Pomegranate Pancakes and Apple Cider Syrup

I had this awesome idea to do green and red pancakes for Christmas morning. Because really, how cool would that be? The other day we added spinach to our normal blender pancake recipe and it was, while not awesome (because hello, spinach) it was edible (thank you, syrup). The kids thought green pancakes were fun.

Tonight I tried to make red pancakes but here's the deal, I used pomegranates. At first I only added 1/2 the pomegranate seeds and the batter ended up gray. Gray is not really an appetizing food color. In fact, I won't eat Mexican gray squash simply because of the name. So I added the other half of the seeds and ended up with purple batter, which makes sense, since pomegranate juice is purple. Clearly, this was a well thought out experiment. The pancakes tasted fine and cooked up pancake colored, but what really made the meal awesome was this syrup from One Perfect Bite. YUM.
I think maybe beet juice would make red, or at the least pink, pancakes. I'll give it a try and report back.



Here are the recipes:

Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes From Make a Treat With Wheat ( I think. The recipe is copied from my mom's house and I'm pretty sure it was in that cook book, which is now out of print.)

1 cup wheat berries
1 cup milk
blend on high for 2 minutes in a regular blender or 30 seconds in a commercial grade blender.
Add
1/2 cup additional milk blend additional 2 minutes or 30 seconds, depending on blender
1 egg
1/2 cup oil or applesauce
2 T sugar (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
Blend until combined

VARIATIONS
Green Pancakes
Add a handful of spinach to the wheat and milk blending, reduce 1/2 cup milk to 1/4 cup or 1/3 cup depending on the spinach amount ( you want the batter to poor but not to be watery)

Pomegranate Pancakes
Add seeds from one pomegranate to
1 1/3 cup wheat berries
reduce total milk volume to 1 cup
may omit sugar, depending on sweetness of seeds

Apple Cider Syrup from One Perfect Bite
One Perfect Bite Syrup
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup apple cider
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons butter, cubed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Whisk together dry ingredients, add wet stuff and bring to a boil. Stir while it's boiling until thickened and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir for an additional 2 minutes. 

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

I've invented something.

I don't think it will come as any great shock that this something contains food. After all, I'm assuming you read the title of the post.

This morning my son was trying to talk me into "Whole Cream of Wheat" yet again. I have a rule: Cream of Wheat is OK every other day, not every day. On non-cream of wheat days, breakfast is a battle.

I offered eggs. I offered smoothies. I offered cold cereal, oatmeal, even apple PIE oatmeal. All I got was a lot of pouting until I figured that if I could make apple pie oatmeal, I could probably also figure out pumpkin pie oatmeal.

He said yes. Thank the heavens.

Granted, this recipe makes enough food to feed my family for two mornings. I consider that an added bonus. Now I don't have to come up with a breakfast he won't sneer at the day-after-tomorrow. Score. 

5 cups water
1 cup whole milk
sprinkle of salt (maybe 1/2 tsp for this amount of oats?)
2 1/2 cups oats (I like old fashioned but mostly have quick right now)
3/4 to 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/3-1/2 cup brown sugar (SOME members of my family don't know that breakfast doesn't have to result in a sugar coma...those people added yet more sugar to their bowls. Cretins. Or maybe I should call them pre-diabetics?)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cloves

Mix it all up and cook at boil on the stove for 2ish minutes. Take off the heat, throw the lid on for another few minutes to let the oats finish softening. Enjoy.

Clearly, this would be better with whipped cream on top, but then, what isn't?

Recipe Review: Costa Vida Sweet Pork Salad

I should probably preface this post with a disclaimer: I don't eat pork, and I hate the scent of cilantro. When I say "hate" I mean, if I chop it, I'll vomit. I'm not a puker under any circumstances but it's that gross.

Mom thawed some pork the other day when I said I wanted meat. Sadly, pork is not meat. It's a dead pig. Pigs don't get any cuter upon death and they weren't exactly gorgeous to start with.


So here's the recipe I chose from the Picky Palate via Pinterest. Obviously, my palate is picky-er. Just say'n. Here it is copied and pasted in case you're too lazy to to click through.

(Obviously, I'm too lazy to take my own picture.)

Y'all know I don't DO recipes that require bottles of this and boxes of that, but I figured since I wasn't going to be eating it, it didn't really matter. Am I right? OK then.

Sweet Pork Salad with Cilantro Dressing

2-4 lb pork roast
1 ½ Cups Coca Cola (seriously, not joking. Talk about something I don't have laying about the house)
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Seasoning Salt

Sauce:
1 Cup Coca Cola
1 Cup ketchup (I used my organic HFCS free ketchup. What a waste of perfectly good product)

Dressing:
1 jar Herdez Salsa Verde (mild tomatillo salsa, I get it at Walmart, any size)
Equal amount of prepared ranch dressing (Hidden Valley)
1 Bunch Cilantro (ew. EW. EW! I did it, and I barfed but I was trying to be true to the recipe)

10 inch wheat or flour tortillas
Shredded green leaf lettuce
Black beans, I just used canned
Cilantro lime rice (steamed rice with chopped cilantro leaves and fresh lime juice, as much as desired)
Diced tomatoes, cheese, guacamole….etc
Crispy Tortilla Strips (flour tortillas cut into thin strips and fried in vegetable oil until browned)

1. Place roast in crockpot with Coke; season with salt, pepper and garlic seasoning. Cook on low overnight, until tender.Remove roast from crockpot, discard juices. Shred pork into bite size pieces and place back into pot on low.
2. Place Cola and ketchup in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often. Heat to a low boil. Pour over shredded roast. Cook on low until ready to serve. (oops. I just saw this step. I was supposed to COOK it?)
3. For dressing, place equal parts salsa verde and ranch dressing into food processor or blender. Add Cilantro leaves and process until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
4. To serve: Place tortilla onto a large bowl or plate. Layer with lettuce, beans, rice, pork, dressing and tomatoes, cheese and guacamole. Cheese, guacamole and crispy tortilla strips not pictured, but really good in it!

VERDICT:

Obviously, it was totally gross. I made a cheese crisp and ate outside. I think the rest of the family ate it, but this could be because I didn't make lunch, either. Hello, there was pork in the kitchen. Like I'd go in there willingly?

Ovens and Hammers, and Banana Muffins

This morning I needed to bake two dozen banana muffins for the blood drive.
So I turned on my oven and started mixing.
Then my oven turned itself off.
And wouldn't turn back on again.
<insert cuss words>
I did what any rational person faced with a time crunch and weeks of sub-optimal oven operations would  do: I went to the tool box and got the hammer.

Then I beat the tar out of the oven control panel.

My oven started working again.

I think it's scared of me.
What? You already know The Hubs has said we're getting a new one. As soon as he can show me the money, I'll go get it. Until then we are eating soup, stir fry and anything else I can make on the stove top.
Crisis one, averted.

Banana Muffin Recipe

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup white sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 t baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups smashed bananas

1/2 cup milk (maybe, I eyeballed it)

1/2 cup oil

2 eggs

Nostalgia in Dinner Planning

I grew up in a home with no air conditioning. In the summer, sometimes it was just too darn hot to fire up the oven and cook. (We also didn't have a microwave until the 1990's, but that's a different post.) My mother was awesome at finding cool meals for us to eat and a frequent summer staple was Bush's Baked Beans and buttered toast (from homemade bread). Eating cold beans had the added effect of cooling us down, as well.

I adore Bush's Baked Beans to this day. I can't stand any other brand (again, a topic deserving it's own post). When the temperature topped 108 today, I slipped a can of Bush's into the fridge for dinner tonight. This being Arizona, the cans don't stay as cool as they did in Idaho (especially after we added on to the house and got a basement storage room for canned goods).

Come dinner time, I heated up Husband's plate of beans (because he didn't grow up eating them the right way-cold), toasted some bread and sliced the tomatoes. Then I called the family for dinner.

When Husband saw what was for dinner, he looked as though I'd kicked his puppy. Beans for dinner? And that's it? 


Normally, Husband raves over my cooking. Not so much tonight. It turns out he thinks beans and toast are a snack, not a meal. My response? "Well, I can open another can."

It's seriously too hot to cook. And I even own a microwave.

Fresh Apricot Coffee Cake (Quick)

I bought a case of apricots from Bountiful Baskets a week ago. 24 pounds. I had every intention of preserving these apricots, but I didn't like the results of my dried fruit attempt, and I'm too lazy/busy/tired to try fruit leather, which had been my original intent. So I've been eating mounds of apricots. My family refuses to join me. In an effort to force the issue, today I made cake for breakfast. Apricot Cake.

 Everyone ate apricots today. :) <Dance of happiness>

So here's what I did.


Basic Quick Coffee Cake Recipe for 9x13 pan.
(Feel free to halve the recipe and put it in a 9x9)
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup sugar (it IS a cake, after all)
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder

2 eggs
1 1/3 cup milk
3 Tbls melted shortening or oil (the flavor is different, texture is similar)

Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and mix just until dry ingredients are fully incorporated.
Dump out into a greased (Pam-ed) 9x13.
Wash fresh apricots. Cut in half and pit. Layer top of cake with apricots. I did four halves to a row width-wise and probably 6 or 7 rows.

Make a crumb topping of melted butter, cinnamon and brown sugar. I also added sliced almonds. Sprinkle over the top. Bake at 425 for roughly 25 minutes. I make no guarantees as to the amount of time this will take to bake. Currently my oven is having trouble maintaining a temp over 340 so I baked it at temps vacillating between to 310-340 for  at least 40 or 50 minutes. It was extremely frustrating.

It's super crumbly because it's 100% whole wheat. 

Also, I dished it super hot because we were starving.

A new oven is coming to the IdahoBecky Kitchen in the very near future. Heaven knows we need to make bread. It's been WEEKS since I've made bread. Seriously. I had to actually go to the store and buy it Saturday. My kids were begging for PBJ's, if you can believe. About broke my heart because I know that cellophane wrapped stuff tastes like cardboard. I don't know how people can stand it on a regular basis. Blech. Plus, my loaves cost about 75 cents to make and a decent loaf of bread costs over two bucks to buy!

PS I'm posting this instead of the open letter I wrote to my neighbors. The letter is MUCH more entertaining and informative. If you'd like to read it, let me know. The Hubs was worried they might somehow find out I blog, read the letter and be offended. Whatever. 

Beefy Broccoli Squares

This is a recipe I believe my mom invented, and if she didn't that's how I remember it, so that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

RECIPE:
One recipe 12 stroke biscuits (recipe to follow)
one pound ground beef, browned and drained
1/3 cup sautéed onions ( I use a whole onion)
2 cups lightly steamed broccoli (because who likes overdone trees?)
2 cups shredded cheese (I used motz)
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. salt
pepper

Make biscuit recipe and flatten in bottom of greased 9x13 dish. Build up the sides about 1/2 inch.
Brown ground beef and drain. Sauté onions. Steam broccoli. Layer these ingredients over the raw biscuit dough. Sprinkle cheese on top.
Mix eggs, milk, salt and pepper until well combined. Poor over the other ingredients. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until set. If it's runny, it ain't done yet.

12 STROKE BISCUIT RECIPE
2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk powder (not instant) (if you don't have milk powder, sub 3/4 cup milk for the powder and water
3/4 cup water (only if using milk powder, otherwise, see note above)
1/4 cup oil
Whisk dry ingredients together. Add liquid all at once, using big motions (strokes) mix dough 12 times, until just combined. Over mixing makes for a tough dough, but it takes practice to get all the ingredients combined in 12 strokes. :)
You can also add two tsp of sugar to the above recipe for "Rich Biscuits" which can be used for cobblers, poor man's short cake, etc.
I made this dinner last night, and accidentally added a whole teaspoon of salt instead of a half, so I just doubled the recipe and used half for dinner. I added a little powdered sugar to the remaining dough and then made peach cobbler for dessert. :)

Granola Bars

Carolina, this post is for you. :D
I made some granola bars. Not super impressed with them, but that didn't stop me from eating four so far today.

Here's the basic recipe:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
melt in microwave until runny. Add:
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup puffed cereal (I used Kamut®, feel free to use puffed wheat or rice)
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup dried fruit
Mix together and put in a 8x8 plastic-lined pan and tamp down. Cut into 16 parts.
I felt these were too sweet. In fact, they made me a tad ill.

Here's my first modification:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 cups oats
1 1/2 cups puffed cereal
1/2 cup chopped nuts
I did this in an 8x10 because of the added volume.

These didn't stick together as well, and were still too sweet. I think maybe just a cup of the rolled oats? How do I get it less sweet and still have it stick together? Butter? Coconut oil? This could get dangerous...

Pudding Pops

We are doing a Two Week Easter Countdown with the children. Each day there is a planned devotional and an activity that teaches the lesson.  Easter is my favorite holiday, and now I can share the deeper meanings with my little lovelies. :D Today The Boy asked me what the Easter Bunny was, so maybe I'm not doing too bad a job at teaching Easter on my own, huh?

One of the activities focused on miracles. The theme for the day was rainbows, so of COURSE we had to make rainbow pudding pops. Also of course, I had no pre-packaged pudding in the house. I also didn't have corn starch. Who doesn't keep corn starch on hand? Ferills.

Luckily, I wasn't out of money for the month, so we were able to get our supples and the next day we made pudding and then these super cute rainbow pudding pops.

Step One: Make pudding
Step Two: Divide pudding

Step Three: Dye pudding
Step Four: carefully spoon into paper or plastic cups
Step Five: Stick a fork in it (that's what I had, feel free to get sticks)
Step Six: Freeze
Step Seven: Set the cup in some warm water to loosen the pop
Step Eight: Eat your protein on a stick (because momma's on a low carb diet, we made sugar free pudding)

I do have one little tip for this activity: If you don't want lumpy pudding, it's best not to turn over the whisking to your four-year-old. In this case, I felt the lumpy pudding was a reasonable cost for quality Boy time. :D

Momma's Carrot Cake

My Momma makes a mean carrot cake. It's so good, people at work request it often. Like, monthly.
If you've only ever had a boxed carrot cake, or a store carrot cake, somebody should seriously put you out of your misery now and bake you a REAL carrot cake. Or shoot you. You're choice.
I know! YOU could bake a real carrot cake! Here's how:

Cream Together:
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup oil
    then add:
3 eggs, beat to incorporate
    then add:
3 cups finely grated carrots (about 3/4 lb.)
    mix in:
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts

Mix until combined. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes in a 9x13 or one hour in a Bundt pan or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Here it is, complete with melting whipped cream. Oops. 

I toasted some coconut for the sides and crumbled leftover cheesecake and walnuts on top. 

YUMM-O! And also, I really need to stop letting The Hubs take food pictures. Ferills. 

The Secret Ingredient

Lately The Boy has been very interested nay, obsessed, with cooking. Any time I start a meal, he's right by my side, standing on a 5 gallon bucket eager to "help".  Mostly I welcome this chance to teach my son. I even let him stir hot things on the stove. (Really, don't call CPS. He's very careful and coordinated. I'd never let my other child stir hot things. She won't be allowed near a stove until she's 37.) My encouraging his budding cooking skills very nearly backfired tonight.

You see, I had some taco meat simmering on the stove. The Boy had helped me thus far with the adding of various things to the pan and the stirring thereof.
He lost interest and wondered off and so I left the pan unattended for a few minutes. I'm sure you can see where this is headed.

The Boy came to find me. He informed me of the addition of "the very best gredient". I was understandably concerned. My four year old had just used the word ingredient. Also, he'd added one to my perfect taco meat. Further questioning was required.
     "What kind of ingredient?"
           "Well, it's a SECRET!  And it's all stirred in." (ack)
     "OK. but I still need to know what it is. Can you tell me?"
           "No. I don't know the name of it."
     "Can you show me?"
          "Well....OK." (The Boy, looking dejected)
We then walked hand-in-hand to the kitchen where The Boy opened to the spice drawer. This might be a good time to point out another event I've been encouraging: The smelling of spices. Always under direct supervision, of course. Until now, apparently.
He reached in, and much to my (and The Hubs) relief, he pulled out garlic powder.
Dinner was not ruined, after all. It was a tad garlic-y, though.
Please excuse me while I check into the possibility of legally changing his name to Emeril.

Look Out World, I've Revolutionized Cheese

I'm not sure if the world is ready for this, but I've adult-ified that old childhood favorite, grilled cheese. And man! Is it good.
Here's what I did.
Three days before you want a grilled cheese (What, don't you get a detailed list of body-cravings a week ahead?) make a batch of artisan no-knead bread dough.
RECIPE:

• 3 cups lukewarm water
• 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 cups  All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tablespoon Celtic sea salt (remember, it's magically delicious)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast

Mix yeast, water and salt until mostly dissolved. Stir in flour. That's it.
Let it rise until the top goes flat, throw a lid on it and let it hang out in the fridge overnight.  The next day, pinch some off and shape into a loaf. Bake in 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes after it's risen. The key to a crusty top is, right when you're putting the loaf in the oven, toss a 1/2 cup of water directly into the oven as you close the door. You might want to practice when the oven isn't hot...


After the bread is baked, you can make the grilled cheese any time, but the next day is best. Who wants to wait for a sandwich to cook when you have perfectly decent hot, fresh homemade bread, butter and honey? No one. That's who. 


RECIPE:
Two peices of aged, crusty artisan bread (not, whoa that's moldy, aged. just day-old is fine)
brie
cheddar
sundried tomatoes
Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce
butter


Slather (yes, SLATHER) one slice of bread with butter. Lay face down in hot frying pan. Layer brie, cheddar and tomatoes. Top with second slice of butter-slathered bread.  I love the word "slather" and I love using it in non-Harlequinesque romance situations. Also, I would like to point out I just used a word that contains two 'Q's. That, my friends, takes talent. 


Back to the sandwich. It's very important to make sure you get some cheddar shreds on the outside of the sandwich, and that those shreds get melted into the bread. Why? Because it's pretty. Also, who doesn't love cooked cheese? Fondue, fried cheese, baked cheese, grilled cheese...
After the sandwich is done cooking, plate it and slather (goodness, don't you just adore that word?) with roasted raspberry chipotle sauce (you can get it at Costco). 
As long as we're being totally honest with one another, the tomatoes really aren't necessary, they just up the "adultness" of the sandwich. It's really the sauce that sells it. :D

Phew! Or, the Sugar Ate My Kids

Can I just say, I'm SO GLAD this week is over?

Seriously. So. Glad.

Monday: Valentine's Day~I thought our family should mark the occation in some way, so I bought the kids each a solitary box of conversation hearts. Total cost: $0.50. The Hubs made heart-shaped eggs and toast for breakfast. Then, the sugar ate my kids. Oh holy whine-fest. Who knew that ONE BOX of sugar could cause such discontent! Before 8:00 am!
We had lots of company for dinner. And of course, Valentine's Dinner would not be complete, without frosting our own sugar cookies. Oh, just shoot me now. Because the camera was lost until the end of the week, I have no pictures of this. Be glad. It wasn't pretty. Word picture: two four-year-olds, two two-year-olds, four cups of vibrantly colored watery frosting. Spoons.  Let's just say, the adults weren't going to eat the cookies.

The Hubs got me a giant box of mini Lofthouse cookies. Why he thought I needed a giant box of the one one of the foods I'm MOST addicted to, I'll never know. (but it could have been because I pointed and jumped up and down with happiness when I spotted them on our totally hip Wal Mart date). I hid them from my kids. And made The Hubs hide them from me.  If a cupcake wanted to be a cookie, it'd be a Lofthouse.

YUM.

Note: Not my cookies. My box was much, much bigger. Much.

I can't remember what happened the rest of the week, because I was in a sugar coma, but somewhere in there I made a two-layer 9x13 cake for The Hubs' birthday. It was shaped like a laptop, because I'm awesome like that. But it fell apart before I got a picture, because maybe I'm not that awesome.
The keyboard was made out of Starburst. Somehow my kids got their grubby little hands on the bag, and again, the sugar ate my children. Whinefest 2.0. If there is anything to be proud of here, it's that their whining is improving. I may have also given them the leftover bits of cake I didn't need after shaping the earstwhile laptop cake. But that was BEFORE I noticed the Starburst were gone...


Friday: For breakfast I ate greenbeans. That's how sick of sweet I was.

Weekend: We started celibrating The Boy's birthday. Of course, I needed to make another double decker cake for this most momentous of birthdays. The oldest has survived my parenting for four whole years!

WOO HOO!

None of us has any idea why he needed "a caked that is black and white. And looks like a ghost. With a spider and a PUMPKIN! "

Apparently he has his birthday confused with a more widely celibrated holiday.

(I'll post a picture with the birthday post I'm working on. Currently we have the camera, but not the USB cable to port the pictures off the silly thing. )

So, as you can see, I'm not eating anything sweet for at least a month, or until the Intense Orange Dark Chocolate Bar starts calling my name.

How to Eat a Mango. Properly.

Today I got four of the most gorgeous mangoes I've ever seen this side of the equator. (Not that I've been south of the equator...) Plump, juicy, organic Peruvian mangoes. Oh glory. In case you're like most Americans and eat them with a knife in one hand, here's the "real" way to geterdone.

1. Rinse the outside.
2. Massage the heck out of it. Massage like you've never before massaged a mango. Massage until you feel all the pulp breaking up and it's mushy to the point of near leakage.
3. You know that little stem on the end? Pop that sucker off.
4. Suck the pulpy juice out through that itty bitty hole.
5. If this works for you, let me know, I've not managed it yet. At least, not neatly. My mangoes are still eaten while standing over the kitchen sink.

This How To brought to you by one sticky IdahoBecky.

Awesome Banana Bread

I invented a new banana bread recipe yesterday. This recipe is not raw. :)

Here's the thing: I had three bananas on the counter that were too ripe to eat and too ripe to freeze for shakes, leaving only one real option-bread. I like my recipe, but I was feeling creative, so I experiemented.

Here you go.

3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 egg
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup 2% greek yogurt
1 T olive oil

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 t cinnamon

bake 40 minutes at 350. Scarf before anyone else sees it.

Next time I think I will try to sour the greek yogurt with a tablespoon of lemon juice first. I think that would be SO good! It's so good, I didn't have a chance to take pictures. The fam inhaled it in minutes.

Raw Fettuccine Alfredo

I know some of you are going to laugh at me. OK, most of you, but I had to share tonight's dinner because it was so GOOD! Especially after the raw dinner failure that occurred Saturday night.

Plus, it's good if you're allergic to wheat, dairy or eggs!

Here's what I did, and the whole thing took MAYBE 15 minutes.

THE NOODLES

All you need is a veggie peeler and some zucchini. Go at it. Wallah: noodles. I admit I did poor some hot water over this because I haven't gotten my head all the way around giving up hot dinner, but I'm guessing it didn't get above 105 degrees, so it totally still counts as raw.


THE SAUCE

2 cups roasted cashews (it's all I had, next time I'm going to try raw)
1/2 cup raw sprouted sunflower seeds (you can not sprout them, but I did)
1 1/2 cups water
3 cloves raw garlic
1 Tablespoon Thyme
salt
pepper

Blend it up in the Vitamix until it gets a bit warm and very smooth.

Everyone had seconds. Pretty yum and VERY healthy. I'm going to make this at least once a month. :)

Whole Wheat Oatmeal cake

I love oatmeal cake. In fact, I've never met one I haven't instantly inhaled half of liked.
Being as how this is Cleanse Week for me, and the fact that I'm insanely addicted to Oatmeal Cake, I'll just be sharing the recipe today. Making the cake to take pictures would be abject torture for me, and frankly, I love me more than I love you. :)

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cake from Make a Treat With Wheat  written and compiled by Hazel Richards. Copyright in 1968, so she's probably dead now and won't mind, right?

1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 cup quick cooking oatmeal
1 cup chopped raisins
Mix and set aside to cool

1/2 cup shortening or oil (I use oil because it's quicker, or applesauce if the entire cake will be eaten that day)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 well beaten eggs
Cream together

1 1/2 cups sifted whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
sift and add to creamed sugar mixture

ADD: soaked oatmeal and mix together. Bake in 9x13 pan at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or less, until done.

TOPPING:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 TB canned milk or cream
Boil 2 Minutes
Then add:
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Spread on hot cake and let cool. 
Mention that you burned the cake, so no one else will want to eat it. Then you can have it all to yourself. :)

Masochism in Cooking

When is a week of {the best ever} blogged recipes like masochism? When you decide to do a Whole Body Cleanse THE SAME WEEK.
Honestly people, I think my brain is broken.

Who DOES that? 

What TORTURE!

So today I've decided to leaf you with my current daily meal plan. Bon Apetit!

BREAKFAST:

2 Scoops Standard Process Powdered Protein

1 1/2 cups spinach

1/2 cup raw carrots

1 cup mixed berries

1 Tbs Flaxseed oil

Blend in VitaMix (the world's best blender)

7 Cleanse Capsules

3 Gastrofiber capsules

SNACK

Apple

LUNCH

Repeat Breakfast

SNACK

Grapes

2 taco chips I snuck from the pantry because dude, I'm hungry

DINNER

1/2 Cup Brown Rice

Stir Fry Veggies

Cleanse Capsules and Gastro-fiber Capsules

DESSERT

Cuppa Herbal tea I'm not supposed to drink but do, because Celestial Seasonings makes an Apple Cinnamon Herbal that tastes sweet without added sugar, and at this point, I NEED something sweet. 

Then I go to bed and cry because darn it! I want CAKE!!!!

Then I remember, the last time I did this it only took 7 days to peal off 10 pounds. I can do ANYTHING for 7 days. ANYTHING. (well, not eat hot coals, but luckily that's not part of the plan, so we're good)

Sweet Potato Soufflé (soo-flay)

A soufflé is a light, fluffy, baked cake made with egg yolks and beaten egg whites combined with various other ingredients and served as a savoury main dish or sweetened as a dessert. The word soufflé is the past participle of the French verb souffler which means "to blow up" or more loosely 'puff up'" (from Wikipedia)


I don't think this recipe is a classic soufflé, but it is 100% delish!


When I posted on FB this week about making SPS, people I hardly ever talk to piped up and asked if this was the same dish I brought to a Christmas Party last year. 


Yes people, this dish/dessert is SO GOOD, people remember it an entire YEAR after they eat it. 
It's so good, I didn't get any pictures because my family inhaled it before I could whip out the camera. This, my friends, is a little like crack. You're mouth will be so happy when you eat it, it would kiss you, if it weren't already your mouth. I can 98.4% guarantee a kiss from SOMEONE if you make it. 
Props to Emily from Good Frau for giving me this recipe. Thanks Lady! (also, check out her cards. They are SUPER cute! She did some for a baby shower I hosted a while back, and the invites (and the super cool diaper bag we raffled from SewPosh, were the talk of the party.)

Here we go!

Ingredients:
4 lb. sweet potatoes cut into pieces
1 stick butter, cut into bits and softened
1 cup granulated white sugar
4 large eggs
3 tablespoons self-rising flour (google it, you can totally make your own)
1 cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
½ cup pecans, chopped
2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions: 

Get your husband to peel potatoes.

(look how happy he is to help! I'm telling you: crack)

In a large kettle combine the potatoes and enough cold water
to cover them by 1 inch. 

(this is the last picture I got, because after this I was slapping hands away from the mashed spuds...crack)

Bring the water to a boil, and boil for 30 to 45 minutes, or until they are tender. Drain the potatoes and transfer them to a large bowl.

With an electric mixer beat the potatoes until they are smooth.
Beat in the butter, sugar, eggs (one at a time), flour, milk, salt, and extracts, beating until well combined. Pour into 1 large pan or two smaller ones.

In a small bowl combine the pecans, melted butter, brown sugar
and cinnamon. Sprinkle over soufflé and bake in the middle of
a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour.(I double this part, because hello: candied nuts!)

Serves 10 to 12 (but after you taste it, you'll know it really just serves one)

Think this sounds like something you want to try this Thanksgiving, but you want your mil to make it instead? You can totally just click on the share button at the bottom of the page. Just say'n...

Alcohol-Free Boeuf Bourguignon (Pronounced: boof borg-in-yone)

EDIT: The recipe is toward the bottom.

When I was pregnant with The Boy, my mom took the whole family on a trip back east. We flew out but decided to take the train back home. This was a super great idea because I got to taste Boeuf Bourguignon for the very first time. And the second time...and the third time. (It was a REALLY long train ride)
The down side was, being pregnant, my nose was SUPER sensitive and I could smell the bathroom from three cars away. When we got home, I had to throw my toothbrush out, because it STILL smelled like the bathroom. But that's a story for another day.
Back to the boeuf.

I've wanted to make this dish ever since, but it has burgundy wine as a major ingredient. I'm not opposed to cooking with wine, but I just can't make myself BUY it, so I never attempted this little bit of heaven.

Then a few weeks ago I saw some beef that just screamed "BOURGUIGNON US!" And so I made it my mission to figure out an alcohol free version. First, I tried just straight up grape juice. This was a MAJOR mistake. Entirely too sweet for a dinner. Tonight, I tried again with some new beef and a different liquid. Is the suspense killing you yet? (This beef did not talk, just FYI. It also tasted better. I think I'll stick to non-talking meat in the future.) Oh, and I've totally figured it out. Ready? OK.

The original recipe came from http://whatareyoufeedingyourkidsthesedays.blogspot.com/, written by an actual, authentic French person, even.
Here's the exact link.
My recipe is basically the same, I just put more veggies in and changed up the wine and the spices. OK, so it barely resembles Gaelle's dish. But it's still yummy.

2.5 pounds chuck beef, cut into bite-sized cubes and tossed with flour

6 big carrots, peeled and sliced
3-4 cups pearl onions (if you don't have these, just use a regular yellow onion, but pearls are cuter!)
1 pound mushrooms
8 slices of bacon
several bay leaves
lots of parsley
2 tsp fancy mustard (the original calls for Dijon, which makes sense {it's a FRENCH dish, after all}. But because The Hubs thinks he's half Dutch all we had was Dusseldorf so that's what I used {it's a joke, peeps})
salt
pepper
4 cups grape juice
1 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Poor a little olive oil in a large dutch oven or stock pot. While it's heating, cut your beef into bite-sized pieces and toss with flour, to coat. When the oil is hot, working in batches, brown the salted beef. You don't have to cook it through, just sear the outside. 4ish minutes ought to do it.

While the beef is browning, mix the juice, water and vinegar in a pitcher and set aside. Also, start prepping your veggies.

When all the meat is cooked, crisp your bacon and drain the grease. (also, take the bacon out)

Now we are going to deglaze the pan.

  This is not as scary as it sounds. 

Add a little of your juice mixture to the pot and let it sizzle. Good, now scrape the bottom of the pot until you've got it mostly clean again. Then add your cut veggies, meat and bacon back to the pot. (don't pour out the glaze with the brown bits, that's the good part)

Pour the rest of the liquid in until you've just covered the meat and veggies. Add your spices and mustard.
Cover and simmer for 3 hours. Stir occasionally.

When you've tried this recipe, holla back and tell me how amazing I am. I love to hear stuff like that. :)  If you have a similar recipe, leave it in the comments. I love trying new food!
Edit: If you want this dish to be JUST like AMTRAK's, I suggest thickening the liquid a bit with corn starch or flour and leaving out the veggies. Theirs was straight up meat and maybe taters. But deffinately meat.