Renee's Kitchen - HealthWise

Renee's Kitchen

Put equal parts frozen organic fruits and chilled organic juice into a blender and blend until smooth. Do not add ice, as this will water the flavor down. Adjust measurements to suit your taste in flavor and consistency.

Tip: add a large spoonful of yogurt for a creamier taste.

Persimmon/Apple Muffins
by Renee

(may use all apples if you don’t have persimmons)

yield - 24 muffins

1 ¼ cups milk
1-cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
½ cup agave nector
1 tsp cinnamon
1 med apple
1 med persimmon (or another apple if not using persimmons
4 cups wheat flour or all purpose flour
6 tsps baking powder
2 tsps salt

Heat oven to 325 degrees
Grease bottoms of muffin tins or put muffin papers in them.
Beat Milk, oil, egg and agave nector
Mix in apple, persimmons and cinnamon.
Stir in flour, baking powder and salt until moistened (don’t overmix)
Divide mixture into muffin tins
Bake at 325 for 18-20 minutes until toothpick comes out clean
Suggestion - Serve warm with agave nector sprinkled on like honey.

Basic Stock
To make stock, you take your left over carcass after taking the meat off and put it in a pot of boiling water. You may want to put the carcass in cheesecloth and tie the end for easy removal. Boil the carcass in the water for about an hour or more then remove. At that point add your spices, chopped celery, onions and garlic. If you have fresh herbs to add you can put these things in cheesecloth as well to remove if you like. I have children who cringe at the sight of onion so this way I can remove the onion before they realize it is there. If there is not enough flavor you can add some chicken bullion as well. There are some great organic alternatives for this as well. You can separate and freeze your stock for future use if you don’t want to use it right away.

Chicken or Turkey noodle soup
To stock add (amounts are approximate depending on personal preferences)
-Rice or pasta (1/2-1 cup)
-Carrots (1/2-1 cup)
-Celery (1-2 stalks)
-Various other veggies to taste (I like corn, broccoli, green beans, zucchini, what ever I need to use up)
-Turkey or chicken (cut up left over cooked 1 cup)
-Salt and Pepper to taste

Minestrone soup
To basic stock add
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
1 cut up zucchini
½-1 cup pasta noodles
Various veggies to taste (corn, beans, whatever I need to use up)
Left over meat. Can use beef or poultry or no meat at all if you prefer.

Crock Pot Burritos
-1 package chicken thighs or chuck roast (cook a bulk quantity at one time. Use 1 nights worth and freeze the rest in individual freezer bags)
-cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 (may also boil for 1-2 hours)
-drain water to skim off fat. Refill water and cook again following above directions.
-chicken and meat should be falling apart. Use fork to separate to shredded chicken or beef. Freeze individual meal packages.
-Add enough meat for 1 meal to pan. Add approx. 1 cup water and seasoning (your usual taco or burrito seasoning. I like chili powder, cumin, garlic, and onion)
-add 1 can of diced tomatoes or you mad add some salsa.
-simmer until most of the water is gone
-serve on warm tortillas with salsa, and what ever toppings or sides you choose.

This same recipe for meat can be used in tacos, enchiladas, rolled tacos and a number of other recipes. Be creative.