Happy Family Day!

Holla!! Happy Family Day! Canada, ya did good introducing Family Day 5 years ago.  My husband and I hosted my Mama, Bro, Sista-in-law and nephew last night for dinner, a movie and a sleepover.  We always love having a house full of people and last night was no exception.  I'm not one to want to be prepping food while people are catching up (God forbid I miss out on something!)so I made a big old patch of chili (gluten free!) ahead of time and warmed it through in time for dinner.  It was a hit!  I served it with rice and tostitos and had franks hot sauce and shredded cheese for toppings. This can be made and tossed in the freezer too.  Comfort food --- mmmm...

Chili Ingredients
2 lbs of ground beef or chicken
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 tbsp Worcestershire (*** make sure there is not wheat in it if you want gluten free)
4 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
1 can diced tomatoes (or crushed tomatoes if you don't want tomato chunks)
1 can tomato pasta sauce
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
Method
In a fry pan over medium heat, cook ground beef/chicken all the way through. Drain fat if necessary. Add onion and celery and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add all remaining ingredients and turn heat to low.  Simmer for 1-2 hours. Remove bay leaves and serve. 

After the family left I whipped up two batches of chocolate chip bran muffins.  One for us and one for a friend who unfortunately lost a family member this weekend.  I made some healthy modifications to my regular bran muffin recipe which I am happy with.  Hope you like them too.

Yields: 1 dozen

Chocolate Chip Bran Muffin Ingredients
1 1/2 cups wheat bran
1 cup milk
1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 egg
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins/blueberries/chocolate chips (optional)

Method
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin cups. Mix together wheat bran and milk; let stand for 10 minutes. Beat together apple sauce, egg, sugar and vanilla and add to milk/bran mixture. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into milk mixture, until just blended. Fold in raisins/berries/chocolate chips and spoon batter into prepared muffin tins. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool and enjoy!

Jillian Michaels, Arsenio Hall & Pancakes

Jillian Michaels kicked my ass yesterday after work. Push ups sooooooo aren't my thing. Pizza is, but push ups certainly aren't. I found it painful to wash my hair in the shower this morning (albeit, it was a good pain). You know what made that pain go away? Finding out that SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED TODAY. Can I get a BOOYA?! You know what made that pain come crashing back? Shoveling.  Let me paint you the picture. Imagine this; Me standing at the top of my 6 car driveway fist pumping in the air (Arsenio Hall style) after an hour and a half of shoveling because I finished half of the driveway even though I was so sore. In the distance I hear a scraping sound.  Hmm, must be a neighbour shoveling. NOPE. The f'n snow plow. The guy drove by the mouth of my driveway and left only a small pile.  Cha-ching! Another fist pump to the sky. I start walking down the driveway to get started but NOOOOOOO, the plow comes to a screeching halt.  The guy backs up and plows again. Mother f'er...the pile doubled its size. Oh but wait for it ---- he backed up a third time! Why didn't we buy a snow blower again?! My arms are going to fall off right now but you know what?! It's ok, because SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED TODAY!

After I realized that it was a snow day I decided that I would make my hubby a nice breakfast before he started his trek into work.  His request; pancakes.  I used my go to recipe (here) but I made a few healthier adjustments and they turned out great!  Next time I'll try half whole wheat flour and half white flour.

Those of you who got hit with the storm, stay safe and warm and eat some pancakes! xo

Yield: 6 medium pancakes (enough to make two people FULL!!)

Ingredients3/4 cup milk

1  tablespoon white vinegar

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
*butter or pam for pan

Method

Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to sour. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg into soured milk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray or butter. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side. Serve with fresh fruit.