Egg casserole

12 eggs
1.5-2 pounds sausage
2 jicama, peeled, shredded, drained
1 pepper, diced
1/4 onion, diced

Cooked jicama in a hot pan with a little oil like hash browns.  Add some salt and pepper.  Brown sausage. When nearly cooked through, add onion and pepper until slightly tender.  Combine jicama and sausage mixture together and put into one 9x13 pan, or separate into two 8x8 pans.  Pour beaten eggs over the mixture.  Bake at 350 until egg is cooked through, about 30 minutes.  If split into two pans, one pan can be frozen (up to a couple months) to bake later.

spicy "cheese"burger soup

The original recipe has been around for a while - and to be honest, I'm not sure where my mom got this recipe.  I think it came out of a magazine - maybe Country Living.  Anyway, it's been around for a while.  I made it a few times in the first couple years Storm and I were married.  Then our eating changed, and I basically stopped making it.  A big part of the recipe is processed American cheese - so that doesn't really jive with eating REAL food, and it is definitely NOT part of Whole30.

I was making out our menu for all of January, and I noticed that I had put soup on Friday.  Nothing says "fun family night!" like soup.  And usually soup does not go over well with the boys, so I thought maybe I should try to think of a fun soup recipe.  I suddenly thought of that old cheeseburger soup I used to make!  But I knew that I would have to make some modifications to fit into Whole30.  So, I took a stab at it.  I wanted to replace the flour that the recipe calls for (in the past I would substitute cornstarch, but you can't do that with Whole30), and I also had beef bouillon, milk and cheese to contend with.  For things like soup, almond milk does not really help a whole lot.  It's not overly creamy or thick.  Full-fat coconut milk (in a can) is a lot better, and I have used it to make a homemade tomato soup before.  I thought maybe for more flavor I could also add in some tomato sauce.  THEN, I read that coconut milk and tomato sauce together give a cheese type flavor... so, in my mind it was done.  This is what I came up with, and I hoped for the best.  Well, it was delicious!  Everybody ate it - no complaints!

So here is my version (Whole30) for Spicy Cheeseburger Soup:

1 1/2 cups water
2 small carrots, grated
2 cups cubed peeled potatoes
1-2 cups chopped broccoli
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 pound, ground beef, drained (I didn't drain ours since I used grass fed)
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Combine water, carrots, potatoes, broccoli, onion, pepper, garlic and salt in a stockpot.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.   Stir in the cooked beef and heat through.  Shake the can of coconut milk.  Stir together coconut milk and tomato sauce.  Add the tomato milk mixture to the pot and bring to a boil and stir.  Add 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper.  Add and stir in bacon, or use as a garnish.  Serve.  6-8 servings.

a new chapter...

So, over the last year or so our family has changed how we eat.  I look at most of the recipes I've posted so far, a while I still think they taste delicious, they are not a representation of what we eat now.  I also don't like using the "main" blog to talk about myself much.  It's generally more about Owen and now Finn.  And that's okay with me.  But I think that sometimes it's nice to write out what is going on in my life (my personal, free therapy) and these days, other than the boys, that is food and exercise.  I do not know everything or claim to, but now it's time to write down the recipes that make up our lives now and one of the things I take time to do for me - workouts!  So, here will be "Katie World"... sharing ideas about food, how we are eating, workouts, goals in life and such.  We shall see.  It could possibly be a year until I post in here again, but I hope not.  Being healthy is big for us, so it would be wonderful to mark it down, track our "progress", keep all those healthy thoughts and ideas in one place.  So, starting now "The Online Recipe Box" is... I'm not sure yet.  But I will come up with something I am sure.  Look forward to delicious food shown in a new light.  Inspiring workout goals.  HAHA!  No, don't.  But please feel free to peak in on this part of my life that does take up a lot of time and energy, and is something that I am becoming more and more passionate about. 

Banana Walnut Muffins

Okay, so the name may be a little misleading, but essentially these are muffins that have bananas and walnuts in them... and not much else!  These are very easy.  Almost all the sweetness comes from the bananas!  These are a little dense, but very healthy... and nice and quick for a grab-and-go snack.

(Disclaimer:  I've only made these once, so I may experiment a little more, but Storm loved them, so they probably wouldn't change much)

2 bananas, mashed or pureed
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups walnuts, crushed (best if blended to where the oils are starting to be released)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Place into greased muffin tin and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Three Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake

1 1/2 cups whole wheat penne pasta, uncooked
1 pkg (9 oz) fresh spinach leaves
1/2 lb boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tsp chopped basil leaves
1 jar (14.5 oz) spaghetti sauce
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
2 oz light cream cheese, cubed
1 cup shredded mozzarella, divided
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Cook pasta as directed on package, adding spinach to the boiling water for the last one minute.

Cook and stir chicken and basil in a large non-stick skillet on medium-high heat for 3 minutes.  Add spaghetti sauce and tomatoes, bring to a boil.  Simmer 3 minutes or until chicken is done.  Stir in cream cheese.

Drain pasta mixture; return to pan.  Stir in chicken mixture, and 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese.  Spoon in to a 2-quart or 8 inch square baking dish.

Bake 20 minutes.  Sprinkle with remaining cheeses.  Bake 3 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

*This dish could be gluten-free if switching out whole wheat pasta with a brown rice or corn pasta.

yummy peanut butter cookies

... and they're gluten free too!

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Makes 2 1/2 dozen.

I just tried these, and they are great! We don't usually have "sweet treats," but it's nice to have an easy and simple option!

Mexican Hot Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love Mexican hot chocolate. And I love chocolate chip cookies. Two of my favorite things together can't be that bad! And they are not! I have been going through a cinnamon craze and have been baking with it like crazy! I thought one of my favorite drinks (with cinnamon) could make a good cookie - this is what I came up with!

2 sticks melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 1/4 cinnamon
1/4 - 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 9-11 minutes.