Hello! Long time no… blog! Since my last post, a lot has happened. A lot has happened for me, and for the world. Everything felt too overwhelming to even think about blogging about food. That seems to be how I decided to handle the craziness of the world – shut down and focus inwards on my family. Thankfully, I have come back around to continue documenting the things I have the privilege of creating in my kitchen! With the new music rules, I am hoping that I will also be able to attach the music I jam to while I am making these delicious recipes.

Moving on! This recipe has become a recipe that my family asks for on a weekly basis. In our house we have a few days that are structured. Thursday is “Taco Thursday” (I know, I know… normally it’s Taco Tuesday. Our house is strange like this.), and Friday is family movie and pizza night, and Saturdays we usually have leftovers. Every other night of the week I usually create something new and fun. My family usually requests staple favorites that I will sometimes oblige them and make. Those happen to be: “Red Beans and Rice” Risotto, Coconut Curry Noodles, Shrimp and Avocado Corn Salad, Chicken Meatballs, and Spaghetti and Meatballs. Some of these I have blogged, and some I have not. My husband said that I need to at least blog the recipes that they ask for repeatedly so that I can make them the same way I did the time before. Why would he say this? It is because a lot of times I cook by feel, do not measure, and do not remember exactly how I made it the time before! Oops! This recipe, in my book, is very simple and easy. Some of my recipes can get a bit complicated and take more than an hour. This one, start to finish, should take 30 minutes or less! So, here I go, blogging the recipe that has been asked for weekly since I first made it back in May: Coconut Curry Shrimp and Noodles.

Coconut Curry Shrimp and Noodles
Serves 3 to 4 people

Ingredients:

1 package of Thai Rice Noodles – linguini * my package contained 8 servings, so I used half of the package
1 TB coconut oil
1/4 diced sweet onion (I used leftover diced onion in my freezer)
1/4 tsp dried ginger (if you use fresh, it would be around the same)
1 cup shredded (or julienned) carrots
1/2 tsp minced garlic
splash or so of coconut aminos (same as soy sauce)
2 cups frozen broccoli florets (Baby florets would work better, but I didn’t have them.)
2 TB red curry paste
dash or so (depending on your preference of spiciness) of dried red pepper flakes
1/2 lb or so of frozen shrimp (I did not thaw them, they cooked in the sauce)

Directions:

Bring a sauce pan of water to a boil with about 1 TB of sea salt. Once it is at a rolling boil, turn off the heat and add the noodles to the hot water. Make sure they are fully covered and set the timer directed on the noodle packaging. Mine said 25 minutes. Let the noodles soak while you prepare the remainder of the meal.
In a wok or a sauté pan, add 1 TB coconut oil (or another oil of your preference). Let heat at medium to medium high. Add the onion and stir until the onions become opaque. Add salt and pepper to your preference (I use fresh ground, so I didn’t measure.). You won’t need a lot since there is other ingredients in the recipe that contain salt. Once the onions start to brown slightly on the edges, add the shredded carrots and the garlic. Then drizzle in the coconut aminos (or soy sauce). Add the frozen broccoli, curry paste, and dried pepper flakes and stir until well combined. Let simmer until the broccoli has thawed and the carrots have started to soften. Add the coconut cream. *I used Trader Joe’s Coconut Cream, but you can use this or coconut milk. I have used several different kinds. The sweetened coconut milk was WAY too sweet for this dish, in my opinion. I would recommend that you make sure whichever one you choose is unsweetened for the correct taste and flavor in this dish. Let the vegetables simmer in the coconut slurry until soft. When there is about 5 minutes left on the timer for the noodles to soak in the hot water, add the shrimp to the coconut milk mixture. Cooking your shrimp in this mixture keeps them tender and helps them not dry out. (Other options of meat work as well, or chickpeas for a vegan option!) Let the shrimp cook in the mixture until they reach 120 degrees farenheit, or until they are pink and opaque. By this time the noodles should be done soaking and can be strained. Strain the noodles, and I added a bit of the sauce to the strained noodles to keep them from sticking together. Then, serve! I topped mine with a bit of chopped basil, green onions, chili paste and dried chili peppers. Cilantro is also a delicious garnish. Enjoy!

Hey…

So my posting does seem sporadic as of late, but I don’t want to close down my blog. So, I am now a “sporadic food blogger”. When I get especially inspired about a new recipe I have, or find one that I cannot stop using, etc. I will BLOG it! Or, if I get into a run of new recipes that I actually write down, I will BLOG! I want to have these for the future! I may make a cook book one day! For now though… sporadic.

In the mean time, I have asked my uncle, a GREAT cook, to sporadically (when he has a moment… which may not happen often) do a guest post on here! (or 2, or 100… whatever he can do!) I want some of his recipes, and the food I’ve been seeing him make lately look AMAZING! So, if you see another person posting, it’s on purpose, I promise!! Who knows…. maybe we will collaborate on a cookbook one day! Or a FOOD TRUCK! Or…. cook the BEST THANKSGIVING EVER! 🙂

Anyway… that’s what’s happening!

Oh, and I will be posting my new favorite brownie recipe later… IT’S AMAZING… and FLOUR free! WHAT?! Yes!

And, for my song of the day: (You’ll be able to tell what I saw over the weekend)

It seems as though I can’t get “into  the groove” of constantly blog posting. I think it’s really just since I went to mainly “gluten free” and low carb. I try to use as much vegetables as possible and clean eating.

But, I’m determined. If I could do it before, I can do it too! I’ve gotta post more recipes for my jam that I am making today (YUM!) and dinner.

I’ve said in a previous post, every 2 weeks, before I go grocery shopping, I meal plan. I use pinterest to keep the recipes. Sometimes I only search on pinterest, otherwise I use it to save recipes from other websites that I find new and yummy recipes. From those 10 recipes that I’ve chosen, (I only plan for dinner. For lunches we eat leftovers or salads, and we have toast and oatmeal for breakfast.) I make a grocery shopping list. Once I make that shopping list, I add anything else I needed for other meals or odds and ends.

I will say this, my kids do NOT always eat the same thing we do. My husband comes home after 6 or 7 pretty regularly during the week, so my kids eat around 5 or 5:30, and it’s usually something different than we eat. On the weekends I try to have them eat the same thing as us, and we try to all eat at the table together. My son also has A LOT of food allergies, which adds to his picky eating…. there’s so little I can serve him, I’m constantly working on giving him a variety. SO… don’t assume my kids willingly eat everything I make. They don’t. They are normal. They do not have amazing “pallets” like chefs say about their kids on t.v.. Nope. Not my kids. My daughter’s favorite food is Little Ceasars bread sticks. Yeah. My son at least has an actual that’s his favorite: meatballs made by mommy. I do have them try the things that my son isn’t allergic to, and my daughter LOVES to sample my salads (as long as theirs no chicken… that’s a no-go.) etc. Beyond that, it’s smoothies. I give vitamins, smoothies and probiotics. They’ll get it one day. They don’t have to be perfect and put together and eat everything I want them to try now. We will slowly get there. I won’t give up… but I’m not worried about it either. We’ll get there.

Here is my pinterest board for the next 2 weeks (with extra meals in case suddenly everything I pinned looks gross… that happen to you ever??) http://pin.it/tLV_PYf

Anyone reading this, if you have suggestions of some great websites for low carb recipes, please share!!

Most recipes I find, I change at least 3+ things, and therefore the recipe becomes mine. If I do not, I share the recipe, how AMAZING it was, and a link to that person’s site.

Instead of a song of the day, I’m going to share a website that I think more people need to know about.

In the last few months, the MASSIVE problem of human trafficking has been brought to my attention. Not that I didn’t know about it before, I did. I just didn’t realize how BIG it was, or that it even happened so much HERE, in the U.S.! You always think of it as a problem way out east. Not true! You can support this AMAZING ministry who is helping the women and children brought by force into the slave trade! This ministry is giving them a completely different occupation! Giving them their dignity back!  Consider checking out their website! SO full of information on ways you can help!!! Let’s give back! 🙂

http://store.nightlightinternational.com/default.asp

You can also read more about this amazing woman who has given so much of her time to help so many women on her blog:

http://hegivesmecourage.com/

God bless!!

When I got a new induction stove top I had to get a new set of pans… and I did  A LOT of research. I am still looking at getting a cast iron enamel coated dutch oven… but that’s in the future. I also believe in paying cash for things… so sometimes it takes a while!! Luckily, my husband had some gift cards to good ol’ Amazon, and we got to get these AMAZING pans!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE them! Seriously…. best pans I’ve ever had!!!

Spirit 10-Piece Cookware Set

So, if you are in the market for pans at all, give these a look! They work on ALL stove types, not just induction cook-tops!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ryoN1AReROQ” target=”_blank”>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryoN1AReROQ

Do you ever look at a child and wonder “what on earth are they thinking?!” Yeah… I think that a lot. Especially with my 3 year old. I’ve also thought that with my dog… Today, I thought that with my 5 year old girl. She honestly, and I’m trying to not brag, is exceptional. She is sweet, tender hearted, obeys quickly, and was a very easy baby. It was God, not me. She’s easy to discipline because she immediately feels bad that she’s disobeyed and cries and apologizes and tries to not make the same mistake more than once. She is still a child though, and she makes childish mistakes…

For Valentines day she got $1 from my Grandma (whom she calls G.G.) and she got fluorescent pink hair chalk. Yeah… So, she absolutely LOVES it. She thinks it’s so fun to color her hair, and see it be so bright pink! Well, she made the mistake of showing her little brother this cool little thing she has, and being the normal 3 year old boy, he shoved his finger into the hair chalk. (This is shaped very similar to the E.O.S. round ball chapstick.) Then, suddenly, with the help of her dropping it, and his fingers COVERED in BRIGHT PINK hair chalk.. it now covered her BRAND NEW bed spread, sheets and new sham. I looked at her, and I’m just sitting there, knowing that she’s a child, and finding it so hard to believe that she thought that opening that and showing her brother that it was just a good idea to show him that, in her room, and on her bed. So, we’ll see if it comes out!!! Otherwise, pink goes well with purple… right?! Ha… she will be without that hair chalk for a couple of days… but at the moment, it’s kind of funny to think about. 🙂

So, is it bad that I comfort myself with pasta? It is isn’t it.

I made chicken scampi. And it was really good. Like REALLY good. 🙂

I am going to relay the recipe as best I can.

Try it!!!

Scampi Sauce:

3 tbs butter
2 TB minced sweet onions
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 cups low sodium free rance chicken broth
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp fine Himalayan sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbs fresh parsley
2 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice (Added BEFORE the cream)
1 cup organic half&half

The Pasta Dish!!

1 16 oz box angle hair pasta
4-6 frozen chicken tenderloins (I prefer Trader Joes brand)
salt and pepper
4 tbs olive oil
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice
dash cayenne pepper
3 mini sweet peppers (I used 1 red, yellow and orange)
1/2 sweet onion diced
splash of white wine to deglaze the pan (or you can use a bit of chicken broth)

Directions:

In a medium sized sauce pan add butter, minced onion, minced garlic and saute over medium heat for a 1-2 minutes. Don’t let the garlic burn! Add in chicken broth, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, dash of cayenne, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Simmer for 15 minutes on med-low heat.

After 15 minutes is up slowly add the half and half and simmer on LOW, without boiling for 10 minutes.

While the above is going on, in a separate pot, boil the angel hair pasta according to the directions on the box. SHORT time!! You don’t want over cooked angel hair pasta! Cook it al-dente!

To prepare your chicken tenderloins, sprinkle with salt and pepper and a bit of italian seasoning. Fry in a skillet over medium heat with a couple tablespoons of olive oil 5-8 minutes on each side (from frozen) until golden brown and cooked all the way through.  Set aside. Add a splash of white wine (1/4 cup) to the skillet that had the chicken in it, to loosen  up all the “yummy bits” from the bottom of the pan to ready the pan for the onions and peppers. Add the remainder of the lemon juice and lemon zest.

Take your onions and bell peppers and cut in julienne strips, making sure to remove all seeds and the white membrane on the inside. Place them into the skillet. I cook on high for 3-5 minutes until they get soft and caramelized in the white wine and lemon juice and olive oil. Dump the cooked pasta into the skillet with the onions and lightly toss with tongs or similar. Take the creamy garlic sauce and pour over the pasta, peppers and onions. Mix together well.

Dish up pasta, adding the chicken on top. Garnish with freshly shaved Parmesan cheese and a bit of fresh parsley.

And ENJOY! DE-LISH!!! I LOVED the leftovers the next day too! YUM!

And now, for the quote of the day:

So we are studying geography in homeschool with my daughter, and I thought… lets learn about dishes from different countries! So, for the next week or so we are going to do a few South American dishes. This specific one was Peruvian inspired… but with my own twist. And… DELICIOUS! I can only imagine if I had access to FRESH seafood… oh man! But alas, I must use frozen… still so good though! This dish took 30 minutes start to finish too, and that’s with kids crying and hanging on my ankles… so that’s a definite win! Easy, quick, TASTY, and not too heavy on the calories. Who wouldn’t want that! Please try this one for sure, and let me know how it turns out for you!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Trader Joes Seafood Blend (a blend of shrimp, bay scallops and calamari)
• salt to taste
• frozen mixed vegetables – 1 1/2 cups
• 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice (I rinse and cook in my rice cooker)
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 red onion diced
• 2 tb cilantro
• 1/3 cup of chopped carrots
• olive oil
• 1/4 tsp cajun seasoning
• lemon zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp. low sodium soy sauce

Directions:

First: rinse your rice and start cooking. If you do not have a rice cooker, follow the directions on the packaging. If you do, rinse, put into the pot, fill with water corresponding on the directions… and press the button! Lovely right? It should take around 15 minutes.

Second: After about 10 minutes of the rice cooking, get the onions, garlic and olive oil simmering on the stove.

Now, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Take a baking dish or a lipped cookie sheet and line with tin foil. Dump out the seafood blend (or similar blend) onto the pan. Make sure a single layer… don’t have any overlapping, you want them to cook evenly. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, garlic powder, cajun seasoning, 1 Tb lemon juice and zest. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 8 minutes. That’s it for the seafood!!! Now, if you have larger seafood than I did, you will want to bake longer. I had some jumbo shrimp that I cooked from frozen and it took 13 minutes… just make sure that it’s cooked through, curled up and not at all translucent.

Once the seafood blend is in the oven, add the frozen vegetables to the simmering onions and garlic in the pan along with the chopped carrots. Then add the remaining lemon juice and zest. Once the vegetables are still firm, but hot and cooked through. Then, spoon in the rice and stir. Take the seafood out of the oven, and pour into the skillet and stir. Add the turmeric to get the yellow color on the rice, and then season with a dash or so of soy sauce.

And… serve!!! I served mine with some chips and guacamole, but you could do it with some fruit, some bread… man, really anything! It’s versatile!

And now, for the quote of the day: