Spatchcock Chicken


Serves 3-4

1 whole chicken, about 3-4 lbs

kosher salt

fresh cracked black pepper

paprika

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
Cut the backbone out of the chicken, so the chicken will lie flat. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika.
Place the chicken in a heavy skillet (cast iron is best) and roast for 1 to 1 ¼ hours, or until skin is crisp and golden brown and juices run clear.

This was so easy and is now my favorite way to cook a whole chicken. I can't wait until summer to try it on the grill!

Oatmeal in my rice cooker!

I bought a rice cooker a while back and have really enjoyed trying different things to cook in it. This is the best and easiest way I have found to cook oatmeal. No stirring! The oatmeal comes out perfect everytime. Great for school mornings.

1 1/4 cups large flake rolled oats


2 tablespoons wheat bran

1 pinch salt

1/3 cup raisins or 1/3 cup other dried fruit or 1/3 cup fresh fruit (optional)

2 1/2 cups water
 
add all ingredients to the rice cooker close lid and start! That is it.
 

Lasagne for dinner last night!

The lasagne came out great. We just followed the recipe on back of the box for cooking but added my own ingredients for layering. Lasagne is so easy and versitile.

Caramel Apples!!!

You can't have Halloween without caramel apples.

Our lazy pug Sugarmama

Yes she is very spoiled and loved!

Haunted Gingerbread Houses OOOOOOOOO

My kids love to decorate gingerbread houses. These turned out real cute! I can't believe it is almost Halloween. This year flew by.

Creamy Grits with Baby Portabello Mushrooms

One of my favorite comfort foods are grits and polenta. This is nothing fancy. Quick grits made with broth, cream and butter topped with sauteed mushrooms. YUM!

Easy Berry Cobbler

I found this recipe on Food.com and it came out really good. The crispy edges were my favorite. You can make this with any fruit. I chose berries. I will try peach next time. I used a smaller baking pan(8x8) so it was too buttery but still delicious. Hey I am learning:)

Batter


1/2 cup melted butter

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup room temperature milk

1 room temperature egg


Filling

1 (28 ounce) can sliced peaches, drained or 2 cups mixed berries

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg


Directions:Prep Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 55 mins

1 Melt butter in a 9 x 13 inch pan.2 Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder & salt.3 Stir in milk & egg.4 Pour evenly over melted butter.5 Combine peaches, sugar & spices and spread over batter-DO NOT STIR!6 Bake 35-45 minutes at 350°F until batter comes to the top and is golden brown.

Holy Zucchini Batman!!!!!!

I think I planted too many Zucchini plants. This is crazy! Two of these are cucumbers.

How I used the Flax Froccacia bread I made.

This bread has no flour in it. I got the recipe from Laura Dolson's site. It is a great alternative to bread. I really liked it.

Prep Time: 15 minutes


Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutesIngredients:

•2 cups flax seed meal

•1 Tablespoon baking powder

•1 teaspoon salt

•1-2 Tablespoons sugar equivalent from artificial sweetener

•5 beaten eggs

•1/2 cup water

•1/3 cup oil

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare pan (a 10X15 pan with sides works best) with oiled parchment paper or a silicone mat.

1) Mix dry ingredients well -- a whisk works well.

2) Add wet to dry, and combine well. Make sure there aren't obvious strings of egg white hanging out in the batter.

3) Let batter set for 2 to 3 minutes to thicken up some (leave it too long and it gets past the point where it's easy to spread.)

4) Pour batter onto pan. Because it's going to tend to mound in the middle, you'll get a more even thickness if you spread it away from the center somewhat, in roughly a rectangle an inch or two from the sides of the pan (you can go all the way to the edge, but it will be thinner).

5) Bake for about 20 minutes, until it springs back when you touch the top and/or is visibly browning even more than flax already is.

6) Cool and cut into whatever size slices you want. You don't need a sharp knife; I usually just cut it with a spatula.

Nutritional Information: Each of 12 servings has less than a gram of effective carbohydrate (.7 grams to be exact) plus 5 grams fiber, 6 grams protein, and 185 calories.

Aren't Eggs Beautiful!

I love eggs. They are the perfect food. I thought these looked really nice. Yum!!

Coconut Oil Chocolate bar with Almonds

Coconut oil is very healthy for you. I found a way to make this wonderful oil into a candy bar and it is so good!

1/3 cup Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
1/3 cup Cocoa powder
1/3 cup powdered Xylitol
2 Tbls peanut butter (the real kind like Adams)
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup rolled oats
toasted almonds

Melt coconut oil in a small pot. Add cocoa powder and whisk together. Blend the rest of the ingredients. I blend the Xylitol in a coffee grinder to make it a powder. It melts much better and tastes much better than Splenda. It does not take much heat for the coconut oil to melt. I turn the burner off as soon as it does. Do not boil. Then pour into candy molds and freeze. I store mine in the refrigerator in a ziplock. I also add toasted almonds in the bottom of the molds before I add chocolate. Sometimes I sprinkle the top with a tiny bit of sea salt to bring out the chocolate flavor.

Low Carb version of Philly Cheesesteak

I had left over steak so this is what I created. I actually used mini yellow and red bell peppers right out of my garden. So yummy!!

Cut steak in cubes add onion and bell pepper stir fry with a bit of butter. I then added Vermont Sharp Cheddar cheese over the top and mixed together and serve.

Shrimp Egg Foo Young with Cabbage

This dish is low carb. I was trying to be creative and it worked. Once again I came up with this recipe in my head so not exact. I started out making what I call Shrimp Puppies (like hush puppies).

1/2lb raw shrimp
1 1/2c grated cheese (I used jack and cheddar)
1 large egg
2T Carbquik (like bisquick for those watching their carbs) you can purchase this at Netrition link at top right home page.
1/4 tsp each garlic and onion powder
2 chopped green onions
1/2 cup mushrooms
dash of sea salt and pepper

Blend all ingredients in food processor or blender just until fully combined. Mixture will be thick. I used a deep fryer and dropped by tablespoon full in to hot oil. Cook until golden brown. I tested the first one to make sure it was done to my liking. You can also fry these in a pan like little pancakes. I served them over sauteed cabbage and onions then added some pork gravy over the top. My husband loved this dish. This dish could have easily came from a Chinese Restaurant. I also added some Zucchini slices.

Cabbage Bacon and Onion Sautee

I love Cabbage! Put it with bacon and onion and what can I say! Ok, so I was going to say heavenly and little miss Jordyn pops up over my shoulder and says "heavenly? Mom I think that is a bit dramatic." What the ..........

Cabbage sliced
Onion diced
3 strips of bacon diced and cooked crispy

I use my awsome cast iron skillet and cook the bacon first. I then add the onion and cook until soft. Add the cabbage and cook to your liking. Salt and pepper to taste. Simple and delicous.

Creamy Zucchini Soup with Lemon and Sour Cream

I love soup. Soup is so easy to make and is full of nutrients. I have a bounty of Squash. I also used the Yellow Crookneck Squash from my garden. I made this recipe up as I went along so I don't really have exact measurements.

Zucchini and Yellow Squash
1 small Yellow Onion diced
butter
2 cups Chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
juice of 1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper to taste

I melted butter in large pot added onion and sauteed until soft. Add sliced squash and cook for about 10 minutes over medium heat. Add broth salt and pepper and simmer until soft. I then added the squash with just a little bit of broth to my food processor and mixed until creamy. Return to pot and add heavy cream and lemon juice. I served the  soup with a dollop of sour cream an avocado slice and lemon zest. Delicious!!

Raw veggie slaw with apples and sunflower seeds

So now that my fridge is full of veggies I needed to do something with them. I had Cabbage, Onions, Radishes, Red, Yellow and Orange Bell Peppers, Cauliflower, Cucumbers and Celery. I chopped it all up added some Apple and Sun Flower Seeds. For the dressing I mixed in 1 cup of Mayonnaise, 3T of Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 packets of Splenda.  This came out great. Very refreshing! It is very much like a Waldorf Salad but with tons of raw fresh vegetables.

From my garden

My garden is giving us fresh, yummy, organic fruits and veggies. Here is just a peek of what I have harvested. This was my first garden ever! I was so afraid it would not grow anything. I prayed over my garden and God blessed me with all these wonderful veggies. I have also had a cantalope, peppers, onions, a purple cabbage, all kinds of herbs, tomatoes and pumpkins. The kids grew the pumpkins and the green cabbage.