Thursday, July 31, 2014

Dinner?

Sometimes we don’t have enough time in the day (ok most times) but there are weeks when we don’t buy/plan enough meals for one reason or another and end up ordering in just for convenience.  In an attempt to not do that, I've decided to utilize our pantry.

Last night I had planned to go to the grocery store but forgot we were picking up my mom's cat and I didn’t want to leave him in the car so I decided I would see if I would make a meal of the odds and ends we have at home.  Turned out to be one of my darlings new favorite meals and Bear gobbled it up too!

I made simple chicken parm, what "made" the meal was my 5 second attempt at red sauce when I realized we were out of the goodness in a jar we normally have.  I am listing the recipe below and will follow with a blog on “staple” items to keep on hand and what you can do with them last minute.

Quick Meal: Chicken Parm

Chicken Parm:
Thin sliced chicken breast (2 per person)
Italian Bread crumbs
1/4 Cup Milk
1 Cup Italian Cheese
Grated Parmesan (optional)

5 Second Sauce:
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
5 Fresh basil leaves (we have a garden)
1 Tablespoon chopped garlic (fresh or jar)

1 Box of Pasta - I buy the spaghetti called “pot ready” it’s shorter in length so it fits in the pot without getting spaghetti pieces all of over the kitchen.

Optional: Garlic Bread (I used leftover rolls/bread, sliced thin and stuck them under the broiler with butter and powdered garlic)

Turn your oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper.  Put ¼ cup milk in a bowl and bread crumbs on a place.  Dip each piece in milk then coat in the crumbs and place on the baking sheet.  Pop in the oven.

Put a pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil, add pasta and follow box directions (usually about 10 mins).

While everything cooks, put the can of tomatoes, garlic and basil into a blender or food processor (we have a Ninja) and blend or pulse for 5 seconds. Pour into a sauce pan and let bubble on the stove to heat through (add salt if desired).

Pull out the chicken and top with the Italian Blend cheese and put back into the oven until melted and chicken is cooked through.  Drain your pasta and serve!


Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Adventure Days

In an effort to be a healthier more active family we have started "Adventure Days" on the weekends.  We've made it a goal to pick either Saturday or Sunday and go somewhere fun outside for at least half the day.  It's been amazing!

I spent lots of my childhood wandering around woods, riding my bike and using my imagination in the back yard and that's something that is still really important to me and I want nature to be important to Bear too. Not to mention the health benefits of the great outdoors.

The first weekend we went exploring in our neighborhood, turns out we have miles of conservation trails and a giant hill covered in daisies!  Next we went to Fort Williams in Cape Elizabeth and it was BEAUTIFUL!

Climbing on the bunkers

Learning some history as we walked through this creepy wall

Soaking up some sunshine

I've found this to be what I look forward to each weekend.  We don't have many warm months in Maine and it feels good to take advantage of it.

PlusPeace

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Tasty Tuesday Recipe!

We are all about cool treats on summer weekends but not so cool with food dyes and additives.  Try out this easy summer treat that's sure to please!


1/2 Cup Frozen or Fresh Berries (make sure they are ripe and sweet)
1 Cup Plain Kefir
2 Cups Vanilla Yogurt

Freeze the vanilla yogurt for 2 hours or until frozen.  Put it into a blander or food processor with frozen berries and kefir.  Blend until smooth.  If you find that it's too tart for your liking add in some agave or honey. You can also get creative and sub the berries for bananas, peaches or pineapple. Yum!

Enjoy!

This is also really good if you spoon into pop molds and re-freeze for a treat later.

PlusPeace

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Golden Meal

Sometimes I notice we go through stretches where we eat a lot of what I like to call "golden meals". These types of foods include:

Hamburgers
French fries
Chicken wings/tenders/nuggets
Hot Dogs
Grilled cheese
Onion rings
Mozzarella sticks
Basically anything "golden" and usually fried

These meals are nice going down but ALWAYS leave us sluggish, bloated and unhappy.  I've been scared to try "healthy" golden meals but made one tonight without realizing and it hits the spot without leaving us feeling yuck: Breaded Chicken with Roasted Cauliflower and Quinoa



To feed a toddler and 2 adults:
2 large boneless chicken breasts sliced thin
1 head cauliflower chopped in 1" pieces
1/2 cup rinsed quinoa
Shake n bake (or breading of choice)
Olive oil
Powdered garlic, paprika, salt
Vegetable bouillon

Preheat oven to 400.  Rinse and coat chicken with breading (I don't use milk or egg) lay on a foil lined baking sheet. In a gallon bag add cauliflower pieces, drizzle with 1tbs olive oil, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp garlic and a pinch of salt. Shake bag and put with the chicken on the foil lined pan. Pop in the oven.

In a small pot put rinsed quinoa, 1 cup water, 1/2 vegetable bouillon cube and a pinch paprika. Stir and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Set the timer for 8 minutes.

After 8 minutes, flip the chicken and toss cauliflower. Set the timer for 7 minutes.

Remove quinoa from heat and stir. Set oven to broil and watch closely. You just want a nice light crisp (about 6 minutes). Remove from oven and serve.

It's crispy, crunchy, healthy, filling and the cauliflower gives the illusion of French fries. Nom!!

PlusPeace

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Glorious Coconut Oil

I am back!  I left the blogging world to focus on some personal goals and I am back at a place where I can sit down and finally write up some of the posts I've been saving up!

I am starting out with a small post on coconut oil.  This stuff is awesome - it's good for you to eat and it's good for your skin too!  I have used it in some baking recipes, vegetable stir fry and as a super moisturizer for my legs and makes awesome lip gloss/chap stick replacement.

Thankfully, I live in Maine so it pretty much stays as a solid and the most "liquid" it has become is like Vaseline consistency.  I love it, I use it on me and I use it on my kid.



I bought mine at Traders Joes in a 16 oz jar for $5.99 (the same size jar at a regular grocery store was $21.95) The ONLY ingredient is "Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil" - so you know its good!  I wanted a "travel size" version so I picked up three "cosmetic cases" at target for $1.

I scooped out about 6 tablespoons of the coconut oil and heated it in a glass jar (30 seconds in the microwave) until mostly liquid.  Divided it between the three jars, put the lids on and froze overnight.  Now I can have one in my purse, one at my desk and an extra for my car.

If you are not familiar with coconut oil, check out this giant list of 101 Uses for Coconut Oil

Love,
PlusPeace