Black-Flies!!!!! They've arrived!!! That's all I have to say about that for now. Ok, I will add that 2 black flies already flew into my eyes today. Not my fav. Crock-Pot!!! I just wanted to do sound so crazy again. I think most people feel like a crock-pot is a winter, comfort food type of thing. Falseroo. I find I use it as much, if not more often, in the 3 other seasons because there is more to do out of the house! Well, even in the house, the spring comes, and you suddenly have the urge to organize your closet....which leads to organizing your room, which leads to building a new bed! I didn't build a new bed, but that sequence of events did happen to me a few years ago. We were sleeping on a hand-me-down bed from 1963. No joke. And I was sick of it and in my cleaning/organizing frenzy I started thinking, "I can build us a new bed!". I was going to too, but, long story short, I didn't. Wait? What was I talking about....? Geepers, crock-pots. So, days like the one I blabbed on about there leave you suddenly standing in the kitchen at 4:45 going, ".....oh yeah....dinner?". In that moment I usually make some eggs and cuts up some veggies and call it a meal, but I prefer to feel a little more amazing (and humble...) by having gotten a tonne of work done around the house AND having an awesome meal ready for the fam. The End. Crock-Pot Balsamic Chicken Ingredients:
Method: If you are prepping this meal the night before you need it, all the power to ya! :) You don't have to, but I'm just throwing that option out there!
If you're getting this ready the morning of the day you plan to eat it, do this:
*You can also cook it on high for 3-4 hours if the meat is thawed, or 5-6 if it's frozen. Cooking chicken low and slow is the best however. Just a wee crock-pot tip The balsamic vinegar really breaks down the meat leaving it tender and yummy, but it also lends a tang to compliment the sweet honey.
I've added other spices too, like paprika (a favourite of mine), cayenne pepper, I've even swapped out the basil for rosemary, which was great. So, what are your plans for this week? I think you should plan to make this :) Just sayin'. Alrighty, have a great Monday!
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I love fish....when it's battered and fried! I know, I know, that totally ruins how gosh-darned healthy fish it, but I can't help it! We do eat fish occasionally in a healthy way, and we used to a lot more when Caleb was younger (he's 10 now!), but over the years we'd stopped eating it on a regular basis. Anywho, a while ago we went to a lovely restaurant in Belleville, "The Boathouse", and I ordered fish and chips (yummy!), anyway, the girls tasted it, and talked about it for days! Seriously! "Mom, remember that fish you had that you let me taste? That was really good, you should make it sometime" was the gist of what I heard. I was happy to oblige since I do love it so much...but I wanted it to be a paleo version so that gluten-free Caleb could eat it, and also so that it wouldn't have to be for a treat day. And that's that. Through serfing the web for different ideas/recipes, and experimenting, this perfect batter was born, and it made a seriously tasty fish. Paleo Fish Sticks Ingredients:
Method:
These fish sticks turn out soooo good! I even like them the next day cold.
Anywho, really, it would have been appropriate to post this fish recipe last Friday, a day in which a lot of people eat fish as a "fast" (from warm blooded meat), and to mark Good Friday, the day observed as the death of Jesus. Last Friday we were in Brantford having a fish fry (a wonderful tradition that involves a big ol' deep fryer out on my sisters' front porch). We batter and fry fish, chicken, mushrooms, pickle spears, and this year we also battered and fried Oreo cookies, Reese Peanut Butter Cups, Mars, and Snickers. Oh, and fresh cut potatoes got a fry up too. Sound like a huuuuuge tummy ache? It was. It was a glorious tummy ache! :) So, I'm signing off! I've got rehearsal (again.....) tonight, then am looking forward to a weekend with Adam home from work and whatever random last-minute plans he comes up with! This is a marital issue I am overcoming! I like to stay home, visit no-one, plan nothing. Adam loves to socialize and do things. So, on his days off I am mentally prepared for a, "Hey! Let's go to..." scenario. On the days he works I get to have my own time, quiet time, plan nothing time. :) Anyway, that was just a random annotation about my life! Have a great weekend! April 1st!!! Today is April Fool's Day, but today also marks the beginning of Autism Awareness Month! I have been woefully negligent of my blog lately....my life is suddenly very busy! I always like to keep busy, and that often included working away at the blog, but lately I've been for realz busy, and haven't had any time to sit and blog! Thumbs down emoji. Anyway, I really, really, really plan/hope to at least get some autism posts up every Thursday of this month (Thursdays are/were my usual day to chat and share about raising a boy with autism), because I want to keep making more and more people aware of autism and what it is, what it looks like & how to 'handle' it. Anyway, I'm way off base from french toast right now! French toast! A delicious meal idea made better by turning it into a "monte carlo" type french toast. A monte carlo is when you make a meat and cheese sandwich (with mayo and mustard), then dip it into an egg and milk mixture, and fry it until it's golden and delightful. This breakfast version has nut butter and banana made into a sandwich, dipped in an egg and milk mixture, then fried with a sprinkle of cinnamon, then you eat it with syrup, as you would any french toast! Banana & Nut Butter French Toast Ingredients:
Method:
So, as I mentioned in the ingredients list, this super-filling monte carlo style french toast can be adapted a few ways. We've used peanut butter, cashew butter, & almond butter. We've also used sprouted grain bread, 'regular' bread, and gluten free bread. And one of my favourite variations is to use thinly sliced apples in place of the banana. So good.
I have, incidentally, never made an actual monte carlo sandwich, but perhaps I will some time. It seems like it would be very yummy! Alright, well, that's it! St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland dates back to the 17th century, as a religious feast day that commemorates the death of St. Patrick in the fifth century. St. Patrick is credited with having brought Christianity to Ireland, and so became a figure of national devotion and eventually, the nation’s patron saint. The day’s importance was confirmed in 1631 when it was recognized by the Vatican(1) Celebrations worldwide generally involve public parades and festivals, and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks (4 leaf clovers). Some Christians also attend church services, and the Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol are lifted for the day (which may explain the holiday's tradition of alcohol consumption). In the Republic of Ireland, Saint Patricks Day is a public holiday, as it also is in Newfoundland and Labrador (here in Canada), and also in the British Overseas Territories, Montserrat (in the Caribbean). It is also my Mom's birthday. Happy birthday Mom!!! xoxo Her name is Pat, isn't that clever. :) Anyway, I wanted to share a few Irish recipes with yee today, none of my own, but all recipes that I have tried. Good luck! Get it? Luck? Irish? Never mind... Irish Stew The point of Irish stew was to be simple and cost effective. I get the feeling that Irish Stew is not meant to be anything specific except to be easy and cheap to prepare, so don't make a fuss over it! Meat (usually lamb), onions, carrots and potatoes cooked in water are the main (and only really required) ingredients. But adding different flavours and veggies is not un-heard of. And I generally use a broth or stock to really give flavour to the stew. Here's a favourite recipe of mine for a fantastic stew. I sub in gluten free flour (A Bob's Red Mill blend) for the flour, and this New Grist Gluten Free Beer for the Guiness, and I have also used stewing beef instead of lamb shoulder a few times (I have used lamb shoulder when I could find it, and it was affordable). Click the green link to find the recipe and make this beautiful Guiness Lamb Stew from Jen Segal at Once Upon a Chef. Corned Beef with Cabbage This next recipe is similar to stew, it's just as simple, but uses sausage and bacon in it. Gosh it's good, we have it around here often. It's called an Irish Coddle, which just means you gently simmer everything together. I think the early Irish were pretty busy since most of their recipes let them cover a pot and walk away for some time, and also tasted great (sometimes even better) the day after being made. This Dublin Coddle of sausage, bacon, onion and potato is simple, and extremely tasty. The recipe says to use the best sausage you can find, but honestly, I've only ever used Schneider's Oktoberfest Sausages and it's tasted great. I'm sure those aren't the best I could find, but we like them. This recipe can be found at food.com Irish Coddle Though corned beef and cabbage are not well loved by everyone in my family, I certainly enjoy it! Corned beef is not made with corn, as most people believe. It is a beef brisket that has had time to soak in a salt brine (the large, coarse salt grains being referred to as 'corn'). We eat it here in Canada mostly as "Montreal Smoked Meat", which is basically corned beef that has been smoked after sitting in the brine. Anywho, that factoid being known, this simple dish is gluten free, & paleo without even trying! How modern! :) It's a super simple dish of corned beef, cabbage, carrots and onions with the addition of some savoury herbs. My only change I've made to the recipe I'm linking to is that I use a homemade stock in place of the water. Find the recipe from Epicurious here. Carrigaline Whiskey Pie I'll end this Ode to Saint Patricks Day post with a dessert that is as simple as all those main courses. This whisky pie uses traditional Irish ingredients, and is a dessert cross between a sunken souffle and a quiche. It's delightful though, and gluten free. I first made this pie a few years ago after Googling "using leftover potatoes" and was amused to find a dessert among the results. I haven't made it in a while, but I remember how good it was. It was good enough that I printed out the recipe and tucked it into my recipe book. I have looked at it from time to time thinking, "I must remember this when I've got leftover potatoes", but the truth is, I'm lazy about potatoes! I rarely make mashed potatoes because they require more effort than I am generally interested in investing into my food! Especially since my kids don't like them! Anyway, really, the amount of potatoes you need for this pie isn't that overwhelming and could be quickly boiled, just for a special occasion like St. Patrick's Day. :) Find the recipe at Hungry Rabbit, right here. I hope you enjoyed this Irish fare roundup, and get to make something festive for dinner tonight!
Random memory time....when I was young, on St. Patrick's Day my mom got her friend (who was from Ireland) to come over and teach us an Irish Ceili (pronounced kay-lee). I remember it being a lot of fun, and we may have also made fun of my Mom's friend who would count the dance, "one, two, tree and one, two, tree". She was patient with us though (I know I wouldn't have been if I were her!). :) Anyway, have a good day, whatever Irish or non-Irish thing you decide to do! This is 100%, without a doubt, hands down the easiest crock pot recipe ever!!! Pinky swear! In this Crock-Pot Chicken & Tomato Soup, I talked about how it maddens me to have to cook meat before adding it to the slow cooker for recipes. If I wanted to dirty a pan and to take the time to cook the meat, I would just do it and forget the crock pot all together and throw stuff into a pot on the stove an hour before meal-time! So, this becomes the easiest recipe ever because I just put the super-frozen ground meat right into the crock pot and let 'er rip. I actually prefer the texture of the meat this way, really. It's a lot more tender, and I don't really like the taste of beef, so not cooking it before hand means I haven't cooked all that beefy flavour up. What else...? Oh, it saves a bit of fat too! I'm not a "low fat" gal AT ALL, but by not frying the meat up first I am just cutting out a bit of fat, so if you care about that sort of thing, then, hazaa! I more appreciate the fat saving for it's monetary value; one tablespoon of coconut or olive oil saved means I have it for something else! Ya see? Alright, well, let's move onto chili. I used to make it all the time, but then I started eating paleo and not just gluten free, and beans on paleo are a no-no. I generally follow the paleo 'rules', but I also believe in eating what's right for you, so if paleo says "corn is a grain, you can't eat grain!", but it's summer in Ontario and there is fresh corn growing up all around me, I'm gonna have me some corn! The real key is being mindful of how your body reacts to foods, no matter what you eat. Beans are a real, simple, one ingredient-type food which means they are pretty good. However, having excessive gas/pain from eating them? Not so good! I just figured it was normal to feel that way after eating beans (beans the magical fruit, the more you eat, the more you toot....remember?). But it turns out how I felt was too much; I never enjoyed the feeling afterwards, but I thought it was normal, so I went with it! So dumb. If you eat something that makes you bloat up and feel awful afterwards, no matter how "good" it is, stop eating eating it! That there is a life lesson from a food idiot. Me. So, with beans out of my life, I thought chili would just be a distant memory.....until I realized I can make chilli however the heck I want! So, that's what I did here! I used a basic tomato and meat sauce, added lots of veggies, some great seasonings, and wham-o! My chilli craving are satisfied! You can customize this as you need/want to, and feel free to experiment with the flavour (more spicy, less spicy, adding a touch of maple syrup or something, etc.) Crock Pot Paleo Chili Ingredients:
Peppers (orange and yellow) Onions Mushrooms Jalepeno (just one) I have also used carrots & turnip before
Method:
If your meat is frozen....
*With both recipes (frozen or thawed), you'll want to take the lid off the crock pot for the last part of the cooking (any amount of time is better than no time, but I generally have the lid off for an hour). This helps some of the liquid to cook off so that the chili is thicker* I hope everyone had a good Monday! Ours was a busy one, and it had some surprises in it, but it was good.
I'm feeling pooped now, and may make a nice cup-o' decaf coffee and watch some IT Crowd. Never seen it? It's a semi-stupid, semi-hilarious show that's on Netflix now. It's a clever show, but it's British, so would you expect anything else? Thought not. Cheerio! :) Hello! How are we today? Well, our holidays are finally over! After being away for 10 days we got back and had a day of rest before heading to a friends house for New Years Eve...where we stayed up late! Super duper late! The kind of late that reminds me I'm not as young as I think I am... We headed home and had a day to rest/tidy then we had my sister, brother-in-law and all their kiddos coming for a visit for a few days. In the midst of their visit our youngest had her 5th birthday party (which I'll share about later). I didn't send the kids to their first day back to school because we still had family visiting, and also because our middle child barfed the night before! Whomp whomp. So, to tally, since December 18th when we left our house for the holiday we had: 3 out of 5 of us barfing, one with chicken pox, one got diarrhea. Visited/met up with: 60-70 people (I won't lie, it could be more but I got tired of counting!). Ate: 3 Christmas dinners (we had to miss one), and a few Christmas get-togethers that weren't "dinners" but sure had a lot of food! Did: New Years Eve all nighter, had guests over, and threw a birthday party. The End. It's been a whirlwind few weeks, it was fun too, but I am glad to be settling down and getting back into real life. So, getting back into the swing of things and eating right often means soup! I love soup for a lot of reasons. 1. You can make it out of anything! 2. You can make it super healthy by packing it full of veggies. 3. You can make it in the crock pot. 4. It makes great leftovers for a quick and healthy meal. When it comes to crock pot recipes though, having to prepare meat before putting it into the slow cooker seems dumb to me. The point of the slow cooker is to make a meal as crazy simple as possible (thats what I think, at least!) So, I've started adding my meat un-cooked, and in many cases, completely frozen. With this soup, I find the chicken is actually more tender when I make it from frozen, so, all the better! You don't even need to remember to thaw the meat out! It's -18 degrees fahrenheit here today (that's almost -28 in celsius!), so I'm feeling the need for soup!!! Crock-Pot Chicken & Tomato Soup Ingredients:
*Add more veggies if you want, we were just low so I used what I had!* Method:
On a crazy cold day like today I like to add a splash of hot sauce to my soup to warm me up even more. Well, stay warm today! I'm wearing a big, multi-coloured knitted sweater my Mom got for me at the Salvation Army to keep warm. When it gets this cold, only a good wool sweater will keep you cozy, and all the better if it's just a bit ugly, ya know, so you look artsy and individual. :)
Bonjour, I'm back today with a recipe from Dr. Chase. Sort of. I'm not sure he would recognize the recipe, or even approve of it, really. I took a recipe called "Chicken and Other Meat Pies", as well as a "Pastry or Crust" recipe and made them paleo (Dr. Chase say "what?"), and also added onion, broccoli, carrots, & celery to round it out. I didn't add potatoes...I didn't dare after reading this comment from the book, "Serve (the meat pie) hot, with mashed potatoes, made rich with milk and butter or cream, if you have it. Some put potatoes in the pie, but it is out of fashion, and, thank the Lord, there is one fashion, at least, which is conducive to health, as water-soaked potatoes are not". Yikes. So, add potatoes....if you dare!!! O.k, Dr. Chase has been dead and gone these last 130 years or so, but still, if you feel a pang of un-fashionability because you want to add potatoes, blame Dr. Chase. Meat Pie (Paleo Pot Pie) *The crust needs some cool-down time in the fridge before baking it, fyi* :) Ingredients: For the Crust:
For the filling:
Method for the Crust:
Method for the Filling:
Putting it all together!:
Just for fun, here's the original recipe I started from: Chicken and Other Meat Pies: "According to the number in the family, 1, 2, or more, young and tender chickens, cut up, washed and put into a stew-kettle with water enough to nicely cover, and a very little salt, and stew till perfectly done, and if pork or any small pieces of any cold meats are to be used, stew also with the chicken; when entirely tender, rub a spoon or two of flour smooth, in cold water and stir in as gravy; add salt and pepper to taste. Set back on the stove to keep hot while you make the pastry or crust". Pastry or Crust: "If for 1 chicken in a 2 quart basin or pie dish, use 1 pt. flour with 1 tea-spoonful of baking powder , and 1 table-spoonful of lard, and a little salt. It is designed to have a thick, but light crust when baked. Put the chicken, with it's gravy, enough to nicely cover it, into the dish, without a bottom crust; but roll out the pastry of such a thickness as to just cover the dish nicely, cut a few fancy slits through the top, to allow the steam to escape, and place in the oven at once, and bake about 30 minutes, or long enough to cook the crust nicely." I love it! I added water to the pastry because I didn't see how on earth the crumbly mixture I had from following the directions could possibly become a crust without some liquid. And making a usual crust requires some water....I think Dr. Chase forgot to a add the water in the ingredients (I said that like a snoody teenager, by the way) :) This pie, as with many pies, tastes great as leftovers. I always get stumped writing a closing......whomp whomp.
I had this post ready for Monday, but we decided to head out early to make a super-surprise visit to the most amazing, most beautiful, strongest and bravest woman I know (and love a lot!). It turned into a 2 day thing, and we just got back yesterday evening, but it was a wonderful time. The most wonderful time. So, have a good Wednesday! The kids have their Christmas concert tonight, which I am looking forward to! The kids have been really excited and practicing their own little part in the show; Abby feeling very grown-up and important for having lines to memorize, Keziah singing her song over and over, and if she forgets a part....she starts from the beginning, and Caleb singing his own hilarious version of the 12 Days of Christmas, which I am sure is not the version he is actually doing in the show, but it sure is amusing!! Ciao xo I was at the dentist recently to get (another) cavity worked on (whomp whomp), and while having holes drilled into my rotten tooth and filled, I was watching Chef Abroad. Chef Michael Smith was in Hungary in a small village and was involved in a day-long event that centred around the slaughter of a pig and all the work that goes into getting all the cuts prepared, and how nothing was wasted. The thing that really struck me was how he kept talking about traditions, and making traditional food that was simple, cost effective and tasty. It got me thinking about simple recipes, and how some of the most simple recipes I've ever seen are in a book I have from 1893 called Dr. Chase's Third, Last & Complete Receipt Book & Household Physician. They didn't really have the luxury of extremely complex recipes then, so (aside from not recognizing some of the ingredients because we just don't use them anymore!) most of the recipes are really do-able and un-complicated! Well, this recipe is not some sort of tradition from my family, but it sure is simple. The cold weather came suddenly, and I wanted me some soup! This soup was extra appealing because of how cheap the ingredients are. I added bacon to it because, well....why not? This soup is gluten-free, and if you're a white potato eating kind of Paleo follower, it's Paleo too. If you don't eat white potatoes simple replace with sweet potatoes, or maybe even turnip? Onion Soup Ingredients:
Method:
I've made this soup a day ahead, and it tastes even better on day 2. I've also made it with added garlic powder and paprika to up the flavour (it is a yummy soup, but tastes of onions and potato (well, and bacon, if you use it). So, it's simple, it's gosh-darned cheap, and really customizable too as far as adding different spices. As mentioned above, I've added garlic and paprika, but rosemary would be super-yum too.
Thank-you Dr. Chase for this soup, which if I was using my brain at all I could have thought up all on my own, but apparently onions are too obvious and I took them for granted! In closing (because this is an essay), here are Dr. Chase's words regarding this soup: "An onion soup nicely made is one of the most healthful, consequently the best soups made". Indeed Dr. Chase, indeed. I will admit that the soup in that picture doesn't look that great! I explain myself a little at the end of this post, but, photo aside, just trust that this soup is really tasty! The idea/recipe for this came from a friend, but after I had read the e-mail with the recipe and put it into a folder on my e-mail it vanished.....well, it's more likely that I accidentally deleted it, because I searched "soup" in the search field, and all I found was my response to the e-mail without the recipe attached! Duh. I guess I could have e-mailed my friend to get the recipe again, but I'm a weirdo and didn't do that! Another duh. Make this soup and enjoy it as it is pleasurable remedy for cool fall days! Roasted Butternut Squash Soup Ingredients:
Method:
So, the reason why I think the photo doesn't do this soup justice is because when I made this recipe most recently I had no blender and no food processor, so I made this with ambition and elbow grease, and mashed the squash, onions, and apples by hand with a potato masher! That's why my soup in the photo above looks a little lumpier than usual! If you make this soup, your finished product will likely look ten-times nicer!
I hope everyone has a great weekend! Whether you are working, or have it off, or are hunting-have fun, be safe, etc., etc., etc. I am staying home with the kids as my husband will be off hunting, then after hunter-man gets back we have a "date" to meet up with some new friends on Sunday evening, and I'm looking forward to that! Au revoir, à bientôt! xo I am tiiiiiired!!!! :) But, I am tired because I stayed up late with some friends who we only ever seem to have a proper visit with once a year, so there is a lot of visiting to cram into one evening/early morning. So, it was fun...but man I'm tired! Anywho, being tired and cool autumn days calls for stuffed sweet potatoes! Well, I think that at least, so that's gotta count for something! Kale & Egg Stuffed Sweet Potato Ingredients (for one):
Method:
Some people don't care to remove the flesh from the potato and will just add whatever mixture they have prepared on top, but I much prefer the taste of the whole thing once it's been worked into each other. That's just my opinion though! :) I generally only make one stuffed sweet potato at a time because no-one else in my family enjoys them enough for me to want to share the sweet potatoes with them!
Anyway, I'm drinking my coffee hoping to suddenly feel revived, and also feeling pretty sure I will need to have some serious self-talking to get my workout in for today! Well, that's all for now! Happy Monday! |
Hi, I'm Amy-Lyn! I am the lady behind this here blog! I live in the sticks with my animals, my super handsome husband, and my
3 amazing kids! Here you'll find things from recipes (gluten-free, paleo, and strait up junk food!), DIY ideas, thoughts on raising a son with autism, and whatever else pops into my brain! : ) Read more about me by clicking here! Want to Stay Connected?
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