Another day in the kitchen with Pandora & Paleo (ish) Meals

So I am literally on a mission to make dinner time healthy & easier around here.

I am mostly doing clean eating & doing somewhat Paleo.

Some things I haven't cut out totally but I have cut back tremendously are:

sugar, dairy, grains, processed foods 

(unless its from TJ's or Whole Foods & I can read every ingredient on the label) 

and 

almost all white carbs like bread, pasta & potatoes.

I have subbed almond milk or coconut milk where I can and I started using Turbanado Sugar 

for my tea/coffee in the morning.

It really hasn't been as hard as I thought but it takes a lot of planning.

So I have been spending a lot of time in my kitchen 

(which we just had redone & I love!!)

::GASP::

Don't get your Paleo Panties in a twist

I know white flour is not Paleo but  Toll House Cookies aren't either.

This pic was from another day of baking.

SOOOO....

I am a hot mess with planning

My ADD gets in my way no matter how many lists I make. 

 I usually end up forgetting half the sh*t I need or half the sh*t I planned on making

For some reason, today I had it all together!?!

That really hardly ever happens!

So I signed on to Pandora 

with my **RENT Original Broadway Cast** Playlist

(its all Rent, Le Miz, Wicked, Disney and Glee in one happy little playlist)

and started singing and cooking the afternoon away....

So....here are a few recipes I tried today....

Pumpkin Pancakes

From

Practical Paleo    By Diane Sanfilippo

So mixing these together was so simple and they smelled so yummy & "fallish"

 I was so excited for them.  

I am trying so hard to get more protein in my diet

they would be perfect, easy breakfast....

but honestly

 these really tasted like pumpkin flavored flat eggs

I did a little more research and it seems like if you add almond flour 

it will make a more pancake consistency  

I am going to try that out, but ummm have you seen the price tag on almond flour?

what the what?

We will see!

Crockpot Jambalaya

So the crockpot makes life so frikkin easy

I never used one till recently and it has been a lot of fun.

So this was really easy to put together and i did something a little different

I made it a freezer meal!

I added everything but the meat.

I sealed it in a ziplock bag and shoved it in the freezer. 

When I am ready to cook this I will dump it all in the crock and see what happens.

(I have made very similar recipes that started with the same stuff

& crocked it so I am pretty sure it will work..fingers crossed)

Dinner prepped & ready for future crazy day

BAM! One less day of cooking & cleaning that crap up!

Win!

My Sister Ria's Lazy Chicken

From

Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals

So when my girls were babies I really didn't leave the house for like a year, 

ever.  

They were preemies & the doctors scared the crap outta me about RSV.

Truth is, I was scared to death to leave with them anyway.

The diaper bag & the bottles & changes of clothes...so not worth the effort.

Mom's of multiples, really moms of singletosn too, you know. 

Plus it just gave me a reason to live in my yoga pants & not do my make up

My husband loved coming home to my sexy a$$ every day....

bah ha ha!

Anyway...

I watched a lot of Food Network, A Baby Story & a lot of Sex in the city DVD's

It was then that i discovered this perky little Italian Upstate New Yorker

that showed me it was possible to make meals short & sweet with most stuff you have in your pantry

(Yes Martha, its true)

Say what you want about "Rach"

You either love her or hate her

but she changed my world!

She really made me try things that I never would have tried before

back to the chicken dish....

I love this dish

I love that you make it in one pan

I love that it is full of yummy veggies

I havent made it in a while so it was fun to try it again

I changed out the white potatoes for sweet potatoes & I left out the cheese

Lentil Soup with Quinoa & Chickpeas 

(or in my case Canellini Beans because I grabbed the wrong can see ADD)

This was super easy & it tastes so good, even with my screw up.

I am a weirdo & can eat soup all year

The fact that it is still 80 degrees here is no big whoop!

I have tried to give credit where credit is due to creators of these recipes, 

at minimum if they posted them on their blogs.

If you know anyone who has created these or posted these & I have screwed up by not properly crediting them, please let me know!

If you stop by PLEASE let me know, 

leave a little comment here.

I am very bored & lonely and really don't want to fold laundry

Well, two of those are not really true!

Making Dinner Easier Part 1

You know that feeling when your kids get off the bus, 

homework is getting done and  

dinner is prepped and ready to serve

::record scratch::

Yeah, me neither, for a really long time

Then I got smarter about it.

I started keeping track of meals we liked, 
meals that were easy, 

ingredients that you could find 
at the regular grocery store, 

meals that were healthy & 
meals that everyone actually would eat 
with out whining about it

I started making groceries lists and then

I found Pinterest

Frikkin life changer people

I have decided to put together a post of really great meal ideas that I have tried & have worked. Some are from Pintrest,
 some are from the web or from magazines.  
I will include some helpful hints along with each recipe too!

 These tried & true recipes have been super simple to make & have been enjoyed by pretty picky eaters.  
With a little planning ahead I can honestly say 
I have stopped reaching for the Xanax 
every time I heard the bus in the afternoon.

Mediterranean One Dish

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Mediterrean-One-Dish-Meal#.T-MielivbA8.pinterest

This one is super simple, you use one pot and that's it!
We serve it with pita & hummus or Tzhiki
I dont care for oregano so I leave it out
We also serve with feta on the table 
so you can add as much or as little as you want
Same goes for the olives

Applesauce Glazed Pork Chops

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Applesauce-Glazed-Pork-Chops

Ok so this one I have made with pork tenderloin 
sliced into medallions.
It takes no time to cook and is soooo easy

Serve with a green veggie & rice

Done with dinner

Mongolian Beef

http://www.pinkbites.com/2009/01/mongolian-beef.html

Another super simple one
most of this stuff you have on hand

Serve with rice & brocolli 

Gingery Pork and Cucumber Pita

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/gingery-pork-and-cucumber-pitas-recipe-00000000020845/index.html

For this one I used pork tenderloin cut up into tiny slivers rather than ground pork
I also made the cucumber salad as a side rather than putting it inside the pita
This was soooo quick & easy

Chicken Pot Pie "Cupcakes"

http://quick-dish.tablespoon.com/2012/03/07/chicken-pot-pie-cupcakes/

This actually works

It is so easy its stupid!
This is one of those quick meals to make when its 
just you & the kids
Serve with salad
Done

Hopefully these are a few new super simple recipes to make your life easy.

Let me know if you tried them and what your family thought!

(many of these were found on Pinterest, in magazines or on the web.  I made sure to give credit to all original sources.)

Very First Pinny Party!

I hosted my very first Pinny Party!

What's a Pinny Party???

It's a party where all of your Pinterest Pals 

get together & create 

If you have been obsessing about Pinterest for as long as I have,

you know you have a board of crap that you want to create!

Well, we actually did it

We had been talking about it for a while

and I finally made it happen

Here's what you can do to make your Pinny Party happen too!!

FIRST:  Pick a project

You know there are things you have that you are just dying to make

You know it maybe something with mason jars or burlap or both

and certainly glue guns are involved

Here's where we started:

http://www.thenshemade.com/2011/01/pink-pink-you-stink.html

We wrote up a list of supplies & sent everyone on their way to gather up all they needed

Many emails went back & forth about what supplies to get etc.

In the end we all came up with unique to us versions of the board we wanted to make.

Second: Pick a date, time & place

So we all came together on a Saturday night at my house to get our "craft on"

Third: Plan a menu

In addition to "amazing stuff I want to create" boards 

I also have "amazing stuff i want to eat & drink" boards too

I chose 2

Cake Batter Truffles

found here

http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2011/03/cake-batter-truffles.html

Strawberry Mojitos 

found here

http://kokocooks.blogspot.com/2011/03/strawberry-mojitos.html

although I was the only one who indulged in the strawberry mojitos "salad" drink

(I added way toooo many mint leaves)

Fourth:  Get your craft on

 We headed up to my craft space to get the party started

So the honest truth-

this was pretty adventurous project to make in one night

I don't think any of us finished in one sitting

With a room full of this many creative women it was great to

bounce ideas off of each other

We had a lot of laughs

We definitely wanted to pick another project and do it again

The most common phrases of the night were

"I saw it on PINTEREST"

OR

"Well if you were on PINTEREST you would have seen it"

(one of us wasn't on Pinterest at the time)

"OWWWWW"

or

"Mother f@*(!$*@, SH*t, Son of a B*tch" 

when we burned ourselves with the glue guns

More Ttuths:

This is what mine looked like at the end of the night

This is what mine still looks like

Will post pics as soon as I am done

In 6 months, I am sure!

BUT Here is K's

GORGEOUS!

She ended up using elmers glue to finish it!  LOL

Here is A's

It was an amazing night

we all had a blast

We are in the planning stages of party number 2

and I am thinking of starting a 

Pinny Party blog too!

Let me know if I have inspired you to start your own party!

this is what is for dinner tonight

This is a recipe I found on

Pinterest

It is Mongolian Beef

It is delicious

Everyone in my family eats it

Winning

I serve it over brown rice & broccoli or asian style veggies

Love

Source: pinkbites.com via Tracey on Pinterest

Best From The Blog World Wednesday

very "firstest" ever

Best From the Blog World

Yet again another direction for

Bell Skys Blog

I have become sort of a

blog stalker

I have a set number of blogs that I have to look at every day

(see right hand column)

There are so many great ideas out there

I want to share them with whoever is out there & reads my silly blog

These posts make me happy & inspire me

so I thought it would be fun to share some "blog love" with you!

I dont know who even reads my blog

But if you are reading, leave me a comment & let me know what you think!

I am going to try to feature a fave blog post that I have discovered on Wednesdays

It may be a recipe,

an inspiring story,

something

Hi-Lar-I-Ous or

something crafty & creative

Anyway,

the first post is from a great blog

that is named so appropriately

on a daily basis I have been

inspired

click here

INSPIRED BY CHARM

I dont know Michael personally but stumbled on his blog & have become a regular reader

He followed his dreams & opened this Bed & Breakfast in PA.

On his blog he shares lots of decor & recipe ideas

Someday, I would love to stop by & meet him in person

& stay in one of his pretty rooms

So, he posted this recipe for Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes that looks so

mmmmmmm

(insert "Casey growl" there)

I havent made them yet, but i plan too

funny thing is that i made pancakes earlier today for my girls before I saw this post

(trying to avoid buying all that processed food & have started making a lot from scratch

cause I am all happy home maker like that, ha)

Filing it away for next time

If you try this, let me know how they come out

Stop by Michael's blog & check out all the amazing stuff he has done

He really is so creative!

Recipe: Asian Pork Tenderloin

I am always on the lookout for good recipes & new ideas that hubby & the girls would like. The girls have always been good eaters, I decided very early on that I am not going to be a short order cook & I think that helped. We also try to make dinner time our family time & eat together every single night. WE ALWAYS did growing up & I cherish those memories with my sibs & mom & dad(sometimes dad) as well as with my extended family, growing up in an Italian home, food & meals were sacred, if you are Italian you know what I am talking about!

I am going to try to share at least one new recipe a week here, ones that I have tried & my family has really liked, kids included.
so with out further ado...here goes. Let me know if you try any of these.

Since we are trying to revamp our whole life as far as eating healthy goes,
my new most favorite-ist magazine is

Taste of Home- Healthy Cooking.

The meals are really healthy and shockingly scrumptious.



Made this dinner for the fam & it was a huge hit and super easy to make, I did not use the ground mustard since I am not a huge fan.
Also, I grilled this (summer = never turn on the oven!) & basted once or twice on each side.
Served it with brown rice & broccoli sauteed with garlic.

Asian Pork Tenderloin

(pic from Taste of Home-Healthy Cooking-Aug/Spet 2010)

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon ground mustard
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 pork tenderloins (3/4 pound each)

Directions

• In a small bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Pour 1/2 cup marinade into a large resealable plastic bag. Add the pork; seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade.
• Drain and discard marinade. Place pork on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Bake at 450° for 20-25 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160°, basting occasionally with reserved marinade. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing. Yield: 6 servings.