Swirly Veggie & Bacon Crustless Quiche

This is my version of the Swirly Crustless Quiche from the cook book Practical Paleo. I changed it up by adding bacon and omitting a seasoning salt, who needs salt when you use bacon? I loved this for dinner. It was easy to make, easy to involve kids breaking eggs and it's packed full of veggies. The original recipe had it baking for 45 minutes which is too too long. Mine was done and I left it in for the last 10 minutes on the timer thinking it wasn't really done. I SHOULD have trusted my gut instinct and pulled it out early. Oh well live and learn, right? I reduced the time here in this version of the recipe so you don't have to worry about losing so much to over cooked stuck-on-edness.

Swirly Veggie & Bacon Crustless Quiche--oven 375˚

1/2 pound bacon, snipped into bits
2 carrots
zucchini to make 1 cup shredded--maybe one large? mine was frozen from last summer
12 fresh eggs


preheat the oven to 375˚
grease a 9x13 pan with butter, set aside
cook bacon over medium heat in a deep pot to keep it from spattering
when it's cooked through and crispy remove from the heat and drain
meanwhile shred the carrots and the zucchini
drain the zucchini by squeezing it in a cheesecloth or a strainer--I simply put my frozen zucchini in the strainer, gave it a rinse and squeezed out all the water and left it to sit while I worked on other stuff, it was well drained by the time I was ready for it
crack the eggs in a mixing bowl, mix well with a whisk
stir in the cooked bacon, the shredded carrots and the drained zucchini
mix well and pour into a greased 9x13
use a fork to swirl the top in about 6 places
bake for 30-35 minutes in the preheated oven

Delicious!





 

March is on it's Way

Well it's almost March, time for the leprechaun to start causing trouble. He came back early this year and has been hanging out for a week or two. Leppy was living large in our Christmas village, don't judge I love it!, and was spotting lounging on the steps of the church. Since his discovery we've had two lost teeth, go figure, leprechaun comes back and teeth start falling out. He USUALLY tries to steal the gold dollar left for the toothless child but this year we've fooled him. Maybe he's just LESS troublesome and years go by? Or he's changed his wicked ways? We don't know for sure so we take precautions JUST to be safe.

tooth in a jar under a jar!

it's in there!

the tooth

someone ignoring himself and having a boat ride

nothing to see here folks move along!

Pretty sure there will be some suspicious activity SOONER or later.


 

Paleo Pizza in a Pot

We have a pizza night once a week at our house. Usually Friday nights but occasionally Saturdays work too, depends on life, really. Since I went paleo our pizza night has been hard to live through. Most things can be paleo-ized but some just seem to defy it, especially when they are covered in cheese sitting on a crispy gluten slab. Oh PIZZA.

Then about a month ago I hit on this Pizza in a Pot idea and I've been building on it every week. Basically I cook up a bunch of sausage to make myself feel better about NOT having cheesy gluten goodness, add all the veg I'd put on a pizza plus chopped eggplant and cook it up all together with some tomato puree or sauce or whatever I have on hand. I am telling you a nice big bowl of steaming Pizza in a Pot can help you feel so much better when everyone else is macking down on pizza. It's NOT perfect nor is it pizza but it is a LOT of the flavor of pizza and sometimes that's what you need.


Paleo Pizza in a Pot

1/2 pound of bulk Italian Sausage-make your own from pork sausage or buy the best you can get
1 whole eggplant
1/2 an onion
1/2 pound of zucchini
1 green pepper
8 white or cremini mushrooms
2 cups tomato puree or sauce or crushed--whatever you have-nothing added JUST tomatoes I like these
pinch or oregano
pinch of sage
salt to taste-not much depending on your sauce and sausage
good dash of pepper
10 pieces of pepperoni

brown the sausage in a nice deep pot--no need to spatter the top of you stove!
while it's cooking wash the eggplant and cut it in to bite size chunks
fill a bowl with water and add a TBSP of salt swish to combine and add the eggplant
let it rest in the salty water for 15 minutes
when the sausage is done cooking drain off the grease
reduce heat to low to avoid burning it
start washing, chopping and adding the vegetables to the pot
stir the mix every couple minutes to keep it from sticking too much
once all the veggies are added add the tomatoes and the seasonings--hold off on the salt until later though!
drain the eggplant, rinse it well and add it too
add a bit of water if there doesn't seem to be enough liquid-don't worry the veggies will release liquid and a quarter to half cup of water will not matter
cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes-roughly the time it takes to roll out a pizza, top it and bake it
once it has simmered taste it and add salt and pepper as needed
stir in the pepperoni and serve piping hot


Hope this helps if you've Gone Paleo and you NEED pizza. It has helped tremendously. I make it differently EVERY week too, Some weeks more meaty others more veg depends on what we have and what I need to use up. So take it, twist it up and make it yours.



You know what else I am loving in the I NEED SOMETHING department? Chai Tea, I bought several kinds of boxed chai and loose and we've been trying out yummy teas. It only takes a BIT of almond milk and a dab of honey to make a spicy delish cup of tea that will satisfy a sweet tooth.







 

Just Another Meatless Monday Paleo Pudding

The longing for creamy chocolaty SOMETHING, ANYTHING finally got to me last week. I HAD to do something about it and I did in the form of Paleo Pudding and it was good too. I made it twice in fact, then I realized it was a dangerous food to make and consume daily so I made a deal that I would keep it down to once a week. The idea being that I ultimately WANT to lose weight AND quit abusing food.

Now before you gag, fall over, quit reading and never come back hear me out, the avocados are for creaminess only!! Whipped with a banana, cocoa powder and dab o' honey the avocado taste is GONE and all that remains is a lovely whipped creamy consistency. YUM and YES PLEASE.



Paleo Pudding
2 bananas
1 ripe avocado
1 heaping spoonful of almond butter
1 teaspoon of honey--more if you need it sweeter
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1 TBSP almond milk

peel the bananas place in food processor bowl
pit and peel the avocados
add the remaining  ingredients to the bowl
pulse to chop
once chopped whirl for 2-3 minutes
taste add more honey if needed or more almond milk if it's TOO thick
taste again and adjust as needed
chill before eating if desired but can be enjoyed immediately

Now here comes the fun part--try adding coconut milk instead of one of the bananas. Or add extra cocoa powder for super dark chocolate taste. Try it without almond butter. I think if you play around with this recipe you could have some serious fun and good eats.






oh and if you're interested I'm giving away a pair of TouchTec Smart Phone Gloves and I'm trying out Rafflecopter. Enter? And let me know if it was smooth and seamless or painful and hard. Thanks.

{giveaway} TouchTec Gloves

Yeah yeah yeah I know it's getting late in the winter for gloves BUT not for us in Alaska. And really not for anyone who might be experiencing spring when it's chilly and hot and then chilly again, like everywhere else. Yet in Alaska we are still firmly in the grips of WINTER and it is glove weather no matter what. No gloves equals chapped hands, ouch.

I like!

I've been testing out some TouchTec gloves sent to me by AT&T and I really really like them. Sure they sent me gloves to try out but I am completely free to have my very own opinion. I like them. A LOT. Why? They're Smart Phone friendly which means you can easily use your smart phone WHILE wearing them. How? TouchTec leather, I don't know the logistics and science behind that name but you can check it our right here if you need to know.

What I do know is I can wear them outside and call my husband on the phone without removing my gloves. This is very cool because I have the odd bad luck of 'losing' my keys after I've locked the door to my house. Simultaneously locking us OUT of the house and keeping us from going anywhere. Handy I know! Now I can call and keep warm(er).

I can also snap photos of kids outdoors having fun in the snow and keep my hands warm and toasty int he process. I COULD even text my now 20 year old son if I needed too. I suppose for a lot of people these would be considered texting gloves. They work wonderfully for that but to me they are a LOT more useful in the calling and photo taking areas of life.

Want to try a pair for yourself?
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Trying out Rafflecopter for giveaways--hope you like it, I do!! Super easy to use just log in with email or Facebook and follow the super easy directions. You can earn up to TWO entries for this giveaway--

1.  leave a comment via Rafflecopter in the widget above--mandatory
2. like Hey What's for Dinner Mom on Facebook using the above widget 

the legal bits--I was given gloves to try out by AT&T--the opinions and thoughts are entirely my own



 

The Penny Worthy Project

How are YOU spending your pennies?

This week was much more relaxed than last week, thank goodness I don't want more weeks where we have HIGHLY EXCITING EVENTS STACKED ON TOP OF EACH OTHER. No one sleeps, everyone is cranky and quite honestly exhausted. We had 2 birthdays, 3rd grade market, carnival (mardi gras parade), Valentine's Day party at school (the last 3 all on the same day no less) then REAL Valentine's Day, a skiing party(someidiot planned that for our first day of rest all week), a wearable arts fashion show and then to top it off dinner with friends Saturday night and dinner with family Sunday night. All in 7 short days. I was super happy to see Monday roll in, even if it meant that I was stuck folding laundry all day and schlepping it around the house.

I stayed mostly OUT of thrift stores because our busy week meant we were super poor. Super poor means we didn't really put away savings the prior week and I felt G U I L T Y spending a BIT of money anywhere else. I even went to the big city to get my old sewing machine they can't fix for less than 500 dollars and was pretty much not supporting the economy there either. I did buy myself a GORGEOUS hand knit Irish wool cable knit sweater vest, for three dollars! No picture because I spent all week trying to keep it clean and dry and the cats kept knocking it off my drying rack and I had to rewash it. Yes, low and cold water but still I cringe washing a lovely old sweater more than I need to.

NOW UPDATED with pictures before I wear it for the day!!

Last week we had some awesome link ups. Paulette found and amazing casserole dish carrier server thingy. We had a great check in from My Blissful Journey and a lovely table scape for a tea party from Tammy Loves Dishes. If you didn't check out last weeks links please do and leave one for us to enjoy!

Tomorrow is a giveaway day so be sure to come back and check it out! Anyone who uses a smartphone will DEFINITELY want to get back here!

So do share--how are you making the very most of your hard earned pennies? Ebay sales? Budget meal plan? Etsy site? Thrifting lifestyle? You name it fits here!

what the?

Hahhhahahaha The other night as one of my boys was sweeping up after dinner he said "ogghhhh MOM there is something totally gross under the heater and I AM NOT TOUCHING it" Busy with dinner cleanup and wrangling two boys into the evening routine by myself I processed and moved on.

Now we have a dog, who by all accounts is AMAZING excpet in her lust for shoes but other than that she's great, and two cats, and 30 chickens, gross things are NOT uncommon around here. It's called living on a farm, however small and humble, it is STILL a farm and gross stuff happens.

 Today I finally got to the gross thing

lovely no? but neither dead NOR rotting, a happy discovery!

only to discover it was a wad of beeswax.

Not gross and most likely brought  in by two Waldorf educated boys. HA! I laughed so hard I scared the dog who was sleeping soundly.

After I snapped the photo I looked out the window and relaized HOW lovely it is out there.

 Agatha is less than impressed but SHE NEEDED to go out and sometimes you get what you ask for.

I like to call this the "you've done this to me" look 

help

you there can you see me??

fine I'll wait

Sometimes when you look outside the reality of what has your attention you find a world of loveliness.

 Enjoy, I certainly did before I went back to banishing disgusting things.








 

Budget Friendly Meal Plan

Last week was a tough week--felt like every time I turned around I was throwing cash somewhere. Of course it did not hurt us in the long, long run but we didn't put away our normal savings amount. We will live and we will put away our normal amount this payday. But I realized we could cut back on our food purchases, really streamline for 2 weeks and put even more away and more towards paying off the credit card debt. (It is a small amount but I still want it gone!)  Bring on the menu plan.

Mind you we can eat salmon because we catch it in the summer. If I had to buy it we wouldn't eat it. I also have a freezer full of frozen home grown chickens and some pastured pork a dear friend gave us. We are also flush with eggs so eggs will be on the menu for us several times. I will be buying the best I can for our family and also maximizing our money, NOT EASY but doable. Let's see I will also be planning paleo meals OR easy to make paleo meals




Main Dishes

Restorative Chicken Soup--leftovers for lunches
Pizza for kids/Pizza in a Pot for Paleo Peeps X2
Coconut Curry Chicken Stew--leftovers for lunches
Cabbage Rolls
Salmon Fish Sticks
Baked Salmon with Pecan Crust
Short Ribs--don't know WHAT I will do with them
Curly Crust Quiche-from Practical Paleo--leftovers for lunches
Sausage Crust Quiche
Poached Eggs in Swiss Chard
Applegate Hot Dogs
Jambalaya--paleo version--don't care just want smoky and HOT--leftovers for lunches
Ginger Beef with Snow Peas--leftovers for lunches
Broccoli Cheese Soup for kids--Vegan for us with "cheese" sauce made with Nutritional Yeast

Sides
Curry Dusted Cauliflower
Cabbage Apple Coleslaw
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Green Salad x4
Carrot Sticks
Dry Fried Green Beans
Roasted Green Beans
Roasted Beets
Curry Cauliflower Soup
Sweet Potato Fries X2
Canned Pears-home canned
Roasted Parsnips and Carrots
Lacto Fermented Pickles


Lunch Things for Kids-big batches to last for two weeks
Blueberry Muffins--homemade
Pizza Rolls--homemade
Fruit Leather--homemade

Breakfast For Kids
Oatmeal
Eggs
Pancakes
Fried Eggs

Mid Morning Snacks for Me--in lieu of breakfast
Sunflower Seeds
Fresh Fruit
Nut Butters

Drinks for Me
Coffee--black 2 cups
Chai Tea Bags--dash of almond milk and drizzle of honey
Prickly Pear Tea
Mint Tea
Water lots of it!

Drinks For Kids
Milk
Almond Milk
Water
Mint Tea

Kid Snacks
Fresh Fruit--apples, oranges, bananas
Fruit Leather
Roasted Nuts
Popcorn
Carrots




So there we go, food planned now I can make a list and do a very budgeted shopping. I can make up the difference in our savings account. Pay more towards that DAMN credit card bill and be one step closer to FREEDOM. Then we'll start on the mortgage, fun!






Peace and Love--



 

Just Another Meatless Monday Curry Dusted Roasted Cauliflower

Lots of vegetables being consumed over here these days. It's like a contest to keep them new and exciting. I make this cauliflower as a snack, it's always consumed within minutes of being set on the counter. It is really good for nibbling on and would be good as a side dish for roasted meats too.

You can use 2 bags of frozen cauliflower instead. Just change up how you distribute oil on them. Simply grease the pan and cook for 10-15 minutes without oil. Then take them out, toss with melted coconut oil and then add your spices. Then simply roast for the remaining time. Try using an old salt shaker to put the curry powder evenly on the cauliflower. You can also use a sifter or a slotted spoon if you don't have an old salt shaker. This of it as dusting not COATING, light not clumpy. Enjoy!

Curry Dusted Roasted Cauliflower

1 1/2 pounds of cauliflower
2 TBSP coconut oil
1 TBSP curry powder
1 teaspoon salt-optional if your curry powder is salt free you'll want this
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

preheat the oven to 375˚
cut the cauliflower into pieces, a little bigger than bite size is nice
melt the coconut oil
toss together with the cauliflower
pour on a baking sheet
lightly dust of the curry powder, making sure to spread it thinly and evenly
sprinkle with the salt and pepper
roast for 20 minutes turn and roast another10 minutes or until lightly browned in spots
serve hot and fresh

Peace and Love--

The Penny Worthy Project

how are you spending you pennies??

Quite quickly for us this week and next is going to be lean! We had 2 family birthdays, my son turned 20 and my husband hit 40, Valentine's Days, Carnival(as in party before lent) and to top it off a third grade market day all in the span of 4 days this week. I felt like cash was just falling out of my pockets. Good thing we've tightened our belts so much that one week of excess spending didn't hurt too much. We have food bought, pantry stocked and fresh organic veggies to last us all week. We may need milk mid week but I do have almond the kids can drink if we don't go to the store.

We got another use out of our park pass this week so we've hit 4 visits, just 6 more and we'll break even on the cost. I see us hitting that mark in 2 weeks or so. I am enjoying the using my pass too. Every time I can pull up, park and just get out and go I feel so great. It's annoying to have to stop and pay 3 bucks and fill out their little slip and all that.

Eggs production is UP. Last Saturday I spent the day in Palmer teaching a Sriracha class and when we finally all got back home and brought in the eggs we had 27. We have about 30 laying hens so this is a BIG number for us. We've not hit that high again but we did hit 24 and today we had 23. Our egg total has got to be SKY HIGH for the week. Somewhere around 140 eggs, I don't have the notebook in front of me so that's an educated guess.

I bought a pack of Debbie Meyer Green bags at the thrifts this week. Seriously WHY would someone NOT want these? They make you produce last a LONG time, even cilantro lasted 2 weeks in one. It did finally get nasty but 2 weeks is like a new world record or something.

I also found this adorable little Dakin stuffed reindeer and a little red sled. Why? A month after Christmas a local thrift just had them tossed in with random junk. They were 50 cents and too cute to pass up.

Last week Happy Girl listed a TON of great ebay sales she's had, if you need inspiring she can help! Bringing home too much stuff? Well Joyful Treasure Hunting has some good questions to ask yourself before you buy more stuff! And check out Van and all her vintage shirts, wow!


Join the fun! Tell us how you spend your hard earned cash or maybe you resell and then you can share your sales with us instead. Or Etsy shops. Meal plans. And anything else that makes your dollar go further and makes you incredibly happy.


Peace and Love--

 

Cabbage Apple Coleslaw with Bacon

Rummaging through files to find paleo ideas for meals everyone will eat is a pleasurable way to spend the morning. I make notes, jot down page numbers and stack cook books all through the kitchen. Usually on grocery day I have a slew of new recipes to try out. This one was something I could whip up without even having to wait until shopping day, I had everything I needed. And it's a keeper, there was hardly enough to save for a lunch although we did put it away before someone snarfed it down. Cool and refreshing and mostly made ahead of time, this one will be perfect for summer meals but good enough to try right now. You know during the dead of winter, yeah winter, love you.




Cabbage Apple Coleslaw with Bacon

1/4 pound of good bacon, chopped
1 bag of coleslaw cut cabbage mix-1 pound size or close to that size
1 tart apple-washed
2 carrots-scrubbed

dressing
2 TBSP mayonnaise
2 TBSP milk--almond milk if you're paleo
drizzle of honey-literally less that 1/2 teaspoon
pinch of salt pinch of celery seed--crush the seeds between 2 spoons
dash of pepper

in a deep pan cook the bacon over medium high heat**
while the bacon is cooking work on the salad, pour the coleslaw mix in a salad bowl
fit a food processor with the shredding blade or get out your box grater
shred the apple and the carrots mix thoroughly with the coleslaw mix
check your bacon when it's done remove from the heat and drain well--once cooled put it in the fridge to chill until time to mix with the salad
put the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake to combine-the honey may need some stirring to convince it to mix in so make sure it gets mixed in if needed**
once well combined stir into the salad and pop the whole thing in the fridge
right before serving toss the salad and then add the bacon and toss again



** I have found I prefer a deep pan for cooking bacon in it spatters LESS which is important if my kids are cooking with me-the chopped bacon cooks very quickly too so be mindful
** I made a very small amount of dressing for the salad--you can of course double it if you like it super creamy with dressing

before bacon-lost the light never got a shot WITH bacon

Please someone add some blue cheese to this, it is begging for it. Or feta. Once I add dairy back I am so making it with blue cheese. Tangy, salty, creamy, sweet, yum.



Peace and Love--



 

What's Cooking?

gorgeous peppers

Last Saturday was my cooking class debut at NonEssentials. What a grand time we had! Luckily I was able to co-teach with Denise, the owner, who wasn't the least bit nervous or scared, in fact she was rock steady. I took her calm energy in and it helped so much. We did a combination class, Sriracha and Egg rolls.

prep work

bringing the heat

egg roll fixings

I kicked it off and had everyone chop and assemble the sriracha so we could get it cooking. Then everyone learned the secret to good egg rolls (umami sauce!!), coleslaw cut cabbage and then how to roll them. Then they rolled a bunch to take home. Meanwhile the sauce got finished cooking and we proceeded to puree it while Denise fried egg rolls outside so we didn't stink it up too bad in the store.

cooking the peppers

egg roll filling

happy times!

rolling rolling HOW DO YOU ROLL?!?

like this ladies

On to the taste testing and I have no pictures I was too busy EATING. Denise truly does make THE BEST egg rolls and if I do say so myself the sriracha ROCKED. Fun fun times. I can't wait to go back and teach something else, what should I try next??





Peace and Love--