Pudding Pie, One Foot High

I love Thanksgiving and the memories that go along with it.  Going to my Grandma and Grandpa's house was our tradition. They crammed 25 people into their trailer home. The funny thing is that it never seemed crowded to me. I loved playing with my cousins. We would usually all get together and put on some type of a skit for the adults.  For Thanksgiving it was always the song Turkey dinner. "Turkey dinner, turkey dinner, gather round, gather round, who will eat the drumstick, yummy yummy yum stick, all sit down." Than, my grandpa would get out the long table that he made to accomodate all of his kids and their spouses and he put it down the center of the living room. Adults in the living room and grandkids in the room that my grandma deemed the "Florida Room." It was an add on to their trailer and us cousins loved hanging out in there. It was like our own little pad. I am sure it was nice for the adults to get all of the kids out of their hair while they ate too. My grandma was the best cook. She made all the fixins' turkey, pork sausage dressing, mashed potatoes, and lots of pies. I remember the whole counter lined with all different pies. We would all go home, sufficiently stuffed, and come back a few hours later to pick up leftovers to take home. The ladies would sit at the table, drink coffee, and chat, and kids might do a puzzle on the kitchen floor or play yahtzee. The times when my grandparents were alive was a really wonderful time in my life and over the last few days, as I have been making dishes for Thanksgiving, they have been on my mind more. My stuffing is different from Grandma's, but still SO good. After Grandma died, my mom and dad had to take over the responsibilites of the thanksgiving meal. Mom made good stuffing too. So, mine is a hybrid of hers and grandmas, but definately my own. Maddy says I make the best stuffing in the world and she helped me make it this year. As we were making it, I couldn't help but feel the spirit of mom and grandma in the kitchen with us. 

Jackie's Stuffing Hybrid
1 lb. organic ground turkey
1 lb. organic ground beef
1 lb. organic breakfast pork sausage
1 1/2 bags sage and onion bread cubes 
2-3 tbsp. poultry seasoning
3/4 box of any stock
1 medium onion, diced
1 granny smith apple, diced small
4 celery stalks, diced

Brown meats with onion, celery, and apples. Once cooked add breadcubes, and slowly add stock until you reach the consistency that you like. Not too mushy and not too dry. Add in poultry seasoning. Bake at 375 uncovered for about 30-35 minutes. Stir halfway through and adding stock if it seems dry. If making the night before add stock before baking the day of, let it sit out to room temp before putting in oven.

granola bars and beet cake

I have always wanted to make granola bars, but for some reason, they really intimidated me. But, recently, we have started Jackson going gluten free and with g-free granola bars at $5.00 a box, I figured I would try anything. I found a recipe online, but manipulated it a bit. These bars are so healthy. Full of protein and healthy fats. Kids love them! I love them! It was hard to stop eating them. And I think once you get the basic recipe down, than you can play with it and substitute ingrediants to your liking. Here is what I did:

2 cups oats
1/2 cup quinoa flakes
1/2 cup puffed rice
3/4 cup crushed peanuts
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
mix together and heat on a cookie sheet for 5 minutes in a 400 degree oven...
just until they get toasty, not burned.
combine with 1 cup raisins or any dried fruit and 2 small fun size packs of m and ms
Set this aside

combine in a pan:
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup honey or 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tsp. almond extract
Heat until bubbly, stirring constantly
When hot, add to dry mix and press combined mixture into a 9 X 13 cake pan lined with waxed paper
Let cool. Cut when chewy..they will dry more, but are easier to cut after an hour. I cut in half vertically and than 10 rows horizontally. It made 20 bars! Way better than the 6 I get in my $5.00 box.

My other unbelievable recipe of the week was my chocolate beet cake. I was unsure of this one. With a whole cup of beets and 2 cups of carrots in it. But, my God...best chocolate cake ever. So moist and tasty. We all loved this one. Wish I could take credit for it, but cannot. It's a pinterest find. It's also gluten free:) Here's the link:
http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Gluten-Free-Carrot-Beet-Cake-_with-Or-Without-Chocolate_-Recipezaar


Happy Eating!

Comfort Food Sunday

I had a weird day on Sunday. Actually all weekend. I was craving something, but I wasn't sure what it was that I was craving. I needed comfort food but, for me, that isn't mashed potatoes or macaroni and cheese. So, here is what I ended up with....apple cider donuts and Grandma Kartos' pizza buns. 
The kids were so excited about the afternoon donuts. I got the recipe off of pinerest. Here is the link:
http://seeminglygreek.com/2011/09/apple-fritters/
So good. I also put pears in the batter along with the apples. The possibilities of these are endless...pineapple/coconut, cherry/chocolate... I dipped mine in sugar or glaze. I prefer sugar, kids prefer glaze...either way, they are so good!

The second comfort food I made was pizza buns. My grandma started making these when I was little. The recipe was quickly learned by my mom and all my aunts. It was always the "special" food I chose for sleepovers. The name is very deceiving...they taste nothing like pizza and have no pizza ingrediants in them. So, who knows? I don't wanna freak everyone out, but these have spam in them! As a child
of the 80s I have had my fair share of spam sandwiches and I actually don't mind the taste of it. If it freaks you out, don't worry...with all the ingrediants, you don't even taste the spam.

Grandma Kartos' Pizza Buns
(my version)

1 lb. ground turkey thigh
1 can of low fat/low sodium spam shredded
1 can of tomato soup
1/2 bag of cheddar cheese
1 package of hamburger buns

Fry turkey, after it is cooked and grease is drained, add the rest of the ingrediants to the bowl. Put
in fridge until you are ready to assemble buns. For assembly, open hamburger bun, so you have a top and a bottom. Spread a generous portion of hamburger mixture on one side of each bun. Assemble until
you have a sheet pan full of buns.  Put them in over on 375 for 15 minutes or until bubbly. I can't even
explain how good these are. They are a childhood favorite and they sure were a good comfort food for me. My fam loves them and I hope someday my kids will make them for their kids to carry on the
recipe.

Chocolate Fix

Today seems to be one of those days when I am craving chocolate. I don't crave it alot, so when I do
I need to give in. I seen that we had some leftover decaf coffee from yesterday, so I thought maybe a
coffee drink would be good. However, every time when I try to make a cold coffee drink, it usually turns into coffee slush. So, I took to the internet and actually found a good one....minus the sugar.

- 1 cup coconut milk (any type is fine, but coconut milk 
is a little sweet anyways and it is full of healthy fats)
- 2-3 shots of leftover coffee or 1 shot espresso
- 1 to 2 packets of stevia
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder

Put all ingrediants in blender and process until combined. 
And actually minus the coffee this is a healthy chocolate drink for kids.

Fall Breakfast Idea

Now that it is fall, the weather is gonna get cooler...especially the mornings. This recipe is a yummy "fall" take on plain oatmeal. My kids loved it. Not only is it good, but the pumpkin gives you an extra boost of beta-carotene.

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal

1 c. milk ( I prefer plain coconut milk)
1 c. oats
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. canned pumpkin
1/8 c. brown sugar

In a saucepan, put milk, cinnamon, vanilla, pumpkin, and brown sugar. Heat to a low boil and add oatmeal. Cover and simmer until oatmeal is done (10 minutes or so). Once in the bowl,  I add a few dark chocolate chips, unsweetened coconut, and apple pieces. You can add whatever "extras" you would like to add as well.

Forks Over Knives

I haven't posted in so long because, honestly, I have not been so excited about cooking...like I have in the past. I was sick of making and eating the same things and I needed something to get my excited again. My first late summer love was the inspiration of freezer meals. I stocked my freezer full of homemade meatloafs, beef, chicken, stocks, muffins, etc. and than I saw the greatest documentary...Forks over Knives (thanks to my neighbor Lee). This documentary makes a strong case for vegetarianism. It is based on alot of scientific evidence and it very convincing. It made me want to try it, at least for a week. So, this was my week of being a vegan. No meat, poultry, fish, or dairy. Pretty hard, but definately doable. My week of food consisted of "eggless"egg salad, mushroom and lentil stroganoff, squash, quinoa with vegetables, homemade pea soup, green smoothies, mexican corn and bean salad, and oatmeal. Sounds kinda gross to the average person, but I really liked the food. Ok, the stroganoff was questionable, but that was the only meal that I didn't enjoy so much. It was a departure from my normal low carb eating style and I kinda liked not eating eggs for a week and having whole grain cereals with fruit instead. I encourage anyone who cares about where their food come from and who cares about their health to watch this doc. Is vegetarianism for everyone? No, but personally, I can see my family having 3 meatless meals a week. 

Happy 4th of July

The 4th of July is my favorite holiday. I have such great memories of 4th of July parties at my house growing up with the family. Mom's potato salad, Uncle Jeff's beans, dad's brats, Aunt Candy kicking instead of hitting the volleyball, Uncle Tony's fireworks, and grandma and grandpa.


This 4th we are having neighbors over and I made a slew of all american sweets. First, I attempted to make an apple pie. I bought the crust, but I made the apple filling. It was a recipe from Bobby Flay:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/apple-pie-recipe/index.html
Kids loved taking the extra crust and making cinnamon sugar pie babies in the oven. I made a festive star pattern on top. I also made some white chocolate treats. I did red, white, and blue strawberries. This recipe is all over the internet now. I always have a problem dipping into chocolate. I have a hard time getting the excess off. They are cute, but probably will not make them next year. But, my little chocolate hang up created a whole new idea.....Chocolate Fireworks. In the leftover chocolate i mixed in a few handfuls of pretzels, and colored jimmies. Than, I spooned them onto waxed paper to dry, Voila.....fireworks!


I cannot ever recreate mom's potato salad or Jeff's bean, but I can make this holiday my own now and create memories for the kids and new memories for myself based around great neighbors, independance, and (of course) food!

Catch of the Day Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for Father's Day this year. They were adorable, but  too labor intensive. I will probably never make them again. I got the idea from a blog and it really did not look like it would have been that much work. I made 24 cupcakes from a standard box of cake mix. I used carrot cake and topped with a blue tie dyed cream cheese frosting. I also used a frosting tip to pipe it on. Now the labor intensive portion....I cut wood skewers into 2 pieces and threaded a needle with thin white thread. I poked the threaded needle through a gummy fish (from a shark fruit snack pack). Then, I tied the threaded fish onto the wooded skewer and put it on the cupcake. They looked really cute, but just too much work for one day:) A fun idea though if you have someone who likes to fish in the family.

Almost BW3

Wish I could've gotten a pic before the fam dug in!

I love hot wings! I really love BW3 boneless chicken wings (mild of course). I have had a pack of chicken drumlets from Whole Foods in my freezer for 6 months now, with the intention of finding a recipe for wing sauce similar to BW3. There is a set of cookbooks called Top Secret Recipes, where the author figures out recipes for popular food found in restaurants. In one book, I found the recipe for medium BW3 wing sauce. So, I decided to finally have them on Saturday night. I opened the lb. package to find 8 drumlets. Not enough to feed a family, so I bought some chicken breasts, cubed, breaded and baked them. The drumlets were boiled for 10 minutes and places under the broiler for 6 minutes on each side. So, they got crispy, but not fried...already healthier:) The wing sauce was super easy to make and was SO good. Tasted just the same. After it was done, I tossed the chicked pieces in it and voila!


MEDIUM WING SAUCE:
1 cup Frank's cayenne pepper sauce
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon granulated sugar 
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Combine all but last 3 ingrediants and bring to a boil than let simmer for 10 minutes. When mixture is off heat and cool, in a seperate bowl, mix last 3 ingrediants and add to sauce mixtures. Toss with chicken

Strawberry Breakfast Cake

Berries seem to be cheap at Sendiks this week, so yet another berry cake/bread idea. We made this last night for Sunday morning breakfast. It is a strawberry breakfast cake with mini chocolate chips. Simple ingrediants, not alot of sugar and yummy. Jackson helped me make a fruit salad to go along with it.  Here is the link for the cake. The fruit salad was one banana, 1 apple, 1 container strawberries, 1 container raspberries, 1 container blueberries, a handful of granola. You can eat this on its own or over greek yogurt.
http://batterlicker.com/2010/04/strawberry-and-chocolate-chip-buttermilk-muffin-cake/

Blueberry Oatmeal Bread

When I wanna try a new recipe these days, I go straight to Pinterest. I was looking for a recipe for blueberry bread since blueberries were on sale this week. I found this one that is also low in sugar and has added fiber with the addition of oats. It is more of a rustic bread. For me, it is perfect because it is not too sweet, but just sweet enough. If you are used to artificial blueberry baked goods, it may not be sweet enough for you. I cannot take credit for the recipe. Here is the original blog it came from:
http://blog.superhealthykids.com/2010/06/oatmeal-blueberry-bread/
I substituted canola oil for the cocount oil. The batter is really thick and lumpy, but no worries, it bakes just fine.

The Best Lasagna Ever: Mom's

5 years ago, today, my mom passed away. The day she died I was hosting a birthday party for Maddy and doing the things that she had done for me so many times before. Making and decorating a birthday cake and serving lasagna for our main dish. Today, I would like to honor my mom and the many times she had to make lasagna for my birthday dinner (I picked it every year). I make it often for my own family now. It is a recipe passed down from my mom's mom to her, now to me, and someday to my kids. My version is a little healthier than hers was, but you can substitute beef for turkey and regular cheese for lowfat cheese.


Voni's (Mom's) Lasagna
a box of no cook lasagna noodles
1 lb. ground turkey thigh
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion-chopped fine
1 clove of garlic- chopped fine
1 16 oz. container of lowfat, organic sour cream
1 14.5 oz. can of tomato sauce (the medium size one)
1/2 bag of lowfat, organic motzorella cheese
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
3 tbsp. italian seasoning


Mix uncooked turkey and beef mixture together, so they combine into one mixure. 
Cook combined meat mixture with onions and garlic in large pot.
When done, drain off beef and add sour cream, tomato sauce, parmesan cheese, and italian seasoning.
Let simmer till it starts bubbling and turning a little deeper shade of pinkish/orange


Now you are ready to assemble! Use a 13 X 9 inch cake pan and layer, 
from bottom to the top, as follows:


a light layer of sauce...just to lightly coat bottom
3 uncooked lasagna noodles with equal space in between them
1/3 of beef mixture
a handful of cheese and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese

3 uncooked lasagna noodles with equal space in between them

1/2 of whatever of beef mixture is left

a handful of cheese and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese

3 uncooked lasagna noodles with equal space in between them

rest of beef mixture 

a handful of cheese and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese

Cover with tinfoil and cook in 350 oven for 45 minutes. Remove tinfoil andlLet sit 5-10  minutes before cutting.

Peas, Carrots, and Mashed Potatoes

I made these cupcakes on April Fools Day this year. They are from just a boxed cake mix. But, the fun was in the decoration. For the Peas and Carrots cupcakes, I dyed the frosting green and applied green pea hard candies I found at the store and the carrots were orange starburst cut into squares. For the mashed potato cupcakes, I used the whipped frosting and piled it on high. The gravy is caramel sauce and the butter is a yellow starburst cut into a thin square.  I got the idea from this great book called Hey Cupcake.

Pick Me Up

Hopefully spring is on the way. Winter has been nothing to complain about this year, but I am longing for green grass and colorful flowers. I recently came across a little pick me up for any dish. I saw it on a show on the Food Network called Arti's Party. I have been dabbling in Indian food lately, so I made my first Aloo Gobi (curried cauliflour and potatoes). The first thing you had to do was make this paste out of ginger and garlic. This paste was super easy to make and can be put into any veggie, rice, or potato recipe. Not only does it taste great, but it will prevent you from getting any of the last colds of the winter, due to garlic and ginger have such great immune boosting properties.

Ginger and Garlic Paste

Enough peeled garlic cloves to fill a 1/2 C. container

Enough peeled and chopped ginger to fill a 1/2 C. container

1/2 C. canola oil

Put all ingrediants in a food processor and process until it looks like a thick paste

Can store in your fridge for up to 3 weeks in a closed container

A Little French Parenting Goes A Long Way

I just finished reading the best child rearing book ever, Bringing Up Bebe. It is about the differences in the way French and Americans raise their children. I have gotten so many good pointers out of this book. They talked about, how at an early age, french children help with the baking in the house. One of the most popular is something called gateau au yaourt (yogurt cake). By the age of 3 or 4 french children are making this cake entirely on their own (minus the oven part.) All the measuring is done using empty yogurt containers so it makes it easy for them. They can make the cake, but they cannot dig into it right away. Everyday around 4:30 the French have a snack, so the children have to wait until then to eat it. This book preaches teaching children patience and independence and this is just one example. Now if you know me, you know that I am a control freak. I am reforming, but it is a slow process:) So, the thought of letting my kids take over the kitchen and make a mess without my guidance was scary. But, I took a breath and told the kids that they would be making a cake for breakfast tomorrow by THEMSELVES. They were so excited. It was hard when I saw Maddy putting the dry ingrediants in without mixing the wet ones first. I cringed, but didn't step in. Eventually she noticed it on her own. The cake smells delicious and I am sure it will be good when we have it tomorrow, but more importantly, it taught some huge lessons for the kids and for me. The kids gained alot of confidence by doing it on their own and I gave away some control. Here is the recipe if you are brave enough to attempt it. They even cleaned up the kitchen when they were done:)

Gateau au Yaourt

2-6 oz. containers of whole milk vanilla or plain yogurt(use these empty containers to measure the other ingrediants)

2 eggs

2 containers sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

just under 1 container canola or veggie oil

4 containers flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 375

Combine all wet ingrediants and mix. Add dry ingrediants to wet. If you want you can add 2 containers of frozen berries or chocolate chips at this point. Pour into greased 9 inch round cake pan. Bake for 40 minutes. Sprinkle berries and powdered sugar on top to eat.

Happy President's Day

The last time I made something that a president loved it was back when GW Bush beat John Kerry in the presidential election. I am a die hard Democrat, so it killed me to have to make GW Bush's favorite cookies..... cowboy cookies. But, I made them as a good will offering to my Republican sister-in-law and her husband. They were good anyways. So, today, I wanted to make the Obama family's favorite snack, homemade granola bars. They are healthy and so good. Kids really liked them. I really respect what Michelle Obama is trying to do in America with her Get Moving program. I think it's great that they are sharing their healthy recipes with all of America.

Here is the recipe:

White House Granola Bars

6 tbsp. canola oil

2 c. rolled oats

1/2 c. sunflower seeds

1/2 c. honey

1/3 c. dark brown sugar

2 tbsp. maple syrup

pinch of salt

1 c. mixed dried fruit

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix oil, sugar, maple syrup, honey, salt, and cinnamon in a pot over low heat. Cook till combined..not boiling.

Mix granola, dried fruit, and seeds together

Add wet ingrediants to dry and mix.

Put in a greased 8 X 8 or 9 X 9 inch pan.

Cook 20-25 minutes and let cool completely before cooking.

* You could mess with the recipe by adding pistacios or any other nut, 1 tbsp of nut butter, or even chocolate chips*

French Toast Friday

We have a tradition in our house. Similar to Scone Sunday, we have French Toast Fridays. I love making french toast. Mostly because Jackson loves it, even though it has eggs in it. I have tried making baked french toast before but it never turns out as good as frying it. I do have a few healthy sneak-ins added to my french toast for a bit of a nutrition punch.

2 eggs

2 tbsp rice milk (or milk of your choice)

dash of cinnamon

1 small container of sweet potato or squash baby food

sprinkle of wheat germ

coconut oil

beat 2 eggs with milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and baby food ( I promise, they

won't taste the baby food)

Melt coconut oil in pan

Dip bread into egg mixture, put in hot pan and sprinkle top with wheat germ. Flip when ready and serve with syrup.

I have a problem with syrups. Pure maple syrup is expensive and very high in sugar and other maple syrups, like Eggo, isn't even really maple syrup...it is mostly high fructose corn syrup with maple flavoring (yuck). So, I made a compromise. Log cabin make a brand called

All Natural and it's brown rice syrup. It is less sugar, has no fake sugars in it, and tastes good.

Happy Birthday Dad

I dedicate my blog today to my dad. The master of the grill. No one makes a better brat or hamburger on the grill than my dad. Like I said in an earlier blog, food is love. My dad has alot to do with that and since this is a food blog I would like to share some of my foodie memories of my dad with you. When I used to come home on break from college my parents would ask what I would like to eat. Most times, it was a cheeseburger on the grill. I grew up in a home where both of my parents cooked. I have memories of my parents coming home late at night from a night away and them having a plate of what they called eggies and noodles. It is what it sounds like. I can still smell it when I think about it. It was their "drunk" food:) I also remember them running their bread through the grease from fried pork chops and sprinkling it with salt and pepper. My dad is infamous for getting you to eat more than you intended to. Maybe it's the greek in him. The first time Don met my parents, my dad made brats, per my request. After 2 brats , Don was done, until Dad said, "Hey Don, aren't you gonna have a 3rd?" Even though he was stuffed, he did. This was his first time meeting my parents and I think he was trying to impress them. Every holiday I try and cut and hand out dessert. After I make the first cut, my dad takes over, the pieces are never big enough:) Speaking of holidays, my mom and dad used to do them together. They would each make a certain thing. Now, with my mom gone, my dad does it all himself. He does a fantastic job. Not that I ever doubted him. He is even trying new things. He made mushroom stuffing a few years ago. Now don't even get me started on holidays, especially Chrismas. The amount of food my dad puts out is crazy, but so appreciated. He puts out a spread of snacks in the afternoon. All pretty much homemade stuff, than a huge dinner (usually prime rib), dessert, and if we would stick around late he may even pull out a sub or pizza. Growing up we all got a birthday dinner. Now, this was not some restaurant you went out to...it was a "What's your favorite, homemade dinner you wanna eat for your birthday?" We still do it, as much as possible, today. Don will always ask if I wanna go out on my b-day and I usually opt for a family dinner at home. Since retired, my dad has been a food quest....the best meatloaf. He tries combining different recipes, trying different ingrediants. Everytime I see a meatlof recipe, I immediately think of him. Seeing that he is the king of the grill, he is also the king of all tailgaters. If its a Badger game or Brewers game, more times than not, he will be tailgating or just bringing brats for everyone else. And donuts or what he calls sweet rolls,still happen every Sunday, if someone is there to buy them for.

I could go on and on, but what this all boils down to is soul food. It is the heart and soul he puts into his food that makes it special to me. It's in my genes too. Thanks for the great memories Dad, I love you and Happy Birthday.

Sunday, Scone Sunday

So, we have Cereal Saturday and now we are onto Scone Sunday. Sunday has always been a special breakfast day for me. When I was little, my mom loved the musical Flower Drum Song. There is a song from it that she used to sing me: "Sunday, sweet Sunday, with nothing to do. Lazy and lovely, my one day with you." I now seem to take the lyrics to this song pretty literally. Growing up, my Grandpa Kerch used to come over every Sunday after church and bring us coffee cake. He would stay and visit and play cribbage with my brother. After a while my mom had to break the news to him that 3 little kids, prefered donuts over, the more sophisticated, coffee cake. So, it was donut Sunday from than on. It is a really beautiful memory I have of him. Apparently, my grandpa had a great food reputation of his own in FDL, but that's another story for another day. My husband's family always had what they called Farmer's breakfast on Sunday. It was eggs, hashbrowns, toast, and bacon. Can you tell Don grew up in the city, seeing that this to him is a farmer's breakfast:) So, I always try to make something a little more substantial than cereal on Sunday. I even set the table, like I would dinner. This mornings menu was gluten free orange scones, yogurt parfaits, turkey sausage patties, and fresh orange/grapefruit, strawberry juice. I started at 8:3o and we were eating at 9:30. Really not too long of a prep time for all that food. The scones were to die for. I cannot even describe how good they were. I had never even tried a scone until a few months ago. I love them because they seem like just the right amount sweet. I served them with butter and raspberry preserves. This recipe is from the allergy free bakers handbook. Here is the recipe:

1 (6 0z. container of greek yogurt 2 tbsp. double acting baking powder

3/4 c. orange juice 1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. orange zest 1/3 c. canola oil

3 cups basic gluten free flour mix 2 tbsp. rice milk

3/4 tsp. xanthan gum sugar

1/3 c. organic sugar

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

-Whisk yogurt, oj, and orange zest in one bowl

-In another bowl, whisk flour, xanthan gum, sugar, baking powder and salt

-Add OJ mixture to dry and add canola oil, mix. Mixture will be lumpy

-Flour a work surface and turn out dough, turn out dough and split into 2 pieces. Flatten to about 6 inches thick and cut into 6 pie shaped wedges.

-Put on baking sheet and brush with rice milk and sprinkle with a little sugar

-Bake on the center rack for 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Don gave them 9 out of 10 points..and the only reason it wasn't 10 was because they were not donuts:)

Cereal Saturday

This is one of the best traditions that I started. The kids love it and it gives me a break. A while back I was complaining to a friend that most people get off of work on the weekends, but moms don't have a break ever. How, on a non-school day, I would love to get up and not rush into making breakfast. She suggested letting the kids do it.....and Cereal Saturday was born. Saturday mornings was cereal and cartoons for me. But, cartoons are on all the time now, and not such a cool thing, like they were for me. So, kids get bored and hungry quick. I don't usually let my kids eat sugary cereals, but Cereal Saturday is their chance. Maddy is the leader of this operation. There are 3 tupperware out on the table. One, is Cheerios. They get 1/2 cup of that and the other 2 are sweet, sugary fun cereals. Currently, they are Cookie Crisp and Honey Grahams. They get 1/4 of each one of those. So, not only does Maddy get a chance to be very responsible (which she loves) she is doing math without even knowing it. There is fruit at the table for the cereal, if the want it, and the milk of the week... which can be anything from coconut to almond. My kids see these different options as normal now...which I think is pretty cool. So Cereal Saturday is a success and will be a tradition for years to come in our house.

G-Free Baking

Every new year I like to try something that I haven't tried before, but something not too out of my comfort zone. This year it is Gluten Free Baking. Not that I have Celiac's Disease or anything like that. I just think it can't hurt to limit your gluten intake. I mean you don't NEED gluten in your food and G-free foods are readily available now anyways, so why not. I got this cookbook called The Bakers Guide to Allergy Free Baking. It has really opened up my eyes to all the different grains and types of flours that are out there to use. I have made 4 things so far and, honestly, all have tasted better than anything that I have made before with gluten in it. Don thought the chocolate cupcakes I made were great. He said they tasted like hostess cupcakes and he doesn't even like cake! The banana cake was also to die for. So moist and yummy. Today I tried the Buckwheat Apple Muffins and Chocolate Chip Cookies. I decided that every Tuesday would be "Baking Tuesday" and I could make a new treat for the kids for the week. Allergy free does not mean sugar free so, of course, you still need to eat in moderation. However, most recipes I found call for alot less sugar, applesauce, or light agave nectar. They were a hit, kids loved them! I will definately be making them again.

For the Love of Juice

I love juicing. But, it wasn't always that way. I came into it about a year ago and went out of it pretty quickly. I had a crappy juicer that was alot of work to clean and it didnt juice very well. So, I broke down and bought a Jack LaLane juicer. I got sucked into an infomercial one day and was convinced. I juice everyday for myself and every other day for the kids. The kids love it....thank God they don't know the little stuff I slip into it:) Does vegetable juice taste like V8 in the juicer? No, it still taste good though. The only downside is that you cannot really store it, so it needs to be made fresh everyday. Cleaning sucks as well, but it can go in the dishwasher, which is nice.

Here are two of the recipes I made today. The picture does not do the taste justice. Looks gross....tastes great. It makes me happy just thinking about it. Bottoms up!

My juice:

1/2 to 1 cucumber

handful of spinich

2 carrots

2 stalks celery

1 apple

a small piece of ginger

Kids juice:

1 apple

1 orange

1/4 cucumber

small handful of spinich

1 carrot

handful of grapes

Veggies, Veggies, Veggies!

I'll begin this blog with the way I have been eating for the last 6 months. I have cut out almost all sugar and have traded in processed high carb foods for high fiber whole carbs. I have also been adding in a ton more vegetables and protein. I am lucky that I am home for lunch and can have a hot lunch vs. a sandwich and chips. This is a far cry from my lunches growing up: sandwich, chips, little debbie snack and an apple. I found the more I ate this way, the more I craved veggies and the less I craved sugar. I was the kind of girl that could wake up in the morning and eat a handful of m & m's and cap it off at night with a bowl of ice cream. Now, I am upset if we don't have any fish for lunch or are out of avacados. It is quite a shift, but now that I am used to it, I wouldn't give it up.

Basic Salmon:

1 lb wild caught salmon

seasoned with a few shakes of salt, pepper and paprika, chopped garlic, and a squeeze of lemon.

Put in 400 degree oven for roughly 20 minutes...until fish flakes.

Vegetable Rice:

Make brown rice per directions on box.

Chop and steam any variety of vegetables.

Combine cooked rice and vegetable, with salt, pepper, and a few squeezes of fresh lemon.

Both of these sound really almost too simple, but they are delicious. My husband, Don, is not a big vegetable eater and when I asked him to try it, he was nervous. He was suprised by how flavorful it was and said he would eat it again. I made this dish again and mixed it up a little by making a lemon vinagrette with oil, lemon, and pepper and adding that as well as a handful of grapes. Sounds weird, I know, but trust me...the flavors work.