Revolution of Love

Revolution of Love

Do small things with great love.

Pinterest Party & Link-up (Vol 21): Sneaky Spaghetti Sauce with Pureed Veggies

Welcome to the RoL Pinterest Party. Join me every 2nd and 4th Tuesday as we link up and share how we made, cooked, baked, crafted, planned, organized, followed or created one of the pins on our Pinterest boards OR share something original that others can pin onto their boards.

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Sneaky Spaghetti with Pureed Veggies


The original recipe appeared on Mommy’s Kitchen.net.

When I saw this recipe on Pinterest I thought it would be perfect for certain kiddos of mine that have a hard time eating their veggies. I was also excited to try out my new food processor so choosing this sneaky spaghetti was a no brainer. I started out by steaming the veggies I would be using in the sauce – zucchini, carrots, celery, red and green peppers. Here is the recipe with my notes.

Ingredients:
1 – lb ground turkey
2 – sweet Italian sausage links, remove casings (I used chicken sausage with no additives/nitrates.)
1 – small to medium onion, chopped
2 – cloves garlic, minced (I doubled the garlic.)
1 – orange, green or yellow bell pepper, seeded and pureed
1/2 – cup carrots, shredded or pureed
1/2 – cup zucchini, shredded or pureed
1 – medium rib of celery, chopped or pureed
1 – 28 oz can Italian style tomatoes in puree
1 – 14 oz can Italian diced tomatoes, with juice (I didn’t have Italian style so I used fire roasted tomatoes and just added a bit more basil.)
1 – 6 oz can tomato paste
1/2 – cup water (if using frozen pureed veggies omit the water)
2 – 3 tablespoon sugar (I used unrefined coconut sugar.)
1 – bay leaf
1 – teaspoon dried basil
1/2 – tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 – teaspoon crushed thyme
1 – teaspoon salt
1 – 16 oz package spaghetti noodles (I used whole wheat pasta.)

Directions:

In a large sauce pan, crumble the turkey and Italian sausage. Add the onion and garlic and cook over medium heat until the meat is cooked through. Drain off any fat. Add the meat mixture to a 4 – 6 qt crock pot.

Stir in the tomato paste and all the canned tomatoes. Use a large spoon to break up the whole tomatoes. Stir in the pureed vegetables (bell pepper, carrots, zucchini, celery).

Add the spices, sugar, water and bay leaf. Cover and cook on low for 6 – 8 hours. Stirring occasionally. Serve over cooked pasta.

Shredded Vegetables:
If using shredded vegetables add the carrots, celery and zucchini when the meat mixture is fully cooked and drained. Continue to cook, stirring, until the vegetables are limp, about 5 minutes.

Recipe yields: 6 -8 servings

The spaghetti was thick, chunky and delicious. Although there is a little more prep time to this recipe, everyone loved it and it tasted even better as leftovers. This will now be my go to recipe for spaghetti, especially if I have extra veggies I need to use up. πŸ™‚

If you have any other favorite recipes for sneaking in veggies, let me know in the comments.

If you are on Pinterest, let me know so I can follow you. You can find me here: http://pinterest.com/rol_bobbi/. πŸ™‚

* * * * *

Now it’s your turn.

1. Choose your creation, share about it and snap a photo if you can.

2. In your post, link back the original blogger/idea, rather than your Pinterest pin. That way credit goes to the proper person. πŸ™‚ (But feel free to add your Pinterest profile link so we can follow you!)

3. Add a link back here so others can play along.

4. If you want to use it, here is the html code for the logo:

<a href=”http://www.flove.com/blog/?p=2157″><img title=”Revolution of Love Blog – Pinterest Party &amp; Link-up” src=”http://www.revolutionoflove.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/pinterest_2_medW32-300×240.jpg” alt=”” width=”300″ height=”240″ /></a>

5. Link up below. Make sure you’re sending us to your actual post, and not to your general blog address.

The link up will be active for 10 days. Have fun!

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads or Instagram. πŸ˜‰



Pinterest Party & Link-up (Vol 20): Gluten Free Black Bean Brownies


Welcome to the RoL Pinterest Party. Join me every 2nd and 4th Tuesday as we link up and share how we made, cooked, baked, crafted, planned, organized, followed or created one of the pins on our Pinterest boards OR share something original that others can pin onto their boards.

* * * * *

THE PIN: Gluten Free Black Bean Brownies


I first saw this recipe on my sister-in-law Maria’s Facebook page and I was less than enthused. Black beans?? Sounds gross. But I couldn’t help but wonder how something that looks so yummy be that bad.Curiosity got he best of me and I decided to make a batch for the kids’ Sunday treat. I didn’t want to use a recipe with regular sugar but I figured I had better follow it the first time then I could experiment the second time. So for the sugar I used 1/2 the amount white sugar and 1/2 the amount unrefined coconut sugar.

The original recipe appeared on Hip2Save.com.

Ingredients

1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 eggs
3 tablespoons coconut oil or vegetable oil
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8Γ—8 pan. Place beans in food processor and process until mashed. Add eggs, vanilla, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, sugar and oil. Process until smooth. Pour into pan and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake for 30-35 minutes.


The recipe is really easy but unfortunately I do not have a food processor. I tried using my blender but it wasn’t strong enough. I landed out mashing the heck out the beans with a fork. It worked fairly well, except that there were a few small pieces of bean skin that I had to pick out. As far as taste, they were actually really good. The texture was different from a normal brownie, it was more crumbly, best eaten with a fork.


However, the kids had no issues with them and gobbled them up! πŸ™‚


* * * * *

Now it’s your turn.

1. Choose your creation, share about it and snap a photo if you can.

2. In your post, link back the original blogger/idea, rather than your Pinterest pin. That way credit goes to the proper person. πŸ™‚ (But feel free to add your Pinterest profile link so we can follow you!)

3. Add a link back here so others can play along.

4. If you want to use it, here is the html code for the logo:

<a href=”http://www.flove.com/blog/?p=2157″><img title=”Revolution of Love Blog – Pinterest Party &amp; Link-up” src=”http://www.revolutionoflove.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/pinterest_2_medW32-300×240.jpg” alt=”” width=”300″ height=”240″ /></a>

5. Link up below. Make sure you’re sending us to your actual post, and not to your general blog address.

The link up will be active for 10 days. Have fun!

Lastly, you can follow me on Pinterest here: http://pinterest.com/rol_bobbi/. πŸ™‚


PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads or Instagram. πŸ˜‰



In the Kitchen: Carrot Apple Muffins

Today is Day 6 of my participation in Jen’s 7 Posts in 7 Days Challenge.

Since we no longer have our traditional donuts after Sunday Mass, on Saturday I have to make sure that I bake a healthier treat for Sunday morning. And since my mom was asking for the recipe of the carrot apple muffins I made, I thought I’d post it today. So here you go, mom. πŸ™‚

I found this recipe for Carrot Apple Muffins on the Whole Foods website and I altered it a little.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar(I used unrefined coconut sugar, which is more natural than regular sugar.)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon non-aluminum baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 cup grated carrots
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/4 cup chopped apple
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup canola or safflower oil
  • 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350Β°F. Lightly oil a 12-cup standard muffin tin or use muffin papers. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a separate bowl, combine carrots, applesauce, apple, eggs, butter milk, oil and vanilla. Add half the carrot mixture to the flour mixture, stir until blended then add the rest of the carrot mixture.
Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake about 20 minutes or until a toothpick in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Serve warm. (I used my new “heart” muffin pans that I bought for Valentine’s Day.)
The muffins are good but only slightly sweet. I drizzled a little honey on the plate for added sweetness. πŸ™‚

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads or Instagram. πŸ˜‰


Pinterest Party & Link-up (Vol 19): Banana Honey Oatmeal Cookies

This is Day 2 of my participation in Jen’s 7 Posts in 7 Days Challenge.

Welcome to the RoL Pinterest Party. Join me every 2nd and 4th Tuesday as we link up and share how we made, cooked, baked, crafted, planned, organized, followed or created one of the pins on our Pinterest boards OR share something original that others can pin onto their boards.

* * * * *

THE PIN: Banana Honey Oatmeal Cookies

We continue our journey to cut down/cut out the processed food and eat “real” food and I am cooking from scratch more. I have been looking for baked treats I can make the kids that don’t use white flour or sugar and yet doesn’t taste like sawdust. My sister sent me a recipe of cookies that her family loves. We tried them and they were delicious. Here it is.

Banana Honey and Oatmeal Cookies Preparation

Mix in large bowl…

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup honey

Cut in…

1 cup coconut oil (you don’t need to melt it first)

In a separate bowl mix…

2 eggs (room temp)
2 cups mashed bananas

Add egg mixture to flour/coconut oil mixture.

Stir in…

3 1/2 cups of old fashioned oatmeal
1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup of chia seeds

Scoop them with a little ice cream scoop and bake for 8-10 mins at 375 degrees.

Yum!! I followed the directions except that I landed out using 1/2 coconut oil and 1/2 canola oil. They still came out fine and everyone loved them. Thanks for the recipe, sis!

* * * * *

Now it’s your turn.

1. Choose your creation, share about it and snap a photo if you can.

2. In your post, link back the original blogger/idea, rather than your Pinterest pin. That way credit goes to the proper person. πŸ™‚ (But feel free to add your Pinterest profile link so we can follow you!)

3. Add a link back here so others can play along.

4. If you want to use it, here is the html code for the logo:

<a href=”http://www.revolutionoflove.com/blog/?p=2157″><img title=”Revolution of Love Blog – Pinterest Party &amp; Link-up” src=”http://www.revolutionoflove.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/pinterest_2_medW32-300×240.jpg” alt=”” width=”300″ height=”240″ /></a>

5. Link up below. Make sure you’re sending us to your actual post, and not to your general blog address.

The link up will be active for 10 days. Have fun!

Lastly, you can follow me on Pinterest here: http://pinterest.com/rol_bobbi/. πŸ™‚

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads or Instagram. πŸ˜‰



Pinterest Party & Link-up (Vol 14): Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Welcome to the RoL Pinterest Party. Join me every 2nd and 4th Tuesday as we link up and share how we made, cooked, baked, crafted, did, or created one of the pins on our Pinterest boards.

Not on Pinterest? No problem. Link-up your own creation to inspire us so we can pin it to our own boards. It can be a recipe, sewing project, Catholic craft, homeschool project, organizing/ homemaking tip, themed birthday party, whatever you’d like. Don’t have a post ready? The link-up will be open for 10 days so there’s still time. Plus, feel free to link up a new post or an older post that hasn’t had much traffic lately. Don’t have a blog? No problem. Tell us about it in the comment box. Or post your photo and a description on the RoL Facebook page. πŸ™‚

* * * * *

For our wedding Brian and I received a slow cooker and the first recipe I made was from the little recipe booklet that came with the cooker. It was for an easy Beef Stew. That was nearly 14 years ago. The cooker has since died and the recipe was lost when we moved from our apartment into our current home. I bought a new slow cooker and tried other fancier beef stews since. They were good but nothing seemed to mach that first simple stew. Finally, the other day I searched online and found the original recipe here.

Ingredients

2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, chopped
3 potatoes, diced
4 carrots, sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped

Directions

1. Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture.
2. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery.
3. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours.

It’s really easy to put together and once it is done, you have a delicious hot meal to warm you up on these cold days. Add a slice of fresh sourdough bread and you are good to go, baby! πŸ™‚

* * * * *

Now it’s your turn.

1. Choose your creation, share about it and snap a photo if you can.

2. In your post, link back the original blogger/idea, rather than your Pinterest pin. That way credit goes to the proper person. πŸ™‚ (But feel free to add your Pinterest profile link so we can follow you!)

3. Add a link back here so others can play along. Here is the html code:

<a href=”http://www.revolutionoflove.com/blog/?p=2157″><img title=”Revolution of Love Blog – Pinterest Party &amp; Link-up” src=”http://www.revolutionoflove.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/pinterest_2_medW32-300×240.jpg” alt=”” width=”300″ height=”240″ /></a>

4. Link up below. Make sure you’re sending us to your actual post, and not to your general blog address.

You have 10 days to post your link, so if you can’t get things done by Tuesday, no worries, put it up when you can. We’ll be here. Have fun!

Lastly, you can follow me on Pinterest here: http://pinterest.com/rol_bobbi/. πŸ™‚

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads or Instagram. πŸ˜‰