your blood pressure will thank you for making the switch!

Homemade Taco Seasoning

1/4 cup instant minced onion

2 T chili powder

2 t paprika

2 t crushed dried red pepper flakes

1 1/2 t dried oregano

1/4 t pepper

2 T corn starch

1 T instant minced garlic

1 t ground cumin

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and blend thoroughly with a wire whisk.  Spoon mixture into a tightly closed container and store in a cool, dry place.  Use within 6 months.  2 T equals 1.25 oz. package of purchased taco seasoning mix.

Filed Under: Daily Tagged With: , ,

Friday Favorites 11/15/13

November 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Friday Favorite, Daniel Fast, Moo Shu VegetablesFriday favorites is a place where I can talk about and recommend some of my favorite things.  From food to music to technology to great ideas, Friday favorites will feature them all.  If you have feedback on something that’s deserving of a Friday favorite, please don’t hesitate to use the comment section or send me an email at matthew515blog@gmail.com.  I want to hear about your favorites too!

Today I am featuring another recipe from our recent Daniel Fast.  This recipe surprised both my wife and myself with how flavorful and filling it was and with how well it reheated for leftovers the next day.  The original recipe called for serving this over flatbread but we prefer rice; either way it is going to be tasty and satisfying.

Moo Shu Vegetables with Hoisin Sauce over Rice

INGREDIENTS

2 teaspoons sesame oil –
3 scallions, thinly sliced –
3 cups thinly sliced bok choy –
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced –
2 carrots, thinly sliced-
1 block tofu, crumbled –
3 teaspoons grated fresh ginger –
2 cloves garlic, minced –
2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce –
1 recipe homemade Hoisin Sauce (see next recipe)  for every 2 cups of rice

1. Heat sesame oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat; add scallions, bok choy, red bell pepper, carrots; stir-fry vegetables 3–4 minutes until crisp tender.
2. Add tofu, ginger, and garlic and continue cooking 2–3 minutes until sprouts are soft. Stir in tamari sauce.
3. To serve, create a layer of rice in the bottom of your favorite bowl and add a generous helping of vegetables and Hoisin sauce to taste.

Hoisin Sauce
Here is the sauce for your Moo Shu Vegetables. You may choose to make it in a larger batch and then refrigerate it for another meal.
INGREDIENTS –
4 tablespoons soy sauce –
2 tablespoons 100 percent creamy peanut butter or black bean paste –
1 tablespoon apple juice concentrate –
2 teaspoons white vinegar – 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder –
2 teaspoons sesame oil –
20 drops Chinese hot sauce (Sriracha)
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1. Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and blend well.

Enjoy!

Filed Under: Daily Tagged With: , ,

Friday Favorites 11/08/13

November 8, 2013 by 4 Comments

Rice Cake with Peanut Butter and RaisinsFriday favorites is a place where I can talk about and recommend some of my favorite things.  From food to music to technology to great ideas, Friday favorites will feature them all.  If you have feedback on something that’s deserving of a Friday favorite, please don’t hesitate to use the comment section or send me an email at matthew515blog@gmail.com.  I want to hear about your favorites too!

For the next few weeks on Friday favorites, I want to highlight the recipes from our recent Daniel Fast that we really thought were delicious and will continue to eat as part of our regular menu.  Today I’m going to start with a snack that you probably have at least some familiarity with, and hopefully show how with just a few tweaks this snack goes from boring to delicious.  In fact, I like these so much that I now eat about one per day and have yet to grow tired of them.  And, being a Daniel Fast item, they are all natural and have no added sugars or preservatives.  Your really can’t get any better than that!

I will also state, for the record, that I very much doubted that I would ever like these when my wife first offered me one.  If you, like me,  find yourself doubting that these could be be any good at all then all I have to say is “try them”.  I completely changed my mind within the first few bites and you might also.

Brown Rice Cakes with Natural Peanut Butter and Raisins

I start with a whole grain brown rice cake.  My local Kroger carried Lundberg Organic Brown Rice Cakes and I found them to be much superior in terms of texture and crunch versus a normal puffed, white rice cake.  In my opinion, the normal white rice cakes have the texture of styrofoam and a similar squeak when broken so I avoid those whenever possible.

Next, add a nice layer of your favorite natural peanut butter.  I’ve used both crunchy and smooth and I like them both equally, so go with whichever you prefer.  This one would be a great choice.  I stress natural peanut butter because the normal stuff has all kinds of additives that you don’t want or need as well as some really unhealthy,  unnatural fats.  All you really want to see on your peanut butter ingredient list is peanuts and maybe salt.  That’s all.

Once you have that done, it’s time for the raisins.  I use a couple of spoonfuls for each rice cake but you can adjust the amount to your liking.  I like my rice cake to be pretty well covered in raisins but not so many that they are stacked on top of one another and falling off.  Make sure each one has some contact with the peanut butter and you’ve likely got it just right.

Why does this snack work so well and why is it so delicious despite being so simple?  The secret lies in the ingredients.  You’ve got the crispy crunch of the rice cake.  You’ve got the creamy richness of the peanut butter.  On top of those you are adding sweet, plump raisins which have an interesting texture all their own.  The resulting combination hits all of the right notes in your mouth: salty, sweet, crunchy, smooth.  It really is delicious!

By the way, bring a napkin and a smile.  You will likely use both of them.

Filed Under: Daily Tagged With: , ,