Yikes...

Things have been a bit busy at home & in the kitchen. Trying to finalize all the paperwork we need in order to close on a house & working to finalize my first live tasting party. Hope to have some new posts this week. Lots of product ordered including the complete fall package with 16 new products debuting from Wildtree.

Grapeseed Oil: The facts!

So what is grapeseed oil? Grapeseed Oil (GSO) is made from grape seeds after wine production. This makes it environmentally sound and requires no new farmland or water to be produced. It's perfect for sauteing, baking and frying. Works great as a salad dressing or as a marinade or in a basting sauce.

And it's prefect for frying. With a 419 degree flash point it has one of the highest flash points of all oils. And it's mild taste won't overpower the flavors of your food.

So why is Grapeseed Oil a better choice for me and my family?
Unlike most oils that are produced using a chemical extraction process our grapeseed oil is expeller pressed. Expeller pressed uses heat to extract oils. But it's not added heat, the heat comes from the natural hardness of the nuts and seeds. So the harder the nut/seed the more heat that is produced due to friction.

The chemical method uses n-Hexane which is a chemical made from crude oil. (Yuck right?) And frankly it's pretty bad stuff. Besides the fact that its highly flammable and its vapors can be explosive; do you really want to be feeding your family something that has been exposed to a product that is using in make cleaning solvents?  How about something that makes the special glues for the roofing, shoe and leather industries? Or in binding books, making tires & baseballs. As well as those quick drying glues and cements. We live in a world that relies on

• There are ZERO preservatives such as TBHQ or BHT
• It is not hydrogenated
• Zero sodium
• Zero trans fat
• Zero cholesterol (GSO actually aids in cholesterol reduction)
• It has one of the lowest levels of saturated fats of all oils
• Easily digestible
• Good source of Vit E Alpha (an important anti-oxidant-4.3 mg/serving)
• Highest concentration of poly (76%) unsaturated acid of any oil
• Helps the body produce High Density Lipoprotein (HDL)
• High in linoleic acid
• A fatty acid which helps transport saturated fats (helps prevent accumulation in your arteries)
• Also known as Omega-6
• Vital to life and cannot be produced by your body alone.

Nutritional Info:

Serving Size: 1 Tbsp

Calories: 120

  Calories from fat 120

  Calories from saturated fat 10

Total Fat: 14g (22%)

Sat. Fat: 1.5g (8%)

Trans Fat: 0g

Poly Unsaturated Fat: 10g

Monounsaturated Fat: 2.5g

Cholesterol: 0mg

Sodium: 0mg

Total Carbs: 0g

  Fiber: 0g

  Suger: 0g

Protein: 0g

Vit E: 20% DV

Fiesta Chicken Tacos

Here is a perfect meal you can prep as a freezer meal to be cooked in the crockpot or as a day of skillet meal. My personal preference: I cooked the chicken in the crockpot on low for 5-6hrs and sauteed the veggies to be slightly crisp.

What you need:
1 Pack of boneless, skinless chicken breast or tenderloins
1 medium Onion
1/3 - 1/4 of each red, yellow, orange peppers (cut into strips 1 to 1 1/2in long)
1/4c Wildtree Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil
2 tbsp Wildtree Chipotle Lime Seasoning
Taco staples, lettuce, tomato, olives, salsa. Whatever you like.


Preparation & Cooking:

If cooking in crockpot add all ingredients except staples and cook on low for 6-8 hrs. Shred chicken in crockpot, stir and you are ready to make your tacos.Easy peasy!

Skillet Method
Saute chicken with oil & blend in skillet until cooked through. remove chicken leaving juices. Add peppers and onion and saute till preferred doneness. While veggies are cooking shred chicken. Add chicken back into veggies and stir mixing well. Once chicken is brought back to temp. Make your tacos to your preference.

Want to know my secret to cutting bell peppers and minimizing seed loss?

All you need is a paring knife!

Cut into the fruit and make a circle 

Give it a little wiggle and pull the top out gently. Seed will be mostly attached to the cap

As you can see some do break loose in the process, but it's minor.

Just turn the pepper upside down over the trash and tap on the sides or you can rinse it out

 Like I said. super easy skillet or crockpot meal. Anyone can do this!

 Adults Tacos 

 Kids Soft Shell Tacos

Shrimp Scampi & Simple Salad with Homemade Blueberry Basil Vinaigrette Dressing

Tonight's meal is SUPER easy. From start to finish it took me 30 minutes to make and happily much less time for the kids to DEVOUR it.

Shrimp Scampi

What You Need:
1lb raw, peeled, de-veined shrimp
1 1/2tsp Wildtree Scampi Blend
3tbps Wildtree Grapeseed Oil (plain or roasted garlic are great for this dish)

***For pasta version
Linguini
1/4 water reserved from pasta or 1/4 white wine
2tbsp grapeseed oil
1 to 1 1/2tsp scampi blend

Cook:
If you plan to use rice pilaf or linguini follow directions on the box. Both will need to be started before you start the shrimp.

For each pound of shrimp: Combine 1 1/2tsp of blend with 3 tbsp of grapeseed oil in a COLD skillet. Add shrimp,  toss and bring to low heat, cook until pink, turning often while cooking.

If serving with pasta reserve 1/4c water from pasta before draining. Remove shrimp from the skillet leaving the cooking juices in the pan. Add 2 more tbsp grapseed oil and/or 1/4c white wine or 1/4c pasta water. (I personally used all 3 as i had 6oz (dry) of pasta to coat

 

Simple Salad

Salads are completely subjective. Especially in our family. The kids love Ranch while Roger and I have varied tastes. But these days we seem to both fall back on a vinagrette. While doing some canning earlier in the spring I found a couple recipes in my Ball Canning book for infused vinegars. So I gave it  try. I will share these in a later post. While not a Wildtree product it's all organic and all natural.

What you need:

Baby Spinach

Grape/Cherry Tomatoes

Mozzarella Cheese

Blueberry Basil Infused Vinegar

Fresh Basil

Wildtree Natural Grapeseed Oil

Prepare:

Build your salad how you like it. Easy peasy. For the dressing I combine 1/4 grapeseed oil to 3/4c of infused vinegar and 1tbsp of sugar to help take the edge off the vinegar.  My fresh basil ( which is started from seed) was chopped very very fine and combine with the grapeseed oil and vinegar. 

Shake it up in a container good for dressing and dress your salad.

Dinner was a hit. Grady is not a shrimp fan so he just had noodles but he devoured it and his baby spinach salad with cheese and ranch. Cheyenne cleaned up!

A look ahead. What do you think tonight's dinner will be???

Greek Marinated Goat Chops, Garlicky Golden Squash and Grilled Corn on the Cob

Tonight’s dinner is a new one. My family is not shy about trying new things. Okay Roger & I are not (Roger has eaten street meat in Iraq so he's a brave soul) & I have an agriculture background and a degree in animal science with a poultry emphasis. So when we found a vendor this past weekend at the local farmer's market selling Goat, Lamb and other natural meats we were ecstatic. I hadn't had goat since I was 4-H almost 15 years ago and lamb is something we splurge on. So after finding goat for a very reasonable price I knew we had to have it. Sometimes for me the joy of cooking is buying something on a whim then deciding how you are going to prepare it. I see goat being interchangeable with lamb and lamb is classic in the Mediterranean diet. So naturally I set forth in making a Greek inspired goat chop. We like garlic in our house so for some the combination may be too much. Adjust accordingly. Serves 4!

Greek Marinated Goat Chops

What you need:

1lb Goat Chops (you can substitute lamb or even beef and servings are subjective here. I am actually preparing 8 tiny goat chops)

3 tbsp Wildtree Opa! Greek Seasoning Blend

1.5 tbsp Wildtree Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil

Preparation:

I generally try to marinate meat a minimum of 12 hrs. So the day before mix the chops, greek seasoning and grapeseed oil in a ziplock bag or other sealable container. Smush the bag or give the container a good shake until meat is coated. Place in fridge until ready to cook. I tend to bring my meat out a bit early and allow it to come up in temp before cooking as it helps the meat cook more evenly.

Cooking:

Toss the chops on the grill between 350-450 degrees. Medium high heat is sufficient for my grill. These need to cook quickly due to size so 4-5 minutes on each side to medium doneness and try to avoid charring as much as possible. Remove from grill and allow a 5 minute resting period to allow juices to redistribute through the meat (10min for lamb or beef cuts).

Garlicky Golden Squash

What you need:

2 Golden Squash (you can also use yellow summer squash or zucchini)

Wildtree Grapeseed Oil

Wildtree Garlic Galore Seasoning Blend

Preparation:

This is pretty easy to prepare and doesn't require much cook time. Remove the ends and cut the squash in half lengthwise. Brush each piece with regular grapeseed oil and lightly coat with the garlic seasoning. If you do not want garlic veggies just brush with oil and season with a little salt and pepper.

Cook:

Put this on the grill the same time you do the chops over low or indirect heat if you can. If they cook too long they tend to get mushy. No need to flip! Just put seasoned side down on the grill. You’ll end up with beautiful grill marks if you don't move them while they cook.

Grilled Corn on the Cob (no pictures sorry)

What you need:

Sweet Corn that is still in its husk and do not remove the tassels. It can be messy but it peels off incredibly easy after the corn has been grilled. Some of it will also burn off during the grilling process but what remains will allow you to grip the tassel and husk and clean it off fairly quick.

Preparation:

Until you understand how your grill (gas/charcoal) will cook the corn I really suggest soaking it for at least an hour. It's essentially a fire prevention measure. We want you safe while cooking yummy food!

Cook:

I am cooking on a Weber gas grill. So cook times, temps and everything else will vary depending on your method as well as what you are cooking with it. For this recipe I started our medium size corn 10 min prior to the goat chops as the goat chops are small and will not take long to cook. As the corn husk browns (and parts will char) turn the corn to cook it evenly. The beauty of leaving the husk intact is the corn is cooking via dry heat, but no moisture is lost since the husk is still tightly wrapped around the corn.

Please please please note the corn will be EXTREMELY hot. I use pot holders to peel the corn and break the husk off. If the corn is done a bit early leave them wrapped. That husk works great to keep the corn hot until you are ready to eat it. Season as you please. A good piece of corn needs no butter or seasoning after being grilled but to each his own on this one.

Ready set EAT!

The Proof Is Always On the Plate!

Grady's Plate (he's hard to please on veggies but he did take a few bites) and devoured the goat.

And Cheyenne cleaned her plate like a rockstar!!

For the love of cooking...

The biggest question I know I will hear is why? Why Wildtree? Why not some other company or make these products yourself?  Frankly, I have not been as impressed by any other company until now and sure I COULD attempt to make these same exact products, but at what cost to my family? I'm not just talking about dollars and cents here. I mean the time cost as well. My children would lose so much time with me if i was stuck in the kitchen all day trying to create my own oils, seasonings blends and bread products.

Wildtree has given me the opportunity to create amazing foods using their 100% all-natural and certified organic products. This means no fillers, preservatives, GMO's, dyes etc. Are you a cook from a box kind of person? No problem! There is an entire recipe section for you to enjoy online. I personally love that I do something i enjoy (cook) and still be able to provide for my family.

How has Wildtree fit into our family?

I've been overweight for as long as I can remember and I've never really cared. I married a soldier in 2008 and their physical health is extremely important. I cooked a lot, but even I was guilty of cooking from a box for a very long time. It was cheap and easy, but not as healthy as it could have been. In 2012 while on patrol with his unit in Afghanistan, he suffered an injury that resulted in a moderate TBI and he also would require surgery on his neck to replace a disc. For almost a year he has been unable to work out or has been very limited in what he could do. Naturally he gained weight and come April of 2013 we both made a commitment to lead a healthier life for ourselves and our two children. So out with the boxes and the inner aisle shopping and in with the lesser processed, natural and/or organic foods. We purchased an elliptical for home exercise & began counting calories together.  Wildtree has help make the transition to healthier alternatives by creating products that make healthy eating taste good. Even my picky eaters love the meals I have prepared using Wildtree products and while I have not tried all the products most are pretty kid friendly.

This is what I want to share with those who join me. That no matter your expertise in the kitchen. Every one of us can have healthy nutritious meals daily. Meals you would be proud to share with friends and family and meals that your aspiring little chef can help you make. Yes, we make commission on sales, but to me the enjoyment I get from seeing people enjoy the meals I have made outweigh the paycheck I get. Good food makes for happy people and I hope I can provide that to my customers.