What's in the fridge night

You know what I am talking about right?  The night you haven't planned anything so you look in the fridge and just throw something together.  We get a box of organic fruits and veggies once a week at our house.  It is so nice to know I have that to count on.  The thing about it is though is you never know what is in the box until you get it.  It sure makes you think outside the box (pun intended). 

Menu for tonight:
Left over chicken from a whole chicken last night
coconut rice
homemade applesauce
cabbage soup

We got a head of red cabbage in the box so I made a pot of soup with it.  I started with homemade chicken stock and added thinly sliced red cabbage, green onions and diced mushrooms.  A great way to start a meal on this windy, blustery night. 

In case you are around here and run out of your own garden supply or are just interested in ordering organic veggies locally here are the websites where we order from.  If you order please do tell them I sent you!  Angela Czepinski

Brunos Organics

Timber Creek Farms

Wheat-Free Baked Pears

I know there is a line drawn for gluten intolerance folks to either consume or not consume oats.  Our family does eat them as long as I get organic oats.  The rumor is if they are organic they "should" not be contaminated by wheat.  Since we are not celiac we take the chance. 

This morning I made baked pears as I had 5 of them that were on the hard side. 
In a skillet cook over medium heat about 6 minutes:
1/2 cup honey
the juice of 2 mandarin oranges
pinch of salt
stick of cinnamon
1 vanilla bean seeded

When it thickens add 5 peeled, cored and sliced pears.  Cook until thicker and soft about 10 minutes.  Take out cinnamon stick and transfer to an oven safe dish.  Top with:
3/4 cup oats
2 tbsp ground flax seed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Drizzle 2 tbsp of melted butter over the top and bake at 350 until bubbly. 

Since this was breakfast and not dessert I served it with a couple fresh scrambled eggs in butter.  If this was dessert you could top it with ice cream or fresh yogurt.

Reconnecting

Reconnecting
to link or be linked together again

My son reminded me that I have a blog last night.  He even found it and left a comment so I would go and read it!  I love him.  He is why I am reconnecting.  When I first started this blog it was called A Year In The Life...centered around a yearly menu in our home.  After that year it changed and I began to blog about food and other things hence the name change to My Life In Which He Has Placed Me.  School started and in our home that meant me being the teacher I just didn't have much time left.  I also teach a literature class in our local co-op and a watercolor class in our home every other week.  Music lessons, church, AWANA...you get the picture.  Along with all of that comes cheating.  Cheating in our food choices.  My youngest has asthma that is gluten and environmental induced. 

I have a cook book that I made a few years ago.  I scrapbooked each page and added our tried and true recipes to it.  It is an heirloom.  Sadly, many of the recipes are for sugar cookies, homemade whole wheat bread, pancakes, gluten laden favorites.  Sometimes to me a gluten free diet seems impossible because it takes planning and when you are first starting out and you have 3 very hungry boys waiting for dinner you just need a tried and true recipe.  That is what this next year is going to be.  The food changes but the name remains!  I won't be making my own cookbook or anything I will just share with you our menus and how they turned out.  Isn't that what we want to know how they turn out?  Are they good enough to add to our cookbook?

Come along for the journey.  We will have success! 

Now that I have started I must tell you something.  We are traveling back to Alabama for Thanksgiving so I won't be posting.  However, I will leave you with a couple recipes I posted before.  The Thanksgiving table can be concurred with some smart choices like, turkey or ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, cranberry relish.  You can even if it is family take along some arrowroot powder steal some of the pan drippings and make a bit of homemade gravy for the potatoes!  The dessert table is where your heart will be mislead.  You will feel like it just isn't fair, like you are deprived.  This is not the truth.  You can have dessert.  Make yourself a few cookies to take along and share that way you are sure to have some gluten free choices. 

No Bake Cookies - for us as long as we use organic oats we are fine.
Peanut Butter Cookies

Happy Thanksgiving.
Love,
Angela