Wow, it’s been awhile! I’ve been thinking long and hard about what to do with this domain. Since my life revolves around my children, cooking, home decor and trying to somewhat live a non toxic lifestyle, why not write about that?
We recently moved and I realized that my decorating taste had drastically changed! Except this time around, we were moving into a house that someone else had already decorated, and I had to make my most of my decor work with the existent style. In my previous home, we had gutted it, so everything was my taste- at the time!
So much has changed in the past few years and I think it’s time to incorporate all of it into my blog. I have so many friends and family who ask where I got things or what items I use around my house, and 1 collective place to list everything would make things a ton easier!
I absolutely love quiche, but being lactose intolerant makes it near impossible to eat it! (As in, more than 1 piece!) Plus, who needs all of that dairy? I put together this recipe with the ingredients I had on hand and my family loved it. My husband described it as “light” and my toddler wanted more. If you can’t find mini leeks (my local organic farm market sells them on occasion), you can use 1 large. ***Please note that although goat cheese still contains lactose, many people who are lactose intolerant to cows milk can handle goat dairy.***
Organic Zucchini, Leek and Goat Cheese Quiche, Lactose Free
Ingredients
2 tbsp organic coconut oil for sauteeing
3 organic mini leeks, sliced
1/2 large organic zucchini, thinly sliced
1/2 cup organic unsweetened coconut milk
6 organic eggs
2oz organic goat cheese
1 organic pie crust (I used Wholly Wholesome Organic Spelt Crust)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400F. Slice the mini leeks and put them in a small bowl of cold water to clean them. Swish them around and remove after letting them sit for about a minute, making sure not to drain the water from the bowl (as any dirt will fall to the bottom), but by scooping them off the top.
Thinly slice the zucchini. I used a massive organic zucchini so I used half, but you can definitely use 2 small or 1 medium zucchini.
Add the coconut oil to a frying pan and sauté the leeks and zucchini until soft. Remove from the heat and let slightly cool.
In a bowl, beat 6 eggs with 1/2 cup coconut milk (or milk of choice) until combined. Add the cooled off leeks and zucchini. You can add some salt and pepper at this point if you prefer.
Pour the mixture into your pie crust, and use a small spoon to dollop small balls of goat cheese throughout.
Bake on 400 until a toothpick comes out clean. Mine took about 35 minutes to cook.
I searched high and low to find a cake recipe for my daughter’s first birthday that wasn’t full of sugar or flour. She’s eaten mostly organic for all of her life so far, and I didn’t want her hyped up on sugar or with a stomach ache on her birthday! I also hate baking, so I wanted to use a recipe that was simple and not time consuming. This cake is ridiculously easy and adapted from the Organic 2 Ingredient Baby Muffins recipe I made recently. I actually had a really hard time finding a recipe for frosting so for the two “smash” cakes I made her (one for her actual birthday and one for her party), I used two different types of frosting. Please note that this cake is very dense and will not simply crumble when “smashed”. It is not fluffy, so my daughter mostly picked chunks off of it rather than smashed it. It was perfect for what we needed it for and I will definitely be making it again!
For the final cake, I used a 4 inch springform pan (lined with parchment) for each layer. Each layer is 1 recipe, therefore to achieve a 2 layer cake, I had to make the muffin recipe 2 times.
I tried out the recipe a few times before her birthday so I knew what to expect.
I initially put parchment paper under it to make sure it didn’t stick, however you do NOT need to use parchment paper or grease your pan as this recipe does not stick at all.
Before purchasing a 4 inch pan, I had intentions on using a 6 inch and was going to make 4 layers. Using a smaller pan gave me thicker layers, so I ended up making a 2 layer cake in the end.
For my daughters actual birthday, I used a small 6oz container of organic Greek yogurt and a few tablespoons of organic powdered sugar (ahh her first time eating pure sugar!) I poured the frosting over her cake, and decorated it with organic sprinkles.
For her birthday party, I made a pink buttercream icing by adding organic beet juice to an organic buttercream! Please forgive me for my terrible frosting skills! You can find her birthday candle and more like it in my Etsy shop!
Smash cake with an embellished birthday candle from my Etsy shop!
This recipe I saw on The Chew has easily turned in to one of my favorite chicken recipes! I have made it over and over again and it’s a hit every time. I have used a whole chicken cut up into pieces, legs and thighs, and whole bone in breasts. Each time it comes out amazing! I have also added olives (black or kalamata) which adds an amazing salty flavor to it.
After placing all of the ingredients in the casserole dish, make the dressing.
Then, pour the dressing over the casserole dish.
I baked it for about an hour and a half, basting it in between so it didn’t dry out.
The Chew’s Artichoke Chicken
Cook time:
Total time:
Ingredients
3 1/2-4 pound chicken legs and thighs (or any bone in chicken)
1 cup artichoke hearts (halved)
1 medium onion (cut into chunks – to match the artichokes) (you can also use red onion)
1 pound white button mushrooms (halved or quartered)
2 tablespoons brown mustard
1 clove garlic (minced)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup red wine (I always omit this)
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper (to taste)
1/2 can or jar of black olives if desired
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Place the chicken skin side up, in a casserole dish. Place the artichoke hearts, onion and mushrooms over the top. In a small mixing bowl, combine mustard, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, wine, dried spices, salt and pepper and pour over the chicken.
Place in the oven and bake for 1 1/2 hours, basting every 1/2 hour.
I am constantly looking for new recipes for my little love. She eats pretty much anything, which is great, but I feel like I’m always feeding her the same things! I came across this recipe and decided to give it a try using ground up oats since I didn’t have oat flour. This recipe is dairy, egg, and added sugar free, but I’m even more in love with the fact that I always have bananas and oats on hand, so this could be whipped up in a pinch!
I took out my handy Cuisinart chopper/grinder and added the oats to make oat flour. Added the banana and baking powder, put it on grind for a moment, and…done. Now if all baking was that simple, I would love to bake!
I sprinkled a little bit of cinnamon on each before baking since she loves cinnamon.
Organic 2 Ingredient Baby Muffins
Cook time:
Total time:
Ingredients
1 organic banana
1/2 cup organic oats (ground), or oat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
Instructions
Ground the oats if using whole oats instead of oat flour. Puree or mash banana until it is near liquid. Add the oats and baking powder to the banana, mix. Add a little bit of the batter to each well. Bake for 10 minutes on 350. You can also sprinkle some cinnamon on top (or into the batter) before baking.
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And that’s it! It was so simple! The muffins are actually quite yummy, as I had a few myself with some peanut butter on top. 🙂
