Turkey Vegetable Chili

What do you do with all of the left overs from last week that need to be eaten quick or they will go to waste? Make chili! With eating fresh, sometimes it is difficult to use up all of your fresh food from the week. So, we have Saturday Chili Day. After going to the farmers market, we whipped up some amazing home-made chili.

First start off with a meat. We had hot turkey sausage we needed to use up. Brown your meat in a skillet while you prepare the other ingredients for your chili.

I used one jar of Ragu tomato sauce, just be sure to read the ingredients if you are aiming for gluten free. Ingredients can change without the public even noticing so just because it was okay last time, doesn't mean it will be this time. Pour the tomato sauce into a large pot after turning the burner on low-medium heat. Then use the empty Ragu jar and fill it with completely with water adding that into your pot. I did that twice. Then add two cans of red kidney beans and 2 cans of black beans. If you have chili beans you can use those. Again, read the ingredients on anything canned. It may not be gluten free. Modified food starch is one that can be in beans that you want to avoid. Then add 1/4 cup of Chili Powder. Mix that in well. 1 tbsp of roasted red pepper flakes, and 2 tsp of garlic powder or chopped garlic cloves if you have those. I add cinnamon to our chili to make it a little sweeter.

We had a lot of veggies we needed to use up, so in to the pot it went. We added carrots, celery, onions, and rice to our pot. Yum! Mix everything in well, making sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Let the chili simmer till the carrots and rice is cooked through and soft. Once the meat is cooked add it to the pot. Makes for a quick and yummy chili. :) Of course you can adjust this to your likes and for the specific ingredients in your fridge.

Farm Fresh

With a gluten sensitivity comes the need to eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. The only problem with this, is buying fresh can be expensive. Unless you have the time and dedication to grow your own garden, shopping fresh can seem like a hassle when you are not "used" to it. It's not liking going to Aldi and buying dollar bags of chips and ho-ho's. The best way to keep that grocery bill down is to shop for produce that is in season. There is nothing wrong with buying produce out of season, it doesn't make it any less healthy or delicious. But it will make your budget happy.

Our finds today! Love eating fresh! Cherries, red potatoes, bananas, apples, raspberries, celery, onions.

This is why I have a new found love for our local farmers market. I love walking through the isles of venders taking in all the hustle and bustle of everyone looking for the freshest organic produce. What a rush! The trick to getting the best deal for the freshest produce is to know what season is best for certain fruits and veggies. Also, knowing which vendors will cut deals and bargain a bit. For instance, rather than spending two dollars for one quart of potatoes, you get three quarts for five dollars. DEALS! The farmers market is a lifesaver for people like me who have absolutely no green thumb to speak of.

Mlive (2009) Retrieved on June 30, 2012 from: http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2009/04/farm_market_season_starts_satu.html

Black Raspberries 

Again, it's all about the seasons. Sometimes it is obvious of what is season because you will see every vendor with it at their booth, but sometimes it is harder to tell if you are getting a good deal or not.

January February March April Asparagus Avocados Beets Broccoli Cabbage Carambola Cauliflower Celery Chard Cherimoyas Citrus:   Blood Orange,   Grapefruit,   Kumquats,   Lemons,   Navel Oranges,   Tangelos/Tangerines  Dates, Medjool Kale Kohlrabi Mushroom Mustard Onion, Green Passion Fruit Peas, Green Strawberries Asparagus Avocados Beets Broccoli Brussels Sprouts Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Celery Chard Citrus: Blood Orange, Grapefruit, Kumquats, Lemons, Navel Oranges,  Tangelos/Tangerines  Collards Dates, Medjool Kale Kohlrabi Lettuce Mushroom Mustard Onion, Green Passion Fruit Peas, Green Spinach Strawberries Turnips Asparagus Avocados Beets Broccoli Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Celery Chard Citrus:   Blood Oranges,   Grapefruits,   Kumquats,   Lemons,   Navel Oranges,   Tangelos/Tangerines Collards Dates, Medjool Kale Kohlrabi Lettuce Mushroom Mustard Onion, Green Passion Fruit Peas, Green Spinach Strawberries Turnips Asparagus Avocados Basil Beans, Green Beets Broccoli Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Celery Chard Cherries Citrus:   Grapefruits,   Kumquats,   Lemons,   Navel Oranges,   Tangelos/Tangerines  Collards Cucumber Dates, Medjool Kale Kohlrabi Lettuce Mushroom Mustard Nectarines Onion, Green Passion Fruit Peas, Green Raspberries Spinach Strawberries Tomatoes Turnips

May June July August Apricots Asparagus Avocados Basil Beans, Green Beets Broccoli Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Celery Chard Cherries Citrus:   Grapefruits,   Kumquats,   Lemons,   Navel Oranges,   Valencia Oranges       Collards Corn Cucumber Dates, Medjool Eggplant Figs Kale Kohlrabi Lettuce Mushroom Mustard Nectarines, Okra Onion, dry Onion, Green Passion Fruit Peaches Pears, Asian Peas, Black-eyed Peas, Green Plums Potatoes Raspberries Spinach Squash, Summer Strawberries Tomatoes Turnips Apricots Avocados Cherries Asparagus Basil Beans, Green Beets Broccoli Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Celery Chard Citrus:   Grapefruits,   Kumquats,   Lemons,   Navel Oranges,   Valencia Oranges    Collards Corn Cucumber Eggplant Figs Grapes Kale Kohlrabi Lettuce Melons Mushroom Mustard Nectarines Okra Onion, dry Onion, Green Passion Fruit Peaches Pears Pears, Asian Peas, Black-eyed Peppers Plums Potatoes Raspberries Spinach Squash, Summer Strawberries Tomatoes Turnips Apples Apricots Asparagus Avocados Basil Beans, Green Beets Broccoli Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Celery Cherries Citrus:   Grapefruits,   Lemons,   Valencia Oranges       Collards Corn Cucumber Eggplant Figs Grapes Kale Kohlrabi Lettuce Melons Mushroom Mustard Nectarines Okra Onion, dry Onion, Green Passion Fruit Peaches Pears Pears, Asian Peas, Black-eyed Peppers Plums Potatoes Raspberries Sapote Spinach Squash, Summer Strawberries Tomatoes Turnips Apples Asparagus Avocados Basil Beans, Green Beets Broccoli Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Celery Chili Pepper Citrus:   Grapefruits,   Lemons,   Valencia Oranges     Collards Corn Cucumber Eggplant Figs Grapes Kale Kohlrabi Lettuce Melons Mushroom Mustard Nectarines Okra Onion, dry Onion, Green Passion Fruit Peaches Pears Pears, Asian Peas, Black-eyed Peppers Persimmons Plums Potatoes Raspberries Sapote Spinach Squash, Summer Squash, Winter Strawberries Tomatillos Tomatoes Turnips

September October November December Apples Asparagus Avocados Basil Beans, Green Beets Brussels Sprout Cabbage Carrots Celery Chili Pepper Citrus:   Grapefruits,   Lemons,   Valencia Oranges      Oranges Collards Corn Cucumber Eggplant Grapes Guava, Pineapple Kale Kohlrabi Lettuce Mushroom Mustard Nectarines Okra Onion, dry Onion, Green Passion Fruit Peaches Pears Pears, Asian Peas, Black-eyed Peppers Persimmons Plums Potatoes Raspberries Sapote Spinach Squash, Summer Squash, Winter Strawberries Tomatillos Tomatoes Turnips Apples Asparagus Avocados Basil Beans, Green Beets Broccoli Brussels Sprout Cabbage Carambola Carrots Cauliflower Celery Chard Cherimoyas Chili Pepper Citrus:   Grapefruits,   Lemons,   Tangelos/Tangerines,   Valencia Oranges Collards Corn Cucumber Eggplant Grapes Guava, Pineapple Kale Kiwi Kohlrabi Lettuce Mushroom Mustard Okra Onion, dry Onion, Green Passion Fruit Peaches Pears, Asian Peas, Black-eyed Peppers Persimmons Pomegranates Potatoes Raspberries Sapote Spinach Squash, Summer Squash, Winter Strawberries Tomatillos Tomatoes Turnips Yams Apples Artichokes Asparagus Basil Beans, Green Beets Broccoli Brussels Sprout Cabbage Carambola Carrots Cauliflower Celery Chard Cherimoyas Chili Pepper Citrus:   Grapefruits,   Lemons,   Tangelos/Tangerines,   Valencia Oranges Collards Corn Cucumber Eggplant Grapes Guava, Pineapple Kale Kiwi Kohlrabi Lettuce Mushroom Mustard Okra Onion, dry Onion, Green Passion Fruit Peaches Peas, Black-eyed Peppers Persimmons Pomegranates Potatoes Raspberries Sapote Spinach Squash, Summer Squash, Winter Tomatillos Tomatoes Turnips Yams Artichokes Basil Beans, Green Beets Brussels Sprout Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Celery Chard Chili Pepper Citrus:   Lemons,   Valencia Oranges        Collards Corn Cucumber Eggplant Grapes Guava, Pineapple Kale Kiwi Kohlrabi Lettuce Mushroom Mustard Okra Onion, dry Onion, Green Peppers Pomegranates Potatoes Spinach Squash, Summer Squash, Winter Tomatillos Tomatoes Turnips Yams

Southland Farmers Markets Association (2002) Retrieved from: http://www.sfma.net/consumer/inseason.shtml/

Red Raspberries

If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn't need to lug around a camera. ~Lewis Hine

Photography! Where do I begin? I just love it. It is the one thing that can preserve your memories and freeze moments in time. How many times have you gone through old photos, only to realize all of the amazing moments you had forgotten?Countless memories can be lost to time. Photography preserves those memories. It links all things together, everything created by God and man can be a work of art with a simple close of the shutter. Photography is not just a hobby, its art, passion, it's magical. Photography can take you into a world that is less traversed. 

The most amazing thing about a good photograph, is it doesn't have to be a difficult shot. Some of the most beautiful photographs are ones that capture scenes we see day to day, but don't take the time to look and appreciate.

As I have said before, I adore my family. I cherish every moment that I get to spend with them. At every get-together I try to have my camera in hand. Someday, all I may have is those memories, those wonderful pictures to look back on and see the faces of my dear loved ones. “Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.” ― Marc Riboud

My favorite "subjects"to photograph are my nieces and nephews. They are so full of energy and spunk! Nothing sweeter than a newborn baby or the food stained grin of a toddler. My hope is that someday, they can look back at these pictures of their childhood and have fond memories of their Aunt Lizzy, camera in hand.

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Sometimes, the best photographs don't need explaining. I've heard it said, "It's like a good joke, once explained, its not that funny." You either get it or you don't. Photography is the same way. You can look at a photograph and see it for face value, you can inspect it and critique it, looking for all of those inadequate flaws of an amateur photographer (which I very much am) or you can simply appreciate it for what it is, something special to someone, somewhere. Their memory, frozen, in time.

My hope is that long after I am gone my pictures will live on, impacting and inspiring others. Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever . . . it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.

"Artists can color the sky red because they know it's blue. Those of us who aren't artists must color things the way they really are or people might think we're stupid."

Snake! I hate snakes! But I love this lil guy. He is so pretty! 

Winging it with Chicken

I love cooking! I can't say I am very good at it. Most things just happen by accident, and I am notorious for "winging it" when it comes to recipes. Cooking is always exciting and can bring such a great sense of accomplishment when you start something new and it turns out magnificently. Last night was one of those nights. Baked whole chicken, Yes Please!

The most difficult thing about baking a whole chicken, is making sure it is thawed. Which can take quite some time. If you are wanting to speed things up, fill up the sink with cooler water and place the chicken in the sink. Or you can just let the water run over the chicken. It took about 2 hours in the sink for my chicken to thaw.

First thing, preheat oven to 375' F.

Once the chicken is thawed, add 2 tbsp of lemon juice, 1/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup of olive oil in a bowl. Gently mix in parsley, thyme, italian seasoning, and roasted red pepper flakes, be generous with the spices. It will give your chicken GREAT flavor. Feel free to add any other seasoning you would like. Pour the mix over the top and bottom of chicken and rub it over the whole chicken. Being sure to coat the wings and legs. I stuffed the inside of the chicken with 1/4 chopped green pepper and half a small onion sliced. If your chicken has a pop-up timer, make sure the pop-up timer is in clear view when you place your chicken in the pan.

After the chicken is seasoned and placed in a deep pan, dice up red potatoes and fresh carrots. Place the potatoes and carrots around the chicken in the bottom of the pan and sprinkle with thyme.

Put on middle rack in preheated oven. Set timer for 2 Hours. If your chicken has a pop-up timer that will make cooking it fully, much easier. When in doubt, check the temperature with a meat thermometer. It should read 180'F.

                      This is on my to-buy list, I can never remember what temperature I need to reach


The key to getting that crispy skin is basting. Periodically throughout the 2 hours. Pull the chicken out of the oven and use a turkey baster or spoon to scoop up the liquid and run it over the top of the chicken. I did this about every 30 minutes. The chicken will produce its own juices which can be later used as gravy or cooking other projects.

When the pop-up timer pops up, turn the oven up to 425'F and cook for another 10 minutes to really get the skin crispy.

This was by far the best chicken I have ever made! I could eat chicken daily and never get sick of it. For the first time baking a whole chicken, it turned out fantastically.

The only thing I would do differently next time, is add way more carrots. The flavor of everything plus the carrots was awesome.

P.S. Yes...this meal was completely GF!

A huge thanks to my friend Cara on this one! She offered some great tips and guidance in making this chicken amazing! Check out her blog! http://twogoldenspoons.blogspot.com/

This Fool Got Serious

Life is something so many people take for grant it. It's so easy to put the hassles off till tomorrow and just "deal" with them later. But...seriously, what if tomorrow doesn't come? What do you have to show for it? Can you honestly say you have lived a full life and are happy with who you are. Up until about 3 weeks ago, I couldn't. I was unhappy, felt rotten and frankly needed some major changes. Thankfully, all that changed. With the help, love and support of my close friends and family I am on a new path. A path to living a happy, healthy and full life!

 (Me at my heaviest weight)

To give you the full experience of the life and experiences of Lizzy, lets first rewind to when all of this nonsense started.

Just a few short years ago, I was facing some serious medical issues. I had lost close to 50 lbs in 4 months...some say that would be a blessing, and yes I did have weight to spare, but everyone was baffled at this sudden onset of crazy symptoms. I had heartburn, intense stomach pain and whenever I ate it came right out...one way or another. I couldn't eat, function, I was miserable and constantly in pain. After countless tests and multiple doctors, the culprit was found. My gallbladder. Who would have thought! 18 and I had to have my gallbladder removed? Are you kidding me? How did this happen? Whats next? (I will delve deeper into my suspicions later). After meeting with the doctor and doing some research with the help of my parents. We decided to go ahead with the surgery. I was excited and optimistic that this would cure my problems and that I would be able to eat again and feel like a human being.

The surgery came and went. In all it was everything I expected from a surgery. When the doctors removed my gallbladder, they said it was completely dead. A healthy gallbladder is supposed to be robin egg blue, mine...was brown. Yuck! I was baffled by this. What causes an 18 year old's gallbladder to just up and die? I was healthy, active, and full of energy before all of this. There was no logically reason for it. The doctors claimed, sometimes these things just happen. Well, as Carlotta would say, "These things do happen! And did you stop them from happening? NO!" No one could give me a straight answer. So on I went with my life, without my gallbladder.

                                                            The gallbladder

At first, it took some time to get used to food again. I had basically starved and my body was not used to food. But I quickly got the hang of it. :) Resulting in gaining back 30 lbs, but hey, i didn't care. I could eat! The only problem, I was still having tummy troubles. I would get ravenously hungry out of nowhere, then when I ate, I would feel sick. I learned to give up red meat, thinking that was a big part of the problem...it kind of helped...but not really. So then I tried getting rid of dairy, to no avail I had no relief. So I went to eating bland food with no seasoning or sauce...not fun. I missed my food.

Long story short...I gave up and decided to take the problems and eat whatever I wanted. I would take enzymes to help digest food and gas-ex to well, ya know, take care of the embarrassing side of things. It was a mess, but I indulged in all the food I wanted.

As you can imagine...this resulted in even more weight gain. I won't tell you how much, but lets just say it was beyond unhealthy and I was embarrassed of my new look. Ive always struggled with weight, and being overweight was just tearing me apart. I lost my self-esteem and became bitter and unhappy. That was when I decided that I had enough. I was through with feeling yucky, gassy, bloated, and fat. It was not me. The real me was inside screaming, "YOU FOOL! FIX THIS!" So this fool got serious.

Two years ago, the Lord allowed to me marry an amazing man. And with this handsome, amazing man came an equally amazing set of in-laws. From Great Grandma down to baby Abigail, I just love them to pieces. My greatest inspirations are my sisters-in-law. They opened my eyes to the world of celiac disease and the effects gluten has on your body. I do not think it was just happen stance that God gave me a man that had such a wonderful family who knew the effects of gluten. Jen (my sis-in-law) encouraged me to try gluten free. She had done it on and off and saw improvements in her health throughout her experimenting. So I figured, why not. Ill try it. So for the past year I have tried little spurts of going GF (gluten free). Only to see results while on that diet fade the minute I cheated and had a donut, pasta, or bread. It wasn't till about two months ago that I had to make a choice. This was it, I was going gluten free.

My body had become so overgrown with yeast, gluten, and wheat that my hands and feet were breaking out in tiny bumps. It is a symptom of yeast overgrowth in your body, and is a major sign that things are on overload. The only way to rid your body of the overgrowth is to stop eating gluten ASAP. So goodbye gluten...and I must say...WOW! After a week of no gluten, my hands started to clear up! :) I felt better, more energized and best of all, my intestines weren't going crazy! I could actually sit and not have to get up and go potty multiple times a day. It was like night and day. Now three weeks later, I still have some symptoms, but it takes a good long while to clean out your system completely. So, I am marching on and sticking to my GF lifestyle. Mind you, it is not a diet. It is a way of life. It is not something you can do every other day of the week...this is a daily, hourly constant choice I am making to avoid all things gluten.

So, to rewind again, yes, I do think gluten and a wheat intolerance led to the demise of my gallbladder, and along with that, it was causing my liver problems... resulting in the tiny bumps on my hands and feet. Gluten takes a HUGE toll on your body. It is not something to take lightly. Even if you think you do not have a gluten intolerance, or you are healthy, it is still not the best thing for you to eat. But, off my high horse now. What you eat is between you and your digestive system. As for me and my tummy, we will be joyous in our new found freedom! Oh! and did I mention? I have already lost 10lbs! :)

                                          A much happier me (with my new nephew Noah)

(Anyone interested in GF, Celiac Disease, or the toll that gluten can take on your system I highly               recommend the book *Wheat Belly.*)