With a single day of cool breezes summer was blown away and autumn took it's place. Alex has laughed at me since we were dating about my love and over-anticipation that comes with each change of season. But in all honesty, fall is my favorite....or spring...no, it's fall for sure. Oh, but the first snow of winter is magical...or sunny days of summer...okay I love them all!


I made some yummy Italian Lentil Soup one night when the cool evening breeze was blowy through the open windows. It was one of our meat free/vegan meals and it was so yummy and filling. Luckily, I made plenty and we had extras. So a couple night later as a cold rain fell I made meatballs and added to the left over soup for a hearty meal. I love stretching meals and giving leftovers double duty. It's so economical and time saving, but even better than that, the flavors have all marinated and it seems to taste better on round two! Bonus!

I hate being rushed, but especially when it comes to dinner time!  It may not be this way in your home, but at my house from about 4:00 till dinner time is usually hectic...with my little guy coming home from school, homework for him and my little miss kindergartner to get done, everyone needs snacks, my littlest (2 1/2 year old) who has decided to forego naps is miss cranky pants (boo), everyone wants my attention at the same time and hubby isn't home yet!  I'm sure no one else has experienced this scenario before (insert sarcasm here), but these are the nights when mom's tend to throw up their hands in exasperation and order fast food for dinner just to make life a little less crazy.  Been there.  Done that.

But since I'm on a mission to, as much as possible, feed my family healthy, home cooked meals without all the unpronounceable ingredients I turn to my slow cooker when I know it's going to be a busy day.  This beef and broccoli look-a-like is better than takeout from your favorite Chinese restaurant because you know exactly what's in it and that makes it taste even better at the end of a long day!  Serves 6

2 round steaks about 2-3 lbs. total. I had a couple chuck eye steaks in the freezer that worked just fine
2 tbsp. sesame seed oil
salt & pepper
1 onion, chopped
2 clove garlic, minced
1 inch fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup coconut aminos
2 tbsp. honey
2-3 cups fresh broccoli florets or thaw frozen broccoli
1 8 oz. can water chestnuts, drained
1/2 cup cashews, chopped (opt.)
2 cups brown rice, cooked according to package directions or quinoa

Salt and pepper steaks on both sides then in a hot skillet pan sear in the oil until browned on both sides. Transfer steaks to slow cooker, but leave the drippings in the skillet to cook the onion, garlic and ginger root until soft and the onion begins to caramelize around the edges.  Add the apple cider vinegar, soy sauce and honey.  Scrap up all the yummy bits off the bottom of the pan and pour everything into the slow cooker along with the meat.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  The meat will shred easily at this point.  The last 15-20 minutes of cooking time add in the broccoli, water chestnuts and cashews if you like.  Serve over rice.

You've gotta love quick and simple Crockpot meals that are as healthy as they are delicious. This dinner is especially good on a day when you've got one million and three things to do and you were already exhausted before you even got up this morning.  Maybe knowing that you've got a healthy dinner waiting at home for you and your family will help you get through the day and check one thing off your to do list... one million and two :)

Appetizers are great because they're so versatile!  You can serve these savory meatballs at your next get together or as part of "finger food" night with your kids along with a Rosemary Hummus Snack Platter!  Plus, your kids and guests may not know how good for you these cute little meatballs are since they're blended with sweet potatoes which are naturally packed full of vitamins C and A, folate, calcium and other essential vitamins and minerals.

My mom made "hobo dinner" regularly when I was growing up.  I think it's called that because you usually make it when you haven't had time to get to the store and you just have a bunch of odd veggies laying around that need to be eaten.  I remember my mom putting the hamburger patties, potatoes, carrots and whatever frozen vegetables she could find into a casserole dish, topping it off with cream-of-"something" and putting it in the oven for an hour and a half or so.  Here's my recreation of her classic meat and potatoes meal.

6-8 big red potatoes (about one per person), sliced
2 carrots, chopped
Boil potatoes and carrots in salted water until just tender. While that's cooking start thawing whatever frozen veggies you got taking up space in your freezer (i.e. corn, green beans, peas)

2 lbs. organic hamburger or turkey burger
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried tarragon leaves
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 parsley sprig, chopped
2-3 pinches crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Mix seasonings and Worcestershire sauce into hamburger or turkey burger.  Form into patties and cook in large skillet until browned and cooked through.  Remove and set aside. Into the same skillet you just cooked the meat in add:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
6-8 mushrooms, sliced

Cook onion first for a couple minutes before adding your mushrooms.  Let sizzle away for a few minutes.  While that's busy whisk together:

1 can beef broth (or chicken broth if using turkey burger)
1 tbsp cornstarch
 

I had some left over beef summer sausage from a recent camping trip. Normally I stay away from any processed meats since most contain loads of artificial preservatives like nitrates and nitrites, gluten fillers, and MSG. But, I found a great summer sausage that was uncured, gluten free and organic. So, I turned it into a simple jambalaya.  I used quinoa -my favorite food to cook with because of it's short cooking time and super food qualities, but you can use brown rice instead.  Just up the cooking time an additional 30 minutes.