Quinoa Obsession!

I feel like I've abandoned my blog this week! Eeek! I've still been busy cooking, baking, crafting, and most importantly mommy-ing, but I haven't had the time or focus to sit down and write =/ My house was looking good and then yesterday it appeared that a bomb went off, the worst part is my Swiffer Wet Jet is dead. My parents just picked up my kids for the night and I hoped to get everything sorted out while they're gone, but I decided to open a bottle of Angry Orchard instead...ooops!

On to more important things! Life is full of lessons and I'm trying to make the choice to learn from them, this goes for many things in my life. Most relevant to this blog are lessons focused on food! I keep reading about food and what you put into your body and most importantly what I fill my kids bellies with. We are not going completely junk free, in fact Mr.M had a doughnut from Dunkin Donuts today, he was quite the trooper this week and ate all the healthy food put in front of him (he even said he loved the cookies). I started actually looking at labels, what the heck are half the things in non-stick spray or jelly!?! Parchment paper is the way to go! There are so many super helpful blogs out there to help you educate yourself and change and that's just what I'm trying to do!

This week we explored quinoa! The only thing we usually have quinoa in is tabbouleh, well that changed this week. Did you know it's a perfect protein?! I didn't!

 First I tried it for breakfast...

You'll need-

2 cups quinoa

water

1 cinnamon stick

1/4c Pecans

strawberries

blueberries

lime

1/2C honey

-Dice the pecans and add them to a pan with the quinoa, let it get a good color, it takes maybe 3-5 minutes

-Then leaving the pecans in and adding a cinnamon stick cook according to package (add to boiling water and let it cook about 15min)

-Slice up strawberries 

-When the quinoa is cool move it to a bowl and add the berries

-Mix the juice of the lime and honey and pour over quinoa

Super easy and super healthy!

For lunch one day I had quinoa with olive oil, lemon, and sea salt!

And last, but definately not least I made quinoa coconut chocolate chip cookies. Possibly the best cookies I've ever had! They are so fluffy and moist, I was pretty surprised

(after spending way too attempting to crop this photo I have decided it cannot be done)

I found the wonderful recipe for this on loves food loves to eat.

Some of the ingredients were things I just did not have so here's my slightly altered recipe...

You'll need-

1 1/2c Flour

1tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2tsp baking powder

1/2c room temp unsalted butter

1/4c dark brown sugar

3tbs sugar

1/4c honey

2 eggs

1/2tsp vanilla

1/2tsp almond extract

1c cooked, cooled quinoa

1c semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2c shredded coconut

-Heat oven to 375
-Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl (EXCEPT chocolate and coconut)
-Combine all wet ingredients in mixer bowl
-Slowly add dry mixture to mixer bowl
-After completely blended fold in chocolate chips and coconut
-Place small balls of dough on a parchment covered tray and bake 10-12min



Have a great weekend! I'll be back with a doughnut recipe soon!

Chinese Chicken Salad

On Wednesday I made my first whole chicken in the crock pot. I knew I was leaving with the guys in the afternoon so I decided to try it. I just placed the chicken in the crock pot with 1/4C soy sauce, 1/4C honey, Thyme, Basil, Sage, a chopped onion, and a ton of garlic and let it go for 6 hours. It  was delicious! The most exciting part was that the meat completely fell off the bones, but the bones stayed together! I was able to pack up the extra chicken quickly!

This brings us to last night... I had a ton of extra chicken and wanted to make a nice salad. The Barefoot Contessa never lets me down ;) I tried her Chinese chicken salad and we loved it!

You'll need-

Cooked chicken

Olive oil

salt 

pepper

asparagus

red bell pepper

2 scallions

1TBS sesame seeds

For the dressing-

1/3C vegetable oil

1/4C Apple Cider Vinegar

3TBS soy sauce

1tsp dark sesame oil

1TBS honey

1 Garlic clove (chopped)

1tsp ginger (honestly I use the tube)

1/4C peanut butter

1tsp salt

1/2tsp pepper

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• This is slightly modified.
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• -Place cooked, broken up chicken in a bowl
• -Blanch Asparagus for 2-3 min and then quickly transfer to ice water
• -slice red pepper
• -combine all in bowl
• -mix remaining ingredients in a medium sized bowl and pour over salad-sprinkle with scallions and sesame seeds
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• I served this over a 50/50 blend. It was delicious! Yes, Mr.M did eat it!
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• 
  
• My morning time by myself is almost alone! Today it was cut short when I noticed Mr.M was awake when I went to head downstairs and he needed cuddles! I did get the most important morning things done (unloaded dishwasher, packed lunch, etc)
• 
  
• My morning water with lemon oil was chugged.
• Berries were washed.
• Banana chips were put in the oven.
• and now the day begins!
• Have good day!
• S
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• -

Clean Eating....maybe?

So we're about 13 days into making everything ourselves (meaning I make everything). My husband and I have each lost 5lbs! Kinda crazy! I'm not exactly sure why because we're not dieting by any means!

I've been reading a lot about clean eating and have realized we're really not that far from it. I do have to admit that I have a nasty one diet soda a day habit that I can't seem to kick =/ Right now I'm working on increasing my water intake and I have already started adding fiber. I feel like some things are starting to feel like more of a habit now and less of a struggle. I have a few pounds of baby weight left to go, but I think I can kick it within the next month, hopefully sooner! I have set a goal for Saturday to be the start of my "regular" running season...we'll see  how that one goes!

On another note, my "stuff" is coming along! I have nearly everything repainted! I just have to do the legs of our kitchen table. Here's a few pictures of my stuff...

This is laminate so I made sure to sand lightly and use a paint with primer. It was ugly barn red with red wooden knobs. I picked a  blue (addicted!) and some black knobs. I finished a few weeks ago and it has stood the test of time with a two year old!

Everything else I sprayed white using Rustoleum high gloss with primer. I did sand first and use Rustoleum primer before because everything was black. When the table is done I'll post another picture.

We've been working on some other fun things around here. Today we started our salt dough alphabet and the other day we made these

I stole the idea from pinterest (not sure where =/), but I used canvases that I had Mr.M paint with acrylics a while back.

I guess I'll finish my order and read a little bit more about clean eating before the Nashville finale =)

Have a great night!

S

Cherry Brownies

Well, Mother's Day came and went....so yesterday I went back to "work". I moved as fast as humanly possible during nap time to get my stuff for the week made! In two hours I managed to make Honey Oat bread, pretzels, iced tea, pickled eggs, and threw my Chicken Provencal in the crock pot. Like the last time I made them, my pretzels are almost gone already!

I searched and searched for a new bread recipe and settled on a recipe from Lauren's Latest. It was delicious! I'm pretty sure it's the best bread I've ever had!

I highly recommend trying this at home!

Today we hit the grocery store and had tubs at 2:30p! Everyone here seemed antsy, but they're good post-bath!

I just tried a brownie recipe I adapted from "Good & Fresh" magazine and it is wonderful! Who doesn't love chocolate-cherry combo! 

You'll need-

2/3 cup coconut oil

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup warm water

3/4 cup organic sugar

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup diced dried cherries

-Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 13x9 pan with coconut oil

-melt the coconut oil in the microwave

-Combine everything starting with coconut oil and cocoa powder and mix in a large bowl

-Pour into pan and bake for 20-25 min

Unlike boxed mixes, this really rises...more like cake I guess. Either way they taste great!

S

Happy Mother's Day!

We had such a busy day today! I'm too lazy to really post and we weren't really around, so I don't have much to say! I do want to say thank you to everyone who has sent me messages about the blog. I love that people are feeling inspired and trying my recipes!

I really want to keep this going and keep working on making EVERYTHING myself. I feel even more inspired today, I weighed myself for the first time in 11 days and without making any changes or dieting I lost 5 pounds! That's huge for a lady who's 13 weeks out from having a baby, now I just have a couple pounds to go =) I'm hoping that if I keep going things will keep improving for all of us!

So... I've been thinking, maybe I should start a challenge! I've participated in challenges from other bloggers before and really liked it. I did an Early Riser Challenge back in March with a blogger and completely changed my morning habits. I felt so good about my mornings that I've continued with rising early. Would anyone out there be interested in participating in some sort of challenge?? We can try and make positive changes together!

and Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there!

S

Profiteroles!

I'm hoping this will inspire you to make something tasty for Mother's Day! 

The other day I was watching Food Network and the wonderful Ann Burrell was on making a ton of delicious looking things at once! Her dessert was profiteroles! I cannot think of a time that I've had one, but they looked delicious and super easy!

 (this one was for Mr.M, if you can't tell by the Julius plate)

I'm guessing you have everything you need right now!

You'll need-

1/2 cup water

1/2 stick butter

1/2 cup flour

2 eggs

pinch of cinnamon

some kind of bag to get the dough on a tray...pastry bag, ziploc bag, whatever

-Preheat your oven to 425

-Bring the water and butter to a boil 

-Add the flour and mix like crazy! Once it becomes a ball move it to a bowl and let it rest 3-5min

-Add eggs one at a time, making sure the first is fully incorporated before adding the second, then add   cinnamon

-Put the dough in your bag and pipe 1 inch circles onto your cookie sheet which should be lined with parchment paper. Pat each circle down and form into shape with a wet finger.

This worked for me, but I did it from memory from Ann Burrell on Food Network.

I used Frozen Greek Yogurt in it and made my chocolate sauce by melting 2/3 bag of semi sweet chocolate chips in a double boiler and adding 2 TBS coconut oil.


They are so good! I ate so much while making these today that I was forced to have salad for dinner =)

What treats are you making for Mother's Day weekend?

S

Waffles!

After my morning yoga and picking up my car from the shop in our pjs today we came back and made waffles! 33 Waffles to be exact! I've never used a waffle iron before, so that was pretty interesting and MESSY! But, now I know what's in my kids waffles! I recently saw someone post about all the things in Eggos and it was pretty scary. They are Mr.M's favorite thing and he eats one nearly every day, so I really started worrying. I looked up easy waffle recipes and settled on one from Frugal Foodie.

In her directions she gives you the dry ingredients with the intention of storing the mix and making it on an as needed basis, but I wanted to make it even easier for our mornings! I just made it all!

 I used frugal foodie's ingredient list, but just used all white flour because we're out of wheat!

6 cups of white flour

4 tablespoons of sugar

4 tablespoons of baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

5 1/4 cups milk

1 1/2 cups canola oil

6 eggs 

3 tsp vanilla

and I added 1 cup chocolate chips

Then I got to it!

I made a horrible mess, I really didn't know how to use it, call me dumb, but I really didn't.

Mr.M got a little crazy during the 30+ min it took me to do this! Things like this happened...

in the end all these little messes were totally worth it!

I have 27 neatly packed waffles in my freezer! (we lost a couple and ate more than a few =/) 

I know every ingredient in them and I estimate I saved about $16. I had all ingredients on hand and borrowed my mom's waffle iron. 

Go make some waffles, they're way better homemade!

S

Pizza night!

My husband hates getting pizza! He complains about every single pizza we get =/ so we almost always make our own. On my quest to make everything I decided pizza dough was something I should make. I food the easiest recipe possible and it is great!

You literally dump everything together, mix and wait! 

I used All She Cooks recipe!

Like usual I made my own pizza sauce, which I think is way better than any that I've bought at the store.

(Please ignore the current state of my stove!)

Here's what I use-

1 TBS Olive Oil

2 garlic cloves

1 large can of Organic diced tomatoes

1 TBS dried basil

1 1/2 TBS honey

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 TBS dried oregano

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

pinch of salt

1 tsp black pepper

-put olive oil in the pan and when hot add the garlic, leave for about 1 min

-add the tomatoes and everything else let simmer for 8-10min

I then like to crush the tomatoes 

The first time I made this was because we were out of sauce, now I make it every time we have pizza!

I forgot to take a pic when it was whole! =/ But, I decided to caramelize some onions and use some frozen cauliflower.

Super easy and super cheap! I still have another ball of dough in the freezer too!

S

Granola bars

After destroying my DIY Larabars by dropping my spatula in the food processor I needed to make something else!

I was determined to not spend any money on ingredients, so granola bars were the answer!

You'll need-

1 1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup peanut butter

3/4 cup honey

1/2 cup chopped pitted dates

1/4 cup flax seed meal

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

-Put oats and almonds on a sheet pan and put under the broiler for 1-2 min, until the almonds start to brown

- Pour the honey in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 20 seconds, while warm add the peanut butter and honey

-Put all dry ingredients in a small baking dish then pour honey mixture over and mix (the chocolate will melt)

-Put in the refrigerator for 1 1/2 hours and then cut into tiny bars

These little hands enjoyed these! Next time I may try a little less honey, the chocolate acts as a great glue!

Back to teaching Mr.M about the smell of Spring rain...he's sniffing the open window saying it smells good =)

S

Adventures in food

So trying to save money and stay on track with meal planning has evolved into something different for me. I've become obsessed with making everything myself! I started reading about all the THINGS in our food, things that I have no idea what they are or what they do and because I fixate on things I really started to get freaked out!

As a result I have started to make everything myself! For three weeks I have successfully made all the bread we need, my plan is to bake bread every Sunday (it's just a little bit easier with D home)

This past Sunday I made our favorite bread, Honey-Yogurt bread and Corona cupcakes to celebrate Cinco de Mayo (I made sugar lime cupcakes for Mr.M)

I have realized this means a LOT more work for me, but I have to admit that I'm really having fun with it and luckily Mr.M likes to help and Mr.R is great at sleeping in the kitchen =)

The easiest thing to prep for and have on hand seems to be eggs and we are lucky enough to get fresh eggs from my mom's chickens

This week I pickled a dozen with my mom's recipe. My husband was thrilled =)

I've even gone so far as to ditch my Snapple Ice Tea addiction! I've started brewing my own and I love it! It lets me control how much sugar is in it. I didn't realize how good it is, so much better than using the Keurig too!

It's also helping save money. We were actually able to head to Home Depot without stopping at DD. Thanks to our handy (nerdy) travel cups!

Yes, my husband is a die hard Star Trek fan

Yesterday I was planning on making my Chinese chicken when I realized I had everything needed to make what the Barefoot Contessa was making =) We had delicious lemon thyme chicken!

So far today I have started granola bars and if they harden up like they should I'll share the recipe, they taste delicious! 

All my glass dishes are spoken for right now, forcing me to use a Christmas dish. I had started out making DIY Larabars until I dropped my spatula in and it was chopped into 1,000 tiny pieces...booo

Well, with so much to make and do around here my internet time has been majorly cut back! So that's all for today! There's still waffles and pizza dough to be made today (In the next hour while everyone is still napping!!!)