Lime Sorbet

This is another one of those things I came up with to use up all those limes.

And it's refreshing and mouth puckering in a pleasing sort of way.

It's funny too, because Hubs reminded me that this would be a good one to remember when I get pregnant again.

No, I am not hinting at anything. 

But it's a a good one to remember.....  When I was pregnant with Peanut the only "strange" craving I had was for all things lime.  Do you know how hard it is to find lime candy?  Practically all green candy is green apple.

But I didn't want green apple.  I wanted lime.

So poor Hubs was left with boxes of Mike and Ikes that were clean picked of any lime ones, 'cause that's all I would eat.  This all of course was before I found out I had gestational diabetes, but that's a whole other post.

So I will leave you with this refreshing little number....

Lime Sorbet

1 cup water
1 cup sugar (I used dehydrated cane juice/organic sugar--no dark colored sucanat this time)

Zest of 5 small limes
1 cup + 2 Tbsp fresh, squeezed lime juice (this was probably about 7 limes for me, but they were on the smaller end)

In a medium sauce pan, dissolve sugar in water over medium high heat.  Remove from heat and pour  into small mixing bowl and store in refrigerator until mixture has completely cooled.  Once cooled, mix in zest and lime juice and process in ice cream maker according to manufacturers directions--mine took about 25 minutes to process to a soft serve consistency.  Several more hours in the freezer after that and the mixture will be much more solid--like sorbet!

Serve on a warm summer night for best results.  :) 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

This recipe is linked to:

Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday
Blessed With Grace Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Designs By Gollum Foodie Friday
Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
Friday Potluck at EKat's Kitchen 
Hearth 'n Soul Recipe Swap at A Moderate Life
La Bella Vita's Fresh Clean and Pure Friday 
Miz Helen's Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday

Menu Plan Monday

We are supposed to be having a *small* reprieve in the heat this week, so a little more usage of the oven than in previous weeks.  This week we will be having~

Sunday-Beef ribs, leftover summer pasta salad

Monday-Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, sauteed Swiss chard

Tuesday-Coconut chicken and rice, green salad with balsamic vinaigrette

Wednesday-Tuna pasta salad

Thursday-Mac and cheese with ham (found some ham in the back of my freezer-so cool!), steamed broccoli

Friday-Italian Sausage Pizza with homemade crust and homemade sauce, green salad

Saturday-Leftovers


For other great menu ideas, visit the Organizing Junkie. 

Tried It & Loved It: Homemade Tortillas

This is a recipe I have been using for several years now--one I started using when I first became a stay at home mom.  Making tortillas at home was initially a financial need (they are so much cheaper to make at home!), but now it's just as useful because I know exactly what's in the tortillas we are eating.  No hydrogenated oils, no preservatives, you know, that whole gig.

Are they more work?

Why, yes--yes they are.  Don't get me wrong--it is tempting to just pick up a bag of tortillas when I am doing the grocery shopping for the week.  I mean, in my mind quesadillas should be an easy and fast meal, since it is typically a "leftover" night and I am using up leftover meat from a few days before.  But then I am in the tortilla section at the grocery store and the "healthy" wholegrain tortillas are  nearly $5 for 10-12 soft taco sized tortillas and I know I can make them at home with ingredients I already have on hand for less than $1.00.  So I trudge along without any tortillas in my cart, berating myself on why I ever started this whole foods thing anyway....    And then I remember, it's for Peanut and it's for us--so what we eat can be more nourishing to our bodies.

Sigh. 

And honestly, the tortillas aren't that much work, but when you compare it to opening a plastic bag, well, then it seems like it.  But it's not--not really.

Homemade Tortillas ~ from Getting Freedom from Debt

4 cups white or whole wheat flour or half each (I use my soft white wheat flour for all of it)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (I use aluminum free)
1/3 cup shortening (I use palm shortening)
1 to 1 1/4 cups water

Mix together flour, salt, and baking powder.  Cut shortening into flour mixture until it is coarse crumbs.  Add in just enough water so the dough is no longer crumbly--whole wheat will use more water than all purpose flour.  Knead about 20 times on a well floured surface and let rest in bowl for 10 minutes.  Split dough into 10-12 even portions and roll out using a rolling pin or tortilla press using lots of flour for dusting.  (I use a rolling pin, however mine don't look nearly as uniform as the ones from the store....I stink at rolling things out and I actually have gotten better over the years....think how bad I was to start with!).   Cook over a hot skillet until just starting to brown on each side.  Serve as quesadillas, tacos, or any other dish using tortillas. 

The View From Here

My poor, sweet, innocent girl has no idea that normal people don't take pictures of their food before it is eaten.  She has an old digital camera of ours (no battery for it, so it's a play camera for her) that she runs and gets every time she sees me pull out my camera to take a picture of some new creation.  And then I am almost always requested to take a picture of her plate before we sit down.  Hopefully therapy won't be too costly....

Please ignore the she-just-had-a-nap-shortly-before-this-picture-was-taken hair. 

She is obsessed with her cell phone lately.  It's a toy one, lest anyone think we are those people.  Anyhow, Daddy made a phone call as he was sitting down to dinner the other night and she had to run and get her pink princess phone. And she proceeded to have a one sided conversation that included, but was not limited to, "Um, yeah [listens] mmmmm, no [listens again] 'kay, bye!"  Followed by a quick shut of the phone and then tossing it on the table.

Really, do I do that?  

Apparently I do.

Ouch. 

Oh, and check out Hubs' new goatee in the background.  I finally got him to grow one on our trip.  Corporate changed the rules at his work and now employees are allowed to have facial hair.  Verdict?   

Me likey.  

A lot. 

Nearly one year after she got her glamorous dress up trunk from Grandma and Grandpa, she is finally fully "into it."  She comes up with all sorts of new and interesting fashion combinations. It's a blast to watch.

Guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

She is very much into the markers I picked up for her.  She draws nearly every day.  She's not naughty with them at all, but sometimes she gets a little um, over zealous.  Some got on the table (which is what happens when you color over the same exact spot on the paper 462 times and the ink bleeds through) and she got some on her hand, which she promptly wiped on her shirt.  Oops.  But it washed out no problem.  God bless the chemists that came up with washable ink.

Have a happy weekend everyone!

Onion Dip

I had a hugely weak moment a couple of weeks ago.  The forecast was for the high nineties and pork chops were on the menu for that night.  Ughhh.....who wants pork chops in 90 degree heat?  Not me.  Then in addition, our landlord called us and invited us to go swimming (again!).  Well, we couldn't be rude and tell her no (wink, wink!).  Knowing we would be gone all day I definitely wasn't going to want to lounge by the pool and then come home and cook dinner.  I mean, what a kill joy right? 

So I went to Costco and bought lunch meat (turkey, no added preservatives) and Kettle brand potato chips (better than most). 

I know, I couldn't believe it either.  I mean, what has the world come to?

Having this Costco size bag of potato chips to use up, I thought, why not add insult to injury and make some homemade onion dip? 

Oh, yes I did. 

But of course I had to draw the line somewhere and I made the dip from scratch.  (Insert sigh of contentment here.)

It was so good.  And not really that hard or involved either.  Do try! You'll love it!

Onion Dip

2 large yellow onions, finely diced
4 Tbsp butter
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Pinch of cayenne pepper (or more if you like it hot)
Salt and pepper

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter and saute onions for 15-20 minutes.  They should just be starting to caramelize.  Remove from heat and cool completely.

In a large mixing bowl, cream cream cheese with beaters until soft and pliable.  Stir in sour cream and mayonnaise and mix until well combined.  Fold in cooled onions. Add cayenne pepper and salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with potato chips or with fresh veggies if you are feeling guilty.  ;)

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

This recipe is linked to:

Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday
Blessed With Grace Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Designs By Gollum Foodie Friday
Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
Friday Potluck at EKat's Kitchen
Hearth 'n Soul Recipe Swap at A Moderate Life
La Bella Vita's Fresh Clean and Pure Friday 
Miz Helen's Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday

Menu Plan Monday

I have just been feeling uninspired in terms of menu items lately!  I think it's the hot weather.  At least that's my excuse this week.  Our landlord keeps extending the invitation to us to come over and swim (I know, how spoiled, right?!?!) and the last thing I want to do is come home and cook after sitting by the pool for several hours.  And seriously, this is the tannest I have been since Hubs and I got married.  Just for the record--I don't tan, I burn.  However, with exposure to the sun every day in short increments, apparently I can tan.  Who knew? 

Anywho, for this week, we will be having:

Sunday-Roasted Chicken, potato salad, green salad with ranch dressing and lots of garden fresh tomatoes

Monday-Tuna Pasta Salad (recipe to come!)

Tuesday-Grilled hamburgers, leftover potato salad

Wednesday-Summer Pasta Salad

Thursday-Black Bean and Couscous Salad

Friday-BLT Chicken Salad

Saturday-Leftovers


For other great menu ideas, visit the Organizing Junkie!

Tried It & Loved It: Coconut Lime Bundt Cake

This will be the first in a three part series on limes.  Or in other words, the-things-I-have-made-to-use-up-a-big-ol'-bag-of-limes-from-Costco.

I saw this recipe a few weeks ago and knew I had to try it.  We all know what a fan I am of all things citrus and coconut.  I thought this cake sounded like a match made in heaven, but I needed some limes to make this little gem.  And when you need four limes and the grocery store is selling them for about $0.85 each and Costco has a big bag for less than $5.....well, then you better start scouring to find other recipes that utilize those extra 18 limes you have on hand. 

But let's start with this one, shall we?  It is just divine and every bit as wonderful as I thought it would be.

And every time you see/hear the word bundt does anyone else think back to My Big Fat Greek Wedding like I do?  Or is it just me? 

Lime Coconut Sour Cream Whole Milk Yogurt Bundt Cake ~ slightly adapted from My Baking Addiction

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (I used organic sugar, so it's not white-white, but it's still not like the dark sucanat I normally use)
zest of 3 medium limes
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour (I used about 1/2 cup freshly ground soft white wheat (just some leftover from that morning), and the rest all purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour cream (my bad, I thought I had enough sour cream but I so wasn't going to the store in the middle of mixing this up, so I improvised and used whole milk yogurt instead--for the full cup)
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut (I used unsweetened coconut)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a bundt cake pan and set aside.

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth.  In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar and lime zest until zest and sugar are evenly mixed.  Add sugar mixture to butter and mix until fluffy, about three minutes.  Add in vanilla and mix to combine.  Add in eggs and mix thoroughly, about two minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda.  Alternate adding portions of the flour mixture, then the sour cream/yogurt, to the butter mixture, allowing each portion to evenly combine before adding the next.  When all the flour and sour cream/yogurt are mixed evenly with the butter mixture, fold in coconut.

Pour cake batter into the prepared bundt pan and spread out top evenly.  Bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Note: my cake only took 40 minutes, so if you know your oven "burns hot," watch closely and pull out early if necessary.  Cool cake for about 45 minutes (original recipe says 20 minutes.....go a little longer....trust me.....but don't ask how I know.....) and invert to wire wrack and remove gently from pan.  Cool cake completely prior to glazing.

Lime Glaze

Now I totally did my glaze a bit different, but I am sure Jamie's would be absolutely wonderful.  I really loved the glaze from these scones, so I used that idea for the glaze. 

Jamie's was this: 

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
5 tablespoons heavy cream
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
zest of 1 medium lime

but I did this:

2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
zest of 2 medium limes

Mix together sugar, lime juice, vanilla and zest.  If glaze is too thin for desired consistency add a bit more powdered sugar.  If it is too thick for desired consistency, add a dash more lime juice.   Once desired consistency is achieved, drizzle over cooled bundt cake. 

First Harvest

This photo was actually taken earlier in the week, but I've joined ranks with the rest of them (and just barely!)....

And Somehow I Lived to Tell About It: The Final Chapter

Read Part I here.
Read Part II here. 

As I said previously, I took every opportunity on our trip to take family pictures.  You see, this was the most recent family picture that we had:

This was from Christmas 2004.  We have had a few more additions since then!


My in-laws have a really cool old barn on their property so we took advantage of it and the natural light outside for an impromptu photo shoot of the entire family.  Aside from my glowing shirt (note to self: don't wear white next time) and two littles that didn't look at the camera, I'd say we have a keeper! 

We had a family picnic at the park on our last night there and Peanut's Grandma bought all the girls matching outfits so we snuck in a few more [posed] photos....but good thing, because I didn't seem to get any of all four of them together prior to that!

Daddy also played a game of catch with his brother and then Peanut decided to join in the fun as well.  Notice the tongue biting once again.  Some things never change. 

One last pic with the Grandma and Grandpa and the trip was nearly over. 

However, we had the final day of air plane rides to conquer first.  And it was the biggest feat too, because between our two flights we had nearly a FOUR hour layover.  With a two and half year old.  The first leg of the trip went fine (well, except for going through security again, which was traumatic once again.  Plus, a careless Mommy left some of the luggage stacked very poorly [read: top heavy], which fell on top of one little Peanut.  Peanut escaped with two small minor bruises, but I still felt absolutely terrible!).

We got to the airport in which we had our layover and took potty breaks, found a table that was big enough for us and all our belongings, paid a ridiculous price for lunch, ate said lunch and then we still had about three hours and 15 minutes to kill before our final flight.  So Hubs took the first trip taking Peanut, who was taking Dolly for a walk with the stroller.

They were gone for about 10 minutes.

I was up next to entertain the Peanut while Hubs camped out with the luggage.  I took Peanut for a walk around the opposite wing of the airport and Peanut and I came across the most wonderful site to see.

A play land for children just Peanut's size.

Peanut was so excited and asked immediately if we could go in there.  I said sure, but immediately thought to go round up Hubs and all our stuff, otherwise I knew I wouldn't be able to tear her away.

Bless the airport designers architects who thought to include this.

And really, this shows how much I have learned to let go.  This is coming from a self proclaimed germophobic mom. The children were required to take their shoes off in the play land, people.

And I still let her play.  Yes, I still wiped her down fully with wipes and disinfectant when we were done, but 18 months ago, I would have never even let her set foot in there. 

Baby steps.

So she played to her little heart's content and Hubs snuck off to get us some coffee.  We proceeded to sip on coffee while watching Peanut play and before we knew it, it was time for our final flight. 

I got off easy with the three prior flights, as Hubs sat next to Peanut each time.  However with the final flight, it was my turn.  But he had already broke her in and the excitement of the past six days was catching up quickly with our little girl.

And she was out before our flight even left the ground. 

A very special thank you to Hubs' Mom & Dad, along with his brother, for a wonderful family vacation.  

We love you guys!

Italian Sausage Pizza

If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you may already know that I always make our pizza at home.  From scratch--for the most part.  I don't cure my own pepperoni nor do I slaughter a hog out back for the Canadian Bacon, BUT I do make the crust and sauce from scratch.  No Boboli or jarred pizza sauce for us!  This merely started as a financial need, but now that I am more food conscious, it helps in that department as well.

While I try to avoid processed foods, pizza night always got the best of me.  It's pretty hard to find meat toppings for pizza (pepperoni, Canadian Bacon, sausage, etc.) that don't have a bunch of additives or chemicals in them, not to mention finding ones that fit our budget.  And while knowing how the animal was raised is very important, my main concern (at this stage) was finding toppings that don't have HFCS or nitrates/nitrites.  I am all about organic and minimally processed, but it also has to be within reason--we don't have a limitless budget!  Can I hear an amen? 

In addition, I've looked for organic meat toppings and come up empty handed each time.  I can't find any here to even try to price compare.  But then I had an epiphany one day.  Jackie, think outside the prepared meats section at the grocery store. 

What about sausages from the meat department?  More and more sausage manufacturers are no longer using nitrates/nitrites in making their sausages.  I have found several that make a good Italian style sausage that list only recognizable ingredients.  No HFCS.  No MSG.  No nitrates/nitrites.  For us, those are all definitely steps in the right direction.

And Hubs?  Well, he has found his new favorite pizza!  He's quite smitten with big ol' sausage hunks on his pizza.  And so is the Peanut.  She rolls her eyes, smiles and says, "Sausage.....mmmmmmmm!"

My thoughts exactly.

Italian Sausage Pizza

Pizza crust
Pizza sauce (this makes enough for more than one pizza--I just freeze the leftovers for next time)

1 pound Italian sausages (casings removed and sliced into bite sized chunks)
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
Olives, sliced
Mushrooms, sliced
Green peppers, diced
Green onions, diced
Additional toppings, if desired

In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown sausage pieces then turn heat down to medium low to allow the pieces to cook through without burning.  This will take 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of sausage pieces.

While sausage is cooking, press pizza dough onto a pizza pan or stone.  Spread sauce on evenly and cover with cheeses.  Layer additional toppings as desired and top with cooked sausage and final dusting of cheese.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until pizza is cooked in middle.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

This recipe is linked to:

Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday
Blessed With Grace Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Designs By Gollum Foodie Friday
Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
Friday Potluck at EKat's Kitchen  (Friday Potluck will be hosted at girlichef for the month of July)
Hearth 'n Soul Recipe Swap at A Moderate Life
La Bella Vita's Fresh Clean and Pure Friday 
Miz Helen's Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday