I just finished 12 Clean Pages by Nika Maples. It is an outstanding read. I would love to believe I could do justice in giving my book review but that just isn't the case. Here is a review that is a great sneak peek of what you can expect when you go read it yourself!! You can buy it here.
Now, go read this review!!!
The Goode Word: Twelve Clean Pages, by Nika Maples: Nika Maple's story represents "Victory in Jesus" with vivid clarity and heart-touching emotion that makes her memoir almost impossible to ...
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Paleo cobbler... YUM... except for this last time I made it
Cobbler... one can't go wrong with cobbler. Dump a bunch of fruit on the bottom of a deep dish pie pan, add cake mix/pastry crumbles/homemade paleo-approved crumbles/etc. Bake in the over at 350 for about 30 minutes and BAM! You're done. Delicious dessert on your plate in no time. Well... not exactly this time around.
Every Sunday we head over to our friends' house for dinner/fellowship/bonding time. We share the responsibilities in meal preparation including entree/sides/dessert/bottle of wine. This time around I was to bring a pork tenderloin that we would grill once we got to their house (they have a great patio and you can't beat the weather right now) and the dessert. At home I had already thawed the tenderloin and portioned out the makings of the cobbler. The topping was prepped with one whole egg sitting atop the mixture for cushion during our ride over there. Instead of doing one specific fruit, I had mixed together 1 cup blueberries, 1 cup raspberries and 1 cup pomegranate seeds. (YUM!)
We arrived at the house and unpacked our belongings. The guys started on the grill and I began working on dessert while M prepped the salad and sides. I quickly realized that I FORGOT the fruit. Uhhhhh..... Seriously, C? You forgot the fruit? Oh. My. Word!
B offered to run to the store to get some other frozen fruit. What a savior. The dessert looks yummy... but frozen bags of fruit only come portioned in 2.5 c bags. The cobbler this time around was quite 'crumbly' to say the least. We all ate it with smiles on our faces but it wasn't near as good as before. So now you all have the FYI -- make sure there are at least 3 cups of fruit (I would recommend closer to 4 if you have a deep dish pie pan. It tastes so much fruitier! :) Enjoy!!
Every Sunday we head over to our friends' house for dinner/fellowship/bonding time. We share the responsibilities in meal preparation including entree/sides/dessert/bottle of wine. This time around I was to bring a pork tenderloin that we would grill once we got to their house (they have a great patio and you can't beat the weather right now) and the dessert. At home I had already thawed the tenderloin and portioned out the makings of the cobbler. The topping was prepped with one whole egg sitting atop the mixture for cushion during our ride over there. Instead of doing one specific fruit, I had mixed together 1 cup blueberries, 1 cup raspberries and 1 cup pomegranate seeds. (YUM!)
We arrived at the house and unpacked our belongings. The guys started on the grill and I began working on dessert while M prepped the salad and sides. I quickly realized that I FORGOT the fruit. Uhhhhh..... Seriously, C? You forgot the fruit? Oh. My. Word!
B offered to run to the store to get some other frozen fruit. What a savior. The dessert looks yummy... but frozen bags of fruit only come portioned in 2.5 c bags. The cobbler this time around was quite 'crumbly' to say the least. We all ate it with smiles on our faces but it wasn't near as good as before. So now you all have the FYI -- make sure there are at least 3 cups of fruit (I would recommend closer to 4 if you have a deep dish pie pan. It tastes so much fruitier! :) Enjoy!!
PS: I found this recipe at where else than Everyday Paleo! The first time I made this, I followed the recipe to a "T." Since then I have decided I like to add more fruit, and a variety at that. I also do not add the milk to it at the end. I like it as is with nothing else to it. Good luck and happy baking!
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
What is happening with the world???
For people that have known me for a long time, what I am about to share with you is a BIG DEAL.
I made steaks last night for dinner, beef loin tri tip steaks to be exact... and not just for B... I made these with the full intentions of eating it. Oh. My. Goodness. What is happening with the world? Six months ago I wouldn't have considered this and yet here we are now. They turned out okay. I surely did not really know what I was doing so I guess for this time around all that matters is that I tried!
Catherine's steak smothered in mushrooms and onions & Brian's just plain Jane.
The original plan with dinner was homemade paleo chicken 'noodle' soup. I found that recipe here.
I started out by heating the dutch oven and adding some coconut oil. I noticed that we were all out of chicken broth (I am not about to boil bone or carcass or anything of the sort. I would most likely throw up in doing/touching/seeing this process so I stick with pre-made broth and AM NOT ASHAMED!) so I had to find an alternate... that's is where Sprouts beef broth came in handy.
We used carrots, celery, zucchini squash and yellow squash. I did not have parsley so we went without and didn't notice a thing about it. I did add the egg at the end for the "noodles" and would most likely leave that out next time. All in all, it was good and an adventure in cooking.
On another note, can anyone tell I'm a fan of TEXAS? (And traveling... shout out to Veeves and our Bulgaria/Turkey extravaganza too!)
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Paleo Turkey bacon pork chops
I am trying to learn how to effectively use a crock pot. I'll be quite honest, it's not my gift. I have tried and tried and I tend to find that most recipes are not that great. However, the rumor is that crock pots should be awesome... so I keep trying! And this is what happened:
Crock pot pork chops, wrapped in turkey bacon, with garlic and spicy mustard. I found the general idea from... where else??... PINTEREST. I tend to lean more towards veggies then meats and have been that way for a long time. One of the things that I determined was that if I were going to faithfully do Paleo, I was going to need to try to eat more meats. Now, that being said, I think you can be successful eating Paleo and being a vegetarian. I however, being married to a man who doesn't really cook and doesn't really eat veggies... needed to try to find common ground. So far, we have been happy meeting each other half way. He is probably eating far more veggies than ever before and I am eating more meat than before.
The original recipe calls for: 3 boneless, skinless pork chops
- 6 pieces of bacon- 1 T dijon mustard
- 1/2 T red chili paste (or red chili flakes work, too)
- 1 20 oz. can pineapple (or one pineapple cut up, if you're one of those ambitious people who cuts up their own pineapple.)
What I did:
3 boneless, skinless pork chops
As many pieces of turkey bacon as I needed to make sure the chops were covered (about 2 a piece)
Spicy mustard
Sprinkle of red pepper flakes
Minced Garlic
1 cup of organic chicken stock & the juice from 1-20 oz can of shredded pineapple
Large spoonful of shredded pineapple on top of each pork chop
Moral of the story: Brian called me the next day after lunch and told me they were absolutely delicious! That made my day. I had 1/2 of one pork chop for dinner that night and took the other 1/2 for lunch the next day. I tend to find that with all the recipes I make for just the 2 of us that there are always leftovers. So be aware. Good luck and enjoy!
Monday, April 2, 2012
Paleo Fruit & Nut bars... reminds me of Starbucks
As you know... I'm a fan of Everyday Paleo. This is the book that got me started on our journey into Paleo. I go to her blog a couple times a week to look for new recipes. One of my flaws is that I am a snacker. I know it isn't always good but, man I have a sweet tooth! I am trying my darnedest to find 'sweet tooth' fixes that still fit within Paleo. I found the recipe for Fruit N' Nut bars and decided to try it out.
½ cup raw almonds
1 cup raw pecans
¼ teaspoon sea salt
12 Medjool dates
1 cup dried apricots (unsweetened)
I went with:
1/2 cup raw almonds
1 cup raw pecans
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
10-12 Medjool dates cut up
1/2 cup dried prunes & craisins
I tend to take a recipe that I find online and make it with what I like or what I have on hand. Brian and I both take these every day for work as a snack. They are filling and yummy... they also don't have any added sugar which I love!
The directions are here if you want to try it yourself. Enjoy! :)
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Paleo waffles
This morning after waking up I got the question, "what's for breakfast?". This was my cue to know that he was not planning on making himself eggs like he tends to do each morning. I mentioned that I had seen recipes for different Paleo pancakes and/or waffles. His statement, "that would be great". Well... there we have it then. I would just looovvvveeee to make you breakfast. (Stated in full sarcasm!) :)
He agreed to clean his bathroom (can we say ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING) if I made breakfast. I went into the kitchen with my laptop and googled 'Paleo waffles'. I came across the recipe by Juli at PaleoOMG! We had pretty much all the ingredients so I ventured into the first of my paleo breakfast makings that are not eggs or sweet potato hash.
We had all the ingredients but arrowroot (have no idea what that is) so used coconut flour instead. I googled arrowroot to actually figure it out. The recipe is a little thicker consistency than what I am used to when using Bisquick. It smelled delicious (like cookies or muffins). I was able to make 2 waffles with the mixture. I cut one in half for me and gave the other 1.5 to B. I enjoyed them with a splash of maple syrup. B was not a fan but graciously ate one of the waffles. He threw away the rest.
I paired mine with some homemade green smoothie (leftover from yesterday) and black tea. Brian made homemade OJ with the Vitamix and black tea.
This has been a fun journey just learning what both of us do and do not like. I would possibly make these again if I were craving waffles/breads but not for B.
On another note, after church today I decided to go for a jog. I did 4 miles and it kicked my butt. It's already getting a little too hot by the middle of the day. Not that I am complaining... I love the heat! Brian went about an hour after me and said to felt wonderful. Maybe the breeze was different... My goal is to make it to spin class tomorrow morning before work. Wish me luck!
Make it a great rest of your Sunday!
He agreed to clean his bathroom (can we say ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING) if I made breakfast. I went into the kitchen with my laptop and googled 'Paleo waffles'. I came across the recipe by Juli at PaleoOMG! We had pretty much all the ingredients so I ventured into the first of my paleo breakfast makings that are not eggs or sweet potato hash. We had all the ingredients but arrowroot (have no idea what that is) so used coconut flour instead. I googled arrowroot to actually figure it out. The recipe is a little thicker consistency than what I am used to when using Bisquick. It smelled delicious (like cookies or muffins). I was able to make 2 waffles with the mixture. I cut one in half for me and gave the other 1.5 to B. I enjoyed them with a splash of maple syrup. B was not a fan but graciously ate one of the waffles. He threw away the rest.
I paired mine with some homemade green smoothie (leftover from yesterday) and black tea. Brian made homemade OJ with the Vitamix and black tea.
This has been a fun journey just learning what both of us do and do not like. I would possibly make these again if I were craving waffles/breads but not for B.
On another note, after church today I decided to go for a jog. I did 4 miles and it kicked my butt. It's already getting a little too hot by the middle of the day. Not that I am complaining... I love the heat! Brian went about an hour after me and said to felt wonderful. Maybe the breeze was different... My goal is to make it to spin class tomorrow morning before work. Wish me luck!
Make it a great rest of your Sunday!
Paleo Fig Pinwheels
As I mentioned yesterday...I love pinterest (because of Chez!). I now frequent that website more than facebook or my email. :) I. Am. A. FAN!! I have actually made several recipes that I find either from Everyday Paleo or online. Everyday Paleo has a 30 day meal plan that actually gives you grocery shopping lists. Its amazing!
Sundays tend to be my baking (happy place) day. Last week I made crock pot pork chops, fig pinwheels and Fruit N' Nut bars. All homemade. All Paleo.
I found the Pinwheels on Pinterest by Primal Palate. To find the recipe online, go here. I feel like I am more adventurous now than ever before and continue to find yummy recipes that Brian actually likes too. The Pinwheels actually turned out super yummy but not at all pretty. They taste like fig newtons with no sugar!
As you can see... they are not the most attractive cookies ever made... but they are moist, sweet and yummy. I have a sweet tooth so I needed to find recipes that could still 'fulfill my needs'. I let the dough stay in the freezer for one hour (the recipe recommended for 20 to 30 minutes) but it would not really harden. The dough rolled just fine with the fig spread but when I cut it they smashed done.
Try them. They're good. Yummy. And no sugar!
Sundays tend to be my baking (happy place) day. Last week I made crock pot pork chops, fig pinwheels and Fruit N' Nut bars. All homemade. All Paleo.
I found the Pinwheels on Pinterest by Primal Palate. To find the recipe online, go here. I feel like I am more adventurous now than ever before and continue to find yummy recipes that Brian actually likes too. The Pinwheels actually turned out super yummy but not at all pretty. They taste like fig newtons with no sugar!
As you can see... they are not the most attractive cookies ever made... but they are moist, sweet and yummy. I have a sweet tooth so I needed to find recipes that could still 'fulfill my needs'. I let the dough stay in the freezer for one hour (the recipe recommended for 20 to 30 minutes) but it would not really harden. The dough rolled just fine with the fig spread but when I cut it they smashed done.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)