Stuffed Mushrooms

These happened on the fly tonight and they turned out to be pretty good. I bought the almond meal at the Wildwood Country Store. It was $1.99 a bag which is a great price.

1 small package baby bella's
1/2 cup almond meal flour
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1/2 cup shredded Havarti
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack
1 tsp. salt
1/4 onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, pressed

Preheat oven to 400. Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil. Transfer to a bowl then add the almond meal, cheeses and salt. Scoop the middle out of the mushrooms making a hole for the filling. Press the filling down into each mushroom. Place in an ovenproof dish and bake for 25 minutes.

Earthlings **Warning: you may not want to read this post!**

Watch the movie HERE.

I've never been much of an animal rights activist but I've always been an advocate for the truth and that's what this post is about. Revealing the truth behind the meat industry. Here is my disclaimer about the film: I don't recommend the faint of heart to watch it. It is the most disturbing movie you will ever see. Having said that, go watch it! Consumers need to know where their food (and leather and fur) is coming from and I guarantee most Americans do not.  The movie documents 5 ways that humans exploit animals but I am just going to focus on the mistreatment of animals for food and fashion. I would also like to add that I believe God gave us animals to eat and to take care of. I think it's okay for us to kill animals and use them for food and clothing. I do not think it's okay to abuse, torture or neglect animals for our gain. So I want to take this opportunity to share a few things I learned from the film that I do not ever want to forget.

• Cattle and Swine: In the US, the butchering process for cattle and swine begins while they are still alive. Did you know that? I did not! Yes, animals are being cut open and hung on an assembly line while they are still mooing!
• Don't be fooled by "kosher" meats. The #1 Kosher slaughterhouse in the US had the most horrific means of slaughtering the animals while they were still kicking and groaning in agony!
• Milk: Baby calves are deprived of their mother's milk so that we can drink it. Which, by the way, our bodies don't even need it.
• After the calves are removed from their mothers they are placed in shackles in a dark cell to stunt their growth for slaughter as veal.
• The cows are then pumped full of hormones to make their body produce 10x their normal supply of milk. They are forced to stand up in a cell and many cows collapse from exhaustion. Most dairy cows do not live more than 4 years. The average life span of a normal cow is 20 years.
• If you want to drink milk, buy raw milk from a local farmer!
• Leather: The majority of leather sold in the US originates from India. The cattle are taken from families with the promise of a large sum of money never to be seen. The cattle then endure an agonizing 3 day trek to the border for slaughter. During this journey they are deprived food and water; to keep them moving they are whipped, beaten and have hot chili powder rubbed into their eyes. 
• In the leather factories, workers (including children) have developed severe deformities from the harsh chemicals used on the animal skins to prevent decomposition. All this just so we can have our fancy leather!
• So unless you have your own cow and can kill it yourself and make your own leather, I suggest not buying leather!
• Fur: Now I don't own any fur but I thought this was worth mentioning in case any of you do. Some of the animals in "fur farms" are skinned alive for their fur. In the movie, you look into the eye of an animal being skinned alive. Let me tell you the image of the pain that animal is enduring is burned into my mind forever. Just so rich, greedy Americans can have their fur coats. Again, unless you want to start your own little fur farm and kill the animals in a humane manner before you skin them to make your fur coat, don't buy fur!

There were many other horrifying things in the movie but these are the primary ones that I can do something about. For instance, I don't have any influence over Japanese fisheries that contain dolphins in a bloody pool of sea water, take them from their families (dolphins never leave an injured family member), tie them up and drag them behind a dump truck to a nearby warehouse where their throats are slit and they are left to flop and slither in agony as they slowly suffocate to death. Their meat is then packaged and sold as "whale," a delicacy. No, I can't stop that but I can make the choice to buy my meat and dairy products from local farmers who raise, kill and slaughter humanely.

And I don't want to hear any of you say "we can't afford it." Listen, if our family can afford it, so can yours because I guarantee we make less money than you! It may just mean that you'll have to cut back on the amount of meat you eat (which is a GOOD thing!). We used to eat meat every night. Lately, we've been having meat for dinner 1-3x per week. And guess what? We're still alive and well! and fully satisfied at meal time! You can do it too!!

Stuffed Bell Peppers

For the filling:

1 lb. ground beef (although since I might be turning into a vegan after I watch "Forks Over Knives" I may be using lentils instead of beef in the future :)

1 onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

Saute above ingredients then add:

2 cans tomato sauce

a few shakes each of dried parsley and dried oregano

1 tsp. salt

Simmer for awhile. 

Spoon filling into raw peppers. Top each pepper with 1 deli slice of cheddar cheese. Place in a baking dish. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes or until cheese is nice and crispy around the edges and peppers are tender.

Enjoy!

Cauliflower Rice

This recipe is adapted from Elana's recipe at www.elanaspantry.com

1 medium onion
1 celery stalk
1 clove minced garlic
1 tsp. salt
Saute above ingredients until veggies are tender.

Empty 1 large bag of frozen cauliflower into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Then toss the cauliflower into the skillet with onions and celery. Saute for a few more minutes just until cauliflower is cooked throughout.

Enjoy!

Granola

This is a good basic granola recipe to snack on:

1 cup raw walnuts
1 cup raw pecans
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 cup raisins
1 cup dried fruit cut into large chunks (apricots, strawberries, etc.)
1/2 unsweetened coconut

Combine above ingredients in a large bowl. Add 1 tsp. vanilla extract (this probably isn't necessary), 1 tsp. salt, 2 Tbsp. honey. Mix well. Pour out onto a large cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until toasted. I like to check on it and stir about every 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Granola bars

Preheat oven to 350

Melt 1/2 stick butter with 1/2 cup honey (these were really sweet so next time I'm going to use 1/4 stick of butter and 1/4 cup honey).

Add:
1/2 cup unsweetened, grated coconut
1 cup chopped nuts (I used sunflower seeds, slivered almonds, walnuts and pecans (raw nuts only)
1 cup raisins or other dried fruit that doesn't have sugar added to it.

Pour into greased, square baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely then cut into squares. Or if you're impatient like me take a spoon and dig in to them while they're still warm!

Balsamic Salad

Obviously, you can put whatever you want in this salad but here is my basic recipe:

Spinach

Strawberries

Any type of soft cheese (blue, goat, gorgonzola, etc)

Sunflower seeds (raw)

1 Tbsp. poppy seeds

Raisins (they add sweetness since I can't have sugar)

Slivered almonds

Toss it with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I like to sprinkle salt and pepper too.

Enjoy!