Pumpkin Pie Bites

pump·kin  

/ˈpəm(p)kən/

Noun A large rounded orange-yellow fruit with a thick rind, edible flesh, and many seeds. The flesh of this fruit, esp. used as food.

Synonyms squash - gourd

This will be t.h.e. most delish edible flesh you've ever eaten. My inspiration for this treat came from our love of pumpkin and the amount of cans we had in our pantry. I wasn't in the mood to be a recipe thief  so I created my own. Get excited, it's a good one.

Random Rant: I HATE it when my iphone Blogger and my desktop Blogger mess each other up. This is the second/third time I've had to write this blog because they were not in sync. haha N'sync. I loved them.


Crust
2 cups almonds
1/4 cup walnuts
2 tbsp coconut flour
2 tbsp honey

1. Combine all ingredients in Vitamix and blend until they are a flourish consistancy. Do not blend too long, or it will turn into almond/walnut butter.

Filling
1/4 cup of sweetener (I used agave, but you could use honey or pure maple syrup)
1 cup organic pumpkin
2 cups coconut milk
2 eggs
1tbsp coconut flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1. Place all ingredients in Vitamix and blend until smooth. This will be a little runny, but that's ok.


Topping
1 can of coconut cream (heavy)
2 squeezes of honey
1 splash of vanilla

1. Place the coconut cream in the fridge overnight.
2. Remove coconut cream from the can and put in blender.
3. Add honey and vanilla
4. Blend until smooth


Directions
1. Create the crust and press into the bottom of your cupcake liners.
2. Pour the filling on top of your mini crusts.
3. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350 and continue to bake until the edges are brown, approximately 25 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and cool completely. I let mine sit overnight in the fridge.
5. Add coconut whipped cream just before you serve. I prefer to eat mine with a cup of Sleepy Time Tea, but I am also a weird hot-tea drinker.

1. Texas makes me happy because it is warm. 

2. I love Sunday Fundays by the pool with James.

3. This new recipe makes me excited, much like this picture. 

Experimental Stuffed Meatcakes

"Meatcake, or meatloaf cake, is a cake or other dessert look-alike that is made with meat in a meatloaf style, and not a pastry..."

This concoction is definitely not a pastry as it is all meat. I've mastered creating a menu of items to cook throughout the weekdays, but the weekend is usually a free for all. Sundays is the most inconsistent day, which is totally fine...until you run out of options. James worked this particular Sunday and accidentally took the car keys that I needed with him. Now, you already know that I am the queen of creating a meal from random ingredients, so I wasn't too concerned. 

I have a secret hatred for meatloaf, most likely because I was a vegetarian for several years and was scared to death of a loaf made of pure meat. So, instead of making meatloaf I decided to make meatcakes in a muffin tin. I looked through the pantry and fridge and came up with three different things to stuff the little meatcakes with. 

1. Jalapeno - diced
2. Sun-dried tomatoes - diced
3. Roasted red pepper/spinach pesto (not as flavorful as I anticipated, but it was still good)

All I did was season the beef and then create a little patty at the bottom of each tin. From there, I sprinkled the above ingredients into the tin (separately, of course). I then added a little patty on top of the filling. I really didn't want to turn this into a meatcake surprise, so I topped each little cake with some of the filling so that we could tell them apart. 

All in all, these were pretty good. Not bad, considering it was thrown together out of desperation. I will make these again, but plan ahead with the ingredients so that they are a little more jazzed up. 

Random Thoughts
1. I spent Thursday-Saturday in Austin with Ashley, Josh, and the kids. The boys and I had a great time wii dancing. I accidentally forgot to let them win, but I will remember to next time. I can't help it, I was a competitive dancer for years.  Ashley: thanks for sending James the video, it is actually quite hilarious. 
2. I haven't been to Crossfit since Wednesday, which sucks. However, the 10 calluses I ripped open are finally starting to heal.
3. Have you heard about the snow in the north?! I am SO happy that I am not there now. 
4. James and I fly to Cleveland in less than four weeks!!!!!!!!!!!! 
5. If I could be anywhere in the world right now, I would be at Los Tres with my North Carolina peeps. 
6. Does anyone have a pillow brand that they recommend? I want new pillows but never know which ones to buy. 
7. I love Pink's new song "Just Give Me a Reason"
8. I got my Toms wedges in the mail from Teresa. They're the most adorable little wedges ever. 
9. I think I forgot to give my new phone number to a lot of my friends and family at home. My b. If you're one of those people, please email me so I can give it to you. 

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
1 large roasted red pepper
1/8 cup coconut milk
1 handful spinach
1/8 onion, sauteed
1 tbsp coconut flour
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper

1. Combine all ingredients in Vitamix
2. Be disappointed that you added spinach. It would have been better without.

Chicken Not-Parmesan

leftovers  plural of left·o·ver

Noun Something, esp. food, remaining after the rest has been used.

Synonyms leavings - remains - remainder Today marks the final day of spring break and the beginning of a very intense week. I guess all of the sleep I received this past week will be put to good use. I really cannot complain, because I am very aware that the majority of people my age do not get spring break any more. Although, if they wanted to teach middle schoolers every day they could get, and would need, a spring break. This recipe has very little to do with chicken parmesan, but I had no idea what to call it. Basically, I looked in the freezer and fridge and combined all of the things we had leftover and lingering. One of my strongest skills is creating a meal out of random ingredients. This usually happens when I'm too lazy to go to the store I don't want to waste food. Ingredients 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1 can tomato paste 1 head broccoli 1 zucchini 1 yellow squash 1/2 bag of organic baby carrots Jalapeno Vegetable Broth

Garlic powder
Onion powder
Oregano
Salt
Pepper

Directions
1. Place tomato paste in the Vitamix. I had about 3/4 of a can left
2. Add one tomato paste-sized can of vegetable broth and one of water
3. Place seeded jalapeno and seasonings into Vitamix and mix until completed blended (my jalapeno didn't completely mix)
4. Put the sauce in a pan and simmer on low
5. Trim excess fat and grossness from chicken and save for Ricky Bobby. If you don't have a turtle, then throw away the fat and grossness
6. Pound the chicken with a kitchen mallet or hammer until your chicken is flattened
7. Season chicken breasts with all of the seasonings listed
8. Cook chicken in a skillet with fat of your choice. I should have used bacon fat, but the extra virgin olive oil was within reach so I used that.
9. Steam vegetables (I steamed the broccoli and carrots until they were almost tender and then added the zucchini and squash because they don't take very long)
10. Combine on a plate and enjoy with beverage of choice.

These are the delicious treats I made the other day. Very, very yummy and completely paleo.

Our Superintendent challenged us to take a picture of us wearing a KIPP shirt around Houston during spring break in order to recruit new employees. Here is the picture I am submitting. In return, I get a Starbuck's gift card. Seems fair.

Down With the Sickness

"Norovirus infection is characterized by nausea, forceful vomiting, watery diarrhea, and abdominal pain, and in some cases, loss of taste. General lethargy, weakness, muscle aches, headache, coughs, and low-grade fever may occur. The disease is usually self-limiting, and severe illness is rare. A small number of people die, mostly the very young, the elderly, and persons with weakened immune systems."

Welcome to my spring break. James McMillan was visited by the norovirus last week, and it wasn't pretty. I would say forceful is a great way to describe his experience with the virus. It hit him quick and was gone after a few rough days (Unfortunately, one of these rough days was our first crossfit competition. He's a champ for completing two intense workouts under these conditions). I, on the other hand have been hanging out with the virus all week. While it hasn't been forceful, I have felt very lethargic, weak, and the worst part of all...I have zero taste for anything.

Now, I completely agree that when you are sick it is not the time to stray away from healthy eating. If anything, it's best to put as many nutrient packed foods into your  body as humanly possible. After six days of pushing my food around my plate with a fork, I've decided I need to eat anything and everything that I can get down.

So, I went to Whole Foods to pick up the ingredients for this delicious treat. After going up and down their isles without finding anything appetizing, I knew I was screwed. I decided to throw caution to the wind and stop at any establishment on Westheimer that caused my mouth to water. Working out the past couple of days has been tragic and I cannot face today's wall balls without some sustenance. I was ready to accept the fate of Subway, Sonic, or even...Taco Bell. After driving several miles and becoming extremely frustrated with traffic I ended up at Randall's with a basket of chicken wings and quinoa pasta.

Stupid.

Chicken Wings
1 pound chicken wings
1 cup Frank's Red Hot
1 tbsp coconut oil
Sprinkle of garlic powder

1. First, I cut off the excess parts of the chicken wing. I will boil these down later and make chicken broth. Or chicken stock. I forget which one...
2. Bake chicken wings at 425 until crispy
3. Warm hot sauce and coconut oil over low heat. Add a sprinkle of garlic powder.

Quinoa Pasta
1/4 box of pasta
Sprinkle of full fat cheese (They put weird chemicals in cheese to make it low fat)

1. Boil for 7 minutes
2. Drain pasta and add a little cheese. (

Disclaimer: This is not paleo, but at this point I'm willing to eat anything. At least quinoa is a super food that is packed with nutrients. Cheese is just delicious, and I'm hoping it will trick me into eating more quinoa.

 

 

 

These are the workouts from the competition on Saturday. It was super hard and super intense and super awesome.

A Day in the Life of Ali Mac

teach·er  

/ˈtēCHər/

Noun A person who teaches, esp. in a school.

Synonyms instructor - master - schoolteacher - schoolmaster

I thought it was time you all got to experience a day in the life of me. I also think it's time I have my students call me "Master" instead of "Mrs. McMillan" because clearly, those two terms are synonymous  This is going to be exciting and riveting  so get ready.

My alarm goes off several times every morning and I push snooze just as many. I am a sleeper, and very proud of it. I usually try to get out of bed around 6 am and immediately drink a glass of water. I've read that drinking water first thing in the morning is beneficial for your liver, digestion, and metabolism. Also, I'm thirsty. I don't eat breakfast at home because of my excessive snoozing, but I do pack it for school.

7:15 Breakfast: I drink about half a cup of coffee and eat a piece of paleo banana bread. Oh, sometimes I drink part of my green smoothie, but today I didn't. Wednesday's are super busy during breakfast, so there isn't much time for extra snacking.

9:15 After my first period class we have PE. This is the time I have to actively remind myself to drink water. It's difficult finding time to use the restroom during the day, which often results in me not drinking enough water. Most of the time the only way I get a break is by inconveniencing another teacher, which can be a pain. You should all buy a glass water bottle like this because they make the water taste better. Seriously, it's true.

9:44 Snack: While I take attendance for my next class I eat the second piece of banana bread and continue to sip on my lukewarm coffee. Gross? Maybe...but it's actually what I do - drink warm/coldish coffee all day. My students used to think I brought ground beef in a baggy to snack on. Freaks.  

11:20 Planning/Lunch: During this time I grade papers, check homework, track daily mastery, facebook stalk, tweak tomorrow's lesson plans based on today's mastery, recheck the WOD, read the news, respond to work emails, text my husband, make copies, write lesson plans, create assessments, 'like' photos on Instagram, house behavior problem students, continue to drink my now-cold coffee, look over my long term plan, watch Crossfit how-to videos, analyze data and eat lunch. Lunch is always leftovers from the night before with a little extra hot sauce...if I add extra here James can't glare at me for my over abundance of sauce. He thinks it ruins the flavor. I couldn't disagree more. 

2:33 Snack and Youtube Rock-out Session: Although my workday is far from over, my instructional time is finished. I eat the same orange and almond butter snack every single day at the same exact time. What can I say, I'm a creature of habit and I love routine. At this time I am also pretty worn out, so I need a little youtube action to bring out my second wind. I thought I just ate an orange seed, but thankfully it was just an almond. Phew. Crap, I just realized I need to make one more copy before tomorrow and I have a meeting soon. 

4:05 Snack: I drink my spinach avocado apple smoothie during my elective, Fun Fitness. At first my students thought I was drinking guacamole with a straw, and complained that I was eating at a time that they weren't allowed to. I cleared up the guacamole confusion and told them that if they wanted to bring a spinach smoothie to school, then they were more than welcome to drink it during my class. So far, they haven't taken me up on the offer.

5:07: I finish my bus duty and go to the gym. When I started crossfit six weeks ago I worried about having to do 30 burpees for being late. I actually went to the extent of teaching my last class with my gym clothes underneath my khakis. That was awkward. Here is the WOD from today: 

Partner wod:

Run 5,000 m as a team (must be 2,500 m each).  Partition the runs however you want.  One partner will be doing push ups while other partner runs, then switch.  Score is total time and total number of push ups. Kiana and I killed it.

8ish Dinner: I always stay after the workout and practice pull-ups or weighted ghd sit-ups. Today I had to stop at the store, which was stupid, so I didn't get to eat until pretty late. We had stuffed poblano peppers with a few red potatoes. I know red potatoes are arguably not paleo, but whatevs. There were a lot of sprints today so I'm really not worried about it. 

9:00 Prepare for tomorrow/Bed: I cannot deny it, I go to bed early. Ideally I am dreaming by ten o'clock each night. Before we go to bed we do make sure lunches are packed, coffee is ready, and the green smoothie is made. My life is definitely not super exciting during the work week, but I do feel that I have a routine down that is satisfying and sustainable.