I frequently feature my neighbor, Sharon, on my blog so she can share her wonderful recipes. She is a dynamite cook! Today she is sharing her Thai Spring Rolls and two dipping sauces. Take it away, Sharon!

Hey y’all!!!

I’ve been wanting to try these Thai spring rolls for a very long time. I’m not going to lie – they were a little time consuming, but in my opinion, worth it! Once you get all set up and do the first two or three rolls, it’s a piece of cake!

I discovered Thai Spring Rolls in Cali at my favorite Thai place. When I went in to pick up my roasted chicken and rice and egg rolls, I became very curious about them sitting on display in the case. One day, while in line, I noticed all the people in front of me and several opeople behind me all ordered the spring rolls. On my next visit, I went for the gusto!

After much searching, I found a International Grocery Store that carries all sorts of wonderful Thai ingredients in the Tennessee town where I now live.  I purchased the wraps and rice noodles some time ago, but they’ve collected dust in my pantry waiting to be used. Finally, I decided today was the day!

First, I baked two chicken breasts at  425°with olive oil and  multi-seasoning for 20 minutes. After they cooled, I used two forks and shredded the chicken.   You can also use cooked shrimp if you prefer that over chicken .  Or,  you could go veggie all the way!

Next, I julienned an English cucumber, carrots, two jalapenos, and two avocados.  Thank goodness for my garden! I had kale, cucumber, jalapenos, basil, cilantro, chives and mint right at my doorstep.  You can find wraps with many different combinations of these ingredients.  I decided to use ALL of them!

I then brought water to a boil in a pan large enough to lay the wraps in. No need to boil the wraps, but you will give them a quick dip in the hot water before rolling them. Before dipping the wraps, I boiled the noodles, pulled them out and strained them. (See my note about this below.)

Now it was time to build the wraps.  I learned some lessons while building these so I’ll try to make your experience a little easier than mine! After dipping the wrap in the warm water, I first started on parchment paper and they dried out quickly and stuck to the paper. I found it best to roll them directly on my granite countertop. I also learned that it is better to put the noodles back in the water on the bottom of the pan during assembly because they stuck together. I pulled them out as needed and drain them as much as possible before laying them on the wrap. Finally, less is more!  Do try to get a little bit of everything in your wrap. But, be aware- the more you the use, the harder they are to roll.

Here is the order of ingredients I used when building of the wraps:

• Rice paper wrappers
• Rice noodles
• Kale (stack up from here with kale on the bottom)
• Avocado
• Mint
• Cilantro
• Jalepeno
• Carrots
• Chicken
• Basil
• Chives on one side of stack
• Cucumber on other side of stack

Lastly, I put a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and laid them on the parchment as completed.

I prepared two different sauces for dipping -a peanut sauce, and Nuoc Mam Pha.

Peanut sauce

• 1 clove garlic grated or 1 inch Squirt from tube of garlic
• 1 thumb of Ginger grated or 1 inch squirt of Ginger from tube
• 2 T Tamari
• 2 T maple syrup
• 1/2 T srirachha
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup water

Nuoc Mam Pha

• 1 cup hot water
• 5 T sugar (I used stevia)
• 2 T fish sauce
• 2 1/2 T fresh lime juice
• 1/2 t sambal olek (you can find this at most groceries in the international section!)

My neighbor, Sharon, is back and this time with a recipe that is perfect for those of you watching your carbs this New Year!

(Post and Photography contributed by Sharon Harrod)

While visiting my family for the holidays I was learning about the next step to the Wheat Belly diet, which is called “wheat belly total health.”  One of my brother-in-law’s go to lunches is a bread free Reuben.  I decided to make several at a time and I refer to them as “Lunch Pods.” You can store them in the refrigerator pop one out at a time, heat it up and you’re good to go. The bonus is that they are very filling and delicious. You don’t even miss the bread!

 

Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown.

My neighbor, Sharon, is always cooking up the tastiest dishes. She’s back on the blog serving up a roasted veggie side dish for our readers today!

(Post and Photography contributed by Sharon Harrod)

I adore roasted veggies. They are like candy! My new favorite is butternut squash. Serve with pork tenderloin, steak, salmon or… why not just eat the whole pan like candy or a sleeve of cookies?!?

Peel the butternut squash. Cut in half and scoop out the seeds. Slice it and one half inch pieces.

Place on a cookie sheet drizzle with olive oil sprinkle either cayenne pepper or for the faint-of-heart who don’t like spicy use chili powder salt and pepper.

Bake on 400 for 20 to 30 minutes or until brown.

Another post from my lovely neighbor, Sharon!

(Post and photography contributed by Sharon Harrod)

A Tennessee snow day means a cooking day for me! This recipe is my take on BAKED EGGS from “The Chew.” It starts with a delicious tomato basil garlic sauce in the bottom of a ramekin, an egg in the middle, and topped with Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. The tomatoes in these baked eggs add many vitamins and beta carotene which act as antioxidants, so this recipe could also be a nice addition to your morning menu. This breakfast offers a yummy change from your tired scrambled eggs!

Baked Eggs (Adapted from The Chew)

Ingredients
1 28 ounce can of organic crushed, diced, or whole tomatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons roasted garlic

2 tablespoons fresh or dried basil

6 eggs

1 Cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

Directions:
First, pour a 28 ounce can of crushed, diced or whole tomatoes into your Vitamix or whatever pureeing device you own. I use organic tomatoes.

Next, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and two tablespoons of fresh or dried basil. The Chew recipe called for fresh basil and raw garlic however I believe that the roasted garlic adds another level of flavor. I always roast a couple of heads of garlic and then squeeze the garlic out. I keep them in a container in my refrigerator to use as needed. I also had a massive amount of Basil in my garden this year so I dried it and then crumble it into my recipes throughout the winter. Blend thoroughly.

Pour the sauce into medium sized ramekins or small baking dishes. Crack an egg over the sauce. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese over the egg and salt and pepper.

Bake for 20 -25 minutes or until the egg center is to your liking.

Top with fresh basil and serve.

Enjoy every cheesy bite!

This post is contributed by Sharon Harrod:

I’m a spicy girl who loves spicy creations! I was never really a meatloaf person until I created this gem. Now, it’s a favorite! And, a leftover sandwich the next day is awesome on toast with tomato, red onion, arugula and mayo. All the veggies in the recipe and oatmeal as added fiber is a big bonus! This is not your plain ol’ meatloaf and it does require some extra steps. But, I promise this is well worth the effort.

(Photography courtesy of Sharon Harrod)

Chipotle Meatloaf

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 pound chopped sirloin ( I grind my own in the Cuisinart, but you just buy ground sirloin)
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
3 baby bells
1/2 grated red onion
1 clove garlic grated
One roasted poblano pepper
2 tablespoons banana peppers
1/4 cup roasted butternut squash
Three eggs
1 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Taco blend cheese
1  24-ounce bottle of ketchup
1 small can chipotle sauce or 3 Chipotle peppers pureed

Directions:

First, let me say my Cuisinart is one of my three favorite kitchen tools. If you don’t have one, a little mini chopper or chopping finely by hand works just as well. It just takes longer!

Step 1
Roast a poblano pepper and a butternut squash in the oven at 400 degrees with olive oil and salt until softened.

Step 2
Cut the sirloin steak  in large 1 inch chunks and process in small batches in the Cuisinart. Do a course chop so the meatloaf will have more of a steak texture and flavor.  Place the chopped sirloin in a large mixing bowl.

Step 3
Individually mince the carrot, celery,  and baby bells in the same manner.  Place them in the bowl along with the sirloin.

Step 4
Using a microplane grater, grate the red onion and garlic. Place in the bowl with the other ingredients.

Step 5
Peel the skin from both the roasted poblano and the roasted butternut squash . Chop the pablano and scoop out 1/4 cup of squash. Place them in the bowl alongside the other ingredients.

Step 6
Mix meat and vegetable ingredients together.

Step 7
In a separate bowl, mix together the egg, oatmeal, the two cheeses and salt and pepper.

Step 8
Mix the egg and meat mixture together.

Step 9
Mix the bottle of ketchup together with the chipotle sauce.

Step 10
Place the meatloaf in a loaf pan and cover with 1/2 of the Chipotle ketchup ( I save the remaining Chipotle ketchup to use for many other things, so I always have a bottle in my refrigerator. It’s delish!)

Step 11
Bake @ 400° for 45 minutes let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting into slices.

You can serve the remaining butternut squash as a side dish along with the meatloaf.

Let me know how yours turns out in the comments! Enjoy!

–Sharon

My neighbor, Sharon, is a wonderful friend and a wonderful cook. She is also a great conversationalist, creative, and has a very interesting life. Basically, she is made to write a blog. And it’s on her bucket list to have one someday soon! Until then, she has agreed to contribute to mine. Lucky me! Starting today, you will see regularly featured “From Sharon’s Kitchen” posts with my neighbor’s tasty creations.

In Sharon’s words:

Hello, Modern Day Fox readers! My name is Sharon and I’m so happy to be able to share my love for cooking with all of you. I’m very passionate about food, especially gluten-free creations. Since the weather has taken a turn for the cold this week, I was longing for a warm cup of soup. I thought it would be great to kick off my first featured post with my Roasted Red Pepper Soup.

I wait every year for red bell peppers to go on sale so that I can make batches of this delicious soup. I had it for the first time many years ago on Thanksgiving Day and it has become a favorite amongst all my friends and family. I hope you love it as much as we do!

ROASTED RED PEPPER SOUP

Ingredients:

6 red bell peppers 

2 Bartlett pears

2 shallots

4 carrots 

1 clove garlic 

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon 

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 box organic chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 jar roasted red peppers (save for last)

Directions:

Chop shallot and garlic into small minced pieces and place in a Dutch oven with olive oil. Cook until translucent.

Chop all vegetables and pears into big chunks. Place in Dutch oven along with chicken broth, salt and pepper, crushed red pepper and 1 tablespoon tarragon. Cook on medium-high heat until veggies are tender. Remove from heat and puree with immersion blender or vitamix. If you have neither, you can do small batches in regular blender.

Remove the skins from the jarred roasted red peppers and cut into tiny chunks. Mix into the soup along with a second tablespoon of tarragon. ENJOY!

Oh, and by the way, I served this with my famous newly created Gluten Free Cornbread. To die for! Recipe coming soon.

See you next time! 

— Sharon