Try. Fail. Try again. Fail Better.

It feels terribly appropriate that I tried to search this quote to give credit to the creator only to be unable to find this exact quote. The only quote I could find was a very similar one by Samuel Beckett but not this particular quote. It tickles the back of my mind as something from a movie. I can just picture some wise male mentor character saying this in a deep gravelly voice that inspires the hero or heroine to go forward and succeed. Hmm… maybe I should search again… As amusing as my quote sourcing abilities are, that’s not what this post is about.

Do you ever get it in your head that you really, really want something? Ever want to do something nice for your spouse/partner? Well, I was in exactly that mood yesterday and neither venture ended in success. On the upside, I learned a thing or two about a thing or two. And I managed to make a stellar riff on shepherds pie… so success! But what were the failures? It all started with a cheesecake.

It’s been almost two weeks of doing keto and I am proud to say we are going strong. But cravings have a way of sneaking in when you least expect them. And there I was, sitting on the sofa registering for health insurance when what should pop into my brain like some culinary epiphany? Cheesecake.

Now I’ve never made cheesecake. I tried once a few weeks ago and it turned to custard with berry sauce over it. And in that case my failure was delicious. I didn’t get any pictures of that gooey disaster but believe you-me, it didn’t last long despite being cemented to the bottom of my pyrex cake pan. What do they call those? A beautiful disaster? Well, I’m gonna call it a delicious disaster.

So armed with the knowledge I’d gotten in that failure, I did a quick recipe search for keto cheesecake. Success! An easy to follow recipe! Huzzah! Okay, let’s look at this.

Filling:
24oz cream cheese
1 1/2 C sweetener
3 eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

That’s the filling. That’s it. How could I possibly mess that up? All the recipe said was to whisk together until smooth. So that’s what I did.

Crust:
1 1/2 C almond flour
1 tbsp flax
3 tbsp sweetener
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp butter

That’s not too complicated either. The recipe said to mix together thoroughly then press into the bottom of a greased spring form pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 325 degrees before adding filling and baking for an additional 50 minutes.

So, let me say that none of this was an outright failure. It just wasn’t cheesecake like I know it. I wanted dense, sweet, cheesy goodness. What I got was a fluffy, custard-y sweet that vaguely resembles cheesecake. It tasted good. It just wasn’t what I was expecting or hoping for so it was a bit of a let down. Manny said it was delicious. We both agreed though, calling it cheesecake is a bit of a stretch.

So that’s the basics. But since when have I ever done anything basic? Nah. Plain cheesecake, or even plain not-quite-cheesecake just ain’t it. So before I popped that sucker in the oven I added a couple handfuls of pecans and some Lilly’s chocolate chips. But that’s not enough! I wanted turtle cheesecake! But how to make keto caramel? Well, I’d figure that out while it baked… in the oven it went.

On to the caramel! Pinterest informed me that this was the absolute best keto caramel recipe out there… so down the bunny hole.

Keto Caramel
1 C allulose
1 1/4 C heavy cream
1/2 C butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

The recipe said to combine ingredients in a high walled pot, stir to combine, and then let simmer for roughly 15 minutes. When caramelized the recipe said you could thicken using gelatin but I didn’t have the kind they said to use and they were very adamant that only that particular gelatin would work so I decided to slip a little xanthum gum in to thicken and lady’s and gents, that was my first mistake.

Did you know xanthum gum is very touchy? So after I had mixed my caramel into a gelatinous mass of gak-like grossness I did a little research. I had treated the xanthum gum just like I would corn starch or flour to create a roux. But oh no, let me tell you that was a mistake. Turns out xanthum gum has roughly 6x the thickening power of corn starch or flour. So I thought I was adding a little thickener when in fact I was creating a snot-like caramel flavored goo you wouldn’t let your child play with much less eat. Ugh.

I guess that’s where the title comes in. Try, fail. Try again, fail better. I haven’t tried to recreate the caramel yet but I will. Manny loves caramel so I will definitely be perfecting that recipe. I think if used sparingly xanthum gum could definitely work to thicken a caramel sauce, and next time I’ll be armed with all the knowledge of this attempt’s failure.

I did manage to eek out enough to stretch over my not-really-cheesecake. It sure was pretty even if it didn’t taste the way it was supposed to. And for that matter, it was delicious too, just not what I had expected. Thank goodness dinner was a roaring success otherwise I would have felt very dejected by yesterday’s failures. I think yesterday I just wanted normalcy and I wasn’t quite ready to accept “normal” keto foods as the new normal yet. So I browned hamburger and whipped some cauliflower and added all the cheese and spices and herbs and put it together to bake. The end result was a delicious dinner of keto shepherd’s pie that racked in at about 5g carbs per serving. It was everything we needed.

So yesterday was an adventure. I normally do a lot of baking and cooking on my days off but I think today I’m just gonna take it easy. Dinner tonight is gonna be a stir fry of chicken and cabbage with a spicy peanut lime cilantro sauce. And desert? Well, even custard-cheesecake is better than no cheesecake.

Work tomorrow will be a breeze. We’re going to enjoy the left over shepherd’s pie for dinner after but to get me through I have perfect keto’s instant french vanilla coffee, their cinnamon roll bars, and their hazelnut chocolate nut spread. Keto made easy! And the items were completely free thanks to the thank an essential employee give away Perfect Keto did to show appreciation for essential workers during the covid-19 pandemic. Thank you Perfect Keto!

Leave me a comment with your best (or worst) cooking fail! As always, take care and God Bless!

So it begins…

Holy toledo! What a week! There is so much to share so I’m just gonna jump right in and get on with it! The week was jam-packed with activities! There was a small Mother’s Day get together, we moved more of my belongings from storage into mine and Manny’s apartment, Manny and I started Keto, and I hurt my foot.

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? On Sunday we had my parents and my brother’s family over for Mother’s Day, my sister and her family couldn’t make it. We had an amazing day celebrating my mom and sister-in-law. Manny and I live in an old school building that’s been converted over into apartments and my dad, who hadn’t seen our apartment before, was enamored with the chalkboards. Between him and my nieces we have quite a few new works of art to enjoy. Eventually we’ll erase them so more can be made but we’re going to enjoy them for a while first. The girls also ran around exploring the place and waging nerf-war on anyone who didn’t scold them for shooting them.

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The first three are my dad’s works of art and the last three are courtesy of the girlies.

For dinner we made stir fry to order. We had cabbage, onion, mushrooms, baby corn, water chestnuts, broccoli, carrots, rice, rice noodles, tempeh, pork, and beef for everyone to choose from. Manny and I had fun flexing in the kitchen. We had a little bit of the “dance” going on as we worked around each other, both of us rocking a pan on the stove to cook up everyone’s orders. My got to try tempeh for the first time and she loved it. Pretty sure we’ll have to have another get-together soon and make a tempeh centric dish just for her.

Before dinner my family all pitched in to help move a bunch of my belongings which had been in storage at my sister’s house over to Manny’s and My apartment which was a huge help. Unfortunately I still have a ton of stuff there but it put a good dent in it and that helps more than I can say. Plus, we were able to get my table and chairs so now our place feels a lot more homey. I think the day was a raging success if I do say so myself.

On Monday Manny and I started keto and so far, it too has been a raging success. We weighed in on Saturday, which we’ll do every Saturday. Then on Sunday we had the family over but on Monday we got down to business. One very expensive shopping trip later, we’re stocked and ready to go! Together Manny and I went through the cupboards removing anything we won’t eat, rearranging, and restocking with the keto-friendly supplies we stocked up on. We both are starting to experience a little bit of keto-flu but we are so motivated that even unpleasant initial side effects won’t put us off.

I don’t actually know my weight or Manny’s. Because I’ve struggled with an unhealthy relationship with food and body image in the past we are opting to have Manny be the keeper of the measurements. Each week after we weigh in he’ll tell me the percentage of my body weight that I’ve lost which will give me encouragement to keep going when I can’t see or feel the progress but won’t be triggering for potentially unhealthy behaviors on my part. We also measured ourselves around the neck, arm, chest, waist, hips, and thigh because we want as many ways to measure success as possible. And last but not least we took some “before” pictures. And of course, since we have huge chalkboards, we plan to have a little fun with it.

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As not fun as it is to post what feels like an unflattering picture, I think it is important to be transparent in where we begin. Besides, it just means the progress pictures later on will feel even better.

We’ve been tag-teaming dinners a lot. Tuesday when we both went back to work I put a pork roast in the crock pot before we left the house. I added chili, cayenne, garlic, salt, pepper, and paprika. By the time we got home we had a delicious bbq to chomp. And then Manny took the lead frying up a mixture of cabbage and kale with more of the same spices, a little bacon, and a splash of apple cider vinegar. It was an absolutely scrumptious meal! And we sat for probably an hour after we were done eating, planning our meals for the rest of the week. Tonight’s menu is a sort of stir-fry kimchi beef creation.

And as if I needed more motivation, I hurt my foot yesterday at work. I have had plantar fasciitis in my left foot for a long time and as I’ve gained weight in the last year it has gotten really bad, especially after I went back to work at the nursing home where I’m up on my feet for my whole shift running to take care of my residents. Last night I was rushing to take care of one particularly feisty resident who is fond of taking off his shoes and going for jogs in the hallway. I was trying to make sure he wouldn’t fall because in this particular instance he had kicked off his tennies and created an obstacle course of pillows in his doorway and the hallway and then was proceeding to do an odd kick-hop through the whole thing. Talk about a heart attack for me! So rush rush rush I go and pop! I felt something pop in the arch of my foot. The pain of it nearly knocked me over but I managed to keep upright, help my resident pick up, and put shoes on. I also managed the rest of my shift which I’m not entirely sure was the smartest thing to do. A little investigation with Dr. Google and the best I can figure I probably tore my plantar facia a little bit. But I can’t go to the doctor because my insurance through work doesn’t kick in for another couple weeks. So back to Dr. Google it is. Best care? Rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Well cool, I can do all of that. And the best way to prevent moving forward? Loose weight, wear supportive shoes, and reasonably stretch the tendon… Well, it won’t happen overnight but I’m working on all of those.

If you’ve made it all the way to the end of this novel of a post I thank you. Leave a comment if the desire should strike you. I hope you are well and as always, take care and God bless!

Starting Fresh

Yesterday’s post was something of a bonus given that we had made such a big decision for our life. So bonus, you get two posts this week! Yesterday I went through our cupboards and pulled out all things high in carbs. There’s one box set aside with things I know my sister and her kids can use but then there are two partially full boxes full of other foods. One box holds unopened items that we can give away or donate. The other has items that are already open, we’ll eat what we can in the next week and then we’ll offer to our friends. Whatever they don’t want we’ll toss.

The benefit of keto is that we’ve both done it before. We know how we feel when doing it. For me, I know that the first month is pretty brutal. Keto flu is no joke. The headache I’m about to receive is almost enough to make me reconsider, but in the end it will be worth it to be healthier.

We’ve been trying for nearly the entire year that we’ve been together to eat healthier. Smaller portions, healthier choices while still honoring the need for foods that although maybe not healthy are very satisfying like chocolate or potato chips. There’s something to be said for satisfying that need to enjoy salty and sweet. And I know what you’re thinking; doesn’t keto rob us of that? Well, yes and no. There’s no cheating on keto. If you cheat it can take weeks to get back on track and put your body back in ketosis which is the state it needs to be in to burn fat instead of sugar. Once committed, you’d better be committed else-wise you’re wasting a lot of time and energy. When I did keto before I found I did not crave foods the same way I do when I’m eating sugar. I have found that I enjoy the foods I do eat so much more than when I’m eating whatever I want. Suddenly cheese crisps are the saltiest most delicious crunchy snack on earth! And keto sweets are like an oasis in the dessert!

I must admit I’m really looking forward to doing this. A year ago now I was at the lowest weight I had been in my adult life. I felt good and energetic and young. Now I feel every single one of my 31 years. My body is stiff and sore and worn out. I can’t wait to reclaim that energy! And as an added bonus, I can’t wait to feel pretty in my skin again. I know that weight loss is not the magical formula to being happy, but from experience, the way I feel when I am a little bit thinner is very helpful to making me a happier person. It’s the healthy side-effects. Neither one of us is shooting for skinny. Manny jokingly said the other day that between the two of us we’d like to lose a high school girl. Meaning, I would like to lose about 50-80 lbs total, and Manny would like to lose between 70-80. Add that up and you have the weight of an average high school girl. Crazy to think that.

As I was cleaning out the kitchen yesterday I picked up a ten-pound sack of flour and held it in my hands. How much better will I feel when that amount is off my body? It’ll be fun to see how each 10lbs makes a difference.

Tonight’s dinner is a simple nearly- no- cook meal. Manny was craving a wedge salad so we got salad fixings. I personally think there is nothing worse on this earth than iceberg lettuce so I’ll be having a cabbage and greens salad. I know, it sounds weird but it’s got a magnificent crunch. I’d love to say we’re being healthy but between blue cheese dressing, craisins, and some bacon I’m going to crisp up it will be far from healthy. It will however be super yummy.

What’s your favorite salad topping? Let us know in the comments and as always take care and God bless!

Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes

So Manny and I like food. A lot. I should think that is pretty obvious from all the blog posts about different foods and such. We enjoy cooking and planning meals as well as eating. And I would first like to take a moment to say THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT. The trouble comes in that we aren’t so great at moderation.

Truth be told moderation is a little bit of a trigger word for me. I have struggled off and on with an eating disorder since I was fifteen, in and out of treatments and therapy since i was twenty-one. Ever so many well intentioned people have told me to just eat in moderation and all my food related problems will go away. There’s more wrong with that statement that I have time to unpack today but for now we’ll just say this, eating in moderation is simple. It isn’t easy. And never have I ever actually been able to make it work in a healthy way that doesn’t cater to my disordered thoughts.

I recently hurt my back. I slept funny and then went to work and now I’m hobbling around because my back hurts so bad and I don’t have insurance because I’m still on probation at work so I get to just try to help it myself and can’t find a chiropractor to help. Manny and I had a thought yesterday though as we were coming home from our shifts and I was feeling particularly miserable, both from pain and from needing to take the next shift off in order to rest and not further hurt myself. Our realization was simple, excess weight has a heavy toll than just being heavy. Would my back still be sore if I were a bit lighter? We both struggle with sore feet; him with tendinitis in his heel and me with plantar fasciitis; would we still struggle with these pains if we weren’t putting so much strain on our feet? We aren’t getting younger. We want to be healthy to enjoy our lives and to be able to have nice long lives with one another.

So today I went through the kitchen. We have both done and had success with Keto in the past. I understand this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but it has worked for us, we understand it, and have had success with it so we are going to use keto to jump start ourselves into weight loss. We aren’t putting a time limit on this, for us we are making the change for the foreseeable future. This is a lifestyle change we are making in order to be healthy. As such this blog will reflect that. I’m sorry if this means our recipes won’t jive for you anymore.

Moving way slower than I would like because of my sore back I went through the kitchen. There are three boxes on the counter now full of carb-heavy foods that we’re going to give away. We agreed that since we are feeling motivated we need to just jump in and get going, that there is no time like the present. So here we go. This is the next journey for us. We hope to see you for more recipes and posts in the future. As always, take care and God bless.

Getting Creative in the Kitchen

Buckle up friends, this post is gonna be a recipe dump!

Yesterday morning as I was lying in bed, slowly waking up I asked Manny the same question I ask every day when it’s my turn to cook, “Any requests for dinner?” His response, “Something vaguely Asian.” Due to a recent conversation where he admitted to being vaguely off rice for the time being that limited me a bit. So what to make? Well, this kid has had egg rolls on the brain. So, in need of a grocery run anyway I hopped in my car and went to the store to buy the necessary items to make us a delicious dinner.

In the end I made cream cheese wontons, egg rolls, and stir fried yakisoba noodles with vegetables. Other than the wrappers for the wontons and egg rolls, I made all of it from scratch too. (Which I’m actually quite proud of.) There isn’t much more to be said about it, so let’s jump straight in with the recipes! Here we go!

Easy Cream Cheese Wontons
1 packet pre-made wonton wraps
2 8 oz package cream cheese or neufchatel cheese
2 tbsp chopped garlic
*Full recipe makes about 4 dozen wontons. I made half.

Place cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds or until soft enough to stir with a spoon. Add chopped garlic. On clean dry surface separate wonton wrappers. Place a spoonful of cream cheese mixture on the center of each wrap. Dip fingers in water and place small amount of water on each corner of the wonton wrapper. Gently pull the corners up and press together. Place on an ungreased no-stick cookie sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Dip in sweet and sour sauce and enjoy!

Simplest Sweet and Sour Sauce
1/3 C brown sugar
2 tbsp ketchup
1/3 C and 2 tbsp water divided
1/4 C lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp corn starch

In a small sauce pan combine all ingredients except for the 2 tsp corn starch and 2 tbsp water. Heat on medium high until boiling. In a separate bowl combine 2 tsp corn starch and 2 tbsp water. Make sure the water is very cold. Whisk smooth. Slowly pour into boiling mixture in the the saucepan, being sure to stir thoroughly the entire time. Remove from heat. Pour into a jar for saving. Recipe makes roughly 8 oz of sauce. Serve warm or cold.

Vegetable Egg Rolls
1 package egg roll wrappers
1/2 package matchstick carrots
1/4 head finely shredded cabbage
1/2 large onion finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped broccoli stems
1 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp finely chopped ginger
vegetable oil as needed

In a large oiled skilled combine ingredients over medium high heat. Cook, stirring frequently until the vegetables are tender. Remove from heat and cool. On a clean dry surface lay out egg roll wrappers. Place 1/2 C vegetable mixture in center of each. Pull the two side corners in and stick them together using a small amount of water. Next pull up the corner closest to you and fold it over the first two corners and the vegetable mixture. Gently, so as not to rip the wrapper, roll the egg roll until there are not more corners left. Fix last corner down using a small amount of water. Place on ungreased non-stick cookie sheet and cook until golden brown at 350 degrees. Takes about 20 minutes.

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Pardon my crummy diagram but I wanted to be a little more clear about what I meant for rolling egg rolls. To be honest, you could google “how to roll egg rolls” and get a far better tutorial than this but just in case you’re like me and you want everything in one place, I included this shoddy diagram to try and make it clear.

Spicy Peanut Sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp sriracha
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl. Store extra in a jelly jar. Makes about 4 oz. Serve cold.

Noodle Stir Fry with Peanut Sesame Sauce
1 package yakisoba noodles
1 head broccoli chopped
1/2 head cabbage chopped
1/2 package matchstick carrots
1 1/2 large onions chunked
1 package tempeh chunked
2 tbsp butter
vegetable oil as needed
1/2 cup frozen peas

In large skillet combine vegetables and oil. Cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender. In small non-stick pan combine butter and tempeh. Fry on high heat until golden brown stirring often. Add to vegetable mixture. Microwave packet of noodles for 1 minute on high. Add to vegetable mix. Mix sauce recipe below, add to skillet. Serve and enjoy!

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  tempeh

2 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp chopped garlic
3 tbsp sriracha
4 tbsp lime juice
4 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp roasted sesame seeds

Whisk together all ingredients in a bowl. Pour over stir fry. Serve and enjoy!

And that’s it. I know it looks like a lot. This meal is a bit putzy if I’m being honest. All together it took me about 2 hours to create but it was a delicious treat. Definitely not something I’ll be tossing together on a regular basis or when I’m strapped for time but delicious non-the-less. I hope you enjoy and as always, take care and God bless.

Chicken Parmesan

This week Manny and I went grocery shopping and as we were in the store, shopping from our list, we realized we didn’t have a plan for dinner. We were in the meat section, looking at the selection of chicken and Manny suggested we team up and make Chicken Parmesan. So we did. I made the sauce and Manny did the chicken. We decided to cheat and buy a loaf of garlic bread instead of making pasta so that was simply a matter of heating it up. Dinner was delicious, making it was fun, and it ended up being something of a much needed date-night in the end.

Chicken Parmesan
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 C shredded mozzarella and provolone mix
Panko Bread crumbs
Flour
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Egg
1/4-1/2 C canola oil

1 jar spaghetti sauce
2 large onions
2-3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp garlic
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp italian seasoning mix
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C water
2-3 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To make your chicken you will need a meat mallet (we used a hammer). Pound your chicken until it is an even thickness all the way through. Dredge you chicken through a mixture of the flour, salt, and pepper. Next dip in a well beaten egg, making sure it is completely covered. Then coat in Panko. Warm oil until very hot in a skillet on medium high heat. Add chicken. Cook on either side until Panko is golden brown. *The chicken will not be cooked through yet* Place chicken on a cookie sheet and cover liberally with shredded cheese. Bake until heated through to 165 degrees being careful not to rest your thermometer on the cookie sheet when temping. If you don’t have a thermometer you can always do the old standby of cutting open one piece to make sure it is cooked through. Baking time will depend on the thickness of your chicken.

While your chicken is baking you can make the sauce. Most recipes call for the chicken to be cooked in the sauce but Manny and I prefer a crispy chicken so we made it this way instead.

Dice your onions and place in a skillet with olive oil and garlic. Cook on medium high heat until the onions are caramelized. Reduce heat to medium low and add red wine vinegar to deglaze the pan. Add spaghetti sauce, rinsing jar with a little water and adding that to the skillet as well. Stir in spices. Allow to simmer until meat is done. Serve over chicken and enjoy! We had ours with garlic bread and it was absolutely scrumptious!

In this crazy world we’re living in, I hope you are all taking time for yourselves and for the people you do get to have in your life. Keeping relationships healthy is so important during this time of social isolation. So plan a date night and make it something special. Or cook as a family. Find something to be grateful for instead of feeling down over what we’ve lost. And as always, take care and God bless.

Grab and Go

Mini Pot Pie

We do our absolute best to be as frugal as possible and have been trying to do so for some time. But one thing both of us struggled with was wanting the convenience of eating out. When I was not working I didn’t struggle quite so much with this. Now that I’m back to work and we’re rocking out the same schedule, it is actually hard to come home and cook.

Even with me working we want to be as frugal as possible. Simple fact, no one knows what will happen in the world in the coming days, weeks, months, and sadly, even years. So, we want to be as smart as possible. One simple way to save money is for us not to eat out. And of course simple does not necessarily mean easy.

So how will we continue to save money even with us both working? Well, prep work is definitely involved.

The plan is this! Our crock pot is about to get the workout of it’s life. And other than that I will have as many ready to go, easy to eat meals and snacks ready for us as I can without creating unnecessary waste. If we can have things prepped and ready to go for our work week, it’ll make sticking to our resolution that much easier. We were given a TON of food storage for my bridal shower so we have the storage to do it. All that’s left is making the food. This is what I came up with.

Mini Pot Pie

Filling:
1 lb meat of choice cubed (I used venison but you could use really any that you want)
5 C water (divided)
1/2 C peas
1/2 C corn
3 medium potatoes cubed
2 medium carrots, cubed
1 onion diced
dollop fresh garlic
pinch of rosemary
pinch of thyme
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tbsp cornstarch or flour

In a large skillet brown meat on high in a little olive oil or any fat of your choice, adding a little salt and pepper. Add onion and garlic, reduce to medium heat and cook until onions are caramelized. Add rosemary and thyme. Pour in 4 1/2 C water. Stir. Add vegetables and bay leaf. Cook on medium low heat until well cooked. Remove bay leaf. In a separate bowl mix 1/2 C cold water and 2 tbsp cornstarch. Bring pot back up to a full rolling boil and slowly add your water/cornstarch mix, stirring constantly as it will thicken very quickly. Turn off heat and set aside.

Simplest Pie Crust

2 1/4 C flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 C milk
1/2 C + 1 tbsp oil

Mix dry ingredients. Add liquid all at once, mix through. Roll out between wax paper or pie crust sheets. Voila! Done!

This pie crust recipe is simple, fool proof, and delicious. It is a little on the dense side which is what we want for these mini pot-pies as it would really stink to have the filling seep out from super fluffy pie crust!

So for the remainder of the recipe! I used a tart dish but you could use a muffin tin or actual mini pie tins. Roll out your pie crust and cut to fit your chosen pan. Fill with gravy mixture. Roll out a second layer of pie crust. Cut again. Place on top of each mini pie and pinch the edges to create a crust edge. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown. Remove from heat and let sit until cool. Remove from pan. Package and store as you like!

Next up! Bran muffins and breakfast biscuits! Keep checking in to get those recipes in the next couple weeks. And as always, take care and God bless!

Kimchi Fried Rice

1 1/2 C uncooked rice ($0.52)
3 C water (free-ish)
2 boneless skinless chicken thighs or equivalent of meat, cubed ($0.77)
2 small onions ($0.32)
1/2 C frozen peas ($0.16)
1/2 C diced carrots ($0.13)
1/2 C chopped kimchi ($1.34)
1 tbsp brown sugar ($0.02)
sriracha to taste
rice vinegar to taste
soy sauce to taste
1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger ($0.02)
1 tsp chopped fresh garlic ($0.06)
2 eggs ($0.22)
Total: $3.56

Whether in a rice cooker or a separate pot, combine water and rice. Make sure you rinse your rice ahead of time! In a separate skillet cook chicken on medium heat with a little olive oil or butter, your choice. When done add peas, carrots, and kimchi. Cook until heated through. In a bowl combine brown sugar, sriracha, rice vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic. Add meat and vegetables to sauce in bowl. In the skillet you used to cook the chicken and vegetables, cook eggs, stirring often to break up into small pieces. Add rice and vegetable mix. Fold through until thoroughly mixed. Serve with sriracha and enjoy!

This was my first attempted ever at making fried rice which is kind of funny considering how much Asian food I make otherwise and I’m decently pleased with how it turned out. It wasn’t the prettiest dish ever but it tasted AMAZING. There were no left overs and quite honestly I’m impatiently waiting until I can make it again! It was warm and comforting and just plain delicious.

If you know any tips or tricks to making fried rice please let me know in the comments. I’m always interested in learning something new! As always, take care and God bless.

Dirty Rice

Today a new challenge fell in my lap. Little did I know this morning when I asked my fiance what we should have for dinner I would be researching a food I’ve never made and creating a new recipe from scratch! See, this morning I asked Manny what we should have for dinner. In our house this means, pick a protein and I’ll do the rest and sometimes he’ll give me some ideas of what I could turn that protein into. He said I should make whatever we have the most of which is in fact venison. So I went in the freezer and grabbed the first package of venison I found which just happened to be a pound of venison hamburger. If you’re starting to get squicked out by the prospect of deer meat, take a deep breath. You don’t have to use venison. You can easily substitute traditional hamburger or even leave the meat out entirely to make a delicious vegan/vegetarian version of this meal!

We had gotten a rice cooker as a gift at my bridal shower and Manny has been dying to try it out so he suggested I make a big pot of rice, half it, make dirty rice tonight with the hamburger and tomorrow we can make fried rice (which will be another adventure I’ve never been on!) So that’s what I’m doing! Tonight is my version of Dirty Rice and tomorrow we’ll see how I do making Kimchi Fried Rice.

Sorry to have had to put the introduction before the recipe this time, but let’s get into it!

Dirty Rice

2 C uncooked rice ($0.70)
3 C water (free-ish)
1 C mixed frozen veggies (peas, corn, lima beans, green beans, and carrots) ($0.33)
1 can dark red kidney beans ($0.48)
1 lb hamburger ($3.71)**
pinch cayenne (< $0.01)
pinch black pepper (< $0.01)
1 tbsp paprika ($0.12)
1 tsp fresh garlic ($0.06)
1 small onion ($0.16)
cajun seasoning to taste (I used a lot… like a lot a lot.) ($0.05)
Total without beef: $1.90
Total with beef: $5.61

As mentioned above, I was working with a rice cooker, so first step is to start the rice. If you don’t have a rice cooker you can make your rice in a pot. Remember to rinse your rice though in order to get excess starch off and make the texture more pleasant.

In a separate pan brown hamburger with the spices and the onion. Strain kidney beans and add to pan along with vegetables when the meat is done browning. When rice is done add rice and mix. Eat and enjoy! We topped ours with Franks hot sauce and it was absolutely delicious!

As always, prices are an estimate. Obviously the venison also does have some cost as well. Best I could figure our venison cost about $0.58 a lb. This of course does not take into account time for hunting or processing. I come from a hunting family and hunt myself so it makes sense for us to use a lot of venison. All recipes involving venison can easily be made with beef or even pork sometimes.

Why venison?

For me, I’ve grown up hunting. It was a think I did with my papa before he passed away and a thing I continue to do with my dad. This year Manny decided to try it and although neither he nor I got deer it was still a fun experience and we will likely continue to hunt as we are able in the future. On a purely humane note, I like to hunt because I know how the animal was killed. If done correctly hunting can be very humane. Instead of living in big corporate pens, raised with the sole purpose to be someone’s meal some day, the deer get to live free and wild. A good shot can kill a deer with a single shot. This means the animal gets to live a free, wild life and have a humane death.

Venison is also really good for you. It is higher in protein than beef, with 26g per 3 oz as opposed to only 22g per 3 oz in beef. Additionally it has only 2.7g of fat per 3 oz serving instead of the whopping 13g in beef per 3 oz serving. Venison is high in vitamins B6 and B12 AND it’s high in iron too, making it a great choice for people who struggle with anemia. Plus, it’s organic and free of hormones and chemicals.

Whether you make this recipe with venison, beef, or no meat at all, it’s a delicious zippy meal to get you through on these chilly spring days. Let me know in the comments what you think! And as always, take care and God bless.

Banana bread without a bread pan

No bread pan? No problem. Use a saute pan! As always, we’ll get straight to the good stuff and jump right into the recipe.

B-nana bread

1/2 C oil ($0.24)
1 1/4 C sugar ($0.34)
2 eggs ($0.22)
1/2 C milk ($0.11)
1 C mashed bananas (roughly 3 bananas) ($0.58)
2 C flour ($0.66)
1 tsp soda (> $0.01)
3/4 tsp salt (< $0.01)
Total: $2.15

Cream sugar, oil, eggs, and milk. Add flour, soda, salt. Mix well. Add bananas, mix very well. Oil pan and add batter. Bake at 350 degrees until done. Because the saute pan cooks the bread thin it will cook much faster than a regular loaf of banana bread. Should be done in 30-45 minutes.

Does anything smell better baking in the oven than banana bread? It’s such a warm and comforting smell. I remember as a kid my mom making banana bread quite frequently and for me the smell conjures up such pleasant memories. Sometimes she’d add nuts but more often she’d add chocolate chips. This basic recipe has neither but as with all of my recipes, feel free to play around and make it your own.

If you need to go gluten free this recipe works well with standard mixed all purpose gluten free flour. It also does very well with a 50/50 mix of almond and coconut flours. Stevia is an easy substitute for the sugar as well. Want a more buttery flavor? Use butter instead of oil and substitute butter milk instead of milk. And lastly apple sauce instead of oil will keep it moist but reduce the fat content if that’s a thing you worry about.

Now, taking that fear of fat and throwing it straight out the window! Who loves butter on banana bread? I know I do! One of my favorite ways to eat banana bread when it is no longer fresh from the oven is to melt some butter in a non-stick pan and gently fry the slice of banana bread in it over medium heat. You can flip it. I find doing this gives the bread a delicious crunch and irresistible butter flavor, but uses less butter than if I just slathered it in cold butter. So a win-win!

Prefer banana cake to bread? Simple fix. Double the recipe on everything except the flour. Keep that at 2 C. Top with cream cheese frosting and voila! Delicious! Need a simple but delicious cream cheese frosting recipe? Well bonus, here one is!

Simplest Cream Cheese Frosting

1 package cream cheese (softened)
1 stick butter (softened)
2 tbsp vanilla
3 C powdered sugar

Mix well! I use the food processor attachment on our blender but you could mix using hand beaters or even just by hand. We have the food processor attachment though and I’ve gotten spoiled. Mix until smooth, spread on top of your cooled cake! Bam! Delicious desert!

Whatever you do, whether you make cake or bread; choose frosting, butter, or just pain; enjoy yourself. Play around a little! Add chocolate chips or nuts or something else entirely! If you’ve got a unique add to banana bread let me know in the comments! Let me know if you try the bread or the cake! Comments are love and as always, take care and God bless!