#673 - 20 Whole30 compliant meals

These are just pics of the food that I've made.  I'll add recipes soon.  Not pictured is an Epic bar. Technically the Paleo fried chicken is not Whole30 Compliant, but you could just bake the chicken.

#672 - Grandma's chicken salad with sweet potato buns (whole 30)

Since I've been doing Whole 30 for this past month, I've found that some of my favorites, like my grandma's chicken salad is Whole 30.

Here's her recipe:

chicken (shred it)
dill weed
celery salt (optional)
black pepper
mayo (make yourself if you want it to be whole 30)

mix about ingredients together (however much you like) and serve on top of a sweet potato bun (basically a thick slice of sweet potato covered in olive oil and baked for approximately 20-30 mins in the oven at 350-400 degrees.)

Here's my grandma's recipe.

#671 - Sweet Potato Hash (savory) Whole 30

Ingredients

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into a fine ¼" dice
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into a fine ¼" dice
• 2 - 3 cups frozen/fresh kale
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder (more if you like it spicy)
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
• fried or over-easy eggs

Instructions

1. Heat 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add in the finely diced sweet potatoes, onions, cumin, paprika, chili powder, and season with salt pepper. Add in red bell pepper. 
2. Cook mixture, stirring occasionally, until sweet potatoes are cooked through and tender, about 15-18 minutes.
3. If using frozen kale, heat it according to package directions, then wrap kale in a couple paper towels and wring out any excess moisture. If using fresh kale, remove ribs and stems and roughly chop leaves.
4. Add kale into the skillet approximately during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Taste the hash and season with additional salt or pepper if needed.
5. As the hash is finishing up cooking, make eggs how you like.
6. Divide the hash among four plates, topping each with an egg. Sprinkle the egg with some freshly ground pepper, and enjoy immediately!

Modified slightly from this recipe found here: 

http://sharedappetite.com/breakfast/sweet-potato-and-kale-hash/

#670 - Charity

 As I was finishing up reading the Book of Mormon for 2014, (first time I've accomplished this goal in over 10 years) I came across these verses on charity and I knew that charity needed to be my big goal of 2015.

Moroni 7

44 If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity.

 45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

 46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—

 47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

I added the bold, italicized and yellow highlighting.  It's that last verse that I just love.  Because really, in this life, nothing matters more than how you help people.  You can have oodles of money or an amazing home or the best education, but really in the end when you die, all that matters is if you have helped people and made others (and yourself) better.

I think this also really struck me because I had just watched "It's a Wonderful Life".  Makes you think about how you matter to others when you might not see it in this small picture we call life.

Anyway, that's my big goal this year:   

Charity.

Charity to my family.

Charity to my church family.

Charity to my neighbors.

Charity to my friends.

Charity to strangers.

Charity, the pure love of Christ.

# 669 - Canada Shirts

Love this handmade shirt of the Canadian Flag...I want to make them with my boys.

And I love this Canadian Sorry shirt from Zulilly.

#668 - FaceTime

Oh my, how did I live without FaceTime?!  It is so much better than skype (sorry skype, I love you too, but the technology isn't there yet, at least for me).  My old phone had been run over, smashed, dropped...but it still worked.  Then Pepe surprised me and went out to get me an iphone.  Now my boys get to see their grandparents, cousins, aunts & uncles with little or no delay.  We even FaceTime with my sister in Peru...it was so clear.  I love FaceTime!

#667 - The Best Pecan Pie Ever!

I've been trying to find the perfect Pecan Pie recipe, and I think I have found it.  So good!

It's Guy Fieri's Southern Pecan Pie.  I'm not usually a fan of his stuff, but this is good.

I think the key to this recipe is toasting the pecans and the fact that it has double the amount of pecans that most pecan pies have.

Also, be careful when you bake it.  You need to put tinfoil over it for the last 20-30 minutes so it doesn't burn the top.

#665 - Scotcheroos

These are one of my most favorite treats, my sister's too.

As always, these are amazing!

SCOTCHEROOS
1 cup sugar
 1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup peanut butter
6 cups rice krispies
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips

Combine sugar and corn syrup in pot and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture begins to bubble.  Remove from heat.  Stir in peanut butter; mix well.  Add rice krispies; stir until well combined.  Press mixture into buttered 13x9 inch pan.
Melt chocolate and butterscotch chip in microwave until melted (careful they don't burn).  (if the rice krispie mixture is still hot, you can just put the chips on them and they should melt.) Spread evenly over rice krispie mixture.  Cool until firm.  Cut into bars.  Makes 48, 2x1 inch bars.

#664 - Chicken in Dumplings

I got this recipe from my sister in law, it's really good.  One of Pepe's favorites.

The original recipe is here.  I adjusted mine a little to make it easier.

Chicken in Dumplings

1 8 oz package of cream cheese chive and onion or one regular cream cheese and a bunch of green onions cut up
2 tbsp softened butter

1/2 tsp pepper

2 cup cubed/shredded chicken

1 can of mushroom pieces

2/3 cup Italian style bread crumbs

1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped

6 tbsp melted butter

2 can crescent rolls (or you can make homemade rolls)

Combine cream cheese, 2 tablespoons butter and pepper. Add chicken and mushrooms and set aside.Mix crumb stuffing and walnuts together and set aside.
Melt 6 tablespoons butter.
Separate rolls, stretch a little bigger. Take 1/4 cup of chicken mixture and put in roll. Make into a ball and seal edges well. Roll in butter and then into stuffing nut mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Top with chicken gravy (cream of chicken soup).

#663 - sunset

This is a picture I took last December after we moved.  I just love living close to the water, but not too close so I'm always worried about the boys escaping!  We have great sunsets here too!

#662 - Scotch-Brite Soap Dispensing Brush

When I went to visit my sister back in November I fell in love with her dish brush because it was compact, but still dispensed soap and you could have control over how much (if any) soap was dispensed.  

I guess she saw my love for it because she gave it to me for Christmas!

Thanks Casi!

#661 - Mountain Mama Mudslide Cake

This is one of Pepe's most favorite desserts and he got it from his roommate in college.

Mountain Mama Mudslide Cake
1/2 cup butter (room temp)
1 c flour 
1 c chopped pecans 
1 8 oz pkg. cream cheese 
1 c powdered sugar 
1 8 oz container, whipped topping 
1 4 oz box chocolate instant pudding 
1 4 oz box vanilla instant pudding 
2 c milk 
1 chocolate bar grated
Combine the butter, flour and chopped pecans. Mix well and press into bottom of 13x9x2 inch pan. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool. 
In medium sized mixing bowl combine cream cheese and powdered sugar until fluffy and then fold in one cup of whipped topping. Spread over baked crust. 

Combine chocolate and vanilla instant puddings with cold milk in medium sized bowl. Mix together until thick and creamy and pour over cheese Mixture. Top with remaining whipped topping. Grate chocolate bar over top and chill until serving time.

I couldn't find my 13x9 pan, so I made it in 2 smaller pans (a 9 inch pie pan and 8 inch square pan).  Worked out perfect.

I've been posting lots of recipes lately because I'm trying to get all of our favorites into one place.

Just found these 3 pictures I took the next day.

#660 - Amish Apple Cake

My mom made Amish Apple Cake for us 2 times when she was here.  It's super easy and tastes amazing!

Amish Apple Cake
makes 9x13 pan, preheat oven to 350 degrees
1 cup pecans, chopped
5 cups cooking apples, chopped medium sized (I used 5 large Granny Smith apples)
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons grated nutmeg
2 cups flour (I used cake flour, but I think regular ap flour should work perfect too)

Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy.  Beat in eggs.  Mix in baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Add flour until blended.  Stir in apples and nuts. Pour in greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 30-45 minutes until center top springs back when touched.

You can also make a caramel sauce to drizzle on top, but there is no need for this, it's amazing without it.

It gets better with age too.

#659 - Candy Cane Crisps

I got this recipe from my friend Marie.  It's a great recipe to use up all your old candy canes from Christmas. They could even be a good Valentine cookie if you like peppermint flavor.

candy cane crisps

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup coarsely crushed candy canes (I blended mine in a blender to get more of a powdery candy cane)

IN a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and 1 cup of the sugar until creamy; beat in vanilla. In another bowl, stir together flour, oats, and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, blending thoroughly. Add ¼ cup of the crushed candy canes and mix until well combined.

ROLL dough into ¾ inch balls, then roll in remaining powdered sugar to coat. Place balls about 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheets. Flatten cookies with a fork, making crisscross patterns with fork tines. Sprinkle each with about ½ teaspoon crushed candy canes.

BAKE in a 325 oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheets for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to racks and let cool completely. Store airtight. Makes about 4 dozen.

#658 - Moby Wrap

Been busy over here.  Had another cute little baby boy at the very end of last year.  I can get enough snuggles with this cute little guy.  

And still loving my Moby Wrap (I've used it with all my babies!)

I'd rather be staring at this any day, than a baby bump!

Thanks Mom for the Moby wrap it has gotten more than it's money worth of use.

#657 - handprint calendar 2013

I've been wanting to do a handprint calendar with my boys for a while and I finally got up the courage/energy to do it!  I've been pinning ideas for a while and this past week, I spent a few days getting the boys hands and feet messy to make this happen.

We celebrated Christmas this past weekend with my parents, so my mom already got to open her hand print calendar, I think she loved it.

I let the boys choose (from a couple of ideas) the hand print or foot print they wanted to do, so it was fun for all.

We did (see pics above):

January - penguins.  You could also do snowflakes, fireworks, snowman or 3 kings for this month.
February - hearts.
March - four leaf clover and leprechaun.
April - Oster wanted to do a bird (the kingfisher) and then write his name.  You could also do an umbrella, rain drops, Easter eggs (although Easter is in March this coming year).
May - flowers.  You could do a flower pot, butterfly or caterpillar.
June - rainbow fish.  You could do any type of fish or some kind of beach thing.
July - crab and sunshine.  You could do fireworks or a flag.
August - bees and sunshine.  You could also do more beachy things or a back to school theme.
September - tree with leaves turning/falling and a birthday cake (since it is the month of my mom's birthday). You could also do a back to school theme.
October - candy corn and spider.  A pumpkin or bat would be cool too.
November - turkey and pumpkin pie.  Any Thanksgiving thing would work (corn, etc.)
December - Christmas tree with presents and Santa.  You could also do Christmas lights or a Baby Jesus.

I used this free calendar template (I had to squish it to make it work for an 8 1/2 by 11 format) for my months and has the calendar bound at Staples. (here's another 2013 free calendar download that looks hip/cute)

It's not a fast project, but the end result was way cool!  Here's another mom's thoughts on making these calendars.

#656 - muddy buddys, reindeer chow, puppy chow you know you love it whatever it's called

Muddy Buddies, Reindeer Chow, Puppy Chow,

1 12 oz box rice chex cereal 

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips 

1 cup peanut butter 

5 tbsp. butter 

1 tsp. vanilla

1 pkg. (16 oz. or 1 lb.) powdered sugar

1. Pour out cereal into large bowl and set aside.
2. In 1-qt. saucepan, heat chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter over low heat, stirring frequently until melted. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Pour mixture slowly over cereal while stirring with a spatula to evenly coat. Pour into a 2-gallon resealable plastic storage bag or grocery bag. Add powdered sugar slowly. Shake until well coated. Spread onto wax paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. 

recipe via
picture mine

#655 - 5 year journal

 I found this five year journal at the thrift store (unused, although a used journal would be really fascinating)  and bought it for a $1.  It's the perfect journal for me because I can write a few lines and be done.  Can't wait to look back on this every year.

Here's to hoping I'll keep it up.  If you can notice, the only downside is this is from the 70's, so I have to cross out the "19" and put in "20".

#654 - gifts from Oster

 I'm not the best at getting my Oster to bed early, so he'll stay up late with me working on stuff.  In the picture above he decided that he wanted to send his cousin some stuff, so he packed up a shoe box with anything he could find that would fit.  He said, "the more I give away, the more Santa will bring me."  He's slowly starting to get it.

Then tonight he wanted to do a craft for "his cousin".  He kept asking me to tear off tape for him.  And I was starting to get a little annoyed by how many pieces he wanted.  Then he said that he actually made this bracelet / necklace for me.  He was so proud (and so was I.)  It reminded me of this talk below from the LDS Christmas Devotional.

#653 - The Great Pumpkin or Friendly Neighborhood Witch

Have you heard about the Great Pumpkin?  I know it's long past Halloween, but just wanted to share this great idea I got from Natalie Norton's blog.

I told the boys after they did their trick or treating, they could pick out 5 candies to eat and then if they wanted, they could leave their candy on the doorstep for the Great Pumpkin who would leave them a present.

Oster was very skeptical, but he did it.  Since the Great Pumpkin didn't plan ahead, he left them money instead with a note.  And ironically enough, our neighborhood real estate agent also left a note with a cute little scarecrow on our front door, so when Oster found the letter from the Great Pumpkin, he also discovered this gift from our neighbor.

He said, "Mom, the great pumpkin didn't come, it was a witch".

Then later on in the day, we got another knock at the door, Oster ran to check it and said, "Mom, the Great Pumpkin came again".  This time it was for me :)  Thanks Mom!