Summer Recipes

Hello all! I hope everyone's summer is going well. I've got two recipes that we have enjoyed tremendously that I want to share with all of you.

NOT SO SLOPPY JOE BURGERS
**Lest you think I'm talking about the "sloppy" joe kind of Sloppy Joe's -- think again - this is in a formed burger that goes on the grill and is the BOMB!

Serves 6
1 ½ pounds ground beef  ( I used lean ground turkey & it was great!)
½ medium onion, finely diced
½ bell pepper, finely diced (I used yellow pepper and it worked!)
1 teaspoon yellow mustard (I used Dijon...)
3 tablespoons Wildtree Sloppy Joe Blend
3 tablespoons tomato paste (I used Wildtree's Ketchup & left out the brown sugar)
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Combine all ingredients & form into burgers. Makes 6-8 depending upon the size you make them.

**This recipe comes from our Best Burger Menu Planner. I would have never thought to add Sloppy Joe Blend to a formed burger but this will definately become a favorite.

5-Ingredient MUSTARD-GLAZED CHICKEN THIGHS
featuring our new organic expeller pressed Coconut Oil
**I'm currently working on recipes for my upcoming July Freezer Meal Workshop which will be "Simple Summer Recipes" featuring recipes made with 5 or less ingredients & a couple of "Cook Once, Eat Twice" recipes to save us all time in the kitchen when we'd rather be at the pool, in the yard or out and about. This is one of the recipes I'm considering that we LOVE!

Here are the 5 ingredients you will need:
1/4 cup Wildtree's organic expeller pressed coconut oil - melted or softened
2 Tablespoons dark ground or dijon style mustard
1 tsp. Wildtree Tuscany Bread Dipper Seasoning Blend
1/2 tsp. Ranchers Steak Rub
12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Mix together the first 4 ingredients to make a paste. Clean off excess fat/skin from thighs and lay out singly on a baking sheet. Using a basting brush - spread the mixture all over the thighs. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. This is so easy and sooooo delicious! I'm serving this tonight with brussells sprouts that I cut in half & steamed until 1/2 way  done - then tossed into a pan with heated coconut oil to braise them  and seasoned with Wildtree's Ranchers Steak Rub. 

FOR AN EXTRA PARTY IN THE MOUTH....
if you have time & have the ingredients on hand --
Make this amazing salsa to spoon on top of the chicken

5-6 Cherry tomatoes or a small tomato - chopped
1/8 cup chopped onion 
1 small handful of chopped cilantro
1 TBL lime juice
A pinch of Coconut sugar or drop of stevia
1/2 of a jalapeno pepper
Sea salt to taste

Always Cookin' in My Wildtree Kitchen!
Donna Hetrick, Wildtree Team Leader
www.mywildtree.com/donnah
dphetrick@verizon.net

Donna's Salad Dressings

“Go To” Everyday Dressing

4 TBSP lemon juice or juice of two fresh lemons

4 TBSP water

½ cup balsamic vinegar or any of Wildtree’s flavored vinegars

4 TBSP Natural Grapeseed Oil

1 TBSP Garlic Galore

1 tsp Ranchers Steak Rub

½ tsp California Pepper Blend

Hickory Chipotle Vinaigrette

½ cup red wine vinegar

1/3 cup honey

2 tsp Grey Poupon Dijon mustard

1 tsp lime juice

1 tsp smoked paprika

1¼ tsp Chipotle Lime Rub

¼ tsp Garlic Galore

¼ tsp Hearty Spaghetti Blend

¼ cup Hickory Grilling Grapeseed Oil

Zesty Orange Dressing

2 tsp orange zest

1 cup orange juice

¼ cup Dijon mustard

¼ cup rice, balsamic or red wine vinegar

¼ cup Zesty Lemon Grapeseed oil

1 tsp Ranchers Steak Rub

½ tsp Garlic Galore

1 tsp Chipotle Lime Rub

Asian Ginger Dressing

¼ cup water

1 tsp ginger powder or grated fresh ginger

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1/3 cup soy sauce or GF substitute

¼ cup Natural Grapeseed Oil

3 TBSP Sweet Onion Spread

2 tsp Garlic Galore

Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

½ cup rice vinegar

2-3 TBSP of sugar or you can do like me and use a combination of sugar & stevia

½ tsp dry mustard

2 tsp poppy seeds

¼ cup Natural Grapeseed Oil

½ tsp Ranchers Steak Rub

Broccoli Slaw Dressing

½ cup rice vinegar

1 TBSP lime juice

1 TBSP sugar (or stevia works great as well - to taste)

¼ cup Wildtree Grapeseed Oil

2 tsp Garlic Galore

1 tsp Ranchers Steak Rub

Lemon Dill Dressing

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

3 TBSP water

½ cup Lemon Grapeseed Oil

1 tsp Dill Blend or Opa Greek Seasoning Blend

¼ tsp Ranchers Steak Rub

"French" Garlic & Herb Dressing

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

3 TBSP water

1 tsp dark brown spicy mustard

½ cup Garlic Grapeseed Oil

1 heaping tsp Garlic & Herb Blend

Kale Salad

Servings:  10 -- big enough for a BBQ!  You can divide the portions equally if you want to make less servings.  This salad keeps well overnight too!  It's actually better tasting the longer it marinates.

5-6 cups kale, washed and cut into thin strips
1/2 cup dried unsweetened cranberries
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup diced red onions
1/2 cup cherry red tomatoes
1/3 cup feta cheese

Dressing:
Juice of one lemon
2 tsp Wildtree Garlic Galore blend
1/4 cup Natural Grapeseed Oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Ranchers Steak Rub
1/2 teaspoon California Pepper Blend

Mix kale, cranberries, tomatoes, nuts and onion in glass bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients.  Pour dressing over kale and toss to coat evenly. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, overnight 6 hours or more is best!  Before serving, toss in feta cheese.

Strawberry & Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Dressing

One of the number one questions I get asked as a nutritionist is what type of salad dressings are the best. I have two answers:
     --Ones you make yourself
      --Ones made with grapeseed and/or olive oil
When you make your dressings yourself - you will always use a higher quality oil (does anyone out there have soybean oil in their pantry?) and you will rarely ever even come close to the amount of sugar and sodium typically added to dressings -- let alone all the additives and preservatives.

So here's how you make the Poppy Seed Vinaigrette. In a small bowl, whisk together:

1/2 cup Rice Vinegar
1/4 cup Natural Grapeseed Oil
2-3 tablespoons of sugar or you can do like me and use a combination of sugar & stevia
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. Ranchers Steak Rub
2 tsp. poppy seeds

To make the salad you will need:

1 bag, bunch, package of baby spinach
1 cup of fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/4-1/3 cup pecans or walnuts - 

Roast nuts stovetop with a tsp. of maple syrup or honey - heat the pan - toss in the nuts - watching closely as they will burn quickly - as soon as they heat - toss with the maple syrup or honey and remove from heat. Let cool then toss on the salad.

Greek Turkey Burgers

2 lbs ground lean turkey (I prefer this to turkey breast which I find dry in a burger)
2 Tablespoons Wildtree Opa! Greek Seasoning
1 Tsp. Wildtree Ranchers Steak Rub
1-2 cups chopped baby spinach
1/4-1/3 cup feta cheese

Mix all ingredients above together and form into patties. Saute' stove top in garlic or natural grapeseed oil or throw on the grill or a George Foreman grill.

 Top with some Wildtree Tzatziki (this is the Tzatziki seasoning blend mixed with greek yogurt and fresh diced cucumbers - the recipe is right on the container)

Zucchini Hummus

1 large or 1 1/2 medium zucchini, peeled & chopped
1/2 cup tahini
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cloves garlic (you could also substitute Garlic Galore here if you were out of  fresh garlic)
1/2 tsp Wildtree's Ranchers Rub
1 rounded teaspoon Wildtree's Guacamole seasoning blend

Mix well in food processor or high speed blender until smooth.
YUM!!

Spicy Chipotle Ranch Dressing

1/2 cup Mayo (I use Veganaise)
2 tablespoons Wildtree's Spicy Chipotle Ranch seasoning blend
1/2 tsp Wildtree's Ranchers Rub
2 Tablespoons Wildtree's Hickory Smoked Grapeseed Oil
1/4 cup unsweetened Almond Milk (or other milk substitute) --if dressing is too thick for your liking - simply add more almond milk.

Easy Asian Broccoli Slaw

1 package of broccoli slaw
          or 4 cups grated broccoli spears with 1/2 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup sunflower seeds

Dressing:
1/2 cup Rice Vinegar
1/4 cup Wildtree Grapeseed Oil
2 tsp Garlic Galore
1 tablespoons Lime Juice
1 tsp Ranchers Steak Rub
1 tablespoon sugar (or stevia works great as well - to taste)

Asian Turkey Burgers

1 lb lean ground turkey (makes 7 medium sized burgers)
1/2 tsp fresh ground ginger or ginger powder
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce, Tamari, or Coconut Aminos
2 teaspoons Garlic Galore
1 tsp. Ranchers Steak Rub
1/3 cup chopped water chestnuts
1/4 cup chopped onion

Mix all together & form into patties. Saute stove top in a little grapeseed oil or put on grill. Top with Wildtree's new Sweet & Spicy Thai Chili Sauce.

Curried Avocado Egg Salad

4 Hard boiled eggs, chopped
1/2 large avocado, mashed
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1-2 teaspoons chopped onions
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
3/4 tsp Wildtree Curried Garlic Blend
1/2 tsp Rancher Steak Rub

 Add  all ingredients to a bowl and mash together with a fork. Season with extra Ranchers to taste. Eat on leaves of Romaine or smooth Kale or if you are like me - put some in a bowl and eat it just like that!

Dragonfly Studios Mini Quinoa Meatballs

·         ½ cup dry quinoa, pre-rinsed

·         1 cup water

·         1 cup cooked green lentils, well drained

·         ¼ cup diced red bell pepper

·         ½ cup diced onion

·         2 cloves garlic, minced

·         ½ cup gluten free bread crumbs -- We love Ians!!! 

c     *Add crumbs if the meatballs need to be firmer and aren't holding together well

·         ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan

2     3 tablespoons Wildtree Hearty Spaghetti Blend

·        Ranchers Rub to taste

·         ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

·         1 egg 

·        1.5  tablespoons European Tuscan Dipping Grapeseed Oil

Directions

Add pre-rinsed quinoa and water to a medium pot, cover, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and continue cooking 15 minutes or until water is completely absorbed. In the meantime, in a large non-stick skillet add 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil, heat to medium-low and sauté diced onions and bell pepper until tender about 4 minutes, add spaghetti blend and sauté one additional minute.

Cucumber Curry Salad

CUCUMBER CURRY SALAD

1/4 C Zesty Lemon GSO 
1/3 C honey
2 T WT Curry Garlic Blend
1 T salt
cayenne
juice of one lemon
cilantro chopped
1/2 C red onion chopped
2 cucumbers sliced
1/2 C cashews chopped
.5 tsp Rancher Rub 

Mix ingredients and sprinkle with a pinch of Cayenne

Leftovers Night: Spaghetti Squash with Spanish Shrimp

ROASTED SPAGHETTI SQUASH

 W/DICED TOMATOES & LEFT OVER SPANISH STYLE SHRIMP

If you have never roasted a spaghetti squash - it is time you did!! IT IS SO EASY. Simply cut the squash  length wise and scoop out the seeds & globby stuff. Fill a cake pan with about 2" of water and place the squash flesh side down in the pan. Place in the oven preheated to 375 degrees for about 40-45 minutes depending upon the size of your squash. You'll know the sqaush is  done when your fork goes into the flesh very easily. Remove from the oven and from the cake pan and let cool long enough so that you can handle it. Using a fork - scrape the squash -removing the fresh in long strands - thus the name "spaghetti" squash. You can actually roast a squash and store it for several days before using it - FYI

While your squash is roasting, open one or two cans of Diced Tomatoes (depending upon how many you are feeding) and add PER CAN 1 tsp of Wildtree's Hearty Spaghetti Seasoning Blend, 1 tsp of Wildtree's Garlic Galore & a dash of Ranchers Steak Rub. Let this simmer. About 10 minutes before you are ready to eat - add leftover Spanish Style Shrimp & Red Peppers to the sauce OR 1 bag of thawed  Wild Caught peeled shrimp (the only place in Fburg where I can find WILD CAUGHT bagged/frozen/peeled shrimp is Super Target in Southpointe). Let this simmer.

When ready to eat - spoon the sauce/shrimp over the warm spaghetti squash and dash with Parmesan Cheese.

Lemon Roasted Asparagus

LEMON ROASTED ASPARAGUS 

If you like your asparagus hot -- this is another option! 

1.5 Tablespoon Zesty Lemon GSO 
2 Teaspoon Lemon Pepper Blend 
2 Teaspoon Lemon Rosemary Blend
1 Teaspoon Ranchers Steak Rub 


Coat cleaned asparagus and toss with lemon flavored grapeseed oil and Lemon Pepper or Lemon Rosemary blend. Toss lightly with a dash of Ranchers. Roast in oven at 350 until done crisp. 

Texas Caviar

WILDTREE'S TEXAS CAVIAR


2 (15 oz) cans of black beans, drained
2 (15 oz) cans of black eye peas, drained
1 small bag of frozen corn, defrosted by running cold water over it.
1 (4 oz.) can green chilis
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 bunch of cilantro, washed and chopped 
1/4 c. Garlic GSO
.5 tsp Garlic Galore
sprinkle of Ranchers Steak Rub

Mix all the above ingredients together. Next mix 1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup Garlic Grapeseed oil, 1/3 cup cane sugar, 1/2 tsp. Garlic Galore seasoning blend. Pour this dressing over the rest of the ingredients, sprinkle with Ranchers Steak Rub and refrigerate. My daughter makes this non stop over the summer with Baked Scoops it is a great snack!

Who needs chips? Baked garbanzos are my new snack!

Baked Garbanzo Beans!!

What a surprise these are! All the years I've been using garbanzo beans to make bean & grain burgers and to toss on my salad -it never occurred to me to roast them until recently. But with 6 grams of protein/6 grams of fiber & 20 grams of carbs (net carbs would be 8!) for a ½ cup they make the ideal snack!  The sky is the limit regarding what spice blends you use - they can be savory, smoky, spicy - you choose!


Ingredients:
1 can garbanzo beans
1 tablespoon Grapeseed oil - any of the flavors work. We've experimented with garlic, hickory & bacon so far & I want to try lemon as well.
Your choice of Spice Blend - we've enjoyed Ranchers, (of course!), Lemon Rosemary, Cajun, Chili & I'm thinking Adobo, Chipotle Lime Rub & Garlic Galore would be good as well. 
If you try this and have a favorite - be sure to share with all of us! The amount completely depends upon you and the intensity of the blend. For instance - I found myself using a larger amount of the Lemon Rosemary which is fairly mild as opposed to the Cajun which is rather pungeant.
After you've rinsed the beans, pat them dry with a papertowl. Then toss with grapeseed oil & spice blend and spread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or your DeMarle Silpat on a Holey Sheet(this works best!!)  
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes - stirring the beans about halfway through.
Store in a container with an airight lid. (that is if you have any left to store!!)

Spanish Egg Muffins

Egg Muffins

These are AMAZING and will become a regular part of my breakfast repertoire!  These store in a covered container in the refrigerator for a couple of days - so if this is a Sunday breakfast item - make enough so that you have leftovers for a school breakfast the next morning!
Ingredients:
6 eggs scrambled (this makes 6 muffins - so increase accordingly depending upon how many you want to make)
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup chopped red pepper
**Note - you could also use Salsa.
½ cup chopped nitrate free ham or healthy turkey sausage
¼ cup chopped jalapeno's (optional, of course!)
1 small can of green chili's (again- optional)
 ¼ tsp Wildtree's Ranchers Rub (yes - I use this in & on EVERYTHING!!)
1 tsp. Wildtree's Garlic Galore
½ tsp. Wildtree's Onion & Chive Blend
Enough grated organic  cheese or goat cheese to add in each muffin cup after the egg mixture is poured in. Just sprinkle it a healthy teaspoon of cheese on top and take a spoon and mix it in a little. I then topped it off with one or two shakes of Parmesan Cheese.

Mix this well and pour it into prepared muffin pan. If you are a fan of DeMarle bakeware like I am ( www.happymom.demarleathome.com) - use their large muffin form for a great result and NO clean up! If you haven't discovered DeMarle yet - then make sure you cover your muffin cups with grapeseed oil to prevent sticking.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes - keep your eye on it toward the end as it may be done quicker than that but I filled my muffin cups full and it took a full 30 minutes to bake. You could also make this recipe in a mini muffin sized pan as well and if you have small children that would be a really great idea.

Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner, Turkey Sausage Patties

Homemade Turkey Sausage Patties

After becoming increasingly frustrated with finding healthy breakfast meat options - I finally decide to take matters into my own hands and make my own! The following recipe was a big hit and I plan to make a batch of these just to freeze so that I can pull them a couple out at a time for my daughter's breakfast before she heads off to school.  Don't be intimidated by the thought of this - it's not any harder than making turkey burgers.
Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground turkey (I prefer the lean ground as opposed to breast meat for this - texture wise it works much better)
½ tsp Wildtree's Ranchers Rub
½ Tsp Rubbed Sage
½ tsp Wildtree's California Pepper Blend
1 tsp. Wildtree's Garlic Galore
¼ tsp. ground ginger
Mix all ingredients together and form small 2" patties.  Saute in a pan stovetop in a little bit of grapeseed oil - I used the hickory flavored and it was wonderful! This recipe makes about 12 patties. If  you have a  recipe that calls for sausage crumbles - you can prepare this that way as well - simply sauté it in a skillet like you would to make sloppy joes.

Honey Balsamic Grilled Chicken

Honey Balsamic Grilled Chicken
If you are like us these days - we're grilling as often as possible so that I don't have to heat the oven. This chicken recipe got double thumbs up last week from my gang.

4 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
2 tablespoons Wildtree Honey Mustard
3/4 tsp Wildtree Ranchers Steak Rub
3 tablespoons Wildtree Natural Grapeseed Oil
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary (yeah, I know - kind of a pain to clean off the stems but worth it!)

Wisk all ingredients together and place marinade and chicken in a freezer bag and refrigerate at least an hour -- I marinated mine overnight. Cook on the grill!

Mashed Turnips -- Kids will think they are potatoes!

MASHED TURNIPS


6 Turnips
1 tbl. WT Butter GSO
1 tbl. Ranchers Rub


Wash 6 medium to large sized turnips and use veg. peeler to remove the skins. Dice into cubes and place in a steamer. Steam until softened. Using a potato masher, smash the softened turnips. Add 1 tablespoons of butter and season with Ranchers Steak Rub. Yum!