More Smoker Foods and a Hair Cut. . .

Maybe I should devote an entire blog to "the smoker?"  We tried salmon on the smoker recently and the hubbs and I liked it, the kids not so much.  I love salmon baked or broiled in the oven with lemon, butter, and dill.  I could eat that all day long.  There was something about the smoker salmon, it did not have the good lemon dill flavor that you get in the oven.  Shhh, please do not tell my hubby I said that.
He did steak on the smoker the other day for Sprat as a last hurah! before going back to school.  It was good and very juicy and tender.  I am not a big steak eater either.  He is going to fix a druken turkey this weekend.  That is when you cook the turkey sitting on a can of beer.  My sister makes an amazing smoked turkey on her smoker, I hope ours will be good.
Sprat is making his way back to school, he spent the night in Pennsylvania and he drove the rest of the way to Massachusetts the next day.  He did run in to a little snow but thankfully no accumulation and roads were fine.  It snowed a little this weekend in Massachusetts but, he was safe at the dorm by that time.
Big T went to the salon for a trim.  I have been trying to get him to get his hair shaped up and he always fusses at me and thinks I am trying to drastically cut it.  I am not trying to CUT his hair I just want it shaped up and for it to look nice.   A few people that do not know my sweet Big T ask why I let him have his hair so long.  I always respond with;  he is a straight A student dual enrolled in college and high school and is playing varsity lacrosse. . . if he wants long hair that is his choice.  This mama chooses her battles and his hair is not one of them.  He enjoyed his visit to the salon, my hair dresser and dear friend washed his hair and trimmed it up and told him what product to use and how to take care of his hair.   He also talked to her about donating his hair to Wigs 4 Kids, they talked about how long it would have to be to donate and they made a plan to cultivate his beautiful curls. 
A few pictures to round out the post. . .

Before the fish hits the grill

Taking the fish off the grill, yummmm. . . . 

The Before and a little shaggy

Don't you just love that sweet smile???  

Recipe Day. .. .

The smoked meatloaf was good, I do not think I seasoned it enough though, it was a little bland.  Next time I will go  a little heavier on the seasonings, I was afraid I would over season.  The boys do not eat my meatloaf so more for the hubbs and I.   We have a pork shoulder for the weekend, I will have to let you know how that one goes. 
I took some mac and cheese to my sister's for Christmas, I tried a new recipe and when I went to buy my macaroni they did not have any left.  There must have been an awful lot of mac and cheese around the tables for Christmas this year.  I am curious to know how many of my readers served the old faithful carb delight this year?  Along with my new recipe I used a different pasta with it.  I used a small penne pasta, I though it was good, the hubbs complained because it was not the traditional elbows.  I always can adapt and overcome when it comes to my recipes. 
Adjusted Mac and Cheese:

1 box of pasta (elbows, mini penne, )
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup flour
3 cups milk (suggest whole but I used 2%)
1 cup heavy cream
1 block shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 Parmesan cheese
smoked paprika

Boil your pasta one minute shy of being done, drain and drizzle with olive oil to coat and set aside,  grease your baking dish and pre heat oven to 350, ( I never preheat) melt your butter in a deep sauce pan, whisk in your flour making a rue, it should be bubbly and golden, gradually add milk and cream whisking so as not to lump your flour mixture, continue whisking once all incorporated add your shredded cheese a little at a time and whisk till smooth.  Save about 2 cups of cheese to top your dish. When your sauce is nice and thick stir in your pasta and coat. 
Pour into your casserole dish and sprinkle bread crumbs and extra cheese this is where I added the Parmesan cheese, I did not do the bread crumbs for mine.  I sprinkled some paprika over the top and baked 30 minutes. 
This was really good. 

Stay tuned the hubbs has a whole lot of smoking recipes to try and we will share our successes and failures.  So far I give this one 2 thumbs up. 

Cooking with the Man. .. . The Hubbs . . . .

The hubbs got a pellet grill for Christmas this year and he has driven me crazy about it.  This was one of those gifts that he wanted and researched and picked out what he thought would be the very best one.  He has done nothing but talk about it for two and half weeks prior to Christmas.  I do not begrudge my sweet hubby something that he wants, he works very hard and we have the cash to buy it and he does do his research on the best brand, type and what company has the best deal.  I am so thankful that the best deal on this grill was local, otherwise we would have been trecking all over to find one. 
It was delivered on Friday and he did the initial burn and then on Saturday he smoked a ham.  Neither of the boys like ham very much but they both raved over the one the hubbs smoked.  I must say it was a pretty good ham.  We went shopping today and I have fixed a meatloaf and it is currently resting with the smoker.   I will share with ya later how it was.  We also bought a pork butt to smoke this weekend.  Hanging out with the family tonight, very low key New Years in our house.  Spending some quality time with the boys. 
This smoker grill thing is pretty high tech, you can sync it with your wifi and your phone and it will send alerts when your food has reached optimal temperature.  I have to admit that is very cool. 
Here are a few pictures of this very tech savy pellet grill and my boys.

My Loves

The Hubbs new love 

The meatloaf  cooking  

I will share later how the loaf was.  I have had smoked meatloaf before at one of our local BBQ restaurants and it was really good.   I hope mine will be good too.  

Stay tuned as we prepare for 2020:  Sprat will have his first official college lacrosse season, Big T will start his junior year lacrosse season,  and I might get to go to Maine and see Sprat play.  

Upside Down Week and True Love. . .

It has been a horrendous week and a half, I had a migraine for four days straight and then got a stomach virus when I was finally getting over the migraine.  In all of that I was trying to work and maintain my family.  I could use a couple of days off here.  I am very thankful for my dear husband and son, bless them for taking care of themselves during my week of craziness.  I soaked in a milk bath last night and I feel somewhat human this morning. My very sweet husband came home from work the other night and I was still not feeling well and he fixed me pancakes so I could get ready for work.  I love this man to the moon and back.  The Lord truly blessed me when he lead me to my dear hubby.  I only hope that my boys turn out half as good as their daddy and they will be a blessing to their mates as well.
With my stomach and my head being so out of whack, I decided I would revisit my 100 days of real food adventure and clean my diet up.  I am looking at more recipes for real food and options for packed lunches for work and school.  I try not to use plastic when packing lunches for myself especially if it is something that I have to reheat at the office.  Big T has been eating the hubbs chicken and rice soup almost everyday for dinner and that is a change up from sandwiches for a lunch option.  I just need to find a way he can take his soup and I had rather not use glass.  I will be searching hot food transportation options in the next few weeks for Big T's lunch. 
I will be trying some new recipes in the next few weeks and I will share my triumphs and fails because, let's face it, there will be fails. 
Stay tuned for Massachusetts updates and college visit updates. . . . 

Photos to Round Out the Week. . . .

Sprat serving Lovefeast before he heads back to shool

Broiled Figs with cream cheese and balsamic vinegar

Yummmm!!! 

Big T on the second day of school, I missed that first day picture 

Last but certainly not least Mama's new glide ride. the retro Thunderbird. 

Sprat will be taking my not so old car to school and this is my new ride.  

Not Aunt Bee's Pickles Story. . .

The cucumbers are coming in like crazy so, the hubbs and I made some quick refrigerator pickles.  The hubbs loves his jalapenos and of course they ended up in my mild mannered dill pickles.  I  do not like sweet pickles or bread and butter pickles, I am a straight up dill pickle girl.   The hubbs got his jar with jalapenos and I got two jars, one with a little onion and one straight dill.  I just tried the jalapeno ones last night and I must admit they were awesome.   They are not too hot but have just a little kick.  I tried the ones with onion this morning, yes I eat pickles in the morning, anytime is a good time for homemade pickles.  The ones with the onion are good but, if you do not tell my hubby I said this, I will admit the jalapeno ones were the best.  The boys do not like any kind of pickles so the hubbs and I have three jars to eat and he does not like them that much either. 
Here is the recipe we used, we tweaked it to fit our personal taste, I do not remember where the original recipe came from but this is ours.

Refrigerator Pickles

We used standard mason jars:

In each Jar

3 cloves garlic peeled
3 tsp black pepper corns
1 small onion sliced
2 bunches of fresh dill
4 slices of jalapeno with seeds

Several cucumbers sliced into spears and cram as many as you can in your jar.

Liquid

2 cups water, 4 Tbsp white vinegar, 1 1/2 Tbs kosher salt.  Mix together until salt dissolved.  Pour over your cucumbers in the jar.  top with part of your dill and make sure your cucumbers are covered with liquid and put your lid on.  Invert your jar a couple times to get everything swished around and put in the fridge for 2 days.  This recipe is for one jar of pickles, you will have a little liquid left over. 

Hope you are enjoying my recipes and my stories, stay tuned. .. .

Cooking again. . . Memories

Sprat made some home fry potatoes today for lunch.  This goes along with his learning to cook before he goes back to school in the Fall.  He used his daddy's potatoes out of the garden to make his potatoes this morning and they were really good.  Big T even ate some and liked them and he never eats them when the hubbs makes them.   I love that Sprat is wanting to learn to cook, he is so excited about it and has a real knack for it too.  I hope I can teach him some of my favorite recipes to take back to Boston with him.
Sprat's girlfriend came for a visit, I must admit, I was not ready for this.  I am not ready for a serious girlfriend, I do not think he has ever been serious about a girl before.  He dated but, he never called one his "girlfriend" before.  This young lady is from Massachusetts and this was her visit to the South.  Sprat took her on the sweet tea tour of North Carolina. He took her to all of his local watering holes and hangouts.  He introduced her to all of his friends.  She loves sweet tea and has called and asked for a recipe, I do believe she is hooked. 
Sprat is getting excited about going to this new school in August, he is a little nervous but very excited.  He has his new schedule and we will go in July for orientation. 
I remember learning to cook when I was Sprat's age, I had helped my mom in the kitchen but I had never cooked a whole meal by myself.  I remember trying Swedish meatballs and I did not eat meat at that time, they were terrible.  I cannot remember if anyone in my family ate them, I think they did but I am not sure.   I do not remember the first thing I made successfully but, I do remember there were many things I made unsuccessful.  I remember a lot of frozen burritos and french fries in college.  I was no cook in college, I fancy myself to be a very good cook now.  I hope I can help my son do better than I did in college with the cooking. In the new school he will have access to a kitchen, so he will be able to cook if he likes. 

Cooking 101 for your College Student . . . Beyond Raymen Noodles. . .

I sold Pampered Chef for a long time and love their products, one of my favorites was their mandolin slicer.  I have the old school model without the finger protection.  I tell you all of that to share that last night while Sprat was helping me fix dinner I sliced my thumb.  All the years I used that thing and never had any trouble with it and I did it while showing Sprat how to use it and how not to slice a finger.  LOL!!  Well, in a round about way, how not to slice a finger. 
We made the zucchini pasta again because, we have zucchini in abundance right now.  Sprat had fun learning how to saute onions and garlic and this time we added a pepper from the garden.  Sprat does not particularly care for zucchini but he enjoyed the cooking and so did I except for the slice and dice I pulled on my thumb. 
Sprat wants to learn to cook other things too, he may try his hand at my amazing homemade alfredo.  He is even going to go to the grocery store for me to pick up all of my ingredients.  I will share my recipe for my alfredo today so that you can try your hand at it too.

Alfredo

1 box angel hair pasta
4 tbs butter
3 cloves garlic pressed
2 cups heavy cream
fresh Parmesan 1 cup
fresh or dried chives to top
1-2 tbs flour
dash of white wine


Melt butter and saute garlic till is smells yummy, add your flour and make  rue, all on med low heat. add a dash of wine and then slowly and while stirring add your heavy cream.  Turn you heat up a little and grate your parmesan and add it to your cream mixture.  It should bubble and get thick, when it does that it is ready to serve over your angel hair pasta.  You can use any pasta you would like and you can add things like broccoli, chicken, shrimp, beef, really anything. 
I have never been a fan of fat noodles so I always use angel hair, it is a texture thing with me.  You can add fresh chives and parsley too when you serve. 
Hope you enjoy my recipes and my funny stories about my kiddos.   Stay tuned Sprat is wanting to learn to cook this Summer and this should be loads of funny posts.

Garden Veggies and a Recipe. . . .

Our garden is coming along and I have learned a few things:  1. we cannot grow Brussels sprouts in the Summer, 2. cauliflower needs shade, and 3. I love cucumbers.  I am sad our pod people did not grow, we will try them again in the fall.  I do not think we will try cauliflower again, it seems futile.  On the upside my herb garden is doing wonderfully, I have dried lots of oregano, basil and sage.  Mark dug our potatoes and onions and we have them stored.  We have our first zucchini and I made an amazing pasta with it the other night, I will share that recipe at the end of this post.  I do believe the hubbs and I could live out of our garden, the boys on the other hand, require meat and other stuff. They are broadening their pallets though, with some veggies.  Our cucumbers are coming in like crazy, cannot wait to do some pickles with my very own fresh dill.  There is just nothing better than fresh veggies and herbs. 
Update on Sprat, we got to meet the girlfriend this week.  She came for a visit and Sprat took her on the sweet tea tour of our little area.  She is from the Boston area and this was her first trip to the South.  Sprat took her to all of his stomping grounds and local watering holes.  She went to Church with them ( I was working) yesterday and then to watch adult lacrosse Summer league.  She had not seen Sprat play lacrosse at school since his season was cut short with the school closing. 

Here is my Zucchini recipe:

2-3 zucchini sliced thin
1 box angel hair pasta
2 cloves garlic pressed
2 onions sliced
4 Basil leaves torn
3 stems of lemon thyme
olive oil
white wine

Saute garlic and onions in olive oil and then set aside,  add sliced zucchini to the oil and saute until tender add a little wine and continue cooking.  Add back the garlic and onions that you set aside and simmer then add Basil and Thyme with another splash of white wine and cover to simmer a little longer.  Boil your pasta and when it is done throw it in  with your Zucchini another dash of wine and cover on low. 
You can add mushrooms, peppers and pea pods if you would like.  I did not have those on hand the other night.
Serve with some fresh grated Parmesan cheese. 

A Little of This and a Little of That. . . .

I follow a lot of different groups on Facebook and on pinterest.  My reasoning behind who and why I follow certain groups is to learn and better myself.   I have learned scads of interesting things through both sites.  I follow herbal garden pages, financial pages, recipe and craft pages.  On one of my financial pages someone asked what you did to pamper yourself on a budget.  I was amazed that these ladies are paying $20- $80 for a manicure and possibly a pedicure on a routine basis.  I shared what I do to pamper myself,  I have a detox bath with my herbs and some Epsom salt.  I do not do nails I enjoy playing in the dirt too much to pay that kind of money for nails.  Now this particular site is about paying off debt and gaining financial peace yes, it is a Dave Ramsey site.  You know how I feel about Dave, I really like him a lot.  The hubbs and I are proudly debt free except our house, that is why I still follow these sites.  There is always something you can learn.  I was telling the hubbs about this particular post and he laughed and said you know, you are a girly girl and you don't get your nails done.  He asked why I don't get them done?  I said, I play in the dirt too much and I am in the sink washing dishes and cooking.  I grew up going to the barn everyday working around the barn and riding horses and would have been a waste of good money.  I have to laugh that my husband thinks I am a girly  girl.  He has never referred to me as that before.  I am not sure where that came from but, I guess I am a girly girl, I do like girly things like jewelry and handbags.  Just the other night I took a very relaxing bath with green tea and mountain mint with Epsom salt.  We have a great Jacuzzi tub in our bathroom and it is perfect for the detox bath.  I also like using Epsom salt with Lavender, Rosemary, and Eucalyptus essential oils.  These make for a wonderful relaxing tub.  I am not sure if these baths really do detox or anything else but I sure do feel relaxed after them and that is all that matters to me. I guess my baths that I like make me a girly girl too. I am afraid the girly girl comment may come back to bite my sweet hubby.
One of my herb pages I follow has inspired me to try my hand at making my own essential oils.  I have an abundance of fresh oregano and I think that is the one I am going to try first.  According to one article I read oregano is a very powerful antiviral, anti-fungal, and antibacterial now my oregano is not medical grade of course but it might help keep some bugs away.  I put some of oregano in the dehydrator yesterday and it should be ready some time today.  My hubby has suggested I give my dried oregano to friends and family as gifts and I may just do that, we have so much and if I keep cutting it, it will keep growing.  We transplanted some to my new herb bed too, working in the dirt really is therapeutic.  We are still talking about my cutting bed for fresh cut flowers. 
I found a recipe for basil pesto yesterday and I cannot wait to try this one out.  I will share it with you if it turns out well.  My basil is not quite ready for cutting yet so it may be a little bit before I can try it.  Stay tuned for more herb stuff and the Boy will be coming home from college in a few weeks too.

The Herb Garden. . . Possible New Flowerbed too. . .

The hubbs started the bulkhead/herb garden Saturday, Yayyyy!!  There was a lot of work going on around our house this weekend.  I planted some lavender, rosemary and sage seeds to get everything started.  My Basil seeds that I started last week are starting to sprout but the rosemary has not done anything just yet.  I am so excited about my herb garden, I cannot wait till we get the dirt and I can start putting plants in.  Fingers are crossed my little seeds will sprout. I have been reading a lot about what I can do with my lavender and rosemary when it gets big.  Here are some pictures of our progress.

Now imagine this little rectangle filled with rich beautiful dark nutrient filled soil and beautiful delicate purple little flowers and lost of lush green herbs.  

The hubbs let Big T drive to school this morning so he had to come back home and get his company car to go to work.  Today is trash day in our neighborhood and one our neighbors had put out a head and foot board out to be thrown away.  My hubby immediately thought of ways he could use that head board in a new flower bed he is plotting.  I must admit, that thought went through my mind also this morning as I was coming home from work.  After I got home he asked me if he could go get it and bring it home to use in a flower bed.  I told him go get it and we will find a way to use it.  I have been talking about planting a new flower bed or replacing and spicing up one of our old beds for a fresh cutting bed.  You know you plant beautiful flowers but the purpose is to cut them and bring them inside to enjoy their beautiful color and their breathtaking aroma.  This head board would be great to run a plant up and it would be a very interesting back drop to our flower bed.  

Stay tuned more pictures and updates to follow and don't forget Prom is Saturday and you know I will be flooding with pictures.  

What are You Eating at Your Super Bowl Party ????

What is everyone cooking for the Super Bowl?  I do not normally fix anything, we usually go to the in laws for a Super Bowl party.  This year the hubbs and I are going to have our own Super Bowl party.  I have been working a lot of days then nights, I am not complaining because it is very rewarding and the money is not bad either.  My time off is very precious and with Sprat at school and Big T is going to a friend's house for their party, this is a wonderful opportunity for my hubby and I to spend a quiet evening at home with no rushing off to here or there.  This is part of my non New Year's resolution, taking care of me and saying no sometimes. 
I am going to cook for my hubby and myself some yummy appetizers that I have not made in a long time.  I used to entertain quit a bit but life got so hectic I stopped doing it. 
I am going to have some fun this Sunday and cook and enjoy my time with my hubby. 
Here is a little sample of what I am going to fix:
Seven layer Mexican dip you can find on pinterest
pickles and olives
red pepper jelly over cream cheese
black bean enchiladas(homemade)
pizza dip also on pinterest

Looking forward to spending a nice quiet evening with good food, the hubbs and a little football and maybe some funny commercials. 

Football and Food. . . Always go Together . . .

Enjoyed sometime with family on Sunday with lots of appetizers and what else but, football.  I have not entertained like that since we had the boys and I have to say it was kind of nice.  I made several different appetizers and we enjoyed eating and watching the games.  The hubbs and I used to do that quite often with friends and family  before the boys came along and maybe even right after they were born.   The boys got older and were involved in sports and Church and we never seemed to have the time to "entertain" like we did before the kids.
I remember one time in particular before we were even married that I fixed a big pot of my infamous chili and appetizers for an afternoon of football.  We had all the hubbs friends over to eat and watch the games and it was a lot of fun.  It snowed that day and after eating all that chili they went out to go sledding.  I skipped the sledding that day. 
Here is what we had on Sunday for our little get together:

Deviled eggs with a little horseradish and sour cream, scrabble (chex mix), cream cheese with red pepper jelly and crackers, and a bean dip called Texas Trash that I found on Pinterest, along with olives,  and last but not least chicken soft tacos.

Hurricane Prep and Lack There Of

I was much better prepared for Florence than I was for Michael.   I was ready for power outages and knew exactly what I was going to do for food and how we would manage the power being out.
We are on day two of no power and it may not be back on till Monday.   It makes me sick because I had made food to freeze and now it may all be lost.  Things I had frozen from our garden.  We have moved items to coolers filled with ice, we took some freezer stuff to the hubs brother, and I took some things to work to keep in that fridge and freezer.   We have still had to throw things in the garbage.  We were not prepared.
One shudder was completely torn off the front of the house and three more are barely hanging on.  One of my columns on the front of the house has shifted and is going to need some attention.
On the power outage electronic side, I was a little more prepared only because of Florence.   I had purchased a solar powered charger for phones and tablets and such.  Best purchase by far in this situation.   I ordered it from Amazon, do not know exactly what brand it is, they offer a wide variety.  This is very basic and pretty compact.  See the picture below.  Again, I am not being paid for this post nor do I get any kick backs from the company. 
The appealing thing to me about this particular model is  it is small and you can charge two devices at one time and it has a flash light feature.  I charged my phone over night with it the other night.  

We have power now but we lost a lot of food, the upside is my fridge and freezer are clean now.   Now I just have to get my freezer food back from the brother in law, I got my stuff back from work already.  

What's Cooking. . . .

The Salmon last night was great!  It was even very good for lunch today.  The couscous recipe was from my new cook book and the lemon aoli was from pinterest.  Fixed another couscous recipe tonight for dinner, it was actually a mish mash of two different recipes that had a Moroccan flavor.  I really like this pearl couscous, it is larger than the traditional couscous that comes to mind.  I am also using the whole wheat couscous trying to keep it healthy.  The pearl couscous is a larger kernel than traditional. 
Here is my mish mash recipe for Moroccan couscous:
1/4 cup olive oil
2tbs balsamic vinegar
2 cups pearl couscous
2 cloves minced garlic
2 small red peppers chopped
2 green onions chopped
Mozzarella cheese cubed
2 bay leaves
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup water


Boil 1 cup chicken broth, 1 cup water and a splash of olive oil and 2 bay leaves,  after boil add couscous remove from heat and  cover for 15 minutes, 
mix together:  vinegar, oil, garlic and pour over couscous then add onion and pepper and cheese and toss and refrigerate.
I used Mozzarella instead of Feta. I do not particularly care for Feta cheese and I did not have any on hand. 
 Here is a picture of my lunch today with my Salmon and the other couscous from last night:

It was just as good as it was last night.  

I also made pumpkin muffins tonight, they were a little bland, I think it could use a little more spice maybe.  I am freezing some of them since I am the only one that will eat them.  Stay tuned for more recipe updates as I continue the "Real Food" adventure.                                                                                                                                                   

Kitchen Gadgets, I'm a Sucker. . .

My boss was telling me about this pot that she has.  It is a pressure cooker, called the "Instant Pot."  I had heard of pressure cookers but not this one. 
This conversation began because she had brought in a cabbage soup for lunch that day and she was telling how she had made it.  She had put it in her Instant Pot and cooked it in 10 minutes.  What???  Yep that is what she said.  Later that week she brought in potato salad that she had made in 8 minutes, eggs included.  I was amazed. 
You can probably guess where this is going.  Yes, I bought one.  I made some chicken the other night in 14 minutes.  It was good, I used one of the recipes in the book that came with the pot.  I also used frozen chicken breast, the chicken was fork tender.
I am going to try the potato salad next, eggs and all.  I will let ya know how it goes.  The hubbs is all on board, the kids not so much. 
Stay tuned for more instant pot stories.

It Seems I Have Lost a Step or Two. . .

It seems as though I have a lost a step or two since the end of football, Christmas, and Thanksgiving.  I cannot seem to get back on track, I have resorted to Pinterest to help me gain some footing.  I have never been a meal planner but I did look at many of those type of pins.   I started on Sunday looking ahead to the week and what the boys had going on and what the hubbs and I had going on and tried to plan meals for the week, sort of.
Well, even the best laid plans go off course, my meal planning is no different.  I had picked a few things thinking that we would have some left overs to enjoy in between.  I have renewed my membership at one of the shopping club stores and decided I would start there.  I do love these stores, I always find things I do not need and some things I never knew I wanted.  On my previous visit I had purchased some hummus that my hubby and my kids loved so that was at the top of my list.  I was also looking for some type of meat to fix, I had intended on doing a pork roast in the crock pot but I could not find a piece of meat that I liked.   I decided I would check out their fresh produce which is usually pretty good.  I happened by the fish section, fish had never even crossed my mind for a meal this week.  They had the most beautiful salmon already fixed and ready to go at a very reasonable price.  There goes my attempt at meal planning, salmon it is for dinner.  The hubbs and I used to eat salmon a lot before we had the kids, I would drizzle olive oil and lemon juice and sprinkle with a little dill.  This salmon had already been prepared just like that, all I had to do was pop it in the oven.  I decided I would have coconut lime cilantro rice as our side. I found this recipe on Pinterest at Katya at Little Broken.  I did alter the recipe just a little because I did not have exactly what she called for.  Here is how I fixed it with my alteration.

1 cup organic brown jasmine rice
1 cup water
3/4 cup coconut water

Bring to a boil, drop to med low and simmer for 12-15 minutes to let the water cook off.

Remove from heat add:  lime zest and juice of half the lime, and 2tsp cilantro and stir.

The recipe for Little Broken called for coconut milk  and white jasmine rice.  I used the coconut water because I had it on hand and because it did cut out some of the fat and carbs.  I used the brown jasmine because I had it on hand and because the hubbs is a diabetic and fewer carbs the better for him.  This was an absolute hit!!  My kids even liked it.  This was easy and so delicious and pretty healthy.   I did have some left overs so the hubbs will get to enjoy that tonight.

Stay tuned as I continue to try my hand at meal planning.  

Smoothies, Shakes, and Breakfast. . .

I broke down and bought one of those Nurtibullet blender things.  I have always enjoyed a protein drink for breakfast here and there.  When I was little I could not make myself sit down and actually eat breakfast, it made me nauseous.  My mom would make me a protein shake for breakfast, when I got old enough  I made them myself.  Growing up, my Mom sold Shakley vitamins, she and my Dad have always taken vitamins and probably eaten healthier than most.   Shakley used to make the best protein powder but I now use a powder I get from the Vitamin shop.  I have tried different ones but I always come back to this one.
This is what has lead me to purchase the Nutribullet.  I tried my first smoothie today.  I was amazed that the majority of the smoothie recipes contain a green, like spinach or kale.  I never thought of  adding greens to a smoothie, when I think of smoothie I think fruit.  I feel like I may have a little bit of a cold coming on so I decided I would try the "immune boost" smoothie recipe.   This calls for:  pineapple, spinach, blueberries, orange, and banana.  I had everything but the banana.  It actually tasted pretty good and it was very filling.   I will try some different recipes that they have in their book and I will let you know how they are.  I am not a fan of kale so in those recipes I will probably substitute spinach.   I was surprised that none of these recipes suggest adding a protein powder, I may do that on my own.   I will let you know how those turn out.

Appliance Break Down. . .

Sunday morning trying to get ready for Church, I noticed our refrigerator temperature acting odd.  My freezer temperature was going up and so was the refrigerator temperature.   My Sunday mornings are crazy since I am trying to get two teenagers moving for Sunday school plus trying to get myself ready.   I now know my plans for after Church, start fixing food that is thawing in my freezer and then go find a new fridge.  

The hubbs and I went fridge shopping and each one we looked at and liked they did not have in stock.  It was going to take seven to ten days to get it in stock.  We ended up buying a floor model but, the good news is we got a nice fridge at a nice discount.  We should get it sometime today, so for now I have three coolers siting in my kitchen with ice and what is left of my refrigerated items.  Luckily we have a big freezer in our basement so my freezer stuff went there.  

The good news is I got rid of a whole lot of stuff I should have thrown out a long time ago.  Funny how things work out.   Maybe I can keep this fridge clean and neat.  Bahahahahahah!!!!  

We did not get the fridge with the TV or the one with the cameras, I am not that tech savvy or tech needy.  Technology changes so fast and obviously refrigerators do not last like they used to.   

Stay tuned to this roller coaster we are on. . . 

 

A Taste of Brazil. . .

I have posted before about my book, "The Brazilian bikini body program" by Regina Joseph.  I have no intention of ever wearing a bikini again but I love this book.  It has such great recipes in it and since our garden is still producing I cannot resist trying some of these.   The Brazilians, according to Joseph, do not practice a diet of deprivation but a sensible approach to delicious food.   I would like to think that is what I am trying to do these days.  The hubbs and I have been eating lots of peppers and onions with most every meal.  They have the best flavor once they have been sauted just a bit.  They are not too hot for me to enjoy a very generous portion either.
I love lentils and they are a staple in the Brazilian diet and are a symbol of good luck in Brazil.  One of their customs; on New Years Eve as the clock strikes midnight they throw lentils on the ground and step on them, then they serve a dish similar to the one I am going to share with you today.

Lentil Salad

1 1/2 cups small green lentils
1 tomato finely chopped
1 onion chopped fine
1 green pepper seeded and chopped finely
1 red pepper seeded and chopped finely
1/2 cup pitted black olives chopped


Dressing

1/2 cup red wine vinegar
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp whole grain mustard
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar

Rinse your lentils and cook until tender, about twenty minutes in boiling water with a bay leaf.  Drain and discard your Bay leaf and run the lentils under cool water.  In a separate bowl mix with the chopped vegetables.  In another bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, mustard, soy sauce, and sugar.  Toss your veggies with your lentils then pour your dressing over the salad and serve cold.