HOMEMADE PUMPKIN SPICE CREAMER

Tomorrow is the first day of Fall, the perfect day for this I feel. I love fall, football, bonfires, Halloween, Thanksgiving, outside all the time, and PUMPKIN SPICE is back in the coffee shops! Now that I am eating more clean I knew I needed to make my own creamer to go in my coffee at home, plus it saves me so much money! I have made creamer before, and it is so easy and yummy. 


Pumpkin Spice Creamer:

1 14oz Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 Cups Milk
1 tsp Vanilla 
3 tbsp Pumpkin Spice Mix

Yep, that's it!
                                        
                                           This is what is looks like if you do it in order

                                          Shake Shake Shake Shake Shake Really Good!!!

**You will need to shake it up before each use, date with milk expire date.

Enjoy in your favorite Coffee! If you're still in the high 80's like Florida make it iced coffee =)

~Mrs. Milly~

Pumpkin Spice Seasoning

I could feel a touch of fall in the air here in North Florida early this morning and even though I love summer I am ready for the nice cooler weather. Something that screams fall to me is pumpkin and pumpkin spice. Here is my mixture I keep on hand this time of year to add to many recipes, one of my all time favoriate is Bakery Style Pumpkin Muffins

                 I saved baby food jars from when my boys were little for things like this.


PUMPKIN SPICE:

• 4 tbsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp Allspice
• 1/4 tsp Ground Clove
• 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger 

Enjoy!

~Mrs. Milly~ 

Whole Chicken in the Crock Pot

This is something you can season up so many ways and can eat on its own, make in to sandwiches, or make a gravy and put it over rice or pasta.

I have always roasted my whole chickens in the oven and they turn out great. It was Labor Day when I made this and here in Florida it is still HOT and having my oven on was not something I wanted to do plus we were going to be at the pool most of the day. So I thought lets try the crock pot, I am not big on chicken in the crock pot because I feel you can over cook it too easily. Being a whole chicken and since I was going to use the crock pot after for bone broth anyway I gave it a try and glad I did.

How I did my Chicken:

• I put big cuts of onion, carrots and celery and garlic cloves in the bottom of the pot for the chicken to sit on top of.

 Seasoned it with:

• 1/4 tsp Curry Powder
• 1/4 tsp Cayenne Red Pepper
• 1/4 tsp Celery Salt
• 1/4 tsp Dried Parsley
• 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
• 1 tbsp Salt

I mixed all the seasoning in with coconut oil and rubbed it all over the chicken and under the skin.
Placed breast side down and cooked on low for 6 hours. Do not add liquid it will make enough on its own.

It fell off the bone, was so flavorful and tender! We had friends over for dinner and I got a thumbs up from all the full mouths! My husband was the only one who wasn't a big fan but he doesn't like shredded or pulled chicken though said the flavor was good.

Don't forget to save the bones for Bone Broth

Enjoy!

~Mrs. Milly~

This was a little rich for me and my sensitive tummy or it could of been I had garlic potatoes with it... But just made my stomach talk to me a little, didn't upset it or anything and was so tasty I was fine with a little grumble. ;-)


*Disclaimer: With any IBD, each person is different and what doesn't bother my system might bother yours. Always consult with your doctor if you are unsure and take caution when eating anything new. 

Bone Broth Recipe

This like The Story That Starts My Journey  is a bit longer of a post than I normally do. I am in no way a writer so I apologize for any rambling or mistakes. I normally give a little blip about the recipe and the recipe but I felt this needed more explaining.

During my hospital stay I did a lot of research about foods good for the gut. I stumbled across bone broth. I had to read it to see what this was all about because I always make my own broth/stock, but what was BONE broth?!

It has been a healing aid for many years, your great grandparents most likely used it. Like a lot of things is just now coming back to popularity though. They even have Bone Restaurants / Bars in some areas and celebrities and athletes swear by it. It helps with a list of things because you are pulling all the good stuff out of the bones. With that said you want to make sure you are using good organic or high quality meat bones. You cook it for a LONG time, I'm talking 12-24 hours. This simmering causes the bones and ligaments to release healing compounds like collagen, proline, glycine, and glutamine that have the power to transform your health.

A few benefits of Bone Broth (There are many more too):

1. Heal your gut. Which we all know is a big one for me with my Crohn's.

2. Protect your joints. Another big one because of the medication I am on. It has a bad side affect of giving me bad joint pain.

3. Look younger and decrease cellulite. Well hello beautiful, who wouldn't want that?!

4. Sleep better. Um, no brainier there!
 
5. Immune support. Another big one for me with the medication I am on it suppresses my immune system on top of Crohn's doing it for me so I get colds so easily. 

6. Stronger bones. Who wants a brittle bones???

7. More energy. PLEASE, I always say if I could just have a tiny bit of my kids energy I'd be good.
 
8. It’s very economical! So your saying I can make something good for me and my family with the bones I was just going to throw away?!

So I set out to make this magical broth. I used a whole organic chicken and seasoned it up and cooked it in the crock pot for dinner. (Chicken Recipe) I put all the bones back in the crock pot with any juice and seasonings left added carrot, celery, garlic and green onions. Also 2tsp apple cider vinegar, this helps pull all the good gelatin out of the bones you want and no you will not taste it. Put it on low and let it cook all night, about 9 hours I kicked it up to high when I woke up for anther 4 hours for a total of 13 hours cooking. I then strained it and jarred it up. One big jar to use it for soup that I froze for when it gets a bit cooler and one small jar to sip on through out the next few days. I also had to have a fresh glass to try it then, it was delicious! If you like soup, you'll like this. 

I want to do another test with it when I am not on a steroid medication to see the true side affects but I will say I have had not many tummy troubles all week. I actually wanted to go out to eat last night and was telling my husband how good I feel. Is it the broth, maybe... Its not hurting me I can say that much! I will be doing another post on this in a few months to see the longer benefits it gives me and to see how it helps once off some of these medications.


Here is a link from the Today Show talking about it as a new trend but really is has been around for many years. (Today Show)

Enjoy and Feel Good!

~Mrs. Milly~

*Disclaimer: With any IBD, each person is different and what doesn't bother my system might bother yours. Always consult with your doctor if you are unsure and take caution when eating anything new.  

Pumpkin Pancakes

Summer is now behind us, school is in full swing and fall can't get here fast enough. To end summer and celebrate Labor Day I made pumpkin pancakes. So yummy and I made a big batch so I could freeze the left overs for school mornings. My kids loved them and even my husband who isn't a pumpkin freak like me ;-) or a big pancake fan either said they were good! 

Pumpkin Pancakes:

• 1-15oz can 100% Pumpkin
• 1 1/2 cups Milk
• 1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1 tsp Vanilla 
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 cup Cane Sugar
• 2 1/2 cups AP Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• Pinch of salt 
• 1 tbsp Cinnamon 
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp Allspice 
• 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger

HOW TO:

1. Heat Pan with oil on medium heat.
2. Mix wet ingredients together.
3. Mix dry ingredients together.
4. Mix wet and dry ingredients together.
5. These take a little longer to cook than regular pancakes. You will see the edges turning brown before you need to flip. 
6. Top with a dust of powdered sugar. 
7. Serve with honey or real maple syrup.

Enjoy!

~Mrs. Milly~ 

These settled just fine on my stomach too. I ate very slowly and didn't use much syrup.

*Disclaimer: With any IBD, each person is different and what doesn't bother my system might bother yours. Always consult with your doctor if you are unsure and take caution when eating anything new.

Homemade Chicken Taquitos

This is a very kid friendly recipe that is good for them! It can also be good for a finger food for football parties, just cut in to bite size pieces with a toothpick in them and serve with the dips.

My kids LOVE those nasty frozen taquitos that are full of who knows what. Now I am transitioning to a clean eating life style I am dragging my husband and kids along for the ride, they will thank me later ;-).

I had boiled chicken thighs the day before and was thinking of something to make with the picked chicken for the kids dinner. Since I am still eating very light and limited as my body heals I needed something different for them, easy yet good for them. I have been CRAVING Mexican style food so I figured if I can't have it at least they can. Of course I had to quality check and they turned out perfect and I didn't suffer form, well a big bite... or 2. 

Taquitos: What you will need-
3 cups Shredded Cooked Chicken 
1 tbsp Butter
2 tbsp (adjust to your taste) Mexican Seasoning Mix
1/2 can Diced Tomatoes with the juice
2 Carrots, Shredded 
<--how I sneak in veggies-->
1/2 cup Onion, diced small 
2 cups Shredded Cheese, I used Monterey Jack because that's what I had.
Tortillas, The smaller taco ones would be best, mine were a little big but had no complainers about it. 
Cooking Spray 
Dips such as sour cream and salsa 

1. In a medium pot on medium heat add butter, onions and carrots. Cook till onions start to sweet. 
2. Add cooked chicken, tomatoes and mexican seasoning mix. 
3. Cook till heated through, stirring frequently. If need add a tablespoon of water or 2 but you dont want it too wet. 
4. Assemble cheese and meat in middle of tortilla and roll up putting seam side down on greased pan.
5. Spray top with cooking spray, I use coconut oil spray. 
6. Bake 350 for 15-20 min or till golden brown. 
7. Serve with dippers.

The kids loved them! 

I froze the left overs in a freezer bag for another day.

Enjoy!

~Mrs. Milly~

Mexican Seasoning Mix

My family loves Mexican style dishes. I can only eat them sometimes with light seasoning, but do enjoy them myself also. You can always buy a package of taco seasoning but it has so many preservatives and ingredients that I am not sure of in it. So whats the point when you can make your own so easily?!

I just used an old seasoning container, but any air tight container to jar will work just fine. It doesnt have to be fancy.

Mexican Seasoning:  
4 tbsp Chili Powder
2 tbsp Cumin
1 tbsp Dried Oregano
1 tbsp Garlic Powder
1 tbsp Onion Powder
1 tbsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 tsp (more if you like more spice) Ground Cayenne Red Pepper 

See not fancy at all ;-)

Enjoy!

~Mrs. Milly~

*Disclaimer: With any IBD, each person is different and what doesn't bother my system might bother yours. Always consult with your doctor if you are unsure and take caution when eating anything new. 

Carrot Ginger Soup

This soup is perfect for cooler weather! It not only warms you up but it is good for you and easy on your digestive system. Most of the benefits of carrots can be attributed to their beta carotene and fiber content. This root vegetable is also a good source of antioxidant agents. Furthermore, carrots are rich in vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, vitamin B8, pantothenic acid, folate, potassium, iron, copper, and manganese.

It is very simple to make as well. I whipped it up for lunch while feeding 2 toddlers. 

Carrot Ginger Soup: 

12 Carrots, peeled and rough chopped

32 oz Chicken Broth 

1 tbsp Coconut Oil 

1/2 Sweet Onion, rough chopped 

2-3 Cloves of Garlic, smashed and halved

1/2 inch Chuck Ginger, peeled and diced 

A pinch of each dried Basil, Oregano and Thyme.   

1 tbsp Sea Salt 

1 tsp Black Pepper

Greek Yogurt, to top

Toast, on the side

-Put chicken and broth in pot together, bring to boil, turn off heat and cover till boiling stops or till fork tender. Broth should cover carrots. 

-In separate pan heat oil, add onions garlic and ginger and cook till onions are transparent. 

-Add ALL ingredients to blender and blend to smooth finish or you can add them to pot of carrots and use your immersion blender. I have a really nice blended I think dose a better job. 

-Top with a little plain Greek yogurt and serve with sourdough toast.

It is so tasty!! 

Enjoy! 

~Mrs. Milly~ 

*Disclaimer: With any IBD, each person is different and what doesn't bother my system might bother yours. Always consult with your doctor if you are unsure and take caution when eating anything new.