Meatballs!

I’m posting my usual meatball recipe today so I can find it again when I need it!

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 lb ground beef
• cooked bacon (between 1/4-1/2 cup when chopped)
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs (I save heels for this)
• fresh basil if available
• 1/4 cup yogurt
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp sea salt
• other seasoning, as desired

Mix together; shape into small balls and bake at 400 degrees F until cooked through.  Overcooking makes dry meatballs!

Yield: about 60 small meatballs

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Menu, week of Feb 23

Monday

• bacon, egg & cheese muffins; oranges
• leftover roast beef, rice, and carrots
• steak; baked sweet potatoes; steamed broccoli

Tuesday

• leftover bacon, egg, & cheese muffins; oranges
• stir-fry with leftover steak & veggies
• just me – leftovers from freezer

Wednesday

• apple crisp; milk
• pressure-cooked cube steaks with mushrooms and something
• brown bag: sandwiches; apples

Thursday

• leftover apple crisp; milk
• ?
• stuffed delicata squash; cucumber salad

Friday

• leftover bacon, egg & cheese muffins
• ?
• rice pasta & frozen meatballs; green beans from freezer

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Menu, week of Feb 9

I’ve  been terrible about posting menus lately and the main reason for that is I’ve not been coming up with any.  My Etsy shop has kept me so busy I’ve barely given a thought to what we’ll eat until it is too late!  Fortunately I was able to purchase an Instant Pot a couple of months ago and it has been a real life-saver on those days I forget to get meat out of the freezer in time for dinner.  Here’s a half-hearted attempt at a menu for this week:

Monday

• apple crisp from freezer; raw milk
• leftover burrito bowls
• grain-free oven fried drumsticks; cauliflower mascarpone gratin; baked delicata squash (and bake sandwich bread and pumpkin custards for breakfast while oven is on)

Tuesday

• pumpkin custards; raw milk
• leftover chicken?
• just me – something from freezer or leftovers in fridge

Wednesday

• pumpkin custards; raw milk
• burgers; creamy roasted cauliflower & potato soup
• sandwiches; apples

Thursday

• apple-cranberry smash; raw milk
• curried butternut soup with cheese crisps
• slow-cooked lemon chicken; potatoes; asparagus

Friday

• leftover apple smash
• leftover butternut soup
• Vietnamese Cauli-fried Rice

Saturday & Sunday

• just me – leftovers

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Menu, week of Nov 3

Monday

• leftover zucchini cake; raw milk
• curried butternut soup with cheese crisps
• slow-cooked chicken with rice and carrots

Tuesday

• quiche; pomegranate; milk
• leftover chicken etc
• kids gone; leftovers for me

Wednesday

• pumpkin custards; milk
• burgers; fried potatoes; salad from garden; lacto-fermented pickles
• sandwiches; apples; lentil chips

Thursday

• leftover quiche etc
• leftover curried butternut soup
• son cooks! meatloaf; baked delicata squash; frozen green beans

Friday

• leftover pumpkin custards
• leftover meatloaf etc
• beef stew

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J’s Peanut Butter Frosting

A friend turned 40 today and I baked some Banana Cupcakes for a treat at their request.  But, hey!  You only turn 40 once and I was super bummed that they had asked for plain ol’ banana muffins.  I asked if I could at least top them with peanut butter frosting and they agreed that was acceptable, so this is what I came up with:

• 6 Tblsp soft butter
• 2 Tblsp palm shortening
• ~ 1 cup peanut butter
• 2 Tblsp maple syrup
• 1 1/4 cups Trader Joe’s powdered sugar (includes tapioca starch rather than the conventional corn starch)

And I whipped it all up and topped the cupcakes once they were cool.  The frosting was sweet enough to be special without screaming “I’M 100% SUGAR!!”  However, this recipe is not GAPS-legal.

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Menu, week of Oct 20

Monday

• leftover zucchini muffins from freezer; hard-boiled eggs; raw milk
• leftover beef stew
• out for a conference, kids at my parents’

Tuesday

• banana and bulletproof coffee (kids at my parents’)
• slow-cooked chicken, white rice, and veggies
• eggs for me, kids gone

Wednesday

• leftover muffins; milk
• leftover chicken, rice & veggies
• sandwiches; apples

Thursday

• pumpkin custard; milk
• sweet potato peanut soup over brown rice
• Julia Child’s Eggplant Pizzas – daughter cooks!

Friday

• leftover custard; milk
• burgers; pan-fried okra – son cooks!

Saturday

Sunday

• leftover waffles from freezer; milk

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Menu, week of Oct 6

Monday

• zucchini spice muffins; milk
• leftover eggplant gratin
• slow-cooked beef tongue; carrots; red potatoes (daughter cooks!)

Tuesday

• 3-seed porridge with applesauce and blueberries; milk
• butternut, turnip, and onion hash with leftover beef
• just me – eggs?

Wednesday

• eggs and bacon; zucchini spice muffins; milk
• chili and “corn”bread
• sandwiches; apples; lacto-fermented pickles

Thursday

• apple crisp; milk
• french onion soup (son cooks!)

Friday

• leftover french onion soup
• high-temp round roast and veggies

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Menu, week of Sep 29

Monday

• grain-free apple-cranberry smash; raw milk
• Trader Joe’s hot dogs; lacto-fermented pickles; watermelon or grapes
• slow-cooked chicken with carrots and white rice in bone broth

Tuesday

• leftover apple smash; milk
• skirt steak; butternut squash
• eggs for me, kids gone

Wednesday

• carrot zucchini cupcakes; milk
• leftover chicken, rice & veggies
• sandwiches; apples; pickles

Thursday

• leftover carrot zucchini cupcakes; milk
• waffles; bacon; fruit
• burgers; oven-roasted okra and fries – son cooks!

Friday

• leftover waffles; milk
• chicken livers; brown rice in bone broth; pickles
• burgers; eggplant gratin or eggplant involtini

Saturday

• leftover waffles
• leftover skirt steak; butternut squash
• Creole Okra Gumbo

Sunday

• leftover waffles
• leftover gumbo
• something with zucchini

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Review: GAPS Pound Cake (Paleo, Gluten Free, Grain Free)

I was looking for a breakfast cake recipe to try with the last of the peaches from our tree and found this pound cake recipe.  I decided to double the recipe and then I accidentally quadrupled the honey rather than simply doubling it – oops! – and my kids thought it was delicious.  Of course.  :)  Since I had added extra honey I thought I’d add a little coconut flour to give the cake more body.  So here’s what I did:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup honey (next time I will use no more than 3/4 cup)
• 8 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1 tsp baking soda

I melted the butter and coconut oil together and added to the other liquid ingredients, then added the dry ingredients and poured into a greased 9″ x 7″ baking pan.  I baked at 350 degrees Fahrenheit but the top browned VERY quickly at that temp (next time I won’t go higher than 325 degrees).  The result was a nice dense cake that would be great with strawberries and whipped cream (or whipped coconut cream).  I think you could easily use all coconut oil if you need to stay dairy-free.  Also, halving this recipe and baking in a loaf pan would work very well.

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Menu, week of Sep 15

Monday

• leftover sausage, egg, & cheese muffins; watermelon; milk
• leftover zucchini lasagna
• slow-cooked chicken; carrots; rice

Tuesday

• leftover sausage, egg, & cheese muffins; watermelon; milk
• leftover chicken etc
• kids make sandwiches – me: leftover something

Wednesday

• leftover sausage, egg, & cheese muffins; milk
• burgers; lacto-fermented pickles etc
• sandwiches; apples from Farmer’s Market

Thursday

• ? banana zucchini muffins of some sort?; milk
• lunch out – it’s my birthday!

Friday

• leftover muffins?

Saturday

Sunday

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