JANUARY MENU - (For Paleo Challengers!!)

Hello My Friends!!!  January is right around the corner and so I got menu planning today!  There's no way (in my mind) to be successful in a Paleo challenge if you don't plan your meals ahead of time.  I actually plan my meals a month in advance always, but have slacked quite a bit in the month of December!  But for those of you in desperate need of some ideas, here are mine.  And yes, there is going to be some quite simple days!!!  Sometimes simple is the best way to go!!!  Oh, and I will be in Maui for a week and a half so there is going to be a week and a half worth of meals missing!  Sorry!, But Aloha!  And also, if any meals on this list show to serve over rice, or top with cheese, or use a tortilla, JUST DON'T USE THOSE INGREDIENTS!!  I know you can do it!!!  The ones with a link I have posted before, the ones without a link I hope to soon post!  And those of you emailing me ideas (hint, hint) I hope to put those on Februarys menu! Good Luck!  USE THIS LINK AS A REMINDER OF THE FOODS YOU CAN AND CANNOT EAT:  Paleo Foods
Jan 2-7 
Franks Red Hot Salad
Chicken & Pesto w/ Veggies
Chicken Fajitas (no tortilla)
Protein Shake
Stuffed Peppers
Jan 8-14
BBQ Chicken Salad
Omelet
Coconut Chicken Curry
Rumbi Chicken
Protein Shake
JAN 15-18
Chicken Caccitore
Leftovers
Grilled Chicken & Veggies
Protein Shake
JAN 29- 31
4 Packet Roast with Veggies
Leftovers
Protein Shake

Peppermint Bark Popcorn

 Hmmmmm, would you say I have a fascination with crushing up candy canes and sticking them in anthing that has chocolate on it?  Well, this popcorn is just yummy and very festive! It's smothered in Almond bark candy coating, peppermint, crushed candycanes and melted chocolate!  I added these to my plate of treats as well!  Enjoy!!!

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/12/peppermint-bark-popcorn/

Holiday Dipped Oreos

 These Dipped Oreos are very easy, and very fun to do!!  I kind of did a peppermint theme this year, these dipped oreos, peppermint bark, and peppermint bark popcorn that I will post tomorrow!!  It makes for cute gift baskets!!

http://jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com/2011/12/peppermint-dipped-oreos.html

30 Day Paleo Diet Challenge

So my friends, New Years is coming upon us fast. And as much as I LOVE holiday food, all this cooking and baking is not doing well on my figure!!! Sooo, Crossfit UAC is doing a 30 day Paleo Diet Challenge eating THESE kind of foods, starting Jan 2nd, and I of course, am IN!!!! I need your help though!!! If you have any fantastic Paleo recipes please email them to me at kariecoats@yahoo.com I will post my favorite recipes and hopefully gain a few more favorite recipes from you! And if anyone else wants to commit to this challenge then leave a comment and everyone is on their honor to do body fat tests before and after! It makes it sooo much real when you actually see the numbers!!! So if you have any recipes get them emailed to me and we can get started!!!
Check my Paleo Tab for some ideas :)

Pomegranate & Feta Salad

So I know that I say I don't create a lot of things, but I created this salad and fell right in love with it. It's a very festive salad for the holidays that is fun to serve as side salad, or you can add grilled chicken to the mix and have it be one of your main courses. I loved it both ways!

Mixed Greens

Feta Cheese

Walnuts (you can roast them or not)

Pomegranate

Poppyseed Dressing (I like Briannas brand best) or you can use Rasberry Vinaigrette (same brand)

Just layer as much of it as you want depending if you are doing a side salad or a full blown salad for everyone to share. Soooo yummy!

White Cake Cupcakes & Sugar Cone Trees

So I REALLY never should have learned how to make cupcakes other than out of the box. Because I did NOT like cupcakes out of a box. But now when I get all fancy and add stuff to the box, I literally crave them, just like when I posted these Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes. They just make them soooooooo moist and rich and thick like you were buying them from one of those fancy places like Temptations!!! Anyways, my Uncle Rick got married last night and my mom and I were in charge of the cupcakes. My Uncle is a simple man, who got married in a nice humble cabin and his wedding wasn't all about the ribbon and fancy stuff. So these Pine trees worked perfect for him. All it is, is the Sugar Cone Ice cream Cones, and you make homemade frosting like this one. (Store bought frosting doesn't harden up like homemade, and you need these to harden.) And you get a star shaped frosting tip and start at the bottom and work your way up, round and round! And yes, your hand gets tired!!! But super fun Idea!!!
You can give your cupcakes a big swirl, or...
A pretty ribbon effect...
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/05/easy-white-cake/

Peppermint Bark

This my friends, is soooooo delicious. And once again, very easy! Are you seeing a pattern with me? I strive for easiness when it comes to cooking/baking because I love to cook but I don't have tons of time! This is a fun treat to give away in a Christmas Basket to a neighbor or friend. Or I gave it to the gals I visit teach this year! Yum! If you don't have a double broiler then just take a look at my make-shift double broiler, and it works perfectly! Just put an 8x8 glass pan over a pot of boiling water and your set!

12 oz white chocolate Bakers squares (You can use chips if in a crunch)

12 oz semi sweet chocolate Bakers squares

2 tsp vegetable oil (or flavorless oil) - divided

1/4 tsp peppermint extract (it will still taste good without it, but better with)

4 Crushed Candy canes (a guess)

Start with putting your brown chocolate in the "double broiler", with 1 tsp of oil and let it slowly melt, stirring occasionally. Once completely melted pour into a lined with parchment paper 9x13 cake pan, and stick in the freezer for 10 min or until hardened. Repeat with the white chocolate and 1 tsp of oil after you have given the brown chocolate enough time to harden. But after the white chocolate is completely melted take off of the heat and let it cool down to about room temperature. Then stir in your peppermint extract and about 1/3 of your candy canes. Pour over your brown chocolate then sprinkle the rest of your candy canes and lightly press down on them so that they get stuck in the white chocolate. Put in the freezer again and let harden, then take out and break apart! I like to keep mine in the refrigerator when I don't have them out for display!

Easy Taco Soup

So this could probably be the easiest soup you will ever make being that it is NOT a crockpot recipe. There is simply two steps to this process, Brown & Dump. Sounds enticing right? And it the taste you get out of a two step process truly brings a smile to your face! How can something soooo simple, taste just as great as those other 10 step taco soup recipes?!?!?!? Anyways, enjoy!
1 lb ground hamburger or turkey

1/2 of a small onion - chopped

1 can petite diced tomatoes (I like petite but you could use regular)

1 can corn -undrained

1 can kidney beans - undrained

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 packet taco seasoning

Brown your burger in a a big soup pot so you only have one pan to clean :) Add you onions as you are browning your burger so that is is soft and translucent. Then literally take everything else and dump it in. Bring to a boil then let simmer for 10 minutes. And your done! Top with shredded cheddar cheese, green onions and sour cream and scoop with tortilla chips! YUM!

Pineapple & Pomegranate

I Really wish I knew how to work the lighting on my camera because this picture doesn't do it justice. This combination is soooo pretty, and sooooooooo full of taste! I absolutely love this combination. My SIL Richelle served this at a Christmas Party years ago, and I have been Hooked ever since. For a Party you probably would need to 2 Pineapples (I only had one here and it obviously didn't fill up the entire platter). And 1 Pomegranate. You might not even need to use the Pomegranate, just use your discretion. Enjoy!!!! I will be posting a YUMMY fruit dip next week that is great with Pineapple, Strawberries, etc....

Lasagna - Crockpot Style

Once again, I couldn't resist cooking up one of my fast and easy & Favorite crockpot recipes! I got this beauty from my adorable friend Amy a couple of years ago, and haven't cooked regular baked lasagna since. It's that good. If you have a favorite homemade spaghetti sauce go ahead and use that in place of the canned or jarred spaghetti sauce it calls for. But if your anything like me, if you are cooking a crockpot recipe it's because you don't have time for all the fuss. So I actually canned some yummy spaghetti sauce that I throw in this recipe!


1 lb ground beef (or turkey) browned

2-3 tsp Italian seasoning

16 oz tub of cottage cheese

25 oz jar of spaghetti sauce

2 Cups mozzarella cheese

1/3 Cup water

8 uncooked lasagna noodles

Brown your ground beef and drain the fat. Add in your Italian seasoning and mix in well. Then it's time to layer inside of your crockpot. I usually do 3 layers. Start with 1/3 of your uncooked lasagna noodles, then use 1/3 of your ground beef, then sauce, then cottage cheese, then mozzarella cheese. Repeat 2 more times. Pour 1/3 cup of water around the sides then cook on low for 5 hours. Delicious, and Simple!

Black Bean & Pumpkin Chili - Crockpot

So I know I should be posting Christmas recipes, and I will, right after one last pumpkin recipe. Yep, there is a whole can of pumpkin in this recipe and it is wonderful! It gives a smooth creamy texture, and to be honest you really can't even taste the pumpkin unless you are searching for it. It's just nice to have a few different and unique ways to cook up your chili since this is soup season! Enjoy. I do have to tell you that I like a little kick in my chili, so after it was all said and done, I added a bit of ketchup to my leftovers and loved it even more. So maybe when you are cooking the whole recipe add a 1/4 cup of ketchup. :)
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2011/11/black-bean-pumpkin-chili.html

Peanut Butter Temptations

These yummy little cookies go back about 12 years when I lived in St. George going to college. We lived in a town home and a lady across the street brought us a plate full of these during Christmas Time. So for some reason, although these aren't just Christmas Cookies, it's the only time of the year I make them. So I guess for me, they are my Christmas cookies. And we all know how much I LOVE peanut butter, you can imagine how good these cookies are, and look at how adorable they are! Perfect to go on your Christmas plate of treats to bring to your neighbor!I tried to see if it made a difference in whether or not I rolled the dough or not, and it didn't really. Personally i think they looked better not rolled so save your self some time and just throw a spoonful of dough in your mini muffin pans and call it good!
And DON'T put those peanut butter cups in the cookie until the second they are done cooking, then pop those bad boys in real quick!

1/2 Cup Butter

1/2 Cup Peanut Butter

1/2 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 Cup flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

10 oz bag small reeses peanut butter cups

Cream together your butter, Peanut Butter & sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla. Sift together the dry ingredients and add to mixture. Drop spoonful of dough about 3/4 full in a mini muffin pan. Bake at 375* for 8-10 min. When done, immediately press unwrapped Peanut Butter cups into the center of each cookies. At this point I stick the whole pan in my refrigerator and let it cool, otherwise the chocolate takes forever to harden. And although these are soooo yummy to eat warm right of the oven, I actually like to store these in an air tight container in my refrigerator and eat them cold. SOOOOOOO good! Enjoy!

Banana Cream Pie

For Thanksgiving this year I was in charge of a Banana Cream Pie and Rolls. I put myself in charge of the Banana Cream Pie because I had a FABULOUS recipe I made from scratch that was to die for. Then when it came time to make it, I couldn't find the recipe anywhere!!!! (Hence, the whole reason why I am making this blog!!) So I hurried and stalked my favorite food blogs and came across this one. It wasn't from scratch, but had rave reviews about how good it was and how easy it was. So I made it, and LOVED it! So I guess I now have a new favorite Banana Cream Pie!http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/03/banana-cream-pie/

Butternut Squash Soup

I love finding new soup recipes, and everyone has been raving about butternut squash soup. So I put my little feelers out there for everyones recipes and when I found this one, I thought it was the best one for me to try! And it was awesome. I loved it. You can do it two ways as you can see in the two pics below. The one from Our Best Bites is completely blended to make a baby food like consistency. I like some substance in my soups, so what I did was take half the soup and blend it then added it back into what I left behind and came up with a perfect consistency! Give it a try! Here is my version:
And from Our Best Bites

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/10/butternut-squash-soup/

Gluten Free - Brazilian Cheese Rolls

For those of you wondering what kind of rolls to cook up for Thanksgiving that has to be Gluten Free, here you go! I just went to a cooking class at Kitchen Kneads themed for Breaking Dawn and they demonstrated them there. I'm in charge of rolls this year for Thanksgiving so I'm going to bake a batch of my Lion House Rolls, and a batch of these! These are sooooooooooooo easy, and soooo yummy! You actually blend the ingredients in a blender and pour them into the muffin pans. Love it! They are made with tapioca flour and have a yummy warm chewy middle from the cheese that brings on a whole new texture in these rolls, so enjoy!!! You can actually make the batter and store it in the fridge for up to a week.

*1 egg -

1/4 Cup olive oil

2/3 Cup milk

1 1/2 Cups tapioca flour

1/2 cup packed grated cheese - I liked montery and colby or chedder was good too

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp thyme (optional)

*you should have your egg at room temp. for optimal fluffiness. If you forget to plan ahead you can put your egg in a bowl of warm water for a few min.

Preheat oven to 400* Grease a mini muffin tin. Put all the ingredients into a blender and pulse until smooth. Scrape down the edges with a rubber spatula and blend again. Pour into the muffin tins almost to the top. Bake for 15-20 min. (I did 20) until puffy and lightly browned. It's definitely a bonus to eat while warm! Enjoy!

4 Packet Roast

So I'm back after a weekend of my 4 year old breaking his arm and getting surgery, to me getting the -semi tummy flu -. I know I haven't posted forever!! But here goes: I've made this one a few times, the last being this Sunday and was reminded at how easy and yummy this roast is! I have to say my favorite Roast to use is the Tenderloin Roast. It is soooooooo.... well, umm, Tender. Just make sure you get the roast out the day before to let it defrost. 1 Roast

1 Packet Lipton Onion Soup

1 Packet Ranch Dressing

1 Packet Brown Gravy

1 Packet Italian Dressing

3/4 Cup of Water or 1 Can Beef Broth

Just start with Searing your Roast with Olive oil on each side for 3 min. Put Roast in your crockpot and surround with your favorite veggies, mine being potatos, carrotts and onions. Then Sprinkle your packets on top, and last your liquid. I Put my crockpot on high for 2 hours and then low for the last 6 hours. Serve with your favorite sauce (Go 57 Sauce users!!!) Or you can use A1. It's best with all 4 packets but don't fret if you don't have them all every time. Yesterday I only had the ranch packet and the onion soup packet and it was still awesome!!

A fun way to do leftovers with this meal is in a heated tortilla with melted cheese and your meat & veggies ripped into smaller peices, Plus your sauce!

I got this recipe from Sisters Cafe: http://www.thesisterscafe.com/2010/09/4-packet-roast

Lion House Rolls

My friend Amy is THEE Master of Rolls! Ever since I met her I've known how much she loves her cheese sandwiches on bread, and her subways, and her rolls. She's a great cook, and a master at roll making. I've tried three kinds of her rolls and LOVE every single one of them. So today, I will start with the Lion House Rolls! I've use this in my 5 quart bowl Kitchen Aid and it works great. And don't forget to serve them with this Honey Butter

1/3 Cup Warm Water
2 tblsp yeast
3/4 Cup Sugar
3 eggs
9 Cups flour -divided
1 tblsp salt
3 Cups milk

2 Squares of Margarine (YUCK on Margarine, but soooooooo worth it in this recipe!!!)

Put your yeast in water and set aside. In a seperate microwavable bowl combine your 3 cups of milk and margarine. Microwave for 3 minutes. In your Mixing Bowl combine your sugar, eggs, 6 cups flour, & salt. Once combined, add your bowl of heated milk and mix for a few more minutes then add your yeast and mix well. Add about 3- 3 1/2 Cups flour and knead for a few minutes (until dough starts to pull away from bowl but still soft and sticky) Let rise 1 hour.

Take Bread out and knead on a floured (or buttered) surface for a minute. Break dough in half, and roll each piece into a rectangle. Spread Margarine all over the dough (I've skipped this step and it tastes fine) and cut into strips of about 1 1/2 inch by 3 inches. Grab the short side with both hands and flip the dough around and tuck end piece on the bottom. Pictures above are supposed to help with this!

Bake at 375* for 18 minutes.

Ham And Potato Soup

It's sooo hard to post all of my healthy dinners and snacks right in the middle of comfort food weather & the holidays! So please forgive me and don't lose faith in me, because I promise I have more up my sleeve, but who can resist right now? I say if you eat good 80% of the time, you can cheat the other 20% of the time and still feel good about yourself! On that note, here is some yummy Ham and Potato Soup that is quick and delicious. And yes, I did serve them in bread bowls. I know, bad!!!!! But ohhhh, soo good! Enjoy!

Ready in 45 min:

4 Cups Water
3 1/2 Cups peeled & diced potatoes

1 Cup diced cooked ham
1/3 Cup diced celery
1/3 Cup finely chopped onion
2 tblsp chicken bouillon granules
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

6 tblsp butter

6 tblsp flour

2 cups milk

Garnish options: bacon, chives & cheese!

If you are short on time microwave the potatoes for 5 minutes before you start, then follow the rest of the directions. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham & chicken bouillon in a stockpot. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender about 10 to 15 min. Add your salt & Pepper.

In a separate saucepan, melt butter over med - low heat. When melted, slowly whisk in flour 1 tblsp at a time with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick. About 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over med-low heat until thicker, 4-5 min. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot and cook soup until heated through. Serve Immediately!

Moms Sugar Cookies

I've been using this sugar cookie recipe my whole life. And I don't think I can ever change. The same frosting too! Maybe it's just what I'm used to, but I seriously bite into store boughten, or other home-made versions of sugar cookies and just don't love them. So I'm going to stick to what I LOVE. I found some black food coloring this year that was lots of fun because usually I only have orange, white and green. But Black puts the spirit into Halloween, don't ya think? 2/3 Cup Butter - Softenend
1 Cup Sugar
2 eggs - beaten
1/4 Cup Milk
1 tsp soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
4 Cups flour -divided
Cream together your butter and sugar. Add in your beaten eggs. Dissolve your soda in your milk and blend. Add your vanilla and salt and mix well. Gradually add about 3 1/2 Cups flour (the rest you will use to flour your surface and your rolling pin). The key to great sugar cookie dough is to NOT over mix it. The more you mix it, the harder your cookies will turn out. So just mix the dough until everything is well combind then I kind of ball it up with my hands, cover your bowl with cling wrap and let it chill for an hour. After chilled, preheat your oven to 350*. I break my ball of dough into 2 halfs. Flour your surface well and roll 1/2 of your dough until it's about 1/4 of an inch thick. You want THICK fluffy cookies, right? Then you need Thick, Fluffy dough my friends :). Don't over roll your dough either. Use it about 3 times, then throw away what didn't get used and move on to your second ball of dough. Cook for 8-10 min. You don't want to see the light golden brown that you usually want to see on other cookies :)

And for the best Frosting ever use this recipe:
6 TBLSP Butter -softenend
3 Cup Powdered Sugar ( or more, depending on how thick you want it.)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 Cup Milk (evaporated milk is best)
Add every thing in a medium mixing bowl except your milk. Mix with a blender while slowly adding your milk to the consistency you want your frosting. I usually don't use all the milk because I like my frosting thick! But one bit of advice about your vanilla: I usually like to use real foods, whole foods, not immitations. BUT when it comes to frosting or icecream, PLEASE use IMMITATION!! It makes a huge difference. Pure vanilla is just way too strong for frosting! Then frost those bad boys up with your kids and let your kids sprinkle them to death with treats!!! Chocolate covered toffee bits are awesome on them!!!!

Caramel Toffee Fruit Dip

If you are looking for something to serve at your next Halloween, or Thanksgiving party, you need to serve this! It's sooo easy, and fun to make with your kids, and it tastes AWESOME! If you are doing Thanksgiving you can totally switch out the cookie cutters for leaves or acorns. I had a lot of compliments for this one, it was one of those things where you just want to keep going back for! Warning: it doesn't make tons for a BIG party, so maybe double it. But if you are only doing one batch, make sure you get a really small pumpkin! Here is my rendition of this yummy treat. I know it doesn't look as appetizing as the one pictured above, but mind you I totally forgot to take a picture until last minute, so I took it with my camera phone without a cute black tablecloth to make those colors POP like that!!!! But I will tell you, I'm sure it tasted BETTER!!!

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/10/caramel-toffee-fruit-dip-halloween-edition/

Crockpot Coconut Chicken Curry

I bought Curry powder like a year ago knowing I wanted to make some kind of curry chicken but just never stumbled across the right recipe. Then I saw this one basically made of nothing but whole foods and soooooooooo good for you, AND it tastes great!!!! So easy to blend up your sauce, stick it in a crockpot and you are done for the day! If you like Indian Food, AND Healthy food, you have to try this one!!! I personally added about a 1/2 tsp of salt to this, but it's not necessary! And of course serve it over brown rice, or eat it plain if you are trying to eliminate carbs!

http://barefootandbaking.blogspot.com/2011/09/crockpot-coconut-chicken-curry.html

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ok, I know I promised these last week but I took a break and went on the Deer Hunt, and had a fabulous weekend eating these cookies! So I know I said before these cookies are made with whole wheat and don't even taste like it, apparently I'm wrong. I had a few people taste them and said they could taste the wheat, but they thought they were waaayyy yummy! Apparently I'm accustomed to the wheat flour taste, because I try and bake with it as much as I can! If you are scared, maybe do 2 cups whole wheat, 1 cup white flour, but I wouldn't be scared! If my little 4 year old picky eater begs for 2nd's and 3rd's, you can handle it!!! Enjoy!

1/2 Cup oil
2 eggs

1/2 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Brown Sugar

2 Cups Canned Pumpkin

3 Cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp ginger

2 Cups Chocolate Chips

Preheat Oven to 350*. Cream together your oil, eggs, sugars & pumpkin. Add in your dry ingredients until well mixed. Add in your chocolate chips. Drop by the spoonful onto your cookie sheets and bake for 10-12 min. or until a toothpick comes out dry.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Like I said before, I seriously had heart-ache about which pumpkin chocolate chip cookie to blog about so I decided to blog about both of them. THEN, my sweet sister brought over a batch she made from OUR BEST BITES, and I fell in love with them. Needless to say I LOVE pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and I don't think you can go wrong having a few recipes on hand. I will post the Whole Wheat ones tomorrow, but for now, enjoy these yummy ones!

2 eggs
1 Cup Sugar
1/2 cup olive oil

1 Cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

2 Cups flour

1 1/4 Cup Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 325* and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (optional). Combine the top 5 ingredients until well mixed. Then add all the dry ingredients except for the flour and mix well. Add in your flour, then your chocolate chips. Drop in big spoonfuls on cookie sheet and bake for about 14-15 min. or until toothpick comes out clean.