Campfire Chicken Fajitas

Last weekend, we headed out to Sleepy Hollow State Park for our first camping trip of the summer.  Of course, I planned out our food for the trip earlier in the week and had much of it prepped before leaving home to make the cooking around a campfire easy and fun.  I had originally planned to make some hobo dinners like we tried on our only camping trip last summer.  I had decided I'd use some chopped up chicken breasts since I had some in the freezer that needed to be used.  Then I got to thinking... why not do chicken fajitas instead of the typical hobo dinner?  So that's what I did.  These were super easy to prep and they tasted awesome!  We're not eating grains much these days, so we opted for no tortillas and just added some toppings to the fajitas and ate it all with a fork.  These will definitely be something I'll make often when we go camping - they were a total hit! 

Campfire Chicken Fajitas

chicken breasts, cut into strips/chunks
bell peppers, sliced
onions, sliced
other veggies are optional (we had asparagus in our since its in season)
taco seasoning
extra virgin olive oil, cold-pressed and unfiltered
toppings - diced avocado, homemade salsa, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.

Cut the meat from your chicken breasts (or you can use boneless) into strips or chunks.  Place into an airtight container and toss with taco seasoning and olive oil.  The amount you use will depend on your tastes and how much chicken you are making.  I used two large chicken breasts and used about 3 Tablespoons of seasoning, plus enough olive oil to coat.  I didn't measure anything, just used what looked right.  Put the lid on your container and place it in the refrigerator or cooler with ice.  I prepped everything the night before we left, so my chicken marinated for about 24 hours or a little more. 

Next, slice up your peppers, onions, and whatever other veggies you like.  I added asparagus to ours since that's what was in season.  If you are taking these camping with you, do this step at home so everything is ready to go.  Then place the veggies in another airtight container or ziploc bag and place in the cooler on ice. 

When you are ready to make your campfire fajitas, tear off some large pieces of heavy duty aluminum foil.  You'll want big enough pieces to form into packets around your meals.  Place however much chicken you want in each meal in the center of the foil.  Then top with the prepared veggies.  Wrap up the foil around everything, into a packet.  Then wrap again with another piece of foil - double wrapping helps so the food doesn't get too charred on the fire. 

Finally, place the packets onto the hot coals in your campfire.  You should flip them and rotate them a few times.  Let them cook for 15-20 minutes, depending on how hot your fire is.  Once done, remove from the fire.  Unwrap the foil carefully - the steam escaping is very hot and can burn you if you're not careful.  We just dumped ours out onto our plates.  Then top with your favorite fajita toppings.  We kept it simple and just used some homemade salsa, diced avocado, and sour cream.  If you are ok with grains, serve with some tortillas.  Otherwise, enjoy with your fork - that's what we did and they were delicious!

This post is linked to:

Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS

Pennywise Platter Thursday at The Nourishing Gourmet

Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade

Grain Free Real Food Carnival at Real Food Forager

Strawberry Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

Its strawberry season here in Michigan.  So that means we are eating strawberries quite a bit.  I'm always looking for new ways to use them.  With all the lettuce and spinach we're getting from the garden, we're also eating a lot of salads.  It dawned on me over the weekend that I should try making a strawberry vinaigrette dressing to eat on our salads.  So I just through a few things together in the blender tonight as I was processing an entire flat of strawberries... yes I got through them all last night... several trays of fruit leather, some frozen topping, some frozen puree, some frozen whole berries, and this dressing.  Not bad for about an hour and a half's work.  ;) 

So anyway, I didn't even look up a recipe.  I just pureed up some berries, added some vinegar, oil, and sea salt.  Then I tasted it.  It tasted great!  So here's what I did.

Strawberry Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

1 cup strawberries, hulled and chopped
3 Tablespoons vinegar - I used white wine vinegar
1/2 cup cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
sea salt, to taste

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree.  Transfer to a mason jar or dressing bottle and serve or refrigerate.  Enjoy!


This post is linked to:
Monday Mania at The Healthy Home Economist
Weekend Gourmet Blog Carnival at Hartke is Online
Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade
Pennywise Platter Thursday at The Nourishing Gourmet

Meal plans and the week ahead

We are back from our first camping trip of the summer. We had a great time! Kevin got to do some mountain biking with his buddy, James. We took some family bike rides. We enjoyed the beach. We hiked. We made s'mores (our guilty pleasure while camping). We basically just had fun. :)

We've got another busy week ahead of us this week. We've been unpacking and getting the house back in order for the last few hours that we've been home today.  We're taking a quick break and then we'll all get back to work.  I've got to get some weeding done in the garden and flower beds. Tomorrow will be more of the same. Tuesday we're headed to another Silver Lake ski show. This time I believe our friends, the Fransons, may be meeting us there. And I think my SIL, BIL, niece and nephews are as well. Wednesday I am going to Livonia for a conference. Thursday we are meeting my SIL, BIL, niece, and nephews at Crossroads Village to see the Flint Symphony Orchestra. Friday is my milk and CSA pickup day. We also have another company coming over to give us an estimate on our roof. Saturday I am headed to Grand Rapids for a bachelorette party for my friend, Katie. Its going to be so fun! We'll be escorted around town in a party bus to 3 different wineries for wine tasting in the afternoon. Then we're headed to dinner at San Chez. And then we're headed out on the town! I'm really looking forward to it all!

I have been freezing and drying lots of strawberries during the last week.  I picked up another flat this afternoon on our way home from the campground.  I'll probably get another flat at the farmers' market in Lansing this week, too.  I want to freeze and dry some more.  And I'd like to make a batch of strawberry jam.  I'm also going to make some strawberry coconut milk ice cream and strawberry vinaigrette salad dressing this week.  Not sure when I'm going to fit it all in, with such a busy week... but I will figure it out. :)  I'm still making butter each week right now and sticking it in the freezer, too.  And I'm making water kefir again finally. 
So anyway... here's the plan...

Breakfasts:

• Yogurt with strawberries
• Kefir smoothies
• Scrambled eggs with veggies
• Muffins from freezer
• Hard boiled eggs

Lunches and Snacks:

• Leftovers
• Salads with homemade dressing
• Egg salad avocado boats
• Frijole mole dip with veggies
• Apples with almond butter
• Sliced cheese
• Fruit

Dinners:

• Grilled chicken topped with cucumber avocado salsa; asparagus; peaches
• Jimmy John's unwiches (picnic at ski show)
• Spaghetti squash with pesto, peas, and grilled chicken; side salads
• Meatloaf; asparagus; side salads; applesauce
• Grilled steaks; asparagus; side salads
• Leftovers

Burger Lettuce Wraps

This is how we eat our burgers these days.  Since we're eating mostly primal, we're avoiding grains.  This means... no buns for our burgers.  At first, both Kevin and I thought it was going to be very difficult to eat our burgers wrapped in lettuce.  But it wasn't hard at all.  In fact, we actually tend to prefer our burgers this way... we seriously don't miss the buns at all.  Especially right now with all the yummy lettuce we're getting from our garden and that you can find at just about any farmers' market this time of year.  On this particular night, we had burgers topped with raw provolone cheese, pickles, mayo, and bacon... and I'm pretty sure I had avocado on mine (Kevin's is in the picture).  All wrapped in lettuce and served with a side of green and yellow beans from last year's garden (that we'd frozen).  It is a perfect summer time meal!

Homemade Poppyseed Salad Dressing

We went over to my in-laws' house to celebrate Father's Day yesterday.  The family had lunch together after church.  We just had a simple lunch of make-your-own salads.  It was perfect for a hot day and a quick-prep meal!  We had a great assortment of toppings to choose from and everyone got to put together the perfect salad for themselves. 

I made a couple of homemade salad dressings to contribute to the spread... ranch and I tried a new recipe for poppyseed dressing.  I've been wanting to make poppyseed for quite a while now - I think I found this recipe over a year ago... and I didn't write down where I found it, so I'm not sure what the source is for this.  I just never got around to actually making it until Saturday.  This was very quick and easy to put together.  And it was very tasty!  I think everyone who tried it enjoyed it.  Even my husband tried it and said he really liked it (the picture is of his salad). 

Poppyseed Dressing

1/2 cup homemade mayonnaise
1/2 cup organic Greek yogurt
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons poppy seeds

Mix all ingredients together until creamy.  You can either whisk in a bowl, or put all the ingredients into a glass jar and shake them all up together.   Once ingredients are combined, your dressing is ready to use.   Pour over salad and toss just before serving.  If you are making the dressing ahead of time, you'll want to shake/stir it up well just before using it.


This post is linked to:
Monday Mania at The Healthy Home Economist
Weekend Gourmet Blog Carnival at Hartke is Online
Traditional Tuesdays at Delicious Obsessions

Homemade Mayonnaise

I've been making homemade mayonnaise for quite a long time... for at least a year now on a regular basis.  As I was getting ready to post a recipe for a salad dressing (coming up next) I made this weekend, I went searching for my mayo post to link it to the new recipe... and I couldn't find it.  So here it is.  I got the original recipe from The Nourishing Gourmet.  I've tweaked it a bit for our tastes (as written below).  My SIL, Mary, also has a great version on her blog for something closer to Miracle Whip if you prefer that.  I'll have to try hers sometime, as Kevin likes Miracle Whip... but he also always liked Hellman's which was always my favorite.  So I usually just make plain mayo.  It really does taste very much like Hellman's. 

You'll notice that this mayo is quite yellow.  This is because I use farm-fresh, pastured eggs.  These are the most nutritious eggs... with very orange yolks.  The contrast between pastured and conventional yolks is amazing.  You'll also see that the yolks remain raw in this recipe.  Please don't make this recipe with eggs you don't trust.  If you are using farm-fresh, pastured eggs from a farmer you know uses sustainable practices... you are most likely safe.  That's who I'd trust, at least.  :)

Homemade Mayonnaise
4 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1-2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar (we do prefer ACV, though)
1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
3/4-1 cup oil - I usually use all olive oil, but sometimes will add in some grapeseed oil

Combine everything EXCEPT the oil. I use a quart sized wide-mouth mason jar.  You just want something that fits your immersion blender.  Mix with a stick blender until creamy.

While blending, add the oil in small increments and mix until it’s homogenized. Make sure you lift the blender up and down as it’s blending- the quick up and down motion helps the mixture to homogenize, and it will thicken right up.

Meal plans and the week ahead

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful fathers out there!!  I hope you all are able to do something fun with the special dads in your life today. 

Today we're headed to my in-laws' church.  My SIL, BIL, niece, and nephew are visiting from Grand Rapids and we're very excited to see them!  They are bringing us some of our grassfed beef that we ordered together - I'm very anxious to try the beef!  We'll have to run home after church to stick it all in the freezer.  Then we're heading over to my in-laws' house for lunch.  We'll be heading out to my aunt's house on the lake for some water skiing later in the afternoon, probably around 3:00.  That will be Kevin's special thing to do today - water ski.  :)  It's what he loves to do and wants to do.  Carson says he wants to give it a try today, too.  So we'll see how that goes. 

The rest of the week will be sort of busy, too.  We don't have anything on Monday.  But Tuesday, we may be headed up to the Silver Lake Ski Club ski show again.  Wednesday I have to go out to Hadley/Lapeer area to pick up 5 fresh chickens.  Thursday a friend from work is coming over for dinner - he spends 4 days at UM-Flint every 6 weeks or so for his MBA program.  So he's coming over for dinner and to hang out for a bit on Thursday night.  Friday is my flex day.  I am hoping to be able to hang out with Kati and baby Tony in the morning - doing something active.  Then I'll be packing up the car in the afternoon.  As long as the weather holds up, we're going camping at Sleepy Hollow State Park this weekend.  Our friends, the Chapmans, are going to join us, and possibly a few other friends, as well.  It should be a fun weekend!

In between plans, I need to do some serious weeding in the flower beds up front and in the veggie garden and berry patches.  We're also going to be picking up a bunch of sand to lay the foundation for the pool.  Hopefully we can at least get the sand in, spread out, and tamped down.  Then next week we can get the pool set up finally. 

So here's the plan... I still need to figure out what I'm going to make when Chris is over on Thursday night...

Breakfasts:

• Yogurt with fruit
• Kefir smoothies
• Scrambled eggs with veggies and sausage
• GF muffins from freezer

Lunches and Snacks:

• Leftovers
• Salads
• Fruit
• Apples with almond butter
• Veggies with dip
• Sliced cheese
• Pickles

Dinners:

• Grilled salmon; asparagus; carrots; peaches
• Stir fry with leftover beef roast, snap peas, carrots, onions, zucchini
• Grilled steak; asparagus; broccoli from freezer; applesauce
• TBD

Camping food:

• Yogurt with fruit
• Hard boiled eggs
• Salads with homemade dressings
• Egg salad with avocado
• Sliced cheese and local, organic, pastured beef jerky
• Fresh fruit
• Local, organic, pastured brats; home canned baked beans; asparagus; applesauce
• Hobo dinners; applesauce

Blueberry Banana Muffins

Here's another recipe that I've made quite a few times now.  I've made them as written below.  I've also substituted the blueberries with strawberries a couple of times, too.  Both are excellent!!  These are very quick and easy to throw together - perfect for making them with a child.  Carson loves to help make them!  He also loves to eat them and requests these often.  We all love them. 

This recipe comes from Nourished and Nurtured.  Be sure to check out her site for lots of GAPS-friendly recipes.  While we're not doing GAPS at our house, many GAPS recipes are also paleo and/or primal friendly, as well. 

Blueberry Banana Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
1/2 cup butter or unrefined coconut oil
1/2 cup honey
3/4 tsp celtic sea salt
6 eggs, preferably pasture-raised
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
3/4 cup coconut flour
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 heaping cup frozen blueberries
Melt butter or coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Turn off heat and allow to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, combine the eggs, salt, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a large bowl. If using an immersion blender, pulse a few times to combine. Otherwise, mix to combine with a whisk or mixer.

Add the honey to the butter (or coconut oil) and stir slightly. Pour this mixture into the wet ingredients and blend well with immersion blender or mixer.

Pour the coconut flour into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Use an immersion blender or mixer to thoroughly combine all ingredients, making sure there are no lumps.
Add mashed banana and mix to combine.

Line a muffin tin with paper cups. Scoop the muffin batter into the paper cups.
Add about 8-10 blueberries to the top of each muffin. Push them down slightly into the batter. If you try to fold the blueberries into the batter, they tend to sink to the bottom of the muffins during baking, making everything a bit soggy.

Bake muffins in 325 degree oven for about 40-50 minutes, until muffins are set and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. If you are in a time-crunch, you could bake them at 350 degrees initially, but you'll need to reduce the heat after a bit so they won't burn before being set in the middle.

Remove from oven and cool.

Organic Gardening - Asparagus

I have been doing a lot of research on growing asparagus and I just wanted to share what I've been learning. I use my blog as my resource for information, so it will be helpful for me to have the info here. Plus, I hope others may find it useful at one point or another, as well.

Last year, I planted 25 crowns of Purple Passion Asparagus in our garden. We love asparagus and tend to eat it every other day when its in season. I want to eventually have enough to not only eat fresh as often as we like, but also to blanch and freeze so that we can enjoy our own home-grown asparagus in the fall and winter months.

Find a Source
The first step in growing asparagus is to find a good source for crowns. I ordered my crowns from Fedco. You'll need to decide what variety you are interested in. There are many to choose from. I chose an all male variety, as I have read they are most productive since they're not wasting energy producing seeds like females.

Planting Asparagus
Plant asparagus during the dormant period - for me that meant early spring. To plant the crowns, you need to dig a trench about a foot deep and about a foot wide. Make sure you also amend your soil, if necessary. Remember, asparagus is a perennial, so you'll want a good, nourishing soil to grow it in. You should add some good compost as you are planting the crowns, too. I also added some manure as I was planting mine.

You will want to space the crowns about 18 inches apart and then cover with a few inches of soil. As your plants sprout and grow, you should fill in the trench with more soil so as to provide a good, strong growing base.

What to Plant (and Not to Plant) Near Asparagus
Good companions for asparagus are: basil, parsley, and tomatoes.  Bad companions for asparagus are: onions, chives, garlic, and leeks.

Harvesting Asparagus
I have read mixed things about when to take your first harvest after planting crowns. Definitely do not harvest any asparagus spears the first year you plant the crowns. Just let them grow. I think asparagus is actually quite pretty. I never realized how pretty the asparagus ferns could be. The ferns get quite tall - like 5 or 6 feet - so make sure you also take this into consideration when you are planting your crowns.

Some sources say that you should not harvest the second year, either. And some sources recommend leaving them alone a third year, even. Many sources say you can harvest the second year, but only a light harvest.  I've decided not to harvest mine yet this year.  I will harvest some next year, but only a light harvest.  I figure I will harvest 2 or 3 stalks per crown next year and leave the rest to grow into ferns, as I want my crowns to really get established and growing strong. 

Harvest asparagus when the spears are between 6 and 8 inches long and the tips are still tightly closed. Cut off the spears just below the surface of the soil using a sharp trowel/shovel.  You'll want to leave the very thin spears to grow into ferns and nourish your roots.

You can extend the harvest of your asparagus by allowing 3 or 4 spears per crown to grow into ferns. By doing this, your crowns are always producing enough energy and food via photosynthesis. This will extend your harvest by weeks. Once the diameter an the spears is thinner than a pencil, its time to stop harvesting and let them grow into ferns.

After 4 years of good growth, your plants should be producing strong for about 8 weeks.

Diseases and Pests
Asparagus is susceptible to asparagus rust, which looks like orange/yellow spots on the foliage. Make sure you are selecting varieties that are resistant.

Another common issue are asparagus beetles. They usually appear later in the season and eat the ferns. This will weaken the crowns. Hand-pick off the beetles and squash them, or try applying soap spray directly on the beetles. After the first frost, remove the dead ferns and destroy so as to eliminate a place for the beetles to over-winter. A good defense against asparagus beetles is to plant tomatoes, basil, and parsley next to your asparagus plants.  They will deter one another's pests. 

To make a soap spray, mix 1 teaspoon Dr. Bronners soap in 1 quart of water. Shake it up and spray.

Cutting The Ferns As You Prepare For Winter
Asparagus fronds should not be cut until very late in the fall.  By this time, the ferns should be dry and brittle.  You want to leave the ferns as long as possible, as the roots need the top growth to enable them to make spears the following spring.

After you cut the ferns back, you will want to spread a layer of compost or manure over the asparagus bed.  Then top with a thick layer of straw. 


This post is shared at: Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Pecan Crusted Chicken

I've made this quite a few times now, but I just haven't gotten around to posting it yet. I've made chicken and fish this way and want to try it with pork chops sometime, too. I've also made it with other crispy nuts - almonds and walnuts.  All are great, but pecans are my favorite! It's delicious, fast, and so easy! Perfect for a weeknight meal. I originally got the idea from a recipe I saw in my Everyday Paleo cookbook - you can also view the recipe on the Everyday Paleo website. I've made it exactly as written in Sarah's book/site, but it tastes just as great the way I've written it below. Plus its even easier.

Pecan Crusted Chicken (or Fish or Pork Chops)

4 pastured chicken breasts
1/2 cup organic/natural dijon mustard
1 cup crispy pecans
sea salt, to taste
coconut oil or butter, for greasing the pan

Preheat your oven to 350. Grease a glass baking dish with some coconut oil or butter. Set aside.

Place the pecans in a food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely chopped. Pour the chopped pecans into a pie plate or shallow/wide bowl.

Squeeze the dijon mustard into another pie plate or shallow/wide bowl.

Take each chicken breast individually and dip into the dijon mustard. Make sure to coat on both sides. Next, dip the chicken in the chopped pecans. Again, make sure to coat both sides.

Place coated chicken into the greased glass baking dish. Sprinkle each chicken breast with just a little sea salt.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear.

This post is shared at:
Grain-Free Tuesday at Hella Delicious
Traditional Tuesday at Delicious Obsessions
Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Meal plans and the week ahead

Ok, so I am writing this before our weekend in Wisconsin and scheduling it to post on the normal day. So no updates on how the weekend is going in Wisconsin. I hope it's going fabulously and that we're having wonderful weather! It didn't look so great as of Thursday... but one can hope, right?! :) 

UPDATE:  We are having an awesome weekend!  The family reunion yesterday was so fun!  There were 42 people there and it was great to meet lots of my cousins that I'd never met.  I've heard many many stories about them all, so it was good to put names and stories with faces.  Today's weather looks very nice... a little cool still in the high 60s, but it's nice and sunny today.  We're looking forward to enjoying some time at our beach and exploring a little more today.  Tomorrow looks great, too.  We might come back a little later than we had originally planned, so we can enjoy a little more time here.  We'll see how it plays out. 

So obviously, we're in Wisconsin still. We're getting up tomorrow morning, packing up the car again, and heading home. We should be home before dinner. Tuesday afternoon, I'm going to our local WAPF chapter meeting. Then on Tuesday evening, we're meeting up with our friends, the Franson and Parks families, out at the Silver Lake Ski Club ski show.  Wednesday night I'm getting my hair done. And I am debating about taking Friday off... we'll see how the weather looks and what is going on at work. If I do take the day off, Carson and I will probably be meeting up with our friends Kati and baby Tony to do something fun. And Saturday, we're headed out to my Uncle Dave's lake for the Jason Amy Memorial (JAM) slalom ski tournament. So it should be another fun week!

I'm sure the yard is a jungle again, so we'll need to mow and weed whack this week. Maybe tomorrow after we get home, if the lawn is looking too bad. I'll need to weed out the flower gardens and veggie garden, too, I'm sure. We're still working on cleaning out a section of our backyard - cutting down some trees, removing brush and overgrowing things, removing cement blocks that have been buried under the top layer of soil, etc. So hopefully we'll make a little progress on that project this week, too. I think that's about all we'll have time for this week.

As for meals, here's what I'm thinking...

Breakfasts:

• Breakfast cupcakes
• Smoothies
• Yogurt with fruit
• Avocado cream cheese frittata

Lunches and snacks:

• Leftovers
• Frijole mole dip with raw veggies
• Asparagus basil salad
• Hard boiled eggs
• Homemade beef jerky
• Crispy nuts
• Fruit

Dinners:

• Salad with hard boiled eggs, bacon, roasted chicken from the freezer, bell pepper, carrots, cucumber, avocado, vinegar & oil
• Beef short ribs; asparagus; side salads
• Paleo tuna cakes; asparagus; strawberry rhubarb coconut ice cream
• Grilled chicken kebabs; side salads; fruit
• Meatza

Meal plans and the week ahead

This is going to be a busy week. We're going away this weekend, so we have lots of preparation... packing, making some healthy snacks for the car, cleaning the house, etc. Its a good thing we don't have many plans early this week. We don't really have anything going on until Thursday.  Scratch that.  Kevin told me this afternoon that he has to pick up a rental car tonight.  He's headed to Ohio tomorrow and won't get home until very late.  Tuesday he's headed to Canada, but hopefully won't be home too much after regular time.  I have to attend an MDOT public meeting on our state rail plan on Thursday evening in Flint. And I'll be going out to pick up our milk on Thursday night since we can't get it Friday, but I can't go until after the evening milking at 8:30. That's about it for the first half of the week.

Then we'll be loading up and heading out around 6:00am on Friday morning. We're going to Sheboygan, Wisconsin for a family reunion with my maternal grandma's family. My grandma was from Sheboygan, but I have never been there. It will be fun to see the town she lived in, see the places I remember her talking about, and meet some of my cousins from that side of the family. I really wish we would have done this before my grandma passed away. :(

I hope we have nice weather while we're in Wisconsin (doesn't look too great now, hope it changes). My grandpa, his girlfriend, my parents, my aunts/uncles, sister, some of my cousins, and us have rented one big house on Lake Michigan for the weekend. So I just hope the forecast changes and its sunny and warm so we can enjoy the beach!! We'll be coming home on Monday next week, so no posting for me next Sunday. I'll post the plans for next week a few days late after we get back.

We've had amazing weather this weekend (finally!). Yesterday was nice and hot! Hopefully today is as well. I have about 2/3 of the garden planted at this point. I will be finishing it up today. We did a lot of yard work yesterday and will do more today, as well. We're working on cleaning up a section of the backyard so we can till it and seed it.

I took my last dose of those dreadful antibiotics yesterday. I'm very glad to be done with them. Now I can get my gut back in order. I'm looking forward to feeling back to normal soon. And I'm really looking forward to milk and cheese again! I figure I'll try them again on Wednesday. Let's hope they go over better than the slice of cheese did last weekend.

Ok, so here's what I'm thinking for meals:

Breakfasts:

• Fried eggs; bacon
• Grain-free muffins from freezer
• Fruit
• Smoothies

Lunches and snacks:

• Leftovers
• Salads
• Hard boiled eggs
• Apples with almond butter
• Raw veggies with ranch dip
• Fruit rolls
• Crispy nuts

Dinners:

• Grilled burgers wrapped in lettuce, topped with bacon, cheese, pickles; green and yellow beans
• Grilled balsamic glazed pork chops; green beans; cauliflower; peaches
• Split pea soup
• Stir fry
• Grilled marinated chicken breasts; salad; applesauce

To pack in the cooler for WI:

• Milk... Can't go w/out our real milk!
• GF power bars
• GF granola
• Yogurt
• Apples
• Fruit rolls
• Crispy nuts
• Hard boiled eggs
• Butter... I just cannot stomach the idea of not having good, quality butter
• Bacon... our contribution for family breakfasts
• Sweet breads from freezer... another contribution to family breakfasts (and a good way to use them up since we don't eat them anymore)

Primal Egg Casserole

This is just a basic egg casserole recipe.  I almost didn't even post it, but figured since I've made it about 5 times now, I might as well.  Each time I've made it, the casserole has been slightly different - switching out the greens or adding a vegetable.  This is very simple and fast to make.  And it's very good.  I will bake it on Sunday evening, slice it, and store it in the refrigerator for fast, easy breakfasts on our busy work mornings.  This is great straight out of the fridge, or warmed a little in the oven. 

I know my pictures show the casserole with cheese, but I've listed it as an optional ingredient below.  The first time I made it, I used cheese (and took pictures).  But I don't generally add the cheese anymore.  It's great without! 

Primal Egg Casserole

2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 pound naturally seasoned sausage
1 bunch greens - spinach, kale, swiss chard, beet greens, etc.8-10 eggs
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms, optional
6-8 eggs
a small bunch of parsley or other fresh herb... chives are great in this, too
1/4 cup shredded cheese, optional

Preheat the oven to 375.   Heat a pan on medium.  Add butter and swirl around pan.  Add the sausage.  Meanwhile, slice the greens into thin strips.  Add the greens to the sausage and saute until sausage is cooked through and greens are tender.  If you are adding any extra vegetables (we like mushrooms in ours... but its great without, too... my pictures show it without), add them to the pan while things are cooking. 

In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs.  Mix in the fresh herbs.  Then add the greens and sausage mixture.  Pour into a greased 8×8 pan.  If you are using cheese, sprinkle on top of egg mixture.  You don't need cheese.  My pictures show the casserole with cheese, but I don't generally add it anymore. 

Bake 20-25 minutes or until middle of casserole is set.  Let it cool slightly before slicing into squares. 

This post is linked to:
Monday Mania at the Healthy Home Economist
Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade
Fresh Bites Friday at Read Food Whole Health
Traditional Tuesdays at Delicious Obsessions
Grain Free Tuesday at Hella Delicious

Meal plans and the week ahead

Already a new week?  Last week was kind of a blur.  I came down with a bad case of strep throat on Tuesday and was out of commission for quite a few days.  I used to get strep as a child quite often, but I haven't had it since I was 6 years old.  I don't remember it ever being as bad as it was last week.  The pain and discomfort from strep seriously makes labor and delivery of a child seem like nothing.  At first, I thought I had the flu since my throat wasn't too bad and I was suffering mostly from chills, sweats, shaking quite violently, an aching body, and fever.  It was not fun.  I was delirious on Tuesday afternoon.  That was kind of scary.  Then my throat swelled up so much you could see it on the outside of my neck/jaw line.  And talk about painful.  Wow.  I couldn't even swallow my saliva.  And all I could do was sleep.  If I was awake for an hour the first few days, that was really pushing it.  I hope I never get strep again.

I'm still not 100%.  I feel really good, but I'm still very weak and the antibiotics are pretty brutal.  I haven't been on antibiotics since I had my wisdom tooth out a the year before I was pregnant with Carson... and before that I think it had been my third year of college.  So I've been pretty lucky on the antibiotics front these last 10 years, so I guess I can't complain too much.  But the antibiotic I'm on right now is just so harsh.  Pretty much anything I eat exits violently in about a half hour... sorry if that's too much information.  :)  I'm taking some good probiotics to help counteract things, but I only got back on them Friday, so we'll see if they make much difference in the days to come. 

Needless to say, we had quite the set back last week.  I still have a lot of planting to do in the veggie garden.  But that's ok.  If I don't get it all planted till next weekend, it'll be ok.  It's not too late.  My house is a disaster, too.  I have been trying to do a little cleaning here and there, but it hasn't been too productive.  I was able to get a good deal of laundry done, but that really wore me out.  I'm so not used to feeling like this.  I need energy!!!  So hopefully I'm able to get back on track this week.  With the garden and the house and the yard... which looks like a jungle again with all the rain we've had.  :) 

This morning, we're headed to my cousin's church in Creek.  My cousin Brad is preaching.  We're excited to hear him.  Brad's blog is awesome to read, so I can only imagine how great his preaching will be.  Then, I'll be dropping Kevin and Carson off at home for some boys' time while I head to Linden.  I'm helping to throw my BFF, Jaime, a baby shower this afternoon.  I'm so excited!!  Then tonight, we'll hopefully be headed over to our friends' Kori and Ben's house for more hanging out with Jaime, Jeff, and Jack.  I say hopefully because I just don't know how much I'll be able to do today.  Like I said, I'm still pretty weak and get worn out really fast.  So today will be a long day, but I'm going to try to do it all.  Jaime and Jeff are only home for the weekend and we haven't seen them since January, so I really want to make the most of our time with them! 

Tomorrow we'll be heading out to my Aunt Sharon's house for a family party.  And then it's back to work.  We don't really have many plans the rest of the week.  It's my week for milk pickup and I have to pickup our CSA order on Friday.  But I think that's about it.  We'll have lots of time for working outside (if the weather cooperates) and getting the house clean. 

We didn't really utilize any of the meals last week, with me being out of commission... and Kevin thinking he can't cook.  So I'm just mostly recycling the plans from last week, with a few small changes.  And since we'll be eating at the shower, Kori's and Ben's, and then my aunt's today and tomorrow... plus eating leftovers... there aren't really that many meals on the list here.

Breakfasts:
Fried eggs and sausage
Breakfast cupcakes
Fresh fruit
Smoothies

Lunches and snacks:
Leftovers
Lettuce salads
Raw bell pepper and cucumber slices
Apples with almond butter
Hard boiled eggs
Fruit leather
Crispy nuts

Dinners:
Grilled local/healthy/organic brats; grilled asparagus; peaches
Meatloaf; peas; carrots
Grilled chicken souvlaki; asparagus; side salads
Ham steaks; green beans; cauliflower; applesauce

Organic Orcharding - Spring To-Dos

We inherited an established, overgrown, diseased, buggy home orchard when we bought our house. There were probably about 30-35 different fruit trees on the property - mostly apples and pears, with a couple edible crabapples, a couple peach, and a cherry. We've since removed some of the way overgrown, beyond-saving trees. We had a couple enormous trees that were very sick, with rotted limbs throughout more than a third of the tree. We decided they weren't worth the effort, so we've cut them down. We still have another really large apple tree to cut down... if it ever stops raining this week, we'll take care of it then. Otherwise, it will be taken care of soon. We've also removed some other trees that were too diseased to save or just haven't been fruiting for the last 3 years. We're now down to about 22 fruit trees, I believe.

It has been my goal to revive the orchard using organic and sustainable methods. This is no small task, but I believe it can be done. I learn many new things each year, but I am making good progress. I am hopeful that we'll actually be able to harvest some decent fruit this year... although we'll see what impact the cold, rainy weather has on the trees in the next week or so.  That cold and rain could not have come at a worse time for a home orchard... so we're keeping our fingers crossed that the bees were still able to pollinate and things weren't disrupted too much.

Anyway, I wanted to share my progress and the methods by which I'm achieving success so as to encourage others to either tackle some old, overgrown fruit trees, or maybe to switch over to more sustainable methods of home orcharding.

I wanted to start off with a few things to do in the spring.  I took care of most of these items quite a few weeks ago, but it's still not too late for you to attempt any of these ideas.

Feed the trees. 
Spring is the time you want to encourage strong, rapid growth of your fruit trees.  Early spring is the best time to do this by feeding the trees.  I have chosen to use chicken manure compost, which is higher in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium than other manures, therefore you don't need to use as much.  When spreading the manure around the trees, you'll want to focus on the area where the feeder roots (the smaller, fibrous roots that actually absorb the nutrients from the soil) are growing.  This will be dependent upon the size of your tree.  But basically, the larger roots of a tree are towards its center.  The feeder roots extend out from the larger roots, generally to the edge of the canopy.  This is the area you want to focus on when feeding your trees.  

Neem oil.
Neem oil is a great, safe insect-control oil spray.  It makes a great dormant oil spray, too.  I sprayed my trees with neem oil at the half-inch green tip stage, as well as another spray when the buds were just turning pink (before blossoming).  I will also be spraying this week after all petals have fallen.  One more spray about 10 days later will do the trick in deterring scab and rust fungal diseases.   

Trap pests.
Overwintered pests begin to emerge in the early spring.  A very effective and safe way to rid your orchard of (most) pests is to trap them by using sticky traps.  These traps will monitor the presence of different pests - codling moth, sawflies, apple maggot, tarnished plant bugs, etc.  I have been using a combination of white sticky traps and red spheres in our orchard for the past two years with great effectiveness.  Of course, the traps don't catch everything, but they really do make a good dent in the pest population and improve your fruit crop substantially. 

White Sticky Traps
Place white sticky traps at about eye level in your trees to trap lots of European apple sawflies. You may not catch them all, but you'll catch enough to improve your apple crop. You will want to remove the blossoms within about 12 inches of the white sticky trap.

Place white sticky traps at knee level to catch lots of tarnished plant bugs. You will want to hang these at the beginning of silver tip.

Only set out a few cards initially in order to monitor. Set out more when control is required. For a trap-out hang 1 trap per dwarf tree, 2 per semi-dwarf tree and 3 to 4 per standard tree.

Make Your Own White Sticky Traps
Of course, you can purchase white sticky traps, but you'll spend about $3-4 per trap. Or, you can make your own traps for less than 50 cents per trap.

You'll need the following materials:
White posterboard
Quart-size plastic Ziploc freezer bags
Pants hangers (with the clips)

Cut your white posterboard so that it fits inside the Ziploc bag, approximately 6"x8".  Slide the white posterboard into the bag and zip it closed. Coat the plastic bag with a sticky material. Some options are Tanglefoot, Stikem, or even petroleum jelly.

Clip the sticky bags into the clips on the pants hanger.  Hang in the tree.

When your sticky substance becomes covered with bugs, simply slide off the plastic bag and discard it. Put on a new bag and coating, and you're back in business, using the same piece of cardboard.

Meal plans and the week ahead

What amazing weather we have had these past two days! We have been busting our tails working outside. Yesterday, I got all of the front and side flower beds weeded, as well as one of the back flower beds. I also planted a few new perennials, moved some existing perennials, and planted a good deal of annuals in the front. Our front yard looks so nice this year! Our big landscaping project last year has really paid off and made a huge aesthetic improvement! Now we are trying to get the backyard caught up. We have a long way to go, though. It will be a multi-year project, I think. I'm also making progress on getting the veggie garden planted. I'll be working on that a lot this week (I hope... if the rain holds off or as long as its at least decent in the evenings). I've also been working in the orchard and berry patches. We have a lot of projects. Once the garden is planted, I won't feel so overwhelmed, though.

Today we are headed to church in East Lansing. My friend, Mohammed, is participating in the baptism of a fellow Iraqi and invited us to witness the blessing. So we'll be going to his church. Afterwards we're going to have lunch at Woody's and then will be meeting a guy to sell some rims and tires. Then we may go downtown to check out the East Lansing Art Festival if the weather is nice... although I think I'm more inclined to get home so we can get some more work done outside.  It looks like the weather will be pretty great again today... but every day for the next week is forecast to rain.  So I think we should make the most of our time outside today if we can. 

Monday I might meet up with my friend Robin to walk or bike, but that is weather dependent.  Tuesday evening I am attending a reception at MSU for a work-related function.  Robin and I will try to walk or bike again on Wednesday if the weather cooperates.  Thursday is Kevin's and my anniversary.  We'll celebrate our 5th year of marriage and our 13th year together.  Well, I'm not sure when or what we'll do to celebrate, but hopefully we can do something soon.  I will also be dropping our milk jars off at Dianne's. And Kevin might go biking if the weather is decent. Although it might be a little muddy for his mountain biking if we do get all the rain forecast this week.  I'm so over this rain.  I thought May was supposed to be nice and sunny and beautiful... like yesterday.  What's up with all this rain!?  :o)

Friday is my flex day. Carson and I will be meeting up with our friends Kati and Anthony in the late morning. Again, hopefully the weather is nice. We're thinking about going hiking at Stony Creek Metropark and/or walking through Kati's huge neighborhood, stopping at all of the playgrounds. If the weather isn't nice, we'll meet at a mall and do some walking and shopping there. We may have dinner with them, too. We'll just see how the day goes. We don't have any plans on Saturday. We're hoping to get a lot of yard work done again... if the weather is nice. We're hoping to cut down a few more big trees in the back and maybe get our bridge across the creek finally. We really need to cut down a few more trees, though. Then we can schedule the stump guy to come out and grind out the stumps and have some dirt delivered so we can really get going on the backyard landscaping project.  Let's cross our fingers the weather people are wrong about all the rain this week! 

Here are my thoughts on meals this week:

Breakfasts:
Fried eggs and bacon
Breakfast cupcakes
Yogurt with fruit
Smoothies

Lunches and snacks:
Leftovers
Tuna salad with avocado
Lettuce salads
Deviled eggs
Sliced cheese
Raw bell pepper and cucumber slices
Apples with almond butter
Hard boiled eggs
Fruit leather
Crispy nuts

Dinners:
Grilled steaks; sweet potato fries; green beans; applesauce
Primal pizzas; asparagus; peaches
Meatloaf; peas; carrots
Chicken souvlaki; asparagus; side salads
Ham steaks; green beans; cauliflower; applesauce
Crustless quiche with ham, broccoli and swiss

Meal plans and the week ahead

This is a semi-busy week. Today we have church and then we're headed to the farmers' market!! I am so excited the local farmers' markets are back in business! Then later this afternoon, we're going to pick up a pool that my mom's friend is giving us. I will be in the U.P. for work on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Hopefully I'm home by dinner time on Wednesday, if we're lucky. Friday is my milk and CSA pickup day after work.

We're not sure what we're going to do this weekend yet. We had been planning on going camping at Sleepy Hollow as a test run with Jet, but we'll see how the week goes and what the weather forecast looks like later in the week (they don't look too promising right now). We'd also like to go to the East Lansing Art Festival, but we'll just have to see how the weekend turns out.... we should be able to go regardless if we go camping or not, though. It will actually be easier to go if we go camping, but again this is all weather-dependent.

The biggest wild card is that we may be joining the local water ski club - Kevin as a skier or maybe a driver and possibly me as a driver, costumes, or dock person. If Carson takes an interest and starts skiing, he'd be part of the pre-shows. We need to make our decisions pretty soon.... the first water practice was yesterday morning, so we're already behind if we do join. So we'll see. Obviously, if one of us decides to join, this changes many of our plans this summer. Our vacations would then be camping at the out-of-state water ski tournaments.

Anyway, here is the plan...

Breakfasts:

• Breakfast cupcakes
• Fried eggs
• Yogurt with grain-free granola
• Kefir smoothies

Lunches and snacks:

• Leftovers
• Salad with bacon, hard boiled egg, tomato, olive oil, lemon juice, and fresh cracked pepper
• Egg salad wrapped in lettuce
• Raw veggies and avocado dip
• Hard boiled eggs
• Apples with almond butter
• Dried fruit
• Crispy pecans

Dinners:

• Almond-crusted chicken; roasted asparagus; side salads; applesauce
• Pork chops with cherries in the crockpot; roasted cauliflower, carrots, and brussels sprouts
• Sirloin dijon; steamed broccoli and cauliflower; peaches
• Italian meatballs in the crockpot; side salads; roasted asparagus
• Grilled burgers wrapped in lettuce; sweet potato fries; raw veggies
• Leftovers

Individual Primal Pizzas

I came up with this idea while I was at the grocery store a few weeks back. Pizza has always been somewhat of a staple in our house... both homemade and buying it from our awesome local pizzeria, Rocky's. Now that we're eating mostly primal, pizza doesn't really fit into our health goals. So, I had to figure out a way to try to satisfy those pizza cravings we all have. I've seen some homemade primal pizza dough recipes online that use coconut or almond flours - and I hope to try them someday - but that's not what I wanted a few weeks back. So I decided to pick up some large portobella mushrooms and use those as my base. I had some cooked ground beef in the freezer that I pulled out and then just used a random assortment of veggies from our refrigerator. I layered everything up with some homemade tomato sauce and some shredded cheese and voila! Individual primal pizzas. These were a total hit! Carson scarfed his down and wanted more. Kevin ate a few and said he thought they were great. I loved them. These were super easy to make, too... and will definitely be a regular thing on our menus from now on!

Individual Primal Pizzas

large portobella mushroom caps
veggies of your choice
cooked ground beef
tomato sauce, preferably homemade
shredded cheese
olive oil

Place your mushroom caps and whatever raw veggies you are using on a baking sheet. I ended up using some orange and green bell peppers, broccoli, carrot shreds, and spinach leaves. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Roast at 375 for about 8 minutes.

Pile up your veggies on the portobella mushroom caps. Next top with some cooked ground beef. Then some tomato sauce. Finally, sprinkle on some shredded cheese.

Place back in the oven at 375 and bake until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!


This post is linked to:
Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS
Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade
Fresh Bites Friday at Real Food Whole Health

Meal plans and the week ahead

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms!!! I hope you all have a great day today! I hope we will be so fortunate to see both our moms today. I think we're heading to my MIL's church this morning. Hopefully, anyway. Both the boys in this house aren't crazy about the idea of going to church today. So we'll see. After church, we'll see if my in-laws want to go to lunch. Then we'll head out to Fenton for a family party with my mom's family. The weather is beautiful again today, so we're all looking forward to spending time outside. Maybe we'll get to go on the first boat ride of the season. :)

As for the rest of the week, we have a somewhat busy week. Tomorrow my SIL goes in bright and early for a c-section delivery of their second child. We're very excited to hear the news and meet the baby later this week! Tuesday is my WAPF meeting and loan signing. We decided to re-finance one of our cars for a lower interest rate. So we'll have to go sign the paperwork to finalize it. Kevin might be leaving for Tennessee on Wednesday, but he's not sure yet. Not sure when he'll be back. Friday is my flex day. I'll be going to get my milk since I won't be home when Dianne would normally drop it off. So I'll take care of that in the morning. Then we'll be headed to Grand Rapids in the late afternoon. We'll be meeting the newest addition to the family and going to an open house for one of Kevin's cousins. We have no plans on Saturday, so we're looking forward to a day of yard work!

I'm changing up the meal plans again, to allow more flexibility. Just a listing of meals that I can select from during the week.

Breakfast options:
Fried eggs with bacon
yogurt and fruit
kefir smoothies
grain free blueberry coconut muffins from freezer

Lunch and Snack options:
leftovers
salads
egg salad with avocado
fruit
hard boiled eggs
apples with almond butter
deviled eggs

Dinner options:
leftover burgers, deviled eggs, and fruit from Saturday
salads with chopped leftover burger, bacon, avocado, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper and homemade ranch
pork souvlaki, roasted veggies, fruit
crustless quiche with bacon, spinach, peppers, broccoli
grilled marinated chicken breasts, grilled veggies, applesauce

Paleo Salisbury Steak

I made this recipe from Everyday Paleo a couple of weeks ago.  It is a new favorite of ours and will be appearing in our meal plans regularly.  I only used one pound of meat for us and I prepped the patties and chopped all the veggies the night before so all I had to do once we got home from work was cook everything.  It was done within a half hour.  Perfect!  And it was so delicious!  I love that it has healing broth and healthy coconut milk included, as well. 

I've left the recipe as written below, for 2 pounds of meat.  But like I said, I only made a half recipe and used 1 pound of meat for our family of 3.  I made 5 patties with my one pound and we still had 2 patties leftover for lunches. 

Paleo Salisbury Steak

Steaks:
2 pounds of ground beef
1 cup spinach, finely diced
1 egg
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon ground marjoram
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons grass fed butter, ghee, or coconut oil

Gravy:
4 tablespoons butter
1 red onion thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper thinly sliced
2 cups sliced crimini mushrooms
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup coconut milk
Black pepper to taste

In a large mixing bowl place all the ingredients for the steaks and using your hands mix well.  In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium high heat. While the butter is melting, form the hamburger mixture into thin oval patties (makes 7-8). Place the patties into the hot melted butter, make sure it sizzles, you want the pan to be nice and hot! Cook for 2 minutes on each side, the meat should be nice and browned on both sides. You’ll have to cook these in batches so add more butter or coconut oil if necessary. Once all the steaks are done, place in the oven to keep warm and now it’s time for the gravy!

In the same pan that you just cooked your steaks in, melt the butter over medium heat. Saute the onions, bell pepper, and mushrooms in the butter until tender, about 7-8 minutes. Add the beef broth and deglaze the pan (scrap all the bits off the bottom of the pan that might still be there from cooking the steaks). Bring to a boil and add the coconut milk and pepper. Mix well, bring back to a boil. At this point you’ll want to turn the heat down until the gravy is just simmering. Now you’ll want to reduce down the gravy by stirring frequently for about 10 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken.

Serve the steaks with the gravy ladled over the top and garnished with diced flat leaf Italian Parsley.

Meal plans and the week ahead

We sure did get a lot of rain last week. Thankfully our basement stayed completely dry!! This was the first time it has stayed dry when we've had so much rain since we moved into our home. So this was a huge milestone for us! All our hard work re-doing the front yard and gardens to adjust the grade last year has paid off. Woohoo!! Now let's just hope this new trend continues.

Even with all the rain last week, just about every afternoon (except one) was quite sunny and nice. It is so much nicer when the sun comes out later in the day after rains.... it makes the gloomy mornings bearable. We went on walks and bike rides almost every day last week. Friday and Saturday were sunny all day, so we spent most of our time outdoors both days. Spring in Michigan is so beautiful! Hopefully the sun sticks around this week, too.  We got a lot of work done outside these last two days... hopefully we're able to continue the progress... if our bodies can keep up.  We are very sore this morning! 

Today we are headed to church. We don't have a lot going on during the work-week this week. Wednesday is our annual plant exchange at lunch time at work. I was an organizer this year, so hope it goes off without a hitch. Friday is my day to pick up the milk and also pick up our CSA order. Saturday we are having some of my dad's family (grandma, my parents, some cousins) over to celebrate my Grandma's birthday, which is on Wednesday. And that's it. Hopefully we have some nice weather so we can be outside after work everyday.

Here's the plan...

Breakfast options:
fried eggs; sausage; yogurt; fruit; gf granola; hard-boiled eggs; gf muffins

Lunch and snack options:
leftovers; big ol' salads; egg salad with avocado; raw carrots and peppers; apple slices with almond butter; sliced cheese; cheese crisps

Sunday - church
(make kefir; make cheese crisps; chop veggies for week)
bacon wrapped chicken breasts stuffed with soft cheese, sun dried tomatoes, and spinach; green beans; peaches

Monday -
ham steaks; asparagus; cauliflower; peaches

Tuesday -
(dig plants for exchange)
creamed spinach croques monsieurs (with no bread); sweet potato fries; applesauce

Wednesday - MDOT plant exchange at lunch
(boil eggs; make egg salad)
local/healthy/organic pork brats; salads; roasted cauliflower

Thursday - leftovers

Friday - milk and CSA p/u
chuck roast in the crockpot with cauliflower and carrots

Saturday - Grandma's birthday party
grilled burgers; grilled veggies; fresh fruit; potato salad; pasta salad; raw veggies & dip; birthday cake; ice cream

Meal plans and the week ahead

Happy Easter everyone! We have a somewhat busy week this week. Today we are going to Kevin's parents' church for Easter. Then we'll be heading over to my mom's house for a family dinner and egg hunt. Kevin is off on Monday. Tuesday I am meeting my friend's mom at a local country club for some baby shower planning. Thursday I have to drop our milk jars off to Diane. Friday is my flex day. Carson and I will be meeting up with my friend Kati and her son, Anthony, for some walking, talking, and shopping. We might try to do a quick pedicure, too.... we'll see if Carson and Anthony are sleeping in their strollers at the same time. ;) We don't have any firm plans for Saturday. If its nice, we'll stay home and work outside. If the weather isn't the greatest, we'll head down to the Detroit Science Center for the day.

Here's the plan.... I haven't decided what extras I'm going to tackle yet this week. I'll fill them in as the week progresses.  I need to move some raspberry bushes one day this week, but that's really the only definite thing so far.  And that will depend on the weather. 

On a side note... we went to Bordine's yesterday to buy a couple fruit trees.  We had planned to go on Friday, but the rain kept us from going.  But thankfully we had awesome weather all day long yesterday, so we went in the morning.  The rabbits killed three of my new fruit trees last year (2 made it).  So I replaced the Bing Cherry with a Ranier Cherry, and the Braeburn apple with a Golden Delicious apple.  They didn't have the semi-dwarf peach trees in yet, so I'll have to replace the peach tree once they do.  And these new trees are wrapped so the rabbits can't eat the young bark.  So anyway, we planted them yesterday afternoon.  I also did a lot of clean up work outside, but there is so much more to do.  :) 

Anyway... on with the plan...

Sunday - Easter; church; family dinner
B: yogurt; fruit; gf strawberry banana coconut muffins
L&D: at my mom's, much of what we're having are things I'm trying to avoid or really limit... so I am bringing some raw veggies with homemade ranch veggie dip and guacamole, and an asparagus salad

Breakfast options:
strawberry banana coconut muffins; fried eggs with sausage; yogurt with fruit; kefir smoothies

Lunch and snack options:
leftovers; egg salad avocado boats; big ol' salads; raw veggies with dip; fruit rolls; crispy almonds and pecans; yogurt; fresh fruit; sliced cheese

Monday - Kevin is off
primal mushroom pizzas; lettuce salad; fresh fruit

Tuesday - Spring Meadows CC
misc. leftovers

Wednesday -
zucchini egg bake; roasted cauliflower, broccoli and mushrooms; applesauce

Thursday - drop off milk jars at Diane's
salads with grilled marinated flank steak, hard boiled eggs, cucumbers, carrots, avocado, balsamic vinaigrette

Friday - flex; shopping with Kati and Anthony
TBD... possibly eating at Ben and Kati's house

Saturday - Detroit Science Center? Work outside?
TBD.... depends on what we end up doing

Paleo Salmon Florentine

I saw a recipe on Cross Fit Santa Cruz Central's blog that looked delicious - for paleo salmon florentine.  And was it ever!  We all loved it!  This will definitely be going into our recipe rotation.  It doesn't take long to prepare, which is great for us on work nights and it's very healthy.  This would be a great dish to serve for company, as it presents very well.  I didn't really measure anything, just threw in however much looked good.  I had one large salmon filet that my uncle caught in one of the rivers up north in the fall.  His salmon is seriously the best!  Yum!  I used more mushrooms and more spinach than the recipe below calls for, too.  Just use what sounds or looks good to you. 

Paleo Salmon Florentine

2 salmon filets
1 T olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
9 oz. mushrooms, sliced
9 oz. baby spinach, fresh
1/4 C coconut milk
3 T white wine
spices: about 1/4 tsp. each!
sea salt (optional)
pepper (fresh ground)
cayenne pepper
paprika
garlic powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a saute pan, heat olive oil, and saute onion... add garlic, and cook until translucent. Add sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms. Add a splash (about 3 T white wine), cover and cook for about 5 minutes, until mushrooms are soft and tender. Now add spinach and cook until wilted. Pour coconut milk over everything and mix well. Pour all ingredients onto a baking dish. Place salmon filets over top of spinach mixture and sprinkle with spices. Bake for 15 minutes. Enjoy!

This post is linked to:
Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade
Fresh Bites Friday at Real Food Whole Health
Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS
Pennywise Platter Thursday at the Nourishing Gourmet
Grain Free Tuesdays at Hella Delicious
Primal Cave Friday at Primal Toad

Primal Butternut Squash Soup

I made this soup for dinner last weekend.  I needed to use up another butternut squash and thought a soup sounded good.  I had some locally made polish sausage (some would call it ring sausage) in the freezer, so I decided to add that.  And I just threw in some veggies that I had in my freezer.  You could add whatever veggies you have on hand for this.  Corn would be great, but it's not primal or paleo, so I didn't add it.  If I would have left the peas out, it'd be considered paleo.  This soup came together really quickly and it tasted great!  All three of us enjoyed it a lot. 

Butternut Squash Soup

1/4 cup butter
1 large butternut squash, cooked
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 pound locally made, nitrate-free polish sausage, diced
2 cups peas
2 cups chopped zucchini (I used yellow zucchini from my freezer)
1 cup coconut milk
2-3 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
salt and pepper to taste

If your squash isn't already cooked and mashed, you'll need to do this first. 

Melt the butter in a large soup pot.  Add in all the veggies, stock, coconut milk, and spices.  Stir to combine.  Let simmer for about a half hour.  Enjoy!

This post is linked to:
Fresh Bites Friday at Real Food Whole Health
Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade
Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS
Pennywise Platter Thursday at the Nourishing Gourmet

Paleo/Primal Stuffed Peppers in the Crockpot

I made these for dinner on Friday night.  It was the first time I've actually made stuffed peppers, but I've had them many times before.  Generally, they have rice mixed in with the meat.  My friend, Jaime, mixes in quinoa.  Both are excellent choices, but unfortunately neither are primal friendly.  I scored some organic red peppers for an amazing price last week... on the reduced produce rack.  I got 8 huge organic red bell peppers for 99 cents total!  Amazing!  I will only buy organic peppers since conventional bell peppers contain an obscene amount of pesticides in them.  I never make exceptions on peppers.  

So anyway, I decided to make stuffed peppers in the crockpot for dinner on Friday.  I did not use a recipe, just added what sounded good.  They turned out so delicious!  We all loved them.  Carson said they were his favorite dinner, he loved them so much. 

Paleo/Primal Stuffed Peppers in the Crockpot

2 extra large red bell peppers
1 pound ground beef
1/4 pound italian turkey sausage, casing removed
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes
1 egg
spices to taste - garlic powder, oregano, cumin
1 jar pasta sauce, homemade is best

Slice peppers in half lengthwise and remove ribs and seeds.  Set aside.

Mix ground beef, sausage, onion, celery, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, egg and spices in a medium bowl. 

Take each pepper half and fill with 1/4 of the meat filling.  Place into 6-quart crockpot.  Once all peppers are in the crockpot, spoon your favorite homemade pasta sauce over top of each stuffed pepper.  I used about 1/2 pint on top of 4 pepper halves. 

Turn crockpot to low and cook for about 6 hours.  Enjoy!


This post is linked to:
Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade
Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS
Pennywise Platter Thursday at The Nourishing Gourmet

Meal plans and the week ahead

We have a very low key week this week. Hopefully that means we'll be productive. I've been doing a lot of spring cleaning these last 3 weeks or so and would like to finish it up this week. And hopefully the weather is somewhat decent this week, too. 

Today we're headed to church at Resurrection Reformed.  We may go to Longway Planetarium this afternoon since we didn't go a couple of weeks ago, but we'll just see how the afternoon plays out.  We may save it for another day again.  Thursday I will be down in Detroit and Windsor all day for a tour with some U.S. Dept. of State officials.  Kevin may be off on Friday for Good Friday - I think he is, but he doesn't - so if he is off, I may try to work extra each day this week so I can just use a few vacation hours and have Friday off, but at this point I'm working.  Friday is my day to pick up milk and we're still on every-other week CSA pick up, so I'll swing by the mill, too.  Saturday we have no plans at the moment, but we may be doing an Easter dinner with my in-laws since they're going to be gone on Easter Sunday in the afternoon.  So we'll play it by ear for now. 

Sunday - church (RRC); Longway? 
(chop veggies for week; prep snacks and lunch items; make kefir; thaw ground beef and stock; clean out front coat closet and playroom closet)
B: fried eggs; sausage; grapes
L: egg salad avocado boats; misc. leftovers
D: butternut squash soup with sausage

Breakfast options:
kefir smoothies; fried eggs; banana pancakes; bacon; veggie omelets

Lunch and snack options:
leftovers from dinner; big ol' salads; egg salad with avocado; sliced cheese with cucumbers; raisins; dried banana chips; pickles; sliced local pepperoni

Monday -
(clean in laundry area in basement)
paleo salmon florentine; peaches

Tuesday -
(clean in laundry area in basement)
paleo salisbury steak; broccoli, carrots, green beans; applesauce

Wednesday -
(clean in laundry area in basement)
leftovers

Thursday - Detroit and Windsor for work
(thaw chicken)
crockpot turkey veggie egg drop soup

Friday - p/u milk and CSA
(clean out shelves next to refrigerator in kitchen; clean out linen closet in bathroom)
crockpot rotisserie chicken; roasted veggies; applesauce

Saturday -
(make chicken broth; hard boil eggs; make deviled eggs and egg salad; clean out dresser drawers in master bedroom)
B: omelets; kefir smoothies
L: deviled eggs; salads with carrots, cucumbers, orange bell peppers, avocado, sliced chicken
D: paleo chicken enchilada bake

Peanut Butter Coconut Bars (grain-free)

Carson and I made a new snack last week... peanut butter coconut bars.  I got the recipe on Nourished an Nurtured.  I thought they'd be a nice snack to have on hand that would be full of protein and healthy fats.  They are really tasty, too.  Carson and I both loved them.  Kevin won't try them because he just doesn't think he'll like them (he doesn't care for nut butters).  I thought the texture would be a little different, more like a larabar or something... but I didn't pay attention to the instructions on Nourished and Nurtured.  You process these until they're smooth, so they really resemble more of a fudge.  I cut them into small squares, about 1.5"x1.5."  It's just the right size.  These have been great to keep in my refrigerator at work for times when I need a little energy boost and they're healthy, semi sweet snack for Carson, too. 

For this batch, I used half crispy almonds and half crispy pecans, dates, and I did not add the honey, as I thought they seemed plenty sweet already. 

Peanut Butter Coconut Bars

2 cups crispy almonds and/or pecans
1/2 cup dates or raisins
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt
1/2 cup unrefined coconut oil (soft enough to scoop easily)
1 Tablespoon honey, optional (I thought the bars were sweet enough w/out it)
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Coarsely chop nuts in food processor. Then add all other ingredients and process until smooth. Grease an 8X8 square baking dish with coconut oil. Pour the nut mixture into your dish and refrigerate to harden.  Store in the refrigerator.


This post is linked to: Sugar Free Sunday at Flip Cookbook

Meal plans and the week ahead

I cannot believe today is supposed to hit 80 degrees!  Granted, it's supposed to start raining and storming (even thought its not yet and it was supposed to have been already... we'll see if it actually storms or not), but 80 degrees... yeah!  :o)  Yesterday was awesome and this week looks pretty great, too.  Carson and I planted some peas, beets, and spinach in the veggie garden yesterday.  We got a lot of yard work done, too.  It was so nice to be outside nearly the entire day and night. 

Today we are headed to church.  We're going to make a trip to Tractor Supply Co. this afternoon to check out the baby chicks and bunnies and pick up a few things.  Thursday I am going out to dinner with some friends and I need to drop our milk jars and cooler off at Diane's house.  Friday is my flex day.  Carson and I are going to do something fun, but I'm not sure what yet.  If the weather is nice, we're going to go to MSU for the Butterflies in the Garden.  Saturday we are headed to Grand Rapids for my niece's 3rd birthday party. 

Here's the plan... I haven't decide what all I'll do for extras this week, so only today is filled in.

Sunday ~ church; TSC
(make kefir; hard-boil eggs; make egg salad; cook ground beef; prep veggies for week; make parmesan cheese crisps; make apple pie larabars; clean out cabinet under sink)
B: fried eggs; sausage
L: egg salad avocado boats; raw carrots and cukes; berries from freezer with cream
D: grilled salmon; roasted veggies; applesauce

Breakfast options:
fried or scrambled eggs; sausage links; egg-sausage-veggie muffins; avocado-asparagus-cream cheese omelets

Lunch and snack options:
leftovers; big ol' salads; egg salad mixed with mashed avocado; raw veggies with ranch; cheese crisps; fresh fruit; apple pie larabars

Monday ~
(clean out far right drawers in peninsula; clean out upper cupboard above peninsula)
balsamic glazed pork chops; asparagus; cauliflower; carrots; peaches

Tuesday ~
stir-fry with chicken, green beans, broccoli, peppers, onions

Wednesday ~
(clean out cupboard with plates in it; clean out utensil drawers in peninsula)
spaghetti squash casserole; asparagus; peaches

Thursday ~ drop milk bottles/cooler off at Diane's; dinner with friends
S - Mongolian BBQ with friends; K&C - leftovers

Friday ~ flex; MSU Butterflies?
(hard boil eggs; make mayo; make egg salad; make kefir; plant shell peas; dig raspberries up for Melissa; clean out side flower bed)
crockpot beef roast with carrots  crockpot paleo stuffed peppers; broccoli and green beans from freezer; applesauce

Saturday ~ Rebecca's bday party
(clean out and organize Carson's art table; clean out and organize tv stand)
dinner at SIL's for Rebecca's birthday

Bacon Wrapped Salmon Cakes

This was another idea that I got from Life as a Plate.  AndreAnna made these amazing looking and sounding appetizers by wrapping salmon cakes and asparagus spears in bacon.  I'd like to make the appetizers the same way she made them for a party one of these days.  But I decided to just make the salmon cakes and wrap them in bacon as a main course for one of our dinners this week.  I used canned salmon instead of the salmon fillet that AndreAnna used, too.  Just because I have some in my pantry to useup.  I also changed up some of the ingredients for what I had on hand.  Use the link at the beginning of this post to see the original recipe.  I've written it below as I made them. 

Wow, these were delicious!  We all enjoyed them a lot.  I prepped the salmon cakes and wrapped them in bacon, then put them in a glass Pyrex storage dish on Sunday afternoon.  Then I just had to remove the lid from the container and pop them in the oven to bake for dinner on Monday night.  This made making dinner a cinch on Monday! 

Bacon Wrapped Salmon Cakes

1 can salmon
pat of butter
1-2 Tablespoons finely diced onion
1 garlic clove, finely diced
2/3 cup pine nuts
1 Tablespoon mayo
1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon old bay seasoning
1 egg
bacon

In a saute pan, melt the butter and saute the garlic and onions until translucent.  Set aside to cool.

In a food processor, blend the pine nuts for a few minutes.  You want to take them past the chopped, crumbly stage, but not quite all the way to a butter stage.  These will help bind the salmon cakes together while giving them a nutty taste. 

Put the drained salmon into a medium mixing bowl.  Add the blended pine nuts, garlic and onions, mayo, dijon, cheese, seasoning, and egg.  Mix well.  You can put this mixture into the fridge for a half hour or so to firm it up, or you can just assemble the salmon cakes now.  Chilling the mixture makes it easier to work with, but I just kept going. 

Form salmon cakes with your hands.  Wrap bacon around the cakes and place the ends of the bacon underneath the bottom of the cake.  I used two pieces of bacon.  Place in a glass baking dish. 

You can either refrigerate the assembled cakes until you are ready to cook them, or bake them immediately. 
Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes, checking often. The length of time you need to cook them will depend on how thick your cakes are, as well as the thickness of the bacon.


This post is linked to:
Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop
Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS
Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade
Gluten Free Recipe Parade at Heavenly Homemakers
Fresh Bites Friday at Real Food Whole Health