Goodbye Summer

Summer vacation ended early for the girls. Ruby started Kindergarten on August 1st!  So far she loves it and her teacher.  Then only downside is that she is exhausted.  We are hoping she will adjust soon.  Today she presented her Me box in class.  She got to stand up in front of all the kids and show 5 things that she put in her box that were special or significant to her.  She was super excited and very proud of herself!

This girl is growing up so fast.  She started her second year of preschool and didn't miss a beat.  She is so laid back and social that she was really excited and happy to get to school.  She has only been three days so far but is loving every minute of it.

Meal Plan

Salmon cakes with salad (lettuce, heirloom tomatos, sunflower seeds, peppers, and shrimp on top)
I make two different salmon cakes (one with egg and one without)

 Italian Stuffed peppers in the crockpot

 BBQ Chicken Legs in the crockpot with mashed butternut squash and apples

 Grilled Hamburgers and brats with grilled kale salad and grilled onions 

Ground Turkey Fajitas with Cauliflower rice

New Recipes

We have had a busy and fun summer which means little blogging.  Here are some things that I have been cooking.

Sweet and Tart Rhubarb and Berry Dessert Sauce
Brian and I ate this atop plain whole milk yogurt with a bit of honey.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
It calls for a total of two cups of honey (or maple syrup) but I used a total of about 1/2 cup because I ran out.  I also subbed half the strawberries for blueberries.  This page has a lot of other rhubarb recipes so you will have to scroll down to find the crumble. 

Stuffed Pizza Peppers/Mushrooms
I got this idea from some friends who made them for us one night.  I stuffed red, green, orange and yellow peppers along with a few portabellos with ground Italian sausage and ground beef mixed with tomato paste, tomato sauce and some Italian spices.  I topped some of them with cheese and left some of them plain.  They were delish!

Homemade Coconut Milk
This was really easy to make and tasted good.  I felt very domestic while I was making it until I broke my blender.

Primal Stuffed Eggplant
Brian asked me to put some variety in the veggies that I make so I bought some eggplants.  This was actually a tasty meal but will probably not be a staple around our house because eggplant is not a favorite.

Chili Sweet Potato Fries
YUM!  This was such a great meal.  You should go make it this week.

I've also been making egg less salmon patties weekly.  I just mix canned salmon with either a mashed sweet potato or mashed avocado and fry in coconut oil.  They turn out great and the whole family loves them.

Spring has Sprung

Recipes

It has been a while since I listed my meal plan so I thought I would just do a quick round up of what I have been cooking...if I can remember everything that is.

Marina's Primal Zuppa Toscana Soup - this was a paleo version of the Olive Garden Soup.  I used sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes.  The recipe says the bacon is optional but...really?  really, is it?  I think not.  Great soup.  I will make it again.

Paleo Buffalo Chicken Nuggets - Big Success 

Kale and Egg Bake- I got inspiration for this recipe from a blog that I found called Primal Green.  Here is the link to the recipe.  I actually just sauteed some kale with garlic for a few minutes then transferred it to a baking dish.  I topped it with chopped cherry tomatoes and avocados.  Lastly, I cracked some eggs on top and baked it until the eggs were done.  I ate it along with my girls and it was a hit!

BBQ Crockpot Chicken- I also mixed in some Dijon mustard and diced tomatoes.  YUM

BBQ Beef Brisket-  This was AH-MAZE-ING.  Go right now to your local farmer and buy a grassfed beef brisket and make this.  You will not be disappointed.

Iced Vanilla Bean Latte - I made this when I needed a little pick me up one afternoon and it did the trick.

Almond Banana Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins - Yes, it does have a long name because I had to sub a few things due to not using eggs, reducing carbs, and adding pumpkin.  Here is the original recipe before I changed everything around.

My New Room

After reading my friend Sarah's blog about the cool things that she is sewing for her girls I realized that I really am such a lover of fabric. That being said, I don't sew.  Not. At. All.  One day when the kids are bigger I am sure I will get to it but for now I will just admire Sarah's projects from afar.

Recently, I found some fabric that was just my style and went perfect in my bedroom .  My friend Julie, who just happened to be staying with us for a few months, turned them into pillows for our bed.  In about a two day period we painted my whole bedroom and made pillows for my bed.  This room went from a catch all place that we didn't like being in to a warm, comfortable, relaxing space that everyone likes to be in now.

Of course I didn't think to do true before and after pictures.  I found this one on my phone that shows the color of the wall (that I hated) and our old bedding (that I did like but was worn out) and some of the random things leaning against the wall plus furniture that I didn't like before we painted (i actually like our furniture now that we have a new wall color).  Also notice the adorable girls.

 The picture above is in the midst of our painting.

 The pic below is the finished walls.  Ignore the mess please.

 The blue and white pillows that Julie made.  The material cost five dollars and we just tore apart old pillows for the stuffing.

We even had some leftover fabric that we put on top of our old dresser. 

Julie and Telia taking a break from painting.

Meal Plan

Steak with Dinosaur Kale and Roasted Squash 
     I actually already made this and it was sooooo goood!  Brian and I ate the whole salad by ourselves.  So, I ate a 1/2 a bunch of kale.  That is pretty crazy.

Shoulder Roast with green beans and roasted sweet potatoes

Beef Taco Salad (will use the leftever meat from the roast)

Pork Chops with Sour Kraut and Apples

Spaghetti Squash with Sausage

Pumpkin Cocoa Chilli