Sometimes We Get Sick

The other night we were scheduled to take the kids to the gym to play while I got an evening workout in. But the kids were really whiney and something just didn't feel right so I opted to keep everyone home for the evening. By bedtime that night Hammy had a fever and wasn't feeling well. By 1am she was throwing up and didn't stop till about 5am. The entire next day she cuddled with me in my bed and watched TV and played on the tablet. If you know anything about 5 year olds keeping them in one spot is nearly impossible so you know she wasn't feeling her best. And since she needed her Momma I didn't get a darn thing done. Including dinner. So what does a GF, DF, BF, BF, etc. family do when Mom's not around to make dinner? We send one of the dads off to get dinner from the grocery store.

Daddy, the Writer, ran down to the grocery store and got a nice rotisserie chicken (check the ingredients! Sometimes these are injected with gluten products but our local grocery store doesn't), a steam pack of broccoli, and a big bowl of cut fruit.

Dinner was saved!

Our little Ham decided dinner wasn't in the cards for her and went to bed super early. And Birdie girl ate so fast that I didn't get to snag a picture. So there are no pictures for this post, unfortunately. But what I wanted to extend to you is that although getting a quick bite from a fast food joint is really difficult grabbing a few pre-made things from the grocery is DOABLE, EASY, and arguably HEALTHIER than the McCrap you would have brought home before.

Hammy's fever has broken after 2 days and she's back to being her silly cheerful self for the most part, although her appetite is still lacking. I'm hoping she'll be back to her full antics soon enough and Praying that our little Bird doesn't catch it next!

Citrus Beet Greens

Do you ever go to the farmers market and come home with something you've never used before? I did that today! I knew I wanted some beets to make this strange jelly that uses beet juice (more on that in a later post I promise!) but I came home with more than just a few beetroots. I came home with the roots, stalk, and leaves all combined. What was I going to do with all of these greens? Well, Pinterest to the rescue I found just the thing!

It also happened to be our roommates birthday and he wanted that fabulous Lechon Asado again for dinner. I don't know how I did it but I found just the thing to pair wonderfully with it! Citrus Beet Greens Salad. I topped it all off with some oven roasted potatoes and let me tell you, it was TO DIE FOR! SO GOOD!!!!


You've got to try this stuff. Honestly.

I found the original recipe here at Spoon Fork Bacon and they called it Citrus Sauteed Beet Stems, which I guess makes sense, but I've just got it in my blood to change things up!

Citrus Beet Greens

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Bunch Beet Stems and Leaves, cleaned and chopped/torn
1 Shallot, Diced
1 Garlic Clove, Minced
1 1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (other vinegar pairs well too! Try champaign or rice!)
Zest from 1 Orange
Juice from 1 Orange
Salt and Pepper to Taste

1. Place a medium skillet over medium heat and add the oil.
2. Add the beet stems and shallot and saute for 5 minutes.
3. Add the beet leaves and saute for 3 more minutes.
4. Add salt and pepper.
5. Add the garlic, vinegar, orange juice, and zest and simmer until all the juice has evaporated. 
6. Enjoy!

Here are the results. The colors are SO pretty. I can totally imagine adding some pomegranate in the future or maybe some candies walnuts... YUM! For this dinner we paired it with the lechon asado and the roasted potatoes and it was SO good. I hope you try it soon!!!

 

Instant Pot Tamales

I love my Instant Pot. Actually, we call it the 'Instapot' because that is so much cuter. They really should have swooped in on that name. Either way, we get a lot of use out of our Instapot and it has cut down a lot of our cooking time.

Take for instance this dinner. Tamales. Now ask anyone and they will tell you how incredibly labor intensive tamales are. It's true, they can take FOREVER. But I had my heart set on some fresh tamales and I didn't care that it was already after 5:00 pm or that I had already spent the better part of the day canning asparagus! I wanted tamales so away I flew!

I remembered seeing a recipe while browsing Pinterest (My favorite pastime) for Instant Pot Tamales. And I had indeed! Centsable Shoppin' had a nice recipe starting point for me.

'Instapot' Chicken Verde Tamales

First I needed some chicken!

2 lbs FROZEN chicken breasts
1 Large Can Verde Enchilada Sauce


      1. Both went into the Instant Pot on the chicken setting, 25 minutes.

Then I needed some corn husks!
      2. Rinse the husks and put them in a dish they can soak in. They must all be covered in water.
      3. Put something heavy on them to weigh them down. I laid a small bottle of vinegar on top so they stayed submerged.

While that was cooking I went ahead and started on the masa:

3 Cups Masa
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
1 tsp Baking Powder
2 1/4 Cups Chicken Stock
1 tsp Salt
1/2 Can Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce, minced (optional)

     4. In a separate bowl mix all the ingredients until well combined. You don't want the masa to be doughy, but it shouldn't be runny at all.
     5. When the chicken is finished cooking use the quick release to let out the pressure and then shred the chicken in the juices and transfer it all to a large bowl.
     6. Now it's prep time! Lay out a towel to put the softened husks on. This will help absorb some of the water.
     7. Take a husk and spread the masa on it. Not too much or it won't close properly.
     8. Then add the filling. Again not too much or it won't close.
     9. Fold the husk into thirds. Left, then right, and then fold the bottom up. The top will remain open.
    10. Make all of the tamales and put them in a holding spot like on a plate.
    11. Once they are all made add 1 1/2 water (or extra chicken stock) to the bottom of the Instant Pot.
    12. Place the trivet inside and a sheet of foil on top.
    13. Then add all of your tamales to the top, open end UP!
    14. Cook on Manual (High) for 25 minutes.
    15. When finished cooking, wait 10 minutes and then use the quick release.
    16. Enjoy!

We had extra chicken and verde so we used it as a topping. For those of us that are able to enjoy cheese, it melted nicely on the top as well! The kids all enjoyed these and there were enough left over (we made 17 tamales in all) so we can have a leftover dinner soon and extra lunch materials. Awesome!

Her fork wasn't moving fast enough for her so she started eating hers with her hands!

Pineapple Ginger Tofu

Sometimes I see a recipe that I really want to try but it's certainly not compliant for my families needs, or sometimes I don't have the necessary ingredients, or sometimes it just looks too complicated, or sometimes.... I've got a million reasons but honestly, sometimes I just need to alter a recipe for one of a thousand reasons including because I just want to. In this case, although the breaded chicken in the OP's post looked delicious it just wasn't going to fit into what I was capable of making for dinner that evening. Instead, I took the sauce and used it with some tofu that needed to be used up and the outcome was DELICIOUS!

The original recipe is from Carlsbad Cravings and you should check it out because the food photography is just phenomenal. I couldn't not make this dish!! At least in my own way! I also had some fresh pineapple in the fridge that I had cut up a few days before that needed to be used. So off I flew to the kitchen!

Pineapple Ginger Tofu Stirfry

1 Package Extra Firm Tofu, drained and pressed, cut into bite-size pieces
1 Tsp Coconut Oil
1/2 Red Onion, sliced thin
2 Cups Pineapple and its retained juice OR 1/4 cup pineapple juice and 1 1/2 cups crushed pineapple
1/2 Cups Brown Sugar, Packed
1/4 Cup Liquid Aminos
3 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
3 Cloves Garlic, Minced
2 tsp Ginger, Minced
1 tsp Sriracha (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp Salt
3 tsp Cornstarch
2 Cups Mixed Veg, frozen

1. Start by pan frying your tofu. Add the oil to a large skillet and melt over medium-high heat. Once the pan is warmed up add the tofu and cook till browned on both sides and then remove. 
2. Add the onion and cook till softened.
3. Add the ginger and garlic sauteeing for 30 seconds. 
4. Add the pineapple, sugar, liquid amines, vinegar, and sriracha stirring well to combine. 
5. Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce heat to keep it at a simmer for 3 minutes.
6. Add the cornstarch and whisk to combine (no lumps!) and simmer another three minutes or until thickened.
7. Toss the tofu and frozen veg and stir well to coat with the sauce and all ingredients are warmed through.
8. OPTIONAL: Line a 4 sided baking sheet with foil and dump dinner contents onto it. Spread out evenly and then put it under the broiler on high for 15 minutes. This gives the dinner a nice caramelization and a bit of a crunch! 
9. Enjoy!

We served this to the kids over white rice. I had mine over a half of a baked potato and it was DELICIOUS!

Chippy Chicken

One thing that everyone seems to miss is good friend chicken. Of course it's breaded in spiced flour and deep fried and that doesn't work for our family. So I decided to try this version instead. For this meal, I had 3 opened bags of chips that were near the bottom so I combined them. All of them were Gluten Free of course!

I got the idea from a recipe from Epicurious. Of course, I altered the recipe based on what I had at home and what I thought would taste good for my family.


Chippy Chicken

8 oz Chips (I used a combination of bbq chips, Hawaiian bbq chips, and tortilla chips)
4 tsp Ground Cumin
2 tsp Garlic Powder
Salt and Pepper to Taste
2 Large Eggs
2 1/2 lbs Chicken Drumsticks (about 10)

1. Preheat oven to 450 F. 
2. Cover 4 sided sheet pan with foil and spray with oil.
3. In a food processor pulse the chips and seasoning until coarsely ground and then transfer them into a medium bowl (large enough to dip drumstick).
4. Wisk eggs in a different medium bowl.
5. Dip the drumsticks in the egg mixture, let the excess drip off, and then roll the drumstick in the chip mixture. It's okay if you need to pat the crumbs onto the drumstick to help them adhere. 
6. Transfer the drumstick to the sheet pan and continues until all the drumsticks have been coated.
7. Bake uncovered, WITHOUT TURNING, for 40 - 45 minutes. Once removed let stand for 10 minutes. 

We served ours with fiesta corn and homemade plum applesauce. YUM! The girls even asked for seconds!!! UNHEARD OF!!

Sheet Pan Peppers and Sausage

Sometimes dinner is so easy I'm hesitant to share it here because it just seems like everyone already knows about it. But then I realized I could potentially be holding out on a secret gem that you might not have stumbled upon yet. So this is for you!

These sheet pan dinners are SO easy and come together so FAST. They are a great get dinner in their stomachs quick meal, and also a great I'm too tired to cook anything else meal. We've done tons of variations but my kids love the sweet chicken sausage and peppers version.


1 Pack Aidells Chicken & Apple Sausage, 4 links, sliced
1 Red Bell Pepper, Chopped
1 Yellow Bell Pepper, Chopped
1 Red Onion, Chopped
1 Tbsp Taco or Fajita Seasoning of  your choice
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Toppings of your choice!

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Chop Everything! Sometimes we do diced, sometimes chopped, sometimes sliced. It doesn't really matter, as long as it's all bite sized.
3. Put the vegetables and sausage into a bowl and drizzle the olive oil over them.
4. Add the seasoning and toss until everything is evenly coated
5. Spread the mix on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
6. Enjoy!

For Birdie (Gluten Free, Dairy Free) we put hers in a bowl and added a dollop of Supreme Cream Better Than Sour Cream. It is seriously so good and she ate it up like a crazy girl!

For Hammy (Picky Eater Extraordinaire, Dairy Sensitive) we put the sausage and peppers into a tortilla and topped it with Supreme Cream Better Than Sour Cream and she thought it was great! 

For Me (Bariatric) I put it over a half of a baked potato with some Supreme Cream Better Than Sour Cream.

Sweet Shrimp Over Rice

The other night we had the most delicious dinner I've made in a very long time. Honestly, it was just delightful. Sweet and with lots of veggies and some lovely shrimp. Even the kids dug in and ate every bite.

I started with this recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction called 20 Minute Honey Garlic Shrimp. 

My Version of Honey Garlic Shrimp:

1/2 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1/4 Cup Teriyaki Sauce, GF
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
1 Tsp Minced Fresh Ginger
1 Lb Medium Uncooked Shrimp, peeled & deveined
2 Tsp Sesame Oil
1/2 Yellow Onion, Chopped
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, Chopped
1/2 Yellow Bell Pepper, Chopped
Handful of Asparagus (I didn't measure sorry) cut in half
1 Cup Baby Carrots
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
Splash of Water

1.  In a bowl whisk the honey, liquid aminos, teriyaki, garlic, and ginger in a medium sized bowl.
2. Put your shrimp in a zip lock bag and pour the mixture over the shrimp. Put bag in the fridge and let marinate for at least 15 minutes but up to 8 hours. (this is a good time to cut up all those yummy veggies!)
3.  Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet (one that has a lid preferably) over medium-high heat. Place the shrimp in the skillet and cook until pink all the way through and then remove from skillet. Just the shrimp, not the sauce.
4. Put the onion, peppers, and carrots into the pot and cook over medium heat until just barely softened. 
5. Add the asparagus and cover skillet cooking until the asparagus is cooked through.
6. In a cup add the cornstarch and water to make a slurry.
7. In the skillet make an open space in the pan and then add the slurry and mix the entire contents together until thickened. 
8. Add shrimp back to the skillet and stir to warm through.
9. Serve over rice (or a baked potato if you're bariatric!)

Here are my girls devouring their dinner!