Healthier Thanksgiving!!!!

So in my little family we are starting to shy away from processed foods and trying to get healthy!!!
   My husband is a diabetic so when he is home I try to make sure suppers are more friendly for him. This means that I don't use as much sugar, I cut down on my carbs and fats. Great for the entire family!!!! The main issue we have come upon is the holiday meals. Thanksgiving and Christmas being the worst culprits of destroying the diet. This year I am putting in motion some "new" versions of some of our favorite things. Since he will not be home on the actual holiday we are having supper a few days late. Also I will be 36 weeks pregnant with our second little boy, so cooking the entire feast just isn't in the cards!

   This years menu:

    Crock Pot Turkey Breast- Easier to cook, less maintenance, less fat, and best of all we can still go to the town Santa Parade while it's cooking!!!!
    Turkey Gravy- This is for me. I love gravy but the boys don't.
    Mashed Sweet Potatoes- Yes I have posted these many times :) We love sweet potatoes and they are better to my husbands blood sugar than a traditional potato! To make this even better I will be cutting down the butter a bit!
    Green Bean Casserole- No this is not the traditional canned soup and super processed onion recipe but OMG we love love love this recipe and have made it many times!
    Cranberry Sauce- I admit this is the over processed and canned stuff... Why? Because well it reminds me of my childhood and denying a very pregnant woman this is not a smart idea :) I will be the only one partaking in this.
    Whole Wheat Rolls- I will be getting them from a bakery because I admit me and breads that need to rise do NOT work. I manage to mess them up all the time.
    Pumpkin Custard- This one is the biggie for us. We all LOVE Pumpkin Pie but as you know it is chocked full of Carbs, Fat, Calories, and Sugars. This custard has all the flavor with so much less of the bad stuff!!!!!!

  This covers the basic meal. No there is not any Stuffing/Dressing. You just really can't make it healthy and it's not needed with the rolls already on the table.

   Now recently I read an article about how many calories the average american consumes for Thanksgiving and frankly I was disgusted. 3000-5000 calories! That is the equivalent of my eating for 2-3 days (again I am pregnant here!). So I sat down and calculated my meal totals and then I padded it to account for the extra roll here or scoop of green beans.
  Coming to a Grand Total of:


 Calories-1500
 Fat-  140
 Carbs- 90
 Protein-100

   Is this perfect NO!!!! Next year I aim to drop the Fat and Carbs Down more! But for the first year trying to make this very heavy and traditional meal better I am pleased with how I did. Since our meal is not on the actual holiday we are able to go out and take a nice long walk after our supper to work off everything. We will have "free foods" for later in the night if someone get's hungry (points at self) and a lighter breakfast so that we keep our numbers under 2000 for the day. Making our day 1000 calories under the lower number for the "Average" Thanksgiving supper!  

Car Seat Safety.

This is something near and dear to my heart. I didn't have all the information with my oldest was a baby and now when I look back I thank the lord we never got into an accident. So here is some information I have found and compiled to easily show the do's and don'ts

On your car seat there is a little clip between the straps and it is called the Chest Strap! It really does need to go at arm pit level. Having it lower is not safe as if you were to get into an accident it will push into the soft organs and possibly cause internal injuries.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRbNSWVVUm8

Rear facing vs. Forward facing

  Rear facing is the Law at our children’s age when they come home. There are no car seats that I know of that even allow a child that small to forward face. Now I won’t get into the debate of ERF(Extended Rear Facing)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sssIsceKd6U&feature=fvwrel

Keeping our children warm in the winter.

  Coats are NOT safe in the car seat! There are many ways and options to keep our babies safe and warm.

There are of course blankets, car seat poncho’s (this is my favorite) and of course yes you can put the coat on backwards AFTER your child is properly buckled in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNGT9eBL_gg&feature=related

When Rear facing the straps need to be below shoulder level, they need to be tight with no slack, no twisting in the straps!  Aftermarket items are not to be used. They aren’t needed either.  This video will show you proper tightness, clip placement, and most of all will show you that there is no need for head positioners.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvzPZfba4ys&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM1LJaOIu34&feature=related

Installing your car seat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq5Olcp1r8o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dJbYUmWpSY&feature=relmfu

QC was in a mood so this was just for me tonight. I have to say YUMMY. I am loving some of these new recipes I am trying.
http://theokiecollegegirl.com/recipes/2011/10/gluten-free-cheeseburger-pie/

Gluten Free Cheeseburger Pie

1	lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1	medium onion, chopped
1/2	teaspoon salt
1/8	teaspoon pepper
1	cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
1/2	cup Bisquick® Gluten Free mix
1	cup milk
3	eggs

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray. In 10-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in salt and pepper. Spread in pie plate

; sprinkle with cheese.

In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, milk and eggs until blended. Pour into pie plate.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Next time I am going to add a little more Cheese not because it need's it but because I want more. This was amazing and super stupid easy. Add your cheeseburger condiments and you are eating a burger!

Chicken Parmesan!

  This is one of those meals that I still to this day don't understand why it costs so much to order at a restaurant. It's super simple to make!!

You are going to need:
  Eggs
 Bread Crumbs
 Spice mix
 Parmesan
  Red Sauce
 Pasta
  Mozzarella
  Boneless skinless chicken breast

   Yes that is it!

You are going to need your dredging stations. Egg  and breadcrumbs. I season my eggs with spices and Parmesan as well as my breadcrumbs. More layers of seasoning!  I had 3 breasts left in my freezer and was just cooking for QC and I.

I make my own breadcrumbs and stick the extra in the freezer for the next time. Mine was made with low sodium wheat bread, Parmesan, and my seasoning mix.

Dip into the egg then breadcrumbs to coat. 

In a pan with warm oil add the chicken and lightly brown on both sides. 

I don't use much oil because I truly don't think it needs much. Now these aren't cooked all the way through but are close. Take out and place on paper towels for the time being.

Next I add a jar of pasta sauce to the same pan with all the goodies on the bottom of the pan. This gives it just a bit more flavor!  I used jarred sauce since I was just using up my pantry items tonight :) I only buy glass jars because I like to use them for hot oil and for craft items later on.

Once the sauce starts to bubble add the chicken back into the pan and cover. Let simmer on low for about 5-8min. Until chicken is cooked through. 

While this is all going on cook up some pasta to serve your chicken over.

Add Parmesan and mozzarella cheese on top at the very end of cooking. 

Serve your meal with a veggie.

This yummy pasta was Amish made from my Local farmer's market! YUMMY

I was out of mozzarella cheese and didn't realize until the very end luckily I had some amazing sweet cream Havarti from the Farmer's Market that I used instead and the consistency was just the same. 

QC adored supper tonight and made quite a mess. Apparently his nose and ears loved the food as well. :)

Comfort Food Night!- Chicken Fried Steak

First off let me start off saying that I love that the weather is finally in the 70s instead of the 100s. I can make all these goodies again. I am getting my fill of my not so great foods since I am going to be dipping my toes into Gluten Free for my whole families health! I am going to be working on adaption once I start. But will still have a lot of my home cooked goodies! I will be giving the regular recipes and the alternatives so you can use either or!!
    Now on to supper! I have been wanting some Chicken Fried Steak for about 2 weeks but it was either to hot or I just didn't feel good. Pregnant in summer woo hoo! Today it had to happen. On the menu is Chicken Fried Steak, Lumpy Mashed Potatoes (the Mister's favorite kind), green beans (QC loves them so there can't be enough lately), with a pan gravy(I adore gravy's). Notice here how I don't add measurements... I honestly do NOT measure unless I am baking, much like my cousin over at Confluent Kitchen. I can give approximate amounts but really everything is more to the taste and flavoring I like.

What you need:
   Steak:
     Tenderized Steaks (Mine were marked down $2!!)
     Flour
     Seasonings
     Egg
     Milk
     Shortening
   
Mashed Potatoes:
   Potatoes (I got some wonderful red skinned ones from the Farmer's Market)
   Butter
   Milk
   Cheese
   Seasonings
   Salt

Green Beans:
   Frozen Green Beans
   Butter
   Seasonings

Pan Gravy:
   Pan Drippings
   Flour
   Milk


Tools:
    Bowl for mashing
    Potato Masher
    Knife
    Sauce Pan
    Frying Pan
    Baking Sheet
    Whisk
    Microwave Safe Bowl
    Plastic Wrap
    Plates or Bowls for Dredging
    Fork
    Spoon

QC spent this cooking session in the living room with the Wiggles since I don't want him in the room with hot oil. Gave him a snack and a cup and he was most happy to watch me and the TV. We were able to talk the whole time but I felt safer with him away from the kitchen. 

First thing I did was cut up my potatoes to about 1inch pieces. This was about 1 1/2 cups of potatoes. I am only cooking for QC and I most nights. 

Put in pan with water about 1inch above potatoes and add a dash or two of salt. 

Now I added about 2tbsp of shortening to my frying pan and put on medium heat to melt and get hot.

Dredging station 1: I am only making 5 small pieces so I used 1 egg, a splash (maybe tbsp) of milk and seasonings (maybe about 1 tsp)

Dredging station 2: Flour (about 1cup) and my seasonings (about Tbsp or Tbsp and a half) I Whisked both stations up separately so they are well mixed. NOTE: I seasoned both stations since I want these steaks to be seasoned throughout. 

My Tenderized Steaks. These were much bigger but I cut them to more manageable pieces.

With a fork (no I didn't want it on my hands) cover in flour. Knocking off excess flour.

Into the egg to cover. Reason I do the flour first is it helps the egg stick.

Dip in the flour again and you should have something that looks a lot like this.

Fly until light brown on both sides and cooked through.

This foil is for the steaks since it took more than one frying to get them all cooked I put them on the foil and in the oven on 250 until they were all cooked. This kept them warm while I finished the rest of supper!

3tbsp butter in the bottom of my bowl for the potatoes! I like to put the hot drained potatoes right on top to melt it well.

This is how I cook my green beans. Nothing real hard or special. Throw the frozen veggies in a bowl, add water (just enough to cover bottom of bowl)

Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 3 minutes. 

Pan Drippings from the steaks. This is going to make an amazing gravy!

Add about a tbsp flour to the drippings

Stir until all mixed in and it starts to thin up.

Add milk (about 1/4 cup)

Whisk 

Keep whisking and adding tbsp by tbsp until your gravy looks like this. A little runny since it sits for another couple of minutes off the heat. It will thicken up wonderfully!

Drain your potatoes. I test mine with a fork to make sure they are soft all the way.

Throw on top of the butter and add the seasonings. Now I really can't tell you how much since everyone likes things seasoned a bit differently. I prefer mine to be nice and herby. 

Notice they look a little dry.

Add a splash of milk and mix until they look creamy. I added about 1/4 cup sharp cheddar on mine because I like them that way. I covered with plastic wrap while I finished dishing up supper!

Here are my steaks. Since it was only QC and I I only breaded 2 steaks and the rest were just fried for tomorrow.( I am not a fan of reheated breaded meats)

And now for my plate! It looks soo soo yummy!

QC's plate! He actually ate the steak!! 

The inside of my steak, this seriously melted in your mouth!

Mommy try one! He is really getting into the whole sharing thing!

QC Gobbled down supper tonight.

This is one you can double or triple if you wish! Taste while you are cooking (no not the raw meat), and find that balance that suits you, and have fun cooking!