Recipe: Paleo/Whole 30 Breakfast Sausage Patties

My husband and I recently completed a Whole 30.  If you're not sure what that means, basically for 30 days we ate only meats, fruits and vegetables.  During that time frame we excluded all grains, dairy, legumes, sugars and alcohol from our diets.  There is a ton more information at the official Whole 30 website here if you are interested in finding out more.  We undertook the Whole 30 challenge as a way to reset the amount of added sugar we were consuming and to focus back in on eating whole, unprocessed foods.

Anyways, one of the biggest aspects of the Whole 30 for us was the need to eat a nutrient dense breakfast.  You can't get by on just a bagel (no grains) or banana (not enough food) and hope to make it until lunchtime.  That's where these protein packed "sausage" patties saved the morning.  They are tasty, filling and relatively easy to make.

Paleo/Whole 30 Breakfast Sausage Patties

Ingredients
- Lean ground beef (I buy the bulk packs at Sam's Club and use 5lbs at a time)
per 1 pound of ground beef use
- 1/4 tsp sage, rubbed or ground
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds (this helps impart the quintessential sausage flavor)
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp smoked paprika (if you don't have smoked paprika increase the amount of regular, however smoked really adds so much to the flavor)
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp salt

Directions
1. Using a spice grinder, grind up the fennel seeds so that you have a powder.  I like to add in some of the other spices to ensure a uniform mixture.
2. Combine all the spices together in a small bowl and mix thoroughly.
3. Using your hands, thoroughly incorporate the spice mixture into the ground beef.
4. Form the meat mixture into patties of your desired size.
5. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 375*F for 12-15 minutes, depending on size/thickness.
6. Allow to cool, flash freeze on a clean baking sheet and store in freezer bags.  Use as needed.

Notes
My biggest tip for making sausage patties is to make a tester patty so you can see if spice level is to your liking or if it needs adjusting before you cook up the whole batch.  To do this, after incorporating all the spice mixture, simply make a sample patty the size of a quarter or so.  Microwave it for 10-20 seconds until cooked through.  Taste and adjust your seasonings as desired. 

#MomHacks -- Kids' Art Display

My kids are prolific artists, especially BigSis, so today's #MomHack is brought to you by my desire to not be overrun by artwork but to satisfy the children's desire to have their prize creations displayed in some manner.  Oh, and not to spend alot of money! :-)

Introducing, the Curtain Rod Artwork Display

Materials
- cheap curtain rod ($2-3 at Walmart or Target)
- ribbon
- clothes pins (Dollar Tree)
- hot glue or regular white glue if you have more time and patience than me

Instructions 
- Cut ribbon into assorted lengths.  This will help prevent artwork overlap when hanging.
- Glue one end of the ribbon to the clothes pin.  With the other end, glue the ribbon to itself to form a small loop.
- Once dry, attach the ribbons to the curtain rod by passing the clothes pin end through the loop, forming a sort of slipknot over the rod.
- Mount the curtain rod wherever desired.

When all the display positions are full, the child(ren) must decide to take something down before a new piece of art can go up in its place!  My kids and I also have an understanding that once something is no longer displayed it will very likely end up in the trash or mailed to a grandparent or other family friend.

Happy creating!


 

Halloween Aftermath: What to do with all the candy?

The ghouls and goblins have all gone to bed and woken as tired, tummy-aching children who still have to go to school and you have to figure out what to do with all the candy that under NO circumstances can be kept around the house.

1. Remove and save actual food items and non-food items that you like-- goldfish, animal crackers, pretzels, pencils, erasers, etc.

2. Each kid gets to fill a sandwich size bag with whatever candy they personally want to keep and eat over the course of the next week.  Make sure to set a timeframe!

3. Decide what YOU want to keep
     - bag of parental prerogative goodies because we all have our favorites!
     - future baking ingredients: I now have a stash of plain M&Ms in my freezer ready for cookies
     - emergency tantrum kit for the car: I fill a bag with non-melting candy (Starburst, Skittles, Nerds) and keep in the center console of the car.  This is particularly handy for a) long drives or b) a child who is losing his mind

4. Donate the rest (and get paid!)
Find a local participating Halloween Candy Buy Back location and take your candy in to be weighed.  You get $1 per pound and the candy is then donated to military service members overseas and veterans in VA hospitals around the country.  Most of these buy-backs are hosted by dentist offices so you usually get a free toothbrush and toothpaste too!  Win-Win  To incentivize my children even more, I offer to double their money (if they sell back 2lbs and get $2, I'll give them another $2) so that they have a chance to buy something a little more pricey with their new found spending money.

Happy November!

#MomHacks -- Making the Most of Your Laundry Detergent

I don't know about you but bargain shopping for liquid laundry detergent can be quite mentally challenging.  Maybe I'm overthinking things but I find myself in the detergent aisle debating how to determine best value: price per load or price per ounce.

I've started defaulting to price per load since there are some super-concentrated versions about there that require teeny tiny amount of detergent to get your clothes clean.  With that being said, does that bottle of detergent actually clean the 76 or 150 loads that is claims it will or do you get some number marginally less?  Using the barely legible lines of demarcation on the bottle top to decide how much soap to use is anything but an exact science -- until now!

#MomHacks: Snappies container + rubberband = laundry detergent measurement precision

If you've given birth anytime in the last few years or so you probably have a handful of those 2oz Snappies containers lying around.  My laundry measurement #momhack is quite simple: a Snappies container and a rubber band.  Most laundry detergents will say on the back in the instructions section the actual volumetric measurement for a "normal" load by which their selling labeling is calculated (in the picture it is 1.78oz).  I place my rubber band at this mark on the Snappies container and boom we're in exact measurement business!  If you've got a particularly soiled load, fill above the rubber band line; not so dirty, obviously just use less.

Happy Laundry Days! [since we know there is never just one day of laundry]