2017/2018

Last meal of 2017!

Kyle grilled flank steak that I had marinated like this.

And I made crab cakes.

I had looked up recipes beforehand but didn’t follow any exactly because I only wanted to make enough for our foursome.  I didn’t actually think the kids would like them (I was wrong).

I used half the can of crab meat and saved the rest for poke bowls (on the dinner menu later in the week), combined with an egg, green onions, old bay seasoning, salt, and GF panko.

These are good to have on hand in the pantry.  You can usually sub in corn meal or oats for a GF option when breadcrumbs are called for, but this is a little better for crab cakes.

Packed them together, popped them in the oven, and hoped for the best!

In the meantime, I made a simple spinach salad with balsamic vinaigrette, slivered almonds, and dried cranberries.

Ohhhhh baby.

I sliced it after some time resting, just as the crab cakes were finishing up.

They were a little eggy on one side but very flavorful!  I think one egg is a little too much for the small amount of crab I used but I couldn’t really do a smaller amount, so it is what it is.  I flipped them half way in the oven, so one side was totally fine, but the other (the part that was on the bottom initially with the extra egg liquid) had eggy edges.

But that’s just me being picky.  Nobody else noticed and surprisingly the kids both loved the crab cakes too.  They like green onions all of a sudden!

My friend gave me crap for posting this on my IG story on the 31st because she’s preggo and would much rather be drinking booze and here I am sipping tea like a grandma on New Year’s Eve.  But ginger tea is delicious and I have no shame in my game.  I’d been cleaning and organizing all day and had just enjoyed an amazing meal with my family – totally acceptable way to spend the holiday.  I mean let’s be honest, I just got back from a week long vacay…I didn’t need anymore gluttony for my very well rested face.  You know how that point hits in a vacation and you’re ready to get back to your own kitchen?  I was excited to be doing all that food prep after we were back in town!  I mean, it’s not like I wanted to leave so cal.  I wish we could have stayed for a month.  Or better yet, until Spring, when the temps in Davis rose back up to the 50s.  😛  Wishful thinking much?!  But at least my cooking mojo was on an all time high after so much time off of kitchen duty.

Dessert? Why yes, yes I did.  Happy 2018!

This chunk was SO thick.

And in a super cliche move, I woke up, worked out, and started the New Year with a nutrient dense smoothie.

Vega chocolate protein & greens, frozen bananas, frozen berries, almond milk, and granola on top.  Maybe I was channeling the acai bowl trend that was on every single menu in SD.

Here’s the zoomed out view of how I ate it (after everyone else was fed and working on some sticker art).

For lunch, the kids had that quiche (aka tortilla espanola) I made.

They seemed to like it, and both had seconds, although they definitely preferred the broccoli and cuties.

P told me he likes regular oranges now and wants them in addition to cuties so we’ll be grabbing some from my parents’ tree next time we visit.

Ok now it’s time to show you MY lunch.

Prep work made this easy peasy, with a baked potato (I baked 5 total), washed and shredded kale, and the rest of the TJs roasted Brussels sprouts.  In case you were wondering, the TJs Brussels are just so-so and I probably won’t buy them again.  They were a little too al dente/undercooked for my liking.  They’re perfect for an addition to a salad or side dish when you’re in a pinch and don’t have time to roast them yourself, but obviously doing it yourself will taste better.

First I added home-made balsamic vinaigrette and massaged it in until the kale started wilting.

Then I added in the chopped veggies (sweet potato and Brussels), followed by candied walnuts, and chèvre.  [Kelsey, I almost wrote goat’s chèvre but looked it up and realized that would be redundant and changed it just for you 😉 ]

And then, because I was feeling like a really loaded salad, I added coconut bacon as well.  Why not!?

I bought this from Healthy Creations in Carlsbad.

What a lunch!

Talk about 2018 starting off on the right foot!  First a smoothie and then a loaded kale salad?!  This is like what resolutions are made of!  HA!

For a snack later that afternoon I had some trail mix.  I mostly just picked out the banana chips though.

The kiddo afternoon snacks had the dried fruit balls I made, which were a big hit.  P commented that I should make them as often as I used to because he likes them more than Larabars which is the sweetest and yet…more time intensive option.

I used half of the roasted squash (I roasted two whole squash) and all the onions and carrots to make this soup.

It’s from Danielle Walker’s first cookbook.  We all LOVED it the first time I made it and this time was no different.  I made a bit extra for Friday’s meal because Kyle will be out of town.

Last time I made it, I vegan-ized it using white beans instead of pork.  This time I made it exactly as written, with hazelnuts and ground pork.  She uses Italian sausages removed from their casings, but says you can use ground pork too, so I just did that and added Italian seasonings to the pork as I cooked it.

The kids were wild for this.  They were basically done with their first portion two seconds after I put it down in front of them.  So I just kept giving them more and more servings until they were full.

Deeeelish. Kyle and I had a couple of servings too. And then a kombucha before bedtime. Cheers to 2018 being awesome!