A new twist on Lasagna..

And amazingly delicious dinner #2 is brought to you by PaleOMG.com.  I modified a little to suit my family's tastes better.  This sounds like it would be a little gross, but oh my heavens, it is delicious!!  There were absolutely NO complaints from my picky 5 year old and the 2 year old had seconds!!!  I made this in a 9x14 dish and I doubled - maybe tripled - the sauce.

Garlic Chicken Butternut Squash Lasagna

 

Ingredients

• 1 large butternut squash
• 1 head garlic clove, roasted  (I used only about 4-5 cloves)
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 lb chicken, diced
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup canned coconut milk  (I used almond milk since that's all I had)
• 1/8 cup tomato sauce  (I used a bit more)
• 1 teaspoon basil (fresh or dried)
• 1 teaspoon parsley (fresh or dried)
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut the end off the bulb of garlic to reveal the cloves inside. Wrap in aluminum foil and throw in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
3. While the garlic is roasting, you’ll need to cut your butternut squashinto long "lasagna type strips”.
4. Set aside and begin to make your chicken and sauce.
5. Add olive oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. Add your diced onion to begin to cook. After about 3 minutes of coating your onions and bringing out their flavor, add your diced chicken along with a bit of salt. Let the chicken cook under low heat while you make your sauce.
6. Your head of garlic should be roasted by now, so pull it out of the oven and remove the roasted cloves and put directly into your food processor.
7. Add olive oil to your food processor along with the roasted garlic and turn your food processor on. Once the garlic cloves have become a paste, add your coconut milk and tomato sauce along with basil and parsley. Pulse until saucy. Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.
8. When the chicken is ALMOST done cooking (yes, it can still have a little pink to it), remove from heat.
9. Now for the lasagna stacking. Pull out a 8×8 or 9×9 glass baking dish (or 9x14), coat the bottom of the dish with a bit of sauce, then add a layer of butternut squash strips, a layer of chicken, and a layer of sauce. Repeat until you are all out of chicken and butternut squash. The last layer should be butternut squash and topped off with sauce.
10. Bake, uncovered, for around 40-45 minutes. The squash should be tender BUT do not cut into it until it has set for a while. (I turned off the oven and let it sit in there for about an hour).

Some delicious dinners.. Stuffed Acorn Squash

The last two nights of dinners at our house have been AMAZING so I thought I'd share the recipes.

South of the Border Stuffed Acorn Squash from SparkRecipes

2 acorn squash
1 Tbl. Coconut oil  (I used Olive Oil)
1 onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 pound ground turkey  (I used ground beef)
2 Tbl. chili powder  (I used MUCH less, maybe 1/2 tsp)
3 teas. cumin
1/2 c. tomatoes, chopped  (I used about 1 cup)

Cut squash lengthwise and clean out pulp and seeds, then bake at 400F in a making dish with 1/4 inch water, cut squash side down, for 30-45 min or until tender.

Heat oil in large skillet then add onion and garlic. Cook until onions are tender and translucent. Add peppers and cook 3 to 4 min. longer.

Add turkey/beef and spices and brown until turkey is good through. Stir in tomatoes and heat through. Take squash out of pan, and fill each half with meat mixture. Serve with salsa.  (Add cheese and sour cream for the kids if you want!)

Serving Size: makes 4 servings 1/2 squash each

Number of Servings: 4

I think we'll have some more of that!

So it's been 30+ days of better eating and it's been great!  I even fed my oldest and pickiest child spaghetti squash with veggies and chicken for dinner last night and I didn't hear a single whine about "Vegetables, again?!?"  And my littlest one gobbles up roasted butternut squash and cauliflower mash like somebody's out to steal it!

Hubby's feeling much better, and I'm feeling pretty good too.  I never thought the day would come that I would think my fridge didn't have enough crisper drawers!  I could use at least two more in there!  I've worn out one ceramic knife and my replacement is already becoming dull.  I thought ceramic knives weren't supposed to get dull!  I guess they never tested them in a kitchen like mine!

Though our main goal wasn't aimed to lose weight but rather to see how our bodies felt on a cleaner diet, both hubby and I have lost some pounds and inches along the way though.  Can't complain there either!  Since we've already seen the difference this eating makes, I think we'll keep it up.  We'd be crazy to go back to stomache issues, eczema, etc!

I would totally recommend anyone with weird healthy issues to give this a try eating 'Paleo/Hunter Gatherer' style (basically, veggies, fruits, and meat).  Give it 30 days and I bet you'll start seeing a difference in just the first two weeks!

A little treat!

I made 'Morning Glory Muffins' to be had for a quick on-the-go breakfast or a little snack, and for something with no regular old sugar, these are amazing!  I opted to add the 2 tablespoons of honey, but I think it would still be good with no honey or even just 1 tablespoon too.  I about cried scooping out 2.5 cups of the almond flour out of my tiny little $10 package of it, but it was worth it. 

Check out here for the recipe - CLICK HERE FOR DELICIOUS GOODNESS.

It's been a lot of hit-or-miss with the new recipes I've been trying lately.  My oldest picky eater would have eaten a whole pan of these this morning if I'd let him!  And I just smiled inside a big sneaky smile knowing he was eating his carrots and not whining about it! 

I also made a chicken pot pie which was LOADS of work.  I wasn't too fond of it because my gluten-free almond-flour crust did not crust up at all, but my little guy practically licked his bowl clean of all that chicken, brocolli, celery, onion, carrots, mushroom, and onion!  Everyone else liked it too.

I admit!

I admit it, I caved - a tiny little bit!  But I went 5 days with absolutely no processed sugar because giving in AND there was a reason for it!  You see, I got a cold.  A really horrible cold..  And my throat was killing me - I mean, swallowing razor blades killing me!  And there was nothing to drink and I felt awful and I was trying to get stuff done (no, the world does not stop for the busy mom when she's sick..  there is STILL housework to do and groceries to buy..) so I got an icy drink from Costco to put out the fire in my throat.

But other than that..  no more coffee (because what's coffee without flavored creamer?!).  Instead, I've swapped it for herbal teas PLAIN!  Just tea and water!!  I've found that some actually have a sweet after taste (am I desperate for sweetness?).

The boys are doing fairly well with this more-veggie-and-less-junk-snacks too.  Since we've cut out all the crappy snacks, my picky one has been eating very good meals!  He even ate up the Annie's Shells'n'Cheese with cheddar cauliflower and tomatoes mixed in.  Bon Appetit!

Our 30-Day Challenge to Better Eating

Husband and I have decided to challenge ourselves and our family to cut the sugar and eat (and learn to enjoy) more vegetable.  We are a family that like our breads and sweets.  And I mean SERIOUS liking..  I'm the type that uses more creamer than coffee, eats chocolate or ice cream almost daily, and some days, it feels like there's more sweet stuff I've consumed than good, healthy things.  When I cleaned out the pantry of the junk food, I took out probably $150 in junky and processed foods!  What a waste of money!  My hubby and I are both trying to go gluten free as well, but I'm still keeping healthy, simple-ingredient bread and grains in the kids foods.  Hubby, though, stomache issues and also wheat allergies.  We've known this for years about the wheat but have ignored it because it's just too hard to cut the wheat!  But we wonder how he'll feel if he gives his body what it needs, and not just what he wants?  This shall be an interesting journey indeed!!

So this shall be snippets of our 30-day adventure of better eating.  Hopefully by the end we won't want to go back to the garbage food.

It's been 3 days so far.  The first day was pretty tough.  I kept thinking of reasons I'd need to go out to run an errand so I could swing by the local Baskin Robbins and indulge myself!  I shoved this little sugar-devil off my shoulder though and made it through the day.  By the second day, I didn't have much of a desire for sweets.  And day 3, here I am drinking my double spice chai tea with absolutely no sweetener at all! 

We've discovered some interesting things too.

   - Red cabbage is pretty good!  Hubby likes it, even though he'd never have touched it before!  Sliced very thinly and tossed with oranges and red grapes with a little olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and a dash of chili pepper.  Mmm, mmm, good!  And Dr. Fuhrman says to chew your cabbage slowly and completely, trying to crush every cell in it so you'll release all the good nutrients.

  - Hubby actually likes summer squash and zucchini, even though he'd always claimed to hate it!  He especially likes it a little burnt when I've forgotten about it in the frying pan with a little olive oil because I was too worried about the next thing in this list.

  - Baking your own whole chicken is actually surprisingly easy!  Rinsed, dried with a paper towel, and rain some sea salt down over it - toss it all in a pyrex baking dish and let it go at 450 degrees for about an hour or so.  Nice, crispy skin with moist chicken!  The worrisome part, and a bit unappetizing (stop here if you have a weak stomach!) is that my chicken had a little bit of hair on it.  I desparately tried googling to see if this was normal, but apparently, it's either so normal that no one talks about it or it's so not normal that no one's ever had this but my chicken!  I tried to scorch it off after baking by moving the oven shelf up high and turning it on Broil - but nada!  Still there!  I ended up removing all the skin before cutting and eating.

  - And last (for today anyways), my oldest and most pickiest child WILL eat spinach!  He has surprised me for 2 nights in a row with how well he's eaten the food I've placed in front of him.  The hardest thing for my littlest one though is breaking his love affair with Juice..  It shall come though.  In time..  After all, it's not going to hurt him one little bit to not drink juice!  A little water will actually be good for him!

Bright and shiny GROUT, indeed!

I am so thrilled with my latest cleaning adventure that I must share my news!

Baking Soda + Vinegar = Amazing grout cleaner!!!

I have white tiles and white grout in my kitchen and dining area.  I sealed it when we installed it about a year ago, but since then, it's gotten all grimy, dirty, and gray.  But not anymore!  I tried an $8 bottle of grout cleaner from Lowe's that actually got pretty great reviews online.  It worked so-so, but it also said to leave it on for 15 minutes before scrubbing and to be careful of fumes.  Seriously?!  So I tried the Baking Soda + Vinegar trick and it made it bright white again!  Even in the dirtest and blackest of areas!  And I only left it on for a few minutes before scrubbing.  It's perfectly safe and it's kind of fun watching it foam up when you mix it together.  If you try this, you will probably want to reseal it again afterwards to keep it nice and clean.

Call me odd, but now I'm tempted to find out the original grout color in the kitchen and lunch room at work now too..

Trying something new.

I read something yesterday and it's inspired me to try something new today. 

Life is so busy and there are so many things on our 'To Do' list.  We are juggling all these tasks and things and organizing our days by them.  There is just a never ending list of chores and things that must be done!  But really, all of these things are blessings.  We're organizing and juggling blessings.  Many, many blessings!

Today, it is a blessing to do laundry.  I'm blessed to have a washer and dryer in my home with water and soap to operate them.

I'm blessed with all these piles of dirty laundry.  It means I've been blessed with an active and healthy family to wear and dirty these clothes every day.

I'm blessed with sticky floors.  It means I have been blessed with foot in my fridge and my pantry.

I'm blessed with a laundry basket on my head.  It means that I have children with a sense of humor and I've finished one pile of laundry to make it empty!

I'm blessed with sometimes bossy children.  It means I have an opportunity to teach them and lead them in having good manners.

I am blessed.  So very blessed!

Pssst.. It's a secret!

For crying out loud!  Spill the beans, already!!!

Okay, so I am certain that there must be a secret, some kind of trick, to remembering Scripture every day and all the time.  Will someone puleeease let me in on this and tell me what this is??!  How do I remember all these Scripture passages that tell us how to live?  In Biblical history (and even now), when people live as if there is no king and they themselves are the king, everything goes to crap!  (Excuse my language....!)  If I can just remember the King all day every day, all will be grand!

When I'm about to talk to someone, how do I remember Colossions 4:6?

“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone,” Colossians 4:6

When someone wants, wants, wants or when I'm quite seriously irritated with my neighbors, how do I remember Matthew 5:42-45?

"Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,"  Matthew 5:42-45

And prayer! How do I remember Ephesians 6:18 to pray often even when I feel so 'busy' with everyday tasks?

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."  Ephesians 6:18

What in the world is the secret to remembering God every day and ALL day?!  Should I tie a string around my finger?  Maybe get some bangles and choose a specific meaning for each one?  Or how about a tattoo - on my wrist, where I will see it?  Maybe a pager? 

What's your trick??

Knights from Outer Space

My first born is almost 5!  Wow!  His request is a Knight party with an Alien cake.  I have all sorts of ideas to transform my house into Camelot, but I have to think up some indoor 'Knight-y' games. 

If there's anyone out there reading this...  Got any ideas??

"The Resistance"

So, apparently, us three little home-owners affected by the proposed Dog Park are referred to "the resistance".  I find this highly offensive..  We are absolutely NOT resisting the idea of a dog park.  In fact, I agree - our city could really use one!  But I disagree with the chosen location.  I don't think a park like this should share a fence like with a property.  Yes, I've read "it increases property value".  I think it increases the proponents property value, but I think it does absolutely NOTHING for the three of us who will have it in our backyard.  I would never have chosen our home if a dog park was in the backyard. 

So the decision has been delayed until the next city council meeting, of which I am a bit fearful to even attend.  I feel like the everyone in my neighborhood (and beyond!) is going to be there to bully the three of us because as these main people are gathering support, that are gathering it by saying they have 'run into some resistance' and this is very mis-leading!  WE are not who they should be fighting against.  In fact, we are practically the VICTIMS here!  They are leaving out the simple facts that us three young families simply think the location is a poor choice and it's inconsiderate to us to choose this.  I think they should gather more of the surrounding cities support and money and build it the right way in the right place instead.

I have spent too much of my time and energy thinking and fretting about this whole matter though.  In fact, I am starting to feel like the word is being spread of my 'resistance' and that other people in other places are thinking badly of me too (such as church..  there are a couple people there who live somewhere near me. I wonder if they've heard of 'the person standing in the way of their dog park').  I smelled something like dog poo the other day and I immediately thought maybe someone did something mean to me.  (It turned out to be E's coat though - He sucked on his sleeve and made it stink.  Coat is being trashed...!) 

So I'm putting this away.

Instead..  I'm going to think about all the fun I'm going to have with my boys playing on our new swingset!!!  I can't wait to get it!  The swings go high, and the slide is lighting fast!  And there's a little clubhouse with binoculars and a steering wheel!!!  I can hardly stand it!!

City Council... Here I come!

It was only by the grace of God that I was able to get any sleep at all last night.  The anxiety and the anger from this whole dog park proposal really has me worked up!

But, I've done my homework and have turned it in to the Mayor and the City Council members and tonight is the meeting that will cover this proposal.  So, here goes nothing!  Hopefully this whole idea will be put to rest!

Dog Park shmog shmark...

So the city is considering building a dog park.  Directly behind my house.  I mean, right SMACK next to it - separated only by my chainlink fence.  I am so irked at this I could just spit!  I keep imaging a beautiful summer dog.  As I step outside my house into my back yard...  RUFF RUFF RUFF snarle BARK!!!  And here I'll be saying, "Boys, keep away from the fence!  Let's go play in the front yard since there are mean dogs in the dog park!  Oh no!  That big one is digging under the fence!!  OH NO!!!  RUN, KIDS!!! Get into the house!!!!  QUICK!!!"

Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating.  But, seriously?  A dog park practically in my back yard???  Obviously, the citizens who thought up this idea and proposed it isn't proposing it in THEIR backyard!!

"Kids, DUCK!  There's a frisby coming over the fence!  Noooo!!!!  Here comes a slobbery ball!!"  Well, at least the pet owner can retreive their lost item since chainlink is so easy to climb!  Heck, it's even easier for a kid to climb! 

There are three houses affected directly by this proposed park..  And guess what?  The other two haven't said a word about it to the city for or against it.  Here I am about to battle this all on my own.  Now, if only I have more blog traffic of people in my neighborhood who actually care about this..

I'll probably end up being barked at when I'm standing inside the house at my kitchen sink!

ARGH!!!

Anyone want to buy my house???  Probably not...  If a dog park goes in, I don't think ANYONE will EVER want to buy my house!  I'll be STUCK here next to a STINKING dog park forever!!!

I have a blog???

It's been so long since I've posted anything that I nearly forgot all about having a blog!  I've also missed out on what I'm sure has been some really great blog posts by the bloggers I follow too.  Thanks to a few minutes of blog-surfing yesterday though, I now have a dinner recipe all planned out for tonight - Chicken Taco Soup by the cute ladies at G-Rated.  I plan to get my little chef's helper involved in this one since it's fairly easy to assemble (open, dump, stir, yep - Definitely suitable for a 5 year old!)

So Kindergarten is coming up.  I am shocked to find out that public school is only 2.5 hours a day, with 30 minutes of this being recess.  This is crazy!!  I wonder if this is the same in other states.  What can they possibly teach a child in this little time?  Going from a full day preschool at the not-to-be-named-local-private-school, this is like back-stepping to daycare.  I'm just not sure about all this..  So I'm weighing our options and I think I have a plan.  But it's a secret.  Shhhh!

Also on my mind is the hunt for recipes for tube pans, this new book I've been reading and the 5 others waiting their turn to be read, the unavoidable mountain of laundry, and whoopie pies.  Yes, whoopie pies.