Week 64: Dairy is Not My Friend!

I've been browsing through pinterest over the last few days looking for interesting recipe ideas, but I'm literally blown away by the amount of recipes that have dairy as the main ingredient.  I know how most people feel about their milk, cheese, yogurt and ice cream, but it was really causing both my hubby and I pain and suffering to ingest dairy!  I am not completely dairy-free, but my husband has an allergy to milk protein, so I steer clear from it as much as possible.  I would say that I am on a low-lactose diet and it definitely agrees with me.

Zach helping put the frozen broccoli in the steamer! Broccoli is an awesome source of calcium!

It's a shame she doesn't love her broccoli!  LOL!  This girl has been eating broccoli for dessert since she was a toddler!

In my case, I seem to have trouble with milk, yogurt, ice cream and sometimes cheese.  I had an issue with lactose as an infant, so my mom never really pushed me to drink milk as a child.  I found that when I did drink milk, a milk shake or ice cream, I would suffer with severe sinus headaches within an hour of my meal (I especially noticed this around the time when I stopped eating dairy with my husband for the Paleo diet)!  It was awful!  Milk products also made any cold symptoms I had so much worse (as far as nasal drainage and coughing), so it wasn't a big deal to minimize my dairy intake.  However, I still use milk in baking and I find that I don't have any issues when milk is baked into my food.

Love this stuff!  It's not high in protein, but it is a great milk substitute in our house!

I think that, for most people, the answer lies in moderation.  Most people would not even correlate a sinus headache with a dairy intolerance, but I can tell you that there was a huge connection in my world.  Here's an article about dairy allergies: link.  For those of you who don't struggle with any health issues as a result of heavily processed food, you are so lucky!  Check out this story of a couple changed by the Paleo diet: http://bit.ly/OHfRPU

Week 64 Menu

Sunday - Chili with Chimichurri, salad, broccoli
Monday - Grilled pizzas (red sauce & pesto with no cheese for paleo man)

Tuesday -  Leftovers

Wednesday - Mexican beef, rice, black beans, seared zucchini
Thursday - Baked chicken legs, green beans, asparagus

Friday - Pork sirloin roast, cauliflower, potatoes and carrots

Saturday - Out to dinner?

Thanks for letting me get that out!  Now, I would be so excited to see some menus this week!  Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Sarah

Week 63: Grilled Chicken Legs

One of our favorite meals in the house is grilled chicken legs!  My kids flip for any food they can eat with their hands, so a favorite for them is chicken legs, corn on the cob and asparagus because they are all finger food!  We worked with what we had on hand tonight, so we couldn't do all finger food.  Emilie (our 6-year-old) was Daddy's big helper tonight, so she seasoned the chicken with Emeril seasoning, helped season the roasted potatoes and put the green beans in a steamer.  I can tell you she raved about her accomplishments all night and it was very sweet!

I'm getting a bit bored with my go-to menu items, so I'm trying to find some easy recipes that I can integrate into the weekly menu plans.  The picadillo is one my friend, Jeannie, made a few years ago.  It's great as-is on top of rice (or cauliflower for the Paleo man), but it's also delicious in tacos.  Picadillo has a much deeper, richer flavor than normal taco meat.  If you don't like all of the ingredients, it's easy enough to leave them out.  The other two just sound awesome.  I'm hopeful the slow-cooked pork will turn out great.  We can always use more crock pot meals!

Week 63 Menu

Sunday - Grilled chicken legs (pictured above), green beans, roasted potatoes

Monday - Picadillo, rice, roasted cauliflower

Tuesday -  Leftovers

Wednesday - Grilled mahi-mahi and some sides (not sure about them yet)
Thursday - Chinese slow-cooked pork shoulder, cabbage, bell peppers, rice (I'll post recipe if it's a good one)

Friday - Chili with Chimichurri, salad, broccoli

Saturday - Out to dinner?

Have a great week, everyone!

BTW - My blog post got featured on BlogHer Food page this week.  Check it out if you haven't already!   http://bit.ly/PV3rRu

Sarah

Week 62: Happy Labor Day!

Some weekends just don't turn out as you plan them, do they?  I was planning on traveling to visit my mom with the kiddos, sleep in and generally get a bit spoiled, but a stupid stomach bug had to invade my life and cancel all my awesome plans!  GRRRR!  Happy Labor Day!

Roasted asparagus with salt, pepper and olive oil!  Yummy! 

My husband and I are about to begin a fitness challenge this week!  I think he's participating in two separate challenges simultaneously.  The first is the just a general improve your endurance challenge using the Army Physical Fitness test at the beginning and the end of the 6 week challenge.  I had a total score of 201 (not great at all), but the idea is to improve over the next few weeks.  The test is a workout that included 2 minutes of push-ups, 2 minutes of sit-ups and a timed run for 2 miles.  The running totally did me in.  I barely passed on the sit-ups, but actually did fairly well 88/100 for the push-ups (that's my score, not how many push-ups I did, BTW).  ;)

The second challenge he's going is a CrossFit Challenge at his gym, so I'm on strict orders not to bake over the next month!  I absolutely hate being told 'not to bake.'  My first instinct is to run to my cookbook and bake something totally new and amazing!  I know that would be an 'Epic Fail' on my part as a supporting wife, so I will do my best to resist the sweets this month.  We have agreed, however, that I can bake as long as it does not linger in our house and I give it away immediately.  I know I can work around that rule!  So, I'll be doing lots of Paleo meals over the next month on the menu plans.  You will still see starches on my menu for the kids, but Alain and I will not be eating them.  Click on the paleo link if you are curious about the Paleo diet.

Week 62 Menu

Sunday - Rotisserie chicken (Costco), green beans, rice

Monday - Mexican Style pork, rice, black beans

Tuesday -  Leftovers

Wednesday - Thai basil shrimp, cabbage, red peppers, white rice
Thursday - Hamburgers, roasted sweet potatoes, broccoli

Friday - Grilled mahi-mahi, roasted carrots & cauliflower

Saturday - Out to dinner?

I'd love to see your menus!

Happy cooking,

Sarah

Week 61: Return to Normal?

It feels like August was gobbled up by the time goblin!  Seriously, we traveled for one week to Oregon, had a week home, and then were blessed with almost two weeks with visitors!  During all of the excitement, the kids started school and now I feel like things are slowly starting to come together!  I don't think we've encountered 'normal' yet, but we're enjoying each day!

We had a special treat this weekend by visiting with my best friend from high school, Stef, and her family!  Here's a picture of the girls with Stef's 2 kids!  We visited a barbecue festival up in Kennesaw and then ate dinner at our house!  It's been over 6 years since we've seen each other, so it was indeed a special treat for everyone!

I did not even attempt a menu plan last week while we still had family in town!  Now, I'm back and ready to get creative with some cooking. . .

Week 61 Menu

Sunday - Marinated salmon (Costco) and roasted frozen veggies

Monday - Sirloin pork roast, potatoes, broccoli

Tuesday -  Thai basil shrimp, cabbage, red peppers, white rice

Wednesday - Leftovers 

Thursday - Roast chicken, carrots, potatoes, couscous (just use whatever veggies you have on hand)

Friday - Out of town

Saturday - Out of town

Have a great week!  I'd love to see those menus!  Doesn't matter if it's fancy or simple!  We can all inspire one another!

Sarah

Coconut Chocolate Jumbles

I was desperate for some cookies a few nights ago and I needed dessert for an evening MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting I was attending.  There were limited resources in my pantry and these cookies were the only quick cookies that I could make!  WOW!  So glad for that little incident because the cookies were delicious!  I found a recipe for coconut jumbles in an old cookbook titled 'Country Cooking' that is one of my favorite dessert cookbooks, but then searched for the recipe online and found one from Kraft.  Combined they were the perfect recipe!

Coconut Chocolate Jumbles

Ingredients: 
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose or white wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
6 oz. chocolate chips or chunks (dark chocolate preferred)
1 pkg. (7 oz.) shredded coconut (2-2/3 cups)
1 cup finely chopped walnuts (toasted if desired)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  In a large bowl, beat softened butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add egg and mix until just combined.  Add flour, baking soda and salt and mix well.  Now add all remaining ingredients and mix well.  

Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto lightly greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly brown.  These definitely taste better a little under-cooked rather than over-cooked.  Cool a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.  Cool completely and store in air-tight container.

Yield: 3 dozen

Week 60: Oregonians Invade! :)

Well, last week I mentioned that we were just getting over leaving the Pacific coast of Oregon and now my BIL, SIL and their 2-month old sweetie, Josephine are all staying with us for the next week and a half!  I'm so excited to see them again and my kids are thrilled that they finally get to meet their cousin!

First week of school starts tomorrow for my kids and it's always bittersweet!  They have a brand new school, so they are really excited, but a little nervous for a new school year.  

Week 60 Menu

Sunday - Spaghetti with meat sauce, zucchini noodles or rotini, steamed broccoli

Monday - Chicken tacos, black beans, white rice

Tuesday - Leftovers 

Wednesday - Grilled salmon, roasted mixed veggies

Thursday - Thai basil shrimp, cabbage, red peppers, white rice

Friday - Burgers, roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots

Saturday - Out to dinner

Happy menu planning!  Have a great week, everyone!  I'd love to see your menus!

Sarah

Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream Frosting

I have been obsessed with these cupcakes since I saw them on Pinterest a few days ago, so tonight was the night for experimenting!  Please remind me never to try new recipes out on the day when we have 5  guests coming over for dinner!  The recipe is amazing, but the caramel frosting was very time intensive and I tried to substitute another frosting that turned out nasty.  So, I started over and made a new batch of buttercream, but added some of the caramel frosting into the buttercream and then it tasted really great!  Of course, I only used maybe 1 cup of the caramel frosting that I originally doubled so that I would have enough to generously frost 24 cupcakes, but I'm ok with it. . .  Lesson learned.

Typically, I like to practice my recipes before I try them out on guests.  I know not everyone has time for the trial, but it's really important in case you run into a bad recipe.  Speaking of time, I think I was frosting the cupcakes with the newly improved frosting only 5 minutes before the first guests arrived, but at least all of my cleaning was done!

Back to the matter at hand. . . these cupcakes turned out delicious!  Everyone ate one and I didn't even see any crumbs left afterwards!  Always a good sign at my house!  The frosting surprisingly turned our amazing and the cake was similar to an apple cake I make, so my kids devoured them!  I love baking with apples, zucchini, pumpkin, acorn squash, carrots or whatever we can sneak into dessert.  It seems like the desserts are always really moist when using those ingredients!

Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream Frosting (Adapted from Baked Perfection)

Ingredients: 
3 cups white wheat (or all-purpose) flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup applesauce
2 cups grated apples (I used 3 large Granny Smith apples, but the blog author recommends a mix of sweet and sour apples, so I'll have to try that next time)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Insert 24 cupcake liners into 2 muffin tins.

In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  In large bowl, add eggs and sugars and beat until creamy.  Add the orange juice, vanilla, oil and applesauce until well combined.  Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture until they are just combined (I like to use a wooden spoon for this type of recipe to ensure that I don't over mix the batter).  Add the grated apples and gently mix.   Use a greased 1/4 cup to dispense the batter into each of the 24 cupcake liners.  Use a spoon to help get all of the batter into the liner.  

Bake for 20-24 minutes (start checking at 20, but mine took exactly 22) or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.  

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Caramel Buttercream Frosting (Heavily adapted from The Betty Crocker Cookbook)

Ingredients:

3 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 tbsp. milk (I use coconut milk, so you can substitute anything here)

1-2 tbsp. caramel syrup (any kind will do)

Directions:

Place powdered sugar, butter and milk into mixer (if you have a whip, that works best, but any mixer will do) and mix until it appears smooth and creamy.  Add more milk if frosting is too thick.  Add caramel syrup and continue to mix until frosting is creamy and spreadable.  

If you double this recipe, you'll get enough to generously frost cupcakes using an icing bag, but if you make one batch, you'll have enough to frost all 24 cupcakes exactly using a knife or spatula to spread the frosting.  A nice added touch would be a light drizzle of caramel over each cupcake.  

Enjoy!

Sarah