Crockpot Cabbage Rolls

I'm always making an effort to eat healthier. I kind of float between a paleo and gluten free diet. When we're home it's easy to stick to those guidelines, but I gotta be honest, when I go out that stuff just flies right out the window. Oh well, you only live once. Right? In that case, I don't go out very often and I'm always searching for interesting healthy recipes to make at home.  I guess you could say my healthy home cooking justifies my better diet judgement while I'm out.  So, when I found this recipe for cabbage rolls I was happy it was both paleo and gluten free. 

Peeled, boiled cabbage leaves. 

The filling... Ground pork, ground beef, sautéed onion and riced cauliflower 

Ready to wrap and roll

First layer going into the crockpot with the tomato sauce

Crockpot full and ready for the sauce

Cabbage rolls topped off with remaining sauce

These cabbage rolls turned out great! They were delicious, definitely making these again! So with a little bit of prep work this recipe is pretty easy.  I made the filling first. I took a head of cauliflower and pulsed the florets in my food processor until I got a rice like texture. You want about a cup for the recipe, so I really only used about half a head of cauliflower. Then you take your riced cauliflower and combine with the diced onion and sautée until tender, about 3-5 minutes. While your sautéing the veggies you can make your meat mixture. Mix 1lb ground beef, 1lb ground pork, salt & pepper and then finally add in cooled veggie sautée.  Boil one medium head of cabbage for 15min. Peel cabbage leaves off gently and let cool before wrapping and rolling. For the tomatoe sauce I just used a large can of crushed tomatoes.  

Now you're ready for assembly....

Pour half of tomato sauce into bottom of crop pot

Stuff filling into cabbage leaves and wrap and layer into crock pot

Pour more tomato sauce over first layer and add remaining cabbage rolls

Top with the rest of tomato sauce and cook on low for 5  hours. 

Totally Obsessed Tuesday

Today, I'm totally obsessed with all the wood work and fixtures in this new custom home my husband built. He really has an eye for that down home rustic feel.  It's not all cookie cutter and cold. He creates homes that make you feel as though you've lived there for years. It's amazing. I love how creative he is and how he incorporates his clients personalities into their homes. 

First of all, check out the view off this back deck...

Love, love, love these oak floors

Family shot. Love the banisters

The master bath

Lights over the bar in the kitchen.  These are so cool!

Living room, den, kitchen area. Those sliding glass doors provide tons of natural light. 

Like I said, I'm totally obsessed with the floors, all the rough cut barn wood and the lighting in this home.  Also, this home has numerous energy efficiency upgrades. From the energy star appliances to the heat pump, this house is a great example of all the new geothermal technology.  I love this home, because it feels like home. Not only is it warm and inviting, it's beautifully rustic.  

Homemade Pimento Cheese

NI never realized how much I liked pimento cheese until this last summer when we were at the beach.  We had been out on the beach all morning and for lunch we put out a huge mess of self serve snacks. Palmetto Pimento Cheese just happened to be one of our many snack selections.  I'm not sure why I decided to eat this pimento cheese, because I have always thought pimento cheese was kind of gross.   This stuff was amazing and thus started my love affair with pimento cheese.  Needless to say, I ate a lot of pimento cheese that week.  Which got me thinking that it's probably not that hard to make and that it'd be a relatively inexpensive snack.   Well, I was right.  It's basically cream cheese and shredded cheese mixed together with some pimentos. 

This took me all of 5 minutes to make. 

First you start off with about 4oz of cream cheese

Then take your hand mixer or standing mixer to soften up the cream cheese. 

Add in your cheeses. I used sharp cheddar and a mexican blend. 

Toss in those pimentos 

Mix all together on a low sitting and then your done. 

Yummmm.

Skillet Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Brussel sprouts are delicious and definitely a family favorite here at the Smith house. They are also pretty easy to prepare and loaded with lots of vitamins and nutrients like, Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Omega-3 Fatty Acids.  I have attempted to grow this veggie in my garden, but it didn't have a chance to produce anything before the deer got to it. That's ok, because at least I know it will grow and there's always the grocery store option.  That's were I found these beauties, still on the stalk. 

First you're gonna want to rinse off your brussels and cut them in half vertically, keeping the stem in tack.  This keeps the leaves on the sprout from falling off. 

Next we're gonna parboil the sprouts 

This gives the sprouts a jump start on cooking before finishing them off by roasting them stovetop.  Parboil for 3-5 minutes and then immediately drain and throw Brussels into a bowl of ice water, allowing the brussels to stop cooking and retain that vibrant green color.  Next, bust out about 4 pieces of bacon and diced it up.  Toss bacon into a heavy bottomed skillet, like cast iron, and sauté for a few minutes until the bacon has released some of its greasy, fatty goodness.  Add the brussels and roast, stirring occasionally, until they have a nice brown, carmelizing crust. Should take you about 10 minutes.   The grease from the bacon not only gives the brussels a great flavor, but it helps create that wonderful roasted flavor. 

There ya have it...Skillet Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Bacon. Yum!

Oh how I've missed you

I have been missing my Muddy Boots and Chickens. I have completely dropped the ball on blog posts in the last couple of months.  So, what's my excuse?  Life and laziness in general.  What a terrible excuse, but at least it's honest. I have slacked so bad on this blog, because I let laziness get the best of me. I would want to blog and then when it came down to it, I'd be like, oh I'm tired or I'll do it tomorrow.  Well you know the excuse I'm tired or I'm busy, is the gateway excuse to a lifetime of excuses. 

So, I'm back. I'm determined to not be a victim of laziness and other slacker excuses. I have a busy life, but the blog is my outlet. Here's to creative thinking, interesting blog posts and an inspiring lifestyle. 

I love this picture.  It's from my honeymoon in the Bahamas.  This picture makes me smile every single time I look at it. It's currently my home screen on my iPad and my inspiration to get off my bum. Thank you, tropical island paradise, for reminding me that life can be a dream come true. 

DIY Multi Purpose Cleaner

I'm a big fan of DIY anything. So deciding to make my own all purpose cleaner was a no brainier.  It's super easy and takes minutes to make. Oh and you most likely have all these ingredients on hand.  Here's your mixture...

2 cups water

1 cup white distiller vinegar

Lemon juice either fresh squeezed or store bought

2 Tbsp natural dish soap, like seventh generation 

Pour it all into a spray bottle of your choice and shake til combined. 

I choose to recycle a store bought spray bottle, but whenever I'm not feeling lazy and remember to get a nicer looking bottle, I'll replace it. 

I love the smell of fresh lemon, it's clean and crisp. You could add your favorite scented essential oil instead of the lemon.  Feel free to customize anyway you like. 

Garden Beauties

I wish I could garden all year round. I love fresh veggies out of my backyard or a friends backyard.  However, unless you have a greenhouse, our mountain winters don't allow much growth for anything October-April. Even if you do have a greenhouse, most people put little heaters in there during the coldest months.  So the growing season up here isn't very long and it isn't very easy.  I got lucky this year, between my garden and some friends gardens we pulled in a lot of nice veggies this season. 

Purple pole beans from my neighbors garden

Grilled em right up...really tasty and they turn green once you cook them...pretty cool!

Gardening is a relatively new thing for me and I've really gotten into it. It's both therapeutic and rewarding. I'm looking forward to the next years growing season.