So this happened...Photovoltaic System aka Solar Panels!

I know I don't post much but I've decided to commit to blogging more in particular you will begin seeing a lot of posts and information regarding our choice to go solar. So if you already follow me you will see some of my foodie posts along with our progress on our solar panel install with the amazing vendor Yellowlite! After a couple of months deliberation we took the plunge and signed our purchase agreement on November 21, 2017. Our install is coming in December before then I will blog about our families thought processes and choices for taking this huge leap in going green. I will provide you with helpful sites and information that will help you in your decision to take the plunge as well. I am by no means a subject matter expert but I will tell you I have done my research and will provide you with truthful information from my experience! Stay tuned...

Mid-Michigan homeowner,

Lisa Pollard

OG Alfredo Sauce

Copycat OG Alfredo Sauce:


1 stick butter
1-2 cloves crushed garlic
4 tbsp flour (1 tbsp for every 2 tbsp butter)
1 pint heavy whipping cream
2 cups milk (more to thin as needed)
1 cup fresh grated parmesan
1 cup fresh grated romano cheese
Pinch salt (to taste)
Pinch pepper (to taste)

Melt butter and add crushed garlic. Saute. Add flour, simmer whisking constantly until thins out, bubbles and gives a toasty aroma. Keep heating about a minute more while stirring. Keep on heat and slowly add cold cream and milk one at a time. Whisk constantly while adding to avoid clumping. It will thin out, then thicken with additional heating. Add more or less milk for desired consistency. Once there add cheeses allowing to melt. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Marvelous Mushroom Soup

So time to share another of my favorite recipes. This was given to me by a coworker, broken down and tweaked to a gluten-free recipe here is what I have to show for the work!

Marvelous Mushroom Soup

6 tbsp Butter divided
2 pkg fresh mushrooms chopped - blends can vary  (I mix portobello, shitake, oyster and white mushrooms depending on what I have in fridge)
1/2 onion chopped
1 stalk celery chopped
1 clove minced garlic (optional)
3 cubes boullion
3 cups water (can sub 3 cups mushroom, beef or vegetable broth for boullion and water)
3 cups milk
8 tbsp gluten-free flour
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt 2 tbsp butter in a saucepan and add chopped veggies. Saute uncovered for 5 mins.

Dissolve boulloin cubes in water (or add 3 cups preferred broth) and add to sauce pan. Simmer uncovered 10 mins.

In a pot melt remaining butter on medium high heat.

Once melted add flour all at once while whisking to make roux. When butter flour mix starts to thin and bubble, reduce heat to low and cut back on whisking.

Cook until you smell a toasty aroma, then cook 2 more minutes stirring occasionally.

Once the roux is finished, add milk, salt and pepper to the pot. Cook until thickened and then add mushroom mixture from the saucepan.

Homemade Salsa

So for those of you who follow my recipes know that I love to take a recipe and change it all around. This includes adding things that I like or removing things that I don't like. Sometimes I will even add extra of something and in the end the recipe is barely recognizable. For Cinco de Mayo I figured might as well make tacos and I also shared some of the dinner with friends. This dinner included a batch of my homemade salsa which I always make based on what I have available. The recipe has never been written down and sometimes changes. My friend asked me to write down the recipe to share it with her noting that her husband would have loved it. So the easiest way to share a recipe is electronically. Without further ado here is my salsa recipe that is purely paleo.

4 ripe roma tomatoes (medium-large or 2 large regular tomatoes)
Fresh Cilantro  bunch about 1" diameter
1/2 medium sized yellow onion (spanish will make sweeter)
3-4 cloves fresh garlic (larger use less)
1/3 to 1/2 of whole green pepper (frozen work well too)
1 Lime -juiced (can use half lemon/lime but I'm partial to lime)
1/2 tsp sea salt (more if you love salt like me)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 tsp oregano

Place in food processor and blend. If you prefer a chunkier version I recommend taking half of the tomatoes, onion and fresh (not frozen) pepper and hand dice to add to the processed ingredients. For me, I just use the food processor! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

No chick pea hummous

A recipe I want to try for a dip!

One head cauliflower, broken up into pieces and roasted (spray with Coconut oil).  Roast cauliflower at 450°F for 20 minutes. Then add all ingredients to blender including 3 cloves garlic, juice of one lemon, grated zest of one orange, 1/2 tsp salt and some spices of your choice (add a little chipotle seasoning and a dash of coconut aminos).  Blend it until smooth.  If needed add a little water while blending.

Carob powder coconut balls

I experimented in the kitchen again! The outcome was a yummy treat that even the boys loved. My first attempt wasn't so pretty as I was short on time and had them done in about 25 minutes. Prep and clean up was really only about 20 mins but I suggest chilling the balls about an hour before coating with the "peppermint chocolate". Total time from start to finish is about 1.25 hours.

This recipe can be made AIP compliant or paleo.

1 cup unsweetened fine coconut flakes
3 Tbsp coconut oil
4 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla

Mix contents in blender until well mixed. Chill mix 10 mins in freezer and then use a spoon and hands to form into balls. Place balls on cookie sheet (I lined mine with tin foil). Place in freezer to chill for about an hour. You want them frozen and very cold for next step.

Just before removing the coconut balls from freezer, in a sauce pan add the following ingredients and warm over low heat constantly stirring until melted:

1/4 cup coconut oil
1 Tbsp carob powder OR 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
5 drops peppermint essential oil
1 pinch sea salt

Remove from heat. Create a shallow ice bath and place sauce pan in to begin cooling. Pull coconut balls from freezer. Stir the saucepan mix to cool but do not let it completely thicken. Slowly pour spoonfuls of mix over coconut balls so that it freezes over and coats them. If the mix thickens, reheat, freeze coconut balls and use ice bath. Don't worry if they don't look pretty, the taste will make up for the looks! These tasty treats are worth the effort!

AIP Coconut Yogurt

I searched for the perfect coconut milk yogurt recipe but alas couldn't find one that used both probiotic capsules, gelatin (for thickness and texture) and natural sugar. So I researched and put together the below. These directions are for an instapot with yogurt setting or a yogurt maker. They can be used in the oven but oven temperatures would have to be determined.

4 - 8.5 oz containers of aroy-d coconut milk  bought on amazon
2-3 tbsp of pure maple syrup
2 tsp great lakes gelatin
3 capsules of garden of life 90 billion refrigerated probiotic capsules (likely a similar count probiotic will work as well) OR about 1/4 cup previous batch of coconut yogurt (my second batch will use this so I will keep you posted on results)
Food thermometer
Instapot or yogurt maker / oven (but research the temperature needed to not kill the fermenting bacteria)
4 pint ball jars and lids or 2 quart ball jars and lids - my IP wouldn't fit the quart jars.

1. Pour 3 boxes of c. Milk into a sauce pan.
2. The 4 th box put half in a bowl and pour the remainder into the saucepan. Heat milk to just below boiling use thermometer to be sure it doesn't boil.
3. Add gelatin to bowl and mix in geletin working out clumps as much as possible.
4. Once heated, remove from heat and add the bowl contents and the maple syrup. Stir well with whisk.
5. Once cooled to below 90 degrees F (I placed sauce pan in an ice bath), open and add the contents of the 3 probiotic capsules whisking well.
6. Pour into jars (pints were half full) and add lids.
7. Put jars in instapot or yogurt maker, add lid and select yogurt option. Increase time to 12 hours. If using oven put on cookie sheet and determine the correct temperature to ferment the yogurt.
8. Once cycle finishes, test yogurt to be sure it fermented. If it doesn't taste tart add more probiotics and cycle for another 4 to 12 hrs.
9. Chill in fridge for at least 6 hours before eating.
10. Add fruit puree with a touch of honey for a fruit yogurt.
Note: I put it back in instapot for 4 additional hours and I chilled for 24 hours before eating.

Edited to add photo and update making with prior batch of coconut yogurt. Instead of step 5 add a heaping spoonful of yogurt and follow remaining instructions.