FRIEND FRIDAY GUESTS—McKelle Skirvin and Natalie Boren!!!

My Friend Friday Guests are VERY special guests :). THEY ARE MY DAUGHTERS 😃. This past Sunday was my birthday, not only did Nat and Kelle travel 4–5 hours to be with me for my bday weekend, but these two darling daughters cooked breakfast AND dinner for our family and it was AMAZING, so I wanted to share the recipes with you today. BUT FIRST…….. let me tell you some things about McKelle and Natalie. 

McKelle is a darling little mama to Hazel and is the wife of Garrett. She LOVES being a mom and is a natural. I’ve been so impressed with her taking on this new role. She is and always has been very scholastic in school, but took a semester off to be mama to Hazel. She has a scholarship to the University of Utah and is majoring in Dietetics (yes, my other daughter, Brianne, is a dietician too :). McKelle served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nashville, TN and loved every second. She is a very good writer too and has a blog of her own called wholesomeeats.wordpress.com. 


Natalie is an AMAZING Aunt to her 5 neices and nephews! She is our sunshine girl and has a heart of gold and would do anything for a friend, and she has a lot of those :). She earned her cosmetology license while attending high school and did hair for a few years, but the past two years, she has gone back to school at Utah Valley University and LOVES IT! She has a desire to learn like no other, well maybe her dad ha. She worked for UVU this summer creating and teaching curriculum for a coding class to 9th graders. She is one little smartie! All of my girls are very conscientious about eating healthy and are all GREAT chefs! I’m so proud of them!


Pictured are Brianne, Natalie, McKelle and Aspen (my daughter-in-law).  They are beauties inside and outside, aren’t they?!!!! 

Now THE DELICIOUS FOOD……..

The first and most important meal of the day—BREAKFAST!!


PANCAKES (recipe is adapted from the edgyveg.com)

Serves: 2

1 cup organic, unbleached flour 

1 tbsp cane sugar

2 tsp baking powder

⅛ tsp salt

1 cup almond milk

1 tbsp vinegar

2 tbsp coconut oil

Turn your griddle to medium heat.

Combine your flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In a large glass or bowl add your almond milk with 1 tbsp of vinegar and whisk well. This will turn your regular almond milk into almond buttermilk!!!

Allow this to sit for about 5-10 minutes, then add the soy buttermilk and coconut oil to your mixture, and mix until smooth without clumps.

When your griddle is hot, grease with a tbsp of coconut oil and spoon your batter onto your cooking surface. Flip your pancakes carefully when you see that the bubbles have stopped opening and closing. Continue to cook until the other size of your pancake is cooked and remove from heat.

If you want to make PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP PANCAKES—add 1/4 c. Pumpkin to the batter. They are my personal favorite!


The next meal…….DINNER


Lentil and Cauliflower Rice Taco Filling

This recipe makes a lot, about enough for 21 tacos! It halves easily, though. Also, be sure you use mild chili powder–a combination of chiles, cumin, and other spices–and not hot pepper.

 Prep Time 30 minutes

 Cook Time 35 minutes

 Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

 Servings 7

 Calories 145 kcal

 Recipe by Susan Voisin

Ingredients

1 cup brown lentils uncooked, or 3 cups cooked lentils (we used black beans)

3 cups water

2 cloves garlic minced

1 large head cauliflower

1 large onion chopped

4 cloves garlic minced

2 tablespoons mild chili powder divided

1 teaspoon salt or to taste

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4-1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder or cayenne pepper to taste

Generous grating black pepper

Salt to taste

If you’re starting with uncooked lentils, rinse and drain them and place in a medium-sized saucepan with 3 cups of water, 2 cloves of minced garlic, and a little salt, if desired. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook until just tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare the cauliflower “rice” by removing the leaves and bottom stem from the cauliflower. Grate the cauliflower using either a box grater or the food processor to produce rice-sized pieces. To use the food processor, cut the cauliflower into quarters and then cut or break each quarter into pieces. Process one quarter at a time, pulsing on and off, until grated. Be careful not to over-process or you’ll have cauliflower dust!

Once the cauliflower is grated, heat a very large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until it begins to brown. Add the cauliflower and garlic and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of chili powder and continue cooking until the cauliflower is tender, about 4 more minutes.

Drain the lentils well and add them to the skillet. Add the remaining chili powder and all remaining seasonings. Cook on medium until heated through and flavors are combined. Add salt to taste.

Makes about 7 cups of filling. To serve, place about 1/3 cup of filling in a small corn tortilla and garnish with lettuce, tomatoes, and any other fillings you like. Serve with salsa. We also sautéed some chicken with garlic salt and onion salt and pepper for those who would like meat. These were amazing!!

Nutrition Facts:

Lentil and Cauliflower Rice Taco Filling

Amount Per Serving (1 cup)

Calories 145

% Daily Value*

Sodium 396mg 17%

Total Carbohydrates 26.6g 9%

Dietary Fiber 12.5g 50%

Sugars 4.4g

Protein 10.1g 20%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Both of those meals were incredible and vegan! 

Trek Bars and Switching to a WHOLE FOOD Plant Based DIET :)

Where the heck have I been? On vacation to Scandinavia! It was so awesome! Stay tuned for pics and a post about it this week. For now, I want to share with you one of the things I made to take with us for a snack on our vacation! Trek Bars!!! These are an awesome snack for when you’re on the go.  They are so easy to make and so nutritious and delicious. 


Trek Bars

2 1⁄2 C Old fashion oats  

1 C Honey (agave or maple syrup if vegan)  

1 C Natural peanut butter  

1 Tea Kosher salt  

1⁄4 C Chocolate chips Enjoy Life brand

1⁄4 C Dried cranberries or cherries  

1⁄4 C Wheat bran  

1⁄4 C Oat bran  

1⁄4 C Flax meal  

1⁄4 C Millet   

1⁄4 C Sesame seeds  

1⁄4 C Sunflower seeds or Pumpkin Seeds  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 pan. In a large bowl combine oats, honey, pb, and salt. Mix well. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Use your hands! Pack the mixture tightly and evenly into the baking pan and cook for 15 min until nicely toasted or golden brown. Adapted from motherskitchen@blogspot.com. Please note that these are not FULLY VEGAN because of the honey. You could use maple syrup or agave if you are strict vegan. 

Also, as soon and my DH and I got back from our trip, we decided to go, for the most part, vegan for health reasons. Dane has had open heart surgery and just had his third stent, so it’s time for a change in diet. Have you ever watched “What the Health” on Netflix? Yikes! If you haven’t, you should. It’s quite an eye opener. So I’m announcing that my blog is going to be mostly whole food plant based (vegan, but not full on vegan)! I’m excited for the challenge and for the learning curve that I will be taking on. Dane has been cooking during the week as well, which is so awesome and he’s totally into it. He’s made some incredible recipes, like some incredibly delicious vegan mac and cheese, so I will post more about that soon too! 

I’ll also keep you updated on how I’m feeling running, biking, swimming while going somewhat vegan. So far, I’m feeling so great! Last Saturday, we did a 20 mile run, which was our final long run before running St. George Marathon and I felt AMAZING! The marathon is in a couple of weeks so I’m excited to see how that goes. I’ll let you know how my journey on this new way of eating is going in future posts!

As for my guest posts— they will be of all varieties, which is whatever my guest decides to prepare. :). Also, I have some meat based recipes that are delicious, so I will post those as well. Lots of great stuff coming up on the blog!

FRIEND FRIDAY GUEST — MEGAN JOHNSON!!!

I always get so excited to do my guest posts on Friday because I have so many wonderful friends and family members that are amazing cooks, and this week is no exception! Megan is such an amazing mother, wife, friend, leader and she and her husband have such strong family ties. I love how they are so connected with their families, and always having gatherings with them. They come from good stock :). Megan is just so sweet and kind and always has a smile on her face. I love how she is so personable with her friends and always so thoughtful. She is such an amazing cook!! I’m so happy that Megan is willing to share with us today!! Thanks so much Megan! You put a smile on my face when you brought me a sample of this delicious goodness :). AND with the holidays coming up, this recipe is going to be a hit!  Love ya, Megan. Here’s Megan…….

I first met Peggy around 16 years ago when we moved into the neighborhood. Peggy has always been someone I have admired. She has dedication written all over her. Her dedication to her husband and family is a beautiful thing. She love them very much and will do anything for them. I love to ask her how they are doing and watch her eyes light up as she speaks about them. I also love her dedication to the gospel of Jesus Christ. She truly emulates goodness and love. She has a strong testimony of her Savior Jesus Christ and she shares it often. I love her for that. Her dedication to her health is so amazing. She is always trying to eat healthy and workout and take care of her body….(She is an amazing cook and she fed us well at Girls Camp for a week. I loved the time we sat around and visited while enjoying some yummy treats!) I remember years ago when I was training for a marathon she asked me if I wanted to run with her one morning. I thought, well I know she is fast however I think I can do it. I had been running and training for awhile. Well I quickly learned that Peggy is an Energizer Bunny. She is fast and just keeps going. I wasn’t quite on that level at the time so I never ran with her again. Peggy is one of my dear friends whom I love. Thanks for your dedication to being all-around AMAZING!

I grew up in Santa Clara, Utah. I met Trever while attending Dixie High School my sophomore year. He was on the baseball team and I was on the softball team. We dated each other as well as dated other people for the next couple of years. After high school, Trever served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to Puerto Rico. I attended Dixie College and played volleyball my freshman year and softball my sophomore year. When Trever returned from his mission he played baseball at Dixie College as well. We were married 7 months after he returned home. We have 4 children-Camryn 18, Cole 16, Jake 13 & Kate 11. We love to support them in all that they’re involved in. (Baseball, Softball, Golf, Volleyball, Piano, School…just to name a few) That is my hobby right now-supporting my kids. I am able to work everyday with Trever at Wilkinson’s House of Lighting and I love it. Trever and I have been blessed to travel to many beautiful places in this world. Turks and Caicos was a favorite. My dream vacation will be traveling to Italy someday. I love to cook and bake and try new recipes. I love sushi and a good homemade chocolate chip cookie.


Dinner Rolls/ Cinnamon Rolls (recipe taken from howdoesshe.com)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of milk

3/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon Sugar

1 egg

1 Tablespoon salt

2 Tablespoons yeast

2 cups of warm water

about 9-10 cups of all purpose flour

at least 1 cup of butter

Instructions
Scald 1 1/2 cups of milk, 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup of butter, in a microwave safe bowl, for about 2 minutes. Cutting the butter into pieces helps it melt faster. There will probably be some little cubes of butter still floating in the hot mixture, they will melt.
add yeast to this hot mixture, but it will be too hot to just dump the yeast straight in (it would kill it!). To cool it down stir in 1-2 cups of flour, then add 1 egg and 1 Tablespoon of salt, and leave it to cool for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, in a measuring cup dissolve 2 Tablespoons of yeast in 2 cups of warm water and 1 Tablespoon of sugar. Let it sit for a couple of minutes until it is bubbly.

Make sure your milk mixture is just warm, not boiling and add the yeast mixture!

Pour milk mixture and yeast into mixing bowl or use a machine. I use a Bosch. Gradually stir in 9-10 cups of flour (counting the flour you have already added to cool it earlier). I would recommend only adding 2 cups at time and stirring in between. These rolls turn out so much better when they are mixed by hand.

At the end the dough will be dense and sticky, and may be hard to stir, you can use your hands to incorporate the rest of the flour if needed. Be sure not to add too much flour. Then smooth the dough out and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Leave it in a warm place and let it rise.
When your dough is close to raising completely, butter 2 cookie sheets and set them aside.

Let the dough raise until it has doubled in size.


Cover your working space with a tablespoon of oil to prevent the dough from sticking. Dump your dough out and divide it into 4 balls. Eyeball the sizes, then lift them up and feel the weight of each ball. Try to make them even, but they don’t have to be perfect.

Using one ball of dough at a time: roll the dough into a circle on a floured counter. Once it is rolled out spread the top with butter from edge to edge. You will use about 2 Tablespoons per circle of dough.

Cut the dough into quarters using a pizza cutter.

Then cut each quarter into 3 pieces. You should end up with 12 triangles from each circle of dough.

Roll the dough starting with the wide end of the triangle

Tuck the tail of the triangle under the roll and place it on the buttered cookie sheet. You will make 3 rows, with 8 rolls per row. This will give you 24 rolls per pan. Two balls of dough will fill 1 pan. You will get a total of 48 rolls!

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the pans of rolls in a warm place (on top of the oven if possible) to let them rise. Once they are touching and full in size, cook (one pan at a time) in the oven ’till they are golden brown. About 20 minutes, depending on how hot your oven cooks. Keep a close eye on your first pan to get the right time for the second.

While they are still hot and fresh out of the oven run a stick of butter over the tops of the rolls for a delicious buttery glaze.

I usually make 24 Dinner Rolls and 24 Cinnamon Rolls out of this recipe.

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Variation for Cinnamon Rolls:

Once you have rolled out one of the balls of dough into a circle, spread butter on it, sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on it. Next use the pizza cutter and cut into 12 triangles. Roll up into a croissant shape. Place them on the buttered pan. Cook for 20 min at 350 degrees. Once they’ve cooled, spread with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting for 24 Cinnamon Rolls:

1/4 cup butter (1/2 cube)

8 oz. Cream Cheese

1 tsp. vanilla

2-3+ cups powdered sugar (depending on the sweetness you enjoy)