Mondays

Mondays are what I call house blessing days.  I bless my house by cleaning and recovering from the weekend.  Today, the kids pulled their own weight and we finished up in 45 minutes! Yay us! 

My carnivore asked very politely to have a "piece" of watermelon.  I was very happy to allow it.  When I walked into the kitchen he definitely had a piece of watermelon.

Of course, the other two also needed a piece so, there went half of a watermelon.

Yummity yum yum!

Yummy Bread

I made bread (and a mess) today.  If you have ever made bread, you know that all the steps and the flour and the kneading = a big floury mess!  But, the smell of it baking, oh the smell.  The only thing that compares is watching my family savor every bite.  There is nothing like feeding the people I love the most.  Just an all around good thing.

So here is a little peek into what we will be nibbling on. 

I hope you enjoyed our daily bread.  It is really tasty and satisfying.  It better be, it took me all day to make it. 

Healthy Pancakes?

This is what I made for myself this morning.  They are supposed to be healthy but, I don't know if they are or not.  They don't taste healthy (you know like cardboard with salt on top).  I loved them, not too sweet and super decadent for breakfast. I had two of these and they are so filling.  No syrup needed but, you can add it if you are drawn to maple syrup sin. :o)

There is no refined sugars. Minimal dairy. And lots of good stuff like whole wheat flour and raw oats, bananas, vanilla, an egg or flax instead (I didn't have any). I tried, I like them, my kids think they have too much banana flavor for pancakes. It is like eating a breakfast bar. The recipe says 3.5 pancakes is 400 cals but, I swear that 2 will be plenty for anyone. Gonna freeze the extras and eat them on my run days.

I will save some for my heart throb.  He left early today so he didn't get to try them.  ♥

Galette de Rois

One of my college friends and I are on a baking mission.  She has completed hers but, I have not.   I plan to make this today sometime.  I planned to do it yesterday but, I couldn't find 1 of the ingredients that I needed. I may need to substitute it or something. Aren't these beautiful?

This is the french version of King's Cake (Galette de Rois).  She gave me the recipe but, I have to ask her if she comfortable with me sharing it with the world.

Christmas Nuts- A Recipe

Christmas Nuts

Everybody has a favorite nut in their family, sometimes it is an Aunt or Uncle. And sometimes it is something delicious and sweet.  I swiped this from a book I am not sure which one, if you know it, please give credit.  I found it in a notebook in which I write/wrote interesting recipes to use in the far off future.  These are old things before I blogged so, source credits were not written down. I know...tsk tsk. I know better.

The Christmas Nut!

Materials:

2 cups of almonds (raw)

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tsp salt (to taste)

2 tsp ground ginger

2tbsp veg oil

2tbsp golden honey

Procedure:

1. Roast raw nuts for 5 mins at 350F.
2. While nuts are roasting: a. combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan over med-low heat until warm and melty.
3. Pour over 5min nuts, and return it to the oven to roast for 10 more minutes at 325F.
4. After they have roasted and the yumminess is good and stuck, pour them on a cooling rack to harden. 
5. Serve warm or room temp.
6. Take a picture and post it on the web.

Notes:

This is sticky. Line your roasting pans and drip trays with foil or parchment for quick clean up.
MAKE MORE THAN YOU THINK YOU WILL NEED-they go pretty fast.

Our Daily Bread

Well, not actually. Our daily bread comes wrapped #4 LDPE from the grocery store. It is usually a shade of brown. Most of it gets thrown out because the kids don't like their sandwiches to have crusts. I know, I can't believe it either.  I don't know where I went wrong; they are sandwich snobs. They will learn to appreciate a good crust.

Regardless, here is my yeast bread.  This one is a new recipe for me because I tend to make soda breads. Soda breads are way faster in the prep time and I love easy and fast.

It is too dense but, that just means I need to knead it less and let it rise more. Right?  The flavor was good and the crust was awesome. Just wanted it higher (taller). Next time it will be better. Besides, my kids don't really like white bread, so I need to focus on whole wheat breads. (Sorry about the photo quality-I am kinda distracted by kids today)

Big Daddy offered a bread machine.  But, I think I would prefer an all purpose stand mixer with a dough hook better. (Super Big Fluttery eyes Blink-wink wink)

Note: Do you see my cute vintage toaster in the background? I LOVE LOVE my old toaster!

What's for Lunch?

What do you get when you are starving and in a hurry and abstaining from meat? I don't particularly like paying $$$ for simple food like this. This whole meal cost me $7 and it fed me at lunch and my family of five at dinner. (There was actually more in the pan; this is what my eyes thought I would eat.)

Pasta With Mushrooms- A Recipe
cooked pasta
fresh mushrooms (any kind)
olive oil
salt n peppa
fresh parsley
garlic or garlic powder
asiago, romano, or parmesan (shredded)*

Don't even ask for measurements. I don't have them.  Just keep in mind that mushrooms shrink.
1. Brown the shrooms in olive oil (1tbsp or so).
2. Season with salt, peppa, and garlic.
3. Combine cooked pasta (I used spaghetti rigate) and shrooms; toss with olive oil (light coating).
4. Top with chopped fresh parsley. Cheese optional*(as if cheese is ever optional).

A smoky shot...mmm.

(pay no attention to the colander + dishes in the sink)