Shari’s Salmon Patty Recipe

Shari’s Salmon Patty Recipe

The end of spring and beginning of summer mark the anticipated start of barbeque season for me and my family! One of my favorite summer meals is fresh salmon or halibut with corn on the cob and a big salad. Simply thinking of that meal makes my mouth water and then I start craving fish. I don’t always have a fresh cut of fish on hand but I do always have canned salmon- which is what sparked my love of salmon patties. Bonus: I can whip them up anytime! Here is my keto friendly recipe which was adapted from my mom’s famous salmon patties. Enjoy! 

Salmon Patty Recipe

2 – canned salmon (I buy my canned salmon from Costco)
1 – large egg
⅔ cups almond flour 
⅓ cup avocado mayo 
¼ cup or less – fine chopped sweet/yellow onions (I like to lightly saute my onions) 
Sprinkle of dill, salt, and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
Spray baking sheet or line with a silicone non-stick baking mat.
Form salmon mixture into a ball and then squish into a patty.
Bake for 20 minutes.

Pro tip: Eat the salmon patties the same day or the day after. I learned the hard way when my salmon patties dried out after a few days in the fridge. 

My favorite side to the salmon patties are salad, steamed broccoli, or asparagus. Please comment below if you end up trying out this recipe!

Kendall’s Easy Keto Pizza

Kendall’s Easy Keto Pizza

I don’t have a lot of fancy words to use for this recipe. It’s good. It’s easy. It’s Keto. It’s freaking delicious. AND it’s filling. It’s perfect for an easy spring and summer time meal because the prep is minimal so you can spend more time outside!

Without further ado:

Kendall’s Easy Keto Pizza

Ingredients:
ZeroCarb LYFE Pizza Crust (1 per person but please note all orders are 6 packs of 8 inch crusts)
Rao’s Pizza Sauce (this is a super important Keto staple to have in any pantry)
– Pepperoni (use your favorite- I like whatever Trader Joes sells)
– Cooked Breakfast Sausage (I get mine from Butcher Box but you can use any favorite)
– Bell Peppers (I prefer green!)
– Sliced Baby Bella Mushrooms (LOVE the taste of these, but once again, use any mushroom you like)
– Mozzarella (I love Trader Joes mozzarella or Cabot)
– Parmesan (I like shredding a fancy block of parm but in a pinch I really like the shredded parmesan at Trader Joe’s)

Does anyone think I may have a Trader Joe’s problem?

Instructions:
– Preheat your oven to 500 degrees F (and no, that’s not a typo- high heat is called for!)
– The ZeroCarb LYFE crusts are supposed to be kept in the freezer- give yourself a little time to defrost them a bit so that you can securely pull them apart. If you attempt to do this while they are still rock solid, you will just rip them to pieces.
– Once you have your crusts, put your desired amount of sauce on the crust (it’s cool that the crust may still be a little frozen)
– Follow that up by covering your sauce with a mozzarella and parmesan medley
– Add the pepperoni and sausage
– Next, layer on the bell peppers and shrooms
– VOILA! Pop your pizza on a stone or pan and put in your toasty oven for 6-8 minutes. Keep an eye on it. Then, presto! Your pizza is ready to eat.

I let mine cool for about 4-5 minutes before slicing. I am making this for dinner tonight AND I CANNOT WAIT!

Enjoy!

Shari’s Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

Shari’s Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

A favorite in our household is this classic Shepherd’s Pie Recipe (with a few small changes based on how we like to cook). We love it so much we could eat it year-round but since it’s getting cold outside… it’s definitely time for warm meals! We hope you enjoy this!

Ingredients:

  • Meat & Vegetable mixture
    • 2lbs of ground meat, turkey or beef
    • 3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
    • 3 Tbsp. Flour (also additional corn starch)
    • ½ Large onion (Chopped)
    • 1 ½ Tbsp. minced garlic
    • 2 Tbsp. Butter
    • 1 Tbsp. BBQ sauce (optional)
    • One bag – mixed vegetables of peas, carrots, corn (we like Trader Joe’s Vegetable Melange)
    • Salt and pepper
  • Mashed Potatoes
    • 4 to 5 Large russet potatoes (peeled, chopped, and boiled)
    • 1 stick of butter (room temperature-ish)
    • 1/3 cup of milk (depends on your preferred thickness of mashed potatoes)
    • 8 ounces of Sour Cream (Optional)
    • Heaping spoon of Minced Garlic or 1 Tbsp. powdered garlic – your choice
    • Salt and pepper

Items needed:

  • Large Skillet (Meat & Veggies Mixture)
  • Medium to Large Cook Pot (Mashed Potatoes)
  • Potato Masher
  • Spatula
  • Measuring Cups/Measuring Spoons
  • 9” x 13” Baking Pan
  • Oven preheated to 400 degrees (if cooking immediately after combining)

Directions:

Mashed Potatoes

  • Peel and cut potatoes into chunks (chunks let them cook more quickly, smaller chucks goes faster)
  • Place them in a large pot of boiling water (optional* if you want to use minced garlic, let the minced garlic boil with the potatoes)
  • Boil until a fork can pass through the potatoes easily. (Approx. 15 to 25 minutes)

Meat and Vegetable mixture

  • In a large skillet, melt 2 Tbsp. of butter on medium-high with 1 ½ Tbsp. of minced garlic, let flavors blend.
  • Add Chopped Onion and let cook ¾ of the way
  • Add 2 lbs. of ground meat and brown on medium-high, add salt and pepper for flavor
  • Add 3 Tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce, (optional add 1 Tbsp. of BBQ sauce as well)
  • Add 3 Tbsp. of flour to thicken (if you prefer thicker add additional corn starch)
  • Add your preferred Vegetable Medley, cook all together until hot

Mashed Potatoes

  • Once potatoes are tender, turn off burner and drain as much water as possible
  • Give all the potatoes an initial mashing
  • Add 1 stick of butter (room temperature-ish)
  • Add 1/3 cup milk (start with, add more if it is too thick)
  • (optional) add ¼ or ⅓ cup sour cream
  • Mash up again
  • Add salt, pepper and garlic powder (or additional minced garlic)
  • Mash up thoroughly and taste, add additional salt, pepper, garlic or butter if needed.

Combining Mixture and Potatoes

  • In a 9” x 13” baking pan spread flat the meat and vegetable mixture in the bottom of the pan
  • Then spread evenly the mashed potatoes over the top of the meat and vegetable mixture
  • If you are saving for later, cover and place in the fridge.
  • If you want to eat now, place in an oven preheated to 400 degrees.
    • Bake until the potatoes are a light golden brown or the mixture is bubbling.
    • This could take between 15 to 30 minutes depending on your oven or if you refrigerated and waited for later.
  • Enjoy!

Shari’s Family Dill Pickle Recipe

Shari’s Family Dill Pickle Recipe

For as long as I can remember, we’ve always had canned dill pickles in our pantry. Some of my earliest memories from family holiday dinners included a two sectioned crystal plate that held sliced homemade dill pickles and olives. The little plate was always prepared ahead of time and everyone would snack on it before dinner. I’m pretty sure my love of grandma’s pickles started from that small appetizer platter.

Now as an adult I love having pickles in my own pantry (bonus the kids also love them). It is my honor to share this precious family recipe with you and a few of our tips and tricks too. 

Grandma’s Dill Pickle Recipe 

Brine: 
– 1 quart Apple Cider Vinegar
– 3 quarts Water 
– 1/2 cup Pickling Salt 

Boil for 3 minutes

Step 1:  As my Grandma would say, just quickly brush off the bumps. Note this isn’t a perfect process but is a nice way to wash the cucumbers* with a rough scrubber.
*Our family likes the small and medium size pickling cucumbers so we order a mixture of sizes from a local farm.

Step 2: Stuff the (wide mouth quart) jar with a full sprig of dill and two pre-peeled garlic cloves, then play tetras and stuff those pickles in the jar.

Step 3: Pour in the hot brine mixture (see above recipe) into the jar, close it with a pre-boiled lid, and place in the oven at 300 degrees in a 9 x 13 in pan with a dish rag at the bottom of the pan filled with an inch of hot water.  After 7 minutes rotate the jars, cook for another 8+ minutes until the cucumbers lose their bright green color.

Step 4: Carefully pull out each jar and let it set on the counter for 24 hours, jars will pop and seal (which is such a satisfying sound)! 

This process yields about 5-6 quarts so repeat as necessary.  Grandma would can pickles in late July or early August and the general rule was we couldn’t start eating the pickles until Thanksgiving, giving it 3 months (at least) to let the flavors cure to perfection. We lovingly refer to Grandma’s pickle recipe as “pure gold!”

Enjoy!

Kendall’s Homemade Almond Milk

I wish I could say this was my recipe… but it’s not. It belongs to Lisa Bryan over at Downshifology. I cannot sing her enough praises. Lisa makes meal prepping and recipes easy. What I really appreciate about her is that she helps you to realize that being healthy doesn’t require a large bank account or too many gadgets or gizmos. Head over there for some wonderful tips and tricks to maximize your kitchen and try something new (she also focuses on travel and lifestyle). 

Okay, so this almond milk recipe has proven to be a huge hit in my home and in my neighborhood. It’s so easy- it’s almost ridiculous. For my family, making almond milk is actually one way to save a little money and keep it clean. You would be surprised what’s actually in your almond milk to keep it on the grocery store shelf… when you make it at home though, you are only looking at a handful of ingredients. 

Ingredients and Process

1 cup of almonds (raw and organic- plain ole almonds)

Once you’ve got your cup ready, put it in a glass container and cover the almonds with water. This glass container should have a lid so that you can seal them. I usually put in the refrigerator because I let them soak for 8-12 hours. See Lisa’s site for more tips.

Once they have soaked, rinse them with cold water and put them in a super powerful blender… I personally use a Vitamix (as does Lisa). Now pour in 4 cups of cold, filtered water. 

Here is where you can get creative. I put a pinch of salt, 2 dates, and a splash of vanilla extract in. Alternatively, Lisa suggests you could use maple syrup or honey. There are lots of different ideas out there for you to try. I recommend the dates because the milk ends up being super thick and smooth! Once you have put it all together, fire up the blender for 1-2 minutes on high. 

Now, to strain… you can use a nut-milk bag (which is a thing…) or if you have a cheesecloth on hand, that works too. Pour the mixture from the blender into the bag or cloth and strain it all out into a bowl of sorts. I use my very handy dandy Pampered Chef measuring glass that is meant for larger liquid things like pancake batter or homemade salad dressing. It’s perfect for a batch of almond milk. Then, I pour it into my glass jug and put the lid on before refrigerating. Voila- I am done!

I have found that my almond milk keeps for 5 days but it is recommended only at 3 days. To be fair, my refrigerator is incredibly cold- which I think helps keep it the extra few days.

If you are wondering what to do with leftover almond pulp, check out Lisa’s site, Downshiftology, for some great ideas.