Valentine 1

Here is what Andy and I did for family night tonight. So cute,right? This is our take of an idea we saw on pinterest. I love family night, and I love the feeling I get when I silence my phone and get it done on the night that we scheduled it and the way Andy beams the whole way through it :)

So many balls.

So, other than today, I'm still going strong and LOVING the paleo lifestyle. I didn't really expected that. I found that clean eating was a really transition in to paleo. I would like to eat a little less meat than I am now but for now I will keep it easy. I still am eating more raw veggies than anything else so... Anyhow here is a recipe for some kind of balls. . . They are similar to the energy balls I have made but no grains

2C. Nuts
6 medjool dates pitted
1/2 C peanut butter
3/4C shredded unsweetened coconut
1/4 honey
1/4 maple syrup (creates controversy in paleo so you could do all honey)
1/2C cocoa
1/4 tsp salt
Put all nuts and dates in your food processor and pulse until chopped pretty good. Add everything else then roll into little balls and store in fridge. They are a great treat and great post work out snack. Really high in protein!

Dessert first, always.

Since I have been gluten free for about 2 and a half years, due to intolerance issues, I have been finding alternative ways to eat and feed my family without missing the gluten. I still make and bake, but it's really hard to make parker house rolls only to watch everyone else enjoy them.

I found these little crispy's on Pinterest.com. You can find the recipe here. As excited as I was to eat them, since "the classy cook" claims they are as good as the real thing, and I really miss the real thing, in my opinionated opinion, it was just a cinnamony rice crispy treat with really yummy frosting that should be on all four sides, not just the top. But give it a try, they smell super when melting the mellows and spices together.

Next up, the main course, we did enchiladas the Ayala way. In my family enchiladas are made with beef, flour, and flour tortillas, they are a little on the heavy side and I can't eat em any more due to the last two ingredients, call me the worst Mexican ever but I had never had an enchilada in a corn tortilla.

So Jesterday I made the most amazing corn tortilla chicken enchiladas, everyone loved them, I love how the corn offers a little different taste. The recipe is so easy, I did my chicken in the crock pot with the tomatoes and chilis and let it cook while I cleaned, read, played with the cat and dog, showered.. you get the idea, then I put the enchilada's together while the kids did their homework. We usually eat around 6-6:30 at our house, like clock work so I like to have food ready for the savages. These are also one of those meals you can double and throw a tray in the freezer for neighbor or when your not feeling like cooking.

Here is what I did

1. Puree tomatoes (canned or fresh, you chose) and some green chili's (I had dying to be used in the fridge.) You'll want about 5 1/2 cups total for one cake pan of enchiladas.

2. Put the puree in a crock pot set to medium with about 3-4 large pieces of chicken, I like the breasts. Add a bag of California Chili's, can be bought dry and mix all together, I threw in a couple teaspoons of salt and some garlic.

3. Let that cook until when you press a fork or spoon on the breast it just falls apart, maybe 3-5 hours depending on your crock pot. Tear the chicken up so it's all shredded. Put a colander in a large bowl and dump contents of crock pot into colander, so the sauce separates from the chicken.

4. Shred some cheese binch. You'll cover the enchiladas with the cheese, about 2 cups or so. I like sharp cheddar.

5. You have two options here, you'll either dip the tortillas in warm oil (I use coconut) or in the red sauce drippings, this will soften and make the tortilla more pliable to fold and work with.

6. Dip the tortilla, allow excess to drip, put chicken in the tortilla, fold over sides and place in pan. Continue until your pan is full, if you have leftovers throw them into a smaller pan.

7. Cover with cheese. Then pour the remaining red sauce over the enchiladas, you don't want them to be swimming, but enough so that it will bubble when hot.

You can either throw them into a pre-heated oven at 350 or refrigerate and heat later, they only need about 15 minutes to warm, if you want to use less cheese, cover your enchiladas so they don't dry out. These are good with shredded lettuce, guacamole (we ate all ours before I could get a pic) Spanish rice and a little sour cream. (We use plain Greek yogurt in lieu of sour cream.)

What I ate Wednesday!

Okay so I barely missed the deadline . What I ate Wednesday is a new thing I have seen on other food blogs that I think could be a nice little incentive to be a little more interactive with me, hilly and our food. I'm gonna post something I ate that day with a picture and a short post about it. I would love if you would all do the same on our blog. We may just end up with all the best recipes or new ideas ever on this here little bloggity. Remember, I am on the paleo diet for a few more days but this was interesting and pretty good. Made with coconut flour and almond meal (the crust). That almond meal btw was $12.00 hmmmm, I don't know who's crazier them for charging for it or me for paying it? If you want the recipe, leave me a comment because I left it at the boyfriends house but I can get it if you want it. I think what I would do differently is maybe use a little more almond meal and a little less coconut. I am not sure I liked the combo, or maybe the coconut just made it too sweet. But its easy and I think would be delicious with some sausage, green pepper and mushrooms. I had tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes,shaved ham and onions. I would leave all that there and it called for artichoke hearts but after the almond meal I didnt want to spend another penny on it, but I would add more to it the next time and some people do eat a small amount of cheese on the Paleo diet and in that case I would throw maybe a handful of parm. on there. but even with out cheese, I think this could have been DELICIOUS! Now we all know for next time. But now that I think about  it, has anyone tried the cauliflower crust for pizza? Its absolutely delicious and its pretty dang easy too.  I CAN post that recipe.

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp garlic salt
olive oil (optional)
pizza sauce, shredded cheese and your choice of toppings*

Directions:

To "Rice" the Cauliflower:
Take 1 large head of fresh cauliflower, remove stems and leaves, and chop the florets into chunks. Add to food processor and pulse until it looks like grain. Do not over-do pulse or you will puree it. (If you don't have a food processor, you can grate the whole head with a cheese grater). Place the riced cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 8 minutes. There is no need to add water, as the natural moisture in the cauliflower is enough to cook itself.
One large head should produce approximately 3 cups of riced cauliflower. The remainder can be used to make additional pizza crusts immediately, or can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.
To Make the Pizza Crust:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup cauliflower, egg and mozzarella. Add oregano, crushed garlic and garlic salt, stir. Transfer to the cookie sheet, and using your hands, pat out into a 9" round. Optional: Brush olive oil over top of mixture to help with browning.
Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven. To the crust, add sauce, toppings and cheese. Place under a broiler at high heat just until cheese is melted (approximately 3-4 minutes).
Enjoy!
*Note that toppings need to be precooked since you are only broiling for a few

What I did today.

Today I started a Paleo diet. I don't usually do diet "plans" and I am not sure if I even did it right today but... It wasn't extremely easy but not near as hard as I thought. Its healthy. I made some chicken last night marinated in a sauce very similar to a Oily pesto sauce. I bagged a bunch of veggie snack bags and got myself a butt load of grapefruits and such. Whoo hoo!
 I made a lot of things today but by far my 2 favorite things I made today were Almond butter and a Star wars bath for Andy ( we will get to that later.)

 Does anyone have a Vita-mix?? I don't and I complain about it often! If anyone ever wants to sell a used one please hit this sis-ta up! Anyhow, This almond butter is so simple if you don't have to break or buy a new Blender just to make it.
Here is the recipe.
 2 Cups Almonds ( you can soak them for even more nutrition)
 1 TB. Raw Honey
  1/2 tsp. of Salt.

 Let JUST the almonds blend and process for about 8 minutes.

at about 8 min. it will start to ball up. Keep letting it blend. At 10 minutes it will look done, its not it takes about 12 minutes to let the oils release and it will look slightly runnier at 12 min. and that's when its done. Take it out of your food processor and stir in your honey, I used about 2 teaspoons instead, for myself. If you DID soak your almonds you may need a little oil, I strongly recommend coconut oil because its sooo good for you and tastes so good.


Now about the Bath. . . . Obviously, he really needed one but. He hasn't had a tub type bath in quite some time because, baths are for babies. . .  DUH!
So I was scrubbing the tubs out today and figured it would be a great time to try out the bath with the glow sticks thingy.. I surprised him with it with the lights off. He walked in and looked and he was like "COOL" then he turned around and walked out. I said, Don't you want to get in? He was like, Oh no! I don't take baths there for babies. I was like okay but all those glow stick will go to waste. He says okay.. I went in and started scrubbing my bathtub next and he started screaming "HEY MOM" I say yeah? He says "THIS IS REALLY FUN, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!" Then I took him his Black light and he was 4 again for an hour of his now very mature life. I love it :)

CoCo's PaNcAkEs

 This is my first post folks and I hope I am better at this than my personal blog, and I think I will be because. . .  Its about food,parenting/ making kids eat and neat things we have tried to make our life a little simpler (or simply more aesthetically pleasing). I always have people asking me the most about recipes and what I would eat. So, I am going to give this a try and let's see if people actually use or try it.. I am especially curious because most of it is bound to be on the internet somewhere (Pinterest) Except these pancakes, this is my own personal recipe. It stemmed from Williams and Sonoma but has evolved a lot, I dont think they would recognize or claim it in my kitchen. I included the not so health conscious version and the way I always make it.

I am just gonna do a recipe (or two or three that go so well together)  and then do some more posting later.

Coco’s weekend Pancakes

• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups Whole wheat flour
• 11/2  tsp. raw or evaporated cane juice sugar AND ½  teaspoon stevia
• ¼ tsp raw or evaporated cane juice sugar (for egg whites)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted or I use coconut oil melted
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 -2 tablespoon coconut oil or smart balance or 1 -2 tablespoon cooking spray (for pan)
• maple syrup , for serving

Directions:

Separate egg whites and keep yolks in the larger mixing bowl.

1.      beat egg whites in small glass or metal bowl until they form peaks- this won’t work if you don’t use glass or metal. It also won’t work if you get a piece of shell or ANYTHING in the whites.

2.      When the egg whites are done sprinkle about ¼ tsp of raw or evaporated cane juice sugar over the top (this cooks it and makes them stay stiff.)

3. In the main mixing bowl, using an electric mixer beat the eggs yolks on medium speed until frothy.

4. Add the buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla and mix well.

5...Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and beat on medium speed just until blended. (You may have a few lumps, but don't worry about it).

6. Then, just FOLD the egg whites in, do not totally blend it.

7. Heat lightly greased griddle at 350 degrees.

8. Pour about 1/3 cup of the batter into each pancake

9. Cook until the tops of the pancakes are covered with tiny bubbles and the batter is set, about 4 minutes. Flip pancakes and cook until the undersides are golden brown, about 4 minutes more.

-Making them Pumpkin Pancakes-

¼ cup unbleached flour (I use WW)

Add 1C pumpkin

1TB Cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

¼ tsp cloves

¼ tsp. ginger

1 tsp. coconut oil

1 egg white

And.... If youwant to be REALLY bad. . . 

Buttermilk syrup

1c. buttermilk

1 stick butter

1c. sugar or brown sugar (can be reduced a little)

1tsp vanilla

1tsp baking soda

In a saucepan melt and mix all ingredients except the baking soda. When it starts to boil add baking soda and remove from burner and stir until completely still. Pour over your pancakes real,real good... Just do it on a Sunday so it doesn't count :)