Recipe: Popcorn Clusters

June 5, 2015June 5, 2015 / ktbuchs87 / 2 Comments

Friday. I can hear the collective sigh of all you hardworking people! I know that this week has been crazy busy for me and I am really glad that the weekend is almost here.

Adam and I are actually going to his aunt’s wedding today in Waukegan so our weekend is going to start a little early. But I did want to make sure I gave you guys something yummy to make over the weekend. I’m always thinking of you like that!

This is just a quick snack I threw together because I randomly had leftover popcorn. I know, weird right? Who has leftover popcorn? Anyway, I was going for a healthy popcorn ball but that did not happen at all. Luckily what did happen is a fairly tasty treat/snack. It’s always great when your mistakes turn into delicious things. Don’t you wish that would happen in real life? Like don’t worry about messing up that interview, it’s now a plate of cookies! That would be awesome. Oh well, maybe someday…. Ok enough babbling onto the snack!

Popcorn Clusters

1 1/2 cup popped popcorn
2/3 cup assorted nuts and seeds (I used pecans, almonds, and pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cup dark chocolate pieces
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 tbsp tahini or almond butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

In a medium bowl mix together the nuts, seeds, and chocolate. Set aside and line a muffin tin with liners. Place about 2 tbsp popcorn in each liner. Sprinkle a little of the nut/seed/chocolate mix over this.
Place the oil and maple syrup in a medium saucepan and place over medium high heat. Heat until the mixture is just bubbling and then add in the tahini or almond butter. Stir to combine and heat for 2-3 minutes.
Turn of the heat and stir in the cinnamon and salt and then moving quickly pour about a tablespoon over each muffin liner.
Once all the tahini mixture is used up, move the popcorn clusters to the freezer and freeze for at least 30 minutes or until the clusters have hardened.

Once the clusters have cooled you can pop them out of the tin and store them in an airtight container. Make sure to keep them in the freezer or fridge so they don’t melt! Now you have a delicious snack whenever you get hungry!

OH! You guys should also go check out the blog Girl-ish. They are an awesome blog that writes about fashion, entertainment, life, and health and I am one of their newest contributors! I’m really excited to be working with these ladies and can’t wait to bring you more tasty and healthy food over there.

Have a super weekend and see you guys on Monday!

DIY Wednesday: Tortilla Chips

June 3, 2015June 3, 2015 / ktbuchs87

This week is flying by because it’s already DIY Wednesday! So far we’ve come up with our own spice blends and made some quick but healthy jam. Feeling crafty yet?

I hope you enjoy these posts as much as I do. I really like being able to make my own things at home because it saves money and ends up being a lot healthier. So many people shy away from making their own stuff because they don’t think they have the time or skill. Believe me I am not a pioneer woman who can spin yarn, preserve vegetables, and make my own clothes. But you don’t have to be Laura Ingalls Wilder to make some food staples for you and your family.

Today will be the easiest and cheapest DIY yet. You’re going to make tortilla chips in less than 20 minutes and it will only cost you about $.40. Yes you heard me right, $.40. You will never buy tortilla chips again after this post. Ok you might, but you don’t have to with this trick up your sleeve!

I use El Milagro corn tortilla shells for this because the ingredient list is extremely short (corn, salt, lime) and they are only $.33 at Aldi. You can use any corn tortilla that you would like, just make sure to read the ingredients. I also use a pizza cutter to cut the tortillas because it’s faster, but a sharp knife will work too.

Tortilla Chips

1 package of El Milagro corn tortillas
1 lime
salt
olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375. Using a pizza cutter cut the tortillas into chip size pieces. On a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet arrange the chips into a single layer.
Squeeze the lime juice on to the chips and then drizzle the chips with a little olive oil. You don’t need to drench them, just a little bit will work. Then sprinkle with a pinch or so of salt.
Bake the chips for 8-12 minutes checking often to make sure they don’t burn. Remove from oven and let cool before devouring.

It’s that easy to have a pile of tortilla chips ready to scoop up delicious guacamole or salsa. Enjoy and Happy Wednesday!

What’s your favorite chip topping?

Lentil Taco Filled Empanadas

May 29, 2015May 29, 2015 / ktbuchs87

These empanadas have been a labor of love. The first time that I made them I was basing them off another recipe and they turned out really well. I made them a few times to make sure they worked and was happy with the outcome. But I couldn’t just leave them alone.

The first version I made used eggs, which is fine because I love eggs and use them daily. I wanted to try and make a version that didn’t use eggs. That’s when the labor part of “labor of love” started. I won’t say I failed, I just found 452 ways to NOT make empanadas without eggs. Finally I had a breakthrough and came up with an eggless empanada. I might have done a little dance in my kitchen….

I included both versions of the empanada here so you can choose which version you want to make. The ingredients will be different but the process will be the same. I’m also including my recipe for taco lentils as a filling for the empanada, but you can use any filling you would like. Try shredded chicken or pork or ground turkey or beef. Whatever your little heart desires. Dream big my friends, dream big.

Empanada with Eggs- based on this recipe from Barefoot Provisions

1/2 cup brown rice flour
4 eggs
3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili powder

Empanada without Eggs

1/2 cup chickpea flour
1/2 cup aquafaba
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili powder

1. Whatever version you make, combine all the dry ingredients and mix together. Then add in the wet and stir to combine. For the version with eggs the batter will seem very runny but that is fine. The eggless version should be a little thicker like pancake batter.

2. Preheat oven to 350 and line a large baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.

3. Heat a little olive oil in a small skillet over medium high heat. Pour a little bit of the empanada batter into the skillet and cook for about 3 minutes. You want the bottom to be cooked but the top to still be a little doughy.

4. With a spatula transfer the empanada from the skillet over to the lined baking sheet. Spoon a little of your filling onto one side of the empanada. Fold over the opposite side pressing along the edges to seal. Repeat this process until you have used all the batter. I usually get about 5 empanadas out of this recipe.

5. Bake the empanadas for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. You can top with avocado cream, cashew sour cream, salsa, or hot sauce.

Lentil Taco Filling

1 cup cooked lentils
1/2 cup cooked black beans (canned or dry)
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 14 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
1/3 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tsp taco seasoning
3 tbsp fresh cilantro chopped
2 tsp tapioca starch or cornstarch mixed in 1/4 cup water

1. Mix the tapioca starch/cornstarch into the water and set aside.

2. Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute the onions until soft and translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add in garlic and saute for another minute. Add in everything else except for the seasoning, starch, and cilantro. Cook for about 10 minutes.

3. Sprinkle the seasoning over the lentil mix and then pour the starch mix over everything. Cook until the sauce begins to thicken. Turn off the heat and stir in cilantro.

It might seem like a lot but this meal actually comes together pretty easily. You can even make your filling ahead of time and then just pull it out when you’re making the empanadas. Whichever version you try I hope you enjoy these yummy empanadas!

Have a great weekend and enjoy the last few days of May!

What’s your favorite Mexican dish?

Soft Taco Shells and Aquafaba

May 8, 2015May 8, 2015 / ktbuchs87

I will get to the Aquafaba in just a second, but let’s talk about these taco shells.

I have always liked tacos but ever since going gluten-free a few years ago I have missed the texture and fold-ability (totally a real word, trust me) of regular flour tacos. I usually use corn tortillas, which are good but they just aren’t the same as flour tortillas.

There are plenty of recipes out there for Paleo versions of taco shells and I have tried a few of them and they are really good. Pretty much all of them though use eggs and while that’s not a bad thing if you eat eggs, it poses a problem if you don’t. Sure, it is really easy to find egg free taco shells at the store or online, but they more often than not have some weird ingredients that I would rather not consume.

Then I read about aquafaba.

Yes that’s a real word and it isn’t as exotic or strange as it sounds. Technically it’s just the liquid that beans are cooked in. So bean juice to be precise. Bean juice apparently doesn’t sound appealing so people have started calling it aquafaba. Whatever floats their boat. The important thing to me is that aquafaba acts like eggs in most recipes, plus it’s fairly easy and cheap to get. You can either buy canned chickpeas and reserve the liquid they are sitting in or cook your own chickpeas and save that liquid.

Armed with this new “fancy” ingredient, I decided to take a stab at making egg free, gluten free, soft taco shells. Luckily I struck success with my first batch and now I have a simple go-to soft taco shell! Now just a few quick notes:

These don’t have the same taste as regular flour shells, but that isn’t a huge problem for me. I actually really like the taste
You can use canned chickpea liquid if you don’t want to cook your own beans and save that liquid like I did.
You want your plantains to be slightly yellow. Not super green and not brown. The really green ones won’t blend as well and the brown ones will give you a sweet taco shell and that might not be what you’re looking for.

Ok enough talking about bean juice, let’s make some tacos!

Soft Shell Tacos

1 large plantain, slightly yellow (you can also get a few small plantains, you want about a pound once it’s peeled)
6 tbsp aquafaba (either from a can of chickpeas, or cook your own beans and reserve the liquid)
3 tbsp melted coconut oil
juice of one lime
a pinch or two of salt (based on your salt preference)

Preheat oven to 350. Peel and cut your plantain into bite size chunks. Add everything into your blender or food processor and blend until everything is smooth. You want it to look sort of like pancake batter.
Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Scoop about 1 tbsp of batter out onto the baking sheet. With the back of a spoon, spread out the batter into a fairly thin circle. Don’t leave it too thick or it won’t cook through and don’t spread it too thin because it will just burn. You have to be like Goldilocks and get it jusssttttt right 🙂
Do this a few more times, you will have to work in batches because you will only be able to fit 4 to 5 shells on the pan at once. Bake for 8 minutes.
Remove from oven and let them cool for at least five minutes. Now this is the slightly tricky part, but just have patience at it will all be just fine. Slowly peel the shells off the baking sheet and move to a wire rack to cool. If you notice the shell starting to stick just use a spatula to help loosen it from the pan. As long as you let the shells cool a bit before you lift them up you shouldn’t have too much of a problem.
Repeat until you have used all the batter.

I used two baking sheets when I made these so I could make more at once, but you can work in batches too. Once the shells are totally cool fill them with your favorite taco filling and enjoy!

Have a great Friday and an awesome weekend! Don’t forget to wish your mom a Happy Mothers Day on Sunday!

Lemon Pistachio Cookies

May 1, 2015May 1, 2015 / ktbuchs87 / 2 Comments

A few weeks ago I found pistachios on sale and on a whim bought about a pound. I wanted to do something with them other than just shove them all into my mouth, which was my first instinct. Since I had access to a Vitamix at the time I of course turned those pistachios into pistachio butter. I had never had pistachio butter before and it was delicious. It had a nice light flavor to it and I thought it would be good in some baked goods.

There are a ton of recipes out there for peanut butter cookies and almond butter cookies, but not that many using pistachio butter. I decided to remedy that and made these lemon pistachio cookies. Not to toot my own horn, but I think I knocked it out of the park on these ones. They are the perfect cookie for springtime. The are light and the hit of lemon adds a nice freshness to them. I added in a little bit of coconut for some texture but it doesn’t overwhelm the cookie with a coconut flavor.

If you don’t have pistachio butter on hand, you can make these with almond butter or cashew butter. I wouldn’t use peanut butter though because I think it would overwhelm the lemon flavor. Ok enough talk more cookie.

Lemon Pistachio Cookie- Makes 12-15 cookies

1/2 cup pistachio butter (almond butter or cashew butter would also work)
3 tbsp maple syrup (if you like a sweeter cookie add in another tbsp)
1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp salt
1-2 tsp lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350.
In a small bowl mix together all the wet ingredients. Add in the shredded coconut, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, and lemon zest. Combine everything. It will seem really wet and like it won’t stick together but don’t worry that is fine.
On a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat, scoop out about a tbsp of the dough. Spread it out a little with the back of a spoon as these cookies won’t rise.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges just start to turn golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

One word of caution, these cookies can go from being perfect to burnt really quick if you don’t watch them. I would suggest checking at the 10 minute mark especially if your oven runs hot. Nothing is worse than a burnt batch of cookies. Not that that stops me from eating them….