swai fillet with rice pilaf and steamed veggies

I feel like I've been baking day and night lately.  It might be the holidays, it might be adjusting to staying home all day, I'm not sure.  But I feel like I'm swimming in a sea of flour, sugar and measuring cups.  Let's take a little detour for a minute, ok?  I try to feed my family healthy dishes that are not lacking in flavor.  Because of Nik's allergies, we have to get creative often.  Thankfully, the kids both like fish quite a bit, so it's a protein I enjoy cooking with.  Buying fish can be scary, there are so many varying opinions on which fish to eat and which to avoid.  I can't keep up.  Anyway.  This dish was so simple, I threw it together in 30 minutes.  I had Swai on hand, which is a variety of catfish, so it's just a really light, slightly sweet white fish.  You could use any white fish you may have on hand. 

For the rice pilaf, I toasted the orzo and rice in a cast iron skillet for a few minutes, tossing it every so often.  Once it was a golden brown, I put it into my slow cooker with chicken broth, a small amount of chicken fat (yeah, I keep the fat that renders out when I make stock, it has great flavor), some herbs, salt and pepper.  Then I let my rice cooker do it's thing.

Then I took my Swai fillets, put them into my baking dish and drizzled them with olive oil and lemon juice.  Then I sliced up 3 cloves of garlic, dashed some parsley on top, and baked at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. 

I piled the rice and fish on top of steamed veggies, and done!  Simple, healthy, inexpensive.  YUM.

what's for dinner? how about bratwurst with roasted sweet potatoes & fennel

Here's a meal idea for you!  I don't need to work this up like it's a fancy recipe, it is so simple, I'll just give you some photos and put the idea in your head.  (Go, buy some fennel, give it a try!)

This whole meal came from Trader Joes and took about 30 minutes to get on the table.  I sauteed the bratwurst and mushrooms together, and roasted the sweet potatoes and fennel together (just a little olive oil, salt & pepper at 400 degrees for 30 minutes). 

I threw the scraps from the fennel into a small pot of water and brought it to a boil to make a really simple broth, which I will use in a soup later this week, but also used about 1/2 cup as cooking liquid for the sausages.  It brought the fennel flavor through the whole dish and really unified everything.  The rest of the broth went into a jar in my fridge, and I'll come up with some kind of soup to make out of it.  Living on one income, you really have to find ways to be frugal (or cheap, let's just say it) and one of those ways is to simply not waste.  Why spend a few dollars on vegetable stock or meat stock at the store when I can make it myself out of scraps from the meal I'm serving now?  And then I can control the amount of fat and sodium in it, as well as the types of ingredients they're made from.  On a side note, there are canned stocks/broths on the shelves that contain dairy, so if you're on a dairy-free diet, beware!  Always read the ingredient labels.

Look at that fennel!  It was just as tasty as it looks. 

Can I just have a moment to encourage the moms out there?  Kids aren't very adventurous when it comes to food, and I know that getting kids to eat anything green (among other things) can be a battle most people just don't want to wage.  And I've been asked on many occasions how I can serve these meals to my kids, do my kids actually eat them?  Yes, they do.  We have two kids, ages 3 and 4, and both eat their veggies. Please don't think I mean they jump for joy at the sight of them, they totally don't.  There are nights that we battle it out, but as long as we keep the amounts small and appealing, the kids will eat it.  Sometimes Nik has to sit at the table 20 minutes longer than everyone else staring at them before he starts eating, sometimes we have to serve the veggies first and then the rest of the meal, but you know what?  Sometimes Aaron devours his salad and asks for seconds of it, and sometimes Nik will ask for a handful of baby carrots as a snack instead of a cookie.  They will not fight you forever and always!  I always tell Nikola that he already has too many dietary restrictions, he can't afford to be a picky eater too!  All of that to say, be patient with them.  Keep at it.  Always serve it, even if they just don't eat it.  You can't force it down their throats, but if they're hungry, and it looks good...you might be surprised.  And take heart.  What they hate today, they may love tomorrow. 

dairy-free white russian

Do you love The Big Lebowski?  I do.  And I can't even think of this drink without thinking about Lebowski. 

I'm not usually one for cream-based drinks of any kind.  In fact, if I order a mixed drink of any kind, it's almost always a gin martini (stirred, not shaken, sorry 007), or a gin and tonic.  Because gin.  So why am I talking about a creamy drink, then?  Well, I had half a pot of extra dark brewed coffee that was going to go to waste, and less than half a fifth of vodka left from our Halloween party, so I decided to throw caution to the wind and mix them.  They were about equal parts.  I then made up about 1/2 cup of quick simple syrup and poured it into the jar with the coffee and vodka, put the lid on, and shook it up.

Well, then I thought about what I was actually going to do with it.  I mean, like I said earlier, I'm just not a creamy drink person.  But for those of you who are, you'll want to take note, because this even impressed me.  Now, you don't have to make your own Kahlua-esque liqueur for this.  The drink is so simple.  I poured my desired amount of coffee liqueur into a small mason jar (use a glass, don't be like me), and used canned coconut milk for the cream instead of dairy, just splashing it on top until it looked good.  Talk about YUM, and easy.  If you're the sort of person who is responsible, and actually has ice cubes on hand in your freezer, put those in your glass first (or last if you want to live on the edge).  Don't ever come to my house expecting ice cubes...I'm not that responsible.  I'm sorry in advance for that.  But I'll make you this drink if you want, and I hope that will be ok.  Happy Saturday, folks! 

carrot coconut soup

We came home from Thanksgiving with a few huge bags of carrots, and I'm still trying to make my way through them.  I decided I would either need to start juicing them, or make a big pot of carrot soup.  The soup won.

I was inspired by this amazing soup by Shutterbean, one of my favorite bloggers.  She's totally amazing.  You can go there for the recipe, I'm just here to tell you how I put my spin on it, and managed to get a 4 year old and a 3 year old to not only eat it, but eat TWO helpings of it.

I used olive oil, in place of the butter, and vegetable broth (hello, I made three batches the other day...use what you have) instead of chicken broth.  As a bonus, I used the 3rd batch of the broth, which was a little weak...until I added ginger and whole garlic, so this had a very Thai taste just using the broth.  I added a pinch of cumin and a pinch of cinnamon, very tiny amounts.  We omitted the cilantro, though we do all like it, but I didn't have any on hand.  To get that "green" flavor, I added about 2 tablespoons of lime juice and a lime leaf (we buy ours at the Asian markets and keep them in the freezer, we like to eat a lot of curries) and let it all sit in the slow cooker on low heat until I was ready to serve.  You guys?  It tasted almost like a Thai panang curry, without any curry in it whatsoever. 

So, first we ate it as a soup with some croutons I made out of the ends of the loaf of bread I made earlier this week.  It was totally amazing.  And then Aaron said "Mommy, can I have rice with this?"  YES YOU CAN.  So I let them take an intermission from dinner, tossed some rice in the rice cooker, then served seconds over rice like a curry.  I can't even decide how I liked it better.  You make it and decide.  It's amazing either way!

chia seeds, briefly

Can we just talk for a minute about chia seeds?  Yes, the very same seeds that made chia pets famous.  But let's talk about them as an egg replacer.  They are AMAZING.  (Here is a little science relating to chia seeds, if you want to know what they are all about.)

So, I'm not here to advocate for them as a diet food or a "superfood", though they are pretty great for you.  I am here to talk about using them as a binding agent in your baked goods.  I use many items as an egg replacement, depending on the item I'm making:  Ener-G Egg Replacer, applesauce, flax seed meal (not whole seeds), cornstarch, and chia seeds.  More and more I find myself just reaching for the chia seeds, unless the recipe needs to look pretty and not have tiny seeds all over in it (ie - sugar cookies) but sometimes I'll even use them if I just don't want to take a chance that they won't turn out.

So how do you do it?  So easy.  1 tablespoon of chia seeds in 3 tablespoons of water = 1 egg.  I put mine in a small glass jar, put the lid on, and shake it up.  I do this first when I know I'll need an egg, you have to give them time to activate and gel with the water.  Shake it up a few times, until you need it.  It should look like the photo below when its ready.  This was a two egg recipe I was making (recipe soon).  You can see how thick the  mixture is, and how it's almost like a gel. 

 
Chia seeds.  They're a beautiful thing.  Sometimes I'll fill this small jar and keep it in the fridge, I bake a lot so I know I'll need it.  I use it in baked goods, pancakes, waffles, meat loaf, you name it.  And, though they may alter the look of some things (like sugar cookies), they will not alter the flavor at all that I've noticed.  Bonus!  Now, get in the kitchen! 

sausage and kale soup

Do you ever get into a food funk?  I do.  Especially after Thanksgiving, it seems like everything tastes like Thanksgiving for weeks after.  You know?  Anyway.  Thanksgiving is not my favorite meal, by a long shot.  I don't particularly enjoy it.  I hate to admit it...but I sort of agree with Zooey Deschanel when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner.  So anyway, there were tons of leftovers and we ate them all people, because wasting food just sucks.  So now we get to turn over a new leaf, eat something without turkey and mashed potatoes involved!   And it feels SO GOOD!

But first, I need to say that I'm not good at prep photos.  And I only have a phone for a camera until we can buy a new one, since mine decided to break down.  So I'm going to do us all a favor and get better at finished product photos and forget trying to do prep photos.  You're welcome.

Anyway!  The soup.  Fall and winter, to me, just scream soup.  And you know what one HUGE perk to soup for dinner is?  The cleanup is so easy.  Your whole meal prep dish mess can be cleaned up before you even serve your finished product.  That's my favorite.  If I can clean up dinner before serving it, I know the rest of the night is going to be GOOD. 

This soup was kind of involved, but it doesn't have to be, and it's so easy to customize.  I'll tell you what you need, first.

So, here's where I made it complicated, but you don't have to.  I made my own vegetable broth, because I'm cheap and I hate throwing out scraps.  All of my vegetable scraps get tossed into a ziplock bag and put in the freezer, so when I need to make stock, I toss them under the broiler for a few minutes to loosen up those juices and then simmer them for a while on the stovetop.  Same goes for meat, when bones are involved, just make broth out of the scraps once you've eaten the meat.  It's so easy, and you control what goes into it.  If you don't have the time or inclination to do that, by all means, just buy your broth.  It's not going to hurt this or any soup you make.  And I totally won't judge you.  I promise. So, when I made my vegetable stock, I used scraps from garlic, carrots, onion, celery, tomato and lettuce.  I added a few sprigs of rosemary from my little potted plant, along with a bay leaf and some thyme, and simmered for a few hours.  The rosemary was very potent.  If you don't do this on your own, just add rosemary when you simmer your soup. 

Now that we have that out of the way, the soup is EASY.  Chop your onions and garlic, and saute them in a few tablespoons of your oil of choice.  Don't burn your garlic, don't brown your onions.  You're just releasing their flavors here, the onions should get a little soft and clear and that's it.  Add your mushrooms and sausage at this point.  I used fully cooked chicken sausage from Trader Joes, so I just had to heat it through.  If you use uncooked sausage, this part will take longer.  Once your meat is cooked, add a cup of water, and then your broth.  I used 1 cup of water and 2 cups of broth.  Eyeball it if you need to - we need enough liquid to cook our pasta in, and have a little broth to spare.  It's a thick soup.  Add your herbs and spices to taste.  My soup was heavy on an earthy, mushroom note - I used a lot of rosemary and thyme, and a tiny sprinkle of truffle salt to finish.  Add your bay leaves (I used 2) at the end and stir it all in. 

Bring the soup to a boil, and then add your macaroni.  Here is another place you could customize to suit your family or diet.  It would work just as well to use diced up potato, rice, or any other pasta you desire.  Or leave it out if you don't want a starch.  You'll add your kale at this point, too, so it doesn't disintegrate.   Keep it at a rolling boil until your starch is cooked, if you added it.

Remove your bay leaves and serve once your pasta is cooked through.  I served with some crispy bread and devoured it.  Happy eating! 

bacon fat chocolate chip cookies

Ok guys, it's cookie time.  Everyone loves chocolate chip cookies, but they're hard, right?  I mean, you have to try so many different tricks just to get them how you want them.  Crisp or moist?  Chewy or crunchy?  Do you want them big or small, fat or flat?  Oh man!  Chocolate chip cookies are such a science, and such a test of personality more than anything.  I like mine flat and chewy, underbaked as much as can be.  Thankfully I married someone who was likeminded, and my kids don't really have a preference yet as long as its sweet.  Let me tell you the beauty of these cookies (because I baked them 3 different ways with the same batch of cookie dough, just for you), they will turn out beautiful no matter how you prefer them!  I baked some little round fatties, delish.  I baked some flat ones with crispy edges and a super chewy middle, perfect.  I baked some perfectly shaped, slightly crispy ones?  Yum.  All around!

But there's a catch, and you need to not be afraid of it.  Bacon fat.  Do you keep it when you cook bacon?  I do.  Old school, perhaps, but it's very useful.  It's so good if you cook up some breakfast potatoes in it.  Use it in place of butter when you roast a chicken or any meat, for that matter.  I know, I know, but it's bacon.  It'll take the place of salt in your dish, too.  It adds complexity and depth.  And when added to these cookies?  Forget it.  You may never go back.  It's not overpowering, it's not the only fat you're using here, or even the most prominent, but I promise it will add something you never knew you were missing.  If you don't have any, you can make these with an extra tablespoon of salted butter, but you'll be missing out.  You have been forewarned.

Cream your butter (we use Smart Balance Light with Flaxseed Oil, it's dairy free), coconut oil, bacon fat, brown sugar and granulated sugar together until smooth and light.  For the egg replacer "eggs", let me tell you, I wing it.  I know, I know.  What I did here was take 2 tsp of Ener-G Egg Replacer and mix with 4 tbsp of warm water, then whisk until frothy.  You don't want to do this too far in advance, it activates quickly so you want to add it to your mixture pretty quick after you've gotten it ready.  Add it in slowly to combine.  Then add a spash (or two...) of vanilla.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Once it's all combined, it will be a sort of greasy looking dough.  That's ok.  The cookies will not turn out greasy I promise.  Fold in the chocolate chips.  If you're looking for vegan/allergy friendly, you can't do much better than Enjoy Life chocolate chips.  They taste amazing, and their facility is well reputed for having great cross-contamination avoidance.

Heat your oven to 375.  Drop dough in spoonfuls onto a baking sheet in whatever size/shape you desire.  Like I said earlier, this is not a picky recipe.  If you like them flatter, make them smaller and flatten them out.  They'll melt a little, but they won't go over board.

Bake at 375 for 8 to 10 minutes.  Most of mine I baked to 8 minutes, because I like mine underbaked.  9 minutes will put a nice golden brown around the edges, and 10 minutes will give you some crunch.

Oh, and if you eat this cookie dough?  There's no eggs, so no rules.  *Wink Wink*  Ok, there are still rules, but sometimes I just like to throw caution to the wind.

hot cocoa

What is better than hot cocoa and a Christmas movie on a cold night?  Not much!  But when you're not able to have dairy in your house, it severely limits the cocoa options to...well...nothing.  (Perhaps there is a packet option out there, but I've yet to find one.)

Well, worry no more.  It's so simple, it's so delicious.  This "recipe" is more of a guideline.  It will fill up a small mason jar (see photo), for you to use multiple times, or once, depending on the size of cups you use.  When I make this for my kids, I use tiny tea cups, so I put about a tablespoon of the mixture in each time.  If you were using a full sized coffee cup, I'd put more like 2 or 3 tablespoons in...or more.  You can eyeball it, and add more if it's not rich enough for you.

So, the process is simple.  Bring some coconut milk to just below a boil.  We don't need to burn anyone, we just need to melt the cocoa and sugar together.  Once it's steaming and hot, pour it over the cocoa mixture in the cup and stir, stir, stir.  A trick I have, to make sure you're not left with any lumps of powder, is to pour a little bit of the cold milk in with the powder, and mix it up, then add the hot milk on top of that.  The hot milk will dissolve the rest without any issues.  Garnish with marshmallows of course, and you're set.

Now, here are some extra ideas.  First, I use the boxed coconut milk made for drinking for this recipe.  If you want a really rich treat (you're someone who likes full fat milk, admit it) use the light canned stuff.  I am sure it's AMAZING and sinful.  I think the full fat canned stuff would be too much, but who am I to judge?  You're an adult, you do what you want. You could also substitute any other milk for it, of course, but we only use coconut in our house (dairy/soy allergy, and rice milk is so watery) so I can't vouch for it's awesomeness. I even tried melting just a smidge of coconut oil into my own cup and it took it to the next level, dude.   Try adding some cinnamon or peppermint for a little variation.  Stir with a candy cane.  So much you can do!  It's the holidays, get to packing on those pounds.  You have until December 31st before the guilt sets in anyway.

We enjoy ours while watching How The Grinch Stole Christmas, because a 22 minute running time is about as much as my kids will pay attention to, and also how long it takes them to drink a tiny cup of cocoa.  Ah, Christmas.  I just love you. 

pumpkin pie rolls

So cinnamon rolls.  They're good, huh?  I mean, has anyone ever survived getting weak in the knees just smelling Cinnabon?  You can imagine we don't eat a whole lot of cinnamon rolls in our house, with a dairy allergy.  But I'm determined to make some good ones this holiday season.

Now that I've got you thinking about cinnamon rolls, I'll tell you these are not cinnamon rolls.  Because it's fall, and we've got so little pumpkin devouring time left, I thought I'd throw you one more pumpkin recipe.  Dude!  I'm on a roll with breakfast breads.  Will your hips ever forgive me?

Ok, I have a confession to make.  I tossed all of those ingredients into my breadmaker and let it go until it was dough that has risen.  If you don't have one, just throw everything into a mixing bowl and mix until combined then let rise for 45 minutes.  Roll out into a large rectangle and let rise for about 15 more minutes on your countertop while you mix the filling.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Mix all filling, except butter, and then spoon out onto the rolled dough.  Get it good!  Then roll it up as tight as you can, which won't be very tight.  Make it a nice log, and then slice into 9 pieces.  It's going to be sloppy and messy, but that's ok.  I used a cast iron skillet for baking, you can use any deep walled baking dish.  Bake at 400 for 10 minutes.  While that's baking, melt the butter.  When 10 minutes has passed, pull out the rolls and pour the butter over the top.  Why?  I don't know, I find that it lets the butter flavor really get in there better and keeps things from being too wet. 

While you're waiting for your rolls to bake, can I just show you something?  To prove that I truly don't know what I'm doing as a human adult?  This is my rolling pin.  

Ok, are you done shaming me now?  It should be time to pull your rolls out of the oven.  Let them cool in the pan while you make the topping...a buttercream that tastes enough like cream cheese that you'll never realize it isn't as it's melting all over these amazing pumpkin rolls.  I mean, yeah, maybe they're dessert...but can't we eat them for breakfast too? 

To make the butter cream, whip the butter by itself (we use Smart Balance Light with Flaxseed Oil) in standing mixer for a few minutes until it's nice and glossy.  Then add powdered sugar, in 1/2 cup intervals.  Whip together for about 5 minutes, add a little salt and vanilla if you wish.  Then you'll want to put it in a jar and, ideally, let it sit over night.  Then whip it again while its cold, which will make it divine.  But for the sake of this recipe?  Well for you, I dug in right away.  You're welcome!  (Looks like someone else wanted me to break the rules and eat one right away too.)

abelskiver wafffles with blackberry amaretto sauce

So, our 8 year wedding anniversary was last month.  I wanted to make a special breakfast, and because I'm creepy, I did just that.  Creepy?  Well, my memory is creepy.  I can't remember when I last took a shower sometimes (ahh, the glamorous life of a stay at home mom) but I can remember exactly what we ate for breakfast the morning after our wedding.  We went to The Old European restaurant, and of course we ate Danish Abelskivers.  Oh, YUM.  I dream of these.  Are you noticing a trend here?  I like breakfast food.  And what's more, I like breakfast items that resemble CAKE.  I want to eat cake for breakfast on the regular, man.

So, abelskivers.  They're fluffy little balls of pancake, basically.  I don't own an abelskiver pan, and I wouldn't know how to use it if I did.  But you know what I do own?  A waffle maker.  So I improvised!  There is very little about the batter itself that is different, just a few spices that kick up the flavor a little, it's really about the sauce you dip it in.  First make that. (Sorry, I didn't take any photos, but it is so quick and easy.)

For the sauce, I used 2 cups of frozen blackberries, 1 cup of sugar (I know, I know, but it's a syrup), 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of Amaretto.  Bring to a boil, dissolve the sugar, and taste.  If it's not sweet enough, add more sugar.  For us, this was just right.  Then let it cool, and once it is cool, blend it into a nice smooth sauce/syrup for dipping.

Now the waffles!

Whisk all of the ingredients together until smooth, or throw it in the blender if you want.  I like to blend my pancake and waffle batter, it makes for such a smooth and luxurious texture!  Then cook according to your waffle maker's instructions.  Mine is a Belgian waffle maker, so it takes about 5 minutes to make these big ol things.  But just look at them!

Dust with powdered sugar, and serve with crispy potatoes and sausage.  Dip your bites into the blackberry amaretto sauce.  It's a restaurant style breakfast at home!  My mouth is watering now.

french toast

Raise your hands...how many of you can't (or won't) eat eggs, and have also not had the pleasure of french toast recently or ever?  Let me just tell you, french toast is one of my absolute favorite meals in all the land.  I craved it like WOAH both times I was pregnant.  Living without it has been tough for me!  But you know what made it worse?  Knowing that Nikola hadn't even TRIED the glory that is french toast!  I mean...come on! 

I've tried a ton of vegan recipes, and all have been less than wonderful.  They just didn't have that texture, that flavor, that decadence.  Most left the bread overly mushy, no crisp edges in sight.  I mean, who wants mushy, gummy bread?  Not me, that's for sure.  French toast is as much about the texture as it is about the flavor. 

Then I hit the jackpot.  And it's so SIMPLE you guys.  No fancy ingredients, no trip to the health food store. You already have everything you need in your pantry I'm sure! 

Add all ingredients (except bread, of course) in a bowl and whisk until a frothy, thin batter forms.   Heat up a non-stick skillet or griddle, add a small amount of oil to grease it up, and get your spatula ready.  Once your skillet is heated up, dip one piece of bread in and get it covered on both sides.  Throw that baby on the skillet and watch it fry up.

 

It takes about 2 minutes per side, sometimes more.  It's hard to screw it up, so if you flip it too soon, just let it go a while and flip it back.

When both sides look like this, you're done!  This recipe makes enough batter for about 8 pieces of toast.  Look at those crispy bits on the edge!  Who needs eggs?  Dive in!  Save some for me, ok?  I'll be over in 10 minutes.

no bake cookies

Ok, guys.  It's Throwback Thursday, right?  Let's talk about a cookie that everyone probably had as a child because it's so easy even a parent who can't bake can make this cookie with success.  We'll keep this short, because I know you'll want to get right to making and eating these.

Remember how I showed you how to make sunbutter (sunflower seed butter) the other day?  Well today I'm showing you how to make a no bake cookie that's free of 7 of the top 8 allergens and UNBELIEVABLE.  You could make it using any oil you like, and any milk you like, so if you can't use coconut, just use what you can.  That's the beauty of this, they're easily customized if you get creative.  And did I mention good?  Like, seriously so good.  I mean, I ate three right away, and I'm seriously considering eating another now while I write this!

In a saucepan, bring the sugar, cocoa powder, salt, coconut oil, coconut milk and vanilla to a boil.  Remove from heat right away, then stir in the sunbutter and the oats.  Drop in spoonfuls onto wax paper or a lined sheet pan and let them set up.  I'm impatient and stick mine in the fridge, but if you can restrain yourselves, you can just leave them on the counter, they'll harden up within an hour or two depending on the temperature in your house. 

Now, go, make them.  They're fun to make with kids, or on your own and it'll make you feel like a kid.  And while you're at it, lick the spoon.  You deserve it.  (And if you made my sunbutter yesterday, remember they have flax in them.  Eat two...you know, so you get all of your omegas in.)

sunbutter

When you have a child allergic to peanuts (or, hey, anyone really) it feels pretty crushing at first.  Peanuts are in so much, and further more, so much that is GOOD.  Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, peanut butter cookies, trail mix, granola bars, no bake cookies...oh man, peanut butter is some goodness. But the world isn't over!  There are other nut butters that are good.  (Cashew butter is like heaven on earth!)  And what if your child can't eat those?  What if they're allergic to other nuts?

Sunbutter.  Sunflower seeds.  Not only is it SO delicious, but most schools will allow it in place of a nut butter.  We make sunbutter + jelly sandwiches like they're going out of style, and my non-allergic child loves it just like he used to love peanut butter!  But the drawback, peeps, is that it's terribly expensive.  It's not so bad if you're making sandwiches, but what if you want to use it in cookies or something?  Those would be some crazy expensive cookies!  Trader Joes sells a 16oz jar for $4.99 here, everywhere else I see it around $8.99.  What's a girl to do when she wants a cookie?

Make it yourself!  It's crazy easy, guys.  Here's what you need.

The steps are easy.  I buy raw, unsalted sunflower seeds in bulk, they're around $1.00 per pound.  I also buy raw flax seeds the same way.  Throw as many as you want in a single layer on a sheet pan.  You can leave out the flax if you want, but since I'm making this specifically with cookies in mind, I want all of the nutrition I can possibly get.  Roast them for about 10 - 15 minutes at 350.  Keep a close eye on them.  You want them golden and all nutty smelling, but they get burnt VERY quickly.  Once they're done roasting, transfer them to your blender or food processor, and blend while drizzling small amounts of oil in. You want to use small amounts at a time as you only want enough to make it blend smooth, not get oily.  Then you'll add a pinch or two of salt, depending on your tastes, and sugar the same way.  Blend blend blend until it's smooth and creamy, or as textured as you like.  It's a very forgiving recipe.  Store in an air tight jar in your refrigerator, it should keep about a week or so.  Mine has never lasted that long before being devoured (or used in cookies) so I really don't know, but I would make this in small batches.  Use it on sandwiches, in baking recipes, any time something calls for peanut butter.  Enjoy!

bbq chicken tortilla pizza

Did you miss me?  The week of Halloween gets a little crazy around here!  Not only am I a huge Halloween freak, but our wedding anniversary is two days before Halloween so it's a busy time.  But don't worry, I've been storing up meals for you!  First up is a super quick lunch that my kids loved, BBQ chicken tortilla pizza.  (It took some coaxing with the green right up there, front and center, but once they took a bite...they were sold.) 

When I say super quick, I'm not joking.  It'll feel like you're cheating!  Took me about 2 or 3 minutes to prepare, and 5 to cook.  Can you fend your kids off (or your own appetite) for 7 minutes for a quick, healthy meal?  I sure hope so!

Just assemble the ingredients and bake, it can't get any easier.  I used canned pineapple, canned chicken (white & dark meat) and fresh spinach.  You of course could use cheese if you like, but I don't think it needed it.  For my pieces, I threw some avocado, red pepper flakes and hot sauce on top as well, because I like my pizza kicked up a notch or three.  I used about a 1/2 cup of chicken, and made two pizzas with it, one for me and one for the kids.  Yeah, I ate a whole pizza.  And I'm not ashamed. 

You could bake it at a lower temp, but it would take longer, and because your tortilla isn't needing to be cooked...it's really not necessary.  Kick that oven up to full blast and crisp the whole thing up as quickly as possible.  Why didn't I just broil it?  Because that's too unpredictable.  I often burn things, the heat is so concentrated and so fast.

So what do you think?  Lunch tomorrow?  I'll be right over.

pulled pork sandwiches

I love fall, I really do.  (Have I mentioned that about a hundred times yet?)  But sometimes I can't let go of summer, not everything anyway.  I love BBQ year round.  Like, especially under a couple of feet of snow.  That's when it is the BEST.  Of course, you can't exactly go outside and whip out the grill, so what do you do?  Well, if you're me, you use your slow cooker and you improvise. 

And let me just say, I am not a particularly big fan of baked beans.  In fact, prior to this recipe (adapted from The Best Baked Beans Ever from Pioneer Woman), I have never had any I truly liked.  But these?  Oh wow.  She's not kidding when she says they're the best, you guys.  So how do you manage this tastebud explosion?  I'll tell you how.

First, the essentials:

For the pork, you'll just simply put the pork shoulder in the slow cooker and add the water.  It's just enough water to keep it moist, you're not making soup here.  Then add the spices to the top.  I dropped a dash or two of hot sauce onto the top as well.  Then you'll slow cook it all day.  I think mine was in there around 6 hours.  The longer it's in there, the better it gets.  When you're just about ready to eat, go in with two forks and pull it all apart and mix it in with the juices it's created.  If you like, add a dash of apple cider vinegar and any other seasonings you like to finish it off.

For the coleslaw, shred your cabbage and carrots and put them into a bowl.  Mix with enough mayo just to get everything covered, but not goopy.  You don't want to be eating spoonfuls of mayo here.  If you have an aversion to mayo, you could just go for an oil & vinegar dressing, it would totally be as good.  Add the seasoning salt and poppy seeds as needed.  I like the seeds for some crunch in there, you don't have to add them.  We like our coleslaw to be savory, especially when you're eating it with sweet pulled pork and sweet baked beans.  It balances it all out.

Now, the beans.  Oh those beans!  First you need to deal with your bacon.  Here's the thing, we're using the bacon in the baking of the beans, but you don't want to have a layer of bacon grease over the top of your beans so we need to render the fat.  Fry your bacon until the fat is rendered, then set aside.  Do not make it crispy please!  Leave the bacon fat in the pan, and if it's not too much, you can use it for the next step.  If there is too much, empty some out, but leave about a tablespoon.  Saute your onion and green pepper until they are clear and softened, about 10 minutes.  Then add in a can of pinto beans, drained of their canning liquid, and let them cook just a few minutes.  While they're working their magic in the pan, assemble your sauce.  BBQ sauce of your choosing, ketchup if you want (we didn't have any so I skipped it, but it would be totally good), hot sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar & mustard.  I used yellow mustard and it was BOMB.  The original recipe called for dijon and I'm sure that's great too.  Mix & stir into the beans.  Then you'll take this whole glorious mess and put it in a baking dish, put those slices of bacon on top, and bake that thing for 2 hours at 325.  Low and slow, that's the idea behind BBQ.

There you have it!  Assemble and serve.  Sit back and wait for everyone to praise you.  You deserve it!