Meat Cupcakes

The Mister hates cake.  

And cookies.  

And chocolate.  

But he loves meatloaf!

In the last seven years I have made lots of improvised "cakes" for him to blow the candles out for his birthday.  He calls me ridiculous every year.  However I am a firm believer in celebrating birthdays correctly!  

So far he's had watermelon cut into cake form, mashed potatoes molded into a cake form, a meatloaf cake, a shot lit on fire that he had to blow out and now this year he has had meatloaf birthday cupcakes.  

The Mister's 

Meatloaf Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 lbs Hamburger
• 1 lb Sausage (I used Jimmy Dean's sage sausage)
• 1 M red onion chopped
• 1 M leek chopped
• 4 celery stalks chopped
• 5-6 baby portobello mushrooms, minced
• 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 C crushed tomatoes
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Chipotle Chile powder
• 1 T Chicago steak seasoning
• Mashed potatoes (made however you like.  I like to put a ton of garlic in mine)

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mince/chop all of your vege's.  I keep mine bigger.  It adds more texture.  (Meatloaf is not my favorite thing to eat.....)
3. Mix everything together in a big bowl.
4. Line your cupcake pan with liners.  I used the "texas cupcake muffin pan" so our meatcakes could be extra large.  (Meeeaaatcaaaaake!)
5. Mold the meatloaf mixture into the pans and bake them for 45 minutes.
6. After they are done cooking, put them on a cookie sheet to cool.  (I pre-made these with the intent to heat them up later.) . 

  Just a heads up, the liners you put on the meatcakes will not be pretty

Once they are cool enough to handle, put your mashed potato frosting on them.

Since I made these in the morning, I heated them up again by putting it in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.  

These would also be great for work lunches!

*The Mister is actually older then the candles on his cake imply.
*He's also really enjoying his serenade as you can tell in this picture.

Birthday Madness!!!!!

Happy Monday!

Goat Cheese and Chorizo stuffed Dates Wrapped in Bacon

Are you ready for your holiday parties yet?

Are you looking for a last minute hor'dourve for your Christmas day?

Look no further.

I made these for the Mister and I last week to see if they were any good.  (I omited the goat cheese in his)

We gained 15 lbs each.

(It was worth every pound.)

Chorizo and Goat Cheese stuffed Dates wrapped in Bacon

These sure look fancy and complicated, don't they?

Great news!  

They are the easiest thing I have ever done.  

I will break it down in pictures for you.

This recipe calls for four ingredients.

Bacon
Chorizo
Goat Cheese
Dates

1. Precook your chorizo.  
2. Cut your bacon pieces in half.  
3. Set out a cookie pan and line it with foil.
4. If you didn't buy crumbled goat cheese, crumble it.

While researching this recipe I found most people said pitting the dates was a messy affair.  I had bought the dates a few days in advance and refrigerated them.  I did not find them to be messy at all, quite the opposite actually.  

Slice your dates and take the pits out.  

I used my thumbs to make the cavity in the dates a little larger.  

This way I could fit more delicious goat cheese and chorizo in them.

Put a teaspoon of chorizo and a hearty pinch of goat cheese in the cavity of the date.

Take a piece of bacon and set it down on your surface.  

Put your date in the middle and wrap it up.

(I used a full slice of bacon, next time I will halve them.)

Once all of your dates are filled, put the cookie sheet in a COLD OVEN.  Once in, turn the oven to 400 degrees.

They should be done in 20-25 minutes. 

These are meant to be served at room temperature which means you can make these the night before, refrigerate them and then pull them out a half an hour before party time.

They seriously taste like bacon candy.

Let me know if you make them!  

I wanna compare notes!

Have a great weekend!

Green Curry with Rice Milk and Coconut Oil

Since moving to the burb's our grocery bill has pretty much doubled.  I have yet to find any kind of store to replace my beloved Stanley's.    That being said, I have been trying new ways to stretch the amount of time in-between grocery store trips.  The other day I REALLY wanted some green curry.  It is my absolute favorite fall time comfort food.  Its cheap and easy to make and oh-so delicious.  However, I was out of coconut milk.  I scoured the internet to see if anybody had ever made curry with just coconut oil and rice milk (which is what I had on hand).

 Nada.  

I couldn't find a single recipe SO I bit the bullet and really hoped I wouldn't screw up dinner in the process. 

It was a delicious success.

Crystal's Green Curry with Rice Milk and Coconut Oil

• Coconut Oil
• Rice Milk
• 1/2 tsp ground Ginger
• 2 T green curry paste (I use the world foods brand.  It's sold at Jewel and is gluten free/dairy free.)
• Vegetables of choice  (I use two bags of frozen stir fry vegetables.)  *of course if you like meat, add some of that too.  Just precook it before adding it in.
• Quinoa, rice, noodles or whatever you like to eat your curry on.

1. Take about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and put in a small sauce pan over M heat.  When it's melted, add two tablespoons (or more!) of your green curry paste. mix together and add around 2 cups of your rice milk.  Take off heat and set aside.
2. Saute your vegetables in a little bit of coconut oil and ginger, 
3. Make your filler.  (We used quinoa.)
4. Add your curry mix to the vegetables and let simmer for 5-10 minutes.

This is literally the best curry I have ever made.  The Mister and I finished it all in one sitting.  I even didn't hate quinoa with it!

  Don't forget to add some Sriracha for that extra kick!

Happy Monday!

Shepard's Pie

This morning I was awoken by the wonderful aroma of.....my dogs anxiety caused explosive diarrhea....which I found all over the carpeted landing.  Just to add insult to injury he also walked up and down and all around the mess, as to make sure I had to clean the entire stairway, and not just the landing, where he decided to go.

This is the one thing about my dog I just do not understand.  He was standing right next to the door!  It's also right by our bedroom!  Why in the world would he not bark?  I would very happily get out of bed and let him outside to go potty!  At any hour and in any weather!

The Mister and I got to talking about this a while ago.  There are a lot of people who adopt animals from shelters.  (Good for you!)  There are also a lot of those people who claim that the animal they adopted had to of been abused because of the animals anxiety problems.  If we had adopted Buehrle I would 100% think he had been abused in the worst way.

We did NOT get Buehrle from a shelter.  We picked him out of the litter before he was even old enough to come home with us.  He came from a very kind and loving small scale breeder in Wheaton Illinois.

He has always been a model dog.  He is very sweet, he lets Clara do whatever to him (ex dress-up) and listens to all of our commands.  We have only been loving and sweet to him in return.  Never have he raised a hand to him.  Ever ever ever.  He has never been left outside, chained up, or idle.  Ever ever ever!  He is a part of our family and we treat him as so.

 However, despite only being treated with kindness, this dog refuses to bark.  He will not let us know if he needs anything.  He will not let us know when he is scared!   One time the city was doing work right outside our house.  They had to bust the road open to get to a channel underneath.  The machinery was so loud and the force was so strong it woke me up and was swaying my bed.  At first I thought it was thunder, but soon realized what it was.  The house was quiet so I listened to the noise for about half an hour then got up to check on Clara and Buehrle, (who sleep in the same room) one room over.

I opened the door and Buehrle darted out.  I looked down and saw that he had been in there the entire time, trying to eat his way out through the wall.  He was terrified.  I was ONE ROOM OVER!  Why didn't he just bark?  I would have comforted him!  Oh, and every time he gets anxious or scared he has crazy diarrhea spells that are very intense and NASTY.

  Every. time. he's. scared.  

Which is awesome.

There was a point when he was having episodes like this at least 6 times a day.  I would walk out of the room for two minutes and BOOM!  I would take him out for a good half hour, bring him back, turn around to hang my coat up and ..... BOOM!  But nothing seems to be the cause of his anxiety.  He gets a ton of exercise, is always around people and has never been treated badly.  His diet is consistent as are the times he's fed.  I think I am going to have to make one of those collars like the dog's in Up wear JUST so I can figure out how to make this dog happy and calm!

I know it's probably poor form to talk about your dogs incontinence problems and delicious food in the same post, but here goes anyway.  How about I break it up with a candid picture of my kid?

Aww, that's better.

(She has started dressing herself these days.  I am loving her outfit concoctions.  Such a fashionista.)

Yesterday I went on a bake-capade.  While doing so I made my favorite fall time comfort food, Shepards pie.  I think what I love most about this is how versatile it is.  You can make it vegan, dairy free, gluten free, vegetarian, or meat and cheese filled with only a few extra steps.  I hope you like it too!

Shepard's Pie

Yes, I did put the pi sign on our pie.  

The look on Rhiannon's face when I do things like this is priceless.

I have made this so often I never use measurements, so all of these are just approximates.  I will start with the recipe I used last night, which is gluten and dairy free, and then add the variations after.

• 4-6 potatoes, boiled (I add fresh garlic with them to make them extra tasty, but I like garlic more then most people do, definitely optional.)
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 celery stalk, minced
• 1 M onion, minced
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 head fresh (or frozen) broccoli, chopped
• 1 lb hamburger meat
• Rosemary, oregano, thyme Chipotle chile, salt and peppar to taste
• Olive oil
• Vegetable broth (or chicken or beef or water)
• Rice milk (opt.)

1. Make your mashed potatoes to taste.
2. While your potatoes are cooking fry your hamburger in the oil and chop up your vegetables to your liking.
3. When your hamburger is done, transfer meat to another bowl while keeping the oil in the skillet.  
4. Simmer the vegetables on M to MH heat in the oil and drippings as well as the vegetable broth.  (About 1/2 cup or so), for 5 minutes
5. Mix the vegetables, meat and seasonings to taste.  You can add rice milk if you want your grazy to be more creamy.  You could also add a little bit of cornstarch mixed in with cold water if you want the sauce to be thicker.
6. Put mixture in the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish.  
   
   
   
7. Top with mashed potatoes.  
8. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes

Rhiannon might kill me for posting this.

Variations

• To make this vegan/vegetarian, omit meat.  You can add fake crumbles, if wanted.

• My favorite way to make this is to add a can of cream of mushroom soup to the vegetables.  It makes it so thick,
  creamy and delicious!

• If you like/can eat cheese, pour a handful of cheddar cheese on top of your pie for the last 5 minutes it is in the oven.  My favorite cheese to use was Kraft's Chipotle cheddar shreds.  (I have no idea if they even make that still.)  

• If you want to get super fancy, omit the hamburger and use steak chunks instead.  Replace the vegetable broth with Guinness.

• Your possibilities for this dish are endless.  Have fun and play around with it!

Have a Fantastic Weekend!

Italian Deli

When today started, it was definitely a quintessential Monday.

I rode my bike to Clara's school, dropped her off and then went to get the car towed.

Then I realized I forgot my keys.  

(face palm)

So I rode my bike all the way back to my house, played with Buehrle dog, (who looked so sad to be left alone,) grabbed my keys and biked my way back to the car.  On the way back the clouds lifted and the sun came out to play.  
It brightened my spirits.

While waiting for the tow truck I bought the nice man who helped us yesterday some cookies, chocolate covered pretzels (I sure hope he's not dieting or diabetic or something) and then found the most awesome Italian Deli EVER! Its called Rubino's  and I want to eat one of everything in there.  

Oh, and their homemade sausage is gluten free.  

That makes life so much more amazing for us!   

(It made me really miss my friend Mrs. Ritter.  We could do some serious damage with all the delicious things that are in this deli.)

I'm going to spend the rest of the day making delicious smells in my kitchen.  

Take that, Monday!

  

gazpacho

The internet has been out for a week AND my computer isn't holding charge for some reason.

(Uncle Chuck, HELP!)

So I have been a bit quiet over here.

Sorry.

Take this awesome recipe as an apology.

Crystal's Gazpacho

• 6 tomatoes
• 1 cucumber (peeled)
• 1 large red onion
• 2 green peppers
• 3 green onions
• 2 cloves garlic
• parsley and cilantro to taste (I use a handful each)
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil

1. You are supposed to peel the tomatoes, but I never have and I think it is delicious.  However if you don't like the tomato skin you can easily peel them by boiling a pot of water, drop the tomatoes in for about a minute, then immediately submerge them into an ice bath.  The skins should slip off very easy after that.
2. Put all of your vegetables into a food processor.  Blend to your desired consistency.  (We like to keep it a little chunky.  Also, I like to blend each item seperatly and then mix them together in a seperate bowl.  This way I can control how smooth each ingreedient is.)
3. Add your red wine vinegar and mix well.  Then add your olive oil SLOWLY and make sure you mix it in well!

Happy Monday!

Sausage Pizza Quinoa

First:  

To whomever left the delicious looking unopened bottle of Malbec at my house, thank you!  I will make sure it is put to good use!

Second:  

I hate quinoa.

I have only found one recipe using the stuff  that I actually enjoy eating.  It is a buffalo chicken quinoa and I think I only like it because it is smothered in delicious frank's hot sauce.  

(Check it out here!)

Yesterday the Mister asked if I could try and create a recipe using quinoa made to taste like Chicago deep dish sausage pizza.  This is my first attempt.  It was okay.....Rhiannon immediately stuck her nose up to it, but then gobbled down her entire bowl.  Clara even ate it, which these days getting her to eat anything that isn't called a cookie or cereal bar is nothing short of a miracle.

(There are a few steps in this recipe that involves using a food processer - which you can substitute a blender for and also a food mandolin.  If you don't have one of these just cut the onions very thin.  Also, at the end of this recipe I will add extra steps that I will be adding next time this is made.)

Sausage Pizza Quinoa

• 10-12 basil leaves
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2-4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 T dried oregano
• 2 lbs sausage (I suggest using Italian flavored sausage)
• 3 small onions
• 24 oz crushed tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper to taste
• quinoa

1. When I make quinoa at our house I always use the rice cooker.  (Just a FYI:  You use the same water/grain ratio and the same program on your machine for white rice.  I used 3 cups of (dry) quinoa and 3 1/2 cups of liquid.  I always use water, I don't like the way chicken stock tastes when cooked into grains.)
2. Fry up your sausage and set aside.  
3. Using a food mandolin, cut the onions on the thinnest setting.  If you don't have one just chop them up really thin or only use one or two small or one medium onion.  I wanted them to be thin for a few reasons.  First, I wanted them to almost caramelize, second I wanted to hide them from my picky three year old. 
   
4. Take your basil leaves and remove them from the stems.  Take the garlic out of the skins.  Add the basil leaves, garlic and olive oil in a food procceser and blend until it is a pesto consistency   I had to add a little bit of liquid from the tomatoes.  
5. Add a bit of oil to your frying skillet.  Saute the onions and the pesto for about 3-5 minutes over medium high heat.  Your onions should cook down nicely.
   
6. Add your tomatoes, (I'm loving that Costco FINALLY sells crushed tomatoes in glass jars!)  Add your chicken stock, (you can use water if you don't have any) the oregano, bay leaf, salt and pepper and sausage.  Let simmer for 20-40 minutes.  (Or however long you want.  We only did it for ten, but that is because everyone was so hungry they were threatening to eat my leg.  Next time I will let it simmer longer.)  The best part of this recipe is how thick the consistency was with out having to add anything.

   

   Don't mind the dirty stove.  I'm a messy cooker.

7. Mix the quinoa and sauce and enjoy!

Next time I make this:  

• The Mister says I should add spinach and it will taste just like the deep dish pizza.  (The girls and I hate spinach so that will not be added.)
• I will be adding green pepper.  I feel like it needs a little more of a crunch.
• I will also be adding some garlic powder.  Probably 1 1/2 tsp.
• If you don't have a dairy allergy - add cheese.  It will make this dish fantastic.

Let me know if you try this and how you changed it to your liking!

Happy Monday!

Gluten & Dairy free Fried Chicken / Home

Everybody deserves to eat comfort food sometimes.  Whether it's pizza, cheesecake, pie, meatloaf, chicken noodle soup, spaghetti, mac and cheese, cookies, cake, (or salad if you are my beautiful sister in law).  Sometimes it is nice to eat something hot, delicious and glutinous when you have had a shit day.  

However, if you are like my Mister and are allergic to gluten and dairy you can't have ANY of the above plus much much more.  It has been a very hard diagnosis for us to become accustomed to.

Since his diagnosis he has been very good about keeping the grumbling about his new diet to a minimum.  

(At least to me.)  

However, he did tell me the other day about how sad he was that he can never ever have fried chicken anymore. 

Seriously, my Misters new diet sucks.  

(I am on it with him, so I should know.)

  But I can go out with friends and cheat if I want.  I can still eat whatever I want and know it wont make me sick.  

He is not so lucky.  

The man deserves some fried chicken.   

I felt so bad that I did something I never in a million years thought I would do.  

I went to target and bought a Presto deep fryer.  

Deep fried food = gross.  

Deep fried food smell in my house = grosser

The Mister eating a meal that doesn't taste bland, boring or just plain gross = priceless.

Crystal's Gluten & Dairy free Fried Chicken

*It has come to my attention that Bob's red mill gluten free flour actually has gluten in it.  (WTF??)  Please don't use it if you have celiac disease!

I have replaced my flour mixture with Nameste foods perfect flour blend and like it even better.

• 3 lbs drumsticks (They are cheaper and my family likes them more then white meat.)
• 4 C almond milk
• 4 eggs
• 2 T hot sauce (We use Franks)
• 2 C flour* (I use Bob Red mill gluten free all purpose mix)
• 2/3 C Tapioca four/starch (Or some other form, potato starch should work too.)
• 2 tsp salt* (I personally felt like it could use more salt)
• 1 T paprika
• 1 T pepper
• 1 T oregano 
• 1 T onion powder
• 1 T Garlic powder
• Vegetable oil

1. Put your chicken and almond milk in a container.  Let chicken soak for one hour.

2.  In a bowl. beat your hot sauce and eggs together.

3.  In a separate bowl mix your flours and seasonings, (next time I make this I am upping the amount of seasonings I put in.  It was a little more bland then we like in this house.) 

4.  Drain the chicken and pat off well.  You can salt and pepper them if you want at this time.

5.  Take your chicken (one piece at a time) and dip in your egg mixture.  Then put the chicken in the flour       mixture, coating it well.

6.  After coating all pieces let the chicken sit for 5 minutes.  After 5 minutes re-coat them with your flour mixture.  (Not the egg mixture, just the flour.)  

{Now I know that frying foods is a weak point for me.  This is why I chose the fryer I did.  1. It was only $30,  2. All I had to do was plug it in for 15 minutes (with the oil poured to the line) and then it magically kept the oil at the correct temperature for as long as I had it plugged in.} 

This next step is for people who have a cheap and magic fryer like I do.

 If you don't, follow this instruction here.

7.  Put four pieces of chicken in your fryer at a time and cook for 13 minutes.

8.  Put your chicken on a rack in the oven (preset to about 275) to keep warm while you finish cooking the rest of the chicken.

Instant Happy Husband!

Instant children who "get along" with each other!

(Don't they look happy?  Two seconds later I think Clara pinched Rhiannon.)

Happy Hump Day!

This is the song the Mister and I walked out of our wedding to.  It's one of my favorites.