Wonton Soup

Believe it or not, there are days when I don't want to cook. Blasphemy, I know! So, the family and I will order out. Unfortunately, the Polar Vortex shut just about everything down this past week and I was forced to throw something together. I was cold. So... Soup's on!


You can do this two ways:



1) Make the wontons yourself. Here's how- Wontons/Dumplings

or...

2) Go to TJ's (Trader Joes) and pick up a frozen bag. So far, TJ's has the best pre-made wontons I have tasted- and that INCLUDES the ones at the Asian market. Not too shabby!

WONTON SOUP
Serves 2-4
Prep 20 minutes

• 3 cups water
• 1heaping tsp 'Better Than Bouillon' Organic Vegetable base (LOVE THIS STUFF!!)
• 1 pkg wontons
• 1/2 scallion- green part reserved and sliced
• 1 thinly sliced medium mushroom
• 3 shakes of Teriyaki sauce
• 2 tbsp Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar
• 2tsp Salt 

Let the water come to a boil and add the bouillon and wontons. Let them boil until fully cooked- they should rise to the top. Turn the heat down to medium. Add the Teriyaki and Vinegar. Add the scallion and mushroom into the serving bowls and ladle the soup on top.  Taste test! There. Done. Tasty and simple.

Tomatillos: Simple Salsa Verde & Hummus

Tomatillos? What do I do with them? 

Make salsa! Better yet...  make hummus! I've got it... DO BOTH!

Tomatillo means "little tomato" in spanish. Tomatillos are a member of the gooseberry family and are a staple in Mexican cuisine.  You can use them just like you would any tomato. They keep longer than red tomatoes; Husk them and I swear that they will stay ripe in the fridge for weeks! You can freeze them, too.

In a food processor add...

• 8 medium Tomatillos, peeled and washed  
• 1 medium onion
• 1 large handful of fresh cilantro (most of the stem removed)
• 10 spanish olives 
• 1 jalapeño pepper (The heat is up to you. Seed it or leave 'em in there. Want it really hot? Roast the jalapeño, first) 

Blend the above ingredients until smooth.

Add the blended tomatillo concoction to a storage container and add...

• 3 tsp salt 
• Freshly cracked pepper
• The juice of one large lime (or two small ones)
• 2 tsp Tajin* (I loooove Tajin!) 

Stir them together and TASTE IT! Adjust the flavor:  Need more salt? More pepper? More heat? It's up to you! You can serve it right away, but, it tastes much, MUCH better after a few hours. Overnight even.

Now. You have a choice: Eat it as salsa... or... go a step further and combine it with some homemade hummus. Duh!

First, make tahini paste, unless you have some store bought stuff? If not:

• 1 cup toasted sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup olive oil

In a food processor, blend the seeds together while drizzling the olive oil into the seeds. Pulse until a paste forms. Scrape the sides of the blender in between pulses. Scrape it out of there and put it in a container.

Now for the HUMMUS:

• In the same food processor add...
• 2 cups of canned chick peas- liquid strained & reserved
• 1tsp salt
• 2 garlic cloves
• The juice of 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup tahini
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 cup of tomatillo salsa
• 2 tbsp reserved chickpea water

*Add a tsp of Tomatillo Salsa, Cilantro and Cracked pepper to serve

Pulse all of these bad boys together and VOILA! Heaven. This recipe should satisfy even the veganist Vegan and Paleoist Caveman at any party, anywhere under the flipping sun!

Fake out: ChickFil-A

"Wow, mom! Did you get this from Chick-Fil-A?" -My 9 year old daughter. 

When I say that this recipe comes pretty damn close to CFA's chicken... I mean it. Rumor has it that they pressure cook their chicken then fry them, but, I don't have any time for that! Is it the EXACT recipe replica? No. Will it fool your family? There's only one way to find out. 


3 Chicken breasts
1 Cup Dill Pickle Juice
1 Pkg of Ritz Crackers
2 Handfulls Cheezits 
2/4 Cup flour

2 cups Peanut or Sunflower Oil

Butterfly your chicken and pound it a few times. We don't want it flat... just tenderized slightly. Next, decide whether you want a sandwich, tenders or nuggets. Slice your chicken breast accordingly and let it marinade in the pickle juice for 30 minutes. You can leave it longer and let it get even more flavorful. 

In a large ziplock bag add your crackers. Smash the crackers and add the flour. 

When your chicken is finished marinating, add the breast pieces to the bag of crumbs and shake them around, being sure to nicely coat them. 

Heat your oil in a skillet on high and fry them (in batches) for 7-9 minutes.  Sprinkle them with sea salt after they come out of the fryer and enjoy. 

Gone Paleo? Here's the alternate version. 

AICC2 goes NATIONAL!

REALLY QUICK! I'm pretty proud of myself these days! I push to do more, make goals and eat better (not less). I stopped telling myself that "I can't," anymore.

I sent in a letter a while back to Macaroni Kid, a web-based newsletter about family activities. The letter was about my weight loss. I have read the inspirational stories of "Fit Momma's" before me. I decided to submit my story.

Either the fitness editor really liked what I had to say or there weren't many stories submitted, but, NATIONAL Macaroni Kid chose my story to be featured as 'Momma Gone Fit!' They even plugged this blog!

If you are interested in reading my WHOLE story (Working on part four with ANOTHER different supplement) you can read them here.

Part I: Lose Your Fat

Part II: Supplement Junkie

Part III: Zumba

Part IV: Strength Training & Paleo-ish (coming soon)

Pumpkin Muffins with Spiced Mascarpone Cream

Stock up on the puree, kids, because the pumpkin spiced apocalypse is upon us! I'm also riding the Paleopocalypse. Judge if you must, but, my migraines have subsided and my stomach no longer "muffins" over my jeans. Hell, I haven't been this smaller size in a long, long time. Speaking of muffins... try these bad boys right here! My husband thought they were awesome... and he's a Paleo pessimist.
SHAZAM!

Paleo Pumpkin Muffins:

Yields:  12 large muffins 

Prep: 15min   Bake: 55min  350º

1 cup Almond flour 

1 cup Coconut flour (sifted)

3/4 cup Pumpkin Puree 

3 Lg eggs

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup coconut sugar

1 heaping tbsp Almond Butter

1tsp coconut oil (melted)

1/4 cup water

1/2tsp sea salt

*1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

*1/3 cup chopped pecans

*1/4 cup flaxseeds 

-------

2 tbsp mascarpone cheese

The rest of the can of pumpkin puree 

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Line your cupcake pan with muffin cups. Mix all of the muffin ingredients together. You'll notice that the consistency is somewhat lumpy. The coconut flour tends to do that- doesn't hurt the baking process a bit! Scoop the batter into the muffin cups and bake in a preheated oven for 50-60min at 350º.  *Feel free to omit these ingredients... but I wouldn't if I were you. They are so, so, sooooo gooood in this muffin! The muffins are ready when they are golden brown.

For the mascarpone filling:  Mix all of the ingredients together and chill while the muffins are baking. Add a dollop onto a warm muffin and DIG IN! You can eat TWO of these bad boys and it only counts as ONE SERVING?!  HELLO!

Simple Fruit Fly Trap: Kill those little S.O.B.'s!

No, this isn't a food recipe... unless you like fruit flies? They drive me bonkers!!!

Fruit flies are a real pain in the arse right around this time! Lucky for you, I have an irresistible trap... and I bet you have all of the things you need to create one:

1 Mason Jar (or a glass/cup)
1 Rubber band
1 piece of plastic wrap
1/4 cup of cider vinegar
1 squirt of liquid dish soap
1 splash of water

Combine the liquids in the mason jar. Cover the top with saran wrap and place the rubber band around it. Stretch the plastic wrap so it is tight across the top. Shake it up so bubbles appear. With a sharp steak knife, slice three 1" slits in the top of the plastic wrap. Set that bad boy out and walk away.



I guarantee, by the end of the day, you'll have a jar filled with dead flies. Look! Ew!

Peachy Pecan Pumpkin Spiked Ice Cream

I am the proud owner of a Cuisinart ice cream machine... as well as one BUSHEL of peaches. Oy! I decided to reserve a few from my canning endeavors and combine my love of peaches with my love of pumpkin spiced, well... everything. 

Be forewarned, this combination of heavy cream, nutmeg, and peaches is stupid good.

Stupid good. 

Peachy Pumpkin Spiced Ice Cream:  
Makes 1.5 quarts/ 10 Servings 

1 cup whole, (natural) milk 

2 cups of (natural) heavy cream

1 pinch of salt

3/4 cup of sugar 

1/2 cup of local honey 

4 medium, fresh peaches, skinned and diced

3 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

1/2 cup crushed pecans 

In a bowl, mix all of your ingredients together, except the honey and pecans. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Be sure to place your freeze bowl attachment in the freezer.

When you are ready to churn the ice cream (Ha! "Churn." More like, "push the 'start button") add the mixture to the freeze bowl and get that bad boy going! 

Once you notice the mixture creaming together, add your pecans. After the ice cream hardens, drizzle in the honey. You want to have hard bits of sweet honey hitting your taste buds! 

20 minutes later and VOILA! You have a delicious, all natural, ice cream.  If you want to reduce your artificial sugar intake, use all honey, but, slowly heat it together with the whole milk and then refrigerate. 

If you need more instructions on this, just leave me a message and I'll fill you in. 

If you're looking for MORE peach recipes, preferably of the jarring variety, check out my recipes devoted to peaches: Chutney and Habanero Peach BBQ.