12 Ways of Giving: Adopt a Family

I've been working hard on this way of giving, so hard that my brain hasn't been focused on any other fun ways of giving!

But this is my favorite EVER way of giving during this season. 

I have been doing angel trees since I was a little tot.  When we were young my parents would bring us to this store next to Ben Franklin in Nevada and pick out an angel.  We got to buy fun and practical gifts for the angel based on what she wanted and needed. 

In high school and college, I helped with the City of Ames angel tree.  I would call families to tell them they had been selected for the angel tree, I'd get an angel, buy gifts, help wrap the gifts at the police station, deliver gifts, be at the station coordinating gift pick-up... I got a bunch of friends together to package Christmas dinners in big brown paper bags for all the families.  I was REALLY involved, and I loved every minute of it. 

The last few years, I've decided to rally the troops, and with a little help from my parents and my grandparents, I provided gifts for a family in need through the Adopt a Family program with the Boys and Girls Club. 

I got a family of 4.  A 70 year old woman, an 18 year old girl, 16 year old boy and a 7 year old girl. 

They all wanted coats and shoes, and no one but the girl put anything on their wish list that wasn't clothes!  But I got a little creative and got some AWESOME gifts for everyone in the family. 

For the little girl, I got her a Barbie! It's been so long since I bought a Barbie... it was so much fun. 

Here are some pics of the loot.  It isn't all there, but you get the idea!

I got the coats and some of the clothes and shoes at Burlington Coat Factory.  They are NAME BRANDS and they weren't expensive at all!  Also, the older woman and the boy needed 3X, and they were just as inexpensive as the normal sizes at Burlington.  SCORE! 

Anyway, enough of the random store promotion. 

I had so much fun doing this project, and I'm sad it's over, but now maybe my brain can handle thinking of some other fun ways of giving before the big day!  (Christmas)

12 Ways of Giving: Helping my Mom

So, my second way was so enjoyable that I almost didn't consider it a way of giving.  But let that serve as a valuable lesson, and party of the purpose of this whole project...  Giving can be fun!

I got off a little early because I was working Saturday, so I headed to Ames to help my mom get ready for her wine tasting party.  If you don't know anything about Wine Shop At Home, check out her page.  It's like a tupperware party but with wine instead of tupperware.  Who doesn't want wine showing up at their doorstep?

So I got to Ames around 2:30 and got cooking right away.

I frosted some sugar cookies that my mom had made.

And then I started on the mini pumpkin cupcakes.

While those were in the oven, I made some olive pinwheels.

Now, you can find a sugar cookie recipe anywhere, and pumpkin cupcakes are a dime a dozen... But these olive pinwheels were DELISH, and not a ho-hum appetizer.

Here's how they go...

Olive Pinwheels (from Pepperidge Farms)

• 1 pkg. (17.3 ounces) Puff Pastry Sheets, thawed (but still cold, I left a sheet out and it stuck together)
  
• 1 egg
  
• 2 tbsp. water
  
• 3 tbsp. tomato paste
  
•   3 tbsp. olive tapenade
  
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  

1. Heat the oven to 400°F.  Stir the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork or whisk.
   
2. Unfold 1 pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface.  Roll the pastry sheet into a 10x10-inch square.  Spread half the tomato paste on the pastry.  Top with half the tapanade.  Sprinkle with half the mozzarella cheese and half the Parmesan cheese. Starting at one side, roll up like a jelly roll, only to the center.  Roll up the opposite side to the center. Brush between the rolls with the egg mixture, then press the rolls together.  Repeat with the remaining pastry sheet.
   
3. Cut each roll into 20 (1/2-inch) slices, making 40 in all.  Place the slices, cut-side down, onto baking sheets.  Refrigerate for 20 minutes.  Brush the slices with the egg mixture.
   
4. Bake for 10 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.  Remove the pastries from the baking sheets and let cool on wire racks for 10 minutes.

I made a few adjustments to my second roll, I only used the olive tapenade and parm cheese.  I actually liked those a little better.  The tomato paste brings out the olive flavor, but the ones without tomato sauce are much tamer and probably more universally accepted.

I will say, both my dad and uncle, who according to my mom  and aunt HATE olives, liked both of them.

It was a fun night, and I got to do what I love doing must, cook!

12 Ways of Giving: Way One

Last year I was having a little trouble getting into the holiday spirit, so I created the 12 ways of giving.  I loved it SO MUCH that I decided to make it an annual event. 

Last weekend, I took a little extra cash I had on hand, and I went to flex my value spending muscles at Aldi to get some non-perishables for the food pantry at my boyfriend's church. 

I've helped out there before, and the women of the church are doing a great job writing grants and picking up $20 here and $20 there, but there is definitely a need there.

I got to spend the afternoon chatting with my bf's mom, and we blessed a few people who braved the cold weather. 

If you have some extra canned goods or boxes of cereal or pasta and want to donate, let me know, I will gladly deliver them for you.

After a feel-good weekend, I spent the rest of the week being a jerk.  No, really.  I've been just short with people lately, and I want to go public with my 'tude in hope that it keeps me accountable for changing. 

I got a little short with the guy who sold me my new car because the service people hadn't called me... Not his fault, but he was the middleman.  I'm sorry guy who sold me my car.  That was rude of me.

I was mean to the Mediacom guy I talked to last night while trying to set up my new computer.  He told me what we were going to do, and I didn't see how it was going to work, so I got sassy with him.  I later apologized when it worked.  After he put me on a long LONG timeout hold.

And then this morning, I had a little run-in with a self-important parking wench at work.  Ahem, I mean I was rude to a lady who was just trying to do her job.  I'm really hoping she isn't rude to our customers, but she's probably thinking the same thing about me. 

It ended in tears (weird) but it was the rock bottom I had to hit to realize that I'm sending negative vibes into the world.  After all the blessings that I've experienced in the last few weeks, I need to be sending positive love into the world with my smile, patience and helpfulness.  So I'm back! 12 Ways of Giving.  1 down, 11 to go.  Join me!

Paleo Dirty "Rice"

Dirty Rice is one of my all time favorite foods from my winter in New Orleans.  Along with char grilled oysters, jambalaya, anything fried and daquiris... 
But I got home and started to make my own quick and dirty rice..  It's really easy, some rice, onions and green peppers and some cajun seasoning. 
Well, during this Paleo challenge, I'm skipping the rice, which proves difficult when making dirty rice... because you're left with just "dirty"...
So, I gave this cauliflower rice a try, and surprisingly, it was perfect!  It was one of the few paleo recipes that I'm completely convinced that I won't go back to the original recipe! 

Here's how it goes...

PAleo Dirty "Rice"
Servings: 2 (doubles really easily for a family of 4)
Ingredients:
1/2 head of cauliflower
1/2 onion
1/2 green pepper
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Pat of butter
1/4 lb ground beef
Cajun seasoning

First, cut your cauliflower off the stem and pop it in a food processor.  Give it a few pulses until it resembles couscous/rice.  You might have to pick out a few stems that just won't cooperate. 

Once you have it rice-ified, pour the cauli-rice in a pan with some olive oil and a little pat of butter, melted.  Stir until the cauli-rice are al dente.  (You HAVE to taste it here.  The cauli-rice don't brown up much, so you have to check the mouth-feel.) (I feel like I'm using some weird words in this post... cauli-rice, rice-ified, mouth-feel....)

Remove the cauli-rice and put it to the side.  In the empty pan, sweat some chopped onions and green peppers with a little olive oil and cajun seasoning to taste.  (remember, you can always add some at the end, I just think the onions take the flavor the best when it's introduced early)

Remove the onions and peppers, and replace them in the empty pan with some ground beef.  Brown it down. 

Once the ground beef is browned, throw everything back in with a little more cajun seasoning if you want.  Warm it all back up and let the oils and juices marry.  mmmmmm. This stuff is almost BETTER the next day. 

Salmon and Lentils

I have SO MUCH good food in my apartment right now. Seriously, just the smell alone is intoxicating.  I keep going down 4 floors to switch my laundry, and when I come back it's like walking into heaven. 

I sorta hate that your nose gets used to the smell... I mean, it's probably good for those days I don't get my dishes done right away, or I haven't done laundry in ages... ahem... But it's bad for me right now! I'm straining to smell the nutty deliciousness in this room.  mmmmmmmm

Anyway, enough about the smell, this isn't scent-ernet you're gonna have to make this for yourself to basque in the aromas God.  

Salmon and Lentils. (I type like I talk, so I literally keep typing "mmmmmmm")
Ingredients
2 3oz salmon filets
salt and pepper

herb butter:
2.5 Tbsp butter softened
1 tsp dried tarragon
1 tsp dijon mustard
a few squeezes of lemon juice
1-2 Tbsp chopped parsley

Lentils:
1/2 cup dry lentils
2 cups water
1/2 onion chopped
1 clove garlic
1 T olive oil
2 cups fresh spinach

handfull of cherry tomatoes

Directions:
Start the lentils boilin' in the water in a large pan.  They take about 15 minutes, but taste them to make sure they're tender.
While the lentils are boilin', sweat some onions and garlic in the olive oil.  Once they're tender and translucent, add the spinach and let that cook down.  It looks like a lot, but 2 cups cook down to less than 1/2 cup, so you're not gonna start looking like Popeye.
Mix up that herb butter.  Just mix it all together.  There ya go....
When the lentils are done, mix them with the onions and 1/2 of the herb butter in the pan.  Let the butter melt down and put the whole shebang aside. 

melt the rest of that herb butter in the empty pan with a splash of olive oil (this keeps the butter from burning, but still allows it to get brown and nutty)
Pat your salmon filets dry and salt and pepper them.  Then put them in the butter pan.  mmmmmmmm.
Salmon cooks pretty fast, and you can see it getting pepto-bismol pink on the side as it cooks. Give it a few minutes on each side.  When you flip your salmon, toss in a few roughly-chopped cherry tomatoes.  Let them warm up while your salmon finishes. 

Top your lentils with some salmon and tomatoes.  Don't forget to drizzle that butter over the top.

This restaurant-worthy meal only has 458 cals per filet and

30g protein.

Paleo "Sugar" Cookies

I'm baaaaaaaaaack.

I know you missed my baking goodness, and I'm officially back.  I'm done with all this vegetable/protein crap.  I want some holiday goodness in the form of baked goods.  But I'm not baking with flour... I'm baking Gluten Free Paleo nom noms!

Wait! Don't leave! At least look at the pretty picture.

I worked out this morning with Sonya, Irene and a few other ladies for the Workout of the Week (airing every Tuesday on Channel 13).  We're doing a 4-week program with Irene, a local trainer, that basically serves to get you out of  your rut.  I guess I could say I'm in a little rut, and who couldn't use a swift kick to the rear when it comes to exercise??

So we started with this elliptical workout:
3 min warmup
40 seconds at a moderate pace (50 rmp)
20 seconds at a sprint (100+ rmp)
x7

ROUGH! I was sucking wind by the end of this.

And then we moved to the TRX room for some torture.  I've already blanked it from my memory... but here's what I can remember:

30 seconds Squat Lunges with a barbell: squat down, and then lean from left to right.
10 squat swings: swing the barbell between your legs while you squat and then stand up and lift the barbell straight up.
10 combo: Squat swing, lift right leg with a bent knee at the top of the swing (like a scholarship cheerleader), step your right leg behind your left, and swing the barbell around. 
1 Minute plank
10 REAL pushups
10 more pushups
-Do it all again on the other side!-
Challenge: strap your legs into a TRX band hanging from the ceiling, hold a plank, bring your knees together to the right elbow, and then the left.
(1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 ladder with 10 seconds in between sets.)

Whew! Needless to say, I skipped my usual Wednesday class... Sorry Kathy.

So, after all that, I nommed a giant pile of fajita chicken and veggies, but I had a little sweet tooth...


I found this recipe, and surprisingly, I had everything I needed, so I whipped up some "sugar" cookies while I was waiting for my fajitas to cook up.

Paleo "Sugar" Cookies
(Original recipe from The Urban Poser.) (I cut it in half and changed it a little)

Ingredients:

1 cup fine ground blanched almond flour f you use Bob's Redmill, grind it a little finer in the food processor

Pinch of salt

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

2.5 tablespoons butter chilled but not frozen

1/8 cup honey

1/2 tablespoon gluten free vanilla extract 

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients in a food processor

Add butter, honey and vanilla extract and pulse until combined

Wrap the dough in parchment paper or plastic and chill the dough for at least one hour or longer (till firm enough to roll out)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees 

Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper (using a very light sprinkling of coconut flour as bench flour to keep it from sticking. Just don't overdo it or the dough will get tough. The dough should be rolled between 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch thick, depending on what you like. Thickness of the cookie will affect the baking time. Chill the dough as needed to keep it at a workable texture.

When ready to cut out the cookies, dip the cutter in coconut flour and cut through the dough. Using a thin metal spatula, transfer the unbaked cookie to a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake the cookies in a 325 degree oven for about 10-12 minutes (slightly longer for thicker cookies) or till slightly golden around the edges. Baking times will vary depending on the thickness/size of the cookie. 

Leave cookies on the cookie sheet until cool. They may seem fragile at first, but will firm up as they cool. 

The amount of cookies yielded will vary depending on the size of cookie cutter you use and thickness of the cookie. These cookie are even better after being chilled in the fridge.

WHO DAT??

Veggie Fritatta

I've been struggling a little with the Whole Life Challenge, and I've been eating a bunch of stuff that really isn't all that fun and exciting, just to try and survive the challenge. 
For example, a paleo meal might include a couple hard boiled eggs, an apple, an almond milk smoothie and a larabar. 

I just haven't had much luck with my paleo meals lately.  I made a nasty pineapple chicken, and I was mad that I used two whole chicken breasts... That's a good $5 right there! AMIRIGHT?

Anyway, finally today I had a little somethin' somethin' that I thought you might like.  And it's EASY! 

Veggie Fritatta. 

1 cup chopped broccoli
1/2 chopped onion
Hand full of cherry tomatoes
2 hand fulls of fresh spinach
olive oil
garlic
salt and pepper
4 eggs
splash of almond milk

Chop your veggies and saute them in an oven-safe saute pan in some olive oil and a few garlic cloves.

Mix the eggs and almond milk.
Once the broccoli is fork-tender, remove from heat and add the egg mixture.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until the eggs are set. 

This serves 4... or 2 if you're hungry. (whoops)

132 cals, 5 carbs, 9 g fat and 9 g of protein (for 1/4 of the recipe)