Hey friends! Help me win this cookbook….please!!!

So, I found this cookbook that I just GOTTA have!  The Food Lovers Make it Paleo—200 grain-free recipes for any occasion.  I really, really want it!  All you have to do is CLICK THIS LINK.  Yup, that’s it.  Just click on it, it will take you to their site.  That’s all.  Of course you could take a look around and check out their site while you are there.  :)

Did I mention how much I want this cookbook? 

And you know, you too could try to win!  Check it out, you may want to enter!  I would post a picture, but my darn computer is running SLOW tonight.  I will try to get a picture of the book up tomorrow.

 

Thanks for helping me, friends!

 

Bobbi

Chickpea Frittata

Yes folks, another recipe!  I have been doing a bit more baking/cooking again.  I get in those moods where I want to do all the cooking.  I don’t get to do much cooking because Chris enjoys it so much.  He doesn’t like baking, so I score there every time!  It is nice to make dinner for your family, sit at the table and enjoy. 

I was surfing the internet and happened upon an interesting recipe, which you can find here on My Recession Kitchen.  The picture grabbed me and the simplicity of the recipe nailed it.  I had to try it.  So we asked our friends, James and Laura over for dinner and we sat down at the table outside for a surprise dinner.  I am happy to say that we all loved it.  And it was so filling! 

I added in mushrooms, onion, summer squash, broccoli, carrots and rosemary. 

I assumed it was going to be good, so I made a double recipe and have the second in the freezer for another night.  One thing that I will do different next time is, put the veggies on top of the frittata like the picture on My Recession Kitchen.  It was super yummy how I had it, but the veggies made it a bit softer.  I think if they had not been put in the frittata would have had a baked cornmeal consistency.  But it was still an awesome, healthy dish! 

Laura made some yummy, quick pickled cucumbers (from our garden) and some yummy green beans with lots of garlic and almonds.  What a nice dinner.  So many healthy vegetables!

If you are looking for a little something different, mild tasting and a major comfort food, this is it!

Yummy Zucchini Cake!

Since we finally started getting zucchini’s, I have been dying to make some zucchini bread.  Maggie has never tasted it (that I can remember) and Chris doesn’t like it.  So I knew once I made it I would have to freeze one bread and eat the other sparingly! 

Well, I ended up only getting one piece of the first loaf and the one who refused to eat it (Maggie) ended up eating 2 pieces and then ripping off a big hunk when I wasn’t looking.  And the one that doesn’t like zucchini bread (Chris) at his fair share too! 

I have to admit, it was pretty tasty.  They will be bummed to find out that I froze the second loaf!  :)

How did I make this tasty bread you ask?  I used the recipe from Southernfood.about.com as my base and changed it to our liking.  Here is what I came up with!

2 cups shredded raw organic zucchini
1 3/4 c organic coconut palm sugar
2 cups of flour (I used 1 white, 1 wheat)
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 farm fresh eggs
1 cup coconut oil
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup organic dark chocolate chips

Put zucchini in strainer and press or squeeze with hands to get some of the excess liquid outs.  In a mixing bowl beat together eggs, sugar and oil together.  Stir in the flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, salt, vanilla, walnuts and choc. chips, mixing just until all the ingredients are combined.  Add drained zucchini.  Mix well.  Pour into 2 greased and floured 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pans.  Bake for about 55-60 minutes at 350, until wooden toothpick or cake tester inserted in center comes out with very little or no crumbs clinging to it.

The coconut oil was really nice, but had I had applesauce in the house I would have used that instead.  A little cheaper to use!

This turned out really tasty and moist.  And for two people who were kinda “poo-poo” about it to begin with, it was a big hit!  There is one piece left of the first loaf, and Maggie claimed it as breakfast! 

So thankful to our garden for supplying us with yummy veggies and to our chickens for giving us eggs!  There certainly is something a bit more fun about eating something you have baked from something you have grown/raised!

Applesauce Cinnamon Ornaments

This Christmas is going to be very different for us.  Normally we have a 7.5 ft+ Christmas tree, I have a huge Christmas village that I LOVE to put up, we are also usually the house that goes way overboard on the outside decorations and lights.  You know the house that everyone drives by.  But this year we aren't doing any of that.  This year is the year for simplicity.

Most of you know we are living in a tiny, temporary home.  To have a 7.5 ft tree would take up my entire living room.  Now, like I told Chris, if we didn't have a 6 year old running around playing, I wouldn't care.  :)  On top of the small living conditions, all of our Christmas decorations are in storage.  When we were moving stuff into storage we loaded all the Holiday decorations to the very back of our storage units.  We thought our stuff would only be there for a month.  Surprise, surprise!

So, because it has been raining and cold and I am just too darn lazy to go dig through storage, we are making our own ornaments!  We are also getting a tiny little tree.  Maybe 4ft?  Maybe smaller.    Normally this would just bug me!  I don't know why.  I guess I am pretty set in the way things are done.  I am not one who tolerates change well.  But for some reason I am kind of excited about this.  Who knows what this will mean for future Christmas'!

All that to say (hey, i'm Italian, I can't help but tell the ENTIRE story before getting to my point!), today we made Applesauce Cinnamon Ornaments.  The smell alone is enough to put me in a great mood!  Chris, Maggie and I teamed up and had a good time!  I made the dough, they rolled and cut.  Then we decorated with some glitter.  The ones that didn't get all glittered up will get painted.

All I did was take equal parts of cinnamon and applesauce, mixed together very well.  Made sure it wasn't too gooey-just a nice dough consistency.  Rolled out on a piece of wax paper.  Used cookie cutters to cut shapes, added glitter and baked at 170 for 1 hour on a cookie sheet.  Then took ornaments off the cookie sheet and put on cookie rack, baked another 1 1/2 hours.  Tie strings on them and then hang!  Super easy!

It was a nice family activity.  Everyone loves getting their hands gooey in dough and sprinkling glitter.  The Christmas music was going in the background, kitchen window shades open with a promise of snow!  Looking forward to hanging on our tree and having a "semi-homemade" Christmas!

Friday Night Snackin'

This is the kinda stuff we do on a Friday night when are bored.  Watch Buddy the Elf and make chocolate covered pretzels!

Tis the season for yummy snacks!

Vanilla Cupcakes

I love getting things in the mail.  Don't you?  Especially when it's a big package full of fun things like cookbooks and other baking items.  This past week my mom sent me 2 nice cookbooks, some coconut flour, coconut crystals (a good sugar replacement) and some other goodies.  Well, I didn't want to waste any time in using my new box of goodies!

One of the cookbooks she sent me was "Cooking with Coconut Flour" by Bruce Fife, N.D.  I absolutely love anything written by Bruce Fife, I have maybe 2 or 3 other books he has written about Coconut.  If you haven't read anything by him, do a quick search on the internet.  He is easy to read and knows his stuff about coconut!

So, to get back on the subject......I flipped through the book and found some yummy and unbelievably simple Vanilla Cupcakes.  Out came my favorite power-tool of the kitchen, my Kitchen Aide and my favorite helper,  Maggie and I started to whip up a batch of cupcakes.  The thing that I really liked about this recipe, besides the fact that it was super easy is that it makes 6 cupcakes!  I love cake, but I don't eat a lot.  Chris and Maggie don't like cake much, but can appreciate it in small doses, so this was perfect!

Yes, I know I said the recipe makes 6 and there are only 4 in the picture.  The two missing were the casualties of Chris and I, we couldn't wait to taste test!  I will definitely be making these again.  No doubt!  In fact, I may me making the chocolate version tomorrow.  I have already gotten the request!  So, if you want to make these yummy treats for your family, follow the recipe below!

3 Tablespoons butter, melted 

3 eggs 

1/3 cup sugar 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/4 teaspoon vanilla 

1/4 cup sifted coconut flour 

1/4 teaspoon baking powder 

Blend together butter, eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla.  Combine coconut flour with baking powder and whisk into batter until there are no lumps.  Pour batter into greased muffin cups.  Bake at 400 degrees F (205 C) for 15 minutes.  Top with frosting of your choice.  Makes 6 cupcakes.  Spiders optional.  :) 

Baked Oatmeal

I have been wanting to bake something yummy for days now. I just haven't had the time to look for something OR to make it! So over the weekend I took a few minutes to poke my head around the 'net. One of my first stops was at Nourished Kitchen. I just KNEW I would find something there that fit along with what I was wanting to feed my family. Yummy AND healthy! I was right. Within a few seconds of being there I stumbled upon a recipe for baked oatmeal. Besides yummy and healthy I needed it to fit into two other categories: breakfast and snack food.


The smell while it was baking was fantastic. Let me say that it is warm enough to have the windows open already this morning, but I kept them closed because the smell was so delish that I wanted to trap it as long as possible! lol

I'm excited for Maggie to get up this morning! We both enjoy a nice steaming hot bowl of oatmeal in the morning, I think we are going to really enjoy this!

Delicious!

Ingredients:

■1 pound steel cut oats

■1 cup walnuts, or other nuts

■2 tablespoons yogurt, kefir, whey or buttermilk for soaking

■dash unrefined sea salt

■6 pastured eggs

■2 cups whole, fresh milk

■up to ¼ cup maples syrup (optional)

■½ cup raisins or dried cranberries

■½ cup dried unsulfured apricots, diced

■2 tablespoons cinnamon

■¼ cup coconut oil, plus extra for greasing baking dish

Method:

1.Pour the steel cut oats and nuts into a ceramic container or mixing bowl.

2.Add enough filtered water to completely submerge your oats and nuts. Add a dash of salt and a two tablespoons of fresh yogurt, whey, kefir or buttermilk.

3.Allow the oats and nuts to soak, covered, overnight in a warm place in your kitchen – about eight to twelve hours.

4.After the mixture of oats and nuts has soaked overnight, dump them into a colander to drain and place the mixture back into the ceramic container or mixing bowl.

5.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 13 x 9-inch rectangular baking pan with coconut oil or another wholesome fat of your choosing.

6.Meanwhile beat together eggs, milk, maple syrup (if you’re using it), until well-combined and frothy.

7.Pour the mixture of eggs, milk and maple syrup over the soaked oats and nuts, stirring well to combine into a porridge-like mixture.

8.Gently fold dried fruit, cinnamon and coconut oil into the porridge-like mixture.

9.Pour the mixture into a greased baking pan and smooth it out with a rubber spatula to ensure even baking and a good appearance.

10.Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit for forty to forty-five minutes or until the oatmeal achieves a pleasing golden-brown color on top, a knife inserted into its center comes out clean and free from liquid and the fragrance of baked oats, dried fruit and cinnamon perfumes your kitchen.

11.If you can bear the wait, allow the baked oatmeal to cool for five to ten minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

YIELD: 12 to 16 servings

TIME: 10 minutes (preparation), 8 to 12 hours (soaking), 40 to 45 minutes (baking)

Whole Lemon Cake

I wanted to  make a treat yesterday, but didn't know what I wanted.  So, my first stop was to Rhonda's blog, down---to---earth.  She never disappoints!  Time and time again I can look through her posts and I find something.  And yesterday I found the jackpot of all simple treats!  She had a recipe for Whole Orange Cake.  However, I had no oranges in the house.  But I did have a few lemons and decided to adjust the recipe buy using a lemon.  I think I may have found a new family favorite!

Rhonda made hers in a loaf pan.  I decided to make individual cakes using a new pan I have.  I knew at the time I over-filled, but I wasn't too concerned.  It was hot and I didn't want the oven on any longer than it had to be by baking two sets.  Besides, I really wanted to eat one, I didn't care what it looked like!

INGREDIENTS

1 whole orange

3 eggs

6.3 oz melted butter

1 cup white sugar

1½ cups self raising flour OR 1½ plain (all purpose) flour with 1½ teaspoons baking powder sifted in

METHOD

Preheat your oven to 180C/350F.

Grease your cake tin

Wash the orange/lemon thoroughly - this is particularly important if the orange/lemon is not organic or from your backyard

Put the whole washed orange/lemon into the food processor and process it until it's completely broken down and no large pieces remain. Add the rest of the ingredients and process again until everything is mixed together, about 30 seconds.

Scrape the batter into the cake tin and cook for around 40 minutes.

The "bestest" part about this cake is no peeling, no zesting (although I have a "thing" about zesting), no juicing.....just throw the whole fruit in the processor and you are done!  It's also an easy clean up! 

It was a yummy dessert after our chicken I cooked in the crock pot yesterday.  Chicken made with white wine, lemon, garlic and oregano.

Maggie and I are each having one for breakfast this morning.  :)