meals: vol. 17

i think i'm starting to get the hang of this. it's definitely challenged how i think about meals and has me starting to get a bit more basic in their makeup. i've typically been more of a "one pot meal" fan, but switching to more of a separate meat and vegetable has been helpful.

have any meal ideas to share? i'd love to hear!

menu for 12/9-12/15
monday: leftovers
tuesday: salmon, asparagus (because i haven't actually made it yet, three weeks later. haha)
wednesday: beef & shrimp stir-fry 
thursday: slow cooker chicken breasts, sautéed veggies
friday: spaghetti squash carbonara, asparagus
saturday: steaks, mashed sweet potatoes, garlic green beans
sunday: slow cooker chicken soup (with leftover chicken).

breakfasts: almond flour muffins, hardboiled eggs, larabars, wheat-free waffles (for coen), fruit, sun butter and bananas, smoothies

lunches: leftovers, salads, lunchmeat roll ups, carrots and cucumbers with paleo ranch, snacks

snacks: beef jerky, smoked salmon, dried fruit, seaweed, dried pea snacks (c), fruit, nuts, cheese sticks (c), larabars, hardboiled eggs, spiced candied walnuts

love.

meals for the week: vol. 3

i don't have a recipe for you this week, but i figured i should extend an open invitation--feel free to leave a comment to request recipes for anything on the menu that you might like to try. 

sound good? good. 

meals :: 7/29-8/4

monday: korean beef bowls

tuesday: slow cooker whole chicken, asparagus, fries 

wednesday: fish taco bowls

thursday: chicken stew with kale and beans

friday: shepherd's pie

saturday: farmhouse beef & bacon stew

sunday: leftovers

breakfasts: very berry crisp, egg muffins, yogurt and granola, fruit

lunches: chicken salad, hummus, veggies & homemade ranch, tuna salads, chicken nuggets (for c)

snacks: seaweed, veggies & homemade ranch, cheese sticks, cinnamon almonds, fruit, popcorn

hope you have a great week!

love.

meals for the week: volume 1.

so i'm trying a new thing. i hope you like it.

i'm going to be posting my menu plan for the week [hopefully] every monday. i've been struggling to get it together with my meal planning, and so my hope is that this will lend just enough accountability for me to plan thoroughly, and well.

and if you guys respond, comment and share recipe recommendations, that will be even better.

you might notice that there are some types of food missing from my menus. for a few months now, i've been omitting tomatoes from my cooking almost completely, since they tend to bother nick's stomach. this, my friends, has been a challenge, because up to this point, i'd say that at least 75% of my cooking involved some sort of tomato. ha.

and, just to give myself a bigger challenge to try to help nick's health a little more (don't worry though, he's doing great!), this week i've started cutting bread and grain products as well (besides rice and oats. oats is a grain, right?). so, i'm going sort-of-paleo-but-not-really-and-without-the-tomatoes. in other words, i'd like to follow the ideas of Nourishing Traditions a little more closely, but i know i don't have time to sprout and knead and bake and ferment and harvest, and this is the best i could come up with without losing my mind.

i'll try to post pictures and recipes along with the weekly posts. i can't promise grandeur, but it will be something.

so, friends, join me in this journey?

meals :: 7/15-7/21

monday: peppered turkey bacon & cheddar burgers (no buns), sweet potato fries, veggie
tuesday: loaded baked potatoes (w/leftover bacon), sautéed zucchini
wednesday: slow cooker roast chicken, sweet potatoes, leftover veggies
thursday: chicken (leftover chicken) stir fry & rice
friday: tilapia fish taco bowls
saturday: no idea.
sunday: really no idea.

breakfasts: blueberry crisp, egg muffins, yogurt, fruit
lunches: leftovers, salads, tuna salad, lunchmeat rollups, veggies and homemade ranch
snacks: almonds, trail mix, seaweed, fruit, yogurt, these things

okay, so it's not perfect. but it's a start! if you have any recipes to share, please do. happy planning!

love.

crock pot loaded baked potato soup.

i've been waiting to post this recipe until i got a good picture of it. well, it hasn't happened yet. maybe it's because i get too excited to eat after smelling the savory smells all day.

whatever the reason, i'm tired of waiting to share it. because it's so good, and quickly becoming a staple to us in this chilly winter weather. so, i improvised. just think of it as symbolic art.

crock pot loaded baked potato soup

adapted from here.

ingredients
6-7 large baking potatoes, rinsed, peeled and chopped (8-9  larger red potatoes would work well too)
1 large onion, chopped
1 quart of chicken broth
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed (minced is alright too)
1/4 cup of butter
sea salt & cracked pepper to taste
2 tsp fresh chives, chopped
1 cup of heavy cream (or half and half)
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup of sour cream
1 package of turkey bacon, cooked and cut up

directions
combine first six ingredients in your crock pot, cover and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours, or on low for 8. once potatoes are soft, mash mixture until it becomes a bit thickened. stir in chives, cream and half of the cheese, sour cream and turkey bacon. let it cook for 5 minutes. serve and garnish with remaining last three ingredients. serves 6.

hope you like it!

love.

pumpkinspicecookiecakedrops

i love pumpkin. so much, in fact, that i stocked up throughout the holidays and now have an abundance of cans in my pantry. this calls for imagination.

i'm not sure what to call these, really. the've been called cookies, cakes, cupcakes, cake cookies and who knows what else. so, i call them everything. because whenever i choose one descriptive word, no one ever seems to know what i'm talking about.

they're simple. and good[ish] for you. and delicious. at least i think so.*

pumpkin spice cookiecakedrops


ingredients
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
1 box yellow cake mix
2/3 tsp. ground cinnamon
ginger, cloves & nutmeg to taste
turbinado sugar (or cane sugar)

directions
heat oven to 350 degrees. in a large mixing bowl, mix together all ingredients until just combined. using a tablespoon, drop batter onto a greased cookie sheet. bake for 10-14 minutes. when it seems they are just about done, sprinkle sugar over the tops and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.

let cool, and eat. and don't feel guilty. you're welcome.

*i need to add a little disclaimer here--this isn't a decadent dessert by any means. you kind of need to dive into these with the mindset that they're pretty good for you. and, they tend to stay slightly gooey and pretty dense. and wonderful.

love.

lovely things.

today is just a few more tidbits to share. we've been getting lots done around the house and, now that we've been here almost a year, it's really starting to come together! hurray!

i've even got a little before/after project i'm working on, as well as pictures of our house for you to see. finally! and although it's not the best picture, here's a preview:

summer at our house is jazz music wandering through the house, evenings on the front porch and (finally) good food for dinner. i have to admit i had lost my motivation to cook much of anything for the past few weeks, but it's going better now, for sure. greek frittata and fresh french bread was on the menu last night:

and even without meat, my man liked it. win. you can get the recipe here. i only had half the amount of feta it calls for, and it turned out just fine. and as for the fresh bread? yes, i cheat, but you can't really beat this when it comes to convenience. and it's so good. :)

and finally, here's a sweet little boy meeting his shadow for the first time. and not quite sure how to handle it being so bright out.

A bit of our life, and a shameless plea for attention.

good afternoon, world [wide web]. is that even a term anymore?

i thought i'd take a moment to update on our lives. well, specifically the life of one little boy and his struggle with a tooth. two teeth, really. he's already got these:

and now, he's working on the top two. actually, maybe top four. the poor little man has had a rough time. but, he's still smiling, like always. i'll post a picture of his successes whenever they actually happen.

also, thank you for all the advice regarding my yogurt failures and other random food thoughts. i'm just about done with my third attempt at homemade yogurt. yes, third. the second try went even worse. in my head, i know how simple it is. and i follow the instructions to the letter, so i'm not sure what's going wrong. except, i think the second time around it wasn't insulated enough. oh well, we'll see how this goes. and if it doesn't, i think i'm going to have to just throw in the towel (yogurt-making pun intended) and splurge on organic store-bought yogurt.

on another note, cooking healthier and repurposing food has been going very well. i made chicken stock all by myself (yes, i know how simple this is, but i'm still excited that i actually planned it and followed through), and have been feeding my family wholesome foods. hurray! i made this for dinner last night (not one of the healthiest meals we've had, but still not bad. haha):

and my menu planning and follow through has been going well, too! so, overall win in this department, though i still have a long way to go to transition over to all whole and raw foods. speaking of that, i so very want this:

happy birthday to me?

and now for my shameless plea. i know i'm not the most faithful blogger, but i would like to think someone reads my blog. and there have been many of you friends that have posted at one time or another. but recently, i've been getting super excited when i receive notifications that someone posted on my blog, only to find post after post of sad, ridiculous and sometimes slightly offensive spammers. :(

so, would you send me a little love? :)

love, a.

ps. here's a link to my first article as the Durham Neighborhoods Writer for Examiner.com!