An easy, low clean-up meal for tough days

I know? Appetizing, right? But really, I swear it's yummy!

I am a big believer in using reusable everything. But there are just days when a girl has got to use paper plates. I'm talking about days when the kiddo is sick, hubby is tired, and mama is too darn pregnant to cook or clean. But what is the point of using paper plates when you have to wash the pots and pans anyway? Eating out gets expensive (not to mention unhealthy!). So what's a girl to do?

Enter the foil dinner!

Basically, I just threw a seasoned hamburger patty, chopped up potatoes (wash them first!), carrots, onion, and cabbage in a piece of foil and threw it in the oven at 350-400 for however long it takes (an hour for me, but my oven is slow). I'm not normally a big cabbage fan, but it is super yummy in this. It takes on the flavor from the meat.

Serve on recycled paper plates with plastic silverware (I know, bad greenie!) and the only dish you have to wash is the knife you used to cut veggies!

Spaghetti Squash Dinner

This is a really easy and super DELICIOUS grain free meal. Plus it smells like pizza while it's cooking!

To cook the spaghetti squash, you just cut it in half, scoop out the seeds like a pumpkin, lay the cut side down in a pan and add a little water. Bake it at around 350-400 for an hour (depending on your oven). Or you can put it in a glass pan (cut side down with a little water in the bottom as above) and microwave it for around fifteen minutes. This comes out a little more clumpy, but it was good in a hurry.

In the meantime, put a little olive oil, half a chopped bell pepper, half a chopped onion, and a pound of ground beef in a pan to cook on the stove. Add liberal amounts of minced garlic and italian seasoning, plus a little salt and pepper (you can just do this to taste). Cook until ground beef is browned and add a can of mushrooms (or two!), a can of diced tomatoes, and a can of tomato sauce. Keep warm.

Scrape out the inside of the spaghetti squash (it will look like stringy noodles) with a fork. Add to your pan of sauce, stir, season as needed, and serve with parmesan! This is way better than regular spaghetti!

A Grain Free/ Low Sugar Birthday Party

We recently celebrated our little Doodlebug's 2nd birthday!

We have been making an effort to eat as little grains and sugar as we can, but I still wanted to have a special treat for her big day. I made cupcakes from this muffin recipe (minus the lemon juice) and added a frosting made with cream cheese, super dark chocolate, cocoa, and a little agave nectar.

And if anyone is curious, Doodlebug got play-dough, a Mr. Potato Head, and a musical instument set. :)

A Pantry Organizational Project

Before

After

I cleaned out our pantry when we decided to go grain free to make the things we use most often more accessible. Yes, there are still some grainy things in there that we needed to use up, but for the most part we can find what we need now!

Homemade tortilla chips

Golden piles of goodness!

Homemade tortilla chips are so much cheaper than store bought! And if you happen to have WIC, you can get your corn tortillas through them. Plus they are so stinkin' delicious! There seriously are no words for them!

Making your own tortilla chips is super simple. When I made these I went through a tortilla chip phase where I made some every day.  Just heat up some oil in a pan, cut corn tortillas into fourths, and fry until golden. Scoop them out to drain on a towel and sprinkle with liberal amounts of salt.

Is it a health food? Heck no! But it's yummy!

Blender Ice Cream

                                     Yes, this is a terrible picture, but I'm a terrible photographer, so there you go!

This is the perfect treat for a hot summer day! 1 bag of frozen strawberries, 1 pint of heavy whipping cream, and liberal amounts of sugar, all blended together. Delicious!

The Hidey Hole

This is Doodlebug's own personal space. I think every kid needs a place to go and hide and just be alone to play or calm down or whatever they need to do. We happen to have the perfect spot! The passenger floorboard!