I've found that unless you pay a fee typepad doesn't allow much in the way of design so I'm going to be moving: http://myechoesofeden.blogspot.com/ Visit me there! It's much cuter! :)
01/23/2011
01/18/2011
Paprika Roasted Chicken
A healthy, easy meal. This one has to cook for a while but requires very little hands on time. Which is great with a baby and working at home. It's also very easy to substitute things in this recipe. Also, pretty inexpensive if you buy the chicken when it's on a good sale.
Ingredients:
1 whole 4-5 lb roasting chicken (or fryer chicken, depends on what your store calls it)
2-3 tablespoons Olive oil (butter may also be used and is in the original recipe)
3 tablespoons Paprika (smoked, spanish, or regular work)
2 tablespoons Honey (sugar can also work if you're out of honey)
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
Mix all the ingredients (other than the chicken obviously) up in a small bowl.
Wash and dry the chicken.
Place it in a shallow baking dish. Place it breast down at first.
Then rub some of the sauce on this side.
Flip the chicken over, breast side up, and rub the sauce on it. Be sure to get it in every little nook and rub it in really well.
Now it's ready to go in the oven. This part takes 1-1 1/2 hours usually. Chicken is done when the juice runs clear, not pink. It's generally best to check in the breast and the thigh. Also, a meat thermometer should read about 165-170 for the breast and 180-185 for the thigh.
Let sick for a couple of minutes after you get it out of the oven before cutting it. It keeps the juices from running out everywhere and gives you a juicier, more flavorful, chicken.
Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes.
01/12/2011
Granola Bars
I love these granola bars. They make actual bars and don't completely fall apart into granola. They are very versatile to what flavor YOU want as well. And super yummy and healthy. And aren't made with butter (like a majority of homemade granola bars). They also fill that craving for something sweet while you're dieting and the oatmeal is good for breastmilk supply!
Homemade Granola Bars Recipe
4.5 cups of old fashioned oats
1 cup whole wheat flour (white whole wheat is especially good)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup coconut oil (see substitution ideas below)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup coconut oil (see substitution ideas below)
3/4- 1 cup honey
2 eggs
then add chocolate chips, nuts, cranberries, whatever you want. About 1 cup.
then add chocolate chips, nuts, cranberries, whatever you want. About 1 cup.
Mix all the dry ingredients together. Melt the coconut oil. Add the coconut oil, honey, and eggs. Mix together. You'll have a very thick batter. Then add the chocolate chips, nuts, or whatever you want. I just put chocolate chips in the ones I just made because that's what I had in the house. However, cranberries are really good for you and taste good in it with the chocolate chips.
Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and pat out flat. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 mins. Yummy.
Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and pat out flat. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 mins. Yummy.
Good coconut oil is expensive, however, it is super good for you and especially yummy in this recipe. So what I do is a half and half method. I use half of the cheap coconut oil at wal-mart (still a good source of fat compared to butter in most recipes) and half of they organic cold pressed coconut oil I order from Amazon (tastes really good).
My two coconut oils.
Also, you can use substitutions. 1/2 cup peanut butter (or any type of nut or seed butter) and 1/2 cup coconut oil gives it a really good taste. You can sub in butter for the coconut oil, but it's not as a good of a fat. But less expensive. I think you could try 1/2 cup of a nut or seed butter mixed with canola or vegetable oil as well. I would not go with olive oil because the strong flavor it has. I also would not do completely vegetable or canola oil. The beauty of coconut oil and butter in granola bars is that it is a solid at room temperature so it holds the bar together. I think you need that to make actual bars and not just granola.
Coconut oil (or coconut oil/nut or seed butter mix) really is the best fat though.
01/11/2011
Mommy Guilt
When you're pregnant you find yourself reading lots of things about babies development and what's good and bad for them and different child raising methods. Or at least I did. I research everything though.
You read about breastfeeding, diapering methods, baby food making, cry-it-out, vaxing, natural childbirth. You hear terms you've never heard of: babywearing, attachment parents, silky vs crunchy. You find out that plastic is toxic and dangerous. Then you read about how bad television is for your child. Okay, maybe you didn't even need to read that one.
Then you have a baby and the guilt starts. Or maybe that's just for us perfectionists?
Heck, mine started before she was even born when the nurse said I had to have a c-section and it's only gotten stronger in the 14 weeks since she was born. Actually, I think it started when the doctor listed all the extra complications because of my extra weight. Oh, and my thyroid issues. Not that I'm sure how I caused the thyroid issues exactly. But they added to my guilt.
At 14 weeks what do I feel guilty for?
My child is happy and content on her play mat. Is she playing with her toys? Of course not. She’s watching tv. We all know how evil that is. She even watches from daddy’s lap sometimes.
She gets organic, non-toxic toys in her stocking and under the tree. Especially for teething. We know everything goes in a baby’s mouth. Oh, but everyone else got her plastic. Which are her favorites? Which toys does mommy let her play with since they keep her happy? You got it, those evil toxic plastic ones. After all, kids have done it for years… right?
Mommy works from home to prepare for class and on her dissertation while taking care of the baby. Is she getting enough interaction? Is she spending too much time sitting in mommy's lap with a toy in front of the computer? You're certain the computer is just as evil as the tv all of a sudden. And it probably is.
You read babies need to be close to their mommy, you bought a wrap and a carrier so this could happen. Then the baby comes and you find it's hard to work on the computer while she's on you so you find ways to put her down and keep her happy. Oh the guilt... is she not going to be independent like she should be because she didn't learn to rely on her mommy? Or something like that. You're too tired to remember exactly why you're supposed to wear her.
Oh, and the killer, in the first few months babies are learning trust so you have to respond every time they cry. It's a need. Then you're trying to eat lunch (or is it still breakfast since that meal didn't happen) at 3;30 in the afternoon and the baby just woke up after being asleep for five minutes. Or you just got out of the shower and need to comb your hair and she decides she's tired of the bouncer seat. That's when you do that horrible thing... you let her cry or fuss for a couple of minutes... or at least until it's a hard cry. Then you try to do something else with her for a minute while you finish. Oh the guilt.
Oh the time you spend wondering if you're somehow screwing up your child. Or those two seconds of guilt you feel while you're falling asleep, because you don't spend any time wondering if you're screwing up your child since you're too busy and tired.
Healthier Pizza
Note the healthier part, not exactly a low fat pizza here. Definitely less fat than you local Pizza Hut though. My husband and I are trying to lose weight this year. We have every intention of still enjoying good food though. We’ll just have to make our food healthier for us. Also, by healthier I don’t always mean lower in fat or calories. I use pepperoni that has no added nitrates/nitrites because it is healthier for me even though the turkey pepperoni has a little less fat and calories. I’ll usually take that approach with recipes.
On to pizza making!
Pizza dough is the easiest of all dough to make in my opinion but you do have to make it ahead of time. I make a part whole wheat crust because we aren’t a fan of it being completely whole wheat.
Here are your ingredients (except salt and warm water):
Throw the bread flour, whole wheat flour, yeast, and some salt in a bowl and mix.
As a side note, if you keep your yeast in the refrigerator or even the freezer (as I do, for freshness) it should be at room temperature before you add the warm water. So mix all the dry ingredients and go do something for 5 minutes… or feed your fussy baby for 20 mins. It will definitely be at room temperature then.
Add the olive oil and warm water (I just let the tap water get warm and use it).
Mix it up with a spoon until it comes together pretty well. Then throw it onto a clean counter (and extra crumbs included) and knead it. In my opinion, if you have enough water it doesn’t need a lot of kneading so it’s pretty quick. You could also mix it in a stand mixer or such and let it knead it for you. I don’t have one of those though. I figure it will help make my arms buff so I don’t need a shakeweight.
Knead until it looks pretty smooth like this:
Then lightly oil (with olive oil) the bowl you just mixed it in and place the dough in it and turn it once to cover the dough in oil. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size. Or refrigerate for somewhere in the range of 8-12 hours.
Rising time will depend on temperature in your house primarily. We keep it about 68 in mine during the winter and it takes forever for anything to rise here. To speed it up I often turn the oven on its lowest setting while I knead the dough and then turn it off and put the bowl in there. Even in the summer I usually put the bowl in a non preheated oven because a draft can mess with rising. Actually, the slower it rises the better the bread will taste though because it develops its flavors better.
Once the pizza dough has doubled in size dump it out of the bowl and gently press any air bubbles out of it and fold into a ball shape. If you did the refrigerator method it needs to sit out on the counter until close to room temperature before you mess with it. After pressing out the bubbles, place back into the bowl and allow to rise for about 20 mins. I usually do this in the oven as well to prevent the drafts and get it out of my way.
While the pizza dough is doing the second rising, make pizza sauce.
Grab a bowl and dump a can of tomato paste in it, an equal amount of water, and garlic powder, oregano, basil, marjoram, and salt. Then mix well.
I usually prep my cheese and toppings now. This entirely up to you. I do recommend slicing them thin, especially for vegetables high in water (such as my mushrooms).
So, shred the cheeses. We used mozzarella, provolone, and white cheddar.
Realize that is not nearly enough and shred a lot more:
Then slice up the toppings you’re using. We are using pepperoni on the entire pizza and then ham on my husband’s part and mushroom’s on mine.
Now decide what you’re cooking your pizza on. I recommend a baking stone, but any metal pan can be used. If you’re using a metal bake sheet turn it upside down and use the bottom. I usually get the dough out of the oven and then turn the oven up to 480 degrees and place whatever you’re planning on baking the pizza on in the oven.
Then take a sheet of parchment paper roughly the size you want your pizza – we go for about 12-14in – and dump the dough on it. Then with a rolling pin and your hands roll it into the shape you want it (I would base this off what I was planning to cook it on). I usually aim for round but I don’t sweat it if it’s not perfect.
Now we like stuffed crust pizza but this is totally optionally. You can just roll the side in to give a nice rounded edge. We however put cheese around the edges:
Then roll the crust over it and press gently.
Then spoon the sauce on the crust.
Now arrange the toppings.
Once the topping are on the pizza, carefully transfer the pizza using your parchment paper onto your preheated stone. If you have a pizza paddle they are great to use at this point. I don’t have one. Sometimes it takes me and my husband to put it onto the stone. Since it did with this pizza I could not take a picture of the process.
Bake until pizza is bubbly in the middle.
Yum!
Recipes
Pizza Dough
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
¾ cup bread flour
¾ cup whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon active dry yeast
4 teaspoons olive oil
½- ¾ cup water lukewarm
Pizza Sauce
6oz (or 8oz whichever your store has) can of tomato paste
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon marjoram
½ teaspoon basil
¼ teaspoon salt
