How to Make Homemade Almond Meal

I decided not to purchase any flour on my Organic Costco Challenge. Costco does not sell whole wheat flour. They do sell 25 pounds of all purpose flour for $5.99. However, I mainly use whole wheat, whole wheat pastry or whole wheat white flour for my cooking. I couldn’t imagine what I was going to do with 25 pounds of white flour!

I had to find a real food substitute for all purpose flour. Since I had purchased almonds, I decided to make almond meal to use as flour in some of my recipes. If you follow a paleo or gluten-free diet, it’s great to be able to make your own almond meal. Not to mention it is more cost effective to make your own.

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Shredded Carrot Salad

I am out of carrots! 4 weeks, 10 pounds of carrots. This was one of our favorite ways to eat them. In fact, last night my daughter went into the fridge and grabbed the leftovers and finished them off for her bedtime snack!

I made them with my chives that have started to come up in my garden. How crazy is it that I have chives growing in March in Colorado????

Chives

I then trimmed off a bit of parsley that I grow on my windowsill. Nice to have some fresh, homegrown ingredients on hand.

Shredded Carrot Salad

Shredded Carrot Salad

Ingredients

  • For the salad:
  • 6 large carrots
  • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
  • 3 tablespoons chopped chives
  • For the Vinaigrette:
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 minced garlic clove
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

  1. Grate the carrots. In a large bowl, stir together carrots, chives and parsley.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together all the vinaigrette ingredients.
  3. Pour vinaigrette over carrot mixture and stir. Refrigerate for several hours before serving.
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Baked Chicken Flautas

I made these on a night when my daughter had a sleepover figuring it would be a hit with the kiddos. And a hit it was! If you were to fry the corn tortillas in oil before wrapping them around the filling, they would be softer and would not break. However, I didn’t go through all that trouble and had no complaints!  If you have any spinach on hand, you could try some cooked spinach in these.

Baked Chicken Flautas

Baked Chicken Flautas

Ingredients

  • 12 corn tortillas
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • salsa

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 450. Grease two baking sheets.
  2. Mix the shredded chicken with the paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, and salt.
  3. Take a corn tortilla and fill with 1/12 of the chicken mixture and 2 tablespoons of cheese. Gently wrap the corn tortilla around the filling to minimize tearing the tortilla. Place seam side down on a baking sheet. Continue with the remaining tortillas.
  4. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until crispy. Serve topped with salsa.
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Chicken Pot Pie

This is a traditional chicken pot pie recipe. I made the crust with oat flour since I didn’t buy any flour for this Organic Costco Meal Plan. We had no complaints with the taste or texture of the crust, but if you cook with all purpose flour, you may want to use it instead if you are expecting the traditional flaky crust.

This recipe was large enough that we ate it for dinner one night, then had leftovers for lunch a few days later.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

  • For the crust:
  • 1 1/4 cups oat flour
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
  • 3 to 5 tablespoons ice water
  • For the filling:
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 4 carrots, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 1/2 cup oat flour
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
  • 1/3 cup chopped parsley (optional)

Instructions

  1. For the crust:
  2. In a food processor, mix together the flour, sugar and salt. Add butter a few pieces at a time. Continue to add butter, and mix just until the mixture looks like a coarse meal. Add three tablespoons of the ice water. Pulse. Try squeezing the dough. If it holds together, it is done. If it is still crumbly, try adding another tablespoon of water. When dough forms, shape it into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for an hour or until ready to use.
  3. For the filling:
  4. Preheat oven to 375.
  5. In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add onion, carrots and celery and cook until soft. Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds more. Add oat flour and stir to coat the vegetables. Add the broth slowly while continuously whisking. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and allow to simmer until it is slightly thickened - about 7 to 9 minutes. Stir in peas, chicken and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour filling into a large 9 x 13 pan.
  6. Roll dough out into a rectangle large enough to cover pan. Add more flour if too sticky. Cover dish with dough and cut a few vents in the top. Bake 45 minutes.
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Brown Rice Pudding

I’ve been making Brown Rice Pudding in my slow cooker. It is a really indulgent after-school snack and couldn’t be any easier. This has definitely been a go-to snack during my Costco Challenge.

Brown Rice Pudding

Brown Rice Pudding

Ingredients

  • 32 oz Organic Vanilla Soymilk*
  • 2/3 cup brown rice
  • Cinnamon Stick
  • optional toppings: cinnamon, maple syrup, craisins, chocolate chips
  • *You may substitute any type of milk. If you using plain milk, I'd recommend adding a teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Instructions

  1. In a slow cooker, stir together the rice, soymilk and cinnamon stick. Cook on high. At two hours, the rice is cooked, but it is still liquid-y. By three hours, it should be a thick rice pudding. You can decide how your family most enjoys to eat it!
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