Fun at the Park!

Happy Weekend!

Our weekend started early as Aubrey had a gymnastics meet at the Wilderness at the Smokies convention center Friday morning.   She did a good job.  Although, there were some mishaps, and Aubrey wasn't happy with the results:(  After the meet, we went to the indoor water park and the Wilderness Adventure Forest, an indoor fun place.  While there, Aubrey had a big pretzel, and that got me thinking about making a whole wheat pretzel at home.  So, I looked up a recipe, and gave it a try.  The recipe comes from Mr. Alton Brown, and can be found on the following link: Homemade Soft Pretzel

Of course, we substituted whole wheat flour.  We sifted the flour and used about 3 and 3/4 Cups of the sifted flour. I think I will try it with 3 and 1/2 cups next time because it still looked a little dryer than I thought it should.

Here are our pictures of the pretzel adventure we took at home!

What the water, sugar, salt and yeast looked like after 5 minutes

kneading

We let it rise for 1 hour, cut into eighth's, and rolled into 24 inch rope

 

Shaped into pretzels, boiled for 30 seconds in water and baking soda.

Placed on pan, coated with egg wash and salt




Baked for 12 minutes



Final result......

 


They were so soft in the middle and had a good texture on the outside!  YUMMY :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

This morning, we had a heart healthy plate!  The plate consisted of whole wheat pancakes made with pureed strawberries to get that pinkish color,  heart shaped eggs, heart shaped apples and some bacon that wouldn't shape well.  Aubrey was ecstatic, but Kameron just wanted to eat!

Whole wheat strawberry pancakes

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 egg

3/4 C milk

10-12 pureed strawberries

Sift the flour into bowl; add egg, milk and pureed strawberries and whisk together.  Add more milk if needed.   Pour on hot, oiled griddle (or med/hot pan).  Brown on both sides.  Use a cookie cutter to shape or a serrated knife to cut into a shape.

ENJOY

Lucy came back for Valentine's Day!  

Valentine's Day Dinner

Steak with mushroom wine sauce, salad, broccoli and baked potato.  I used to make this mushroom sauce all the time with a cheaper beef.  Today, rib eye steaks were on sale, so Kris and Kameron got their favorite tonight.  Aubrey and I went with the grass fed organic sirloin which was also a good price.  

Mushroom Sauce: 

Ingredients: 2 T butter, 4 oz mushroom chopped, 1 clove garlic, 6 shallots cut in two, 3 T cooking sherry, 1 C organic beef broth, 1/2 C. organic whipping cream, 1/2 t. thyme, salt and pepper to taste

Directions: In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, garlic, and shallots.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms are tender, about 10 minutes.  Add the sherry and stir for a couple of minutes.  Add the broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced to about 1/2 cup, about 12 minutes.  Stir in the cream and simmer until the sauce is thickened, 6-8 minutes.  Stir in the thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Set aside and keep warm.

Tonight, we used our homemade bar-b-que sauce on our crock pot pork ribs.  With that, we had grilled homemade pita bread, roasted red potatoes with rosemary, and coleslaw.  I made up a new coleslaw recipe but didn't really measure the ingredients well, but I will estimate :)  This meal was very filling!

Coleslaw
1 head cabbage
1/4 C. real mayonnaise (make it yourself, or Trader Joes has a good one)
1 T. Dijon Mustard
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
3 T. apple cider vinegar
4 T. dill pickle relish (I had to chop up some dill spears we had)
2T honey (I did two swirls)

Cut the cabbage to put in food processor. Chop cabbage in food processor.  Put cabbage in a bowl and add all other ingredients.  Stir well and taste.  Put in refrigerator for 30 min. before serving.

For dessert, we had homemade ice cream made with real maple syrup.  Aubrey said this was the best ice cream!  I told her to tell the boys it was ready and she whispered to the boys (who were downstairs in the basement) that it was ready so they wouldn't hear ;)


Recipe:
1 C. organic heavy whipping cream
1/2 C. real maple syrup
2 C. unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 t. vanilla flavoring
1/2 C. unsweetened cocoa

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and transfer to ice cream maker.

Meatball Soup:  This came from a stop at Publix.  It's a good veggie soup with a yummy meatball.  I changed the meatball recipe so it did not have bread crumbs, but you could put in Italian bread crumbs and it would be delish as well!

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped (I used 2 tsp crushed)
1 1/2 lb lean ground meat, 1 egg, beaten (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato pesto
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper, divided
1 tablespoon olive
1 onion
3 cups fresh spinach leaves
1 cans cannellini beans (15–19 oz), drained
1 (32-oz) box unsalted chicken stock

3 celery chopped
1-2 bell peppers chopped

Combine ground beef, egg, tomato pesto, ricotta, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until blended. Shape into 1-inch meatballs (about 25–30); wash hands! Preheat large stockpot on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Place oil in pan, then add meatballs (in batches); cook and turn 6–8 minutes or until browned. Remove meatballs from pan and set aside. Add diced onion, celery and bell pepper and garlic to pan; cook and stir 2–3 minutes or until onions soften. Add spinach; cook 2–3 minutes or until spinach begins to wilt. Reduce heat to medium-low; stir in beans, stock, meatballs and remaining 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper; simmer 5–7 minutes or until meatballs are 160°F and soup is hot.

Put leftovers in single serve containers into the freezer and it's an easy lunch to grab if needed!

My friend Brooke shared this idea with me too.  We had some last night while finally watching the second Hunger Games

First, your drain your bacon grease from Kameron's much wanted bacon in the morning.  I found some no preservative bacon with only 6 grams of fat for 2 pieces.  Kroger's "Simple Truth Organic"

Then, you put it in a large pot with your popcorn kernels on medium heat.  

Let it pop, pop, pop, pop

I put a little salt on top and enjoyed as we watched the movie :)

Hello! It's Feb 11, 2014

Happy Winter!

This is the second week we have had "winter weather- no school days".  I'm not sure that we will go back this week at all, so that gives me plenty of time to start this blog and let you see what we are cooking!  Aubrey, my 7 year old daughter, is my little sous-chef.  She loves to help in the kitchen!  Today, we made homemade sugarless bar-b-que sauce for our crock pot ribs tomorrow, whole wheat pita's, and "power balls".  The recipes and pictures will follow.

Since beginning The Daniel Plan with friends, I have been trying to eat less process foods.   The Daniel Plan encourages to eat only whole foods and have half your plate full of veggies!  Following this plan for 6 weeks has made me feel very well, unstressed, and energized throughout the day!

Here are some recipes we have made.  Hope you enjoy!

Bar-B-Que Sauce Recipe

making the bar-b-que sauce

The Recipe:

1/2 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. olive oil
2 T. tomato paste
2 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 T. dijon mustard
1-2 tsp. chipotle with adobo, pureed in a food processor
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp. worcestershire sauce or soy sauce


In a pan, heat oil and sauté onions until translucent. Add garlic and cook for a couple of minutes careful not to burn. Add tomato paste and sauce and cook until you can smell the paste. Add all other ingredients and cook for 30 minutes until sauce thickens. Use an immersion blender to liquify the onions and make the sauce super smooth. Enjoy on your favorite meat.

The result:

  Whole Wheat Pita's: only 4 ingredients!

1 T. yeast
1 1/4 cup really warm water from the tap
1 tsp. salt
3-3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

In your stand mixer bowl, put in yeast and pour water over it. Let it sit for 5 minutes until frothy. Add salt and 1 1/2 cups of flour and mix on low with the dough hook until it turns into a batter. Add additional flour until the dough begins to pull away from the bowl. Mix on low speed for 8 minutes. It will begin to look really smooth. If this doesn't happen, add a little more flour.

Flour a work surface and turn dough onto it. Divide into 10 equal pieces.  Roll the dough into balls and flatten to 1/4 inch with rolling pin or glass. Don't make it too thin or they won't rise right. Let them rest on a couple sheets of parchment paper for 30-40 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Flip the pitas over so the flat side will be on top. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip pitas and cook for 5-10 more minutes until puffed and golden brown. Keep them in a food storage bag for a couple days or freeze.

Power Balls: 

A healthy quick snack that will keep you going! Or, Eat them for breakfast :)