Meatballs with Curry Sauce

I tried to think of some witty title for this post, but I can't.  Because, seriously, it is all about this dish. Meatballs+curry sauce= major love in this household.  So, without further ado, here is an excellent recipe, that you should make, tonight.

Meatballs with Curry Sauce

Meatballs

• 2 lbs ground pork (use whatever protein you like here, but we really like the pork!) 
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 eggs
• 3 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 cup thinly-sliced green onions
• Salt and Pepper 

Preheat oven to 400.

In a large bowl, mix all meatball ingredients.  Mix well.  I have found the best way is to just get down and dirty and mix with your hands. Form into balls.  Mine were probably between 1 and 1.5 inches.  Place on a foil lined baking sheet.  (I also spray my foil with cooking spray)  Cook for 10 minutes and then flip meatballs and bake for 5-10 more.  I probably cook my meatballs a little on the long side, but I love the nice crunch that they get on the outside.

While the meatballs are cooking, make your Curry Sauce.

Curry Sauce

• 1 tbs vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup onion, very finely minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 2 teaspoons curry powder (if you want, use more! I do!)
• Dash of cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbs light brown sugar
• 1 can coconut milk 

Prepare the curry sauce in a medium/large saucepan by sauteing the onion, garlic and ginger over medium heat in the oil.  Saute until onions are soft.  Stir in curry powder, cinnamon, salt and sugar.  Add the coconut milk and bring to a simmer.  Simmer for 5 minutes.

When the meatballs are finished place the meatballs in the curry sauce. Simmer over low for about 2 minutes.

Serve with rice.  Or eat alone.

Enjoy! :)

Nutritional Challenge Drop Out

The nutritional challenge started out great.  The first 2.5 weeks was good.  After that, I could not figure out why in the world I have developed this hatred for eggs.  I thought it was because I just had eaten so many of them.  But as days went by, the struggle became real. I couldn't even cook them because I couldn't handle the smell.  I had no idea what was going on.  Then, we figured it out. Food aversions. Sickness.  And that lead to the end of my nutritional challenge.

That is also why I have been MIA.  Between the sickness and tiredness, I am doing good to keep up with feisty little Miss A.  But, I am excited to be feeling a little better.  I have started CrossFit back this week and am looking forward to getting back in the swing of things.  I also have big plans to attempt whole30 second trimester (or at least a modified version), so be expecting new recipes!  Also! We can't wait to find out what "baby b" is!  There will be tutorials and how-tos when we start nursery prepping! We have a lot of diy projects lined up for the summer, and I can't wait to share them with you! 

I hope you all have a great weekend! Make sure and remember this isn't just a holiday weekend to kick off summer, but a holiday weekend to remember those who have lost their lives serving our country! Make sure to hug a veteran or active duty service man/woman this weekend and thank them for their daily sacrifice!

Chipotle Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Day 1, Week 1

I am a firm believer that healthy food does not have to be "bland" or "boring".  I do not do well with eating the same things over and over and I knew this would be one of my biggest issues with this nutritional challenge.  But I refused to let boring food be the thing that made me back out of doing this challenge! So I have made it my mission to make fun, flavorful food!  

We really enjoyed this meal!  They were full of flavor and satisfying.

Chipotle Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Adapted from: BevCooks

Enough for about 10 good size wraps

• 2 Tbs EVOO
• 3 large chicken breast
• 2-3 chipotle peppers with sauce
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 limes, juiced
• 2 cups red bell pepper, diced
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained 
• 1/8 cup green onion, sliced thinly 
• Romain or Butter Lettuce, rinsed and leaves separated 
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic 

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Season your chicken with your salt, pepper and garlic and sear for about 6-8 minutes on each side until cooked through and is browned.  Move to a cutting board and let sit for about 5 minutes.  Chop chicken into small bites.

In a food processor, my favorite kitchen appliance, combine the chipotle peppers in sauce, lime juice and cilantro.  Process until mixed well and peppers are in very small pieces.

Place the red peppers, beans, and chipotle mixture into the skillet. Let cook for about a minute or 2 just to get warm. Add chicken back in and mix well. Toss in green onions.

Top those lettuce leaves with that yummy mixture and enjoy!

Things are Changing

Disclaimer: This is a random, thought vomited blog post! :)

The last 5 weeks have been insanely busy with us! We have been extra busy with our students and activities.  Then,  I was peer pressured signed up for the CrossFit Open and it has been 5 weeks of crazy workouts.  Mr. J has been judging the open workouts so he has been busy too.  And now, I have (willingly) signed up for a nutritional challenge.

This is where things are changing, y'all! Our family diet is getting a major overhaul!  I think I have talked about how much our family diet has already changed since starting CrossFit, but I still have not been happy with it. As much as I love the "Paleo Diet", because of the clean eating aspect, I have a lot of issues with it. So for this nutritional challenge, we are doing Zone. Zone takes the 40/30/30 approach.  I actually did the zone diet back in my pageant days, but that has been a while and it is taking me a moment to wrap my head around this concept again!

This morning I made breakfast according to what I am to eat. I am trying to get the concept down before the actual start date of the challenge (Monday).  Y'all! This is a lot of food! I don't think my problem will be being hungry.

If you were around when the blog was "Life in Camelot", you will start to notice the recipes around here will be a lot different.  I still fully believe that you can enjoy food and be healthy too!

I can't wait to start this journey! I believe that our minds are often our worst enemies! And I am excited to say, that I am finally in a good place to start this journey, mentally! I will be tracking progress on here, updating you on some good, healthy recipes and I hope to learn a lot over this next 6 weeks!

Oh yeah, Happy Friday! Enjoy the weekend!

Word to "Da Mudd'rs"

Our sweet, sweet A loves to throw parties, parties for all da mudd'rs. I wish I had it on video for all of you to see because the way she says it is just too cute! But since I can't throw all of you sweet mothers a party, today I have a little note for you.

Word to da Mudd'rs (sorry, it just doesn't get old!)
Our sweet baby A was a sweet little thing, but she hated to sleep. Actually, she just refused. There were many hours (and calories burnt) by Mr. J and myself trying to get the kid to sleep on any given day. To be honest, there were probably tears too. In order to make her even think about sleeping you would have to bounce her. And by bounce, I mean full body motions. And this could take a hour or two. Once the kid went to sleep, don't even think about putting her down. The moment you did, those eyes would pop open and there was no hope after that.

The first year of A's life, I wondered what in the world we were doing. I read every book I could, had every mom tell me their advice, and waited to hear some type of encouraging word along the way. But mostly I heard:
"Enjoy this phase, it is precious and it will be gone in a blink of an eye"
"It only goes downhill from here"
"Wait until she hits 2"
"Wait until she hits 3"
"Wait until she talks"

And now we have hit the 2's. And y'all, it is a battle! A daily battle! Some days, the hardest thing is not laughing while discipling while other days are battles of tears, sweat and blood. Parenting is no joke. A is a very independent, free spirit, strong-willed, dance to her own beat kind of girl. Her favorite activity is "pushing mom and dad's buttons". (She actually told someone that last night). And when people ask about her, the comments I hear are:
"Wait until she hits 3"
"Wait until she is in middle school"
"Wait until she is in high school"

 Moms, why do we make parenthood sound so terrible? Like each phase in life only gets worse? I too am guilty of this.  I believe it is because it is hard.  I believe it is because we are tired.  Physically and emotionally.  But moms, we are at battle. A battle that we are fighting to change lives. To mold little human beings. And we are in this battle together!

The first year was hard. I was sleep-deprived, had no clue what I was doing, and was trying to keep a small human alive.

1-2.5 have been extremely hard as well. While we are getting sleep now (see, it does get better!), A is trying to figure out who she is becoming and it is a battle daily to help guide her along that way.

My point is, every stage is going to be hard. Parenting is no joke. Let's just go ahead and all admit that one! But, can we just come together and encourage each other, to remind each other of the good along each way? For mom's who have been there, to hug those mom's struggling and say, good job! Because we all know, for every hard moment in motherhood, there are about 30 joyous moments!

I am so thankful for some encouraging women in my life. Women who have come along, who have fought the battle,  and who send words of encouragement along my battle. So if you don't have someone like that, find them! Find them fast!

And all da mudd'rs Good job! Good job momma's! I know this battle is hard! But today, look for the  hugs, the smiles, the kisses, and the sweet, sweet "I love you's!" Find the joy in each and every phase! They do pass quickly!

(Please note, this post is from my heart, and is basically written to myself.  So I can look back and be reminded to find the joy in each phase! Because most days, the feeling of defeat and exhaustion take over my mind and I want to make sure that I encourage my momma friends! To help remind them to find the joy!)

Whisk & Tread! And Zoodles!

Welcome to Whisk and Thread! I truly believe that the kitchen is the heart of the home and it always seems to be where everyone gathers.  I love all things homemade and I hope to share many hand crafted goodies with you! I hope to share some of my favorite diy tutorials and many recipes!

There are still many changes coming to Whisk and Thread, but I couldn't wait to share this recipe with you.  Mr. J and I are really into CrossFit and since we have started our CF journey, our eating habits have changed drastically. While I am an avid cook, and we both love food, I love to try and recreate some of our favorite recipes into much healthier versions.   We had this recipe last night, and let's just say, We LOVED it! I hope you guys enjoy it as well!

Shrimp Scampi and Zoodles
(Served 2 in our home..plus a picky toddler who refused to eat)

3 medium to large zucchinis
1 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined
Salt (I prefer Kosher)
Fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup white wine or chicken broth
1 fresh lemon, juiced
Parsley (Optional)
Lemon Zest (Optional)

Directions

Zoodles
Peel and julienne zucchini.   I have a handy little julienne slicer and it works great.  I have also learned that there are cool spiral cutters out there for around $30.  I may be looking into getting one of those!
Place in colander or strainer and sprinkle with salt.  Let sit for 20 minutes then squeeze moisture from the noodles.  Place the noodles between paper towels and squeeze.  Then pat dry and place in bowl.

While the zoodles are sweating, pat the shrimp dry.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Season shrimp with salt and pepper.  Add the butter to the skillet.  Cook the shrimp, in one layer, without moving them, for 1 minute.  Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.  Turn the shrimp over and cook for a couple more minutes.  Transfer the shrimp to a plate.

Return the skillet to the heat and pour the wine/chicken broth and lemon juice.  Boil until the liquid has slightly thickened, about 30 seconds.  Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. (Because you know that is the good stuff!)  Throw those noodles in that yummy sauce and toss them around for about a minute to get them good and warm.  Add your shrimp in with the zoodles.  Remove from heat.  Top with parsley and lemon zest. Season with more salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy! :)

Coming Soon!!!!

The blog is going to be undergoing some major changes! Whisk & Thread is coming soon!