Set the Table 2017 | Week 9

Welcome back + Happy Sunday Fun Day!

• Each Sunday #SettheTable2017 begins with the upcoming week's game plan followed by a picture recap of last week's chaos. Warning: Selfie videos and picture shenanigans keep me cooking and laughing... C'est la vie, I'm lighting it up.
• #CatchmyGrit on my Instagram stories throughout the week to capture the fun, the food and the family table reactions (good and bad).
• New to this series? Here's the STORY behind my #SettheTable2017 food adventures with Pure Barre Kildeer.

Up this Week:

*Note: The first underlined/linked recipe name corresponds to the Jamie Oliver Ultimate Recipes App to help me stay organized (his grocery list feature is rad); However, IF I was unable to find Jamie's app recipe online, I have linked to a similar recipe.

• Rich & Creamy Fish TrayBake (Benched last week. Adding catfish & shrimp; subtracting mussels, clams and flounder. I may smash it with Keralan's Fish Curry TrayBake - easy on the curry.) 

• Get Stuck in Chili Nachos - (Beef Tacos) (Taco Tuesday was benched last week.)

• Bacon and Mushroom Tagliatelle

• Quick and Delicious Pea Soup with grilled cheese

A Sunny Side-Up Super Food Salad 

Red Romain Lettuce
Watercress
Sprouts
Cilantro (rough chopped)
1 diced onion + 2 minced garlic cloves sauteed on low until translucent (about 15 min)
Raspberries
Blueberries
1-3 eggs sunny side up (I was hungry!! When the onions were done, I cooked them in the same pan.)
Sea Salt & Pepper

Layer all ingredients however which way you want! I got half way through eating it and realized I didn't even think about a dressing. I would have used fresh lemon juice and a sprinkling of extra virgin olive oil but it was just too good naked and I didn't want to get up off my chair.

*Here is a handy conversion link for any online euro measurements (the app uses USA measurements).
*Read up on how to cook with oils.
*If possible, buy antibiotic free meat (Here's why I try to know where my meat is coming from).
*Use the EWG "Clean Fifteen + Dirty Dozen produce guidelines to save money + reduce the pesticides and herbicides on your plate. 

*Avoid artificial colors and preservatives - Check your labels, grocery stores offer a variety of clean brands to help protect your family's gut microbiome --> More Guts More Glory I SAY!

Wrap it up with last week's family table action:

The broth was the leftovers from the previous week's Jamie's Chicken in Milk recipe = Best bone broth ever. I transferred everything from the crock pot into that white pot and kept it in my fridge until I was ready to make it last Monday. Here's what I did: I spooned off the fat from the top and reheated it. I then scooped out the discarded bones, skin, garlic cloves and cinnamon stick and dumped in the leftover pulled chicken, frozen peas and un-cooked noodles. In a small pan I also made a quick soffritto out of 1/4 of a celeriac diced (I ran out of celery so why not use the root?), 1 onion diced and some carrots diced + a little extra virgin olive oil, sea salt n pepper. Easy comfort food.

I have not made homemade pizza in a while and boy o boy did this one turn out. We are no longer a 100% gluten free household, but I still really enjoy cooking gluten free and it mixes up the grains in our life. Here is my recipe for a gluten free crust (that you would never believe is gluten free).

1 2/3 c (350g) of Pamela's Gluten Free Bread Mix (It's non-dairy too for you lovely vegans.)

1 tsp sea salt

-- Mix up in a stand mixer

1.5 cups hot tap water

2 Tbsp maple syrup

4 1/2 Tbsp active dry yeast

1 Tbsp olive oil

--Mix up in a separate bowl or large measuring cup

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Start up your stand mixer on low and add the wet ingredients. Mix until dough is smooth. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet and spread the dough out like frosting. Cover with a kitchen towel or saran wrap and rise in a warm location for 30 minutes (I use my fire place if it's cold outside). Pre-bake the naked dough for 8-10 minutes. Take out and spread your pizza sauce and cheese over the top. Bake again for 8-10 minutes. Lift out the pizza from the pan and it's super easy to cut on a board! (Recipe inspired by Kelli and Peter Bronski)

Abbie thought the puttanesca was "kinda good" (she likes linguini/spaghetti noodles better) so you know this recipe is a winner. 

Mac and Tommy were both gone when I sat down and I missed them before I had to leave for my pitching clinic. Busy busy busy... 

I realize looking back on the week that we did not have one dinner where everyone was present. It makes me sad + mad, but that's the reality of our busy family schedule. 

Every evening we sit down, we are are one day older, one day closer to high school, one day closer to college... closer to who knows... 

We sit down to slow down and get closer.

Setting the table for now.  

For me + you.

For us.

For ever.

Catch my grit. 

To the Mullies we go...

xoxoL

 ps

Congratulations to our Chili Cook off 2017 winners last night! What a night and thanks for rocking your crocks in our hot garage. We love you all!!!

Chef's Tasting Table Day 7 // Super Food Salad + Dragon Fruit

HUGE rocking thank you's to Ambassador Sara Lohrmann's Stevenson High School Gourmet Foods and Food Revolution Club Students for coming out and helping with our 7th Chef's Tasting Table event!

Skoop and the Chef Ann Foundation Organization teamed up to launch the Project Produce Grant Program which awarded Diamond Lake District 76's West Oak School $2500 in funds to help give all students access to more fresh produce and food education during the school day.

It was incredible to watch this team of high school students taste the dragon fruit for the very first time! They prepped + chopped + mixed + INSPIRED real food education in front of over 400 students and staff!!!!

Get Jamie Oliver's Super Food Salad Recipe HERE.

With the Project Produce funds only going towards fresh fruit and vege, this salad was an almost perfect match! The only ingredients from the pantry were quinoa, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar! WOW!

Note: We did not include pomegranates (out of season), nuts (school allergy concerns) or feta cheese (school allergy concerns).

Did you know? Dragon Fruit can also have pink flesh!

The high school students demonstrated how to cut open a dragon fruit and took turns speaking to each lunch about the super food salad produce ingredients.

We left the peels out so that the students could come up and touch them!

West Oak Middle School's principal, Mr Willeford suggested we stuff the dragon fruit with the super food salad... WHAT AN AWESOME food plating idea!

Mrs Kluvers collected all of the dragon fruit peels for her class composting project!

Absolutely hilarious student feedback!

Smiles all around. Even on the students who didn't like the tastings... They were proud of themselves for trying something new!

Enjoy watching our fun interview video with some students!
(Note: Video can be viewed on computer, not on some phones):

I had never seen a dragon fruit or tasted one before. I cut one open the day before the tasting and made this fun video. (Note: Video below can be seen on computer, not on some phones):

See you next month West Oak #D76Diamonds! I can't hardly WAIT!

To the Mullies we go...

xoxoL

ps

Here are the pics from the Stevenson High School foods lab were we cooked the quinoa and roasted the broccoli + sweet potatoes the day before! Thanks again for helping and having me guys!

INCREDIBLE!!!!

I'm hungry again now...

Set the Table 2017 | Week 8

Welcome back + Happy Sunday Fun Day!

• Each Sunday #SettheTable2017 begins with the upcoming week's game plan followed by a picture recap of last week's chaos. Warning: Selfie videos and picture shenanigans keep me cooking and laughing... C'est la vie, I'm lighting it up.
• #CatchmyGrit on my Instagram stories throughout the week to capture the fun, the food and the family table reactions (good and bad).
• New to this series? Here's the STORY behind my #SettheTable2017 food adventures with Pure Barre Kildeer.

Up this Week:

*Note: The first underlined/linked recipe name corresponds to the Jamie Oliver Ultimate Recipes App to help me stay organized (his grocery list feature is rad); However, IF I was unable to find Jamie's app recipe online, I have linked to a similar recipe.


Linguini Alla Puttanesca

Festive Fiesta Taco Tuesday (with Vegan Nacho Cheese) 

Rich & Creamy Fish TrayBake (adding catfish & shrimp; subtracting mussels, clams and flounder. I may smash it with Keralan's Fish Curry TrayBake - easy on the curry.) 

Home-made Pizza with 3 Toppings


*Here is a handy conversion link for any online euro measurements (the app uses USA measurements).
*If possible, buy antibiotic free meat (Here's why I try to know where my meat is coming from).
*Use the EWG "Clean Fifteen + Dirty Dozen produce guidelines to save money + reduce the pesticides and herbicides on your plate. 

*Avoid artificial colors and preservatives - Check your labels, grocery stores offer a variety of clean brands to help protect your family's gut microbiome --> More Guts More Glory I SAY!

Wrap it up with last week's family table action:

I was highly skeptical of this vegan cheese sauce made from potatoes and carrots (I threw a purple carrot in there for more color).

This sauce is the bomb. Seriously. SO EASY. All you need is a food processor or high speed blender. I already have it written down so I don't have to look it up on my phone.

Taco Tuesday was a total cluster. My parents came over and tried the sauce; They loved it. Abbie wouldn't even try the sauce and literally just looked at her plate the entire time before she was picked up for basketball practice. Serenity now. Tommy wolfed down his salad to get to the nachos. He at them no problem, but was not impressed. Mac hadn't even gotten home from his friend's house when I took the picture and Chris was out of town... Needless to say, I was not happy when I took the picture. Mac came home, tasted the sauce and said, "This is so good. It tastes like... like... like something from an Italian restaurant... like... Maggiano's."

To the Mullies... Geronimo... I needed that! Thanks Mac!

The next night = Chili con queso... just mix your taco concoction with the sauce. There are no words. 

Just make it.

Cucumber and watermelon radish bites with chili con queso and avocado.

The before picture.

Yea, I know what you're thinking... Chicken in milk = Not a chance. Trust me! Jamie's recipe is so easy and I made it even easier (Cuz I'm a slacker). Place the following in your slow cooker (And I did not sear the bird beforehand):

1 3lb organic chicken
Organic rice milk (poured in half way up the crockpot - I did not measure it)
1 entire bulb of separated & unpeeled (yipeeee!) garlic cloves
1 cinnamon stick

10 sage leaves or so
Zest from two organic lemons
A generous amount of sea salt and pepper all of the top of the bird

Cook on high for at least 4 hours. (Mine was in from 2:45pm to 7:30pm).

I was so excited I forgot to take a picture of the finished crock, but I did save the Instagram story video:

I ladled some of the gorgeous sauce over the top of the pulled chicken...

Everyone... totally bonkers. 

I just keep telling myself that someday... someday... Maybe we won't need ketchup on the table?

My new set the table trinkets - When you have your own initialed little plate, it makes eating salad more fun. 

This week, I'm playing Gloria in the kitchen (It was turned UP and pulsing out of my swagger van's radio rather obnoxiously Friday morning). 

It'll get us in the mood to

lift 

tone

burn

cook

eat

in no particular order

with others

and 

preferably more often.

To the Mullies we go...

xoxoL

Set the Table 2017 | Week 7

Birds.

Picky eaters.

One week at a time.  

Welcome back + Happy Sunday Fun Day!

• Each Sunday #SettheTable2017 begins with the upcoming week's game plan followed by a picture recap of last week's chaos. Warning: Selfie videos and picture shenanigans keep me cooking and laughing... C'est la vie, I'm lighting it up.
• #CatchmyGrit on my Instagram stories throughout the week to capture the fun, the food and the family table reactions (good and bad).
• New to this series? Here's the STORY behind my #SettheTable2017 food adventures with Pure Barre Kildeer.

Up this Week:

*Note: The first underlined/linked recipe name corresponds to the Jamie Oliver Ultimate Recipes App to help me stay organized (his grocery list feature is rad); However, IF I was unable to find Jamie's app recipe online (which keeps the collections exclusive) I have linked to a similar recipe.

(FYI I did not get to my chicken recipes last week... So I'm trying again.)

• Miso roast Chicken with Asian Greens (or this Chicken in Milk - It's ridiculously good.)

• Get Stuck-in-Nachos & Tacos - Taco Tuesday (plus this new "Life Changing" Vegan Cheese Sauce)

• Poached Chicken with Vege Broth (Chicken noodle soup) - I'm using the leftover chicken and carcass to make it.

• Piri-Piri Fish Tray Bake (or this Salmon and Sweet Potato Tray Bake)

*Here is a handy conversion link for the online euro measurements (the app uses USA measurements).
*If possible, buy antibiotic free meat (Here's why I try to know where my meat is coming from).
*Use the EWG "Clean Fifteen + Dirty Dozen produce guidelines to save money + reduce the pesticides and herbicides on your plate. 

*Avoid artificial colors and preservatives - Check your labels, grocery stores offer a variety of clean brands to help protect your family's microbiome --> More Guts More Glory I SAY!

Wrap it up with last week's family table action:

The Vietnamese Salad "slaw" was so good (but too spicy for the kids). My parents liked it and they brought over some stuffed peppers! I loved having slaw leftovers all week. Next time, I will use some chili sauce with less kick. I subbed in pistachio nuts (instead of peanuts), added avocado chunks and did not make the fried shallots (just didn't feel like it).

When I have made "hot pockets" before, I always buy the refrigerated croissant rolls. This was the first time I have ever made the dough from scratch. And it reminded me of the pastry doughs my girlfriend Terri taught me how to make when we have cooked together!

Homemade dough still does not = easy in my mind. I just don't practice enough... that's changing.

Trust me, this dough was really simple to make and I'm glad I did it... cause now I'm thinking about all the other stuffings I can put inside!! Watch Jim Gaffigan's Hot Pocket skit to get in the mood to make your own.

Here's Jamie's simple dough (with the 1/4 tsp Tumeric powder taken out) and what I did to make my hot pockets.

3 Tbsp organic pastured butter (room temperature)
1 cup sprouted organic flour (we gave regular flour a go! Eeeek!)
pinch of salt
1.5 Tbsp water
(egg wash = 1 egg + 2 Tbsp milk)

Using your fingertips, gently rub the butter and flour and salt together until it resembles fine bread crumbs. This is SO fun for kids to do with you! Stir in the water to the flour until a soft dough is formed. Wrap the dough ball in plastic and stick in the fridge for 15-30 minutes to firm up (I only did it for 15 minutes and it was fine). Divide into four equal pieces and roll out into circles. Place a few spoonfuls of leftover taco meat in the centers. Fold and seal them with a fork, brush them with egg wash and cook at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. I also melted a little cheese on top.

Prairie Wind Family Farms Watermelon radish wedges = a little color! Can't wait for my CSA to start up again!!!! Tommy ate all of his with ranch. Mac tried to tell me he couldn't eat his because of his braces. Didn't work, he ate them. Abbie was at basketball. And I just realized that Chris was out of town for every dinner I made. Crazy week!

This was our hodge podge leftover night. Abbie really hates leftovers. For whatever reason, she did not like much of what I made. Even ice cream bribery couldn't get her to finish her plate that night.

Speaking of ice... The Diamond is thawing FAST with this insanely, amazing weather. 

I'm dreaming about Summer barbecues and bikinis.

To the Mullies we go...

xoxoL