Pic - less

I should have taken pictures for the last two days but hey... I know it looked awesome! Yesterday was a thrown together kinda Jambalaya. Smoked sausage (john morrell brand) sauteed with minced onions and a minced clove of garlic.. and drained and dried canned corn.. and finally cajun seasoning, salt, pepper, and a little bit of red pepper flakes and cooked rice. It was tasty but next time I will make sure I have a can of stewed tomatoes or even a few fresh tomatoes to stir in. Tonight I am making boneless BBQ beef ribs (ALDIS, THEY LOOK GREAT TOO) and I am roasting a huge pan of Asparagus and 2 ears of fresh corn... (the yellow and white kind... mmmm) When I roast veggies I always do the same thing to them no matter what veggies I am roasting. Olive Oil, a generous amount of coarse salt and some coarse ground pepper. Ben had rice pasta with sauce and smoked sausage, carrots with peanut butter, strawberries with a bit of sugar, and for a snack he had a blueberry Yoplait yogurt. (full fat!) Weare doing pretty good, I still would love to be back on my perfect 55 day streak again. How did I do that ????

Hit It With A Hammer.

I have had flank steak before. It tends to be chewy and tough. It is a less expensive choice while on a budget, though. Here is how I make it work. put it in a LARGE Ziploc freezer bag. Add olive oil and spices you like. I used season salt and Cajun seasoning... a little sweet / hot mix. Then because I have limited resources, I get my hammer and WHAM!!! Beat the crap out of the steak. The meat will thin and widen considerably. The oil and spices are pushed into the meat by force, you can get your aggressions out, and it tastes good after cooked. I cooked the steak on HIGH heat for a bit less than a minute and flipped it and did the same on that side. Then I put the entire pan into a 400 degree oven until when I pushed on it with my finger it was getting firm. Not too firm or it will be tough not matter what care you took in the prep, remember that you need to let meat rest before cutting it. This does 2 things... Keeps the juices trapped in the meat for a juicy steak and it also finishes cooking the meat a bit more. I like medium to med well. I also roasted 2 beetroots ( fresh beets) in the oven with olive oil and salt. Stirring occasionally until fork tender. I also made homemade coleslaw. I took a green cabbage, chopped it up semi-fine and added T. Marzettis slaw dressing. No wheat in there :) I had an awesome supper. for breakfast today, I had eggs over medium with just a little sprinkle of shaky cheese for added richness. Ben is still GF to except for last night when Grammie and Papaw took him out to dinner. Special occasion, I guess... I told them he could eat whatever he wanted to eat this time. My mom said he didn't hardly eat. He didnt eat at home either. Must not be growing right now. He still loves that I make his lunches and snacks. He feels special :) Today he had Cinnamon Rice Chex for breakfast and I made him GF chicken Nuggets, mixed veggies, and applesauce for lunch and Quaker mini rice cakes for snack time.

Loves Lunch.

Ben is really getting into the GF thing. He loves that he gets a special lunch everyday. I try to stick close to the daycare menu. Today I had to make gf Mac and Chz before I took him to school because I called and found out the daycare was serving mac and chz. A sandwich would not even compare if they had mac and chz... a fit would be thrown, I'm sure of it. Ben's menu this week....

• Tuesday - Pb and J on Udi's bread with mini cheddar rice cakes, carrots, and strawberries.

• Wednesday - Ham sandwich on a gf hoagie. ( half the hoagie), gf Boulder Canyon chips, broccolli, mandarin orange slices, and an Udi's snickerdoodle cookie.

• Thursday - Quinoa elbow noodles with spaghetti sauce, (Hunts 4 chz), a little mozzarella cheese shred on top, green beans and applesauce

• Friday - Annie's GF Mac and Chz, John Morrell brand hotdog (all John Morrell brand processed meats are gf, or at least I havent seen one that isnt gf... find in smoked sausage/hotdog section at Kroger), greenbeans, strawberries.

Ben is a happy camper and the extra work is worth it. I feel much better and will get on the ball with my pics asap.

Pink Food.

I made the best dinner tonight! Polish Sausage, sauteed with red onion, sauerkraut, butter and brown sugar... and fresh Beets! I peeled, sliced and roasted one beetroot and drizzled olive oil and a good amount of sea salt then roasted it until it was fork tender. The food all turned bright pink but was DELICIOUS. Seriously, Ben liked it. (because it was pink he tried it..lol) I have two more beetroots in the fridge to use and I am ready to try more stuff with beets. They are pretty and sweet but hardy. The only downside is red hands. WHICH I DONT HAVE! My friend Stephanie Wisely of Wisely Used Herbs makes an odor out soap that removed the beet juice from my hands and the cutting board! I washed them immediately but with regular store bought soaps that still didn't work. Shout out to Stephanie! Go here for your own soaps and such... http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Wiseley-Used-Herbs/193102270706764

Ugghhhhh

I have got to get back to my GF cookin. It is so much tastier and I feel so much better. I am starting Ben on a GF diet as soon as I talk to his pediatrician and get a note signed for daycare because I will have to provide his food at school. This crap is toooo expensive. No wonder America is Obese. All we can really afford is mac n cheese and ramen unless we are seriously thrifty or rich. I am neither. Guess I will be working on that! BIG Grocery shopping in the morning after my AM route. I have been tooo lazy and unmotivated this past week. I swear if I don't have to go to work or school, I don't make it anywhere. It was kind of nice though. A little staycation and lots of Ben and Mommy time. I will post pics of something GF and tasty tomorrow. Gotta get back to it.

Not feelin' like it...

Here are some pics.. I have been really sick for quite a while but now I am starting to feel better and getting my energy and motivation back. I wont be doing recipes tonight, it's time for bed... but I will post pics of a few different meals.




Chef Salad with homeade GF croutons

I will say that in my grocery shopping endeavour today, I finally found a hotdog / polish sausage / smoked sausage brand that is definitely GF! John Morrell brand at Kroger says NO ALLERGENS NO WHEAT and NO *other things* too. Can't remember them all.

Thyme Roasted Chicken and potatoes

Fresh Pineapple is GF and delicious. AND on sale at Kroger for 2 for 5 bucks :) Dont be afraid of them, they are AWESOME.

Udi's Muffins and GF BLT Pizza

I have been busy and have let my Gluten addiction get to me. I crave breads and crackers and real tasting thick crust pizzas and sandwiches on bread.... So, back on the wagon! I have been eating my usual string cheese, dried fruit, nuts, cinnamon chex, etc (not all at a time) for breakfast. My Amys meals at lunch or whatever Gluten Cootied crap I have picked up somewhere, supper has just felt so difficult lately. Prepping and cooking and cleaning. bahhhh. I really have to be in the mood! Today I made myself just do it anyways. I will talk about my Thyme Roasted Chicken and New Potatoes in the next blog. First I need to catch up on pics and stuff.


These ROCK! I have to hide them from Ben or he cries because I wont let him have one. Seriously, these are 6.99 for 4 muffins and they are so chocolate~y. Krogers has them and Country Nutrition has them. They are available in Lemon Poppyseed and Blueberry, also.

Udi's crust
Olive oil drizzled, Parmesan sprinkled, plenty of fresh parsley
Add mozzarella, then already cooked bacon and bake until golden brown
wish i had tomatoes! cut into 4ths and added romaine lettuce that was tossed in mayo (should use ranch) and covered in coarse fresh pepper. I would cook the tomatoes under the cheese for moisture next time.. in addition to fresh diced tomatoes on top. will have this again but it needs a bit of tweeking.