Category Archives: Nico in the Kitchen

Jan 31

What A Week

This week went by in a hurry, and we still have a lot going on this weekend. Today we are celebrating Thade’s birthday with lots of friends from school, lots of pizzas, and lots of video games. Thade also has another birthday party to go to tomorrow.

Earlier in the week, James was in Florida, the kids were anxious for him to get home. Thade’s birthday was Thursday, Dylan had a fantastic music program on Thursday night. I had room mom duties for Friday at preschool, the kiddos were celebrating Kansas Day! I finished up two big crochet projects, one I had been working on for over a year and a half.We capped off the weekdays with a trip to my favorite shop, and I came across some amazing finds! Better get this post done quickly, I’ve got a chocolate Bundt cake to frost for today’s party.

Have a fantastic weekend everybody!

Jan 17

Back To The Veggies

I’ve dabbled in vegetarianism a few times over the last twenty years, and I’ve decided to go back. I’m not doing this to lose weight ( I like me just the way that I am), and I’m not making my family become vegetarians either. I’m honestly going back, because my stomach is a wreck, and I have to do something about it.

Many months ago I had a nasty parasitic infection, and I’m still having complications from it. My migraines have worsened, chronic fatigue syndrome has invaded me, and I have new food allergies and complications that I’ve never had before. Eight months of feeling miserable is enough, and I have got to get better.

It seems like probiotics are a good place to start. Adding Greek Yogurt and Kefir at least twice daily has been an easy fix. I also jump-started the vegetarian ways by cutting beef completely out of my diet.  I still wanted to eat it, but the smell of beef cooking turned my stomach. I then decided to cut fried foods out of the equation too, this helped cut down on acid reflux, and the overall tummy unhappiness.

Now I’m at the point where I’m still eating fish (occasionally) and boiled or grilled chicken, in very small amounts. I think I am at a point where I could cut it out completely.

I’ve decided that the ovo-lacto vegetarian diet looks like a good fit for me. I’m unable to eat eggs (allergy), and I can only use lactose free milk products (allergy again), I always have lots of Lactaid enzyme on hand for recipes that call for cheese. I really enjoy baking, so I want to keep that option open too.

Like I said before, I’m still cooking the exact same way for my family, I’m just making extra veggie dishes for me. It has been a really fun experiment so far. I feel better after eating, where before I was feeling pretty miserable. I’ve also been under budget the last two trips to the grocery store, added bonus.

 

I’ll be posting recipes here and there, and sharing photos from some of my dishes too. I really hope that this change in eating habits can get me back on the road to wellness.

So help me out… Do you have any favorite veggie or fruit dishes to share?

 

 

Jan 3

December’s Tasty Treats

There was a whole lot of baking going on in December. I also tried out a few new recipes too. One was a success, and the other still needs a little work. It was a super tasty trial and error though. Here are a few photos from the kitchen.

With Christmas quickly approaching, I was craving all things that involved either Hot Cocoa or Peppermint. I like my Hot Cocoa with a bunch of extra Marshmallows.

So a few months ago Casey’s opened up here. As a Missouri kid, Casey’s was always my favorite stop for snacks, and tasty fountain drinks. I’ve been trying to resist a weekly trip to our local Casey’s for my favorite snack. At check-out they have little cups of snacks to go, and my favorite is the Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Treats, smothered in yummy Chocolate. O.k., I did pick up one, but it was strictly for research. Really delicious research.

I came close with my copycat recipe, but it wasn’t quite it. Casey’s yummy snacks are a very thin layer of sticky super peanut buttery rice krispies goodness. Mine were not quite sticky enough, and needed a bit more peanut butter flavor. I also added (dare I say) too much chocolate to my top layer, and I think that was what over powered the peanut butter. They were pretty darn good, but not quite Casey’s. I’ll keep trying though.

Breakfast for dinner. This one involved last minute Christmas lunch planning with Pancakes and Bacon, oh and a Pepsi too. In 2015, I’m trying to cut back on my soda intake… By the way, I like my pancakes with Strawberry Jam.

I made a homemade Chocolate Bundt Cake for my family, one extra chilly evening. We decided to sit around, drink hot cocoa, enjoy some cake, and watch the seasonal Fireplace on netflix. The kids loved it.

One very strange night, I woke up at around 3:00 a.m., and was craving Hummus. I started searching pinterest for some recipes, and it looked simple enough. I decided to give it a go, and then see who in my family was brave enough to try it. I added in lots of extra lemon, cumin, and used plain greek yogurt instead of tahini. Holy moly it was delicious, and the tiny kiddos kinda liked it. James even tried it too. I loved it, and I will be making this recipe again, very soon.

So last minute, I decided to serve Chicken and Noodles with all of the fixings for Christmas lunch. I baked up two batches of wheat rolls.

I also made a double batch of Butter Rolls. Then I started baking all of the cookies and cakes for Christmas.

The kids also helped with some of the cookie decorating. They were in charge of the Sugar Cookies.

They had a blast decorating the cookies, and eating lots of sprinkles too.

After all of the cookie chaos, and nonstop baking, I made myself a giant cup of Hot Cocoa. This batch was Milk Chocolate with Peppermint, and extra marshmallows.

Towards New Years, I baked up a yummy batch of homemade Cornbread to enjoy with Chili.

Yum!

 

 

 

 

Jan 1

January’s Monthly Menu

Happy New Year! And hello to another year of menu planning. I’ve got January’s dinner menu planned, and a fresh calendar to plan out 2015.

  • 1/1/2015: Panko Popcorn Chicken and Tater Tots
  • 1/2/2015: Chicken Soft Tacos, Tortilla Chips, and Homemade Salsa
  • 1/3/2015: Pancakes and Bacon
  • 1/4/2015: Pot Roast with Potatoes,  and Dinner Rolls
  • 1/5/2015: Tacos, Tortilla Chips, and Homemade Salsa
  • 1/6/2015: Salmon Bites, Salad,and Breadstick Dinner Rolls
  • 1/7/2015: Pulled Pork Tacos, Tortilla Chips, and Homemade Salsa
  • 1/8/2015: Panko Chicken Sandwiches and Chips
  • 1/9/2015: Chicken Burritos, Tortilla Chips, Homemade Salsa, and Black Beans & Rice
  • 1/10/2015: Cinnamon Rolls, Toast, Bacon, and Scrambled Eggs
  • 1/11/2015: Chicken Noodles, Mashed Potatoes, and Dinner Rolls
  • 1/12/2015: Chicken Soft Tacos, Tortilla Chips, and Homemade Salsa
  • 1/13/2015: Chicken Chow Mien, Rice, and Chow Mien Noodles
  • 1/14/2015: Tacos, Tortilla Chips, and Homemade Salsa
  • 1/15/2015: Homemade Chicken Rice-a-Roni, Hominy, and Mashed Potatoes
  • 1/16/2015: Quesadillas, Tortilla Chips, and Homemade Salsa
  • 1/17/2015: Muffins, Bacon, and Breakfast Potatoes
  • 1/18/2015: Panko Fried Chicken, Hominy, Corn Casserole, and Dinner Rolls
  • 1/19/2015: Tacos, Tortilla Chips, and Homemade Salsa
  • 1/20/2015: Homemade Beef Rice-a-Roni, Green Beans, Hominy, and Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
  • 1/21/2015: Taquitos, Tortilla Chips, and Homemade Salsa
  • 1/22/2015: Salmon Bites, Salad, and Breadstick Dinner Rolls
  • 1/23/2015: Chicken Burritos, Tortilla Chips, Rice, and Homemade Salsa
  • 1/24/2015: Pancakes and Bacon
  • 1/25/2015: Pizza Rolls and Chips
  • 1/26/2015: Spaghetti, Green Beans, and Breadsticks
  • 1/27/2015: Ham & Cheese Rolls and Chips
  • 1/28/2015: Panko Popcorn Chicken and Fries
  • 1/29/2015: Homemade Pizzas
  • 1/30/2015: Tacos, Tortilla Chips, and Homemade Salsa
  • 1/31/2015: Bacon, Toast, and Scrambled Eggs

Time to make a shopping list, and get to it.