baking pumpkin pie with Jake

I'm not sure where Jake got the idea, but he mentioned to me a few times before Thanksgiving that he wanted to bake pumpkin pie. It worked out perfectly that we celebrated an early Thanksgiving two weeks early with one side of Deric's family, so the day beforehand Jake and I got started on our pies. It was a good opportunity to involve Jake on the whole process of reading the recipe, buying ingredients at the store and then doing the actual baking and I knew he'd like having more responsibility in the process.

So first, we read through the recipe and jotted down a list to take to the grocery store...plus a couple extra things we needed. (I had a back up list on my phone in case I forgot what we needed because that handwriting is so cute but sometimes hard to decipher ;) )

Let's see if I can remember...
"pie crust
1 can pumpkin
2 cans (evaporated) milk"
...continued on the back

Then Jake and I headed to the store by ourselves and he got to push the cart and navigate the aisles to find what we needed.

Trying to find pumpkin pie puree amidst alllll the pie filling choices!

Can't get over him trying to read his own writing!

Back home we got right to work on the pies! The recipe was so simple and perfect for Jake to really help with. He's helped me bake for a while and I'm trying to give him more freedom and responsibility lately-- more than simply dumping and mixing ingredients. We can laugh now about the time he was sitting on the counter and broke an egg on his lap. It wasn't funny in the moment but now he thinks it is. And now he's learned to crack the eggs over the bowl, a lesson we all figured out at some point!

One of my favorite things about our house is this big counter that has room for both boys to help me bake. I'm not the "fun imaginative play" parent in the household but I figure it balances out when my activities ends with something good to eat! ;)

Jake's pies turned out great and he got so many kind compliments from our family that next day. I tried a tiny slice but pumpkin pie is just not my thing! Thankfully the rest of the family were big fans and we went home with only two slices left, one for the chef and one for his pumpkin-pie loving dad.

Whole30 wrap up + a plot twist

Tomorrow is the last day of Whole30 for this household. Man, was that a long month! ;) Deric still has about a week of reintroduction to do, but the hardest part is over. Looking back, I'm proud of myself and of Deric for disciplining ourselves enough to stick to it. It was quite the experiment but I am honest to goodness so glad that its complete.

Overall, unfortunately it was not a good experience for me. Deric didn't really enjoy it either, for some of the same reasons as me (I'll get to that in a sec). He's pretty sure he lost around ten pounds and I can tell. I actually noticed before he did so the other day at one of my doctor appointments, he snuck on the scale after I did to confirm my suspicions. Ha! 

As for my experience, I didn't reap any of the benefits that originally motivated me to try Whole30 in the first place: increased energy and relief from chronic constipation (I know that's TMI, but if you've been pregnant you know how it goes..). (I'll also refer to it as 'digestion' from here on out so as not to be totally gross.) To be fair to Whole30 however, I only completed the first six days without dairy. On day six I talked to my doctor and she asked me to keep some dairy in my diet for the calcium. So I added milk and cheese back in, as those two are the only dairy items without added sugar. For the next two weeks, my digestion actually got much worse. Dairy and bread are the two main culprits for slow digestion so I assumed that the one week without dairy allowed my system to heal at least a little and then adding dairy back in sent it a little crazy again. It was a miserable few weeks, whatever the reasoning. I stuck to Whole30's guidelines in every other way during this time and did experience more stable energy levels throughout the day, most noticeably during the afternoon. More often than not, I would nap while Jake napped but I went a week or so without needing to nap at this point. 

Twelve days into Whole30, I had to take the glucose tolerance test because I was 28 weeks along. There was no way around it and so I did the test, experienced a sugar headache the next day and erratic sleep for two nights, and was back to normal a day or so later. And then the doctor called and told me I failed the test, so on day 15 I had to take the three hour glucose test. I just hoped that the major influxes of sugar wouldn't totally set back my hard-earned progress, as halfway through the program is when the 'tiger blood' phase begins: when your energy is up, your system is functioning at its highest capability, and you're feeling great. I never really felt like I could take on the world at this point (and neither did Deric), but I'll blame it on pregnancy for myself. 

Around the third week of Whole30, my previously stable energy levels totally dropped off. I'd sit on the couch and feel like I couldn't even lift my arms. I woke up in the morning feeling like I'd been run over, even after going to bed earlier than normal. I figured it must be a growth spurt for the baby or something, but then the doctor called and said I'd failed the three hour glucose test. I was therefore diagnosed with gestational diabetes and this past Wednesday, we went to the doctor for a crash course in treating diabetes. Turns out, that was definitely the cause of my low, low energy. Maintaining a consistent amount of carbohydrates in your system is crucial for stabilizing blood sugar and on Whole30, I ate very little carbs: only those in potatoes (which I had maybe 4-5 times each week) and in fruit. I also realized around this time that eggs and meat can also contribute to slow digestion (yep, still dealing with that at this point) and because of Whole30, I'd had eggs and meat every single morning for breakfast--something I had maybe once a week for breakfast prior to this. So the upswing in iron from eggs and meat weren't helping my digestion, and the lack of carbs was killing my blood sugar. 

At this point, I quit Whole30. With gestational diabetes, it was no longer safe to eliminate so many carbs. I didn't reintroduce dairy, grains or gluten according to the Whole30 guidelines (which are structured so that you can really pay attention to how each food group affects your system), but rather I watched my portions and ate what I needed to to maintain blood sugar. And so far, I've been fine on that front. My digestion has actually improved in the last few days as well. I attribute that improvement to the reintroduction of oatmeal (good source of fiber) and Greek yogurt (good for probiotics) and elimination of eggs for breakfast, at least for a week or so. Since my appointment on Wednesday, I've been keeping a food journal and testing blood sugar four times a day and am well within the parameters set for gestational diabetes. Things are looking up.

All of my wonderful pregnancy issues aside: towards the third week of Whole30 (before we knew about the diabetes) Deric and I both were so mentally exhausted from Whole30. While we appreciated the discipline of the program, it had become too obsessive for us. Whole30 is supposed to help eliminate cravings for junk food, but Deric and I both started to obsess over the foods we couldn't wait to have when we were finished. (Salty snacks and Reese's for him; anything bread related for me). Whole30 definitely got in the way of our social life for two reasons: 1) we had to be pretty picky about restaurants (as mentioned in my last post about all this) and 2) we were spending so much on groceries that it wasn't worth it to spend money on eating out when all we could eat at restaurants was grilled chicken on salad. (I realize there are plenty of other things to do with friends but in our area, eating out is the most popular option. It is what it is.) While we felt like we were becoming obsessive about the foods we couldn't have, we were also becoming obsessive about food in general. I was at the grocery store probably every other day, plus I spent so much more time in the kitchen for meal prep that these major time sucks started to really interfere with our daily routine. And the cherry on top: I just tallied up our grocery bill for the last thirty days. An average monthly grocery bill (which includes household items like toilet paper, etc.) for us is just under $400, but this month we spent $656. Ouchhhhhhh. That's an expensive experiment. 

So in closing of a very lengthy post, Deric is still finishing out the reintroduction phase right now so he can see how his system handles each food group. I'm now eating a diabetic diet in an attempt to control blood sugar without insulin. Maybe the best part of all of this is that while the diabetic diet is pretty strict, its nowhere near Whole30! So I actually feel like I've got a good amount of freedom even as I watch my carbs closely. 

Even though our experience with Whole30 wasn't overwhelmingly positive, I do still respect the program and support the creators' vision to help people detox their systems and understand their bodies better. We can all use more fruits, veggies and protein!

Peppers + Pasta

Our humble garden has been consistently handing over a few veggies at a time throughout this summer. A couple green beans here, some tomatoes there...its not enough to make a complete salad, but enough to top off a burger, throw in with some pasta, etc. Its the perfect size for a starter garden and we've got bigger and better plans for next summer's garden (which will be doubled in size).
Our latest harvest consisted of three palm-sized peppers: one fully green, two a Christmas-y mix of red and green (and not fully ready for harvest, we noted). We used the peppers in one of our all-time favorite pastas: sausage and pepper penne. Originally from one of those checkout counter magazines, we dumbed down the recipe and it now takes all of fifteen minutes start to finish.

You'll need: penne pasta (we use a full box so that we have leftovers); a jar of pasta sauce, 1-3 green peppers depending on size, half an onion, and one fully cooked kielbasa sausage.
Prepare the pasta as directed. Chop the peppers into bite-size pieces. Chop the onion. Slice the sausage. On medium heat in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add sausage, onion and pepper and cook until vegetables are soft and sausage is heated through, about 5 minutes. Add the entire jar of pasta sauce (remember, we make leftovers). Let simmer for about 2 minutes until sauce is heated.

Serve over pasta, topped with parmesan cheese.

Easy, right? And delicious to boot, especially when you have the privilege of eating peppers you grew yourself!

Maple Roasted Chicken & Sweet Potatoes

Yet again, I found a great recipe through Pinterest. Originally from Real Simple, this recipe was posted on Handle the Heat. It was an easy meal to make: throw in some bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, chop up two sweet potatoes and a yellow onion, add spices and let it cook for an hour or so. [Well, basically. That's not the actual recipe.]

 via Handle the Heat

Deric and Chad both loved it, but then again, that doesn't tell you much. They'll eat anything they don't have to prepare. And poor Chad only eats frozen meals (or fast food) when he doesn't eat with us.

ready to go in the oven

My verdict? Very good-- the chicken was sweet and flavorful; the sweet potatoes and onions were really soft. An added bonus is the very short preparation time-- maybe fifteen minutes to chop everything, flavor it and throw it together. Next time, I'll probably add an extra sweet potato because I thought the potatoes and onions were a little too soft from absorbing the chicken juice. An extra potato would probably fix that problem. (Side note: be sure to stir the dish once while cooking! I forgot, hence the burned edges of anything touching the side of the dish.)

Overall, the recipe was a success. I'm always happy when I find a recipe I can add to my not-so-limited-anymore-thanks-to-Pinterest rotation of meals. And Deric and Chad are happy, too.

What to Do with a Bushel of Apples

This post is really, really late, but I had forgotten about it until I saw the pictures in iPhoto. My Grandad brought us a huge bag of apples when he came down for Thanksgiving (told you- late!). They're from his orchard and I don't remember what types of apples they were, but they were delicious. The only problem was that there was no way Deric and I could get through all the apples before they went bad if we only ate a few a day.

So, I figured this would be a good time to try making applesauce in the crockpot. When I googled 'crockpot applesauce', so many results came up that it was hard to narrow it down and pick someone's recipe. I ended up choosing Megan's recipe over at What Megan's Making. Her website is full of recipes and mouthwatering pictures (which I have not yet mastered, sorry).

Making applesauce in the crockpot is so easy. A ton of apples (literally) + water/apple juice + sugar + cinnamon + a pinch of salt = applesauce. The only drawback is peeling and slicing all the apples. I don't have one of those fancy peeler/slicer gadgets, so this was a little labor-intensive.

But after all the peeling and slicing, all I had to do was throw it together in the crockpot and let it cook on low for four hours. At the end of the four hours, I mashed the apples and added a bit more cinnamon. Done!

We had so much applesauce that we ate it for days. It was a good, healthy go-to snack---beats the tortilla chips I usually reach for. Next fall, I'll certainly be making more applesauce. And I'll be freezing plenty of it to have on hand through the winter. I need more healthy food after all the holiday sweets. Anyone else going through candy withdrawal?

Recipe: Chai Tea

Also known (by me) as...

I was introduced to chai tea by Arin, a friend of Deric's from his days at camp. She used to make it for Deric and it was one of his favorites, so she passed along the recipe to me when Deric and I got married.

This fall, Deric let me try some of his chai tea latte from Starbucks and of course, I loved it. Before that, there were only two drinks I'd get from Starbucks: frappucinos for the summer and hot chocolate for the winter. But their hot chocolate isn't actually that good, so winters were kind of a bummer. (Side note: We get Starbucks less than five times a year. The introduction of chai tea lattes is really testing my willpower.)

Anyways, back to homemade chai tea. Chai tea really tastes like Christmas to me-- the ginger and cardamom make it nice and spicy but still sweet. Its perfect, and a welcome reprieve from my almost-daily hot chocolate (most people drink coffee in the morning-- I drink hot chocolate).

Here's Arin's recipe for chai tea (serves two).

1/2 cup water
1 bag of tea
1 stick cinnamon
2 cups milk
2 tbs. raw sugar or honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
(optional: I sometimes add a dash of allspice for extra Christmas-ness:))

In a small saucepan, combine water, tea, and cinnamon. Bring to boiling.

Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for five minutes. Discard tea bag and cinnamon.

Stir milk, sugar/honey, vanilla, ginger and cardamom into tea.

Stir over medium heat just until mixture is heated. Don't boil.

Serve in Christmas-themed mugs. Turn on your Christmas lights and some Christmas carols, and you're good to go!

White Chicken Chili

Ya'll have to try this recipe for White Chicken Chili. It'll take you two seconds to find it: search for 'white chicken chili' on Google and its the first (second, if you count the ad) link that pops up. Its Cha Cha's White Chicken Chili recipe from allrecipes.com, and it is absolutely wonderful. And easy. And quick. If you don't believe me, check out the comments on the bottom of the recipe. Each review raved about it, even if they did turn down the spicyness a bit. I'm not a huge fan of spicy so I followed the advice of a few comments.

I omitted the jalapeno peppers and cayenne pepper that the recipe called for, but left everything else the same. It turned out perfectly-- a slight kick (as there should be with chili), tons of flavor, and just enough broth to soak up with cheese and tortilla chips.

With preparations included, it probably took thirty minutes to cook the chili (fifteen of which were letting it simmer). Deric, Chad and I devoured the pot of chili and an entire bag of tortilla chips while watching Fast Five-- their Redbox pick, not mine (although I did actually like it).

All three of us decided this chili is a must-make-again-next-week kind of meal. Ok, maybe not that soon, but it'll certainly appear multiple times over the coming winter months. I love finding good recipes and adding them to my repertoire!

P.S. Deric and I realized today that we haven't had spaghetti in at least a month. We're either eating out a lot more or I'm getting much better at cooking!

Crockpot Orange Chicken

Despite the high of 80 degrees today, I broke out the crockpot to try the Crockpot Orange Chicken that I've seen floating around Pinterest. Deric loves any meal thats fixed in a crockpot and he loves rice, so I figured I couldn't go wrong with this recipe. Plus, I challenged myself to try a new recipe each week during September so I had to keep that up.

I read through the comments on the recipe before starting anything and I'm glad I did. One reader recommended adding a few extra ingredients such as ginger, soy sauce, and the like. So I added a few things I thought would work and played around with it until it tasted good. Deric liked it too, so we can add Crockpot Orange Chicken to my repertoire!

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

One of my goals for September is to try a new recipe at least once each week. I thought this would be a challenge for me because I'm more picky than I realized, but I've done pretty well this month. Last week I tried Spinach Lasagna Rolls from The Girl Who Ate Everything. I haven't worked up the courage yet to try making a real lasagna, but the rolls are easy. 

Considering I don't love spinach or ricotta cheese (the only two ingredients in the filling), I thought these were pretty good. The multiple layers of lasagna in each roll made the filling not as dense as I'd expected. The recipe says you can put chicken in too, so next time I'll try that. But with a side of garlic bread, I give Spinach Lasagna Rolls a seven out of ten. Deric and Chad (our next-town neighbor/friend from college/ guy who always shows up right around dinnertime) agree, although they both want meat in the rolls next time. Chad almost wouldn't eat them when he found out they were 'vegetarian'. Deric made some joke about eating vegetarians, an unfortunate trait he's picked up from my dad. Thanks, Dad. :)

Lame vegetarian jokes aside, these are delicious and easy to make. They've officially been added to my slowly-growing repertoire. 

Recipes Made Fun

There's something about meal planning that I just hate. I love learning to cook a new dish, but I hate looking for recipes, trying to find sides that go with a main dish, etc. Maybe its because I'm a pickier eater than I like to think and so I'm scared of trying a recipe only to hate it. (Baking, on the other hand, is entirely different-- anything with bread and sugar is good with me.)

I was browsing blogs today, just like any day, and came across a genius idea: They Draw and Cook. Its a compilation of illustrated recipes sent in from all over the world. Here's a few of my favorites (illustrations, not necessarily recipes):

images

Isn't that a great idea? I'll be much more willing to search for recipes when they're all prettied up for me :)    

Fried Fungi

I got home from work the other day and sitting on the kitchen counter was a bowl of what I swore were brains of some sort. They were floating in dirty brown water and I couldn't figure out for the life of me where they'd come from. I asked Deric what they were and he calmly replied, "Morels." I've never heard of morels so I had to ask for a little more information. He told me (and I'm sure all of you know this already) that morels are mushrooms that grow up here in the spring and are apparently pretty tasty.

 A guy at work had given them to Deric so he was going to fry them later for dinner. I went ahead with my plans for dinner 'cause there was no way I was eating mushrooms, especially when they looked like little brains.

Deric's mom came over later than night and ended up helping him fry the morels. (I have to admit, they smelled pretty good-- but then again, anything frying smells good.) They both ate the morels and said they tasted good, especially with ranch, but I couldn't bring myself to try one. I'm sure the taste would be fine, but the texture.. Blech. Guess I missed out, but I'm alright with it. No fungi for me:)

My Very Own Steak 'N' Shake

Chef Deric is at it again. I love love love coming home to dinner ready and waiting for me. This time, Deric made frisco melts a la Steak 'N' Shake, my favorite restaurant. I'd never experienced Steak 'N' Shake until I visited a friend in Ohio a few years ago, and since we've been in Indiana this past year I've gone to Steak 'N' Shake more than a person should in their entire life. Its just so good and so cheap that its hard not to go (until I remind myself that its probably the most unhealthy food you could ever eat). Greasy burgers, greasy fries...delicious.

Back to Deric. He looked up a recipe for frisco melts and its fairly simple so he gave it a go. The burgers turned out pretty well except that we didn't get the right kind of cheese. We had provolone when we should have used Swiss, I believe. But they were still good. No fries to accompany it, however. I need to start cutting back :)

Cookies & Stir-Fry

Well, so much for my weekend full of projects. I spent most of the weekend doing absolutely nothing, i.e. catching up on episodes of Raising Hope, sleeping/napping, and watching the Butler/Florida game at Chili's with Deric. (Side note: Eating only bottomless chips & dip and a Coke + 3 refills for dinner isn't a great idea.) It was a great weekend, but I went back and forth between enjoying being lazy and wishing I had the energy to get something done. But then I thought about the upcoming week and the exhaustion caused by 2 1/2 year olds, and I didn't feel so bad.

I made up for my laziness a little on Sunday night, however. If you'll glance over to the right of this here blog, you'll notice that I follow Elizabeth @ Lizzy Writes. I don't actually know her, but I wish I did. She went to culinary school and therefore has some seriously good recipes. I've tried a few of them before and always liked the dishes. So on Sunday night, Deric and I made her stir-fry pasta for dinner. Its a perfect dinner for us because Deric loves anything stir-fried whereas I love anything with pasta. Needless to say, we both loved the recipe and will have it again.

Didn't stop there, though. Deric innocently picked up a bag of chocolate chips at Walmart knowing full well that I would end up baking chocolate chip cookies. He claimed the chips were so he could make chocolate chip pancakes, but he knows I hate them and would rather make cookies so that I don't miss out on the chocolate. So, back to Lizzy Writes for her so, so, so good chocolate chip cookies. I've never been able to make chocolate chip cookies that stay soft after they cool, and her recipe solved my dilemma. I froze most of the dough and every day this week, I've heated up five or six cookies and we've shared them. Before dinner, which is definitely when they taste the best.

I've got at least four or five more of Elizabeth's recipes written down and waiting for me (or Deric, since he cooks now...). But not tonight. We've been saving an Olive Garden gift card since Christmas and we can't wait any longer :)

Chef in the Making

While there are many drawbacks to working full-time after getting used to being home and doing whatever I wanted, there's definitely at least one perk: Deric makes dinner now! When I wasn't working, it was obviously my job to get dinner going. But now I don't get home until at least 6:30 and Deric's usually home by 4:00, so if we want to eat before 8:00, Deric's got to take over. I think he actually enjoys cooking more than I do. I'd rather bake. He's so good at timing it to be ready right when I walk in the door, too. I never got the timing down and would have to make him wait for a while. Always felt bad about that.

Anywho, tonight I came home to a brand-new meal that neither of us had eaten or made before: fettucine carbonara, a la Joy of Cooking.

Definitely not good for you, but it tastes good! I was impressed. Deric says he likes cooking because he's never really had to do it before and he likes experimenting with recipes. I say, have at it. I get to reap the benefits :)

Pizza Sundays

Deric and I started a tradition without even realizing it: Pizza Sundays! Pretty simple, pretty self-explanatory. But I'll explain anyways;)

After church, all we can think about is food and a glorious, three-hour long nap (not kidding). Now, I hate boring sandwiches and Deric has sandwiches every day at work, but we definitely don't want to make anything that requires a lot of time (or dishes), so we always end up making pizza. Its perfect: takes about twenty minutes start to finish, it's deeelicious, and there's hardly any dishes. And even better, its super cheap thanks to Walmart's $0.40 pizza crust. So without fail, every Sunday has become Pizza Sunday.

So good.

I've realized that while I've had more experience making "real" meals, Deric's pizzas are always better than mine. No idea why, but his pizzas always have that perfect ratio of sauce + cheese and his crust is always better too. He tries to deny it, however, saying that he can't taste the difference...but I think that's because he just wants a head start on his three-hour nap :)