Today’s Tune

I can’t get enough of these guys lately! Sam gets annoyed because I keep listening to their album on repeat. Enjoy!

Of Monsters and Men – King and Lionheart

Blueberry cornmeal pancakes

It sure has been nice having my other half home with me and Milo. We are all unpacked and cozy in our new home in Yuma, and we are finally falling into place as a family. Of course, that will all be thrown up in the air and run over by a semi truck when Sam leaves for a few weeks to go back to Okinawa to check out! Just when we were getting comfortable…

I am getting used to running my own household again, only this time it’s so much more fun because we have this little person running around here. I’ve had tons of fun cooking every day for my little family! For Pancake Sunday I decided to make corn-cakes since I’ve been dreaming about the ones I had at Cafe Vida when I went to visit my sister-in-law a few weeks ago.  Sam normally doesn’t like sweet things for breakfast, but he LOVED these, so I have decided to make them, at least, a monthly thing in this house.

 

I used the recipe on the backside of the Bob’s Red Mill Blue Cornmeal bag, since I’ve used many of these recipes and they have all turned out amazing. Regular cornmeal can certainly be used, I just thought this blue cornmeal would be fun since I was adding blueberries.

Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes

3/4 cup cornmeal

1 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. sugar

1 cup boiling water

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup milk

2 tbsp. butter, melted

3/4 cup whole grain flour (or white)

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Mix cornmeal, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Stir in the boiling water until all of the ingredients are wet, then cover and let stand for a few minutes. In a small bowl combine egg, milk, and melted butter. Stir milk mixture into cornmeal mixture. Combine flour and baking powder, then stir into cornmeal mixture until just incorporated. Don’t over-mix it! Fold blueberries into batter. If the batter is a little stiff, add more milk until it flows off of the spoon thickly, but smoothly.  Heat cast iron skillet over medium heat, grease with oil or butter, and spoon about 1/4 cup of the mixture into the pan.  You know to flip when the whole surface is covered in bubbles. Serve with pure maple syrup or fruit or peanut butter! Yum!

 

I think I love corncakes more than I love regular flour pancakes. They have a little crunch from the cornmeal and a little more saltiness too, which pairs perfectly with sweet maple syrup!

 

Next post will be about the new home, promise! Have a great Tuesday!

He’s Home!

It’s been 8 long months. I’ve had a few good cries, a few days that felt like they would never end, but my husband is finally back where he belongs. I was lucky enough to have my sister-in-law with me to capture some sweet moments. Enjoy!

First hug!

Milo is thinking, “Who is this guy?”

My handsome husband, glowing sister-in-law, and my beautiful son.

Another deployment under our belts. Hopefully this was the last one ever!

Also, apologies for being such a slacker with my blog. I have no acceptable excuse, only that I am lazy and usually fill my free time with aimless internet surfing and cooking. I promise to be better now that my family is back to normal! Xoxo…

 

 

Today’s tune

Skeleton Bones by John Mark McMillan

Happy Saturday!

Turkey meatballs and veggie sauce

My mother-in-law and I decided to do another cleanse since we were little gluttons over the holiday season and Superbowl Sunday.  Our bodies just felt a little bogged down and we knew it was time. It is day 5, so we are halfway finished. I already feel 10 times better than I did on Monday when we started. My body feels lighter and healthier!  Along with the herbal supplements we take, we are to avoid gluten, dairy, sugars, alcohol, and unhealthy carbs, and eats as many green veggies as we please, stick to complex carbs like brown rice, quinoa, and lean meats like chicken, turkey, and clean fish (i.e. no bottom feeders like gross catfish).  So we buy the herbal packet from Advocare and basically eat nothing but super clean foods for 10 days.

Tonight I wanted something really filling.  Green salads with salmon are great, but I wanted SUSTENANCE! Food that would keep me full for the rest of the night.  So, of course I went with spaghetti and meatballs.  What is more filling then sweet, juicy balls of meat, oodles of noodles, and delicious tomato sauce? Mmmmm.

To achieve an Advocare-worthy spaghetti and meatballs recipe, I simply omitted any cheese that I would normally use and I exchanged the whole wheat bread crumbs for the bread crumbs of a tasty buckwheat loaf that I picked up at the Great Harvest Bread Co. booth yesterday at the farmer’s market.  If you do not have these dietary restrictions, then you are more than welcome to keep the whole wheat bread crumbs and add as much cheese as you wish!

Now, this is a bit of a process, but the end result is totally worth it.  Not only will you enjoy a delicious meal, but it will also be loaded with tons of goodness. In fact, if you follow my version and don’t add the cheese, then this will be nothing but healthy. Thirds, anyone?

I started with the sauce, since I could work on the meatballs while it was simmering.

 

Don’t worry about chopping the veggies up into little pieces. You will be throwing it all into a food processor, Ninja, or blender after it simmers, so it will end up in tiny pieces anyway!

Veggie Sauce:

1/2 yellow onion, roughly chopped

1 red bell pepper, halved lengthwise, remove membrane and seeds, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed, sliced, or however you prefer

28oz. can of tomatoes (diced, crushed, whole, whatever you have works!)

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Heat 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat in a sauté pan. Add onion and bell pepper and sauté for 2 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for another minute.  Add the tomatoes, red pepper and season with salt and pepper to your liking.  Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes.  Removed pan from the heat, allow mixture to cool for 5 minutes, then throw it all into a food processor or blender and process until the consistency is that of a normal tomato sauce.  At this point, you can put the sauce back into the pan and cover to keep warm until the meatballs are finished.

So, while the sauce was simmering, I worked on the meatballs.

Turkey Meatballs:

1lb ground turkey

1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped

1 whole carrot, grated

2 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons fresh basil, finely chopped

1 slightly beaten egg

1 piece of gluten free bread, crust removed, pulsed into bread crumbs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

The best way to mix meatballs together is with the old fashioned hand! Make sure you wash first! After everything is good and mixed, roll the mixture into 2 inch balls.

Start your broiler, line a cookie sheet with foil, and spray with oil.  Broil for 10 minutes. The meatballs should have a nice, brown color on top.

Remember that delicious veggie sauce you put to the side? Heat that up over low heat, add the meatballs, cover, and cook for 10-15 minutes or until your noodles are finished.

Okay, so the reason I am showing you this photo is so you can get this brand of noodles.  I have done the cleanse 3 times now, so I have tried my share of brown rice noodles.  Let me tell you so you don’t have to find out on your own, that these are the BEST I have ever had. They didn’t get all mushy like other brands and they tasted just like wheat noodles. Ignore the bell pepper and personal-sized french baguette.  That was for Roberto, who is not participating in the cleanse.

Alright, back to the recipe….You are basically finished, just add some fresh basil to the sauce, and enjoy!!

 

Have a wonderful Friday and eat clean!

 

Follow up to “I am a stripper”

I just wanted to follow up with my attempts at ridding Milo’s diapers of the stench of ammonia.  So, in “I am a stripper” I explained that I boiled them, then soaked them in an ammonia bouncer, and that worked…for a few days.  After 3 or 4 days the ammonia was back.  So I did some more reading and decided to try bleach.  I just added a little bit of bleach to the hot rinse that I do before the hot, heavy wash, then I just added the detergent, as usual, to the heavy wash, and rinsed again. I have been doing that with every load and Milo’s diapers smell like NOTHING! They just smell so clean. They don’t even smell like bleach. I am so relieved! I thought I would be stuck with that smell FOREVER! So there you have it, folks…If you’re having ammonia problems, try bleach before you decide to spend a whole 2 days boiling and soaking your child’s diapers.

Adobo Chicken

It’s no secret that I love Giada’s recipes (see HERE and HERE).  I make sweet & sticky drumsticks ALL OF THE TIME.  I mean, at least 3 times a month.  So delicious. Anyway, I was watching her show the other day and saw her making the Adobo Chicken and I knew I had to make it soon or I would die.  Thankfully, I quickly gathered the ingredients and made it just in time.

So, so, so very delicious.

You must make this ASAP. I think that I have decided that it is on the same level (Level “Amaze-balls”, as my sister-in-law says) as sweet & sticky drumsticks.

 

Just follow the link I provided in the first paragraph to this amazing recipe! I served cilantro-lime rice and broccoli alongside these lovely drumsticks.  I want to let the chickens who sacrificed their lives know that they did not die in vain.  Their drumsticks fulfilled any chicken’s ultimate destiny.  Thank you, chickens.

If you’re still searching for something to make for tomorrows big game, this would be a great dish!! Have a wonderful Saturday!