Hoffman Homestead

Balsamic Green Beans with Roasted Red Peppers

I wanted to make a green bean dish for Thanksgiving, but not the typical cream of mushroom soup/fried onions dish.  Not one of my favorites.  I looked around for a while to see if I could find a good one but wasn't struck by any I found.  I knew what I wanted so I just came up with this myself.  I think I might be making this for more than Thanksgiving.

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp brown sugar

4 slices of bacon

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup chopped walnuts (or almonds would be good)

1 large sweet onion, sliced lengthwise into slivers

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 roasted red pepper, 1/2 a jar if using jarred, sliced

1.5 lbs of fresh green beans

In a small saucepan, heat balsamic vinegar and brown sugar and reduce by about half.  When it's done the sauce will coat the back of your spoon nicely.

In a skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until nice and crispy.  Drain and set aside.  Reserve just enough of the fat to coat the bottom of the skillet.  Add olive oil and heat up over medium heat.  Toast the walnuts until they start smelling yummy and are browned.  Remove nuts from skillet with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Add garlic and saute for 1 min.  Add onion and saute until carmelized, browned and very soft.  Chop up bacon and return to the skillet.  Add red peppers and walnuts and heat through.  Pour reduced balsamic vinegar sauce over the mixture.

Steam fresh green beans until bright green and still crispy.  Toss together with balsamic vinegar mixture.

Chicken Tacos to Die For

Man, I impressed myself with this one.  This is my favorite kind of meal, few ingredients, fast and tastes unbelievable!

2 lbs chicken breast, bone in or bone out, I actually used some of each

3 chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce (if you want more of a punch, add more chilies)

1 large onion sliced

2 cups salsa or a 15 oz can of chopped stewed tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic

2 cinnamon sticks

Taco shells

In a crockpot, place chicken breasts (no need to defrost if frozen).  Pour in the tomatoes.  Mix in the chipotle chilies and and adobo sauce, garlic and cinnamon sticks.  Top with the slices of onion.  I give it a bit of a stir to make sure the chicken is coated.  Cook on high for about 4 hours (low for 8).  You'll want the meat to be tender enough to just fall off the bone.

Remove the chicken pieces, chipotle peppers and cinnamon sticks.  Shred the chicken, I do this using two forks.  Throw out the peppers and cinnamon (you can chop the peppers up and leave them in the mix, but it will be hotter).  Put the chicken back in the crockpot with all the yummy juices and mix thoroughly. 

This tastes great on tacos or as a taco salad.  Add your favorite taco toppings like cheese, sour cream, more salsa and salad.

Spinach, Chevre and Walnut Pasta

This is a take on the Chevre Pasta I posted earlier.  We had it for dinner tonight and I just had to share.  So tasty!

1 cup of pasta per person, we used Tinkyada Fusilli

1 large handful of fresh spinach per person

1 oz chevre per person

1 tbsp chopped walnuts per person

1 tbsp olive oil

Cook pasta according to package, drain and set aside.  Heat oil in the pasta pan and toast walnuts for a couple minutes.  Turn heat off and toss in spinach until wilted.  Add chevre and heat until just starting to melt.  Toss with pasta and enjoy.

Too Good to be True Tilapia

4 ingredients, 15 minutes, this is my favorite last minute meal.  My kids devour this fish and always ask for more.

4 fillets tilapia, defrosted

drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

a couple glugs white wine

4 pinches dill (fresh is best but dried will do)

Preheat oven to 425F.  Coat an 8x11 glass baking dish with cooking spray or olive oil.  Lay fillets in trying not to overlap.  Drizzle a bit of olive oil over each of the fillets.  Pour a couple glugs of white wine over all 4, not too much, you don't want to drown them.  Sprinkle a pinch of dill over each fillet.

Bake for 15 mins or until the fish flakes easily and is no longer opaque.  Hmm, tasty.

I usually like to serve this with a simple spinach salad and Quinoa Pilaf to fill up extra hungry stomachs.

Quinoa Pilaf

To help make grains more easily digestible and nutrient rich, soak them in water with 1 tbsp whey, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice overnight.  More info here http://www.foodrenegade.com/how-to-eat-grains/

3/4 cup quinoa

1 1/2 cups water

1 tsp chicken bouillon

1 tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 med carrot chopped

1/2 cup chopped bell peppers (I like to use a mix of the different colors

Soak 3/4 cup quinoa overnight in 1 1/2 cup water.

In a saucepan, heat oil over med heat.  Saute garlic until golden, add onions and saute until soft.  Add carrots, bell peppers and soaked quinoa with the soaking water.

Substitute your favorite grain.  I've used brown rice, millet and a mix of millet and quinoa.

Chevre Pasta

8 oz rotini (we prefer Tinkyada's Gluten free here)

4 oz chevre

1 10 oz package frozen spinach, defrosted and drained

8 oz cherry tomatoes, halved

4 tbsp toasted pine nuts

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Cook pasta according to the package directions.  While draining, warm up oil, add the spinach and tomatoes in the same pot and just warm.  Mix in the cheese until just starting to melt.  Add the pasta and pine nuts and toss together.  Mmmmm...

Yogurt Cheese

I love this cheese on crackers or veggies and before I couldn't eat wheat I devoured it on pita bread slices.  It makes a great substitute for cream cheese or sour cream if you don't let it drip too long.  You can even press it to make a harder cheese.

1 qt yogurt, either store bought or homemade

1 tsp salt

Optional: herbs like 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Line a colander with a tea towel (kitchen towel that is not terry cloth) or a flat, unused, cloth diaper or cheese cloth/muslin.  Dump the yogurt in and let it drain for about 8 hours until it is a good thick consistency, almost like cream cheese.  Be sure to catch the whey that drips off into a bowl.  It's great for lots of things.  Fold in the salt and parsley if desired.

Salami Wraps

This is one of my favorite super quick lunches.  Even the boys will eat it.

3 slices, thinly sliced hard salami (or favorite lunch meat)

1 kosher dill baby pickle

1 large leaf of romaine lettuce

1 tbsp chevre or cream cheese

Spread the cheese on 1 slice of salami and lay at the rib end of the leaf.  Place the remaining slices after it.  Place the pickle in the middle of the cheese slice.  Roll from the crispy rib end up.  The rib will break, but it will be in the center.  Once you get to the end, it will stop breaking and look neat.

Cream of Whatever Soup

This recipe is a staple.  I found it in an old Mennonite cookbook back when my biggest concern was saving money.  When we discovered our gluten sensitivity, I realized I could easily adapt this recipe and still make all the recipes I used to love gluten free.  Use in recipes calling for cream of mushroom, chicken or celery soup.  1 batch equals 1 can.

Cream of Whatever Soup

3 tbsp oil (coconut, extra virgin olive, butter, lard, ghee, bacon fat, take your pick)

3 tbsp flour (gluten free flour for me)

1 cup broth or milk (if using milk, mix in 1 tsp bouillon)

salt to taste

Heat oil in a saucepan on medium heat.  Stir in flour and keep stirring until flour is golden and bubbly.  Slowly whisk in the broth or milk.  Turn down the heat and stir until the sauce is at the desired consitancy.  It should be similar to a can of condensed Cream of Mushroom soup.

Cream of Mushroom:  Chop up 1/2 a cup of mushrooms and saute in the oil before adding the flour.  Continue in the recipe.

Cream of Celery: Chop up 1/4 cup celery and saute in the oil before adding the flour.  Continue in the recipe.

Creamy Cheese:  After adding the liquid, add 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese.  Stir until well blended.  This works great for Macaroni and Cheese.

Cream of Chicken:  Use chicken broth and 1/2 cup chopped chicken.

Yogurt Fun!

I love making yogurt.  This is one of those foods my husband says, "You know, you can buy that already made."  But what's the fun in that.  Homemade yogurt ensures no unwanted additives are there and if you are sensitive to lactose, you can incubate it for a longer period making it lactose free.  I prefer to make mine with raw goat milk.  Nothing better.  Goat milk yogurt has the best texture.  Just be sure not to use the ultra-pasteurized store bought yucky stuff.  It won't work and it'll taste ultra-bad.

You can make it in any amount that you have room for.  I usually make 2 qts at a time.

Tools needed:

Candy or meat thermometer

Food dehydrator (Excalibur is the best), crock pot, a yogurt maker or your oven with the light kept on.

Ingredients:

1 quart milk

1/4 cup commercial plain yogurt or yogurt starter

If you don't feel safe with raw milk, heat your milk up to 185F.  If using goat milk make sure it gets no hotter than that.  Otherwise just heat your milk to about 110F, no hotter.  Whisk in plain yogurt or yogurt starter.  Pour into smaller containers, I just use tupperware. 

If using a food dehydrator, set the temp to 110F. 

For the crockpot, fill part way with water and set to lowest setting.  Use a thermometer to check and make sure it keeps it at 100-110F before adding the yogurt.

For the over, turn the light on and close the door.  Check to make sure it keeps it between 100-110.  If it does, place your yogurt inside.  If it gets too hot, crack the door.

Some have had luck wrapping up the yogurt container in a towel and placing it in a cooler to maintain the temperature.

Let set for at least 8 hours.  To completely remove all lactose, let it set for at least 24 but no more than 36 hrs.  The longer you let it set the more sour it will be but also the more good bacteria will be there.

Place in the fridge for at least 4 hours before digging in.

We sweeten ours with agave, honey or maple syrup with a bit of fruit spread.