Chattycha 2, Pie crust 0

Posted on November 28, 2013 by chatty

I’m bringing the pumpkin pie to this year’s Thanksgiving feast. In addition to that, also made little mini sweet potato pies using mini muffin tins. That would be two crusts I made this week. The second was better than the first. My pie crust disaster days seem to be over. Phew!

For the minis, I rolled out the crust and used a biscuit cutter to make the tiny crusts.

I heartily recommend baking two desserts for this holiday. One to share (the big one) and one to enjoy right away (those little cuties). I’m going to keep experimenting with that pumpkin. I have two more big cans in the pantry.

Paleo pancakes etc.

Posted on August 4, 2013 by chatty

At 6:30 this morning the kiddie snuck into my bed to greet me.
“What do you want for breakfast?” I asked her.
“Maybe a … Doughnut?”
Man. This kid and doughnuts. I know I only have myself to blame. It’s still annoying.

I made paleo pancakes instead.

2 eggs + 1 ripe banana + 1/4 c almond butter. Mix well. Cook as you would a pancake in a pan coated with coconut oil.

Added chocolate chips to the kid’s portion.

And so a day of Paleo began …

Update … This week Met Market has a BOGO Free coupon for Whidbey Island Ice Cream. So… After a successful grain-free day, I ended the affair with a small scoop of chocolate and a small scoop of coconut.

Everyone should be this lucky.

Slow cooker diaries: Jambalaya encore

Posted on August 2, 2013 by chatty

I did this for Super Bowl Sunday, decided to do a repeat this last week. That first time, the rice wasn’t really done until halftime, if i recall correctly. Most cookbooks call for slow cooker rice to be parboiled (or converted) rice. Think Uncle Ben’s. I picked up a box at the store. Then put it back. I have a weird bias against instant rice. i have weird feelings about rice in general, i think. probably because of all the rice i ate growing up. i digress, but it was a lot of rice. I’ve mentioned this before, i know. ANYWAY. The Uncle Ben’s at the store is found at the very bottom row, which should tell buyers something about converted rice, amiright?

I decided to experiment cooking with real rice, in my case short-grain brown rice. I added all ingredients except chicken, shrimp and green peppers and cooked on high for hour one. Added chicken and switched to low for 4-5 hours. Added shrimp and green pepper, back to high for 15 minutes. Stirred the pot a few times in between (more than my normal). Rice was more cooked, I’d call it a moderate success.

Due to the time it takes the rice to cook, this is a dish that tastes better the next day. I enjoyed leftovers for a couple of days. A nice break from eating out all the time at lunch.

More:
Brown rice vs. white rice

Not Your Mothers Slow Cooker Cookbook. Get it!

Father’s Day Extravaganza: Go Big or Go Home

Posted on June 16, 2013 by chatty

Happy Father’s Day! Last week I suggested barbecue ribs for Father’s Day dinner and Husband was on board. So the extravaganza kicked off last night when I made some Guinness Barbecue Sauce. I’ve never made a barbecue sauce from scratch. In fact I’ve never done much with barbecue, which is kind of silly when you think about how easy it is to combine sauce with meat, at its basest, that is. Barbecue snobs will probably scoff at my ignorance, but that doesn’t bother me.
Changes on the sauce: I substituted tomato paste for ketchup, halved the salt, and left out the hot sauce (kiddo doesn’t like hot). I also used Dijon mustard instead of dark brown since it was all we had, and slightly reduced that amount to tone down the horesradishy bite. The sauce was tangy, the Guiness gave it a nice distinct flavor. Tasty.

Barbecue Ribs

The ribs recipe (via my slow cooker of course) couldn’t have been easier, although next time I will mix/turn halfway through cooking time.

Oh, and did I mention this was an extravaganza? I made cornbread (from a mix), also had cole slaw and potato salad (from the market) and for dessert a 4-inch chocolate raspberry cake (also from the market). Plus a salad, in an effort to avoid overeating on the extravaganza stuff.

Father’s Day Dinner, Plated

Kiddo raved. “Mom, this is soo delicious.” It was much later I realized she was talking about the corn bread, not the ribs. Darn that carb-addict gene.

Husband enjoyed it immensely, and that means win.

He didn’t enjoy the dirty dishes. Can’t win ’em all.

P.S. see that glass peeking out from the upper corner of the photo? That’s my Guinness, reward for an extravaganza well done.

Guiness BBQ Sauce from Epicurious.com (the original idea was from Pinterest!)
Barbecue Ribs recipe from NYMSCC

Mushroom Lasagna

Posted on June 1, 2013 by chatty

The kiddo is quite fond of the book: Tales For Very Picky Eaters. One tale mentions mushroom lasagna. Kiddo asked if we could have mushroom lasagna. Sure, I said.
I haven’t made lasagna probably since the 90s. Which is funny, because it was my thing back in the day. I clearly remember making it in college and feeding it to the roommate at the end of some fasting Jewish high holiday. Spinach was the specialty.
More recently this recipe has gone on the wayside. Too much pasta, and seriously, who needs that much cheese? Also, the husband has never been fond of lasagna so why bother.
Until now! The challenge here was the mushrooms. I ended up going for a very mushroomy sauce. Browned ground turkey, threw it in the slow cooker with a shredded carrot, chopped onion, mushrooms (lots of them), a large can of whole tomatoes (would have preferred crushed but I made a mistake and bought the wrong can). Tomato paste, Italian herbs.
Whole wheat lasagna, and a 8×8 baking pan. Ditched the mozzarella and instead shredded parm reg into the ricotta mixture and shredded some more on top (and some crumbled Zola-Gouda).

I used half the sauce for the lasagna. In addition I roasted a spaghetti squash for a low-carb option to pair with the rest of the sauce.

I did hear the kiddo say, “This. Is. Amazing.” But then she proceeded to only eat the pasta. Husband did eat it, hooray, and so we have less leftovers than expected. Was fun to have but I’m glad I made the squash, too. Not going to keep this in the repertoire. No one needs that much food, but it was fun to whip out an old recipe (from memory!) and lighten it up some.

WOD 5.20 more running, + #mobility #soundcrossfit

Posted on May 20, 2013 by chatty

Nothing remarkable, other than I’ve done a lot of running lately.

Wendler was good. My last set (of Press) I did 5 @ 62.5#

Rounding out the evening with some lacrosse ball mobility.

Allow me to diverge from the topic of WODs for a moment. At the cafeteria earlier today I noticed that one of the rotating food stations was Pasta Ya Gotcha. It brought me back to the days of RedWest, working on MS Campus in Redmond. The cafeteria there had this pasta station permanently. This was back in the day when I actually ate pasta for lunch. When I really didn’t give a damn what I ate at any time. Starbucks Maple Oat Scone and Tall Mocha for breakfast? Sure! Texas Tijuana Taco Penne for lunch? You betcha! Chicken Parmesan for dinner? Why not? This is the description, from the web site, of the Penne (wanted to steal a pic but they had none): Our #1 selling sauce! A secret blend of our Southwestern spiced ground chicken breast in a creamy sauce. Topped with cheddar cheese, green onion and fresh tomatoes.

It was just like eating a taco but better, because there was pasta! I ate that stuff more than I’d like to admit. I blame my old workmates for introducing me to that crap. Man, that stuff was GOOD. But you always ended up feeling so dang bad. Shocking how long it took for me to connect those dots.

Today (and nearly everyday) I had a salad. It is the same salad, the big difference today was that i chose romaine over spring mix. The guy ahead of me in the pay line did get the Taco Penne though. Lucky bastard.

For the record, the web site claims the Taco Penne “only” has 540 calories. I say “only” because it looks more like 800.

Chocolate Coconut Larabars

Posted on February 25, 2013 by chatty

The Paleo challenge is over, but i still have a few more posts that I need to post. Since ending the challenge (200 points behind the winner!) I’ve had no less than 3 doughnut halves; a mocha; peanut butter pretzels; pizza; countless Thin Mints and many more treats that I loved and missed.
A few foods I tried during the challenge tat I plan to keep in rotation:

Beets
Brussels sprouts (can hardly believe I’m saying that but they really grew on me)
Medjool dates

Regarding dates … you have to be specific, as the other ones just don’t taste as good. Medjools are sweet and sticky, and are amazing to use in bars and other sweets, though be careful. As with all dried fruits, just cause they are fruits they are not low in calories and actually dates have a lot of sugar in them.

That all said, I’m crazy about these copycat larabars. I made them twice. Super easy, requires no baking, use all natural ingredients with no added sugar. Dates rock.

these copycat larabars are made with 5 ingredients

This recipe comes courtesy of Mom’s Kitchen Handbook, via Pinterest (yes! I successfully created something I discovered on Pinterest!)

Oddly enough, while milk in my coffee continues to be a must, I’ve lost my taste for yogurt, cheese and other dairy. Will need to find additional ways to add calcium to the diet.

I’ve still got a few more ingredients in the pantry, so, cavemen and women … I will return. Just after I make a few more goodies.

2012, you are so last year!

Posted on January 6, 2013 by chatty

Had hoped to get something up before the end of the year, but we spent the last week in Colorado and I wasn’t in the blogging mood. I basically had to get away from the Interwebs for a while, so spent much of my time there (when I wasn’t playing with niece and nephew and child and being social with my family), with my nose “in my kindle”. I said I had to get away from the Interwebs, not ALL electronic devices!

So… some final pics from the end of the year:

Yum? Actually, yes, these paleo-friendly cookies were yum. Tasted kind of like a chocolate macaroon.

Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake: I resurrected this classic in my repertoire, which I don’t think we’ve had since the toddler was born. Delish, and Lily ate it up like there was no tomorrow.

Chicken Stew and Biscuits: A reprise of an earlier slow cooker diary entry. Just as tasty the second time around.

Hm. Thought I’d have more photos to share. So I leave you with these fantastic Gingerbread Houses that Lily and I made while in CO (you all remember the “Shantytown” we built a few years ago, right?):

Note the construction continuing in the background by the niece

And on to 2013!

Tweet This

Posted on November 10, 2012 by chatty

Your welcome

I can’t take all the credit. I saw this in “Wild Animal Baby” (now Ranger Rick Jr.) magazine, April 2012

Super easy …
1 slice toast with peanut butter cut diagonally used for body and wing (I cut the wing piece in half)
raisin for the eye (k we didn’t have raisins so I used a piece of fig)
Orange cheese for beak
Pretzel thins for legs & feet
Gummy worm

Voila!

More random food pics from London

Posted on September 22, 2012 by chatty

Foreign foods are always fun, even if ‘foreign’ still speaks the same language. Here are a few Brit goodies:

Black currant juice courtesy of the Microsoft kitchen. I loved this stuff. I never drink the U.S. juices but if my office stocked this stuff I’d be sucking it down day long. It’s for the best that Bellevue doesn’t stock it, I guess.