Creamy Zuppa Toscana

Hi Friends! 

I wanted to share another recipe with you today that is certain to become a family favorite in your house too, Creamy Zuppa Toscana! This is an Olive Garden signature dish and there are lots of copy cat recipes out there so you can enjoy it at home but THRIVE makes having this delicious meal so simple you may never go out to a restaurant again! 

I've included the regular recipe and in BLUE is the THRIVE equivalent. I happened to have the pre-cooked bacon on hand so I just used that instead of having to cook that up on my own but even if I did THRIVE will still save a ton of time! As for the COOKING DIRECTIONS this is the easy part, just add everything to the pot except the spinach and cream and heat till boiling then reduce heat & add the spinach and cream then simmer till heated through.

The best part is our Sausage Crumbles are on sale this month for only $37.79 that is a saving of $10.80 off the regular price! Let me know, so we get some for your home store too!

https://www.thrivelife.com/august-specials.html

Creamy Zuppa Toscana - http://therecipecritic.com/2013/11/creamy-zuppa-toscana/

PREP TIME:  20 MINS         COOK TIME:  20 MINS       TOTAL TIME:  40 MINS

SERVES: 8

INGREDIENTS

·         3 cans (14 oz) chicken broth - 5 cups of water and 5 tsp of THRIVE Chicken Bouillon to make equivalent of broth 

·         2 cups heavy cream

·         1 lb Italian Sausage - 1 1/2 cups FD Sausage Crumbles

·         ½ pound bacon - or 1 pkg (2.5oz) of fully cooked bacon cut into small pieces 

·         4 russet potatoes - 2 cups of FD Potato Dices  

·         1 medium onion, diced - 1/2 cup FD Chopped Onion

·         2 garlic cloves, minced

·         2½ cups chopped spinach - 1/2 cup FD Chopped Spinach 

·         salt and pepper (to taste)

INSTRUCTIONS

1.      Cook and crumble the bacon. Set aside on a plate lined with a paper towel. Cook the sausage and set aside.

2.      Skin each potato and slice in half and make about ¼ inch slices. You can slice these into fourths making the potatoes more bite sized.

3.      Bring a large pot with the chicken broth to a boil. Boil the potatoes for about 10 minutes or until tender.

4.      While the potatoes are boiling, sauté the onion and garlic until tender and set aside.

5.      Once potatoes are tender, add sausage, onion, garlic, and chopped spinach to the pot. Boil for a couple of minutes until the spinach starts to wilt. Reduce heat and add heavy cream.

6.      Cook until heated through and add salt and pepper to taste.

THRIVE Chicken & Dumplings

So I have a confession to make...I've been fighting a cold the past few days so last night when it was time to make dinner I was SOOO not in the mood. I started looking through my fridge and cupboards hoping that something would magically appear before my eyes but of course as you well know that didn't happen. By then it was about 5:45 and we had some where we needed to be at 6:30 so I was seriously considering having my family eat cold cereal for dinner that night.

Then my brain started to function properly and I remembered I have all this amazing food right here at my fingertips and all I have to do is scoop and dump! So I decided to make chicken and dumplings! This has always been a family favorite in our house but before THRIVE it was never this fast and easy and to be honest this good either! I love the addition of the Veloute Sauce, it is a perfect thickener as well as adding the perfect amount of seasoning, love, love, love it!

So to make a long story short we were able to have homemade Chicken and Dumplings in about 15 min and had everything cleaned up and ready to head out the door by 6:30, plus this wonderfully warm tasty meal was just what I needed for my cold and much much better than having cereal for dinner and just as fast and easy! I hope you try it soon and let me know what you think!

~Rachel

THRIVE Chicken & Dumplings

Ingredients:

10 cups water

1 cup THRIVE Veloute Sauce

8 -10 tsp THRIVE Chicken Bouillon

2 cups THRIVE Chopped Chicken 

1 cup THRIVE Green Peas

1 cup THRIVE Sweet Corn

1/2 cup THRIVE Celery

1/2 cup THRIVE Chopped Onion

1/2 cup THRIVE Carrot Dices

Salt and Pepper to taste

Dumplings:
2 cups THRIVE Flour 
1 teaspoon THRIVE Salt
Ice water
Directions:
Fill large stock pot with 10 cups water and place on stove over medium high heat. Whisk in
Veloute Sauce and Chicken Bouillon until dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil. While waiting for soup to boil prepare the dumplings.
To prepare the dumplings: Mix the flour with the salt and mound together in a mixing bowl. Beginning at the center of the mound, drizzle a small amount of ice water over the flour. Using your fingers, and moving from the center to the sides of the bowl, gradually incorporate about 3/4 cup of ice water. Knead the dough and form it into ball.
Pull off a piece and drop into the simmering soup. Repeat. Gently stir motion so the dumplings become submerged and cook evenly. Cook until the dumplings float and are no longer doughy, 3 to 4 minutes. ***If you aren't a fan of the larger ball type dumplings then you can roll out the dough and cut into 1in square pieces and drop those into the pot one at a time as well***
Season to taste. Serve immediately and enjoy a healthy delicious dinner made in only 15 minutes!

Beef and Rice One Skillet Meal

Beef and Rice One Skillet Meal

I love easy meals I can throw together quickly and taste good.  This one fits the bill.  It is a nutritious One Skillet Meal using Thrive FD Beef with several Thrive Vegetables,  Thrive Brown Rice and Thrive Espagnole Sauce.

Beef Rice Skillet Meal

adapted from recipe by Kay Curtiss

Thrive Products

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup Thrive FD Cooked Beef Dices
1/2 cup Thrive FD Green Beans

1/2 cup Thrive FD Asparagus
1/2 cup Thrive FD Red Bell Pepper
1/2 cup Thrive FD Cauliflower
1/4 cup Thrive FD Green Chili Peppers

1/4 cup Thrive FD Celery
1/4 cup Thrive FD Onions
3 Cups Water
1 T. Thrive Beef Bouillon
1/2 t. Thrive Peppercorn Blend
1/2 t. Rosemary (optional)
2-3 T. Olive Oil
1/2 T. Minced Garlic
1/2 c. diluted white wine vinegar (**or substitute-see below)

2 cups Thrive Instant Brown Rice
Meat/Veggie juice + water to make 2 cups
1/4 cup Espagnole Sauce
1/2 cup water

**Dry (un-sweet) white wine substitutions:

-    White Wine
-    Water
-    Chicken broth, bouillon or consommé
-    Ginger ale
-    White grape juice
-    Diluted cider vinegar

Directions:

Put Beef and Veggies in bowl.  Mix 3 cups water, beef bouillon, peppercorn blend and rosemary.  Pour over beef and veggies to reconstitute, about 10 minutes, stirring 2-3 times.  Drain Beef mixture, reserving any extra liquid.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil.  Add minced garlic and saute for about 30 seconds.  Add drained Beef mixture and saute it the garlic for 2-3 minutes.  Add Beef mixture juice + water to 2 cups and bring to a simmer.

 Add 1/2 cup more water and 1/4 cup Espagnole Sauce then Add instant brown rice.  Cover and simmer 5 minutes.  Stir and then cover and simmer another 2-3 minutes until rice is tender.

Enjoy!

Note:  You can mix any number of Thrive Vegetables in place of the Veggies used in this recipe, i.e.,  Zucchini, Broccoli, Tomato Dices, etc. would be good too.


**Dry (un-sweet) white wine substitutions:
-    Water
-    Chicken broth, bouillon or consommé
-    Ginger ale
-    White grape juice
-    Diluted cider vinegar or white wine vinegar

Happy March & THRIVE Specials

Happy 1st of March! Is it just me or is time FLYING?

I'm really excited about this month. I’m working hard on my blog planning and posting relevant and informative, and hopefully entertaining posts for you. I've also got some vendor events I'm working as well and would love to have you come by and say HI! 

Anyway…speaking of great stuff….

This months Thrive Specials are something I’m really excited about, and taking advantage of the monthly specials is a great way to build your HomeStore!

Let me tell you about a few of these….

How many times have you purchased zucchini for a recipe and had it go bad in the fridge? Poor zucchini…and I must admit, I am guilty of zucchini-cide. I'm excited to say the Q-pon item this month is the Freeze Dried Zucchini.  I'll be posting some recipes that use zucchini this month for you, and that price is fantastic, so it would be the perfect time to try it out, or stock up.

The Shredded Cheddar Cheese and the Freeze Dried Sausage Crumbles are two of the main reasons my husband was on board with living a THRIVEing Life. The man likes his meat and cheese! Coincidently I love them too and use them all the time. I use them in soups, on pizza, in breakfast skillets…these are one of the most versatile Thrive products I have. Using just a handful in any dish gives it a punch of rich flavor.

Whole Egg Powder is one of those pantry staples that is a must have. I use it in all my baking to replace fresh eggs . You can't even tell that fresh eggs weren't used, so it’s another…yeah, favorite. NonFat Powdered Milk is another pantry staple for your baking needs, this is great to use in place of your regular milk in your baking recipes.

Vanilla Yogurt Bites ... I love all of the flavors, but the vanilla are so versatile..they can be added to anything…smoothies, trail mix, fruit and yogurt parfait, I've even thrown some into a bowl of my DIY Instant Oatmeal, which I will post about soon!  They.Are.Yum. You may even catch me eating them by the hand full straight out of the can, just don't tell my kids! 

Mangos, Peaches, and Cherries are on sale this month and I use these so often that I will definitely be stocking up. Again, in recipes like the smoothies, trail mix, fruit and yogurt parfait, Instant Oatmeal they are fantastic, or even just out of the can for a quick, healthy snack the kids will rave about, and you'll feel good about.

I haven't tried the 9 Grain Cereal yet but we do love the 10 Grain Pancake Mix!  

So there are just a few thoughts on the March Specials. Order them through your Q, or if you don't have a Q, contact me to learn more, or to order at these prices. The best deal can be obtained by ordering through your Thrive Independent Consultant, and that would be me. I'd love help you decide which Thrive products would be great for your family.

I'd love to hear from you, so feel free to post questions, tell me which of these is your favorite Thrive food, or even send me a favorite recipe of your own to have it THRIVILIZED.

THRIVE Chicken Vegetable Curry

Hey Guys! 

I hope you are all doing well! I have another recipe to share with you today, we made this last night for dinner and again (I know I say this every time) it turned out great and I love love love how easy everything comes together with THRIVE! So check out the recipe below and enjoy a fast easy healthy delicious meal with THRIVE! 

p.s. one of the great things about THRIVE is that the substitution ratio is about the same to fresh so if you don't have a full stocked Homestore yet, don't worry you can still make the great dish!  If you are ready to stock your Homestore just give me a shout and I'll help you out! 

THRIVE Chicken Vegetable Curry by Sariah Schmickrath

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. oil
½ c. THRIVE™ Chopped Onions
3 cloves pressed garlic
1 tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
1 tbsp. curry powder (heaping)
1 tsp. cumin
½ tsp. turmeric (optional)
3 c. water
3 tsp. THRIVE™ Chicken Bouillon
½-1 c. THRIVE™ Chopped Chicken or Season Chicken Slices
½ c. THRIVE™ Green Chili Peppers
½ c. THRIVE™ Tomato Dices
½ c each of 3-4 other vegetables of choice

1 can coconut milk

Instructions:
Heat oil on low and add onions; stir for a minute or less to brown slightly. Add garlic, ginger, curry, cumin, and turmeric and stir. Add water and bouillon and bring to a simmer.

Add chicken, peppers, tomatoes, and about ½ cup each of 3 or 4 other vegetables (I like to use THRIVE Asparagus, Zucchini, Cauliflower, Mushrooms, Peas or  Red BellPeppers). Stir in coconut milk and heat through. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve over THRIVE Instant White or Brown Rice.

You Tube Demonstration Video  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM2A5oSInVc&feature=youtu.be

Loaded Beef Burritos with Enchilada Sauce

Doesn't this picture just make your mouth water! Well it should, I can attest to the deliciousness of this recipe, we had it for dinner tonight and it was GOOD! We often take dinner with us when we go to my in laws on Sunday evenings and of course I use THRIVE to try and showcase the food for them and this was no exception! 

Not only is the burrito made from scratch with THRIVE but the Enchilada Sauce is as well and it too was DELICIOUS! I doubled the burrito recipe, but didn't need to double the sauce recipe, there was plenty for my whole family and let me just tell you everyone from my in laws down to my 15 mth old including my picky 4 year old at it without any complaints! I LOVE it when that happens! In fact my Father In Law commented on how tender the beef was!!   

So next time you are looking for something to make for dinner give these recipes a try and you won't be disappointed!  

Enchilada Sauce 

http://www.thrivelife.com/c/kitchen/recipe/enchilada-sauce

Loaded Beef Burritos

https://www.thrivelife.com/c/kitchen/recipe/loaded-beef-burritos

15 Reasons Why your Food Bill is Going to Start Soaring AND How to Beat it!

CHECK OUT THIS ARTICLE!!! 

http://investmentwatchblog.com/15-reasons-why-your-food-bill-is-going-to-start-soaring/#HwWdr11gWu9HYK66.01

I've always been interested in preparedness and love to can/bottle & keep trying to master the gardening thing but this is yet another reason I'm thankful for THRIVE!

As a consultant for Thrive Life I feel it's my duty & privilege to help you build up a home store of shelf stable nutritious & delicious Freeze Dried foods! Having your own home store means you don't have to worry about the rising food prices because you locked in your price for the next 25 years!

The best way to stock your home store is by becoming a Q customer! You pick what items you want that fit within the budget you set and it is shipped right to your door each month! In the article it talks about the dwindling numbers of beef cattle being raised but you can secure ground beef today with this months "Q-pon" and get a #10 can for $36.99 instead of the regular price of $49.29.    

If you are interested please message me or take a look at my website to find out more, the thought of my children going hungry or not getting the right nutrition is more than reason enough for me! 

Kick your Dinner Up a Notch with some Southwestern Farfalle Pasta!

Hello my THRIVING Friends! 

I just wanted to share with you another fast, easy and delicious THRIVE Recipe! I made this for dinner last night and it was/is fantastic! ( I'm eating it for lunch today too) This pasta dish can be served warm or cold, I didn't want to wait for it to chill last night so we ate it warm, but today I'm eating it cold (like recommended) and is great both ways. In true Southwest fashion this dish has some kick to it and I love the beautiful vibrant color combination you get with the red and green bell peppers as well as the yellow corn and the black beans!  This pasta dish was filling by itself and has the protein from the beans but I think I might try adding some of the chopped chicken to it next time! This is definitely a keeper and again I had a healthy delicious meal on the table ready for my family is less than 30 min, thank you THRIVE!

~Rachel

Southwestern Farfalle Pasta

by Todd Leonard CEC on Sep 30 2013

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• Main Dishes

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A fantastic Southwestern variation on cold pasta salad!

Prep Time

20 minutes

Yield

14 servings
Calculate recipe for Source

Chef Todd Leonard

Ingredients

• 3 1⁄2 c thrive rainbow farfalle pasta
• 1 c thrive instant black beans
• 1⁄3 c thrive chopped onions (fd)
• 1 3⁄4 c water
• 1 c thrive sweet corn (fd)
• 1⁄2 c thrive tomato dices (fd)
• 2 T thrive cilantro (fd)
• 1⁄2 c thrive green bell peppers (fd)
• 1⁄2 c thrive red bell peppers (fd)
• 1 t chili powder
• 1 t cumin
• 1 T lime juice
• 1 T cholula hot sauce
• 1⁄2 t thrive iodized salt
• 1 1⁄2 c additional water
• 1⁄2 c thrive sour cream + 1/2 c. water
• 1⁄2 c mayonnaise
• 2 T barbecue sauce

Instructions

Cook pasta until tender in salted water. Cool in strainer under cold water. Cook beans, onions and 1 ¾ cups water together for 5 minutes. Cool in strainer under cold water. Combine beans and pasta and set aside.

Combine all vegetables, seasonings, and 1 ½ cups water in a bowl and allow to soak (do not drain).Mix sour cream, mayonnaise, and barbecue sauce together and stir well. Combine all mixtures and stir well. Chill before serving.

Irish Beef Stew THRIVE Style!

So like most days I was browsing on Pinterest and finding all kinds of things that I think I might try "someday" but when I came across this recipe from Detours In Life I knew this was one that I was going to try right away! The reason I knew I wanted to try it is because as I was reading it I just keep thinking to myself I could use THRIVE for all of this and in a fraction of the time, so that is exactly what I did!

In the original recipe she browns the meat and then throws everything in the crock pot for 6 hours, not don't get me wrong, I love a good crock pot recipe but to be honest the days I wish I had dinner ready in the crock pot are usually the days when things are crazy and I'm thinking about dinner just about the time we should really be getting ready to eat, but not to fear THRIVE to the RESCUE!!!

So here is my THRIVE-ALIZED  version of Irish Beef Stew & Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:
2 cups THRIVE Cooked Beef, Diced (fd)
1/3 cup THRIVE Green Peas (fd)
1/3 cup THRIVE Carrot Dices (dehydrated)
1/4 cup THRIVE Chopped Onion (fd)
1/4 tsp Rosemary
1/4 tsp Thyme
2 cloves minced garlic
5 tsp THRIVE Beef Bouillon 
5 cups water
2-4 Tbs THRIVE Espagnole: Savory Beef Gravy
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:
1. In medium stock pot add all ingredients listed above except the Espagnole Sauce and bring to a boil over med high heat. Stir occasionally.
2. Reduce heat and simmer for about of 15 min, checking and stirring every 5 min or so.
3. At the end of the 15 min some of the excess liquid will have boiled off now you may stir in the Espagnole Sauce to thicken up the liquid giving it more of a gravy thickness and texture.  
4. Turn off heat and let sauce thicken.

While you are waiting for your stew to thicken, you can whip up your mashed potatoes!

THRIVE Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:
4 cups water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 cup THRIVE Instant Milk reconstituted
6 Tbs THRIVE Butter Powder
4 cups THRIVE Potato Beads

Directions:
1.Heat water, salt, butter, and milk over med heat
2. Gradually stir in the potato beads till moistened, do not over beat.
3. For creamier potatoes add more milk.

So there you have it! In about 20 mins you have a delicious "Hearty" meal to keep you warm on those cold winter nights! The best part is my whole family loved it including my "super picky, never wants to eat dinner" 4 year old! In fact he wasn't even the last one done and even my 13 month old was eating it off Daddy's plate, so I besides being fast and easy that makes this a WIN in my book. Thank you THRIVE!