Shopska Salad

Bontymama Shopska Salad

A new, okay not really new, but reintroduced summer favorite of mine: Shopska Salad.  Oh, it is so delicious and seriously simple!  I was in Macedonia for a summer and tried Shopska salad for the first time.  The funny thing is that I didn't like it, because I didn't like tomatoes at the time...I know, who doesn't like tomatoes.  Don't worry I love them now.  I revisited the Shopska salad a couple weeks ago when I had an excess of tomatoes and cumbers thanks to friends with gardens and I didn't know what else to do with them before they went bad.  I am so glad I did!  Here is my version of the Shopska Salad:


Shopska Salad Bontymama Style
Diced tomatoes
Diced Cucumbers
Feta Cheese
EVOO
Matt's Mix

Mix them together and enjoy! :)

Homemade Alfredo

This is super yummy and easy!  I just need to find a way to make it more healthy...any ideas?  


Alfredo Sauce
1/2 cup butter
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 cup half and half
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon garlic powder (optional)
pepper, to taste

1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter.
2. Once butter is almost melted, add the package of cream cheese. It's easiest to cut it into 4 pieces so that it melts quicker.
3. Once butter and cream cheese are mixed well together, add the cup of half and half, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and then shake pepper on top. Stir all together until well mixed.
4. Once it's mixed well and sauce-like, take it off the burner and set aside so it can thicken up. Stir every few moments.
5. DONE! Pour over your favorite pasta!

back to the simple life

Yup, that's right!  We are heading back to the simple life.  To the days of milking your own cows, catching fireflies,  swimming in the creek, homemade pies, and County Fairs.  Okay, maybe not that simple.  I have been slowing working my way [our family's way] back to basics and simplifying life.  I make some of my own cleaners, switched to cloth diapers (which are WAY less complicated than I thought), and in general try to lessen our intake of chemicals and yucky things.  Well after doing some more research specifically in the food department I was more that blown away.  I had some serious misconceptions on how I got my food.  The movie Food Inc. is A-MAZE-ING!!  It will blow your mind and disgust you...at least it did for me.   If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.  So watching Food Inc. and doing some other research as well as sharing Arbonne's new Arbonne Essential line with the 30 Day to Feeling Fit (more to come in another post) I have decided to go almost completely organic and focus on whole foods.  We were some what organic before, but now I don't think that I can even consider non-organic meats!  Yikes-a-roo!

I recently purchased this cookbook:  Feeding Our Families:  Bringing Back the Made-from-Scratch Family Dinners.  It is written by Katie Newell.  Katie is a  reformed junk food junkie, a healthy eating expert, motivational speaker and real food consultant.  She is the founder of HealthnutFoodie.com, which is an awesome website.  I made 2 meals from the cookbook and they were so scrumptious!  I am really excited to make more!  Katie recently share her knowledge at a weekly training call with Arbonne, it was so wonderful.  I learned a ton!  You can download (or listen online) to her talk here.  It is available for a limited time. 

Happy cooking!

Steel cut

So I recently discovered Steel Cut Oats and I LOVE them!  They are so stinking yummy!!  John McCann's Oats with applesauce, flax meal, sliced almonds, and cranberries are my new favorite breakfast!  Love it!

Summer Veggies

Our new favorite dish:

Roasted Veggies

Chopped zucchini, red onion, red potato, tomatoes (mainly what I can procure from the Farmer's Market)
toss with EVOO and Matt's Mix.

Heat oven to 350 with empty baking sheet in oven
When oven is heated pull baking sheet out and throw veggies on, it makes a great sizzle.
Cook for 20-25 min*

Delicious!!!

*Potatoes take longer so I put them on a separate sheet and start them first (about 15-20 min) before added remaining veggies. 

Matt's Mix

So I recently discovered this at Northville's Farmer's Market and it is AWESOME!!  Everyone needs to try this and use it.  It really is great on everything!  I made roasted veggies, yum-o!

Check it out at www.mattsmix.com  and on Facebook.  It is a great on hand seasoning, especially for picky little ones!!

Gingerbread House

Our home-made gingerbread house. Recipe here. (Not my fav recipe, but works)

Thanksgiving

I have so much to be Thankful for! I have been blessed with an AMAZING Hubby, 2 wonderful bugs and a sweet little pup. I love this time of year. I am especially Thankful this year...My cousin Rose, was shot in the chest in LA. She is alive! Not only did the bullet weave its way through her body, but she is well on her way to a full recovery. She has been amazing through this whole process. I am so glad that not only is she still with us, but sharing God's love as she recovers. It is such a great reminder that although family can be irksome, especially during the holiday season, life is short and to love and appreciate one other while we are placed on Earth. For Thanksgiving our Family gathers at my Grandpa's for feasting and fun. Each year we watch the Detroit Lions attempt to play football-one day they will figure it out, and then head to the table. I made my first Turkey ever! It was delicious!! I was so nervous that it wouldn't turn out, but it was easy-peasy! I followed this recipe and it was awesome.

My Grandpa and I lifting the bird out.

Me and My First Turkey!

Trick or Treat

My friend made these and I thought that they were super cute. Take one package of oreos put the in a food processor and kneed one package (brick) softened cream cheese into the oreos. Form into balls and then place in the freezer until firm. Dip into melted chocolate and decorate and put the sticks in. Enjoy.

The Finished Product, and was it YUMMY!

Tapping into my inner Martha

So I am starting to become more adventurous in my cooking and what not. Today we made the pumpkin bird feeders (for family) and then while the kids were napping I made pumpkin puree from a pie pumpkin to make homemade pumpkin pie! I also made quiche for dinner. YUMMY!! It was pretty fantastic. The quiche recipe came from my wonderful friend e.m. I felt like Martha Stewart. I love being able to do this kind of homemade stuff. So much fun. There is something so satisfying about it. It was my first time making quiche (I also cooked the fresh spinach to go in the quiche, another first) and my first time making the pumpkin puree. Tomorrow I tackle the pie portion!

This is a great site for make your own pumpkin puree and pies. It even has pictures. Click Here

Spinach and Sausage Quiche

Ingredients:
6 large eggs, beaten
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups of frozen baby spinach, chopped- cook it and drain it.
½ package sausage-the kind in the tube (like Jimmy Dean’s breakfast sausage), cooked and chopped
2 cups cheese- swiss and cheddar
3 tablespoons Romano cheese
1 9-inch frozen Deep Dish pie crust

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.
Cook sausage and spinach.
Combine eggs, cream, salt and pepper in blender.
Layer spinach, sausage, and cheese in crust.
Pour eggs on top.
Sprinkle with Romano cheese.
Bake about 40 minutes with foil on top.
Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.

*You can also change the ingredients- make a pepper, onion, and mushrooms one, etc.