More about Banana Ice cream.

I just wanted to share this link http://cleangreensimple.com/2011/03/vegan-ice-cream-without-a-machine/ to more Banana Ice Cream recipes, I have tried the peanut butter chocolate, good with almond butter as well I also tried the pecan one with maple syrup/agave  nectar.. These are all paleo friendly, gluten free,casein free,vegan and last but not least..They are DELISH!

Sometimes, I just dont know what to say?

Andy and I have been doing a new thing lately called "talk time" I learned about it in parenting class and thought it was a great idea... Why is it hard? I don't want it to be. We had a great time the very first night we did it it, he had quite a bit of things to say, and he LOVED it, I was so surprised he didn't forget about it. I had NO IDEA, he was just dying to talk to me. For some reason its been hard for me sometimes to know what to say or how to start Talk Time. I highly recommend giving this cool thing a try and I saw this online today and I thought, how perfect! I wanted to share some parenting, on the"Food Blog" :)



    Bed time conversations with your kids

1. What do you like to dream about?
2. What is your best memory this school year?
3. Who is your hero? Why?
4. How would you describe your family?
5. If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be?
6. What are you most proud of yourself for?
7. Who is the kindest person you know? Why?
8. What do you like most about your best friend?
9. What is one thing you would like to learn to do well?
10. If you were an animal what one would you be and why?
11. When is the last time someome hurt your feelings? How did you react?
12. Do you know someone who is going though a hard time? How can you help them?
13. What is the scariest thing that happened this year?
14. If you could keep only one thing, out of everything you have, what would it be?
15. Who do you think is really successful? Why?
16. What’s the best thing about your teacher this year?
17. When do you feel misunderstood by grown-ups?
18. What three words best describe you?
19. What’s something that makes you angry?
20. What’s the best compliment you ever received

So f'in good.

I really should call this post Hilly-Ray's Sloppy Joes, either I was starving or this was truly good. I modified this recipe from heavenlyhomemaker.com which is a great web site with a lot of great recipes to build off of. She calls for Dijon mustard which I kind of think sounded barfy, so instead I did it more spicy version, served it open face with multigrain FOOD SHOULD TASTE GOOD Tortilla chips (it's a cracker too!) that are gluten free and sooo good. Paired perfectly with Hilly-Ray's sloppies. Here is the recipe:

1-2 LBS ground beef (I use turkey burg)
1/2 large onion
1/2 green pepper
3 mushrooms
All finely chopped (I usually double the veggies.)
Hot chili powder to taste
Tomato purée (yes tomato paste)
1-2 TBS Dijon (I don't use)
Salt and peppa to taste
Fresh rosemary or thyme

Brown meat in skillet, add onion, peppers, mushrooms and chili powder. I use about a tablespoon but test it as you add, depending on how hot the chili powder it. When all hot and steamy add tomato and thyme or rosemary. Simmer for a bit. You know it's done when you can't stop dippin chips in it and all the neighbor kids are drooling ;) serve on kaiser rolls. I used GF bread. (my favorite is Gluten Free Pantry, Favorite Sandwich Bread.)

Enjoy! And let me know if you try it and found it as "deliciouso" as I did!

Oh, my picture is horrible 'cause I was on the phone with AT&T and Century Link figuring out iPhone problems and blogging at the same time!

I have gone banana's -Of course I have to say that!

Have I ever told you about banana ice cream? I don't think I have, Abbi told me about it and I researched it immediately! There is no real recipe. It's frozen banana's and a food processor and there are a million combo's you could find on Pinterest, or be creative. Did you know dates (preferably medjool) taste like caramel? They really do ( Alesha taught me that) I know, they look like . . .  Close your eyes Hillary. . . they look like cockroaches. And old people food. . . I am becoming old people and so are you so let's just enjoy whats good okay. Tonight I put a handful of pecans and about 3 medjool dates in my food processor after I blended the frozen banana's in to an almost all the way creamy state. I wanted some chunky stuff in there and blended to where my eye was pleased then I threw in a chunk of chocolate coconut bark for 1 sec. I made that last week. I cant believe I haven't posted that yet but here is a link.www.easypaleo.com/2012/01/09/chocolate-coconut-bark/ 
Tip:  DO NOT USE THE AMOUNT OF SALT IT CALLS FOR! Its way too much, it must be a typo. I couldn't eat it unless in the banana ice cream because it was so salty, however it was very tasty in the ice cream.
Tip: When making the Chocolate Coconut Bark, add a little more dark chocolate that it calls for. I know the less sugar the batter but Dark Chocolate is not that bad, I use 85%.

 There are a lot of things to try. If you want chocolate ice cream, add about 2tsp of cocoa to approx 3 banana's. Cinnamon is a yummy thing to throw in there too. Comment some of your ideas or things you have tried in there or just want to. This is one of things I eat regularly that makes me and my peeps feel normal.. Not much to be missing out on with this delicacy.

Stay tuned for Chocolate Chili

Don't worry it just tastes like really delicious chili with a rich flavor. . . Not that it matters to the taste but it's gluten free and paleo friendly.

Ingredients:
the base:
2 tablespoons of your favorite fat: olive oil, coconut oil
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 lbs. ground meat (lean beef, pork, turkey, veal, bison, or a mix)

spices:
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon salt

liquids:
14.5 oz. can chopped tomatoes (I like Muir Glen fire-roasted.)
6 oz. tomato paste
14.5 oz. can beef broth
12 oz. water

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Add onions and saute ’til soft. Add garlic and let heat ’til fragrant, about 2 minutes. DO NOT BURN THE GARLIC. Add the meat and sauté until browned and crumbled.

2. Blend all the spices in a small bowl. Add to pot and stir well, about 1 minute.

3. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, beef broth, and water to the pot. Stir well.

4. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low so the pot has a gentle simmer. SIMMER FOR AT LEAST 2 HOURS. Do not skimp on the simmer. Just as rest time is the magic time when you build your strength, simmering is the magic time when the flavors meld.

Variations:
Add additional quality fats with some chopped black olives, green olives, or avocado slices (or all three!).

Add more veggies by serving over a bed of cooked spaghetti squash, grated zucchini, or baby spinach leaves.

I am gonna do some Baked sweet potato friend next time :)

Meatballs/sauce/green beans. . . Oh my!

You wanna make something fairly healthy and gluten free that every one will love? Okay, I hear that so I will get straight to the point. This is an affordable meal and makes ALOT it serves about 7 ppl. I always make a lot of food for leftovers that I can either freeze or just take for lunch. Eating the way I eat can be inconvenient or expensive if I'm not prepared. . . Which is easier than it sounds if you just put a little thought in to it . Always try and cook enough food for 1 or two frozen servings and 1 or two lunches. Then you get to the point (eventually) that you will have a variety in your freezer. If your anything like me, my lunch is often a surprise ( lack of organization )but never a disappointment ;)
INGREDIENTS
1LB Turkey burger
1LB turkey/chicken or pork sausag
2 Egg (easily eliminated)
1.5 onions
2 cloves garlic minced
4 carrots grated
1tsp salt
1tsp pepper
1tsp cumin
1tsp chili powder
1TB thyme
1TB oregano
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
Slices green onions
1 bag frozen or a bunch of fresh green beans
Coconut oil
Apple cider vinegar
BEGIN WITH
Combining the meats, eggs, half the amount of grated carrots,half the amount of onion, salt, pepper,1 tsp of cumin and mix it very well in a bowl.then roll in to big old' meatballs
Then in a pan that has already been heated brown them on all sides. They don't need to be cooked through yet. After browned moved them to a plate and set aside.
Use a spatula to scrape bottom of the pan then add onions and carrots, while those are going add approx a tsp to tbs of apple cider vinegar in the pan to loosen the stuff on the bottom AKA cracklin's (Alesha Irene) add in a dash of salt/pepper and a couple more shakes of cumin,chili powder , oregano,thyme , mix it all around and then add the can of crushed tomatoes.
TIP: You can add how ever many of the spices that want to the dish and the more vinegar you add (see above ^)the tangier. you could add up to 4 TB.
Then Nestle your meatballs back in to your sauce and simmer for about 30 min. With the lid on.
About 10 min before they are done add the green beans to the top and put the lid back on so they can steam.
TIP: if you do fresh you may want to put the beans in 20 min before they are done.
We served the meat balls and sauce over the beans. There were no complaints from the kids and lots of oohs and awwws. There was however 1 recommendation from a near teenager that I know and it was "this is so good, but next time we should eat it with noodles" I think he is on to me ;)

I pity the fool

For breakfast this week I have been loving sweet potatoes hash brown style. I just grate them up, put some butter in a little skillet, salt and pepper and sometimes I like to sprinkle a little brown sugar on them. I flip them about 1/2 way through. So good, you should try them quick.
I stumbled upon a yummy recipe for beef and broccoli, I subbed some ingredients to make it gluten free, otherwise its the same as I found it on Pinterest, I think it was a weight watchers recipe. My kids loved it, it has the red pepper flakes in it so it was a little spicey, but they couldnt stop eating it!

Beef & Broc
2 1/2 TBS Corn Starch-divided
1/4 tsp Salt
3/4 LB thinly sliced beef
2 tsp coconut oil
1 cup chicken broth-divided
5 cups broccoli florets
1 TBS Garlic minced or grated
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup liquid aminos (Basically vegtable protein, gluten free)
1/2 cup water

So what you are going to do is toss the beef in the salt and 1/2 the corn starch until its nicely coated. Put your coconut oil in a large skillet and heat on med-hi, add the meat and heat until lightly browned, put in a bowl and set aside.

Mix 1/2 cup of broth with 1/2 the corn starch and 1/2 cup liquid aminos. Set aside.

In the pan add the 1/2 cup broth that doesnt have cornstarch and liquid aminos in it, use a wisk and pick up all the bits left from the beef, add the broccoli and cover for about 3 minutes, add ginger, red pepper flakes, garlic and fry until fragrant. Approximatley a minute.

Take your mix of broth, starch and aminos and add to pan. Mix well with other contents of the pan, reduce heat and simmer until slightly thick, return beef and juices to pan, toss to coat.

This recipe took a whole 15 minutes to cook, we waited on the rice to finish! Prep was a little longer because I purchased stew meat and sliced it thinly, but definatley will do this again!!