Man oh man it has been a long time. I have actually been cooking this entire time but apparently to lazy to get off my butt and post what I have been doing. We have made changes to our diet over the last 5 to 6 months. Slowly moving more and more towards a Paleo diet. If you do not know what that is check out this site: http://thepaleodiet.com/faq/#basics. We have tried thisi n the past with success but were not ready to make the commitment to it, that has changed and we are ready to go. Of course we are not yet 100% but hope to continue to make strides in that direction.

Anyway, I will be doing a lot of typing over the next few days of what I have made which will include carrot cake cupcakes with coconut cream icing and blondies (all 100% paleo and super yummy).

You may wonder why I have decided to move my family to what at first glance seems like a very restrictive diet. The answer for me is simple. My husband is a severe asthmatic and since we have been eating this way he has gone weeks at a time without having to use his inhaler. If that alone is not enough one of our daughters is asthmatic and as it turns out has several food allergies we only just found out about and our youngest daughter we were informed in April had fallen off of her growth curve. We waited six months to take her back in to be reassessed. In that time we have cut way back on grains and gluten for her and to our pleasant surprise she is now on track to grow almost a full inch above the average.  Now I am not saying that eating this way is the cause BUT I told her pediatrician the changes we had made in our diet and where we were trying to go. Not only did she agree with the diet she admitted she follows a similar diet. Why is this relevant? Well they think that my daughter may have celiac disease -- a side affect can be lack of or no growth since her body is not absorbing all of the necessary nutrients. We do not yet have a diagnosis but why take the chance, my kids like the food my hubby likes and food and if this is what I can do to help my family be healthier I am going to do it.

I am no expert in this area and will depending on cookbooks and my wonderful neighbor who has been eating this way for years for help. But with some help I think it will go great and I hope to have some great food ideas to share.

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you are a lover of cookies and are looking for something new you should try these. they contain no eggs, no dairy and no flour. I originally got the recipe from Elana's Pantry but I have changed some of the ingredients because I was not happy with the way they came out. Now they eat like a normal cookie. My kids and husband love them!

2.5 cups of blanched almond flour
.5 tsp sea salt
.5 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 c grapeseed oil
1/4 agave nectar
1/2 c dark chocolate chips

Bake on 350 for 9 minutes (until golden brown)

What do you want for dinner? This is what I ask everyone in my family on their birthday. My 3 year old wanted macaroni and cheese. So I set out to make it for her. Now I have made homemade mac-n-cheese before and I  like it. I think you can make it grown up by using different cheeses. Of course I did not do this for my Emily. I know she will eat all types of cheese but we kept it simple

1/2 lb. elbow macaroni
1 tbsp. btr
1/4 c. milk warmed on stove
6 oz. sharp cheddar shredded
2 oz. mozzarella
2 slices bacon sliced into small pieces and fried

Melt cheese into milk and add to cooked pasta. pour into baking dish. Mix bacon into the mixture.

** If the mixture seems dry you can make an additional batch of the cheese sauce and pour over the top. I made a small batch but if you need a larger portion you can use an entire 1 lb. of noodles and 16 oz. of cheese.

Also, sometimes the cheese mixture seems a little runny. If this is the case add a small amount of flour to the milk before adding the cheese, this will help the sauce thicken up as it cooks and will result in a tighter mac-n-cheese

I am not a huge sweets person. Do not get me wrong I do like to have dessert but I could love without them if I had to. that being said I LOVE to make dessert and try new things. I usually try to make everything homemade but since going back to school I have had to rethink that. I mean really if there is a great cake mix why not use it. I do not have to reinvent the wheel  just need to make it my own. so that is what i am trying to do. The things I am listing are not the most original but I liked them and am proud of what I came up with. I hope you enjoy!

MMM......cupcakes!

Anyone can make cupcakes that look "fancy" without being an expert baker or even making them homemade.

 So my little one turned 3 today and we will not be having a party until later in the month but of course we cannot go without some type of sweets so  instead of a cake we made cup cakes to celebrate. These are cute but also super easy. Box mix (duncan hines chocolate made according to box), whipped topping I bought from the grocery store bakery (mixed with a little instant chocolate pudding mix. sounds weird but if you sprinkle some of the powder into the whipped topping and give a good whip by hand until smooth is tastes similar to chocolate mousse)and marshmallows dipped in water(blotted on a towel) then rolled in cake sprinkles. 

This one is a milk chocolate cup cake (duncan hines made according to directions) with whipped topping (again with the chocolate pudding), I made a raspberry compote(fresh berries in a pan with some sugar. heat until berries breakdown. I added a small amount of canning pectin to thicken) and injected it into the cup cake (using a decorating tip)and then placed a fresh berry on top. 

This cup cake is my attempt to recreate an Almond Joy in a cup cake. My friend loves almond Joy and I wanted to make something special for her. This is a boxed white cake mix, instead of the water I used coconut milk. I also added shredded coconut and coconut creme in an effort to infuse as much coconut flavor as possible. I made a test cup cake to see if the coconut was strong enough and then added what I felt was necessary.The frosting is a dark chocolate ganache and of course topped with slivered almonds.  

Diana's Chicken Soup

This is a great twist on chicken soup and I have to give a big thank you to my wonderful friend Diana. She introduced this to me at a Book Club meeting. Again this is one of those that you can make your own and it does not get easier. The biggest most difficult thing is buying to the rotisserie chicken and deciding what veggies to use.

1 Rotisserie Chicken (picked off the bone & skin removed)
2 cup diced butternut squash
1/2 diced onion
4 cups low sodium chicken stock
6 cups fresh spinach
1tbsp butter
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp garlic powder or fresh garlic (2 cloves)
pinch kosher salt
crushed red pepper to taste
white pepper to taste
1/2 tsp curry (if you do not like this simply leave it out)

Saute squash and onion until just beginning to soften, add picked chicken and chicken stock. Stir in all spices (feel free to add more of less depending on your own tastes) bring soup to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Just before serving add the spinach, simmer an additional 5 minutes.

If you wish you can serve with fresh bread.

Stuffed Peppers

If you love peppers you should love this one. Most people use rice in their peppers but I just feel like such a pig eating all that rice so I use only meat and vegges in mine. the beauty is this is one of those recipes you can totally make your own, below are the ingredients I used this time around. But feel free to use any types of meat and veggies you like. 

5 Peppers 

1lb. lean ground beef

Broccoli

Asparagus

Butternut Squash

Canned Tomatoes (I used the kind with jalapenos)

Rosemary-garlic Roast Beef & Potatoes w/ Horseradish

3/8/2012

Rosemary-garlic Roast Beef & Potatoes w/ Horseradish

If you like Roast Beef you must try this one. It is easy to make and very tasty. Instead of regular potatoes I opted to use baby ones, they are smaller cook faster and I think they just look nicer on the plate. The skin was just a tiny crispy so when you bite into them there is a nice contrast in the texture.