Meatloaf with Lentils (original recipe)

I've been in search of a good meatloaf recipe for a while, and I finally gave up and made my own. It took a few times (trial and error!) to get the right ratios, but it's finally done and with pleasing results! It held together and tasted good to everyone (including the kids).

I am having trouble getting a decent photograph of it in a pan, though. Grease from the meat and having to use my old phone for these pictures certainly didn't help!

I served it with mashed potatoes and green beans, though the pictures seem to have disappeared from my camera. The last time I made it we served it with homemade potato wedges.

Meatloaf
1/3c milk
2 eggs
2t sage
2t thyme
1t pepper
1/2c dry lentils (cook before using)
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
1# ground beef

Sauce
3T acv
2T brown sugar
1/2c tomato sauce/paste mixture (in lieu of ketchup)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Mix spices, milk and egg in large bowl.
Cook lentils, add to egg mixture.
Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil and then add to egg mixture.
Brown beef and add to bowl with mixture.
Mix well and place in greased loaf dish and add topping (mix all ingredients for topping together, then spread across top of meat mixture).
Bake for 1 hour.
Allow to sit 10 minutes before serving.

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not compensated for this post. This recipe is an original recipe.

Chocolate Cupcakes (vegan)

Last summer I made a chocolate-avocado cake out of sheer curiousity. I wanted to see what it would taste like, and was intrigued that it had no eggs. It turned out great.

Now I find myself baking cupcakes for Bobble's 4th birthday, and using this recipe again. There is a child in Bobble's class that has a dairy allergy. What better way to include everyone than by making something everyone will enjoy?

Again, I found myself lacking (enough) caster sugar, so I used our immersion blender to blend up what we had to be super fine. Other than that, the recipe was a breeze! The recipe is very simple, and the results are delicious.

Of course, I had to try the batter since it is safe (no raw egg).... not what I expected. The cupcakes/cake with this recipe tastes simply like chocolate. Delicious. Raw batter, however, tastes just like avocado. How curious! Especially confusing since the chocolate-avocado pudding is uncooked and tasted great. Huh.

We decided to add a squirt of (natural) cherry syrup to the frosting as we mixed. This is the same sort of syrup you'd find for coffee drinks. We debated between the cherry or the mint, but since we had coconut cream frosting we thought the cherry would go better. It was delicious.

Chocolate-avocado cupcakes

• 3c flour
• 6T unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2t salt
• 2t baking powder (we used sodium-free baking powder)
• 2t baking soda
• 1/4c canola oil
• 1/2c mashed avocado (~1 whole avocado)
• 2c water
• 2T white vinegar
• 2t vanilla extract
• 2c caster sugar

Preheat oven to 375F.

Sift together flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

Whisk together the avocado, oil, water, white vinegar, and vanilla. Add in sugar, whisking until combined.

Add in dry ingredients, whisking until smooth.

Portion batter into lined cupcake pan. (Should make 24-30 regular sized cupcakes.)

Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Arrange on a wire baking rack to cool. Allow to completely cool before frosting.

Coconut Cream Frosting

• 1 can coconut cream
• 3T powdered sugar (+/- to taste)
• 2T cocoa powder (if you want chocolate frosting, otherwise, just omit)

Whisk all ingredients together until fluffy. 

Allow frosting to chill before using (this allows it to firm up).

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Frosting recipe is a Thoughts of Fluff original recipe. Cupcake recipe was an adaptation from a cake recipe found here. Conversions to Fahrenheit and U.S. measurements made by Thoughts of Fluff. 

Spaghetti Squash Pizza Bake (LS, Original Recipe)

With a new diet requirement (low sodium), I find myself having to come up with alternatives to lunch for Bobble's school. He eats really clean at home, but the preschool doesn't really want the parents sending lunches since they have to make sure it would meet certain dietary requirements. I find this rather frustrating since I feel that they are not well versed in nutrition. In all fairness, that's not their job... their job is to teach 3 and 4 year olds, not know what veggies have what vitamins and minerals. Either way it goes, now we find ourselves making his lunches and attempting to keep it similar to what the kids at school are eating because literally everyone else has the same thing.

I saw a "spaghetti pizza bake" on the menu, and I have no idea what that is. I can only assume it's spaghetti with sauce and some cheese (maybe other toppings?) baked on top... or mixed in. Here was my version that I made for lunch that day, filling an 8x8 pan. (We set some spaghetti squash and sauce aside for a separate bake and to use sauce on pizza later in the week. Original amounts to include the other bake and pizza sauce would equal a full spaghetti squash, 5 tomatoes, 1 can paste, a whole serving of chopped pepperoni, and 1/2 tsp. salt.)

This can easily be vegetarian by omitting meat and adding other veggies instead.

Spaghetti Squash Pizza Bake
2c. Spaghetti Squash (cooked and scraped out to be noodle-like)
3 Tomatoes
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 c. tomato paste
1/2 serving turkey pepperoni chopped up (or chopped peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, etc. for a veg. dish)
1/4 lb ground beef (browned) (or more chopped veggies for a veg. dish)
1 1/2c. shredded mozzarella
Fresh Basil to taste
Dried Oregano to taste
Coconut Oil to grease dish

1) Shred cooked Spaghetti squash and then put in a greased 8x8 dish

2) Blend tomatoes, paste, basil, and oregano. Add in chopped pepperoni, ground beef, or any veggies you want to use.

3) Mix sauce and spaghetti squash together, and top with mozzarella.

4) Cover with Aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350F.

5) Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes. Serve hot.

This whole dish would contain roughly 1,000 mg. of sodium, so a generous serving of 1/4 of this whole dish would only be at around 250mg for the meal!

Please keep in mind that the sodium content can vary GREATLY from brand to brand, so (obviously) check your labels. To replicate this recipe exactly, the specific brands I used (other than general items like ground beef or spices) were:

Boar's Head turkey pepperoni
Happy Farms Mozzarella (Aldi brand)
Friendly Farms Tomato Paste (Aldi Brand)

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Post contains affiliate links.

Crock Pot Lamb Roast & Sauce (original recipe)

The other day I saw a whole lamb roast marked down for quick sale (due to date) at the local grocery. We had them cut it and wrap it into 3 separate roasts for us, each weighing a bit over 2.5 lbs. The mark down price brought it out to be roughly $3.25/lb, and that's not bad at all! Of course, we can't eat that much considering we are a family of 4, and only two of us eat any decent-sized serving, so we froze two and made one that night.

We paired the lamb with this delicious veggie pilaf, and it was a great combo! The kids both ate well, and Bobble even begged for more lamb and dressing.

Sadly, I didn't think to take a picture when it was in the crock pot, or even on a full plate of food. I grabbed a dish after the meal was over, set it up for a picture, and then put it away. We were stuffed!

CROCK POT LAMB ROAST

• 1 lamb roast
• 1 onion (chopped)

Sauce (all ingredients are to taste, not measured):

• Juice from lamb*
• Red wine vinegar
• Heavy Cream
• Lemon
• Parsley
• Sage
• rosemary
• thyme
• Salt
• onions from roast

*Leave enough juice to use with pilaf if desired

Instructions:

Spread onions across bottom of crock pot.
Brown lamb roast on stove and then place on top of onions.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

When roast is done, remove from crock pot and set aside.
Take onions from crock pot, some juice, and other ingredients listed for the sauce, and put together in a bowl. None of it was measured, but there was roughly 2T of cream and approximately 2t of lemon. Just add to taste.
Blend with immersion blender.

Slice lamb and serve with sauce.

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not reimbursed for this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Post contains affiliate links.

Super Easy Peanut Butter Frosting (original recipe)

Looking for a super easy frosting recipe? How about for a peanut butter frosting? Look no further!

We keep a powdered peanut butter called PB2 on hand in our house. It's great for adding into
 smoothies, sprinkling into baked goods, adding into ice cream, and for making frosting!

This super simple recipe requires only 3 ingredients:

Peanut Butter Frosting

• 1c. PB2
• 1/2c Sugar
• 1/2c Cream

Mix

That's it!

This will give you enough frosting for a sheet cake, 2 round cakes, or 2 dozen cupcakes. Of course, that's all subject to how you like your frosting (thickness).

We frosted a chocolate cake, though we debated on making brownies for this or cake. Both would be delicious!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Post contains affiliate links.

Turkey Chili (crock pot)

I've been looking to try something new as of late, and our local grocery store gave me the perfect opportunity with some reduce-priced meat (sell-by date). I had never cooked with just a slab of turkey breast before, but the price really couldn't be beat! I decided to try my hand at making some turkey chili!

The following recipe was definitely a hit with the family. Bobble ate it (which meant it wasn't too spicy), hubby ate it (which meant it wasn't too bland), Squiggle ate it (...which really just meant it was food. She loves food!), and I ate it. The fact that I ate it says a lot, with as picky as I am.

I wasn't sure how I felt about it at first, as I had never really had chili with poultry before. The more bites I took, the more I enjoyed it. It is especially good with corn bread, and I absolutely enjoyed every bite I sopped up with the corn bread!

I actually chopped up my peppers and threw them in the crock pot for storage while I prepped the other items. It doesn't really matter if you throw the beans and peppers in the crockpot (OFF) to wait for the other stuff, or if you chop them and throw them into the pan with the tomato mixture (after you turn that off). I was just trying to save counter space and dirty less dishes.

Turkey Chili

•     2 cups cannellini beans (or 1 can)
•     2 cups garbanzo beans (or 1 can)
•     1 tbsp oil
•     3 shallots, finely chopped
•     1c celeriac, chopped
•     2 tbsp minced garlic (or roughly 6 cloves)
•     1 tbsp cumin
•     2 tsp dried oregano
•     1/2 tsp cracked black peppercorns
•     Zest of 1 lime
•     2 tbsp fine cornmeal
•     1 cup veggie broth
•     1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes with juice
•     1-2 lbs skinless boneless turkey breast, cubed
•     2 cups cut green beans
•     1 tbsp chile powder, dissolved in juice of zested lime (or roughly 2 tbsp lime juice)
•     2 bell peppers, diced - any colours (Ideal would have at one of them green)
•     1 chilaca pepper, finely diced (If not available, substitute a poblano [slightly less kick])

1) Heat oil in a large pan (I used a 5qt. T-fal Jumbo Cooker w/lid ), and add shallots and celeriac. Saute for about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic, stirring well.

2) Combine ground pepper, cumin, oregano, and lime zest. Add to pan, stirring well to fully coat. Add in cornmeal, coating well.

3) Add in broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and pour into 6 qt. crock pot.

Broth added (tomatoes not added yet)

4) Stir in beans, bell peppers, chilaca, lime juice/chile powder mixture, and turkey breast.

5) Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Serve with cornbread.

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not compensated for this post. This is an original recipe, and all opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Post contains affiliate links.

Savoury Whole Crockpot Chicken

Looking for a delicious chicken recipe that doesn't take much time? This recipe is for you! It's very simple and only takes minutes to throw together, but your whole house will smell fabulous, and you'll have  juicy, fall-off-the-bone chicken for dinner! As you've probably noticed, I really get a lot of use out of my 6qt. Crock Pot!

You can add more or less of anything in the recipe to taste, and I never actually measure out the herbs, but this is a guesstimate. :)

Savoury Whole Chicken [Crock Pot]

Ingredients:

• 1 Whole Chicken
• 5 ribs celery
• 1 onion
• 1T dried thyme
• 1t dried oregano

Directions:

1. Slice the onion in half, an then into long strips. Separate the onion and place half of it across the bottom of the crock pot bowl.
2. Chop 3 ribs of up celery into small pieces. Cut the other 2 into snack-sized sticks. Spread chopped celery across the bottom of the bowl with the onion. 
3. Place spices in spice grinder or quickly grind with a mortar and pestle.
4. Get chicken out and remove innards and neck. Stuff with the other half  of the onion and celery and place top the chopped onion and celery in the crock pot.
5. Take dried spices and rub all over the body of the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours depending on size of chicken.

   

   Ready to cook!

Not only do you have some delicious chicken this way, but you have some cooked veggies to eat (if you choose) or throw into some other dish the next day.

Ready to eat!

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff is responsible for all content in this post. These opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Post contains affiliate links.

Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats (original recipe)

(The price below is for a 4 pack of these steel cut oats!)

I fell in love with the ease of overnight refrigerator oats. I love the fact you can have a delicious, nutritious breakfast just by opening the refrigerator in the morning. I decided to try something different from the bananas foster one I had been making, so I threw together a pumpkin pie overnight oats.

My first version wasn't very good because it's very easy to over do nutmeg. After a few trial and error batches, I've come up with what works great for our family. It's very simple to do, so I hope you try it out and love it as much as we do!

We prefer to use fresh pumpkin puree, but I know that's not always available for everyone. The recipe is for one serving/jar of overnight oats but if you buy a large (29oz, I believe) can of pumpkin puree, it should make roughly 8 batches total. If you want this sweet like a pie and don't want to add whipped cream, I'd recommend adding a bit more syrup to sweeten it since there won't been any whipped cream to sweeten it.

Pumpkin Pie Overnight Refrigerator Oats
Serves 1, shown made in a 16oz. mason jar
Ingredients:

• 1/4c steel-cut oats
• 1/4c pumpkin puree
• 1T pure maple syrup
• 1t chia seeds
• 1/2c milk
• 1/2t cinnamon 
• A sprinkle of ginger
• A sprinkle of nutmeg
• Whipped Cream to top (optional)
• Crumbled Graham Cracker to top (optional)

Directions:

1. Measure dry ingredients (oats, seeds, spices) and put in jar. Add pumpkin.
   
   
   
2. Add syrup, and milk.
   
3. Stir well. 
   
4. Cover and place in fridge.
5. Enjoy in the morning hot or cold. Add whipped cream and/or graham cracker if desired. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff is responsible for all content in this post. These opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Post contains affiliate links.

Crockpot French Toast

In an attempt to make breakfast easier for everyone, I decided to go with some crockpot french toast. Preparing the dish was simple, and cooking it was simple. The taste was good, though hubby and I both agreed we would prefer to just make french toast on the stove top. The kids devoured it and loved it. That, alone, is reason enough for me to make it again.

It was super simple, but cleanup wasn't as easy as it could have been. Despite greasing the crockpot, I still ended up with a baked on layer. Not burnt, mind you, just baked on. I'd recommend placing wax paper inside to avoid this.

Crockpot French Toast

·         10 Slices of Bread

·         6 Eggs

·         2 c. milk

·         1 T. light brown sugar

·         1 t. cinnamon

·         1/2 t. nutmeg

·         1 t. vanilla

·         1/2 c. raisins (optional)

1) Grease the inside of your crockpot with butter or coconut oil.

2) Cut bread into bite-size pieces and place in crockpot. If adding raisins, mix raisins in now. (Bread can be cut larger, or even left whole, though bite size pieces now make it easier to serve up later.)

3) Mix together eggs, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla.

4) Pour mixture over bread, gently pressing down on the bread in areas that might not have been saturated. (If leaving bread whole, you might want to dip the bread in the mixture before placing in the crockpot and pouring the extra over the top.)

5) Cover and cook on low for 6 - 7 hours.

Baked, complete with horrible morning lighting!

6) 10 - 20 minutes before serving, uncover crockpot and melt some butter on top of the french toast, sprinkling with cinnamon and sugar if desired.

cinnamon and sugar covered

syrup covered

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Post contains affiliate links.

Dilled Potato Salad (Original Recipe)

I'm a big fan of potato salad, and a big fan of dill. Our local grocery store has a yummy dilled potato salad, but I looked at the ingredients one day and haven't purchased it since. There is no way a simple potato salad should have a million and one ingredients. Okay, not a million and one, but you get the point.

I decided to make own, and we like it more than the store version. I'm sure it's healthier for you, too. I did not make my own mayo or my own mustard, but I did use the olive oil mayo (It seemed like the most decent one for you, despite the fact we all know mayo isn't exactly that healthy), and I used a delicious little mustard that, to be honest, I wish was much cheaper so I could use it on anything and everything I use mustard on. Seriously, it's delicious!

Dilled Potato Salad

Ingredients:

• 2# New Potatoes
• 1 bunch of fresh dill (roughly 1/4c)
• 1/2c diced onion
• 1 zucchini
• 1/2c. (approx.. 2 ribs) celery
• 1 1/4c. Mayo
• 4 hard boiled eggs
• 1 lemon (juice of)
• 1T. Dijon mustard

Directions:

1. Wash potatoes and place in pot of water. Make sure potatoes are fully covered. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes slide off a fork (roughly half an hour).
   
2. Once cooked, drain potatoes and return to their (warm) pan. Let them cool in the pan. 
3.  Thinly slice zucchini and then quarter. Set aside in a large bowl. Add in onion.
4. Cut celery length wise, then in very thin pieces and add to bowl. 
5.  Peel and dice eggs. Add to bowl along with dill, lemon juice, mustard, and mayo. Stir well.
6.  Slice potatoes to desired size (I quartered and then thinly sliced). Add to bowl and mix well.
7.  Serve chilled. 

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not compensated for this post. This is an original recipe, and all opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Post contains affiliate links.