Healthy for You: Asparagus and a Recipe

Asparagus is one of those vegetables you either like or you don’t. We never ate it while growing up so I honestly didn’t know if it was something I would like. My dad loves it and shared a bite with me at a restaurant about 10 years ago. It was in a salad and I couldn’t get over the woody taste. That taste caused me to wait seven years before I would try it again.

Because of my sister talking about them, I tried cooking Asparagus and Brussels sprouts. She told me to make sure the Asparagus stem snaps in the natural area it wants to bend. This would keep from getting the part of the stem that has the woody taste. Although the Brussels sprouts won my heart, my husband continued asking for Asparagus. Oddly enough, I researched Asparagus and found it to be on the high purine list of vegetables. This worried me because of my husband’s gout, when you watch someone suffer from the pain and effects of gout, you want to avoid any purines if possible.

Healthy for You - Asparagus

Back in February, I cooked Asparagus because it had been asked for and I cringed while cooking because I knew what was going happen. I was ready for the “I told you so” part that would come in the next day, but it never came. For several days afterwards, my husband talked about how good his ankles felt even after long days of driving. So, I bought another pound of Asparagus and we tried it again the next week. The only thing I did differently, I divided the Asparagus up for several days because the feel good feeling didn’t last longer than several days.

I researched Asparagus again, this time for all the health benefits it has to offer. Let me tell you, these little vegetables are packed full of healing benefits.

One cup of Asparagus contains vitamins A, C, E, K, and several B vitamins along with folate, copper, iron, calcium, protein, and fiber. There are also anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and the cancer fighting compound, glutathione.

No wonder my husband was feeling so well after eating this little miracle vegetable. Those anti-inflammatory properties are a huge benefit for joint pain.

A whole cup of Asparagus only has 20 calories. That calorie count should be a little encouragement for those dieting.

While Asparagus has a higher count of purines than many other vegetables, plant purines are less concentrated than animal purines. This means the rise in uric acid levels will not be as high a risk like animal purines. For my husband, I tend to worry a little so I make sure he is not eating anything that could trigger his gout when eating Asparagus. As long as he is not seeing any bad side effects, I’ll continue cooking this little vegetable for him.

I was a little surprised to find this little vegetable to be a wonder pill for my husband. But thankfully, it’s a food we don’t have to sacrifice eating. Because of the health benefits in Asparagus, I think I could learn to love them.

There are many yummy recipes for asparagus. But since I cook only a handful at a time most nights, I sauté them. If you are cooking a full pound of asparagus, you can double the seasonings for your taste.

Simple Sautéed Asparagus

Ingredients:

• Asparagus

• Oil - enough to coat the stems

• Pinch of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning

Directions:

In a small container mix the dry ingredients with oil. Toss the asparagus with the oil mixture and sauté for about 5 minutes. Remove from pan.

Disclaimer: I am NOT a healthcare provider. I am simply a wife who is sharing what she has learned from research and a trial and error routine of finding healthy foods for my husband to enjoy.

52 Easy Cast Iron Skillet Recipes

Are you looking for recipes that are easy to prepare and in a skillet? Whether you cook with cast iron or stainless steel, you’ll be sure to find a recipe that piques your interest in this list of 52 Easy Cast Iron Skillet Recipes. If you are gluten free and/or vegan, I have you covered. This list came about because I was in search of recipes to cook for my family. Little did I know my list would morph into something that caused me to share the list. I even included some of my recipes just in case you missed them in the past.

52 Easy Cast Iron Skillet Recipes

Appetizers
Cast Iron Cowboy Queso Dip – My Crafty Life
Campfire Pizza Nachos – Cooking With Janica
Easy Baked Shrimp Dip - Macheesmo
Southwest Dip aka Wild West Dip – Yummy Healthy Easy
Meatball Sub Dip – Wine and Glue

Bread
Southern Cornbread Dressing
Chive Blossom and Potato Focaccia – Farm Fresh Feasts
Easy Cornbread Skillet with Scallions – Savory Tooth
Wild Blueberry and Turkey Pull Apart Rolls – Easy Cooking With Molly
Skillet Irish Soda Bread – Jo Cooks

Eggs
Hungry Man Breakfast Skillet
Baked Eggs with Herbs and Bacon - Reuse Grow Enjoy
Broccoli and Sweet Potato Frittata With Thyme – Savory Tooth
Italian Skillet Eggs – Thrifty Jinxy
Cheesy Bacon Egg Hash Brown Skillet – Julie Eats and Treats

Chicken
Spicy Chicken Stroganoff With Broiled Zoodles - A Sprinkling of Cayenne
Skillet Broccoli Parmesan Chicken with Bow Tie Pasta – Thrifty Jinxy
Chipotle Chicken Wraps with Kicked Up Avocado Cream – Mashup Mom
Honey Mustard and Rosemary Chicken and Potatoes - Matters of the Belly
Skillet Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Asparagus - Creme de la Crumb

Beef
Low Carb Portobello Skillet Lasagna - Mashup Mom
Tex- Mex Cabbage Beef Skillet - The Foodie Affair
One Skillet Beef Meatballs with Rice and Peas – The Food Charlatan
Skillet Beef Short Rib Pot Roast – Vodka and Biscuits
One Skillet Mexican Beef and Rice – I Wash, You Dry

Pork
Chipolte Pork Cast Iron Meal – My Crafty Life
Irish Dublin Coddle – Confessions of an Overworked Mom
Hawaiian Spam Skillet Dinner – Dining With Alice
Low Carb Swiss Chard and Sausage with Burrata – Farm Fresh Feasts
One Pan Apple Butter Pork Chop Skillet - The Cookie Rookie

 Seafood
Cape Cod Casserole – Confessions of an Overworked Mom
Honey Garlic Shrimp Skillet – The Cooking Jar
Orange Rosemary Glazed Salmon - Cooking Classy
Lemon Butter Scallops – Damn Delicious
One Skillet Skinny Seafood Alfredo – The Seasoned Mom

Veggies
Sauteed Brussels Sprouts
Quick Thai Vegetable Broth in the Skillet – Recipe This
Easy Garlic Buttered Roasted Mushrooms – Iowa Girl Eats
Sauteed Zucchini and Carrots - Cooking With Curls
Skillet Roasted Asparagus With Garlic, Rosemary, and Lemon - Kylee Cooks

Desserts
Low Sugar Iron Skillet Apple Pie – The Jenny Evolution
White Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie – Baking With Mom
Pizza Hut Copycat Skillet Cookie Dough – Recipe This
Skillet Blueberry Cobbler – The Blond Cook
Snickerdoodle Skillet Cake - Annie’s Noms

Gluten Free and Vegan
Mexican Spaghetti Squash Hash Browns – Strength and Sunshine
Black Bean and Avocado and Egg Hash - Pumpkin and Peanut Butter
Gluten Free Shrimp Scampi - A Sprinkling of Cayenne
Easy Skillet Sweet Potatoes With Cilantro- Gluten Free With LB
Gluten Free Cinnamon Buns - Strength and Sunshine
Skillet Roasted Cinnamon Pecans – Beaming Baker
Paleo Vegan “Meaty” Taco Skillet – Sweet C’s Designs

 Now that your mouth is watering, go cook something.

Flavorful Chicken Taco Salad

Flavorful Chicken Taco Salad is a quick and easy meal for a busy weeknight.  I stumbled over this recipe on Pinterest a few years ago and the pin didn't have any information. It was easy to figure out the plan of creating just by looking at the picture.   Since my family loves Mexican cuisine, I knew this would be a hit with them.

Flavorful Chicken Taco Salad

One really big time saving thing for this salad is you can cook your chicken ahead of time. I used my pressure cooker and cooked all of the chicken I would need for the week on Sunday afternoon. Then I divided up the meat in containers for each day.  When I made this on Tuesday, it took all of 15 minutes to have it ready for the table. It was that quick!

I served the chicken cold in our salad, but you could serve it warm. Also, I heated the black beans and corn just to make sure they were not harboring any microscopic bacteria that might have been in the cans. Once they boiled for a minute or two, I drained and rinsed them in cold water. But again, if you choose, you can serve them warm along with the chicken.

For the dressing, I searched for a Taco Ranch Dressing and found many. I knew I would be able to mix my own dressing by either making it all homemade or using up the bottle of ranch dressing that was tucked away in the refrigerator door. ~ That is exactly what I did.

Since I first shared this recipe back in 2013, I've tried cooking the chicken differently - grilled, boiled, and pressure cooked. The grilled gives it a much better taste because of the char. Boiling the chicken needs a little flavoring to help it out. Pressure cooking does give the chicken a more flavorful taste over the boiling. Maybe because the juice is the actual stock from the chicken with no water added. Either way you choose to cook your chicken, you won't be disappointed with the salad outcome.

Just a tip to consider, add a little taco seasoning to the water if you boil the chicken, or instead of water maybe use chicken broth.

I know what you are thinking, the recipe calls for tomatoes, where’s the tomatoes in the picture?  I'm not a tomato person and the plate shown was mine and not my husband's.  Yes, I prepare and eat supper with the camera.

Flavorful Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1 head lettuce chopped     (or bag of salad mix)
• 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
• 1 can whole kernel corn drained    (or 1 cup of frozen (thawed))
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 bell pepper diced
• 1 tomato diced
• 1 1/2 cups crushed tortilla chips

Dressing ingredients:

• 1 cup ranch dressing
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 2 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning

Directions:

In a small bowl mix together the dressing ingredients and set aside.

In a large bowl add all the ingredients except for the tortilla chips, mixing well. Right before serving, toss in the the tortilla chips and serve.

Do you enjoy taco salads? What's your favorite type of meat to add to it?

The Pasta With BITE - Rattlesnake Pasta

I know what you are thinking! Rattlesnake?! Let me tell you that if I have to worry about being bitten by a rattlesnake, there is no way on this earth that I would even think about eating one! At least not while I have food in the cabinets. Rattlesnake Pasta is a type of chicken alfredo with bite. A huge bite depending on the type of peppers you use. A not so huge bite, if you are not a hot pepper fan or have little ones eating.

Rattlesnake Pasta

I read a friend’s status on Facebook and saw where she was talking about this particular dish at a local restaurant in her area. After hearing about the ingredients, I knew I had to try it. So I tried to come up with my version of this dish.

Over the years of making this yummy dish, I've tried different hot peppers from my dad's plants, canned chilies, jalapenos, and Anaheim peppers. This weekend, I used the Anaheim because I've heard the words heart burden too recently. Anaheim peppers are not quite as hot as the jalapenos and I kind of wish I would have used at least one jalapeno in the mixture. But, it is what it is.

I love recipes like this one because like I said, depending on the type of pepper you use, it can be as hot or as not as you want. :) I'm all for having the whole family enjoy a meal without mom or dad being a short order cook for everyone.

I was not one to cook a different meal for my son when he was little. If the recipe called for extra spiciness I improvised the ingredients and steps in getting the food cooked so he could enjoy it without the added heat. In fact, I have never been a short order cook, so my son was required to eat what was cooked no questions asked.Now, my son loves hot, hot, hot foods along with many others. I think my encouraging (requiring) him to try different things when he was little helped him have a palate for a wide variety of foods. Would you believe he loves sushi? Yep, but I never encouragement him to eat it because it is something I'm not fond of. He learned to love it on his own.

Depending on how big your family is, this recipe will be easy to double or cut down the ingredients.

When you look at the ingredients you will notice bell peppers and hot peppers. The bell peppers alone give the recipe a nice peppery taste without heat, so if you have a little ones eating, leave out the hot peppers and cut back on the Cayenne pepper.

Rattlesnake Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg chicken breast seasoned and grilled
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 red bell pepper diced
• ½ green bell pepper diced
• 1 small onion chopped
• 3  jalapeno peppers or any hot pepper you like
• 3-4 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese
• 3 Tbsp Cayenne pepper
• 1 box linguine
• enough water to cook the pasta

Directions:

Season and grill the chicken. When cooled, cook into bite sized pieces and set aside.

Bring a pot of water to boil for the pasta. Add salt and a drizzle of oil, to help keep the noodles from sticking together. Cook pasta according to your taste.

In a large frying pan sauté garlic, onions and peppers over medium heat. Add chilies/peppers. Slowly pour heavy cream into pan and add Parmesan cheese. Stir until melted and smooth. Add Cayenne pepper stir until well mixed.  Add chicken.  Cook until sauce becomes thick. Serve over the pasta.

Do you have a favorite recipe that has a kick or a bite when you eat it? I'd love to hear about your recipe.

Immune Boosting, Cold and Flu Fighting Homemade Elderberry Syrup Recipe

Not too long ago, my family was exposed to the flu. Last week my son was down for the count the whole week while my husband took one sick day from work. And all I could do was remember how I felt last year with the flu and how it seemed to never end. Being determined, I raced to the store to grab some elderberry syrup because I was not catching it. If I did, I was going to do what I could to lessen the symptoms and the duration of the dreaded illness.

Homemade Elderberry Syrup

Elderberry syrup is not something new for our family. We’ve been taking it for years, but I was out and had an order for dried black elderberries in the mail when the sickness hit our home. Making a batch of homemade elderberry syrup was already on my to do list because the store-bought brand tastes horrible to me because of the glucose syrup (corn syrup). But, I had to put aside my tastes so I could reap the benefits of the precious little black berries.

I am living proof, elderberry syrup works! After two teaspoons of the syrup, the scratchy feeling in my throat went away. For the next several days, I took upwards of 10 teaspoons each day and never had a symptom to rear its ugly head. My stubborn son refused his momma’s magical syrup and my husband gladly took it after spending most of the sick day in bed.

Elderberries are an actual food; they are used in jellies, jams, pies, and even wine. A yummy food with healthy benefits. Elderberry has a long history of being used in traditional medicine. Only the flowers and berries can be used, but the berries must be ripe and cooked if ingesting them. Unripe berries can be green or red depending on the variety. If you pick wild elderberry, BE SURE you know how to identify them.

There can be drug interactions when taking Elderberry with prescription medicines. Pregnant and nursing women are warned against taking them.

There should be no ill side effects when you properly take Elderberry. Although, it has been known to cause tummy problems when too much is ingested. Nothing too serious, you just won't want to leave the house. :)

I’ve not read anywhere about the length of time on taking Elderberry. Because of this, we only take it when we need to combat a cold or flu.  We also take it a couple of days before we know we are going to be in a large group of people for a long period of time.

Just a thought about honey. Children under a year old should not ingest honey. While you can certainly leave out the honey, the berries are so tart – almost bitter, a sweetener is needed. Look at using cane sugar as a sweetener.

Just a thought about elderberries. The seeds are bitter. If you mash the berries too much, you’ll give off the bitterness from the seeds.

Elderberry Syrup

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried elderberries
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup honey (cane sugar)

Directions:

In a medium pot, bring water and berries to a boil. Turn down and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by half. Strain the juice into a glass container (I use my large measuring cup). Little press on the berries with the back of a spoon, being careful not to crush the seeds. Allow the juice to cool. Add the honey and stir until mixed well. Store in a jar in the refrigerator.

Dosage:
Adult - 1 Tablespoon up to 4 times a day.
Child – ½ – 1 teaspoons up to 3 times a day.



Do you take elderberry syrup or another traditional medicine to combat a cold or the flu?


Disclaimer: I am NOT a healthcare provider. I am simply a wife and mom who is sharing what she has learned from research and a trial and error routine of finding healthy foods and all natural methods  for my family to enjoy.

Homemade Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Anytime is the right time for ICE CREAM! I love ice cream but I don’t like all the added ingredients I can’t pronounce in the store-bought brands. Being able to read a list of ingredients and know what they are is nice and homemade ice cream is just that. Customizing the amount of each ingredient for your needs is another awesome thing about homemade ice cream. Our family has their favorite flavors and Peanut Butter Ice Cream is one of them.

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Peanut Butter Ice Cream The first time I tried making peanut butter ice cream, I followed the recipe in the book that came with my ice cream maker. It was good, but it didn’t have the little bites of peanut butter I was wanting. The next time, I used the base recipe I use for vanilla and chocolate ice creams. I didn’t mix up the peanut butter as much and the peanut butter cups I added was beaten down into small specks because I added them at the beginning. Still not what I was looking for.

I finally decided to hand mix everything before pouring it into the ice cream maker’s bowl. When I did this, I ended up with what I was wanting. Little bites of peanut butter in each spoonful, it was perfect!

Making homemade Peanut Butter Ice Cream is easy. In fact, you probably have everything in your pantry and refrigerator right now. Peanut butter, sugar, milk, and heavy cream is really all you need. Vanilla does give it a nice flavor and the peanut butter cups gives it a nice little surprise with every bite.

Just a thought about vanilla. If you use pure vanilla wait until after the mixture has frozen before adding it. The alcohol works against it and makes it a little harder to freeze. When you pour it in, let the machine keep mixing for about a minute or two. I can’t say what will happen if you use imitation vanilla because I only use my own homemade vanilla.

Just a thought about the peanut butter cups. If you want little chunks in each scoop, wait until the end to add them.

Just a thought about the ice cream mixture. While the book to my maker doesn’t tell you to chill the liquid back down after mixing everything together, my mom’s does. I tried it to see if there was a difference and the only thing I found was that the ice cream was a little harder than soft serve.

I LOVE my Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker!

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Ingredients:

• 1 cup peanut butter (not natural)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 ½ heavy cup cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped peanut butter cups (optional)

Directions:
In a medium mixing bowl, mix peanut butter and sugar by hand until smooth. Add the milk and continue mixing until the sugar has dissolved and peanut butter has broken into little pieces. Stir in the cream. Cover and chill for up to 30 minutes in the freezer.

**Follow the directions for using your ice cream maker.**

When ready to make your ice cream, stir the mixture a little before pouring it into the maker bowl. Turn on the ice cream maker and pour the liquid into the bowl. Let mix until thickened about 15-20 minutes depending on your maker. This mixture will be a soft serve consistency, if you’re wanting a hard ice cream, pour the mixture into an airtight container and place in the freezer for about 2 hours. When ready to serve, remove from freezer 5-10 minutes before serving.