Cooking with Ellie Bellie

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Life Update

Gosh, I don’t even know where to begin. So much has changed (for the better!) since I last blogged and I am long overdue for an update. Although no one may even read my blog (besides my Mama), I love to look back and see where I was at a certain point in life. This blog holds the memories that seem to vanish quickly as I go about my day to day activities. Four significant changes have taken place since May and I couldn’t be more grateful for all that has happened.

We have ZERO student loan debt! When J.T. and I got married in 2012, he had accumulated around $80,000 worth of student loan debt. This debt was mainly a snowball of accumulated interest on loans that were taken out to pay for his Bachelors, Masters, Education Specialist, and Doctorate. We knew we wanted to attack the loans aggressively but didn’t get serious until May of 2013. I sat down and devised a payment plan that allowed us to knock out $57,536.63 in 12 months. Every Friday, we made loan payments, beginning with the loans holding the largest interest rate. To say we have been living on a budget would be an understatement! I literally tracked every penny that was spent (and still do). We didn’t take trips, go out to eat, or spend money on anything that wasn’t absolutely necessary for survival. I have learned more about money and budgeting in the last year than most people do in a lifetime. The days of freezing in the winter, burning up in the summer, “Meatless” Monday 5 days a week, and quick showers are behind us, but I will never forget this experience. To celebrate, J.T. and I went shopping to buy some items that were beyond needed - clothes, shoes, socks, underwear (ha!). This debt was not paid off by our hard work alone, but rather by God’s constant financial blessings over our life. Some month’s we didn’t think we would make our goal, and time and time again extra money showed up. We are now saving for a house and couldn’t be more thrilled!
I got a new job! I am still working for the same organization but have transferred to a different department and higher position. Even applying for a different job was a difficult decision for me to make. One of my best friend’s works in my old office and I miss seeing her daily. Luckily, we have been able to talk on the phone a couple of times a week to catch up.
J.T. started his administration certificate. Yes, you read that right. After paying off a ton of student loan debt, he started back to school again. The administration degree will allow him to become a principal, school board employee or even superintendent if he chooses. This degree is something he has contemplated for quite some time and we are finally financially able. He started this fall and will finish this summer. While neither one of us are crazy about his week night classes or monthly Saturday class, it is worth the sacrifice. Since I work at the school, he gets half price tuition and we are paying as it comes due - no loans or pulling money from savings. The finished degree will result in a raise that will pay for the degree itself in a year. Here’s to degree number 5!
We have gone paleo. As much as I fought this current diet trend, I finally caved after shear desperation. A few years ago, I started itching - no rash, no dry skin, and no doctor had a clue. It got to the point where it was wreaking havoc on my daily life. I was having difficulty showering or even wearing certain clothes without being miserable or in tears. My brother’s mother-in-law is a doctor who is knowledgeable in holistic medicine. Through her guidance, I have been placed on a paleo diet along with numerous supplements for nutritional deficiencies. The nutritional deficiencies were confirmed via blood test at my last checkup. As much as I hate to admit it, the paleo diet is working for me. Many of you know I was gluten, dairy, and soy free before beginning the paleo diet, and restricting foods even more seemed daunting. At the beginning of June I started an elimination diet which restricted grains, dairy, nuts, seeds, eggs, certain vegetables & fruits, and sugar. I am surviving! The first 30 days were a terrible struggle. In June I itched for 23 days out of 30. In July, I itched for 15 days out of 31. In August, I have itched for 9 days out of the 28 that have occurred. An unhealthy gut is the root of all sickness and I have embarked on a journey out of desperation to heal mine. As much as I didn’t want to jump on the paleo band wagon, the diet plus supplementation has helped me tremendously. I have struggled with health problems for years - hypothyroidism, secondary amenorrhea, IBS - and chronic itching was the final straw. This new way of eating is expensive but if I don’t have my health, I have nothing. My $60 grocery budget has flown out the window and I am slowly learning how to cook without grains. I would love to one day eat a bowl of oatmeal, but if that comes at the cost of itching daily, I will remain grain free forever. Time will tell.

That’s enough changes for one day. I hope you enjoyed a brief 3 month recap of our lives!

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Menu Plan, May 18 - 24

This is a post I meant to publish several weeks ago, but simply forgot. Things have been busy at work and home so I haven't had much time for blogging. I am hoping to be a little more consistent in the future. Although our anniversary trip occurred almost a month ago, I want to remember the details. We pulled out of Tuscaloosa early Saturday morning and were able to get to Atlanta before lunch. Our first stop was Trader Joe’s because I am obsessed with food! I spent way too much money on restocking our pantry and loved every second of it. Next, we headed to lunch at Farm Burger, a small restaurant chain that specializes in grass feed beef. Gluten-free buns were on the menu so this is what really lured me in. This was easily one of the best burgers I have ever had out and we can’t wait to for a return visit.

After lunch we made our way to IKEA, a place neither J.T. nor I have ever been before. Although I did buy a few things, I wasn’t overly impressed. Most items (especially furniture) seemed cheaply made and I am indifferent about a second trip. J.T. spotted this cute door hanger and I couldn’t help but spend $3.00 for Otis.

We spent the majority of the afternoon at IKEA, so we decided to go check in our hotel and rest up before dinner. A few weeks ago, J.T. and I had looked over different restaurant menus and selected Einstein’s. We were so excited to eat at this restaurant and made reservations. Needless to say, we will NEVER be returning. The food was mediocre, the environment was extremely uncomfortable, and the service was slow. One day we will look back and laugh J. Sunday morning was spent lying around the hotel room watching my favorite Food Network shows before heading off to Turner Field.

The Braves faced the Cincinnati Reds, a team J.T. and I had never seen in-person before. The game was slow, but the Braves won in the 10^th inning.

We drove back to Tuscaloosa after the game and our boy was so excited to see his parents!

Sunday

Monday

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Veggie Burgers
Roasted Plantains

Tuesday

Ham Pizza
Roasted Carrots

Wednesday

Hummus Sandwiches
Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Thursday

Ham (last batch!)
Green Bean & Potato Salad (new recipe)

Friday

Peanut Butter Waffle Sandwiches
Eggs

Saturday

Leftovers

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Gluten-Free Multi-Grain Flour Blend

Although this gluten-free flour blend works in most recipes that call for whole wheat flour or whole white wheat flour, it is not an exact substitute. All the recipes on my blog that list multi-grain flour blend as an ingredient have been tested. Trial and error along with experimentation may be needed in recipes outside of this blog. This flour blend is referred to as multi-grain instead of whole grain because it is a blend of 73% whole grains and 27% starches. I have played around with alternate flours including brown rice, millet, sweet white rice, and buckwheat, but oat, sorghum, and arrowroot are my favorite. If you don’t own a scale, don’t fret. I simply dump a bag of each of these into my mixer and whisk together to blend. Of course I cannot take credit for this ingenious flour blend myself. I had a little help from another blog post by Gluten Free Girl and the Chef.

Be sure to check out recipes on the blog that include this flour. If you are not gluten-free, try substituting whole wheat or whole white wheat flour. I would love to hear if a recipe worked using the gluten alternative, since many of them were adapted from recipes that originally included a gluten flour.

Chicken Pot Pie

Whole Grain Popovers

Banana Muffins

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Ingredients

22 ounces (624 grams) whole grain oat flour
22 ounces (624 grams) sweet white sorghum flour
16 ounces (454 grams) arrowroot starch

Directions

Whisk together the oat flour, sorghum flour, and arrowroot starch. Store in a large (5 pound capacity) container in the refrigerator. Use in place of whole wheat flour or whole white wheat flour.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Menu Plan, April 27 - May 3

The Easter Bunny was very good to me last weekend and he sure knows what I like. Some food gifts included a bottle of olive oil and 4 new herb plants. We also took home one of my dad’s tasty smoked hams. He did one for both me and my brother and I know we are all thankful for the free food! The menu plan was altered for the upcoming weeks to include this ham. During Easter lunch we feasted on another ham my dad had made specifically for Easter. Since spiral hams tend to dry out, my dad normally buys regular hams that you must slice yourself. This became quite the ordeal on Sunday. My dad cut himself pretty badly on two fingers, when the knife slipped during his first cut. I, of course, took over with an electric knife and ended up cutting into my index finger. Ouch. My cut isn’t too terrible, but it is in a very inconvenient location and is still quite sore. My brother saved the day by slicing the rest of the ham without hurting himself – thank goodness J

Tomorrow, J.T. and I will celebrate our second wedding anniversary. While we are going on a little getaway, we will be enjoying dinner in our own kitchen on our actual anniversary. I consulted Ina Garten for this meal, because her recipes are always so foolproof. We can’t normally afford to eat seafood or more expensive vegetables, but we are making an exception. Our anniversary meal is not included in my normal grocery budget and we are very grateful to the Easter Bunny for funding this rare treat!

Below is a picture of the homemade vegetable chicken stock I threw in the crock pot one morning. The broth turned a dark brown color because it was made from roasted chicken bones. I always keep bones (from raw meat or roasted meat) in the freezer until I have enough accumulated to make stock. I want to clarify that I do not save bones that people have eaten off. Any roasted bones that are saved have had the meat shredded off by hand and not someone's mouth! I also save carrot tops and celery leaves. Once I have enough vegetables and bones, I place them in the crock pot, along with garlic, peppercorns, and a bay leaf, on low for 12 hours. The stock turns out rich every time and it is quite inexpensive to make.