Dollar Tree & Mini Target Haul | Easter & More

Dollar Tree & Mini Target Haul

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL8nlqfXEcE

New video up this week! Topics: Update, Living in the Moment, and Dollar Tree Tag (Frugalnista tagged me six months ago, yikes! Sorry for taking so long!).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aayr3iR9wGU

Clara's Cooking | Hawaiian Meatballs

In addition to meatballs, this sauce is a great compliment to any baked chicken or fish. 

If you follow my blog, this is my basic meatball recipe that I use for all meatballs. It's great for all types of dishes, whether sweet, savory, or spicy. It can be used in multiple cuisines (Swedish, Italian, Thai, etc.). Although I have published the recipe before, I included it below for the sake of completion. Enjoy!

I like to prepare the meatballs first, so that while they are baking in the oven, I can prepare the sauce.

Clara's Meatballs Recipe Ingredients:

1lb ground lean beef
1lb ground lean turkey
3/4 cup onions, finely diced
2 large eggs
3 tsp Coconut Aminos (optional, can also use soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce)
1/2 to 1 TBSP garlic powder (based on preference)
Olive oil
Salt & black pepper
Optional: 3/4 to 1 cup chopped vegetables such as carrots or sweet potato to bulk up your meatballs.

Clara's Meatballs Recipe Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Heat olive oil on medium heat in pan, and cook onions until silvery. Cook additional (optional) vegetables such as carrots.
3. Set pan aside to cool. 
4. Add beef, turkey, eggs, Coconut Aminos, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper to bowl (and other seasonings your wish). Mix well. Add veggie/onion mixture. Mix again.
5. Form meatballs that are of a diameter of 1.5 to 1.75 inches, forming somewhere between 25-28 meatballs (I just use my hands, but you can use a large ice cream scoop or spoon if you wish).  Place on ungreased cookie sheet. 
7. Bake meatballs for 20-23 minutes.

Clara's Hawaiian Sauce Recipe Ingredients:

1 can (12-15oz) mango slices (don't have to drain)
1 cup pineapple chunks (don't have to drain)
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1 tsp red curry paste
1 tsp ginger powder (more or less to taste)
1/4 cup lime juice (more or less to taste)
3/4 to 1 cup chopped cilantro (save a bit for garnish)
1/2 TBSP crushed red pepper (more or less to taste)
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

Clara's Hawaiian Sauce Recipe Directions:

1. Place mango and pineapple in food processor and blend well.
2. Cook onions in olive oil until silvery.
3. Add mango and pineapple mixture to pan. Add curry paste and stir.
4. Add ginger, lime, salt, pepper, and cilantro.
5. Stir mixture and taste. If you prefer more heat, add crushed red pepper to taste.
6. Simmer on low to medium low for 20 minutes, depending on how thick you wish the sauce to be.
7. When meatballs are finished baking, top with sauce and cilantro garnish. Enjoy with a side of rice and broccoli if you wish!



love + light,
Clara

Clara's Cooking | Shrimp & Zucchini in Almond Sauce

Shrimp & Zucchini in Almond Sauce

YOUTUBE VIDEO HERE: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ_QXqVtmwM

Ingredients:

3 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise then chopped

1/4 onion, sliced

1/2 cup almond butter 

(I use Trader Joe’s brand)

1/3 cup milk (I use coconut milk or skim, depending on how creamy I would like the sauce)

1 TBSP lime juice

1/2-1 TBSP fresh ginger, 

peeled and minced

1 TBSP minced garlic

30-40 medium cooked shrimp, defrosted

Olive oil (1-2 TBSP)

Crushed red pepper (optional)

Salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Defrost cooked shrimp if needed.

2. Heat olive oil in pan, cook zucchini and onion.

3. While vegetables are cooking, use a fork to mix almond butter, milk, lime/lemon juice, ginger, and garlic. Use fork to mash the almond butter, and when the consistency is more fine, use a whisk to further mix the sauce.

4. Taste sauce, add salt and pepper as desired. Mix well.

5. Add shrimp and sauce to pan and mix with vegetables. Taste sauce again and add crushed red pepper if desired.

6. Allow to cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring every few minutes so sauce won't burn. Enjoy alone or with 

Tips:

If you dislike ginger, consider using soy sauce and/or onion powder instead.

If you don't have lime juice, may substitute lemon or calamondin juice.

To make Whole30 compliant, replace the milk with water or a compliant coconut milk or almond milk. Also, make sure your almond butter is compliant and doesn't have any peanut oil!

Consider adding water if sauce seems too thick, in 1/4 cup increments until you achieved your desired consistency.

Enjoy!

love + light,

Clara

Clara's Cooking | Fried Tofu

I admit that it took me a few tries to get this right. I've learned that to be successful, I must have the following:

1. DRY tofu (absorb as much of the water as possible before cooking)
2. FIRM tofu (otherwise it falls apart)
3. PATIENCE 

Wait, why do I need patience? Because in cooking I feel the need to stir food every few minutes. But - NOPE! Don't do that when frying tofu! Just like with pan frying chicken, it'll get the best brown color if you leave it UNDISTURBED for at least 5-7 minutes. Trust me! 

FRIED TOFU RECIPE:

Ingredients:

1lb tofu (extra firm)
2-3 TBSP olive oil
Garlic powder (at least 1 tsp)
Onion powder (at least 1 tsp)
Salt & black pepper

Directions:

1. Drain the tofu and gently squeeze it with paper towels. 
2. With a sharp knife, cut into 1/2 slices. Gently pat again to soak away any remaining water.
3. Season both sides of tofu with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
4. In a pan (I like the ceramic lined pans from Aldi), heat olive oil on medium-high.
5. Place tofu gently in pan, and space at least 1/3 inch apart (each slice needs sufficient airflow to evenly and to prevent from sticking to each other).
6. Let tofu cook, UNTOUCHED, for at least 5-7 minutes. You'll know it's time to flip them when you see a brown crust appear along the bottom edges.
7. Flip the tofu to cook the other side, leave untouched 4-6 minutes. The second side will take about 1-2 minutes less than it took the first side to cook. Enjoy!

Tips:

- Enjoy these in any kind of stir fry, or even in just a quick snack on their own! I sometimes like to eat these with a spicy chili sauce or coconut amigos (like soy sauce).

- Don't be afraid to experiment with spices! You could try curry powder, turmeric, nutmeg, etc.! Just go EASY on the spices at first, as tofu itself typically has a mild taste.


Enjoy!

love + light,
Clara

Dollar Tree Succulent Decorations!

Combining obsessions is always fun. Dollar Tree? Good. Succulents? YES. Milk glass? Even better! See how I decorated with Dollar Tree succulents and a few pieces of my milk glass collection here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QaH1wdSOvs&feature=youtu.be

See video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QaH1wdSOvs&feature=youtu.be

Enjoy!

love + light,
Clara

Clara's Cooking | Whole30 Chili

I think a nice thing about a lot of soups and chilis is that you can have flexibility with the vegetables. You can change them up depending on the sales in your grocery store, you can add several varieties or just a few. For me, it seems like as long as the general flavors and spices are added, a "chili" is still a "chili", and a "minestrone" is still a "minestrone."

WHOLE30 'CHILI'

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef, turkey, or chicken
1 bell pepper, diced
1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
1 large can (29oz) crushed tomatoes
2-3 zucchini, cut into half rounds or quarter rounds, depending on size
2 carrots, finely diced
1/2 TBSP crushed red pepper
1/2 TBSP chili powder
1/2 TBSP cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
Garlic powder (to taste)
Salt & pepper
Olive oil


Directions:

Tips:
- Top with avocado slices or cilantro for a nice presentation!
- If too thick, add water in 1/2 cup increments until you achieve desired consistency.
- These are Whole30 friendly, but if you wish to add some non-Whole30 ingredients, consider adding kidney beans for more bulk, plus it adds protein and fiber. You could also add corn.

Enjoy!

love + light,
Clara