Recipe: Gluten Free Crock Pot Chili Mac

I have a few meals that are in my monthly rotation and each time I make them, I wing it. 

There is no recipe to this, I just added what I had. 

Of course I'll write out a recipe for you of what I did this time, as it was one on the best chili's I've made to date (says my hubby). 

Ingredients: 

-1 pound ground chicken

-1 pound grass fed beef

-2 cans black beans, drained (you can also buy dry beans and soak them over night)

-2 can diced tomatoes (you can also use fresh tomatoes)

-1/2 green pepper

-1/2 red pepper

-1/2 yellow onion

-3 tablespoons chili powder

-3 tablespoons turmeric 

-2 tablespoons cumin

-1 cup gluten free noodles

-shredded cheese (optional)

-sour cream (optional) 

Directions: 
-Turn your crock pot to low and add both pounds of frozen meat (you can use thawed meat, just lower cook time)
-Open all cans,  drain the beans, and add to crock pot
-Dice peppers and onions and add to crock pot
-Add all seasoning to top and put lid on



-After a few hours I used the tool below to chop up the meat (you can get one on Pampered Chef).
-Let cook for 7-9 hours. Turn to high if you want to speed up the cook time.
-After fully cooked, add 1 cup gluten free noodles of choice (can be rice or corn flour noodles) and let cook for 30 more minutes.


Add cheese and sour cream (if you want) and serve.


What do you put in your chili? 

Recipe: Gluten Free Cinnamon Oat Baked Apples

I saw this pin on Pinterest and knew right away I was going to make this but in a gluten free version. I would have also made it dairy free if it was just for me and the kids, but we were heading to a dinner party so I decided to make it GF only. (I'll add the dairy free version below too!)

Here is what you'll need: 

• 4 gala apples
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/3 cup pecans (optional)
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tbs apple juice
• Whipped cream (optional) 
• 
  
• *For dairy free use Willow Run Soybean Margarine by Shedd's in place of the butter and Greek yogurt made with almond milk
• 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350. Combine oats and pecans with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Spread out on a baking sheet in a thin layer and bake for 4-6 minutes until golden and toasted. Remove and set aside. Reduce oven temp to 325.
2. Rinse and core the apples, but make sure not to cut through the bottom of the apple. You can use an apple corer or a paring knife. Make sure seeds are removed as well (scoop out with spoon)
3. In a bowl combine oat-pecan mixture with brown sugar, yogurt , melted butter and cinnamon. Spoon mixture into the cavity of each apple. Place apples in an 8X8 inch baking dish. Pour apple juice in the bottom of dish.
4. Bake at 325 for 30-40 minutes until tender (not mushy). Top with whipped cream or ice cream and serve.

 

Here is the finished product: 

In the end I totally forgot to top them with whip cream (it's still in your freezer Kaitlyn), but they were darn good either way.

I can't wait to make them again for my kids between now and Thanksgiving. They were good, but I can do better. ;)

What do you think? Have you ever tried oat baked apples? 

Happy Halloween! 

A Healthier way to Live

Since having children, my quest to live a healthier life has become more and more important me and my family. 
After my son was diagnosed with autism 2 and 1/2 years ago we learned a lot and made tons of dietary changes. We have followed a bio-medical path and introduced many vitamins and minerals that have brought us to our current path for him and for us.

Now, my focus continues to be on my sons health and healing, but I'm am branching out if you will and looking to improve my entire families health and well being. 

Enter my new segment, A Healthier Way to Live.

Today I share with you two simple changes to eliminate chemicals both in your home and on your body. 

1) A simple way to clean and get rid of sink/garbage disposal odor. 

OK, who had seen the movie The Banger Sisters (circa 2002)? 
In the wise words of Susan Sarandon to Goldie Hawn "lemons eliminate odder Suzette!" (If you know this quote, we are best friends ;) 
She's right though, it totally works! 
Simply cut up a lemon and put it down your disposal and ta da, odor gone! Plus I'm pretty sure cutting the rind on the lemon sharpens your blades so double win. 

You DO want to make sure you cut the lemon up though, not trying to break your garbage disposal. 

2) Deodorant. 
Stop putting that crap under your arms!!! It can cause severe harm to the human nervous system and will inevitably lead to cancer or neurological problems (such as Alzheimer's disease). You can learn more about that here. 

So what is our other option? No deodorant? Let yourself smell and sweat? I'm going hippie on you guys, but not that hippie! ;) 

Then I discovered Schmidt's deodorant. Here is what it looks like: 

You take a pea size amount and using your fingers apply to each under arm. 

This stuff is AMAZING! Like life changing! 

Before this, I used Degree AND the clinical strength Dove. Yes, both. I would apply the clinical strength in the morning and degree in the afternoon. I have always put deodorant on twice a day. 

I run around all day between kids and work stuff, do yoga some days, and attend events some nights. My days generally run 14-17 hours on my feet 7 days a week.

I still apply twice a day with this brand, but not only does the lavender smell calm me down a bit, I don't feel like I smell or am too sweaty! 

It's only $8 so you can't say your reason for not switching is the price. 

I did keep my degree in case I have a big event and I'm scared to put this stuff to the test, but wearing the bad stuff one day vs twice a day may have just saved my life. 

And now I've saved yours. 

You're welcome. xo

Does anyone know of any other great organic and natural deodorants that actually work?

Does anyone have any questions for the next time I run this segment?

Recipe: Burger Night (The Basics)

In my home I cook everyday. Some days I use the crockpot, some days I use a recipe book, sometimes I just figure things out by trial and error, and other days I use my grandma's and mother's recipes and just alter them to fit our dietary needs.

One of the most basic foods of summer is burgers. It's quick, easy, and when season properly it is darn good.

Ingredients:

1 pound grass fed organic beef (local if possible)

1 teaspoon Sea salt

1 teaspoon Black pepper

1 teaspoon Garlic powder

2 teaspoons Turmeric

4 splashes of Worcestershire sauce

What to do:

1) In a medium sized bowl, mix all ingredients by hand.

2) After they are combined separate into four equal parts.

3) Hand shape each burger (or you can use a burger press. I like to make less dishes and just hand shape).

4) Grill. I grill over low heat for about 5 minutes on each side for medium-well burgers.

We don't eat dairy often, but I decided to put cheese on mine and a gluten free bun.

I ended up serving it with a spinach salad with tomato's, cucumber, and mushrooms from our local farmers market.

What do you think?

Do you make your own burgers or buy pre formed patties?

Obviously you could add fun things like avocado, bacon, stuffed with cheese, lettuce, onions, etc, but I wanted to just cover the basics. ;)

A Decade of Commitment

Every year my hubby's band Lucky Boys Confusion plays at the House of Blues Chicago.
These are always my favorite shows, but this year was extra special.  

This year, they celebrated A Decade of Commitment (10 years since their album Commitment came out).  Most of you know by now that I'm the worst rock wife ever as I do not know all their songs (or the words for that matter to most), but when it comes Commitment, I got that one! BEST ALBUM EVER! Seriously, if you do not own, get it, listen to it over and over..it's amazing. 

Here is what i wore to the show:

Top: Piperlime (sold out) // Shorts: Free People // Bag: Rachel Zoe // Shoes: c/o Sole Society // Cuff: House of Gemmes // Bracelets: Baublebar // Watch: Fossil // Necklace: c/o Sarah Aghili // Rings: Lili Claspe

Ryan set the drums up at our house and has been playing daily for well over a month now. I realize I did not know him back when they became a band 16 years ago, but I'd go as far as to say he is playing the best drums of his life! 

I have been so proud of him with how much he is practicing and how he does that for over an hour ever night after he works a 9-10 hour shift at work. I'm also proud that he waits until he has spent dinner and family time with the kids to start practicing so the kids have lots of dad time. 
I am one lucky girl! (pun intended!)

Here are some shots from the show:

Head over to the Sisters Marie Blog today to see Kaitlyn's full outfit details.

This is one of my favorite moves that the hubby does. I'm so glad I caught it on film this year! Rock God much?! ;) 

This was hands down the best Lucky Boys Show I have even been to! The band sounded amazing the energy from the sold out crowd was so cool. Literally everyone in the house was screaming the words at the top of their lungs and dancing their asses off. 

If you miss it, boy did you miss out! 

Where you are the show this past Friday?

Are you a fan of Commitment?