Zucchini Appetizer

Also on Father's Day, I made Zucchini Boats as an appetizer for my parents house. They were super simple and came out really good. Unfortunately I did not take a picture of the finished product but you get the idea!

 

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Sugar Donuts

On Father's Day I tried out my new mini donut (and donut hole) pan using this recipe for Cinnamon Sugar Donuts. A few notes…

• I used all whole wheat flour instead of a combination like the recipe calls for.
• I used coconut (palm) sugar and added a bit less than ½ cup.
• I didn’t have any yogurt on hand so I used apple sauce instead.
• I used coconut oil instead of vegetable or canola (which I almost never use).
• I added chopped nuts to the cinnamon sugar topping. Next time I make these (and there will be a next time) I will add chopped nuts to the batter itself. This is based on my own personal preference.

So the donuts were really easy to throw together and came out pretty good (for being on the healthy-ish side).

Almond Crusted Chicken

A couple weekends ago, I made my regular batch of homemade almond milk (see previous post about almond milk) but this time, instead of throwing the pulp away, I dried it out in the oven to make almond meal. I have read about this many times but I have never taken the time to actually do it. Since I was home for the day anyways (I was watching my besties kids that day so all 4 kiddos were busy playing their hearts out) I decided it would be a good time to give it a try.

 

With my oven on the lowest setting, I just spread the ground up almond pulp on a parchemnt lined cookie sheet and roasted it for about 2.5 hours or so. I lost track of time after a while; it could have been more like 3 hours. I set my timer every 30 minutes to give the meal a toss with some tongs. Once it felt good and dry, slightly cripsy, I pulled it out to let it cool down.

 

Using my homemade almond meal, I made Almond Crusted Chicken for dinner one night. It came out pretty good!

 

To go along with the almond chicken, I also made a batch of Maple Glazed Carrots.I found this recipe earlier this year and have made them half a dozen times since. I am not at the point where I just eyeball everything. They are so easy and so good! My kids love carrots and the maple just gives them a little something extra!

Super Power Chia Bread

So this recipe might sound strange but I tried it today and it is pretty darn good. It is very different, so much so that I cannot really put it into words. I can't think of how to describe the consistency but it is definitely food. My kids liked it right away and I had a few pieces myself. Husband has been away for the weekend working so I am eager to see what he has to say when he gets home. Super Power Chia Bread. 

Peanut Butter Greek Frozen Yogurt

I have found it. Nirvana. Or the greatest thing that has ever happened to my out of control sweet tooth. On Saturday night I decided to try this recipe for homemade peanut butter greek frozen yogurt. Holy hell it is amazing. It is ridiculously easy and oh-so-damn-delicious. Maybe I am being a little obsessive about it bc pnut frozen yogurt is my favorite kind and I can eats bowls and bowls of this with much less guilt bc I know that I only included a tiny spoonful of organic coconut sugar and a very small squeeze of raw honey. Ok so it might be a little high in saturated fat but...it still beats what I would be eating in it's place. REAL ice cream or awful frozen yogurt from the local shop that as has god knows what in it. Just sayin' this recipe is amazing (especially w/ some mini dark chocolate chips mixed into it. 

Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes

So it was Saturday morning and the kids and I were hungry (husband was working). Cereal and oatmeal do get boring from time to time and my oldest requested pancakes so I ventured to my trusty healthy food blog, 100 Days of Real Food and quickly located a basic recipe for Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes. I had everything I needed including overly ripe bananas that were headed for some sort of baking recipe. I whipped up a some batter, cutting her recipe in half as I just wasn't interested in flipping dozens of pancakes that morning. I also added a handful of chopped walnuts. Banana pancakes just weren't enough. Banana nut pancakes however, hit the spot!

So let me back up a bit...I cook and bake all sorts of things, some things are freakin' awesome and some aren't so much. I can make a mean meal of many different varieties but for some reason, I cannot master a simple pancake. My pancakes suck. I have tried and tried and tried and they always...suck. And I am not just being hard on myself; ask my husband, he'll vouch for me. I have tried dozens of recipes and followed several different techniques and I fail at all of them. Whatever. I have accepted that I am not a pancake person. I know my other strong points so I'm not bitter! 

Feeling brave (and hungry) I gave this recipe a try and wouldn't ya know, I made a pretty decent pancake. They cooked beautifully and tasted great! They weren't completely dry and brittle and they weren't full of uncooked batter in the middle. The stars aligned, the humidity was just right, the heat and the pan was perfect and the pancakes came out like pancakes are supposed to. Low and behold, I made a decent pancake! Too bad my husband wasn't home to witness (and taste) my success. 

Last Minute Mac n Cheese

Yesterday after we got home from a bday party, I offered to watch my best friends kids (who are relatively the same age as my kids). It was a last minute plan and I didn't have anything in mind for dinner. I quickly thought up making the kids a batch of mac n cheese. I knew I had everything I needed on hand and I figured I would just make an impromptu cheese sauce using the recipe I always follow for my regular mac n cheese. See my previous post on fully loaded mac n cheese. 

I cooked some pasta (probably about 16 ounces or so) that I had in the cupboard and while it drained in the colander I made the sauce in the same pan. Over medium-high heat, I heated 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and whole wheat flour until it was good and brown (be careful, it will burn easily). After about a minute or two, I poured in 1/2 cup milk and stirred it until the flour paste was all mixed in. It quickly began to thicken so I threw in the shredded cheddar cheese (about 3/4 of a bar; not even sure how many ounces it was...does it matter??) and half a can of pumpkin puree. I kept stirring the sauce until the cheese was all melted and I also added a few sprinkles of paprika, salt and pepper. I threw the pasta into the sauce, tossed it to coat and served it to the kids w/ peas and carrots. Dinner for four kids and one mom done in about 15 minutes. And it was GOOD!