This week’s meal roundup!

Oh boy!  This week whizzed by at top speed and here we are at Saturday!  The princesses and I kept ourselves busy this week with some new projects taking place over at Grammy and Papa’s (my mom and dad) house.  Two or three days a week we’ll be going over to take care of…

3 baby chicks (pictures to come)…and

Roxy (a little Welsh pony)…

Giving “Roxy” her first bath in her new home…

 And giving her lots and lots of lovin’! Just the right size for riding!

Feelin’ like a real cowgirl!

  My proud little princess cowgirl riding all by herself!

The hubs is getting in on the horse riding action!

On another note…Things have been a little hairy around the home front as the hubs and I deal with more church stuff.  Between the meetings, e-mails and phone calls I’ve found myself a bit anxious and out of sorts, but trying hard to rest in the Lord because I know He is in control.  I’ve been meditating on these verses in particular all week… “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:6-7

Has this road been challenging? Yes!  Is it worth it? Yes, because what we are doing is all for God’s glory and not our own!  And amidst all the busyness it’s been important for us to not lose sight of our family time too, so we took a “family time out” yesterday.  We had a lovely brunch at the Fig Tree Cafe in Pacific Beach and then made our way to the San Diego Zoo for the rest of the day. 

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Since things have been so hectic and because I have felt like I may be losing my mind at moments throughout the day, I threw together an easy week of meals.  Here are some highlights of our “good eats” this week!

Black Bean Burgers

  The perfect topping for my Creamy Kale Salad

BLT Egg “Pie”

 The hubs and princesses love their “egg pies” so I was excited when I came across this version at And Love It Too!  The fam gave it two thumbs up and are already asking for it again!

I made a few adaptations to the original recipe…subbed extra virgin olive oil for the “bacon grease” (just couldn’t bring myself to do it!), used a combo of kale and spinach for the greens, only used 4 eggs + 1 cup milk, and used about 6 organic cherry tomatoes in place of the 1 large. 

Veggie Sloppy Joes

Kale Salad with Creamy Citrus Dressing

Creamy Citrus Dressing

Yields about 2 cups

Ingredients:

1 cup plain nonfat organic yogurt

1 small shallot, finely minced

1 tsp orange zest

2 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice

2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp tumeric

1/8 tsp smoked paprika

sea salt

fresh ground pepper

Directions:

Combine all dressing ingredients together and whisk until thoroughly combined.  Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

This dressing tastes so fresh and was especially delightful when massaged into some kale for a salad.  You could use it on any of your favorite summer salads!

Panini’s

I don’t have a Panini Press, but using our George Foreman Grill seems to get the job done (even leaves some grill marks on the bread)!

Now it’s time to fill up this week’s menu…getting there!  Excited to share some new recipes with you this week!  My Lara Bar “makeovers” are almost done.  Unfortunately I only have a mini food processor and the dates just work it, so I have to be careful and work in small batches.  I decided to give my processor a break and use the remainder of the dates in a fun little muffin! 

Blessings,

J’lene

A Few Highlights From Christmas 2011!

Sorry to leave y’all hangin’ for so long, but our Christmas festivities just came to an end and now I have a moment to sit down and think a bit!  Just wanted to share some of our highlights from this years’ Christmas.  We’ve all been blessed with the hubs working from home while the princesses are on a bit of a break from school.  This has allowed us to do some things that we normally don’t get to do such as…

 Christmas Card Lane

The hubs asked me to take a pic of this….said it motivated him to want to watch the movie!   We always watch a Christmas movie together after the kids go to bed on Christmas Eve, so this was it this year! 

On Christmas Eve morning there were new bikes and scooters to ride….and the hubs joined in the fun with some WAY OLD roller blades!

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Christmas morning we continued our tradition of singing Happy Birthday to Jesus!

My first attempt at gluten free cinnamon rolls wasn’t totally a complete and utter failure!  As you can see by the picture, however, they didn’t rise like I had hoped.  They got rave reviews from the rest of the fam, but they weren’t “spot on” in my book!  I plan on making another attempt at them before I post the recipe for you all.

Christmas morning at Ignite Church

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We had a very enjoyable time celebrating Christ’s birth with our church family and the hubs even read a little story to the kiddos! 

Then it was back home to get comfy and open the rest of our gifts as a family.

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The princesses exchanged gifts this year and it was so precious to watch!  They got each other manicures so they could go on a “sister date” together!

 

I was more than blessed this Christmas with some wonderful gifts (and some lessons learned when requesting gifts!)

A big thanks to my mom for getting me this attachment for my stand mixer!  It’s a slicer/shredder attachment, which was fabulous for making the salad for our Christmas dinner at G.G.’s.  Just put the vegetable in the shoot and it slices or shreds all by itself!  LOVE IT!

Okay, so one of my favorite gifts from the hubs was this “Hot Air Popcorn Popper”.   I’ve learned a lot about “microwavable” popcorn over the last few months and let’s just say that we will no longer be partaking in popcorn that cooks in a bag!  I’ve had my eye on a couple of air poppers and was so thrilled to find this under the tree.

For the hubs it wasn’t so much about the health benefits of popping our own popcorn as it was about his wife being “hot and fresh!”  I made the mistake of saying, “oh, I love my popcorn hot and fresh!”  He proceeded to say to me, “oh, I just love my hot wife!”  Lesson learned…be careful what you say around the kiddos on Christmas morning!

This was my “be careful what you wish for” gift !  I had mentioned awhile back to the hubs that I might like to try Zumba.  I hear a lot of the ladies raving about it, but never got up the nerve to try a class.  After the “hot and fresh” gift, I open this!

Note to self:  must get up in the early morning while everyone is still sleeping soundly if you want to complete a Zumba class without being laughed at hysterically!  I was so not born to move like that!  However, it is fun (in the comfort of my own home!) and does pack in a good workout!  Enough said!

 

After Christmas day we had some family arrive from out of town, so we all met up at G.G’s (great-grandmother) for a big family dinner.  My job was to bring the salad, so a beautiful salad I made!

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Lots of veggies and a few cranberries for some sweetness

This was pretty much my dinner as there were no gluten free options, so I made sure to add some beans for protein!

So glad there were leftovers to bring home!

 

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The Christmas dinner spread at G.G.’s….twice baked potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, warm broccoli dish, turkey breast, and my lovely salad!  I also shared my cranberry-mango chutney for those eating the turkey.  For dessert…G.G.’s homemade pumpkin, pecan, and apple pies!  So sad that I couldn’t try any because they looked oh.so.delicious!  Next time I’ll be sure to bring a gluten free dessert, so I can indulge along with the rest of the family! 

 

 

Now it’s back to reality….planning “real” meals and doing “real” grocery shopping!  I actually enjoyed going shopping this week and getting a cart full of fresh veggies, fruit, and stocking up on the usual staples.  Coming in a close second to grocery shopping will be planning lessons for the next couple months of school.  Looks like I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me, but do not fear, there are some recipes coming your way! 

My first task at hand will be showering the hubs with lots of love and fun for his birthday on New Years’ Eve!  Any ideas?  His only request is that there will be brownies and mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert.  I think I can manage that one! 

Blessings,

J’lene

You can never have too much pumpkin!

I know I’ve probably have got everyone all “pumpkinned” out, but there’s more my friends!  What a fabulous weekend we had…Saturday kept me busy baking  some wholesome and delicious goodies to take church on Sunday morning.   I went with these muffins that were super moist inside with a little added crunch on top.


Pumpkin-Cinnamon Streusel Muffins
(inspired by Two Peas and Their Pod)
Yields 15 muffins (odd number, I know!)
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose gluten free flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp xanthum gum
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup organic cane sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 organic large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Cinnamon Filling:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Streusel Topping:
1 cup gluten free rolled oats
1/2 Tbsp brown rice flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
4 Tbsp Earth Balance butter, cut into chunks
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two muffin tins with paper liners or spray with cooking spray.  Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, sea salt, xanthum gum, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, pumpkin, almond milk, eggs, and vanilla.  Whisk just until combined.
Slowly stir in the flour mixture and mix until all ingredients are well combined.
For the Filling: In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together.  Set aside.
For the Topping: In a small bowl, mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Mix in the butter with your hands or a fork until mixture is crumbly.
Fill muffin cups half full with the batter.  Sprinkle the cinnamon mixture over each half filled muffin cup.  Fill the muffin cups with the remaining batter.  Top each muffin with streusel topping.
Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove pans from oven and cool on a wire rack.



And the finished product from my “butternut” squash sneak peak…

Macaroni with Butternut “Cheeze” Sauce
(inspired by Angela @ Oh She Glows)
Yields 1 1/2 cups of sauce
Ingredients:
1 fresh butternut squash, peeled and chopped (you’ll only be using 1 cup for this recipe, I had about 3 cups leftover)
Extra virgin olive oil + Salt and Pepper
1 Tbsp Earth Balance butter
1 cup unsweetened and unflavored almond milk
1 Tbsp cornstarch
6 Tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp sea salt + pepper, to taste
16 oz package brown rice macaroni
1/2 cheddar cheese, shredded (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with tin foil.  Mix the chopped squash with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Roast for about 40 minutes, uncovered, or until tender.
Meanwhile, prepare the “cheeze” sauce in a medium pot on the stove.  Add the Earth Balance over low heat.  In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and cornstarch until clumps are gone.  Add into pot and whisk.  Stir in the remaining ingredients…nutritional yeast, mustard, garlic powder, salt and pepper) and whisk over low heat until thickened (about 5 minutes).
Cook your pasta according to the package directions. Drain and rinse when done cooking. 
In a blender, blend the prepared sauce with 1 cup of the roasted squash. 
At this point you can add the cooked, drained, and rinsed pasta to a pot along with the “cheeze” sauce.  Heat through and serve. 
OR
You can add the cooked, drained, and rinsed pasta to a 9x13 inch baking dish.  Pour the prepared sauce over the pasta and mix to coat.  Sprinkle the top with 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes (or until cheese is melted on top) at 325 degrees.

(I added the cheese on top just because I knew this would be something new for the princesses and it worked like a charm!)

This dish truly exceeded my expectations!  I loved that I could indulge on a serving of this typical “comfort food” without feeling the weight of all the added cheese.  The butternut squash added a hint of sweetness and it served as a perfect side to the rest of our meal. 

Now what to do with all that extra squash…breakfast dish perhaps?  The wheels are turning!

Nourishing Thought for Today:

I just read this post on High Fructose Corn Syrup and it got me thinking…

The problem with sugar is simply this: It Can Harm Us!  Here are a few of the problems that come along with consuming too much or adding the wrong kind of sugar to our diet.

• depresses immunity
• sours behavior, attention, and learning
• promotes obesity
• promotes sugar highs
• promotes diabetes
• promotes heart disease
• leads to cavities
• linked to behavior disorders
• leads to osteoporosis
• aggravates yeast problems
• accelerates the aging process

High Fructose Corn Syrup, as many of you already know, is not the same as fructose in fruit.  It contains absolutely no nutrients and does not nourish the body in any way.  Beginning as corn grown with genetically modified seeds, the end result is FAR from natural.  Did you know that it is in most processed foods that you see on the shelves of the grocery store? 

Taking this to heart: There are many distractions in our life that keep us from the best God has to offer.  Artificial sweeteners, for example, give us a “fake” sweetness instead of the goodness of His whole foods.  What other distractions or “artificial substitutes” are taking the place of the real blessing that God has waiting for you?

Blessings,

J’lene

Happy Birthday Ignite Church….

It’s hard to believe that today marks the 1 Year Anniversary of the launch of Ignite Church! 

Today we celebrated what God has done at Ignite as well as those who have sacrificed their time, money, and effort to serve with us. 

Some of the highlights of this past year…

• God gave us 13 faithful people to get Ignite off the ground, and now there are over 100 regular attendees!
• God brought 51 people to Himself through Ignite!
• We saw 38 people get baptized and proclaim their faith in Christ!

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(Thank You Melanie for making such a beautiful cake for us!)

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Plates were scraped clean and the celebration came to an end, but we’re NOT finished at Ignite Church!  We’re going to continue to step out in faith, reach those who are lost, and walk along this journey that God has set out for us.

Note to the hubs:  Thank you for being an amazing man of God!  As we’ve walked this journey together we’ve certainly climbed our fair share of mountains and stumbled along the way, but God has picked us up and told us to keep on going.  Thank you for taking the time to invest in our family, for teaching us, for loving us (even when we are hard to love), and for taking care of us daily.  You’ve taught me a lot this past year and I’ve enjoyed watching God work through you as you preach each Sunday morning and as you invest in the lives of others during the week.  Keep pressing onward and upward…I love you!

Blessings,

J’lene

Rejoicing…

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”  2Corinthians 5:17

Yesterday, my dad, along with two others from our church, made a public profession of his faith in Christ by getting baptized!  He shared with friends and family that he has put away the old self and now is allowing Christ to live in and through him.  God is a patient God and it’s never too “early” or “late” to start a loving relationship with Him.  What a celebration!!

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“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  Galatians 2:20

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We read God’s word together…

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God…” Ephesians 2:8We prayed together…

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We laughed together….

And all the kids jumped in the pool together…and not a single one had on a bathing suit!  But that’s how we roll at Ignite Church…we’re a crazy, fun, God-loving family!

Praise God for a beautiful day!

Blessings,
J’lene