World's Best and Easiest Potato Leek Soup

I am not kidding. I threw this into a pot, sauteed a bit, stirred a bit, threw more ingredients in, let boil, blended smooth, and added the creamy stuff to the end and I was done.

It took me an hour, but only because I kept forgetting I was cooking. So this recipe is very forgiving, too. I like that in a recipe!

Brace Yourself. Winter is Coming

Yes, I am a Game of Thrones fan....but in reality, Winter really is coming. Some would argue that it is already here as it is COLD outside. I think our high today is 18 degrees. Our windchill is in the negatives. And it's only November!

A few months ago, I started playing around with sugar body scrubs. I dislike spending money on store-bought things. Preferring instead to make them myself if at all possible. Well, sugar body scrubs are possible. And easy. I won't ever purchase sugar scrubs from someone else again. (Of course, if you'd rather have *me* make you some, I'll be happy to charge you for them! lol)

No Soy No Gluten Cashew Chicken

Being on the Whole30 bandwagon has really opened our eyes to how much sugar, soy or corn they put in ALL the pre-processed foods out on the market today. And if you have a gluten intolerance? well, good luck to you...that's hard!
And being on Whole 30, soy, sugar and corn are all No-No's....along with no legumes, dairy, alcohol and grain products. It's fairly restrictive. But you know what? We feel better. We actually *feel* better.  There is a noticeable difference in our skin, joints, and general demeanor.

Quiche- a Whole30 experiment

Some time during the second week of your Whole30 experience, you're going to get extremely tired of scrambled or hard-boiled eggs. So what do you do?

Well, we made a quiche.

I know, I know. Quiche has milk or cream. Not to mention a flour crust. But I seemed to have got past those little hurdles...although I am still experimenting. Here's what I have come up with so far:

Chicken Bang Bang

I have no idea why I named this recipe Chicken Bang Bang.  Maybe I need a bit more soup, I mean sleep? Well, for whatever reason, this soup came out fabulous. Of course, I was trying to make this soup, but didn't have all the ingredients so I had to modify it to what I had on hand because I was also being lazy and didn't want to go to the grocery store.

Almond Satay

As I was perusing recipes this morning, I ran across Satay....a wonderful Thai peanut sauce to serve with grilled chicken...very Thai....very good.

Except, on Whole 30 peanuts are a no no. As is the soy sauce and brown sugar. Both prohibited on Whole 30. So I wondered long and hard...could I make a Satay using almond butter instead?
Why not? I thought. It may not be as sweet as the original peanut satay, but I've been doing Whole 30 for a while now and sweetness is not a requirement any longer. I'm happy to say I prefer flavorful over sweet, any day.

Healthy Coconut Chicken Bites

I love chicken. I do. Really. I mean, I love chicken a lot.  Especially chicken breasts. Oh la la! Many people dislike chicken because it is plain. Oh Contraire!
What I've found is that chicken takes on the flavor of what you cook with it.
Some people complain that chicken breasts are dry. Nope! Wrong again. (Well, I guess they *could* be right....if they cook it too long.)
Treat chicken nice, and it will be a thing of beauty that will melt in your mouth.

Being on Whole30, chicken is a blessing because it is low in calories. Unfortunately, you are almost relegated to dry rubs and grilling. Not so any longer!

Juicy Whole Roasted Chicken & Red Potatoes -Whole30 Approved

I had a whole chicken just sitting in my freezer for the *longest* time. I figured I had better cook that baby up! So I slow roasted it in the oven over a four-hour period. It was so darn good! I immediately realized my mistake...I should have taken pictures!

This time...mind you, it's only been two days since I made the first roasted chicken, and today sent my fiance go get another whole chicken for me to roast for pictures....I took pictures! The chicken comes out so tender, it is already falling off the bone when you pull it out of the oven.

Don't you wish you could eat this right now?

Healthy Trail Mix at Home

We bought a dehydrator a while back...like, over a year ago.....and I have been a dehydrating fool ever since. I love it! And when dehydrating, my basement smells fantastic! Especially when I have peaches or strawberries going.

Tropical Smoothie

I know Whole30 doesn't want you drinking your calories. And Paleo doesn't really care, so long as you get your fruit. Both diets just do not want you adding sugar. To ANYTHING.

Whole30 Compliant Fire-y Crock-Pot Tomato Soup

I started the Whole30 challenge 5 days ago. [sigh] I really miss bread.....

But - it has forced me to change the way I think about food. So far, I've not had the grumpies, or anything else most people go through on their first four days. I guess I'm lucky on that.
The fiance' is also benefiting from my culinary adventures....he has liked what I've cooked so far.

Yummy Fire-y Crock pot Tomato Soup

A Little Slice of Heaven

A while back my better half won free plane tickets (and because they dragged their feet, free car rental, too!) to anywhere in the continental USA. Where did we go? Well, where else? Virginia.
Not because we love Virginia, but because we are big history nerds and wanted to see Jamestown (the original, not the tourist trap one), Williamsburg and Yorktown.
And because my brother lives near there, we crashed at his place. So other than food (which we would eat no matter where we were), our trip was free!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Dream Cups

Yesterday's Cherry Cheesecake Cups were such a huge hit, I thought I would try my hand at making one with my favorite combo of flavors- Chocolate and peanut butter. Oh how I love thee! And if I do say so, these turned out absolutely fantastic!
These whip up so quickly, there's no reason why you can't make a dessert several nights a week...

Easy Shredded Chicken

I started thinking that there must be an easier and quicker way to shred chicken then using two forks and 30 minutes of my time.
Tada! There is! Oh yeah, video below the fold....

Easy Garden Hose Wreaths

I had a 50' garden hose that didn't fit in my little garden hose reel bucket thingy (that's the technical term). So I thought about throwing the hose away, being as space is at a premium where I live.
Then I thought, why would I throw out a perfectly good hose? Why not cut it up instead?
So I did.

Absolutely Easy Peasy Yet Fantastic Chicken Enchiladas

Yeah, I totally made that name up. But it's true. Really it is.

And while I do make my own salsa, you can too. Or buy *cough* *cough* store bought. That's fine. Although I cannot vouch for the taste if you do.
I usually make a double batch of enchiladas because, well, a single batch just isn't enough for two growing boys and Grau. Seriously.  The last time I made these, I only slightly increased the amounts and made 13 enchiladas, and Grau's elderspawn ate eight on his own. I know! EIGHT! Wow.