Joining my Sister at Cherishedbliss.com

Hi Everyone, I have really exciting news. As you can see from the title I will now be blogging over at my sister's site, Cherishedbliss.com

Ashley and I were going to wait to join our blogs together at the beginning of 2014, but we thought why wait. It really doesn't make sense for me to continue to post here at Once a Mom...Always a Cook. I am leaving this blog up and all my new and updated recipes will be over at Cherishedbliss.com
All my social media will continue to stay the same.

So grab a cup of coffee and I invite you to stop by Cherished Bliss and stay awhile. Now that my sister and I are joining forces we are bringing you twice the fun! 

Warm Black Bean and Corn Quinoa Salad

This recipe has moved to cherishedbliss.com, please click here for the full recipe!

Pumpkin and White Chocolate Biscotti & Coffee on the Porch Giveaway

This recipe has been moved to cherishedbliss.com, click here for the recipe!

Moonlight & Mason Jars 25

Welcome to Moonlight & Mason Jars #25!
Hi Everyone! I am cohosting a link party this week with the lovely ladies you see below. Feel free to link up anything you like: crafts, recipes, DIY, and more! The party starts every Wednesday at 5:00 CST. Read more about the party rules here. We work hard to bring you a fun link party each week so please show us a little Facebook love using the icons in the image below. Thanks ladies!

Audra @ Once a Mom Always a Cook

Featured Party Picks
Our features page has our 5 picks from blogs who linked up last week:

We pin all featured party picks to our group Features Pinterest Board. Repins are appreciated!

Check out what all the hosts have been up to! : )

Audra’s Quick Turkey Chili Recipe

This recipe has been moved to Cherishedbliss.com, click here for the recipe!

 

Chicken Fajitas

This recipe has been moved to Cherishedbliss.com, click here for the full recipe!

Audra’s Veggie Burgers

This recipe has been moved to cherishedbliss.com, click here for the full recipe!

How to Make Oat Flour

This tutorial has been moved to Cherishedbliss.com, click here for the full tutorial!

Simple Honey and Oat Granola

When I smell granola cooking I know school is in session and fall is on the way! Granola is a great way to start the day. Top your favorite yogurt, prepare it as you would cereal, or just simple eat it by the handfuls. Homemade granola does not last long around here, so you better get some while you can!

3 Ingredient Orange Julius {Dairy Free}

Hey everyone! I know I haven't been around much the last few months, but my children have kept me busy all summer long. Now that the kiddos are back in school, I can breath for just a moment and share a yummy recipe with you.

This drink is very similar to the original Orange Julius, though it may not be exactly the same, it is just as delicious! My family adores this recipe and I hope you and your family will too. This Dairy Free Orange Julius is a perfect way to start the day!
I know you are ready for the recipe, so let's get started...

Quick Oven Nachos

It’s summer and the kiddos are hungry all day long! I am visiting my sister in Wisconsin right now and between us we have six hungry kids. For lunch a few days ago I whipped this yummy meal up in no time. My mother used to make these quick oven nachos for my sister and I when we were younger, so this meal brought back great memories!
Now on to the recipe…

Ingredients:
tortilla chips
shredded colby jack cheese
thinly sliced deli turkey, cut into bit size pieces
fresh diced tomatoes
green onions, chopped
sliced black olives
chili powder
cumin
fresh ground pepper

First line a baking sheet with foil, then spread out a layer of tortilla chips. Next sprinkle your desired amount of cheese and evenly layer the rest of your toppings. Lightly sprinkle chili powder, cumin, and fresh ground pepper over the nachos. Now place the nachos under broil just until the cheese is melted. Please don’t leave your nachos unattended because it does not take long. Serve nachos warm and garnish with a dollop of sour cream or guacamole.

The great thing about making these nachos is you can easily accommodate everyone's dislikes and likes all on one platter! For example, people who don’t like tomatoes only put tomatoes on half and so on. Please do not feel limited to my ingredient list, have fun making your own creation.

Enjoy!

Watermelon Agave Popsicles

The heat is on and what better way to cool down with than a Watermelon Agave Popsicle! These refreshing homemade popsicles are not only yummy,
but are easy to make too.
All you need is two ingredients, watermelon and agave nectar.
I hope you and your family will try this recipe before the weather starts to cool down because these Watermelon Agave Popsicles are a wonderful summertime treat I don’t want you to miss!

Ingredients:
makes 12-14 popsicles depending on the size of your molds

8 cups of seeded, balled or cubed watermelon
1/4 cup of agave nectar

In a blender or food processer combine 8 cups of watermelon and 1/4 cup of agave nectar and puree. Then pour the mixture into your popsicle molds and freeze until hardened.

Enjoy!

A few tips for inserting popsicle sticks:

~If using wooden popsicle sticks soak for at least 30 minutes before making the popsicle mixture.
~In the picture above I used a sturdy paper straw as the sticks. I froze the
popsicles until slushy and then inserted the straws so they would not float to the top.

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Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken with Cilantro Lime Quinoa and Black Beans

This is one easy and delicious summer time dinner. My family really enjoys this meal and I hope you will too!

Marinate for the chicken includes:

This recipe has moved to Cherishedbliss.com, click here for the full recipe!

Cilantro Lime Quinoa and Black Beans:

2 canned organic, low sodium black beans
seasoned with: salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder and ground red pepper
(all seasonings to taste)

Cook quinoa according to directions. Instead of water use vegetable broth and season with a little salt. Once done drain the excess broth and then add fresh chopped cilantro and lime juice to taste.

Enjoy!

Peach, Blackberry, Colada Popsicles

Posted By: Christian (Audra’s daughter)

I live in Texas, and here summer is dreadfully hot! The temperature always seems to be a steamy hundred degrees. Here it is not safe to go outside without a bottle of water, because the fear of dehydration is serious. Ok… I may be exaggerating a little, but not by much. Us Texan’s have to find ways to keep cool during summer, and my peach blackberry colada popsicles will do just the trick! This popsicle is very refreshing after yard work, a work out, or just being outside in general. Hey, they are even enjoyable after a walk around the house, because even my house seems toasty in this sun!

Makes about 10-12 popsicles

Ingredients:

Peach layer
2 Cups frozen peaches thawed
3-4 TBS SO Delicious Coconut Milk: Vanilla Creamer
1 TBS of Simple Syrup (recipe below)

Blackberry layer
2 Cups frozen blackberries thawed
3-4 TBS So Delicious Coconut Milk: Vanilla Creamer
1 TBS of Simple Syrup (recipe below)

Colada layer
1/2 cup fresh pineapple cubed
3/4 cup canned coconut milk
1/4 cup So Delicious Coconut Milk: Vanilla Creamer
remainder of the simple syrup

Simple Syrup
1/4 cup + 1 TBS sugar
1/4 cup + 1 TBS water

In a small sauce pan combine sugar and water over medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved. Set the Simple Syrup aside for later use.

Directions:

Method to unthaw fruit fast: Being the innovative person I am, I put the frozen peaches and blackberries in separate bowls, covered the bowls with foil, and placed them outside to let the hundred degree sun thaw the fruit. Takes about a full hour to a hour and a half.

Place thawed peaches, So Delicious Coconut Milk: Vanilla Creamer, and 1 TBS of Simple Syrup in a blender and blend until pureed. Pour the peach puree into into popsicle molds, I poured about 1-2 TBS of puree in each mold, and DO NOT place the sticks in until the second layer. Place in the freezer and let the peach layer freeze for an hour or until the peach layer is mostly frozen. By doing this it ensures your popsicles will have defined layers.

Next, place thawed blackberries, So Delicious Coconut Milk: Vanilla Creamer, and 1TBS of Simple Syrup into the blender and blend until pureed. If you would like to remove the seeds as I did, place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and pour blackberry mixture into the fine mesh strainer and  work the mixture through the strainer with a spoon. Once seeds are removed, pour the blackberry layer into the popsicle molds, I poured about 1-2 TBLS of puree into each mold. Now place sticks in the molds and place back into the freezer for about an hour, or until the blackberry layer is slightly frozen.

Now, place pineapple, So Delicious Coconut Milk: Vanilla Creamer, Coconut Milk, and the remainder of the simple syrup into the blender and blend until all combined. Pour the colada mixture into the remaining space of the popsicle molds. Place in the freezer and allow popsicles to freeze for about 4 hours or until completely frozen.

Enjoy!

Shredded Chicken Quesadillas

Last week I posted my homemade chicken stock and shredded chicken recipe, click here if you missed the post. So today I am going to share an amazing recipe for Shredded Chicken Quesadillas. It is definitely the shredded chicken that makes this recipe so fresh. The chicken is so tender and full of flavor. I know you are ready for the recipe so lets get started... 



This recipe serves 2-4, but definitely double the recipe if needed.

Ingredients:
olive oil
4 taco size flour tortillas
1 1/4 cups shredded chicken
click here for my homemade shredded chicken recipe
chili powder (to taste)
cumin (to taste)
salt and pepper (to taste)
corn salsa, recipe below
fresh chopped cilantro (to taste)
shredded colby jack cheese

Corn Salsa
2/3 cup corn frozen or fresh
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 TBS shallots, finely chopped
olive oil

In a small sauté pan warm 1 TBS of olive oil over medium heat.  Add corn, bell peppers, and shallots. Combine all ingredients and sauté for about 5 minutes. Set aside for the chicken quesadillas.

Directions:
First heat and lightly oil your griddle or pan over medium heat, adjust heat as needed. Divide ingredients between two tortillas. Layer your toppings: cheese, shredded chicken, sprinkles of chili powder, sprinkles of cumin, corn salsa, fresh cilantro, and finally your last layer of cheese on the first tortilla. Top with the additional tortilla and cook until the cheese is melted and the bottom tortilla is golden brown. Now carefully flip the quesadilla with a spatula and allow the other side to lightly brown while gently pressing down on the top of the tortilla.

Slice the quesadillas in 4 equal sections and serve with a side salad, a dollop of sour cream, chips, and salsa. These yummy quesadillas also pair well with my
pico de gallo and creamy avocado dip.

Enjoy!

Homemade Chicken Stock & Shredded Chicken

Today I am going to share my recipe for homemade chicken stock and shredded chicken. I will be honest, in the past I rarely made homemade chicken stock unless it was around the holidays. I often bought the organic chicken stock cartons from the grocery store because it was one last thing I had to do in the kitchen. Well things have recently changed because of my daughter's diet and I now have to make homemade chicken stock for all my recipes that require chicken stock.

My daughter is 16 years old and has suffered from severe migraines since the 8th grade and it has been one awful ride. We have tried everything from chiropractic care to migraine preventatives and nothing seem to truly work, until one doctor at a urgent care clinic suggested a low tyramine diet. I have never even heard of this diet before we stepped into this clinic. My daughter was not happy and thrilled at first, but she was so fed up with the pain and sickness that accommodated these migraine episodes that she was willing to give it a try.

I can not tell you how wonderful it has been! She is off her preventives, no more sickness, and no migraines, all because of her diet! I am amazed! Here is a link to a low tyramine diet that we follow religiously.

http://www.headaches.org/pdf/Diet.pdf

Below is a link to hidden MSG in your food

http://www.truthinlabeling.org/hiddensources.html
(I have not found a safe shelved organic chicken broth that does not have yeast extract. This was a huge migraine source for my daughter.)

I will be truthful, I am cooking more than I ever have and out to eat options are very limited, but the results have been tremendous!

I know you are ready for the recipe, so let's get started...

I used:
3 lbs whole organic chicken
10 springs of thyme
4 sprigs of rosemary
2 bay leafs
5 stalks of celery
3 medium carrots
4 whole shallots
5 garlic cloves
1/2 TBS of whole peppercorns
1 tsp kosher salt

This batch made 3- 32 oz containers of broth and approximately 4 cups of shredded chicken.



Please do not feel limited to my ingredients, homemade chicken broth is basically fool proof. You can use any variety of herbs, vegetables and seasonings. Although celery, carrots, and onions should be a must.

Directions:
Take the chicken out of the packaging and pat dry with paper towels. Sometimes a whole chicken may have a giblet package or the kidneys left on the inside, so be sure to remove those before cooking. Place the chicken in a large stock pot and fill with enough water to just cover the chicken. Next, add all the herbs, vegetables, and seasonings. Cover and simmer for at least 2 hours.

When the chicken is ready (falling apart tender). Remove the whole chicken from the pot with tongs. I use a pie plate to place the chicken on.  Once the chicken is cool enough, remove skin, shred and debone. Use the shredded chicken in any recipe you desire. This shredded chicken goes really well in my
Chicken Enchiladas with a Cream of Jalapeno Sauce!



Once you remove the chicken from the broth place a large bowl in a ice bath in the sink. Then place a fine mesh strainer over the bowl and slowly pour the broth over the strainer.



Now that your broth has cooled let it set in the fridge overnight. This will allow the fat to be easily removed. As you can see below the fat rises to the top and hardens. Remove and discard the fat with a slotted spoon.



Now you are ready to store the chicken broth in the fridge for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

When freezing only fill liquids to the bottom line.



If you are looking for awesome freezer storage containers such as these, I bought my from amazon. Click on the picture below and it will lead you straight to the page where you can purchase these wonderful containers. I absolutely love mine and do not only use them for broth, but they are great for freezing soups too. I use the smaller ones for freezing left overs and it works great on nights when I don't have anything planned!

3 Ingredient- Blackberry Mint Spritzer

As you can see mint is exploding in my garden and what better way to use it than in a Blackberry Mint Spritzer.



This refreshing summer time drink was initially designed by my lovely daughter, she is the drink and cupcake creator of the family! She is still in school this week, but wanted me to get this post up for everyone to enjoy :) I love all the combinations of this Blackberry Mint Spritzer, it is perfect for a warm summer night. I hope you and your family will enjoy this wonderful drink at your next outdoor gathering.

Ingredients:
1- 2 liter of Sprite (or any other soda that is similar)
Place Sprite in the freezer for an hour or refrigerate overnight.
1/2 cup fresh mint, packed
2 1/4 cup of fresh blackberries

Directions:
In a blender combine blackberries and mint, blend until well combined. Then slowly pour the soda in a gallon size pitcher. Place a fine mesh strainer over the pitcher and slowly pour the blackberry mixture into the strainer. Work the mixture through the strainer with a spoon to remove the blackberry seeds. Once the blackberry mixture has been strained stir slowly to combine all flavors. Then serve over ice and garnish with additional mint and blackberries.

Enjoy!

Tortilla Crusted Tilapia

I have really enjoyed my time off with my kiddos and trying to get the house organized! I don't know if that task will ever be truly accomplished, but I try my best :) This summer I will keep the menu light and will only post one recipe a week. My daughter will also drop in with recipes now that school is coming to an end. Today I am sharing a new recipe that I hope you and your family will enjoy,Tortilla Crusted Tilapia! I know you are ready for the recipe so let's get started...



Ingredients:
4 tilapia fillets
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
a bag of your favorite tortilla chips
(I use El Milagro tortilla chips. They are unsalted, so if you use a salted tortilla chip you may not need to add salt to the mixture.)
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper (to taste)
a small bunch of cilantro, a hand full
(washed, dried, and stems cut)
lemon and lime wedges for serving

Directions:
In a food processor (I used a 9 cup food processor) add cilantro and then fill to the top with tortilla chips. Then add seasonings: chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Process on high until chips and seasoning are blended into a fine crumb. 



Next prepare 3 different stations for dredging, I personally use pie plates. In one pie plate place the flour, in the second one slightly beat the eggs, and the third place the tortilla crumbs. Dredge your tilapia fillets in the flour, then the eggs, and last the tortilla crumbs. Make sure you coat each side of the fish!

Place fillets on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 degrees in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fillets) or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

Serve with Mexican rice, pico de gallo, or a warm corn and black bean salsa.

Enjoy!

Dreamsicle Cupcakes

Posted By: Christian (Audra’s daughter)
I have to admit here in Texas we have had a cooler spring than usual. However, with summer around the corner temps are beginning to rise, I find myself baking with more refreshing and cooler flavors. The cupcake I am about to share with you has been in my recipe book for awhile, since I was about fourteen. At that time in my  life I could not get enough Sunkist to drink, and I began using the citrus soda to bake with. I have not made this recipe in a while and last weekend I rediscovered it in my recipe book, and after tasting this refreshing cupcake I knew I had to share the recipe with my mother’s lovely readers. So lets get baking!

 
Ingredients:
Yields 12 cupcakes
1/2 cup butter at room temp.
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup Sunkist
3 TBS half and half
1/2 TBS orange zest (1 large orange)

Cream Topping
1 cup heaving whipping cream
1/4 cup butter at room temp.
3-4 TBS powder sugar
1/2 TBS orange zest (1 large orange)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F . Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add vanilla. In a small bowl, combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Then stir in the Sunkist and half and half until batter is smooth.  Pour or use an ice cream scoop to place batter into the prepared pan. Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full.

3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes.
Cupcakes are done when it springs back to the touch. Let cupcakes cool completely before applying icing.

Directions for icing:
Chill your mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Then the chilled large metal bow beat the butter and powder sugar together for about 1 minute. Then slowly add the heavy whipping cream and whip until stiff peaks form. Then stir in vanilla and orange zest. Now you are ready to top your Dreamsicle Cupcakes!
Refrigerate cupcakes until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Taking a Break

Hi everyone, I will be taking a break from blogging all through April. My house is demanding to be cleaned and organized or maybe it’s just me ;) Thank you for your patience and understanding. You can still find me on:

Pinterest
Facebook
Twitter
and
Instagram.

Happy Spring Cleaning!