Thanksgiving Traditions

As I am writing this I am sipping on some egg nog (dairy free) and trying to take a break from planning our Thanksgiving. I find this time of year to be a time of reflection, like I think most people do. We look back over the previous year, which then makes us think of holidays in years past. 

For my husband and I, Thanksgiving has been a holiday that we tend to spend by ourselves at our cabin. We live in Wisconsin and are both from Minnesota, so we go back to Minnesota for a full week over Christmas. Because we do this, and because Christmas is so close to Thanksgiving, we like enjoying a peaceful long weekend at our cabin. 

It's not to say that we have never gone back to Minnesota for Thanksgiving, or that we have not spent time with people over Thanksgiving in Wisconsin, it's just that we have started the tradition of Thanksgiving at the cabin.

Now that our daughter is four, I have a strong urge to create these kind of traditions. Growing up, we did not really have many traditions in my family, and I really want to create some for our family. I know I am not the only parent that tries to relive some of the special moments we think we missed as children through our own children. 

This year we will be heading up north to a new cottage that we just purchased after selling our old cabin.  It kind of makes me sad that our four year old will not have many memories from our first cabin, even though we have tons of memories of our time there with her. However, I am excited to start this new journey as a family, and to continue to create our Thankgiving tradition in a new place. 

A place with no internet, no cable, no phone. Just a nice fire, good food, some beautiful nature, and our family!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gluten-Free Goulash

All right, if you are from the midwest, I am sure you do not need a recipe for goulash. I just wanted to share my jazzed up gluten free option that I am currently enjoying. 

Now that I am eating meat and the cold weather is setting in, I found myself craving goulash. It was one of the few things my mom made that I liked (sorry mom, but you admittedly don't like to cook). The true midwest version involves hamburger, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and elbow noodles. Some people may use onions and green peppers also. That's it, pretty easy.

I am calling my version the jazzed up version. It includes gluten-free noodles, ground turkey, mushrooms and black olives. It honestly combines my mom's spaghetti sauce and goulash recipes.  Like most pasta dishes (and soup), I think this tastes the best on day 2 and 3!

Gluten-Free Goulash

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

Note: My version is drier. Feel free to add more spaghetti sauce if you would like a soupier version. You can also use regular pasta instead of gluten-free pasta.

-1 Pound ground turkey

-9 Ounces gluten-free pasta of choice, I like the spirals

-8 Ounces fresh mushrooms, roughly chopped

-1 Can of black olives (5 ounces), drained and roughly chopped

-1 Large clove of garlic, minced

-1 Quart spaghetti sauce (I like to use a quart of my homemade sauce)

-1 Tablespoon cooking fat of choice

-Optional: Italian seasoning (if spaghetti sauce is bland)

Directions:

-Cook ground turkey over medium heat in a large skillet or dutch oven until no longer pink, 5-10 minutes. 

-Transfer ground turkey to a bowl.

-While turkey is cooking, cook pasta per package directions. When done, drain and run under cold water to stop the pasta from cooking, set aside. 

-In the large skillet, or dutch oven (I used a 3-1/2 quart dutch oven), heat up the 1 tablespoon of cooking fat over medium heat.

-Add in the mushrooms and garlic. Cook for approximately 5 minutes, stirring occassionally. 

-Add in the olives and spaghetti sauce. 

-Once the spaghetti sauce is heated up, add back in the ground turkey and noodles.

-Once everything is heated up to your liking, serve.

10 Minutes to a Clutter-Free Morning from The Becoming Minimalist Website

Below is a great post from The Becoming Minimalist website. Because we have an active four year old, our house looks like a tornado went through it every day. And each night, we try to straighten up so that we don't go crazy looking at the mess the next morning while we are trying to enjoy our coffee and plan our day.

10 Minutes to a Clutter-Free Morning

Our Beautiful Bounty in November

As I am writing this it is 23 degrees outside and windy! I am actually at work, but it is slow because it is too cold out for people to want to leave their toasty homes for a dinner out.

Yet, even though it is freezing out, yesterday I came home with the beautiful bounty seen below.

This is box 2 of 4 that we will be receiving this month and in December from our CSA Crossroads Community Farm. It still amazes me that I can receive local vegetables throughout fall and winter in Wisconsin! Did I mention yet that it is 23 degrees outside?

Though everything we receive this winter will be a storage vegetable, it will still taste fresh, and it is local. With proper storage by Crossroads Community Farm, and then proper storage in our own home, we can eat local vegetables until early spring!

This is just a reminder that even though winter will soon be upon us (I know it is cold and snowy in the Midwest, but it is still technically fall) you do not have to get your vegetables shipped from across the country (or another country completely). Don't get me wrong, we still like to eat lettuce and spinach in the winter once and awhile, but we try to offset that with our CSA vegetables as much as possible.

15 Non-Toy Gift Ideas For Kids by Renee Robinson

With Black Friday right around the corner, and all the December holidays coming up, buying and giving gifts can get out of hand. Attached is a great link for some alternatives to the usual toys,toys, video games and more toys.

15 Non-Toy Gift Ideas For Kids

Tiny House(s)

Our family lives in a house that is approximately 800 square feet (and I may be rounding up a bit). There are only five of us, three humans and two cats.  I know it seems small to most people, but it fits us just right! 

My husband and I have owned a 2500 square foot Victorian (with empty, unused rooms). We have lived in two apartments that were bigger then our house ( 900-1000 square feet), and we lived in and took care of a house for a friend that was probably similar in size to our Victorian. We currently are selling a cabin that is around 600 square feet, and purchasing a different cabin that is in the 600 square foot range.

What we have learned over the past 15 years, and living in multiple properties, is that we like smaller. A small house is cheaper to own, meaning we can do more with our money, like own a cabin. It is way easier to clean ( which I LOVE). It is easier to maintain and furnish, and forces you to be organized. It also forces (allows?) us to be close. Instead of us hanging out in separate rooms, we are together. My husband and daughter can read on the couch while I cook dinner, and I can still be part of it because our livingroom and kitchen are open to each other. Yes, there are times we all want some space, but we can still go off to our bedrooms or go for a walk. 

The tiny house I am referring to though is not our own. It is the tiny house movement that is so amazing to my husband and I. I am talking about houses that are 85-250 square feet! Ok, that would be way to small for even us. In fact, the thought of it as I watched the documentary in the link below made me claustrophobic. What we love about it though is how creative these people get with their spaces and how they live their lives.

I think my husband dreams of making a tiny house, but something that would live in our backyard where he could escape once and awhile, not for our family of five to live in!

If you are interested in finding out more, below is a link to an article about the 'Tiny' documentary. You can find the documentary on Netflix, it is about an hour long.

Tiny

Here is also an awesome example of a tiny house:

The Small House Catalog

Bone Broth

I have to admit I am a little obsessed with bone broth. Anytime I make a chicken in the crockpot, I put the bones with any fat and clinging meat back into the crockpot, add vegetables, and make broth. Recently, when I have bought rotisserie chickens at our local Co-op, I have also frozen the bones and leftover bits and pieces for future broths.

Below is a nice article talking about the benefits of bone broth, and also a recipe (which is pretty close to what I do). 

Give it a try, it's so easy to make!

Bone Broth

Detox Diets Versus Whole30

So, anyone who knows me well or has been reading my posts knows I have done a Whole30 elimination diet. I am currently on day 23 of a second one as I am writing this.

I am not going to go on and on about how much I LOVE the Whole30 program. What I want to talk about is how it is so different from all the detox diets I have tried in the past. 

For as long as I can remember, at least 1-2 times a year, I would do a detox diet. This would be a 2 week program where I would eliminate certain food groups, plus alcohol, from my diet. While doing this I would count calories and take a "detox" kit of pills. I would feel exhausted, sick, dizzy and just plain unhappy. At the time I thought I was "cleansing" my body and that it was worth it. There were multiple problems with this thought process though.

The first problem was I was restricting my calories while doing this. Looking back, I should not have been trying to combine a quick weight loss with cleansing my body. I should have been concentrating on the cleansing portion. By restricting my calories, I became exhausted and dizzy because I was not eating enough. This made me unhappy the whole 2 weeks. 

The second problem was that 2 weeks is just not long enough to eliminate toxins and allergens from your body. This I have learned while doing the Whole30 program. I learned absolutely NOTHING from doing detox diets. When you end at 2 weeks, your body is just starting to get balanced. It takes a couple more weeks, if not months, to start to feel the benefits of a detox or elimination diet. 

The third problem was that when I was done I just went back to eating the way I did before. I would still count calories, but all the foods that I have found to be issues for me came back on my plate. Not only would I eat the foods that disagreed with me, I would almost binge on the things I craved (within my allowed calories of course). 

What I have loved about doing the Whole30 is that it is an elimination diet and detox rolled into one, without expensive pills. There is no calorie counting or weighing yourself (or your food for that matter). It is just about eating whole foods that are good for you and learning what your body needs to be happy and healthy. Your body naturally detoxes as you eliminate bad food and eat only healthy food. 

So, no more detoxs for me. No more counting calories or weighing my food. I just plan to eat as healthy as I can because I know I feel amazing when I do. This doesn't mean I won't enjoy a glass of wine or some good chocolate, it just means keeping a healthy balance. And when life is crazy and bad food habits creep back in to the point where I am not feeling as great, I will just do a Whole30 (or a Whole7, Whole14, whatever I need to reset myself). Eating healthy is a lifestyle, not a diet!

Feeling happy and healthy!

Life is What Happens While You Are Making Plans

When I started this blog I had so many ideas. I had a little extra time too. Then our life got crazy busy. We have multiple things going on, like selling our cabin and buying a different one. We have the other normal things too like school, activities and just trying to keep the house clean and our family well fed.

Thank you to all my friends and family who have been taking time out of your busy schedules to read my little blog. I feel bad that I have not been posting as much lately, but feeling guilty is silly, because that takes the fun out of having a blog.  I realized that there is just not a lot of extra time in my days right now. In fact, as I am writing this our daughter is at school and I should be taking advantage of the quiet, alone time to get other things done. 

My husband and I are planners. We always talk about how we need to be better about appreciating each day, instead of looking forward into the future. When I started feeling overwhelmed with everything going on right now and what is coming up over the next two months, I realized I need to take each day as it comes. Writing a blog is fun, but my family is what is most important. The life that we have together right now is more important then our future "plans". 

So, I have decided not to feel guilty that I don't have time to do certain things, like blog daily. If my daughter wants to snuggle on the couch, that is what I should be doing.  I have about ten new ideas for blog postings, but will need to work on them as I have time. So, if you have enjoyed my past posts, please don't give up on me. I am just trying to enjoy life right now!

Brussels Sprouts with Leeks and Side Pork

I love brussels sprouts, I love leeks and I absolutely love side pork. Put them together and I created a meal I could moan over (yup, I love it that much).  Though this would traditionally be a side, I just ate a whole plate for dinner (some of my old vegetarian habits die hard).

People either love or hate brussels sprouts. When I asked my husband what he thought about this dish, he said it was okay. I on the other hand loved it. So, If you have never tried them, or it's been years, I highly suggest roasting them at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes until they are crispy brown (with your cooking fat of choice and salt and pepper). If you already love them, I suggest trying this recipe.

A note about side pork:

If you have never tried it, it is cut like bacon, but is only meat. There are no added nitrates, sugar or spices. My favorite thing to do is to cook up a whole pound in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30-40 minutes (depending on how crispy you like it). Half way through I flip it and drain the grease (save the grease for cooking with in the future). You may need to drain it twice. My secret ingredient: I sprinkle it with garlic salt after I flip it. This gives it some flavor and needed saltiness. When making the recipe below, I cooked a pound of bacon, minus the 2 pieces I used in the pan. After the bacon was done in the oven, I chopped up 3 slices along with the reserved 2 slices from the pan. The rest of the cooked side pork I keep in the refrigerator for salads. 

Brussels Sprouts with Leeks and Side Pork

Makes 3-4 side servings 

Ingredients:

-4-5 slices of side pork (or bacon)

-12 Ounces of brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

-1 Large leek, cut in half lengthwise to remove dirt, then sliced up the leek in 1/4" pieces

-Garlic salt and black pepper

Directions:

-Cook 2 slices of the side pork over medium to medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes in a skillet, remove from pan and set aside. You should have about 1-2 tablespoons of bacon fat left in the pan to saute with.

-Add 12 ounces brussels sprouts and the cut up leeks to the bacon grease, and cook for 20-25 until the brussels sprouts and leeks are browned. The trick is to have the heat high enough to brown the brussels sprouts and leeks, but not burn them. You also don't want to have it too low or it will just make mushy brussels sprouts. Make sure to stir occassionally. 

-Add garlic salt and black pepper to taste, mix, then top with chopped side pork. 

Apple Carrot Juice, Pow!

I have more then 1/2 a bushel of apples and about 7 pounds of carrots in the refrigerator. My husband has complained of a scratchy throat the last few days, and now our daughter's nose is constantly running.

Time to pull out the juicer! 

I bought my juicer about a year ago. I honestly thought I would use it more this last summer, but I didn't. Today I realized why. I didn't have an abundance of apples in my refrigerator, and that is my favorite ingredient. In the summer they are not in season, and are super expensive, so we don't really buy them. Recently however we picked up a bushel at a local orchard, and I have been overwhelmed by the amount of space they take up in our refrigerator. 

Today as I was getting my daughter a snack I thought, "why am I not juicing yet?!?"

Juicing can be expensive, but right now when apples are in season and I just pulled the last of the carrots from my garden I am feeling flush in produce. When juicing, you should be using the most fresh, local produce you can. It will also be the cheapest, so it is a win-win. 

Yes, you would benefit from eating the whole fruit, but that would mean eating a couple of apples and carrots at the same time. I can tell you that we already eat a lot of produce through out the day, and there is also no way our 4 year old could stomach all that. Though you do miss out on the fiber from the fruits and vegetables, you are getting a powerful dose of vitamins and minerals. I think this is especially important at this time of year! 

So at this time of year, I will pull out the juicer. I make enough to drink right away, and some for the following day (it is best to drink within 24 hours to get the full benefit). Not only is it full of great things, it tastes amazing too! Better then anything you can buy in a carton at the grocery store. 

What a beautiful pile of apples and carrrots!

A beautiful, tasty, orange colored juice. Drink up!

"Nap" Time, Not Just For Kids

When our daughter was about 2 years old, she stopped sleeping at nap time some days. I would still put her down because she would sleep 3-4 days, but would play in her crib the other days. Now that she is 4 she has completely stopped sleeping at nap time.

For awhile I contemplated letting her stay up all day, but then I thought, "are you crazy?!?"

I need some rest time too! If am sick, or tired from working the previous night, I get to rest for an hour. If I have some housework or bills I want to get done, I can do them in silence (almost, she likes to sing during rest time, or read books to her stuffed animals). Or, maybe I want to take a "lunch break" and read once a week while she is resting.

At first I felt guilty. Then I started talking to other parents and realized I am not alone, phew! I realized for everyone's sanity and mental health, these rest times are needed.

The funny thing is, on days when she doesn't have some quiet rest time in her room, you can tell. She starts to go crazy between 3-4pm. Even though she is not sleeping, she obviously needs some quite time too (even if she does not know it).

Now that she is 4, and not sleeping anymore, I no longer call it nap time. It is rest time. I even started leaving her lamp on so she can actually see her books. The nice thing is she goes to rest time easier now that I started doing this. No more fighting (usually, she is 4). 

So, to all the parents out there, or just anyone who works hard, take a break! Be it 30 minutes to read, 10 minutes to close your eyes, or 15 minutes to take a little walk, make sure to schedule a little "rest" time. We all need and deserve it!

Saturday Mornings and Sweet Potato Hash with Pecans

Saturday mornings are mine. Ever since our daughter was born, my wonderful husband has taken care of her on Saturday mornings so that I can sleep in. When she was an infant, this included my husband feeding her the one bottle of breastmilk she got each morning (I nursed her the rest of the time). As she got older (and louder and mobile), they started leaving the house in the morning and going out for breakfast, to the farmer's market, or whatever else was going on on a Saturday morning.

One of my favorite things about Saturday morning is making a breakfast and sitting down to enjoy it and drinking my coffee while it is still warm. 

Last night at work I was talking to a co-worker who is struggling to come up with breakfast ideas (he is doing a Whole30, so no toast, cereal, pancakes, the things he likes to eat for breakast). I told him about my Sweet Potato Hash with Pecans recipe and told him he should try it. After talking about it last night, I woke up hungry and wanted to make it. 

This is what it looks like when it is done. My absolute favorite way to eat it is shown in the first picture. I put it on top of spinach with two fried eggs. Side Pork (or bacon) is a great addition!

This is for you Pierre, breakfast doesn't have to be pancakes and toast!