Back to School Gear Up

                              

Today has been a very productive day I must say. Much like most parents in the country, I am gearing up to send my children off to school tomorrow morning (YES!!...not really, I will miss them.) Today I have made homemade tomato sauce (lovingly simmered all day as if made by a little Italian grandmother), I have made mini meatballs for lunches later this week, chicken salad (again for lunches), a slow-roasted chicken which will be on the blog tomorrow, and I have two loaves of banana bread in the oven, and have cooked the bacon for the Urban Poser's Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies! 

I'd say that school prep is coming along swimmingly for my 4 kiddos (2 high schoolers and 2 elementary). And of course God has a sense of humor, so they all have to be out the door for school at the same time. This does make getting them fed easier since they are all on the same schedule. But, it also means that I don't have a ton of time to be cranking out pancakes either (although, I'm sure they wish that I did!) What works best for us to have breakfast basics pre-made and ready to go. In another life, my kids loved cereal--Captain Crunch, Cheerios, if it was full of "whole grains" and full of sugar, you can bet they loved it. The problem was that even before I changed the way we eat, I was fed up with buying it because a serving wasn't enough to fill them up, and they would go through a box each morning. I was tired of buying it. Fast forward to now, and with the modern miracle of Pinterest, I have found a few great paleo cereal recipes that are grain free, and low sugar. They best part is that they are filling, and my kids love them. Here are the two favorites: Cinnamon Pecan Crunch-Cavegirl Cuisine and Fruit & Chocolate Cereal With Honey Almond Clusters-Fast Paleo. Both of these are awesome, our favorite is the Cinnamon Pecan Crunch, and she has a few more recipes that I am going to make to add to the rotation. 

Another breakfast staple in the Polizzotti home are Mini Quiche. They are super easy to make, and my kids love them paired with fresh fruit salad. I will make these on a Sunday, and since I am feeding an army, I double the recipe, and make a ton so they can just grab them out of the fridge for breakfast throughout the week. This started out as a recipe that I got from my Mom, and over time it has morphed into something that we all love. So, without further adieu, I give you, Mini Quiche.

Equipment needed: Mini muffin pan. Mine makes 24.

Mini Quiche

1 pound of breakfast sausage OR 1 pound of uncured bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

1 bunch of green onions, cleaned and chopped

1 clove of garlic, through garlic press, or finely minced

1 1/2 cups of baby spinach, finally chopped OR 1 cup of finely chopped broccoli

1 cup of cheddar cheese (I use an organic, cheese from pasture raised, grass fed cows)

12 eggs

1 cup of milk (again, organic, and grass-fed cows)

1/2 tsp of sea salt

1/2 tsp pepper

olive oil for brushing the insides of the muffin pan.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brush olive oil inside the muffin tins and set aside. In a large skillet over med-high heat, brown your sausage, using a spoon to break it up into small pieces. While the sausage is cooking, in a large bowl, combine your veggies and cheese and set aside. 

When the sausage is cooked, remove from heat, and allow to cool down for about 5 minutes. While the sausage is cooling, in another bowl whisk together your eggs, milk, and S&P. 

After the sausage has cooled for 5 minutes, combine with the veggies and cheese (or combine your bacon with the veggies and cheese.) Spoon a scant tablespoon of the meat-veggie-cheese mixture into each cup of the muffin tin. 

Carefully pour the egg-milk mixture over the meat-veggies-cheese so that there is maybe 1/4-1/8" of room from the top.

                          

Place the pan in your preheated oven, and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until they have puffed up and are golden brown, or until the centers are set. Remove from oven, and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing. 

After they are completely cooled, I place them in Ziploc bags and place into the refrigerator for breakfasts for the week. I have not personally froze these before, but my mom has tried to freeze hers and they were watery when she reheated them, so I do not recommend freezing. They should last a week in the fridge, but not really, because they will be gone before then! 

So, there you have it. Back to school gear up made easy. Good luck to everyone who has little ones, and not so little ones returning to school this year!

**I used sausage and spinach in these quiches. My kids hands down prefer the bacon though. In regard to the broccoli, be forewarned the broccoli will be pungent. My kids do not like the broccoli quiche, so if you are making these for picky eaters, definitely use the spinach! 

Also, due to the cheese and milk, these are not strict paleo, but still grain free. I would not omit the cheese, because that is what kind of constitutes quiche. Just be sure to use good quality ingredients. Good luck, and eat well. 

What to make the evening before you absolutely must go grocery shopping...

This was a quick meal that I pulled together with what I had on hand right before I absolutely needed to go grocery shopping. I love these kinds of meals because I almost feel as if I am on "Chopped," having to prepare an edible, tasty meal out of random ingredients, and these kinds of meals are usually the best meals too. I still am not sure what to call this, so I will just call it Red Chili Beef. I paired it with these awesome flat breads which happen to have a resemblance to flour tortillas. The recipe for them is here: 3 Ingredient Paleo Naan (Indian Bread) - My Heart Beets 

Red Chili Beef

2 pounds of grass fed ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, smashed, peeled, and minced

2 carrots, peeled and grated

1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 TBS coconut oil

1 1/2 cups Red Enchilada Sauce (I used El Pato)

1/2 tsp sea salt

This is super easy. Heat oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add ground beef, and begin to brown. Use a large spoon to break up the meat as it browns. After two minutes, add the onion, garlic, carrots, red bell pepper, and sea salt. Continue to cook, stirring to make sure the meat browns evenly until the meat is fully cooked. Add the enchilada sauce and give a good stir to combine, reduce heat to low, and continue to cook until the sauce is completely heated through. Serve with the flatbread or tortilla of your choice, and chopped tomatoes, green onions, and whatever other favorite taco toppings you have on hand (salsa, guac, etc.) I gave mine a squeeze of lime before serving.

This meal received an overwhelming thumbs up from all four of my kiddos. It was super quick to throw together (30 minutes or less), and I was able to make it while taking an important phone call, so it is almost impossible to screw up. What I like most is the fact that it is filled with veggies. It paired really well with the flat bread, and trust me, you must try that recipe because they were so delicious, and you won't even miss regular tortillas! Eat well, and be well...

Wild Alaskan Salmon with Lemon & Garlic Pan Potatoes

As of late I have been really missing living in Washington State. I miss the weather (seriously), I miss the Sound, I miss the mountains, and I miss the trees along with the beautiful trails on which one could run. And, let's face it, for a foodie, it doesn't get much better than living in the PACNW. Within 30 minutes of my home I had a butcher who sold grass fed beef and sugar free jerky, sausage, and bacon;  I had a health/natural foods market, and Trader Joe's. In the summer we had glorious farmer's markets with gorgeous local produce, meats, and wild caught fish, and in the fall we had apple orchards, and pumpkin patches. Getting wild-caught, Alaskan Salmon was easy, and not a drain on the pocket book.  I love cold water fish. Salmon, trout, steelhead...they are the best. I have even caught them myself (with the exception of salmon), gutted, cleaned, and cooked them up, because this girl can fish. It was the ability to go fishing in mountain lakes and streams, and the ability to be able to obtain wild salmon that perhaps made me not want to leave the most. 

So you can imagine my joy when I happened upon some wild caught Alaskan Salmon (from the Copper River of all places) in the freezer section of my local grocery...here in Texas. I was practically doing summersaults in the aisle! So, of course I bought some. 

I had initially hoped to pair it with roasted sweet potatoes, but I forgot that I had already used them. Since potatoes seem to be caveman acceptable these days, I peeled some up, and pan cooked them in bacon grease, and added some green beans with toasted almonds on the side. This meal was simple, but seriously, out of the park..and it truly helped that it was a rainy day, so I truly felt like I was transported out west.

                          

Roasted Wild Alaskan Salmon

24 oz Sockeye Salmon Filet *this recipe makes 6 servings or some serious leftovers

1 TBS Coconut Aminos or wheat free Tamari

2 tsp Texas Pete's hot sauce

1/4 tsp granulated garlic

pinch of sea salt

8 grinds of freshly cracked pepper

The juice of half of a lemon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Combine all ingredients except the salmon in a small bowl, and stir to combine. Place salmon skin side down on the prepared baking sheet, and carefully pour the marinade over the top of the fish making sure to coat evenly (use a pastry brush if you need to to cover the entire surface of the meat). Place into oven and cook for 15 minutes, or until fish flakes easily.

Pan Roasted Potatoes with Lemon & Garlic

6 large potatoes (pick your poison, yukon gold, red, or russet), peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cut into 1 inch slices.

2 TBS bacon grease

3/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp pepper

4 cloves of garlic, peeled, and smashed into pieces

The juice of half of a lemon

1 TBS of fresh, flat leaf parsley chopped

Heat bacon grease in a large, cast iron skillet over med-high heat. Add the potatoes, and fry stirring every few minutes. Once they begin to brown, reduce heat to medium, and add the garlic and S&P. Continue cooking for about 25 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender (cooking time may vary depending on the type of potato you use). Squeeze lemon juice over the potatoes, and stir in parsley. Serve warm with your choice of protein.