Simple, few ingredients, rich flavor, tender....this was my 1st attempt and we will add this into our regulars...


Ingredients:
1/2 c onion, food processed
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1-1 1/2 lb sliced steak or beef tips, 1/2 inch chunks or thin strips depending on your personal preference.
1/4 butter
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 t garlic powder
3/4 c sour cream
2 T arrowroot powder
1/4 c milk

In pot, melt butter and saute onion for a few minutes til onions "fluff'. Add mushrooms, saute few minutes. Add beef and garlic powder. Brown meat then cover and simmer on very low 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Whisk arrowroot powder and milk together and add to mixture, stir. Add sour cream and then salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over buttery or noodles tossed in olive oil (I prefer plain noodles and egg noodles at that).
 Serves 4

I experiemented a whole lot to find a way to make macaroni and cheese healthy and good tasting to the kids. It took the kids a while to get used to having whoel wheat pastas but within a couple weeks they were completely switched over and now prefer them. Once in a while I use organic white noodles made from unbleached, unbromated flour -- and even if it says organic I still check to make sure it does not contain enriched flour (it's crazy how you can be tricked into believing you are eating healthy food when it isn't even remotely healthy). Now, I also want to point out that we actually do not eat many dishes requiring store bought pasta, even organic, whole grain pastas because these are still mostly processed at high temperatures and contain little actual nutrition.
Someday in the near future I will have some contraption that will help me make homemade pasta simple and easy and we will then eat pasta to our heart's content. Until then, it's an occasional treat or last minute meal........

Macaroni and Cheese

1 box whole wheat elbows, cooked and rinsed with cold water
8 oz cheddar, freshly shredded (I never buy store bought shredded -- it's dry, processed, and doesn't melt well)
2 cups milk
1/2 stick butter
1/4 c whole wheat flour
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t sea salt to taste, add more if you like
3 oz cream cheese if I have it on hand

Spray small/medium saucepan and add butter to melt over very low heat. Add 1/2 cup milk and flour and whick together over the low heat (add cream cheese here if you are using it). 
 Add remainder of milk and heat to hot but not boiling and add cumin and salt. Add 3/4 cheddar and melt together sirring continually. I use a mini whisk for this which works amazing.
Pour noodles into a greased casserole dish. Pour milk-cheese mixture over top and evenly coat. Sprinkle remainder of cheese over the top.
You can either freeze at this stage or bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until slightly browned on top.
Serves 6 as a meal, 8-10 as a side dish.


For adventurous families add cooked shredded chicken, tuna, or mushrooms before freezing or baking.

This recipe is a mega family favorite passed down over generations throught the Swedish side of our family. In fact, I don't know if the recipe came from Seden or not, or even if they eat meatballs in Sweden, but it is part of our Christmas Eve celebration and was for decades before I was born. These are simply scrumptious and everyone who has tried them has loved them.

Grama's Swedish Meatballs
1 lb organic lean ground beef
2 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
1 t ginger
1/4-1/2 ground cloves or allspice
1 egg
dash oregano
1/2 t sea salt
1 cup bread crumbs (I make mine homemade by food processing my 2 or 3 day old homemade bread and  putting it in freezer bags by the cupful  for freezer storage. Then I always have them and they are always process and preservative free)
1/2 c pureed onion

Mix together, roll into 1 inch balls, and put in greased baking pan. Add 1/4 broth or water. Bake about 25 mins or until brown at 350 degrees.

This is a variation from a recipe I found at The Nourishing Gourmet. It's very simple and so good for you! This is very easy to prepare, requires little physical work but it does require a

Braised Cabbage
1 medium cabbage, cut into  2 inch wedges
1 large sweet onion, sliced kinda chunky
1/2 - 1 lb lean ground meat (I usually use Shadybrook Farms 93% lean turkey), browned with a little sea salt and pepper to taste
sea salt and pepper to taste
couple shakes crushed red pepper
1/2 t dried oregano
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
2-3 carrots chopped into 2 inch chunks

Spray glass casserole dish. Melt coconut oil and whisk together with broth. Add vegetables to dish, mixed together. Sprinkle meat over top the veggies. Drizzle oil and broth mixture over the meal. Sprinkle with couple shakes crushed pepper, oregano, pinch of sea salt, and 3-4 twists of pepper (I use one of those twisty things that cracks/crushes the pepper as you go -- name of it escapes me right now). Seel thoroughly with foil and braise for 2 1/2 hours at 300 degrees. When you remove foil, bake another 10-15 minutes to slighlty brown the cabbage.
Serves 6.

Super easy and quick to assemble! Again, from dear Laura over at Heavenly Homemakers -- so mamy tasy, easy, wholesome ideas! her site has simplified my cooking life so much! You must check it out!!!

Ingredients:
6 baking potatoes
1 pound Ground hamburger meat
1 Tablespoon Taco seasoning
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup salsa
Preferred toppings such as lettuce, tomatoes, olives, sour cream, etc.

Scrub potatoes. Stab each of them with a knife (so they won’t explode!), place in a casserole dish, cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 ½ hours.

Brown hamburger meat, drain and add seasoning (you can add the whole package of seasoning if you want, I just think it’s a little strong like that!). Stir in cream, salsa and cheese. Stir on low heat until cheese is melted.

Cut potato open on plate. Pour meat sauce over potato and load it up with toppings you prefer.

This is a great easy meal that I often through together when I don't want to spend much time preparing dinner or I need something last minute. It is super simple.

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground meat (beef or turkey, I prefer Shadybrook 93% lean turkey or organic, grass-fed beef)
6 -7 medium potatoes, washed, chopped into 1/2 pieces
oregano, 1/2 t
salt and pepper to taste
1 T coconut oil
3/4 cup chicken broth or chicken stock (homemade is very best because of al it's wonderful properties but I use low sodium free range organic from the store as well, which is fine!)

Brown beef in pan with oregano, salt and pepper. Spray a casserole dish, add coconut oil, melted, and toss in the potatoes and beef. Mix thoroughly. Add broth, cover tightly with foil and bake about 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven (or until potatoes are soft). Serves 5-6.

OK. Taking on the turkey today. No, it's not Thanksgiving....I impulsively purchased it at Wegmans the other day thinking this would simplify meal making or a few days while Tony is out of town and while I am getting past some queezy tummy...and I believe it will, once I get past the raw turkey part...
It is possible to make this into a healthy dish, believe it or not. Now, it isn' necessarily low in fat or even calories. However, a natural free range turkey is a wonderful source of protein and so many vitamins...it's the extras here that will add up. The side dishes, do, though, contain lots of wonderful nutrients and all I have really done is replace old recipes full of empty calories and dead foods with whole, nutrient dense ingredients. They just aren't low on the fat/caloric end of things but they are high on wholesome.

ROAST TURKEY WITH STUFFING AND MASHED POTATOES

Stuffing:
2 loaves homemade whole wheat bread, doesn't have to be fresh
organic sage
salt
pepper
organic poultry seasoning
2 sticks organic butter
1 med onion, pureed (food processor)
2 stalks celery pureed (food processor)
1 cup celery leaves
turkey gizzard package
4 cups water

Stuffing:
Step 1: Add celery leaves, water, turkey parts from bag inside, and 1 stick of butter to medium saucepan. Cover and let cook down couple hours for maxium flavor.
Step 2: Shred bread into large bowl or roaster pan (something you will have enough room to mix in) -- 1/4 -1/2 inch pieces.
Step 3: Add onion and celery
Step 4: This is the hard part because it is up to your taste preference and I have never measured. Add spices, they will be in generous amounts but 1 would maybe start with 2 T celerly seed, 2 T sage, 1 T salt, pepper to taste , and 1 T poultry seasoning. Mix it all up and start your taste testing...some like more of certain flavor than others. Add 1 stick of melted butter, toss with fork and fluff up. Start adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, fluffing up after each time. You do not want it too wet -- continue to taste test to your satisfaction. Better to add a little at time because it is easier to always add more.  It should be pretty dry before going into the turkey because the turkey will add more juices to it as it cooks.  
I promise I will do a better job measuring when I cook my Thanksgiving Turkey....

Turkey:
I am not a meat chef by any means and so I always choose simple. For me, this is just me, I still use the Reynold's Turkey Bags to keep my turkey from getting dry and to simplify the process. If you use a bag like me, simply follow the directions on the box -- you will need to carefully read the instructions to avoid bag pitfalls.

1. Unwrap Mr. Turkey (Jessie calls it our Guy Turkey) in the sink and remove any inside parts which should be wrapped in paper -- check inside and also in the neck.
 2.Dump out any bloody water and rinse him thouroughly with cold water inside and out.
3.  With tweezers, remove any "hairs" that may be left on the skin.  
4. I use a paring knife to make a tiny slit in each side of the breast to access the area between the skin and the breast. Slather the area with organic butter and coconut oil to create a barrier to seal in the juices.
5. You can sprinkle the little guy with some spices or flavoring if you wish, I usually do not anymore...the organic butter adds so much and we donot usually eat the skin. Up to you!
6. Lightly "dress" the urkey with stuffing, into the "butt" as Jessie says and into the neck. Be sure not to pack it in tightly because it may not cook through evenly which is really gross and unhealthy. Tie the legs back together and follow cooking instructions for your size turkey.
 7. Pop him in the prepared bag (bag needs 1 T of flour shaken insode to keep from exploding) , cut 6 1/2 inch slits and let him go!

Cook at 350 for your poundage.

Mashed Potatoes:
10 medium potatoes (I used redskin this time from the market they are he larger reds, not the tiny ones) -- peeled and quartered. If you want them to cook faster cut them smaller)
1 cup milk or cream (I use whole organic raw milk)
1/2 stick butter
1 teaspoon sea salt (optional -- I usually skip this)

An hour before I plan to take turkey out I begin to boil potatoes. For a family of 6 eating an normal amount of potatoes, i usually use about 10 medium size Yukon golds or reds.
Add to large pot of water, potaotes should be completely covered, bring to a slow boil. Cover and boil until very soft. Prior to removing potatoes from stovetop, I gently warm milk and butter, stirring constantly to a warm, not hot temperature (I like to keep the proteins as in tact as possible for added nutrition).
Dump potatoes into collander and then into mixing bowl. With beaters, mix potatoes on low until broken up. Add milk mixture and beat until your desired smoothness. I like them very smooth but the kids like them chunky -- your preference.

Enjoy!!!

Well, time is running short before dinner tonight and I only finished half of the grocery shopping yesterday so options are limited. Time for taco pasta -- one of the few dishes we serve in the Myers Kitchen that everyone eats! I am not a Hambuger Helper fan but this is pretty good for a not-casserole-lover. The kids love it! (They are big on noodles and casseroles).

Taco Pasta...Our version of homemade hamburger helper
2 1/2 c elbow noodles (I use organic, whole wheat)
1 Package Simply Organic Taco Seasoning mix
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 t garlic powder
1 lb ground turkey or beef (preferably organic, grass fed)
1 cup milk
1 1/2 c water
4-6 oz cheddar, shredded

Ground meat in large pot or saucepan. Add elbows and all other ingredients except cheese. Stir together, bring to boiling, reduce to simmer and cover, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes or until noodles are softened. Turn off stove, add cheese and stir.
You may add toppings if you desire -- Tony and I prefer some extries, but the kids do not. It's really yummy with organic sour cream, chopped tomatoes and black olives or maybe even some salsa or guac!

Serves 6

We made this for the first time this week at our 1st Annual Myers' Family Oktoberfest. It was by far everyone's favorite dish. It is a traditional Austrian dish but is also served throughout Germany. There are many varities and actually different meats can be used. It really is just any thin, pounded, lean meat like pork, veal, or chicken. We did chicken -- easy to find, easy to cook....don't know much about cooking pork or veal at this point........We served it with the traditional lemon slice on top so that the kids had the option of adding the lemon juice to their meal.
Maybe I'll make it tonight!

Schnitzel (Pan fried breaded chicken)
1 lb free range organic chicken breast (we actually used the already skinny cutlets which require little pounding), pounded thin 1/4 inch thick...maybe 1/2 inch at the most....
2 c bread crumbs (see homemade wholesome bread crumbs -- easiest thing ever!!!), in a bowl
3 eggs, in a bowl
2 T milk
1 c unbromated, unbleached flour, in a bowl
organic palm oil for frying
organic butter for frying

Wash and pound chicken. Whisk egg and milk together in the egg bowl.
Dip chicken, 1 piece at a time,  first into the flour bowl and lightly coat
Dip promptly into egg
Dip prompltly into bread crumbs, coating both sides and shaking off excess crumbs.

Meanwhile coat bottom of large frying pan with enough palm oil to coat to 1/8 inch. Add 2 T butter. Heat enough to easily cook chicken in about 3 minutes but not too hot to splatter and burn. Cook 3  minutes on 1 side, flip and brown the other side. Goal is a golden brown filet, tender and wonderful.
Serve with a side of buttery egg noodles, homemade are THE best ever but their are organic brands out there if you must.