Monday, May 9, 2011

S'ghettibows

I'm very much into quick meals for my daughter. That usually means canned or frozen foods, or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. One of her favorite meals is Spaghettio's, just a different brand. Annie's or something like that. I decided to try making my own for her. I always want to make up my own recipes, and I figured that this would be the easiest meal to 'make up'. I didn't measure all of the ingredients, but here's a list of what went in and the method I used.

S'ghettibows:

3 cans organic diced tomatoes
organic spinach
3 cloves garlic
fresh basil
oregano
1.5 cups. shredded cheese
organic beef broth
water
mini bow tie pasta

In a stock pot, combine vegetables and spices, simmer until tender. Add cheese and mix until melted. Add beef broth and/or water until you get a thick soup consistency. Run through a food processor to puree. Return to stock pot, add pasta and simmer until pasta is tender.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Best thing I ever ate...

I couldn't wait to write about this! I just ate the best cupcakes ever and I'm the one who made them! I can't believe it! If you love to bake and you've never checked out www.mybakingaddiction.com, you've GOT to. Jamie will turn you into a regular June Cleaver! I'm a table leader for the MOMS group at my church. One of the gals is having a birthday and we're doing a mini party for her. Since she LOVES Snickers bars, I decided to make Snickers Cupcakes. You really need to check it out! :) The best part is the mini Snickers bar in the middle! Oh! And the caramel butter cream frosting! And the caramel drizzle on top! I'm too tired to write any more, so here are some lovely pictures for you to look at!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

How do you get your hubby to eat brussels sprouts?

Quarter them and cook 'em in bacon! Tonight's Paleo dinner was a-mazingly good. Sun dried Tomato Chicken Bake and Brussels Sprouts w/ bacon. Yum, yum, yum. I was afraid of the Brussels sprouts. I hadn't had them since I was a kid and I hated them then. But, when you cook gross things in bacon grease with chopped bacon, suddenly it becomes edible! (And delicious.) This is my favorite paleo dish so far. It's been fun to cook new recipes, instead of the same ole stuff I've been cooking for years. *Recipe from www.everydaypaleo.com

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Almost Paleo Pizza

This evening, I made an 'Almost Paleo Pizza'. The almost part is the sauce. I made my own paleo friendly BBQ sauce, but it wasn't sweet and this pizza need a sweet sauce. I ended up using my trusty KC Masterpiece. This particular pizza is BBQ Chicken and Bacon. Aside from the obvious toppings, I added carmelized onions, cilantro, and goat cheese. (Note to self, goat cheese does not spread!) The crust is made from almond meal (ground up almonds), eggs, olive oil, and salt. It's nothing like 'real' pizza crust. But it's good. *Recipe from www.norcalsc.com

Another Paleo meal

Our second Paleo dinner was Pork Chops with Nectarine Chutney with aparagus. It wasn't my favorite, but it wasn't horrible...just different. Part of the issue was that the chutney was heated in coconut oil and there was the slightest hint of coconut and it tasted weird. I think next time I'll cook the chutney in butter. Can't go wrong with butter! *Recipe from www.paleodietlifestyle.com

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Give Paleo a chance.

This evening, I made my first true 'paleo' dish. Green Chicken Masala. It looks pretty gross in the picture (and in person), but it was really good. The sauce is made from coconut milk, coconut oil, cilantro, mint, lemon juice, garlic, onion, and jalapeno. It smelled pretty good as it was cooking, but I'm one of those people who literally judges a book by it's cover. There was no way I was going to take the first bite! DH dug in and said it was good, so I felt okay about trying it. (That's another thing about me, I HATE trying new food. I hate sharing food, too; but that is a different issue!) To my delight, it was a good meal. Easy and flavorful. The hardest part was not serving it with basmatti rice! This new diet is going to take some getting used to! I started taking all of the nutritional supplements from my nutritionist. I was kind of afraid that taking all of them would make me sick, but so far, they haven't. This is only Day 2, so no, you know, miracles, yet! (Like dropping 45 pounds overnight!) *Recipe from www.paleodietlifestyle.com