Super Easy Mushroom Pork Chops- without the cans! (low sodium, gluten free)

Super Easy Mushroom Pork Chops - without the cans (gluten free, low sodium)

Pork chops in mushroom sauce is a simple comfort food. While my husband and I grew up in different countries, both of our moms made the same basic recipe. Our version is just as easy as the Old Staple* but uses fresh, whole-food ingredients. The method is essentially the same: assemble everything in a pan and bake it. The result is fork- tender pork chops with a fresh tasting mushroom sauce that you can pour over mashed potatoes. Yum!

For four to six servings:

2-3 lb package of old fashioned pork chops, such as Niman Ranch or direct from a farmer
1/4 lb mushrooms, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped

1/2 cup water
2 tbsp tapioca flour or corn starch
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper 

Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease a large Pyrex baking dish with either coconut oil or a light spray of avocado oil.

Chop the mushrooms and celery. Put half of the mushrooms into the baking dish and place the pork chops on top. Top with the celery and the rest of the mushrooms. In a small bowl, mix the water, tapicoa flour (or starch,) salt and pepper. Gently pour the mixture over the pork chops, being careful not to wash off the mushrooms and celery.

Cover the dish with its lid, foil, or a silicone topper. (I prefer a silicone topper. I bought one at our hospital's gift shop and have also seen them at the hardware store.) Bake, covered, for 45 minutes. Move the cover to let steam escape and bake for another ten minutes or so to thicken the sauce.


*There is a time-honoured recipe that has been passed down like an heirloom for years: pour a can of mushroom soup over your chops and bake them. We gave up cans of creamed soup years ago because of the excess sodium, monosodium glutamate, and, well, the cans themselves. 

Pork Roast with Yorkshire Pudding and Savoury Apple Gravy (low sodium)

Pork Roast with Yorkshire Pudding and Savoury Apple Gravy (low sodium)

Leftovers? Yes. Boring? No. Would you believe that these are planned leftovers? Crock pot pork roasts are so simple, and if you leave the whole crock in the fridge it is easy to heat back up without drying out.

The roast itself was prepared by placing it in the crock pot, and turning it on "high" for the afternoon (or on "low" for the whole day) after spreading the following sauce over top, and sprinkling with a pinch of salt:

2 tbsp blackstrap molasses
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp dried minced onion

For the Yorkshire Pudding, follow the recipe for Popovers. What is the difference between a popover and Yorkshire pudding? It is really quite arbitrary. To us, when we fix a double batch, it comes down to which ones are served as brunch and which ones are served with an entree.

Savoury Apple Gravy is a perfect complement to this meal that takes just a few minutes to whip up on the stove.

Any liquid left in the pot can be used to make a hearty soup for the third day: chop up any roast that is left and add a few more carrots along with any leftover apple gravy, mashed potatoes, fresh green onions and a few cups of water. Heat the crock pot on "high" for the afternoon or on "low" for the whole day.


I shared this recipe with Motivation Mondays: Healthy Fall Recipes.


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Salsa Verde Fresca (gluten free, vegan)

Salsa Verde Fresca (gluten free, vegan)

G-man has been asking for days and days to try a new idea. I have to tell you that if he keeps his love for food and new creations he has a future as a great chef. His latest was Carrot Tacos. He wanted to make whole wheat soft tortillas and fill them with shredded carrots and sour cream. Crunchy and sweet, they were pretty good! Stealthy Dad and I jazzed up the grown-up version with Salsa Verde Fresca made with fresh tomatillos and peppers from our garden.

Salsa Fresca (Pico de Gallo) is customarily made with tomatoes, chiles, onions and seasoning. Our Salsa Fresca Verde used tomatillos in place of tomatoes. (Tomatillos are similar to tomatoes in flavour, but look like big gooseberries.) To keep it sweet for the kids, we replaced the usual white onion with leeks, and chopped up sweet peppers instead of hot chiles.

For one cup:

1/2 cup finely chopped tomatillos
1/4 cup chopped sweet peppers
1/4 cup chopped leeks or green onions
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8-1/4 tsp coriander
1/8 tsp oregano
1 finely chopped jalapeño pepper, optional

Mix everything together, wait a few minutes for the flavours to mingle, and enjoy!



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Beef Teriyaki in Fifteen Minutes without Soy Sauce! (gluten free, low sodium)

Beef Teriyaki without Soy Sauce (gluten free)

Have you ever heard of a low-sodium Teriyaki sauce? Me neither.* A quick check of the jar labels in the store can be hair raising. When I went cruising for recipes I kept finding soy sauce, and lots of it. Hmmm.... what does soy sauce taste like, besides salty? Rich, earthy (from fermentation), and a bit tangy. I played around for a while with some things we had in the cupboard, and came up with a really good impostor!

The trick here is to have everything chopped and prepped to you do not overcook anything. Your steak will be tender, your veggies will have a bit of crunch, and the sauce will marry the tastes and textures together.

1 lb grassfed beef steak, thinly sliced

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup blackstrap molasses
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt or lite salt
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup diced onion

1 tbsp sesame seeds
3 large mushrooms
3 carrots
3 stalks celery
1/2 cup chopped cabbage

In a stainless or glass bowl, mix the balsamic vinegar, molasses, garlic, salt, sesame oil, and diced onion. Add the sliced steak and let it marinate for a few minutes while you chop your vegetables.

Heat up a wok or sauté pan. (I like an Ultimate Pan, which is sort of a halfway between.) Add the meat and sauce mixture to the hot pan and cook, stirring, just long enough to heat up the sauce. Add the vegetables and sesame seeds, and continue to stir until the meat is cooked through. Serve over cooked quinoa or rice.


*Kikkomen's "low sodium" teriyaki sauce still contains 320mg sodium per tablespoon, and LaChoy's version contains 284mg sodium per tablespoon.  You'd need at least a couple tablespoons of sauce per serving.


I shared this post with Swap-n-Share Sunday.


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One Dish Wonder: Beef and Potato Bake (gluten free, dairy free, low sodium)

One Dish Wonder: Beef and Potato Bake

There were no cans of soup harmed in the making of this hearty bowl of manly-man fare. None opened, nor even purchased, actually. It is just as easy to make a quick beef and potato casserole, with its own creamy mushroom sauce, without the soup! As a bonus, when cooking with grassfed beef, you do not even have to brown the beef first. Just chop, layer, and pop it in the oven. Find something constructive to do for an hour, and return to find that dinner is done! (There is a serving of vegetables stashed in there, too.)

1 lb ground, grassfed beef
4 medium potatoes
1/2 lb mushrooms, finely chopped
3-4 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4-1/2 tsp salt, or lite salt to further reduce sodium
1/4 tsp black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Chop the mushrooms, celery, and onions and put them together in a bowl. Mix in the salt and pepper. (This replaces the seasoning and moisture of a can of soup.) Chop the potatoes and set aside.

Layer the ingredients into a lidded casserole dish: First, put half of the potatoes, and sprinkle with a handful of the mushroom mixture. Next, spread half of the ground beef on top, followed by chopped mushroom mixture. Top with the remaining potatoes, then mushroom mixture, the rest of the beef, and the rest of the mushroom mixture. Gently press down on the top to fill in the gaps.

Put the lid on and bake for an hour. (If the oven is not quite preheated yet, pop it in as it is and add a couple of minutes to the timer.)


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Sweet Sesame Dressing (gluten free, vegan, low sodium)

Sweet Sesame Salad

Spring might finally be here. How about a fresh, crisp salad? When cutting back on sodium, salad dressing can be your undoing because a serving of of store-bought can contain 300mg of sodium or more. This version contains under 15mg, even if you drown your greens in it. You will not miss the salt because homemade Sweet Sesame Dressing is rich and flavourful. Mix it up in minutes for a restaurant-style salad at home.

To dress four to six entree-sized salads, mix together, stirring well after each addition:

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp parsley
1 tsp sesame seeds (raw or toasted)

Drizzle over your salad and toss. Our plates contained baby romaine, sugar snap peas, raw shredded cabbage, sliced carrots, and mushrooms with a sprinkling of raw sesame seeds for garnish. (Store any unused dressing in the fridge for a couple of days.)



I shared this post with weekly link-ups, where bloggers share natural recipes and homestead tips:  Wildcrafting Wednesday,  Simple Lives Thursday, the Homestead Barn Hop,  Fight Back! Friday and Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.


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Chicken and Summer Corn Soup (gluten free, crock pot)

Chicken and Summer Corn Soup

G-man asked to make chicken soup. Specifically, he wanted make soup with chicken, sweet corn, tomatoes and beans. That kid is onto something... Every bite tastes like summer. Tomatoes and kidney beans add a touch of cheerful color and the sweet corn kernels have a slight crunch. Our son may only be four years old, but he sure has great ideas in the kitchen!

4 chicken (Free range makes better soup. Trust me.)
1 large, ripe tomato
6 ears corn, kernels sliced off
2 cups cooked/ 1 can drained red kidney beans
2 tbsp parsley
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
salt to taste

Place the chicken thighs into the crock pot and cover with water. Cook on "high" for 2-3 hours, until chicken is cooked. (All night on "low" would work if you are prepping the soup before leaving for work.) Take the chicken from the pot,  Bone is and skin it, placing the bones in the freezer for future bone broth. Chop up the chicken and put it back in the pot.

Ad the chopped tomato, beans, corn, and all seasonings except the salt. Allow the soup to cook for at least another two hours on "high" or all day on "low."

Before serving, salt the soup, a little at a time. Half a teaspoon for the whole pot was enough for us.


I shared this recipe with these natural food recipe link-ups: Traditional Tuesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Fat Tuesday,  the Hearth and Soul Hop and Empty Your Archives.

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