Pap's baked chicken legs

We love it when Pap makes his chicken legs. He was nice enough to share the recipe with me and now we can have them at home! I made a double batch the other night and they were ALL GONE in 2 sittings! Mmm, mmm!

Pap's Baked Chicken Legs

Ingredients:
2-3 lbs. chicken drumsticks
Salt
Pepper
Seasoning: McCormick's Montreal Chicken, Rotisserie Chicken or BBQ seasoning
1/2 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce (we love Sticky Fingers).

Directions:
1. Line a 9x13 pan with foil. Preheat oven to 325*.

2. Rinse chicken, pat dry and place in a 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and your choice of seasoning.  Bake for 1.5-2 hours.

3. Drain off juices. Brush with BBQ sauce and bake another 1/2 hour or so. (Or, if it's grilling season- do this part on the grill.)

Note: For a real crowd pleaser, serve with my Crockpot Mac &  Cheese or Skillet Mac & Cheese.

paleo Maryland crab cakes

I have been looking for a good crab cakes recipes for a long time. This one has GREAT flavor AND it's made with almond flour. I found it here (along with the picture) allrecipes.com and it's a keeper!

Paleo Maryland Crab Cakes
Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ready in 1 hr 35 minutes

Servings: 6-10

Ingredients

1 large egg

2 T mayo

1 t Dijon mustard

1/2 t Worcestershire sauce

1/4 t hot pepper sauce, opt.

1/4 t lemon juice

1 1/2 - 2 t Old bay seasoning (seafood seasoning)

Ground pepper to taste

1 lb fresh lump crabmeat, pressed and drained

1/4 c almond flour

1 T finely diced red pepper, opt. 

2 t sliced green onions, or 1/4 t onion powder

1 T chopped fresh parsley or 1 t dried parsley

1/3 c almond flour

Directions

1. Grease a baking sheet or line one with foil. 

2. Whisk together egg, mayo, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, lemon juice, seafood seasoning, and black pepper in a bowl.

3. Place crabmeat in a separate bowl and pour egg mixture in; gently combine with hands. Mix in 1/4 c almond flour, peppers, green onions, and parsley. 

4. Form mixture into 6-10 patties. Place 1/3 c almond flour in a shallow bowl. Dredge each cake in almond flour and set on prepared sheet pan; refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or stick in the freezer for 15+ minutes). 

5. Preheat oven to 400*.

6. Bake crab cakes in oven until golden brown, 15-20 minutes. 

Bathroom renovation

We were able to renovate our bathroom and finished just a while ago. But first, I have to show you the transformation it's gone through.

This is what it looked like when we bought the house 8 years ago.

Jack & Jill bathroom. 4" white tiles everywhere, carpet, and thick, oriental-themed wallpaper.

A few months after we moved in we tore down the wallpaper, painted the walls red, painted the cabinets brown and then later took down the shower door. Ahhh. So much better. (Sadly I don't have a picture to document that but you can get an idea as we started demolishing it for the FULL rehaul.)
No more white tiles everywhere and no more leaky spot under the tub! Woohoo! I can breathe better already!

Looking great! New 18" gray tiles. Love love LOVE THEM!

HOLY COW! How is this possible?! Is this my house?! I feel like I'm in a hotel! My father-in-law is amazing. He did ALL of this, with a little help from us. Doesn't it look great?! We love the huge mirror that takes up that whole space. It really makes the room bigger. New semi-custom cabinets, along with an engineered quartz countertop, (custom) lights, bead board all around. Love love LOVE it all!

No more knee wall. It really opens it up. This IS a big bathroom. 

New curved tub and tub surround with TONS of storage!! Awesome!

And last but not least, new shelving unit in the linen closet. SO MUCH STORAGE! Woohoo! (Note: I was SO excited to re-organize this because I LOVE to do that! Looks great and everything in it's place.)

Thank you SO very much to my very talented father-in-law. He is fantastic and we love it all. Thank you so much! And a big thank you to our tile guy Tim and my sweet hubby for helping get it all done. It's wonderful!!!

{meal plan} February 2015

Here's what we cooked up in February. Find these recipes here (or coming soon).

{primal} pigskin pineapple & Canadian bacon

{primal} Crab & bacon stuffed mushrooms 

Paps baked chicken legs

Lemon Rosemary chicken with sweet potatoes 

Zesty green beans

Crockpot chicken teriyaki 

Cauli rice

Wet enchiladas

PBbOCCC

Easy chicken cordon blue 

Salmon, red onion & fennel

{obb} everyday cinnamon rolls

Cafe Rio Pork

Penne Rustica

Oreo Truffles

{obb} Ham & egg cups 

Alice Springs Chicken

Spinach bacon mushroom and feta Crustless quiche 

{primal} Pumpkin pancakes 

Taco Soup

{primal} chocolate mousse

{this & that} February moments

Found this picture on my phone. Looks like the kids were using the camera again. :P
Good one Jax.

It has been SO cold this winter! Check out these temps!
That Siberian wind is SERIOUS business!

We got a few inches to play in! Hooray! Bundle up and get out the sled folks! Alivia hopped in and then Levi tried to push her (while walking on his knees); it didn't work so well, but good effort!

Jackson was off on his own while the other kids attempted to sled. I asked him what he was making. He said, "an animal shelter". Oh Jackson. Always thinking of nature and wilderness skills. That's awesome.

How to: Boiled or Fried Eggs

I found these tutorials on BASIC egg cooking that I can't seem to get right...until now. I'm so glad I found them. No more mysteries of how to make the perfect fried egg, or how to boil eggs soft or hard AND be able to peel them without losing all the "white stuff". In case you've been needing this too, here you go. :)  I'll be referring back here until I have it down pat.

How to make the perfect Fried Egg
How to Make the Perfect Fried Egg

Tutorial by Our Best Bites

1. Heat a non-stick skillet to heat set to just a little above medium. When you can hold your hand about 2 inches from the surface and tell that it’s very hot, add 1/2-1 teaspoon of butter per egg (1/2 if you’re watching your butter intake; 1 ends up being quite a bit), melt the butter, and spread it into a circle about 6″ in diameter.

2. Carefully crack a cold egg into each melted butter circle (cold eggs will spread less; fresh ones will, too, but hopefully your eggs are reasonably fresh). It will start cooking immediately from the outside in. Sprinkle each egg with a small pinch of salt. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, watching the whites carefully–the area around the yolk will become more solid and opaque and if you gently poke the yolk, it will bounce back and won’t feel as fragile as a raw yolk will.

3. Once the “thickest” part of the white is almost completely cooked, gently jiggle a thin spatula under the egg and quickly flip it. Cook for about 1 more minute and then quickly remove the egg from the pan and serve it immediately (the yolk will continue to cook for a little while after you remove it from the pan, so if you’re after the runny yolk, be quick!) I serve mine with another tiny sprinkling of salt and a few shakes of green Tabasco sauce.

HOW TO: Boiled Eggs

Perfect Soft Boiled Eggs

Ingredients 

2 eggs
water

1. Fill a pot with enough water to cover the eggs. Bring the water to a boil.
2. Once the water is boiling, use a spoon to gently lower the eggs into the water.
3. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes. I recommend using a timer.
4. Use a slotted spoon to carefully remove the eggs from the water and run them under cold water.
5. Peel and enjoy!

- See more at: http://www.rubiesandradishes.com/?s=boiled+egg#sthash.J7viDwAP.dpuf

How to Make Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs

Step 1
Bring a pot of water to a light boil (not a rolling boil). Use a pot that is large enough, so your eggs will be in a single layer and will be covered with at least an inch or two of water.

Step 2
Use a thumbtack and place a hole on the larger round side (not pointy side) of each egg. This releases pressure inside of the egg, so the shells won’t crack.

Step 3 Using a spoon, gently lower each egg into the lightly boiling water. Boil the eggs for 10 minutes, making sure that the water is only gently boiling. The water boiling at too high of a temperature is what causes eggs to become tough and rubbery.

Step 4
Empty the water and leave the eggs in the pot. Shake the pot, so the eggs bang together and the shells crack.

Step 5
Cover eggs in cold water. Allow them to sit for 5 minutes, so the eggs can cool.

Step 6
Optional: Peel eggs under running water. This makes them easier to peel.

- See more at: http://www.rubiesandradishes.com/?s=boiled+egg#sthash.J7viDwAP.dpuf

{meal plan} January 2015

Here's what I cooked up in January. Find these recipes here.

Primal pork and sauerkraut

{obb} pear pomegranate salad

Ham & egg cups

Lemon Rosemary chicken with sweet potatoes

Beef Stew Provençal

Paleo Chicken Tenders

Zesty Greem Beans

Hard boiled eggs

Black Bean Quesadillas

Taco Soup

Alice Springs Chicken

Spinach Mushroom Bacon & Feta Crustless Quiche

{obb} easy veggie stir fry with chicken (epic fail!)

Paleo Crab Cakes

{obb} roasted garlic Parmesan cauliflower

Beef Stroganoff

Baked Ravioli

{obb} spaghetti & meatballs ?

Herbed Chicken & Mushrooms 

Chicken DaVinci

Cauli pizza