Givin' The Skinny

Chickpeas Please!~

2010-12-10T12:24:00.000-08:00

Hello and Happy Friday! So here we are on the rapid countdown to Christmas! I wanted to share this recipe because it is easy to make and will curb your desire for crunchy salty snacks without harming your diet. I am just in the snack"y" mood sometimes and I want crunchy flavorful snacks. This recipe is perfect for those times. I got this idea from whole foods market and made a few small tweaks. I mean isn't everything better tasting when it's roasted?!? Have a wonderful Friday!

What you'll need to get your chickpea on:

1 can of garbanzo beans -- drained and rinsed *organic preferred
1/2 lemon - squeezed on top of the chickpeas
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika - I used just regular paprika
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper - (I used limon chili pepper)

Preheat oven to 425. Mix all above ingredients together in a bowl
and line on a baking sheet. Bake for about 40minutes but shake a 1 - 2 times throughout the baking process. Eat right out of the oven and Enjoy!

Coconut Cream Oatmeal!

2010-12-08T15:17:00.000-08:00

So it's Hump day! I am glad that the weeks seem to be going by quickly. I think I have adjusted to the time change, but I admit I feel like hibernating once the sun drops down for the night. I hope that everyone is sleeping well, drinking plenty of clean water and trying to eat as balanced and healthy as possible. I wanted to share this oatmeal recipe with you. Not only is this delicious - if you heart coconut the way I do you will looove this - but it is packed full of good, healthy and beneficial things. Plus it feels like a little bite of the tropics on a cold wintry day. I used to just add the coconut butter into the oatmeal which is good too, but I saw this recipe for coconut cream here and had to give it a try!

Go ahead and prepare your oatmeal as directed according to the package and directions - however I do not use water I like to replace the water with unsweetened vanilla almond milk * only 40 calories a cup* and it makes the oatmeal sweet and thick.

Next you will prepare your coconut cream to mix into your oats.
You will want this for the coconut cream:
1 frozen banana
1/4 tsp pure vanilla
1 tablespoon coconut butter
1-2 teaspoons of almond milk

You will want to put the coconut butter/vanilla/almond milk in a small bowl and zap it in the micro for about 15 seconds to soften the coconut butter. Go ahead and toss your banana in the food processor and begin to break it up and add in your coconut butter mixture and whirl it away until it becomes smooth.

Add into your oatmeal and mix together. If it isn't sweet enough for you add 1 packet of stevia to the oatmeal and mix it up. You may want to pop it back in the micro for about 45 seconds or less just to heat it through. The frozen banana makes it thick and creamy, but will make it cool too, so if you want warm oatmeal just give it a quick reheat. You can top with a sprinkling of unsweetened coconut if you wish - and of course I always wish to :-}

Spaghetti Sauce!

2010-12-07T16:11:00.001-08:00

Hello foodies! How are you today? I hope doing great. I wanted to share a simple and delicious spaghetti sauce with you today. It really is easy and smells so good while it cooks. You will be so ready to eat it by the time it's ready after smelling it all day (unless you are not home and you will be pleasantly surprised when you walk in to your house and smell it). This would also work great in a crock pot too. You can make this with lean ground turkey if you want and it is really good that way too. Today I used organic ground beef.

Here is what you will need:
1 lb. of organic beef or lean ground turkey
2 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes - I have used all different kinds and Contadina is best in my opinion
1 onion diced
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 6 oz. (small) can of tomato paste
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
about 1/2 tsp sea salt * or to taste

Saute your onion and garlic in a dash of olive oil & add in your seasonings too - for about 5-6 minutes and add in your meat. Brown your meat allowing it to cook through. Add in the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste and stir well. If you want to use a crock pot just brown your meat with the sauteed onion an garlic and add to the crock pot and then add in all your tomatoes, cover and cook on low. If you are cooking in a pot just turn it to low and cover. I like to cook mine for about 2 hours to allow the flavors to marinate together. If you like thicker sauce keep the lid slightly cracked, but if you want it saucy just keep the kid on. You may want to stir it about every 30 minutes or so, but even if you don't it will be OK. Cook your noodles and serve! I love whole wheat thin spaghetti
and a pinch of Parmesan cheese on top. This is even better left over so make sure you save the left overs!

OK, I will be back later. Have a fab night :-)

Because Man Cannot Live on Bread Alone.....It should Be Stuffed with Avocado, Tomato, turkey.....

2010-12-06T21:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday! Hope that everyone had a good day today. I had a very productive day.

I was able to go to Whole Foods Market today to pick up a few specialty items and I grabbed lunch too. I mean my back was up against the wall; what's a girl to do when faced with all of that delicious food? I love the hot bar they have! So much great food to choose from. I ended up going with a sandwich and it did not disappoint! I love that their lunch meat is organic, nitrite and nitrate free!

I am hoping to be back tomorrow with some new recipes! I just wanted to stop by to say hi! Hope everyone has a good night. See you tomorrow :-)

Gingerbread Cinnamon Muffins!

2010-12-02T21:19:00.000-08:00

Hello and TGIAF! How is everyone? I wanted to make something Christmas-y that wasn't too bad but would satisfy the sweet tooth, so I pulled out my old faithful Southaven Farms muffin mixes out. If you haven't tried these you really should! They are low in fat and made with whole grains and are unsweetened.They make wonderful bases for muffins, pancakes, waffles, and cakes. I mainly use these mixes for muffins and haven't tried one that I don't love! I used one box of the Ginger spice Southaven farm mix with unsweetened almond milk, 1 cup organic raw sugar, 1/2 cup of cinnamon chips and a mix of plain Greek yogurt and low fat organic vanilla yogurt. I just followed the recipe on the side of their box, but replaced the milk with almond mikl and cut back on the amount of sugar. That's it and these are so wonderfully delicious and nothing that will break your diet bank so-to-speak of course...lol! I can easily resist some of these more dangerous treats when I have a batch of these on hand. These also store in the freezer perfectly! Here is the Southaven Farms website. I am not paid or sponsored at all by Southaven Farms; I bought these mixes and am giving you my indepent review.

Ya tomorrow is Friday!

It's Starting To Look Like Christmas! & Skinnychangas

2010-12-01T14:08:00.000-08:00

Hello and Happy Wednesday! Whoa!!!!!! we are officially in the month of December. I guess we can start the official countdown to Christmas now. We got the tree and decorations up. The tree is a bit out of sorts...LOL...I need to go through and tidy it up a bit after the 5 & 7 year old. We let them do the majority of the tree decorations and then I go behind them and just straighten it up a bit :-) It is fun.

Today was a wonderful day. I love days like today. The kind of day where the air is cold and crisp, but the sun is warm. I try to get outside and stand in the sun for 10- 15 minutes a day (at least)or longer if I make it out for a nice long walk or run. There is just something about getting some nice sunshine everyday that will always make you feel better.

I have been thinking about burritos for a few days now so this recipe is one that I have had rolling around in my head. It didn't disappoint! It was a hearty and filling burrito and I think you will enjoy it too. You can use lean ground turkey, chicken, or even just the beans, but in my opinion the beef is what makes this burrito. If you have a Trader Joe's near by it is worth the trip for their black refined beans and their salsa verde! Seriously, good stuff. If you do not have a Trader Joe's nearby and cannot find refried black beans you can simply replace them with regular non fat refried beans that all grocery stores carry. I also love these whole wheat tortillas made by La Tortilla Factory. Take a look at the nutritional info:

Here is what you will want to make your burritos:

Makes 8 burritos
8 large burrito shells
1 lb. or lean ground beef (organic is preferred)
1 can of black refried beans
3 small tomatoes diced
1 jar of salsa verde - you will not use the whole jar
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp dried cilantro *optional
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
very small dash of sea salt

Preheat oven to 350. Brown up your beef and add in all of your seasonings. Cook through and add in your can of beans and stir well to combine. Allow this to cook for a few minutes and add in your chopped tomatoes. You will want to add about 1/3 cup of salsa verde into this meat mixture and stir. Now take your casserole dish and give it a spray with cooking spray (I like Pam olive oil) and place 1 tablespoon of salsa verde a tortilla and 1/3 cup of the meat mixture into the burrito shell and fold up. Place seam side down in the casserole dish. Repeat until all of the shells are stuffed. I had some meat mixture left over and will probably throw this on top of some lettuce with some salsa and make a burrito bowl type of lunch so that the leftovers wont go to waste. Spray the tops of your folded burritos and place them in the oven. You will bake them for 15 minutes and turn them being very careful because they will be hot and bake for an additional 6 minutes. I like mine with some low fat sour cream and a dash of hot sauce, but you can top yours with whatever you prefer.
Place 1 tbls of salsa verde on top of your tortilla

Next you will want 1/3 of a cup of your meat/bean mixture

Be sure you spray the bottom of your casserole dish before placing the burritos inside and also spray the tops - this will make them nice and crisp.

You can top them with whatever you like!

I will "see" all of you later. I am working on some healthy desserts because lets face it, we cannot make it through this month without some dessert! Have a good evening!

Dinner Part II

2010-11-30T14:07:00.000-08:00

Hello! How is it going today? I hope good! We are almost to the half-way mark of the week ;-}

What you need:
4 chicken breasts or 7-9 chicken tenderloins
1 jar of marinara sauce (1 lb 9oz.)
the rice crust casserole that you baked from yesterday's post.
Parmesan cheese
finely shredded Italian cheese

OK, so now for part II continued from yesterdays post. You have an almost full bottle of marinara sauce in the fridge and a casserole dish with a crispy cooked rice crust just waiting to be used. You are going to want to pull that casserole dish out of the fridge to allow the dish to come to room temp a bit before baking - so set it out on the counter while you assemble everything. Be sure to save your tin foil that you used to cover the casserole dish and you can use it to bake the dish in a few minutes. Preheat your oven to 375. Next grab your chicken - you will want about 4 chicken breasts or 7-9 chicken tenderloins. You will also need finely shredded Italian cheese
(or shredded mozzarella if you prefer) and some Parmesan cheese. Layer a bit of marinara sauce on top of the rice crust and spread it out. Next you will add a sprinkle of the parm cheese. Now lay your chicken on top and pour the remaining marinara on top. You will layer the Italian cheese and Parmesan cheese on top. Key here is a little goes a long way!Pop the tin foil back on and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the tin foil and allow the casserole to bake for an additional 15 minutes. This will allow all the cheese to melt and a little bit of a crust to form on the top. That is it! Your chicken will be moist and full of flavor. The rice crust on the bottom gives the dish such a nice flavor. It gives this meal a casserole kind of feel, but really has some great flavors. The key here is in the marinara sauce. So be sure to use a good marinara sauce. I prefer to use Trader Joe's organic marinara sauce or Barilla makes a really good one too! Find one you like and it can make the difference in a good meal vs. a great one!

I served this casserole a long side of beautiful greens with a homemade salad dressing that is one of the best I have tried so far.

I got the recipe from here, but made a minor change. Here is what you will need for this delish salad dressing:

1 tsp. mustard
3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
pinch of sea salt
1/2 tbsp. maple syrup (grade B)
1/4 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
pinch of 21 salute seasoning from Trader Joe's * or Italian Seasoning*

Combine all of the ingredients and shake well...that's it! HOT TIP* If you want you can soak your glass marinara jar with hot soapy water and clean really well.
You can make your dressing in this jar and it allows for easy shaking whenever you make a salad dressing! These glass jars are so handy!

I will see you later!

Reunited And It Feels So Good!

2010-11-29T17:43:00.001-08:00

Hey! How is everyone this Cyber Monday? I guess we are officially into the holiday season. Did anyone participate in some online shopping today? The sales seem pretty good and I don't know about you, but I don't think you can go wrong shopping from the comfort of your own home!

I was inspired by this large container of tomatoes that I bought this weekend. I started searching out recipes that used tomatoes and was immediately taken by a recipe from the kitchen of thefrontburnerblog.com. She made a healthy tomato pie recipe that looked FAB! So I based my recipe on hers, only I ended up making a few changes to use what I had on hand. Now before I go any further, I want to tell you that I planned to get two dinners out of the "rice crust"(you will see in a minute what I am talking about)so you will have to check back tomorrow for the second recipe using the left overs from the tomato pie recipe. OK, so I was very pleased with how this recipe came out. If you do not have goat cheese, this would be great with Mozzarella cheese too! I may try it with Mozzarella next time.

What you need:
about 6 small tomatoes or 3 large
1/4 cup of marinara sauce
1 cup uncooked brown jasmine or brown rice
1 whole egg
2 tablespoons - You may want to use a tad more - Parmesan cheese - divided - you will use 1 tablespoon for the crust and the other tablespoon is for the pie mixture
1 red onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves - minced
dried basil
Sea salt and pepper
1 & 1/2 tablespoon goat cheese -- or replace this with mozzarella cheese

Lay your sliced tomato out on a paper towel to allow the excess water to soak up.

You will want to cook your rice and let it cool just a bit.

Add in a small 2 or so pinches of basil and 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup marinara ( Put the rest of your jar of marinara sauce in the fridge - we will use this for the next nights dinner so there will be no waste) and mix well.

Next add 1 whole egg and mix together with your hands. Add a dash of salt and pepper. You will need just over one cup for the crust of your tomato pie. So use the rest of your crust mixture to line a separate casserole dish and bake it at the same time that you bake your pie crust for the tomato pie. You are going to use the casserole dish rice crust for the next nights dinner - I will post that tomorrow so this isn't the world's longest blog post! You will bake the pie pan and the casserole dish at 350 for 15 minutes allowing the rice crust to brown up a bit. While this is baking you will slice one red onion and two garlic cloves. Heat a small dash of extra virgin olive oil in a saute pan and saute your onion and garlic allowing them to brown up and soften a bit.

Once the 15 minutes is up pull out your pie dish and your casserole dish. The rice should be solid and browned up a bit. Let the casserole dish cool and cover with foil and put in the fridge for tomorrow night. Now we will put our tomato pie together. Put your sauteed onions/garlic on top of the rice crust. Then you will place your sliced tomatoes on top layering them so that it covers the crust.

Spray the top with a bit of olive oil spray. I just used my Misto to give it a quick spritz. Sprinkle a little salt on top and a dash of dried basil covering the tomatoes. Next you will sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and goat cheese (or mozzarella if you prefer). Bake at 350 for 40 minutes and serve! This smells so good while it's baking. It will make you want to enjoy a glass of wine :-}

The smells are fantastic! My kids even enjoyed this and ate it along side the chicken tenders I made.

Tomorrow night I will post the recipe using up the second rice crust and the marinara sauce so that you can see how to get two dinners out of this and not waste anything. So be sure to check back tomorrow for part II.

As for being reunited with a long lost love of mine...well that might be a little dramatic, but I have re-discovered a wonderful snack/cereal....Kashi Go Lean cereal. Have you tried this before? This cereal is sooo good! I love it! I eat mine with unsweetened vanilla almond milk and find it to be very satisfying and filling. If you haven't tried this I highly recommend it. This cereal is not only great for breakfast, but at night when I am craving something crunchy or good I will eat a bowl of this and it really keeps me satisfied!

I hope that everyone is off to a great week. I will be back tomorrow - hope you will too!

Totally Over The Turkey

2010-11-27T16:18:00.000-08:00

Hello! How has your holiday weekend been so far? I hope everyone is having a great weekend. I have been in recovery mode and trying to drink a lot of water today. Boy, that sodium really hits you when you are not used to eating it. I wanted to go for a jog this afternoon, but I have yet to make it out the door. I may end up on the elliptical machine because we have some high winds today and it is f-r-eee-zing! I guess I am being a bit of a wimp..lol! I spent some time yesterday updating my ipod with some new songs; I find it always inspires me to move more when I have some new and good music to listen to while I walk/jog!

What I really wanted to talk to you about was the clementine! That cute little miniature looking orange fruit. I just love them and they are back in season. They are only 35 calories each and pack a mighty little punch, not to mention vitamin C. I love to grab a few and snack on them in the afternoon or in the evening after dinner. Really a great snack! So if you see them at the grocery store give them a try. They are really good!

I hope that you are all doing good and haven't overdosed on leftover turkey! I am so glad the rest of our leftovers are finished! OK, I will be back soon with some recipes. Enjoy the rest of your weekend :-)

Black Friday: The Official Start of Christmas Season!

2010-11-26T08:04:00.001-08:00

Hello! How did everyone make out yesterday? I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. One of my traditions is to start Thanksgiving morning with a newspaper so that I can look through all of the Black Friday ads while I drink coffee with my Sister and Mom. Now, we don't look through these ads because we will participate in the Black Friday shopping, ummm, no thank-you! We wouldn't consider that and nothing about that sounds fun to me, but we do love looking at all of the sales and of course we have to discuss everything!

I thought I would give you a quick recap of some of the favs from yesterday. Oh there was a beautiful big turkey

My Sister made an 8 layer mac & cheese...straight into heaven's gate with a bite of this

My Grandma Dee's Sweet Potato Casserole(one of my favorites!)
This is her holiday salad... now this is my kind of salad cool whip included...

I like to call these three dishes the trinity of Thanksgiving :-} The mashed potatoes, stuffing, and green bean casserole. Let's face it these are standard for T-day dinner!

Some of my favorite desserts included this ah.maz.ing pumpkin cheesecake and old fashioned banana pudding

What are you favorites? You know the dishes you dream about!

In honor of black Friday, I thought it would be fun to give you the "Cooking Enthusiasts Christmas Wish list guide". A few gift ideas for the ultimate foodie! Oh, and these are all available online (Amazon has everything listed) so no need to go through the brutality of waiting in those long lines and fist fighting your neighbor trying to grab the last one on the shelf.

French rolling pin

microplane

Giada's hand held strainer

So what's on your Christmas list this year? I hope you all enjoy your day today. I am getting ready to put up the Christmas decorations. See you soon!

One More Day To Go!

2010-11-24T09:58:00.000-08:00

One more day until Turkey day! I am sure everyone is busy today getting ready for tomorrow. What are you thankful for? I have many things I am thankful for this year! I am thankful for Jesus, my health, my family, good food, good wine and of course you-my readers :-)

I want to wish each one of you and your families a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Quinoa...or....Keen-Wa!

2010-11-23T11:11:00.000-08:00

Hello my foodie friends! How's it going? We are only 2 days away from Thanksgiving! Is everyone ready? I have a philosophy about eating on the holidays and that is to just relax and enjoy the day. I eat the pie and mashed potato's and gravy and I just enjoy! My thoughts are all about healthy balance. If you are eating healthy and exercising the majority of the time, the one day will not hurt you. I always think 80/20! It's what you do the majority of time. Being consistent and balanced is key! OK, just my two cents on the issue :-}

I came across a Quinoa recipe here and it reminded me of a recipe that I used to frequently make. I thought to myself, "why did you stop making the recipe?" I used to eat this about 1-2 tx a week. So I decided to make my old faithful side dish and was so glad I brought it back. I will have to bring this back into rotation for awhile. First, let me tell you about the health benefits of Quinoa. (Oh, actually if you have never heard of this grain it is pronounced Keen-wa, but no worries if you mis-pronounce it, its all good) Quinoa is the highest in protein of all grains! So this could actually stand in as your protein if you wanted a nice meatless lunch or dinner. Quinoa provides necessary essential amino acids,is gluten free,and easy to digest! I am able to find this at most grocery stores with the other grains and of course Trader Joe's carries this also! So enough of that talk, lets get to the recipe!

What you need:
1 onion - cut into slices
1 8 oz. package of Bella mushrooms - washed & sliced
2 cups of organic chicken broth
1 cup of Quinoa
2 cloves of garlic
Sea salt for flavor
Dash of extra virgin olive oil

Place one cup of Quinoa and 2 cups of chicken broth to a pan and heat to a boil. Once it boils cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Then you will cut your onion, mushrooms and garlic. Place a dash (about 1/2 tsp or so) of extra virgin olive oil in a saute pan and heat on medium. Add in your onion and cook for about 1-2 minutes and add in the mushrooms. You will let this cook for a total of about 15-20 minutes allowing all of the flavors to come together and to caramelize. You will want to give this a stir about every 3 minutes or so allowing it to cook evenly. Right at about 10minutes toss in the garlic so that the garlic and cook for the last 5 minutes or so.

This is what your Quinoa will look like after it is done cooking!

Put your Quinoa and onion/mushroom/garlic into a large bowl and mix together. Add a dash of sea salt and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese to the top and mix. Serve and enjoy!

Chili & Sun Dried Tomato Corn Muffins!

2010-11-21T17:13:00.000-08:00

Good Evening! How has your weekend been? I hope you were able to do everything you wanted this weekend. I made some good progress and was able to get all of my shopping done, including getting the turkey...YA! It has been cold and rainy here all weekend - I love it! It has really put me in the mood for the Holidays. I knew today would be hectic and I didn't want to have to think too much about dinner tonight so I decided it would be a perfect day for crock pot chili. This recipe can be made in a regular pot if you do not own or use a crock pot, but I love being able to start this in the morning and know dinner will be ready and waiting for us. I made this particular batch of chili really spicy, but all you need to do to make it less spicy (if you are not a spice person) is to use the seasoning packet that is mild or regular. I use the HOT! I love spicy food and of course I love my chili to be hot! I paired this with a sun dried tomato corn muffin. I got the recipe from Giada off of food network. These are tasty! I ended up popping it on top of the chili and decided it was a good pair. I personally like a little sour cream in my chili, but you can top your chili with whatever you want. Red onion, shredded cheese, sour cream...these are all very good and suitable toppings depending on your preferences. Oh and in case you are wondering why in the world I would use a seasoning pack instead of just seasonings, well it's quick and convenient and I love the flavor it gives.

Chili -
1 can of black beans
2 cans of chili beans
1 can of pinto beans - drained
1 can of kidney beans - drained
1 small can of tomato sauce
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 packet of McCormick's chili seasoning - Regular, Mild, or Hot
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 lb. of organic beef or you can use lean ground turkey
3-4 cloves of garlic - chopped and minced
1 onion - diced

Add all of the ingredients - except for the meat, the onion, and the garlic- into the crock pot and turn to low. Add a little bit of extra virgin olive oil in a pan and turn the heat on to medium. Add in your diced onion and let saute a minute or two and add your meat. Allow the meat to cook for a bit and start to brown and add in the garlic. Just be sure to stir often so that your garlic doesn't burn. Allow your meat to brown and cook for about 10-12 minutes or so. You just want the meat to cook through. Pour that into the crock pot and stir. Keep it set on low and leave it to do its thing! You can turn it on high for an hour or two before you are ready to eat, but this is not necessary.

For the sun dried tomato corn muffin - recipe from Giada
2 boxes of Jiffy Corn muffin mix
2 cups of corn (1 can)
3 cloves of garlic
2/3 cup diced sun-dried tomatoes (from an 8-ounce jar)
2/3 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup of low fat sour cream
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 2 muffin tins. ( or you can use the muffin liners if you prefer but they do tend to stick a little to the paper)In a large bowl combine the muffin mix, corn, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes. Stir to combine. In a small bowl whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and eggs until well blended. Add the buttermilk mixture to the muffin mix. Stir to combine. Spoon the mix into the muffin tins, filling up the cups about halfway. Bake until golden brown on top, about 15 minutes.

More Left Over Pumpkin Ideas & A Quick Dinner Idea!

2010-11-20T20:39:00.000-08:00

Hello my foodie friends! How has your Saturday been? I hope fantastic and productive. I have gotten a lot done today and for that I am grateful! I can't believe how packed the stores were today. I guess everyone decided to shop early for Thanksgiving day rather than waiting until the day before.

I saw a recipe for Sweet Potato Biscuits here. I have been thinking about this recipe every since. So this evening I made a quick batch only I tweaked the recipe a bit to use up the left over opened pumpkin. I made some changes and they turned out good. I love that these are like a biscuit. I think these would be delicious with sweet potato so I am gonna hang on to this recipe and try it again with the sweet potato rather than the pumpkin. I had a little bit of pumpkin butter on mine and so did the kids and it was really tasty! You could even put jelly on these for a nice little morning treat! These were mixed up and baked in about 20 minutes and I came out with about 12 biscuits.

So here is the low down:
1/2 cup almond milk * I used the unsweetened vanilla at only 40 calories a cup. You could use regular milk here too
1 cup pumpkin
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour * I used whole wheat pastry flour
3 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 t salt
3 packets of stevia * these biscuits are not too sweet so if you prefer sweeter biscuits you may want to add 1-2 more packets
1 tablespoon of butter

Preheat oven to 375. In a bowl add flour, salt, baking powder (make sure this is aluminum free baking powder- I feel this is a healthier option) stevia and mix well. Add the butter in small little bits to the flour mixture and crumble together with your fingers working the butter into the flour mixture. Next add the pumpkin and milk and stir together. I covered the counter with saran wrap and poured the flour mixture onto the counter. Roll the mixture out and cut your biscuits out with a biscuit cutter (or a glass will work beautiful too). The thicker the easier it is to work with. If you need to, cut your first round of biscuits out and pull all the bits back together again and re-press it down and cut again. This will allow you to get more out of your mixture. Bake for 10 - 11 minutes (mine took 11 minutes) until the biscuits are golden and ready! These would be great with butter, honey, jam, apple butter or pumpkin butter as I prefer! Quick and tasty!

I also wanted to share with you what I made for dinner. I rarely have a night where I can just cook something up for myself, but tonight I had that chance. My husband was having dinner with the fellas (they are watching UFC tonight) the kids had already eaten earlier. By the time I got home from shopping I was really hungry. I popped a regular Naan (from Trader Joe's found in the freezer section right by the garlic Naan)out of the freezer and began to build. Next spread on some enchilada sauce and top with refried black beans (or regular refried beans - but I love the refried spicy black beans)tomatoes and red bell pepper and a light coating of shredded cheese. The great thing is that a little shredded cheese goes such a long way! Bake at 400 for about 8-10 minutes. Top with low fat sour cream and a few dashes of hot sauce! This rings Taco Bells bell! It reminds me of their Mexican Pizza only healthier and far better for you!

TGIF! Healthy Superfood HeartBalls!

2010-11-19T09:56:00.000-08:00

TGIF! How are you? I know everyone is looking forward to the holiday next week. What are your weekend plans? I have a lot of grocery shopping and cleaning this weekend to do. This year Thanksgiving will be at my house. I am excited to finally have the chance to host Thanksgiving dinner at my house. The dining room is nearly finished and ready. I am really excited this year!

I am really happy to share this recipe with you. I wanted to give you a super healthy and delicious snack recipe. This idea is based on the larabar! A raw blend of nuts and dates. If you love almond joys or mounds bars this is for you! Only these have no added sugar or artificial ingredients - and the biggest benefit (aside from the amazing taste) is the benefits these ingredients have for your heart and body.

The star of this show is the Cacao Bliss! This amazing little jar of wonderfulness is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!
It is a little costly, but I have had this jar for months and I only use a little amount here and there so I find it lasts and lasts and is worth every penny. I ordered mine online along with Coconut Butter. Some (and these are just a few) of the listed health benefits of raw Cacao include: high in magnesium, rich in flavanoids with antioxidant properties that are beneficial to the heart, helps to maintain healthy hair and skin, and can help with healthy aging. I don't over indulge, but when I want something sweet or a chocolaty kind of treat I make these up and will eat one after lunch or dinner and it totally satisfies my chocolate craving and leaves me feeling energized. These little balls are like little energy balls! You can form these into bars also, but I prefer just a little bit at a time - I find it just enough! Oh and don't even get me started on the health benefits of nuts! :-}

So for this recipe you only need 3 ingredients.
You can double this recipe if you want just be sure to keep these wrapped up and in the fridge. I find they stay good for about 4 or 5 days with no problems. This recipe as is yields about 7 balls.

About 17 Whole Pitted Dates - rough chopped ends up to be about 1 cup
1/3 cup whole cashews
1 tablespoon of Cacao Bliss

Start by laying out 2 pieces of saran wrap on the counter. Next add your roughly chopped dates and whole cashews into your food processor.
Pulse off and on until everything is nice and chopped. Add in your tablespoon of Cacao and pulse again for a few seconds. The Cacoa adds a nice moistness to your batter allowing it to all come together. Carefully dump your mixture onto the saran wrap and work it together with your hands allowing it to all come together.

Now you will just grab a little bit at a time and form into balls. You can make these any size you like, but I come out with about 7.

You may only see 6 here -- oops one accidentally fell in my mouth...

Just wrap these little babies up in the saran wrap and store in the fridge. OK, I am off. I hope you all have a wonderful Friday!

A "Whole" Lot Of Good Stuff!

2010-11-18T15:49:00.000-08:00

Hello and Happy Thursday! Yes, my days are straight today and I am fully aware that today is Thursday :-) My post today is two (maybe three) fold. I have the intent of sharing a few recipes with you, but I also wanted to talk to you about the importance of eating whole foods (hopefully on a daily basis). One part of that is trying to eat veggies that are not necessarily cooked to death - literally! Now, I don't get as much raw veggies in my diet as I would like to, but I do try. I think that action means a lot more than just thoughts when it comes to your health. Sometimes it is the little actions that can lead to big changes. I love the 80/20 rule. Balance can be everything!

I want to introduce you to my Vita-Mix! She is a beauty! I saved up for her for almost a year and I am so glad that I did. It is one of the best purchases (I bought mine at Costco) I have ever made. The thing that I love about my Vita-Mix is that with ease I can make any veggie into liquid. The Vita-Mix also cooks soups without really having to "cook" out the vitamins. It just uses the speed of the motor and it generates heat that slowly cooks. I use my Vita-Mix for ice cold smoothies that are packed with organic spinach that liquefies to perfection, Or I can just as easily use it to make delicious soups. No need for an extra pan, just throw all of my whole veggies in with whatever I want and it will chop, puree, and cook all at once! I am telling you this is one of my favorite appliances ever - I can't see myself without one now. If you do not have a Vita-Mix (you gotta get one) you can still make these recipes you can use a regular blender or hand blender and can just heat the soup through in a pan on light heat. The Vita-Mix will literally make the veggies into a smooth silky consistency though and unless you have a really good blender or immersion blender the soup may come out a little chunky and with a different consistency - should still taste good and will still be good for you though - so no worries!

OK, so now I will just get back to the recipes! For the tortilla soup I made some tortilla chips by slicing corn tortillas and baking in the oven. This makes a great topping for the soup and also a great side to eat the salsa with. If you don't want to make your own tortilla chips you can buy organic tortilla chips or baked tortillas available at the grocery store. I just love to bake my own. The soup is taken from good to really good by adding a few tortilla chips, a dollop of low fat sour cream and a few slices of avocado. You can also have a few chips and salsa on the side. Filling lunch or dinner!

For the tortilla chips:
Preheat your oven to 375.
Cut as many tortillas as you would like. This is how I like to slice mine. Usually 4-5 tortillas at a time.

Next you will want to lay your tortillas out evenly and not on top of each other. Lightly spray the top of the tortillas with olive oil Pam. Stick in the oven for 8-10(cooking times will vary depending on your oven) minutes and turn over, spray with olive oil cooking spray and bake the other side. Make sure that they are crisp all the way through before pulling out.
Lightly salt as soon as you pull them out of the oven. That's it! They are ready.

Now we will talk Salsa!

I have several different salsa recipes. I used this one today.

What you need to make this salsa is:
1 14.5 oz. can of Stewed tomatoes Mexican style
1 Lime
1 Jalapeno - sliced down the middle and seeds removed
1/2 white onion
1/2 red onion *OR you can use just one whole onion of either kind*
1 clove of garlic
1/2 tsp. hot sauce
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. sea salt and pepper
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 handful of cilantro
1 14 oz. can of diced green chili
A dash of extra salt to add after you combine all the ingredients

Add everything in to a food processor - including the juice of one lemon or lime - and whirl for about 45 seconds or until everything is combined. Add a dash of salt and cover and put in the fridge for about 1 hour to allow all the flavors to come together.

And last but not least we will talk about the tortilla soup. This is my go to soup recipe. This is a great basic healthy recipe. You can add anything to it: chicken, olives, corn, jalapenos, or whatever else you want. I usually add chicken to mine, but I didn't have any on hand. Lets just say I need to go grocery shopping :-)

Here is what you need for the Tortilla soup recipe:
1 half red bell pepper
1 stalk of celery
2 small or 1 medium carrot
1/2cup of black beans, or refried black or regular refried beans.
4 cups of chicken broth
2 tablespoons diced green chili's ( I used some from the can of green chili's I use for the salsa - that way there is no waste)
dash of cumin
1/2 tsp. Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1 garlic clove
A little less than 1/2 onion
1 Roma tomato
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
In the vita-mix you can literally add everything whole and let the mix do the rest!

If you do not have a Vita-Mix just add everything into your blender - in 2 batches if you need to -just be sure you split your broth into 2 so for each batch you have enough to blend. Transfer to a pan and heat through!

Top with a few crushed tortilla chips, low-fat sour cream and avocado!

One Minute Migas!

2010-11-17T15:45:00.000-08:00

Hi! How are you today? I have had a bad case of one day ahead syndrome all day today. So all day today I thought that it was already Thursday. :-> Geez, I am getting way too ahead of myself this week.

OK, I was going to wait and post this recipe when I make the full version, but I thought it would be nice to just give it to you even if it is the minute version. I mean you may want to make this on the run. This recipe is super quick and easy. I mean it literally takes just a minute or two. I usually like to make this recipe more in depth and add black beans, salsa, bell peppers, onions and a dollop of sour cream; however, today I am just giving you the stripped down minute version. I hope that you will use your imagination and make this recipe your own. It really is a meal fit for any time of the day. Super filling and satisfying. Also, you can increase this recipe for the servings that you would like. I just use 1-2 eggs per person and 1-2 corn tortillas per person.

For 1 small serving:
1 organic egg
1 corn tortilla
1/2 avocado - sliced
about 2 tablespoons of enchilada sauce
*Can top with sour cream and/or salsa

Start with your corn tortilla(s) and spray with olive oil cooking spray and heat your pan to high heat and let the tortilla get crispy. You will want to do both sides of your tortilla.

When the tortilla(s) is nice and crispy cut it into bite sized pieces and add in your enchilada sauce. The pan will be hot and the sauce will sizzle and brown up a bit, but that gives the tortilla(s) such a nice flavor.

Now usually I will scramble my eggs in a pan and add them in, but for the minute version I just cracked one egg in a bowl that has also been sprayed with the olive oil cooking spray and whipped it and put it in the microwave for a minute. Then just remove your tortilla enchilada mixture from the pan and place on your plate and top with your scrambled egg. Place your avocado on top and add hot sauce, salsa, sour cream, etc., whatever your heart desires. That's it! Like I said I almost didn't post this, but figured everyone could use a simple minute meal!I will make the full version of this sometime and post it for you.

Have a wonderful Wednesday (OK, now I am aware that it is Wed. and not Thursday..LOL) afternoon/evening.

A Muffin Of The Squash Kind! Pumpchini Muffins

2010-11-16T18:53:00.000-08:00

This muffin recipe uses canned pumpkin and zucchini. It is so delicious and not too sweet. I was pleased with the way this recipe came out and I love it when I can get by with minimal sugar in any recipe. These came out moist and flavorful. These are not too sweet, but it does have a hint of sweetness that really satisfies your need for a delicious muffin. So, if you find yourself with some leftover pumpkin (let's just say for conversation sake you have leftover pumpkin as I am sure you do not have any intentions of having some leftover) or you are looking for a recipe that calls for pumpkin this is for you.

Makes about 18 muffins
Here is what you will need for my Pumpkini Muffins:
2 small shredded zucchini (equal to about 1 cup)
1 cup pumpkin
2 organic eggs
1 1/2 cup Whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3/4 cup organic sugar
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup pure canola oil
1 small container of natural no sugar added applesauce

Preheat oven to 400. In a medium sized bowl combine all of the flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

In a large bowl add your sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, vanilla, canola oil, applesauce,eggs, pumpkin and shredded zucchini ( I just shred my zucchini with a regular hand held cheese grader) and stir together.

Next you will want to add in the flour mixture to the large bowl but not all at once. Do half of the bowl and add in the 1/2 cup buttermilk and mix well. Then you can add the rest of the flour and mix well. Now your muffin tins are ready to be filled.

You will bake these for 18-20 minutes at 400. You can check these with a toothpick at around 18 minutes.

Cause Sometimes You Need Chinese Food: Sweet N' Sour Chicken

2010-11-16T13:51:00.000-08:00

How is your Tuesday? I just get a craving for Chinese food every now and then. Do you? You know it just hits you and you suddenly gotta have some. I modified this recipe a bit to lower the sugar and sodium. I thought it was pretty good and the entire family ate it without any complaints. While I was making this recipe I was worried not knowing if this would turn out. In fact at one point I even thought, "oh well, at least I gave this recipe a try." It was surprisingly good! It's a little messy in the preparation and cooking, but I think you will find it surprisingly good. Don't be too concerned at the way it is looking at any given stage, just go with it. The original recipe is from this site, but I made a few changes to make this lower in calories. I also served this on a bed of jasmine rice. I like the stickiness of this rice when I want Chinese it just gives the dish an authentic taste. You can use brown rice or brown jasmine rice too. I did however just go balls out and I ate the white jasmine rice
:-D

Here is what you need:
3-4 skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup of vinegar - I used apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons organic ketchup
1/4 cup organic sugar
1 tablespoon lite soy sauce
1 cup of cornstarch
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Olive Oil cooking spray
Sea salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Preheat your oven to 325. Cut your chicken into bite sized pieces and add a pinch of sea salt on top of the chicken. Spray with a light coating of olive oil spray and coat in the cornstarch.
Heat a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil in a large pan and turn the heat on. Allow the pan to heat up a bit.
Add your chicken to the hot pan and allow the chicken to lightly cook. Cook your chicken for about 10 minutes on medium heat and stir often. You may want to add another spray of your olive oil cooking spray about half way through. Don't worry about your chicken cooking all the way through here - we just want it to lightly cook and crisp up a bit. Don't be worried right about now when you look at your chicken you might be nervous and thinking you have made a terrible mistake, but trust me the end result will be OK. Make your sauce. You will combine the vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, sugar, garlic powder, and onion powder. Mix this well.

You can place your chicken in a clean cooking dish. I used my Pyrex casserole baking dish. Top it with your sauce and combine making sure the chicken is coated. You can add a pinch of sea salt to the top and put it in the oven.

You will bake this for 60 minutes, but you will want to stir your chicken every 15 minutes. Top your rice with the sweet n' sour chicken and you are done. Eat and Enjoy!

Heart Satisfying (ridiculously low fat) Cream of Potato Soup!

2010-11-15T17:44:00.001-08:00

Hello my foodie lovers! How was your Monday? The good news is that we are one day closer to the weekend ;-) I have to tell you that this wonderfully smooth and silky and cheesey potato soup is simply delicious. It requires only a few ingredients and is very low in fat and calories. This was so so so good! I was surprised at how good this came out. I really was inspired by the two lonely potatoes that were left in my pantry; I am determined to not be so wasteful of my food. When I make this recipe again (and oh there will be an again...haha) I will double it and keep some for left overs. If you love creamy potato soup you gotta give this recipe a try. Really good!

Instead of heavy cream and a lot of fattening cheese I use light laughing cow wedges and low fat sour cream. Each wedge of laughing cow cheese is only 35 calories. You can find laughing cow in most grocery stores (I usually find them near the deli sections). I love to use laughing cow on everything!

Look at these sexy stats!

Here is what you need to make this potato recipe:
Serves 2 -3
2 large potatoes - You can peel this if you want, but I didn't because I love the skin for its flavaa and nutrition.
2 cloves of garlic smashed and finely minced
1 onion finely chopped
1 box of 32 oz. organic chicken broth
6 laughing cow wedges 0 Light Swiss flavor
2 tablespoons of low fat sour cream
sea salt and pepper
Dash of garlic powder * onion powder for extra flavor
dash of extra virgin olive oil

Chop your potatoes and onion and garlic.

Put some extra virgin olive oil (only need a about a teaspoon or so)in a pot and turn heat to medium and throw in your chopped potato, onion, and garlic.
Cook for about 10 minutes stirring often (about every 2-3minutes). Flavor with some sea salt and pepper and light dash of garlic powder and onion powder. Add your box of organic chicken broth and stir well. Allow this to cook on medium heat for about 45-60 minutes allowing your potatoes to get really soft. Once your potatoes are soft take your hand masher - or if you don't have that a large spoon and mash your potatoes lightly into the broth.
Next add your 6 wedges of laughing cow, and your 2 tablespoons of sour cream and stir well allowing this to melt (should take about 5 minutes or so) you can turn your heat to medium low right now while you are stirring often and waiting for the laughing cow to melt all the way. You will want to taste it to see if it needs anymore salt and pepper - if it does add accordingly to taste. Serve!

I also wanted to mention this new flavored tea I found. It is really tasty and I have really been enjoying a cup in the afternoon. Instead of going for something sweet, try a hot cup of tea sweetened with stevia (or stevia in the raw - or truvia).

I hope you all have a good night! I am really looking forward to watching House tonight...

OK, So I Might Have A Slight To Moderate French Bread Addiciton!

2010-11-13T16:55:00.000-08:00

Hello! How has your Saturday been? My Saturday morning started with a backyard show early this am. We watched a hot air balloon descend and land right behind our house. The kids loved it and it was pretty cool to watch.

I have a birthday party to go to this evening. My niece's birthday is today and my nephews birthday is tomorrow. I love that we can have a Birthday extravaganza and celebrate both of their b-days together. Tonight should be fun and should involve a lot of cupcakes and cake:-} Oh please Lord help me....LOL!

So for dinner tonight I made a big pot of homemade chicken and noodle soup sans the homemade noodles; I used frozen egg noodles instead!
These noodles are so thick and delicious! It gives the soup such a heartiness! I served French bread along side and let me tell you it was gooooood! I went a bit over board with the bread tonight, but I feel no remorse! Here is what I did for the soup:

3 chicken breasts
2 boxes of organic chicken broth * each box contains 32 oz.
1 white onion
3 stalks of celery
3 cloves of garlic
4 small carrots
Extra virgin olive oil
Chicken base
1 bag of homemade style frozen egg noodles
Sea salt & pepper

If you have never used chicken base you should give it a try! Has so much flavor.

Cut up your onion, carrots, garlic and celery into small pieces. (a little side not here- I like to use the inner most stalks of the celery. The ones that have all of the leaves on top. I find that these have such a good flavor in soups, casseroles and other dishes. You do not have to use these parts, but I really love to use this part of the celery). Add a bit of olive oil in the bottom of your pan
turn the heat on medium and add your cut up veggies.
Add a dash of sea salt and pepper. Let it saute and get soft. Next you will want to add your chicken breasts. Go ahead and let it cook for about 10 minutes. You can put the chicken breasts in whole and we will fish them out later and shred the meat. I prefer working with the cooked chicken better :=D After about 10 minutes add your chicken broth and ensure you are on medium heat and walk away for about 20-30 minutes. This gives the chicken time to cook. After the chicken is cooked you can remove it from the pot and put it on a plate to cool. You can kick the heat up a bit and let the broth come to a boil. You will want to add a dash of sea salt and pepper and one teaspoon of chicken base and stir into broth really well. Once it is boiling add your noodles in and let cook for about 8-10 minutes. You can shred your chicken now if it is cool enough to handle. Just shred it with your fingers into nice bite sized pieces and throw it back into the broth. It's OK to throw it in to the broth even if your noodles are not finished cooking. Just give it a quick taste to determine if you need to adjust your seasoning - you may need to add a little more salt and pepper. Just turn the heat down to low medium and let simmer a bit. Maybe 20 minutes or so just to let all the flavors settle together. Serve it up! Of course this is where the French bread comes into play. Just cut a piece and very lightly butter - or dont butter.

TGIF Not Your Average Grilled Cheese and fries!

2010-11-12T17:58:00.001-08:00

Hello and Happy Friday! Whew, it was a long day today! I am so glad it is Friday. I wanted something warm for dinner, but also quick and easy. I decided to throw all of my favs into a grilled cheese sandwich and to have baked zucchini on the side. These turned out pretty good and they are good dipped in ranch (made with Greek yogurt and ranch dip). My grilled cheese had goat cheese, red onion, tomatoes, avocado, turkey, and provolone all stuffed in whole wheat sour dough and grilled to mouth watering perfection.

For the grilled cheese I just lightly buttered both sides of the bread. I crumbled some of the goat cheese on the bottom of one side of bread (the piece that is on the bottom and build up from that). Next, lay on the sliced red onion, avocado, turkey and one piece of provolone. Lay your lightly buttered piece of sourdough on top and grill. Cook over medium high and press the sandwich down with your spatula ensuring that it all melts together. Give it some time to grill and melt up. I would say each side needs about 4 minutes (but keep an eye on the bread to see how well its grilling). Your mouth will thank-you!

For the baked zucchini you will just chop up your zucchini in to small fry like thin slices. Let it soak in buttermilk, garlic powder, parsley and sea salt & pepper for at least an hour or so. Next you will dip this into panko bread crumbs that have a pinch of sea salt mixed in. Lay each coated piece on top of a rack that is on a baking sheet - or if you don't have a rack just use parchment paper. Spray these down with olive oil cooking spray just before popping into the oven. Bake at 400 degrees for about 8 minutes on each side. Dip in your favorite dipping sauce. Mine is ranch made from ranch dip and Greek yogurt.

OK, have a wonderful night.

An Orange Dream Smoothie & Happy Veterans Day!

2010-11-11T08:06:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to start this blog with A Happy Veteran's Day! My husband served in the military for 10 years and I have a real love and appreciation to all of those who serve or have served in our military and of course to their wonderful families too. Thank-you!

TGIAF! We have almost made it through another week and to the weekend...Ya! I wanted to give you one of my all time favorite smoothie recipes. The kids and I love this. It really is good. Kind of dreamsicley (ugh is that a word? haha). I will usually double this recipe and split it between me and my two kids. The secret ingredient to making this recipe zing is the Kefir. If you haven't ever tried kefir you must run - not walk- to the nearest grocery store and buy some. This is a yogurty drink that is filled with wonderful probiotics. I love to mix this as the base of my smoothies for creamy, thick and delicious results. Now, if for some reason you cannot find kefir where you are you can replace this with just vanilla or strawberry organic yogurt. Many grocery stores do carry the kefir and I find the best price is at Trader Joe's. I also love coconut kefir! I prefer it acutally, but it is a little harder to find where I am. You will also want a really good quality protein powder. One that is not full of artificial ingredients and artificial sweeteners. OK so here is what you will need:

For one serving (You can double or triple this recipe)
8 oz. orange juice
1/2 cup Kefir * I always use the strawberry flavored or the coconut Kefir vanilla flavor will rock your face off too (or you can use organic yogurt
1 frozen banana
1 scoop of french vanilla protein powder
*One quick tip that I always do is to take my very ripe bananas and peel them and freeze them individually. I can just grab one or two out when I need them and they act as the ice making your smoothies thick and smoothie like. Also you will never waste your bananas again.

Cha..Cha...Chicken!

2010-11-10T13:41:00.000-08:00

Hello and Happy Humpday! How are all of my fellow foodies doing today? I have been pretty good. I cannot believe that it is already Wednesday. This week is flying by for me. I was inspired this week by this little jar of peppers that I found at Trader Joe's (I have seen these at other stores too - you could also replace these with roasted red peppers).
These are not too sweet and not too spicy, just the perfect in between! So I decided to stuff my chicken breasts with these delicious peppers and goat cheese and I was so pleased with the results. My husband even commented on how tasty the chicken turned out.

What you need:
3-4 chicken breasts (or however many you need)
A good chunk of goat cheese or you can buy the already crumbled goat cheese
1 jar of peppers - you can use any kind you prefer here
olive oil
salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder

Preheat your oven to 350. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper (a trick a friend of mine suggested and I have never looked back - thanks Darren). Now you will trim your chicken breasts making sure they are lean and ready to stuff. I actually had really thick breasts this time so I gave them each a few whacks with my tenderizer and then sliced each one down the middle creating an opening that I could stuff. Be sure not to slice all the way through the breasts so that you can close your flaps back down over the stuffing.

Next you will stuff each chicken breast with a bit of the goat cheese and diced peppers. Close the flap over and spray with Olive Oil spray and season each one. I actually prefer the garlic with parsley for my chicken. Bake for about 50 - 60 minutes. Baking time will depend on the size and thickness of your chicken so just keep an eye on it. Mine took a bit longer today becuase the chicken breasts were so darn big :-) That is it! Chicken with a twist!

My Crack at Homemade Wheat Crackers!

2010-11-07T16:13:00.001-08:00

Hey! How has your Sunday been? Our week long heat wave has finally come to an end (again) and it is a nice fall like day complete with clouds and wind. I have tried making my own crackers several times with not much success. However, today I had pretty good success. My Sister in law is working on the perfect dip recipe to accompany these. My quest is to create a cracker that is tasty and healthy! I don't like buying boxed crackers that are full of artificial ingredients. I am gonna give this a second try to fine tune the recipe a little, but these are tasty! This recipe is inspired by King Arthur. I found they tasted even better after sitting for a bit.

Here is what you need:
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon unrefined raw sugar - or regular organic sugar
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp paprika
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup of water to start - you may need to add a little bit more to form the dough
1/4 tsp vanilla
Sea Salt for topping
Some all purpose flour for rolling out the dough.

Preheat the over to 400 degrees. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine in a bowl your flour, salt, paprika and sugar. Next you will add the butter to the flour mixture and combine well with your fingers.Mashing the butter into the flour mixture. Next add the water and vanilla. Start with the 1/4 cup of water and slowly add more if you need more to make wet enough to form dough into balls. You will want to divide this dough into 3 smaller balls - this makes it much easier to work with. Flour your surface well - add to this if you need to before laying out each ball of dough. I like to use all purpose flour here for flouring the surface and the rolling pin. Also sprinkle a tiny bit on top of the dough before rolling to ensure the dough doesn't stick and makes it much easier to work with. Roll the dough out as thin as you can. You will want it thin to allow the crackers to bake up and get crispy. So roll the dough out as thin as you can and use a knife or pizza cutter to cut into squares. Lay on the baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt. You will bake these for about 8 minutes on each side. So turn these at 8 minutes and bake for an additional 8 minutes. Keep an eye on them so that they don't burn. Oven temps can vary. I plan on tweaking this recipe just a bit and will post the adjustments. These are so good for dipping. Hummus, salsa, guacamole....or plain...you get my drift :-) The kids liked these too!

Happy Sunday!

2010-11-07T07:48:00.001-08:00

Hello! I hope that everyone is having a nice weekend. Do something good for yourself today.

Creamy Chicken & Noodles.....mmm mmm good!

2010-11-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday! We made it through another week :-) Despite our little heat wave here this week in S. Cali I have been craving all of the fall comfort foods that I know and heart! I don't really like to use Campbell's canned soup too often because I prefer to make homemade soups from scratch; however, sometimes Campbell's is all that will do. This is a recipe I grew up with. My Mom would make this and I just crave it sometimes. It really is delicious and good! Your whole family will love this! You can swap the regular can of cream of chicken for the low sodium/ low fat version, but the flavor is not the same. It is worth it in this recipe to use the regular version and swap out the regular chicken broth for a low sodium broth. Here is all you need:

1 lb. ( I use between 1 lb and 1.5 lbs) chicken breast or you can use rotiserie chicken shredded
1 large family size (26 oz.) can of Cream of Chicken - or 3 of the regular small cans
1 box or 32 oz. chicken broth
1 box 14.5 oz. whole wheat farfalle
1 onion
2 stalks of celery
dash of extra virgin olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic

Finely dice your onion, celery and garlic. Add a pinch of sea salt and a dash of pepper. Add to a large pot with a dash (about a teaspoon) of extra virgin olive oil and stir often while they soften. This will take around 5 minutes on medium heat. Add about 2 cups of water - you do not want to add too much water to this so that it stays thick and creamy. Now add your broth and add your chicken. Cook on low/medium for about 45 minutes. Remove the chicken from your broth and allow to cool enough so that you can shred it and add it back to the broth. Now you will turn the heat up and add your box of pasta (FarFalle) allow this to cook for about 10 minutes allowing the pasta to cook through. You will only want enough water to cover the pasta - you do not need or want too much water. After the pasta cooks though (about 9-10 minutes) You will add your large can of Cream of Chicken - or 3 small cans. Turn the heat to low stirring really well. Resist the urge to add more water, trust me here. You want this thicker and too soupy. Now you can leave it on low and allow it to cook for about 25 minutes. That's it! It will be nice, rich and creamy. You can add some sea salt and pepper to taste. My family loves this served with a slice of French bread.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend! Has anyone started their Christmas shopping yet? I usually like to have it done by Thanksgiving so I can enjoy the holidays without having to shop. I will see you soon :-) Thanks for reading!

Indian Food Anyone?!

2010-11-04T18:34:00.000-07:00

I have been entertaining the idea of making Indian food for a while now. I didn't think I could do this without calling in the big guns..a.k.a. a blogger whose site I love and trust. I used this recipe here. I finally worked up the courage to give this a try. I was not disappointed! I think this is a flavorful dish. I might even add this on top of some rice next time. I love the aromas that come from this dish while it is cooking. Don't be scared ( I admit I was) if this is your first time with Indian food.

Channa Masala
Serves 4
Here is what you need:
2 15 ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 inch knob ginger, peeled and chopped * I didn't have fresh ginger so just used the container
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
3 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 lemon
1 tbsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp garam masala
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp tumeric
2 tbsp butter

In a large pan heat the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the onions and cook for about 15 minutes on medium low heat, or until golden brown. Once the onions have caramelized, add the garlic, ginger and jalapeno and stir well. Cook for about two minutes.Add the tomato paste and pince. In order to do this you will need to add the paste and coat the onions well. Crank the heat up to high and walk away. Do not touch this during this process so that the paste will start to form a crust and will brown up a little. Add the coriander, cumin, cayenne and tumeric and stir well. Then add the diced tomatoes, chickpeas and garam masala. Cook for about five minutes allowing the chickpeas to heat up. Finish with a squeeze of lemon. The recipe suggests topping with plain yogurt and cilantro, but I didn't and just added the lemon. So good! You will love the way this smells while cooking!

Ya, it's almost Friday! I am really looking forward to the weekend. Have a great night!

Hump Day!

2010-11-03T19:06:00.000-07:00

Hey my fellow foodies! How was your Hump day? I just remembered that Saturday night we change the clocks back an hour. I noticed this week that it has really been getting dark much earlier too. I am feeling my hibernating mode coming on ;-}

My husband is almost done with our dining room floor! It still needs the finishing touches,but he is waiting on the paint to dry on the quarter round and he will be able to finish. I cannot wait to move all of the furniture back in and get everything hung up and back in its place.

I wanted to share with you my favorite fall time fruit: Pomegranate! I do love pomegranates any way I can get them, but I have to admit that I hate working so hard to get those sweet little arils out. Costco has them already seeded in little containers. Talk about easy and delicious! Don't get me wrong, I will work over the pom in order to get those beautiful little arils out, but when I can get them this way I do and I HEART them! If you cannot find them already prepared here is a tutorial for you on how to prepare them.

I used some of the left over chicken tenders from last night to make a delicious salad. It was really good. The left overs are also really good in a wrap.

I hope that everyone is having a great week! Good Night!

Laying Wood Floors & Chicken Tenders!

2010-11-03T00:37:00.001-07:00

Hi and Happy Hump Day! How is everyone doing?

This is our dining room without any flooring. My husband is laying new wood floors. We have lived here almost 1 year and we are finally finishing the room. I am so excited to be able to finish the dining room (and just in time for Thanksgiving! ....Whoa Thanksgiving?!? It is already November!) So last night I made chicken tenders. The husband deserved a hearty dinner after working all day on the floors :-)I made these recipes based on this recipe here which was originally from Howsweeteats.com.

I thought I would try something a little different. I was happy with the way they turned out. I made two different batches. One was ranch flavored chicken tenders and the other was made with Franks hot sauce. I looove spicy food! You can alter the amount of hot sauce depending on hotness factor that you want.

Here is what you need for the ranch tenders:

1.5 lbs of chicken tenders
2 cups of buttermilk
1 packet of ranch
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup of whole wheat flour
Extra Virgin Olive Oil spray

For the Buffalo Wing Inspired chicken tenders:
1.5 lbs of chicken tenders
2 cups of buttermilk
1/2 cup of Franks Hot Sauce
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup of whole wheat flour
Extra virgin Olive Oil spray

You will want to marinate your chicken tenders in a dish. You can marinate for as little as 2 hours or for as long as overnight. I marinated mine for 3 1/2 hours at least. For the marinade you will mix the buttermilk and 1/2 packet of the ranch dip -reserving the rest of the ranch dip mix for the breading. Add your chicken and cover. When you are ready preheat oven to 450. In a large bowl add panko, rest of the ranch dip and flour and mix well. Coat each piece of chicken in the panko mix and lay each piece on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Continue until all chicken is coated. Spray them down with Cooking oil or olive oil before baking.

Bake on one side for 10-12 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces over and spray that side and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Really good!

For the Buffalo tenders just marinate the chicken in the 2 cups of buttermilk and 1/2cup of Franks hot sauce (you could go up to a cup if you want them spicier) and marinate. Follow the above directions above for the breading only omit the ranch and instead add a pinch of salt to the panko and flour mixture. Be sure you spray each side of the breaded chicken before baking so that you get a nice crispy coating. Bake on one side for 10-12 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces over and spray that side and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Oh soooo good!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day! I will see you soon.

Trick or Treat? & Happy Halloween......

2010-10-31T09:47:00.000-07:00

Hello! So glad to be back up and blogging again. It was a long week without my camera, but they were able to fix it and I am back in business! Can't believe today is the end of October. It will be Thanksgiving before we know it. I love this time of year. I love the cool crisp air of fall and all of the wonderful produce that is available.

Of course apples this time of year are plentiful and so flavorful! I have been dreaming about this recipe all week and finally had the chance to make it yesterday. These are made like the Strawberry Oatmeal bars, but are made with apple streusel instead. Such a nice cozy fall treat! It smelled so good while it was baking.

There are three steps to this recipe 1. the oatmeal crust - you will reserve half of this mixture for the top. 2. The Buttery apple filling and 3. Apple Streusel topping. You will combine this with the 1/2 of the oatmeal mixture for the top of this.

Here is what you need:

For the Oatmeal Mixture:
1 1/2 cups of oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 organic egg
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp Earth balance (butter) melted
1/4 cup Grade B Maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp almond milk ( or regular milk if you prefer)

What you need for the Apple filling:
3 granny smith apples, thinly sliced and chopped - will make about 3 cups
2 tbsp earth balance or butter
1 tbsp grade B maple syrup
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt

For the Apple Streusel Topping:
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp earth balance or butter
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350. Line a baking dish with parchment paper. You can bring the paper up the sides or use oil to grease the sides. Thinly chop your apples and add to a pan with the other ingredients for the apple filling (butter, maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and pinch of salt). Cook on low heat for about 10-14 minutes being sure to stir often. This mixture will thicken up.

Next in a medium sized bowl add your oat mixture. (oats, flour, baking soda, sea salt, brown sugar, egg, butter, maple syrup, vanilla, almond milk -or milk). Mix well, you can use your hands here too if you prefer. Reserve half of this mixture for the top and use the rest for the base. Use 1/2 of this to line the bottom of your baking dish (it should be lined with parchment paper). Flatten it out - you can use a pastry roll if you like or just use your hands. Next using a small bowl make your apple streusel topping with the brown sugar, butter, flour and cinnamon, mixing well with your fingers. Pour your apple filling mixture on top of the oat mixture and on top of that you will sprinkle out the remained of the oat mixture and the apple streusel topping mixture. Bake for 30 minutes and allow to cool completely before removing from pan. You can place these in the fridge for a bit before slicing to allow them to set up better. Cut into bars and wrap. You can freeze these if you want to help with portion control! This recipe is a total treat!

Hope everyone has a safe Halloween!

Mini Road Trip & Camera Malfunction!

2010-10-25T20:38:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! How are things? I hope that everyone is having a good week so far. I went away this weekend for a mini road trip with my Mom and Sister. We went up through Northern California. It was wonderful! Always fun to have some girl time! There were strawberry margaritas involved, dinner at Chipotle's, and of course a trip to Pinkberry's. It was bliss! I do forget how beautiful some parts of California are.

So before leaving for my girls weekend on Friday my digital camera died(It just stopped working wouldn't even turn on -it is not even one year old yet). I have sent it in for repairs, but basically I have not been able to post any of my recipes without my right hand man...aka my camera! I apologize for this. I do hope you will be back next week. I hope to have my camera back and will be back to my regular postings. I am hoping they can repair the camera, if not I will be buying a new one. It is a nice Canon, so surprised to have trouble with it. What kind of camera do you use/like/recommend? Would love some feedback in case I end up camera shopping. Thanks! I hope you all have a great week. Thanks for reading.

I'm Not Even Playin' Mexican Casserole (AKA Mexican Lasagna)....Seriously Good!!

2010-10-21T15:27:00.000-07:00

Hello and TGIAT! How is everyone doing? I hope all is good! Yeah, it is almost Friday. I will tell you this recipe turned out good, wait..not just good, but great. I am participating in my self mandated "operation no can left behind" (my goal to use up the canned goods in my pantry). This caused me to pull out certain items from my pantry led by my desire for Mexican! It only seemed like the right thing to do. I mean my hands were tied, I was practically forced into making this. I mean if only to save the cans - I had no choice basically...haha! Really, please make this if you love Mexican food and if you love one dish wonders - this is for you!

Please don't feel guilty about this recipe! No guilt here, only a little bit of cheese in this recipe and a total of three low carb whole wheat tortillas.

Here is what you need:
1lb ground beef - go as lean as you like here.I prefer organic
9X13 casserole pan
12 oz red enchilada sauce
1 16oz. can of refried black beans
1 12.oz jar of Salsa Verde* Be sure to divide this as you will use 1/2 at a time at different points
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp.paprika
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 cup rice (I prefer brown or regular jasmine rice cooked in chicken broth.)
2 cups of chicken broth for 1 cup of rice
1 packet of Goya Cilantro seasoning packet
3 large whole wheat tortillas * I use Low Carb and they work great
sour cream to top of you desire

Start by making your rice. All I ask is that you use chicken broth to cook your rice in and not water. You can use brown rice, jasmine, basmati, or brown jasmine rice (this is what I used). I also add one packet of the Cilantro Goya seasoning to the boiling water before adding the rice. Great rich flavor without any effort!

Next, chop one onion finely and finely chop 2 cloves of garlic. Start to cook your meat now. You will want to add your seasoning to your ground beef. You will need 1tsp Cumin 1tsp chili powder 1/2 tsp paprika & 1/2 tsp of garlic powder. After about 5minutes add the diced onion and garlic and allow it to cook in with the meat.

Preheat your oven to 350. Once your meat is done cooking you will add your refried black beans right in with the meat and stir well. This will make a wonderful filling! If you cannot find refried black beans, regular refried beans would work well here too.

Start by spreading half of the jar of your Salsa Verde on the bottom of your casserole dish.

Next add a layer of rice on top of the salsa verde layer. Use all of it! You will have 1 cup of rice.
Now you will add the layer of beef and beans on top of the rice. Spread it evenly using all of it.

OK, Now you will want to use the rest of your salsa verde to use on top of the beef/bean mixture - spread it evenly on top.

Now layer your tortillas on top.

Now add your small can of enchilada sauce on top of the tortilla shells- don't worry if it seems too saucy the liquid will settle into the casserole and seal in the flavor!

Finally, just take around two large handfuls of cheese and evenly apply to the top - coating evenly.

Here it is out of the oven! Make sure to let it sit for at least 5 minutes before cutting into it.

Homemade Strawberry Oatmeal Bars!

2010-10-19T15:38:00.000-07:00

Hello! How is your Tuesday so far? Mine has been good. It has been storming here since 2:00am this morning. We had severe thunderstorms and rain and now it is just lightly raining! We don't get too much rain here in S. California so I have really enjoyed this change of pace.

It seemed like a cozy day to bake so that is what I did. I based my recipe on this recipe. I am not vegan so I went ahead and made this recipe with an egg. I did make a few other minor changes to the original recipe. This is pretty healthy and has hardly any sugar in it at all. The kids loved these and I have plenty left over. I cut these into individual bars and individually wrapped these. You could freeze these too! I even caught the husband grabbing an extra piece on his way out the door today.

So here is what you will need For the Oatmeal base/crumbling for the top:
1.5 cups oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 organic egg
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp earth balance - melted
2 tbsp almond milk - I prefer the unsweetened vanilla, but any kind will do even regular milk
1/4 cup Grade B maple syrup

For Strawberry Layer:
A heaping 2 cups of chopped strawberries. chopped into 1/2 inch pieces - or 1 cup of store bought jam
1/2 teaspoon corn starch
5 packets of Stevia in the raw -- OR 3 -4 tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Line a square pan with parchment paper. I let the parchment paper come up all the way on the sides. In a saucepan or medium sized pan throw in your chopped strawberries with a sprinkling of the 1/2 tsp of cornstarch and the stevia.

Be sure you add the cornstarch before turning on the heat - this keeps it from clumping up. Cook on low heat stirring every so often allowing the strawberries to sweat and soften. This might take a good 20 minutes or so. Once cooked you can mash it up and allow to cool. Set aside.

Now in a medium size bowl add your oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Stir well. In a small bowl add your melted butter, 1 egg, maple syrup and almond milk and stir well. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and mix well.

Use half of this mixture to line the pan, pressing it flat like you would a crust.

Next pour the strawberry filling on top.

Then you will use the remainder of the oat mixture to crumble on the top.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350. Remove and let cool for 25-30 minutes before cutting or removing from the pan. Once cooled you can slice and wrap up and store in fridge.

You could also swipe the strawberry filling for pumpkin or apple butter :-) Oh the possibilities are endlessss I tell you....endless!

Operation No Can Left Behind!

2010-10-18T20:41:00.000-07:00

Hello! How was your Monday? I hope good! So I have decided to launch "No can left behind". It is my attempt to clean out the pantry & freezer. So this was a quick assault on a few items that have been lingering. I pulled these chicken sausages out of the freezer and used the remainder of a bag of orzo! Sprinkled with a quick toss of Parmesan cheese at the end and Voila' dinner is served. This is such a comforting and warm one pot wonder! I did use a touch of chicken base (be careful to not use too much because this is high is sodium) to the water when boiling the orzo for a little extra flavor. I also added a touch of salt to the dish before serving because it needed it. Be sure to slice the chicken and cook in a pan for about 10 minutes on low - medium heat. Add the cooked orzo to the cooked chicken sausages and mix and top with the parm, salt and light pepper!

One Stuffed Baby!

2010-10-17T20:40:00.000-07:00

Hello and Happy Sunday my fellow bloggies! I hope everyone has had a nice weekend. Ever have a touch of the Sunday night blues? Ya, it happens to me too. Sadly the weekend can go too fast sometimes!

Well, I did have an exceptionally delicious dinner tonight. We fired up the grill and had BBQ chicken, roasted fresh organic green beans, baked potato...and these wonderful tasting sweet baby stuffed peppers. Oh these are so succulent and flavorful. You just cup the tops off and stuff them with cheese. Not just any cheese, but laughing cow cheese (I loooovve the Swiss light original flavor) You cannot go wrong with this recipe. I found these mini peppers at Costco, but I have seen these a few other places also. Such a great side! Hope you will try this.

Have a good night!

Because Sometimes Life Demands Cake!

2010-10-13T20:57:00.000-07:00

My Grandparents celebrated their 64th wedding Anniversary yesterday. When I woke up this morning and saw the Bohemian wedding cake that Jenna made I tasked myself with the mission to make this cake for my Grandparents. I love an excuse to bake a cake! Sure, it is a day late, but I knew my Grandparents would love it all the same. I enlisted the help of my Sister who has the Midas touch when it comes to baking and we went to town. Let me tell you people this cake is so unbelievably good. The smells...oh Lord the smells! We also made butter cream frosting from scratch. All I am saying is if life demands a cake, consider this one....incredible recipe found here.

Good night!

BBQ Chicken Pizza!

2010-10-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

Hello and Happy Hump day! So I have had California Pizza Kitchen's BBQ chicken pizza on my mind for a few weeks now. I knew that this craving couldn't be tamed until I had some and since the closest CPK is about 60 miles away I knew I had to make my own and that is just what I did. So you will want to make this immediately...I mean read this blog post and go make it right now! I was so surprised at how good this turned out! You will want to start with pizza crust. You can buy this (Boboli makes a great whole wheat pizza crust, Trader Joe also makes pre-made whole wheat dough) you can make this using this recipe right here

What you need:
Pizza crust
BBQ sauce - I love Sweet Baby Rays
Frank's Hot Sauce
One half of a small red onion
Chicken (about 1-2 chicken breast baked in a BBQ sauce and Franks hot sauce and garlic powder marinade)
Cheese - I like Colby & Monterey Jack for this recipe

Now you will want to bake some chicken breasts/tenders. Make sure this is thin and trim meat. You wont need too much. I just used the left over chicken for BBQ chicken sandwiches for the kiddos. So you will want to marinate the chicken with some BBQ sauce and Franks Hot Sauce and garlic powder. Let it marinate for about 1 hour and go ahead and bake it. You will want to place 2 - 3 tablespoons of BBQ sauce on the pizza crust (I only used 2) and thinly chop some red onion. Layer the thinly chopped red onion on top of the BBQ sauce that is on your pizza dough. Now you will chop up your cooked chicken into small bits and sprinkle that on top of your pizza crust. Lastly you will want a little cheese. I used Colby & Monterey Jack cheese and not a lot, but live a little bit here too :-) I have found a little bit really does go a long way. Now you just need to pop it into the over at around 450 for 8-10 minutes. Make sure the crust is baked and crispy and your cheese is all melted. Mine was ready at about 9minutes. ENJOY!!!!

Cali Cheesesteak

2010-10-12T17:27:00.000-07:00

This one is mine on the 100 calorie roll with no mayo!

This belongs to the man!

Hey guys! What's up? It is pretty warm here this evening so I wanted to make a quick dinner. These are really good. You will feel like you are cheating, but don't worry no guilt associated with these babies. It is my take on a Philly cheese steak. I like mine on a 100 calorie sandwich square, but you can use any roll or bread you like. I also like to grill the bread with a little olive oil. You just drizzle the Extra virgin OO on your bread and lay it flat in a pan on high heat allowing the bread to get nice and crispy.

This will give your bread a nice crispy flavor. You don't even need that much Olive oil to get the job done.

Or if you are really calorie conscious just spray your roll/bread with some Organic Olive oil spray and let the pan grill it up. Either way so good. I keep mine nice and light with one slice of provolone split into two equal pieces, but hubby likes two full pieces and he likes a little mayo on his too. Honestly, these are so flavorful they don't need mayo! Here is what you need:

1 package of roast beef. I love Hormel Natural (the entire package is 240 calories)
1 red bell pepper
1 onion
provolone cheese
garlic powder
rolls

Go ahead and thinly slice your bell pepper and onion. Add about a teaspoon or so of EVOO and toss your bell peppers and onion in with a sprinkling of garlic powder. Saute these for a good 6-8 minutes allowing them to get nice and caramelized. You will want to take the roast beef out and slice them into strips. Add this to your bell pepper mixture and heat through, allowing the roast beef to brown up. This gives your roast beef such good flavor! Meanwhile you can toast up your rolls (if you want to skip this step you can throw your assembled sandwich in the oven for about 5 minutes at 375 this will make the bread crispy minus the mayo if you want mayo on yours) and cheese melt)Just place your cheese in and top with the good filling. Your mouth will thank-you! Trust me (-:

Coffee Talk..

2010-10-12T09:08:00.000-07:00

Good Morn! How is everyone today? I am a little bummed that the heat has seemingly returned. Ugh, I was really looking forward to some cooler temps and then the heat seemed to creep back in. We were 90 degrees yesterday and again today. So maybe next week Fall will return (?!?).

I was just reading the latest issue of Health magazine this morning and one of the articles explained a few ways that apples can benefit you. Which leads me to the first thing I wanted to mention which is Honey crisp apples! OMG! These are so good. I like the sweet tango apple, but Honey crisps are on a whole different level of deliciousness! Please try one before they are gone. I mean really good!

OK, back to the article in Health mag. which states that eating an apple with the skin on five days a week can result in better lung function. Also, the article recommends using apple cider vinegar as a scalp rinse to rid your scalp from bacteria that causes dandruff. I thought that was pretty interesting too! Massage a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar on to your washed scalp and leave on for 1 minute and rinse. Another great use of the apple is using applesauce instead of butter or oil for baking. This is a great and easy to do just make sure you are using unsweetened applesauce. I think apples make a great snack. Instead of eating junk food, chips, or candy try replacing an afternoon or nighttime snack with an apple. I like to use my apple slicer which results in perfect little slices!

I will be back later; I am experimenting with some healthy gravy's. Will post the recipe soon. I mean you are gonna need something to top your mashed potatoes with, am I right or am I right?
:-D

Have a great Tuesday! Get some raw vitamin D (sunshine) if you can!

Pumpkin Pancakes :-}

2010-10-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

Hello! Well, it's a new week and I hope that you are all off to a great start. We are almost half way through October. So I figured I would bring you some more pumpkin. This isn't a recipe as much as just a product review. I picked up a box of Trader Joes Pumpkin pancake mix last week. I have been wanting to try these for a long time now. They were very good. I topped them with Grade B maple syrup. So full of flavor - you can really taste all of the fall flavors! Also, I have heard of replacing the egg (the pancake mix calls for egg) with chia seeds; however, I was out of chia seeds so wasn't able to try this, but if you have some would be great to try! I am going to make this again replacing the egg with chia seeds though. Just in case you do not have a TJ's in your area you can try this recipe found here for pumpkin pancakes (I couldn't leave you empty handed here). Gina's recipes are wo-N-derful!

So in hopes that all of you make this the best week possible remember to: love your friends, family, and yourself! Laugh as much as you can and get a little sunshine. These are just some of the key ingredients for a good week.

10-10-10

2010-10-10T15:10:00.000-07:00

Hi! It has been a nice and relaxing Sunday! I hope that everyone is having a lovely weekend. So today is 10-10-10. It occurred to me that next year we will have 9-10-11, pretty cool, huh?! I have tried a few new recipes this week and they were all disastrous. I tried inside out stuffed bell peppers and homemade ravioli. These were recipes I came up with and they were disastrous...LOL! I will give them both another try with some very much needed adaptations. Hopefully, with the changes I will be able to post them soon. Fingers are crossed :-)

So based on my need for comfort food I made these turkey sausage sandwiches. These are so good and filling, and they make the house smell so good while the sauce is cooking.

You need a package of Turkey sausage - the hot & spicy ones are really good too.
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
1 small can of tomatoes paste
1 small onion finely chopped

Poke a few holes with a fork in your sausages. Place in a pan and brown. You will cook them on medium heat for about 8 minutes or so until they are just slightly brown. Meanwhile chop up your garlic and onion. Add to the pan with a touch of Olive oil. saute for a few minutes (about 4-5). Add your crushed tomatoes and paste and stir well. You will want to put a lid on and cook on low with the lid on for about 45 minutes - leave the lid on during this time and do not lift it up. Turn the heat off and set a timer for 25minutes. Let your sauce and sausages sit with the lid on without heat for 25 minutes. Once the timer goes off - leaving the lid on- turn heat back on low for another 45 minutes. Now its OK to lift off lid and stir. This will be very flavorful! You can slice your sausage and put it in a roll and top with cheese if you like. This makes a great football meal too. My hubby loves these!

Hope you all have a nice and relxing Sunday! Make it a good one :-)

Everything Is Better Roasted

2010-10-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

Hello! I might have a slight addiction to roasting veggies. It started out innocently enough, but I have to say I am really enjoying the flavor of these veggies once they are roasted. I have been eating them all week. If you haven't yet tried doing this, please try it! You will really love the flavor and even be surprised at how good these veggies taste. The trick is coating with Olive oil and sprinkling with sea salt. Roast at 425 for about 20 minutes (check around 18 minutes- depends on your oven) turning or shaking the pan half-way through. Oh and for the Brussel Sprouts just add a sprinkle of garlic powder. I heart the roasted french green beans. Oh and these are kid approved.

A Manic Monday!

2010-10-04T18:59:00.001-07:00

So how was everyone's Monday? I hope that everyone is off to a good start of the week. I cannot believe that just a week ago it was over 100 degrees and today it was in the 70's - even on the chilly side with the cold wind. I love it! Finally starting to feel like fall is here.

I had a delish sandwich today made with almond butter and strawberries. The strawberries were really ripe and tasted so sweet. Such a great lunch with an organic pear.

I also picked up this A...MAZ...ING Goat cheese from Costco. Oh baby, this stuff is good. I have to say a little goes a long way and you cannot imagine the rich and great flavor this fresh cheese offers.

I made some of homemade pizza crust found here and topped it with some Trader Joes Marinara sauce, turkey pepporoni, a lite sprinkle of parmesan cheese, some of the heavenly goat cheese and red bell pepper rings. So good! I really love this pizza!

Hope everyone has a good night. I am off now to relax. Looking forward to watching House tonight :-D

See Ya tomorrow....

Grandma Dee's Pepper Steak!

2010-10-03T19:09:00.000-07:00

How is everyone doing? I hope you are all having a fabulous Sunday! I made an old family favorite tonight for dinner and it was really good! So filling, warm and comforting. Not too many ingredients needed and it really fills you up. Serve this on top of whole wheat jasmine rice or brown rice and a small green salad on the side and you have a fantastic dinner.

You will cut your sirloin tip into strips with a little oil and garlic powder and onion powder and brown for just a minute. Also add your sliced onion and let it saute a bit with the meat. It will give it some good flavor. Once it heats up you will want to add about 1/2 cup of water or less just to cover the meat. Turn it on low and cover for about 45 minutes. I also added 2 cloves of garlic minced for extra flavor.

While your meat is browning start your rice so it will have time to cook too. Time it just right and they will be done at around the same time! You can also cut your bell pepper so that it's ready.

After your meat simmers covered on low for about 45 minutes you will add one small can of tomato sauce and stir well. Salt and Pepper (you will need to salt this or it tends to be bland). Add your bell pepper to the top and cover with the lid and cook on low again for about 15 minutes. That's it! Add salt and pepper if you need extra and top your rice with the Pepper Steak.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday night! See you tomorrow.

Happy Saturday & More Pumpkin Please!

2010-10-02T14:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday! Looks like the rain is sticking around for another day. Actually, just some light sprinkles so far. Last night though we had a good down pouring and lots of thunder and lightning! It was great, especially since we don't get too much rain action here in S. Cali. I got up early this morning and had the pumpkin bug again. I knew exactly what to bake. Pumpkin Pie brownies from Oh she glows recipe.
Here

I was pleasantly surprised at how good these came out! Very pure ingredients and not too much sugar for the entire recipe. The house sure smelled great while these were baking. Thank-you Angela for such a great recipe! They are like little bits of brownies covered with pumpkin pie. No guilt here so enjoy! Here is what you need:

Pumpkin Brownie Layer:

1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup
1/4 cup coconut oil, softened
3/4 cup white kamut flour (or white)* I used white flour
1.5 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Pumpkin Pie Layer:

1 cup canned pumpkin
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp almond milk *I used vanilla unsweetened almond milk*
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg)

Makes between 8-10 muffins.

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 350F & grease a muffin pan or use muffin liners.

2. For brownie layer: Mix together the coconut oil, pumpkin, vanilla, and sugar until blended well. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking, soda, sea salt and mix until blended. Take about 2 tbsp of the mixture and place in muffin tin. You can wet down your fingers a little so that you can spread the mixture and make it smooth and flat.

3. For pumpkin layer: In a large bowl mix together the pumpkin, vanilla, and milk. In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix so that lumps are gone. Now add approx 1.5-2 tbsp of the pumpkin pie mixture to the top of each brownie in the pan.

4. Bake for 30 minutes at 350F. Remove from oven and cool for 20-30 minutes and then move to the fridge to chill for 1.5 hours.

I ate one cold, right out of the fridge and one I reheated for a 30 seconds in the microwave.

Makes between 8-10 depending on how big you make each one.

TGIF & Easy Fish Tacos!

2010-10-01T14:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday! This week seemed to fly by. I am looking forward to the weekend and to the cooler temps. We had a thunderstorm last night and it was nice - we don't get too many of those here. We also have had some sprinkles off and on today and it looks like it could really storm later. I am just glad that the 100+ temps have seemingly gone away.

I wanted a quick and nutritious lunch and had 2 packets of boneless, skinless wild Salmon so thought it would be a perfect time to try fish tacos!

I had a packet of tri-colored cabbage and tossed it with a bit of apple cider vinegar and a dash of sea salt about an hour prior to serving.
I let it sit in the fridge. All you have to do is open your packet of salmon, drain and put in a pan to heat through. I love to spray my corn tortillas with Pam and let them crisp up in a pan. These make the perfect low fat tortilla. I especially love chicken tacos with the shells made this way!

Some topping ideas for these are: avocado, a squeeze of lemon or lime, cheese, salsa, low fat sour cream...I tried it simple today with a tiny drop of sour cream and some salsa.

Hope Everyone has a fantastic Friday! I think I am going to take my chances with the rain and head off to Costco.

Be Still My Beating Heart........Drum Roll Please!!!!!!!!!

2010-09-29T19:59:00.000-07:00

OK so maybe a little dramatic with the title, but guess what I found in the store today? That's right...canned pumpkin! I have been waiting...no violently searching, for this and today was my day (Now if we can only get rid of this heat). The store had 4 cans left. I felt like I was doing something illegal as I grabbed the last 4 cans and darted to the checkout, carefully looking behind me as if someone would try to lift them out of my cart :-}

So for my first official pumpkin recipe of the season I came up with a Pumpkin muffin. Now I had some left over low fat buttermilk (this was from the chicken tender recipe that I did a few days back) and didn't want to waste it so I thought I would give it a try in this batter. I was very happy with how moist these came out. I may adapt this recipe, but am very pleased with my first run. I had one very overripe banana and threw that in too, boy was I glad I did. I think the next time I make this I may add in 2 overripe bananas. The banana had such a nice flavor mixed with all the spices and pumpkin. I already ate 2! These will be calling to me from the kitchen tonight.

Here is the recipe:
Makes about 14

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tablespoon aluminum free baking powder
1 tsp. sea salt
1.5 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice * I know this is redundant, but I wanted to be sure these didn't fall flat and wanted the flavors of Fall to come through*
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup agave
1 tablespoon steevia
1/2 cup Low fat Buttermilk
1 egg
1 - 2 very overripe bananas ( I used only 1)
1 heaping cup of pure pumpkin

Preheat over to 350

Mix all of your dry ingredients including spices. Then add all of the wet ingredients and mix well. Be sure to mash the bananas really well to distribute it throughout the batter.

Line your muffin tin and add batter evenly. Bake for 18 minutes - although I would give a quick toothpick check on them around 15 minutes to see how they are doing. Depending on your oven and how full you fill them will depend how long they take to bake. Mine were perfect at 18 minutes.

Is it already the end of Septmeber?

2010-09-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

Happy Hump Day! I hope that everyone is having a good week so far. It seems to be flying by this week. I think that time speeds up toward the end of the year, do you think so too?

So we are almost in October and having 100 degree temps here in S. California. Ugh! I am so ready for this heat to end. We are in Fall and it feels like the middle of Summer. Although I really shouldn't complain because we really did have a mild Summer this year. So not wanting to spend too much time in the kitchen I made a quick and easy - effortless really lunch. Burritos! You cannot go wrong with this easy recipe. The kids love it too, although I have to mash the beans a little so a certain son will not complain about beans. He suddenly declared his disgust for beans so I have had to resort to creative ways to sneaking them into his diet :-) So, if you don't have picky kids/spouse you are cooking for, feel free to skip the mashing portion of the recipe (can you call this a recipe? It's just too easy). Enjoy!

What you need:
Flour shells of your choice
1.25lbs of ground turkey 97% fat free
1 can of your beans of choice - today I used reduced sodium Pinto beans
dash of onion powder
dash of garlic powder
dash of chili powder
dash of sea salt

Toppings can be anything you like. Cheese, low fat sour cream, salsa, lettuce, tomatoes...etc.

Place your turkey in pan and season then cook through on medium heat. After turkey is cooked through drain your beans and add into turkey. Cook for a few minutes to heat through. You can mash the beans with a masher if you want. Scoop onto your warmed shell and top and eat! That's it. I love sour cream & salsa on mine.

I just wanted to add here that if you have leftovers it taste incredible warmed up and tossed over lettuce. I then add some low fat sour cream and salsa and you have a great tasting taco salad!

Anyone seen any good movies lately? I finally got to watch the movie The Killers thanks to Netflix! It was a cute movie. I look forward to all the new releases that come out this time of year.

Easy Simple Pasta!

2010-09-28T16:46:00.000-07:00

This is a great stand by recipe. You know when you are tired, or when nothing really sounds good. This is quick and good. Leftovers are good too. All different types of pasta work well with this recipe. I just happened to have this box of whole wheat farfalle on hand. I love this with whole wheat angel hair too! You can add just a sprinkle of cheese on your serving just before eating if you want a little extra :-)

Hope everyone is having a great Tuesday.

Ingredients:
1 can of diced tomatoes (14.5 ou.)
2 cloves of garlic- minced
1/2 onion - diced
1 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cups Whole Wheat farfalle (I used a 2 cup measuring cup and it was heaping to the top)
Parmesan
Salt and Pepper

Boil your pasta according to directions. This is usually 9-10 minutes. You can throw a pinch of salt in the water before you add your pasta. In a pan add your 1 tsp. olive oil and add onion and garlic. Saute until these for about 7-8 minutes, but stir frequently to avoid burning. Add your tomatoes (you can drain these or leave the juice it is good both ways, but I usually prefer to drain most of the juice (though not all). Heat through and add pepper and a touch of salt. Add your drained pasta and top with your Parmesan cheese. Allow this to sit on low heat for a few minutes so the flavors can come together. This is really good re-heated!

Artickoke & Spinach Orzo!

2010-09-27T09:38:00.001-07:00

Here is what you need

The finished dish!

This is a picture of the hot orzo covering over the spinach so that it can wilt a bit

Chicken base * add 1/2 teaspoon of this to the water you cook your orzo in for a touch of flavor.

In honor of the great for you artichoke here is a quick hearty recipe.

You need:
8 oz. orzo (1 cup)
1/2 tsp chicken base to flavor water you boil orzo in
2 - 3 cups of baby organic spinach
1 can of artichoke hearts - drained and chopped
1/2 cup feta
1 lemon

Bring pot of water to a boil with a pinch of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of chicken base. Once the water boils add orzo and cook as directed - usually about 8-9minutes. While the orzo is cooking put your spinach, chopped artichokes (drain the can), most of the feta (hold back just a bit for the top), 1/2 of the lemon squeezed on top of the spinach/artichokes/feta. Once orzo is done, drain and add immediately to the top of the spinach, add rest of feta and other 1/2 of the lemon squeezed on top. Do not stir, but cover immediately with foil to allow the heat from the orzo to wilt the spinach. Let sit for 3-5 minutes and stir well. Add a sprinkle of dried parsley and pepper. That's it....Eat & Enjoy!

Let Food Be Thy Medicine, Medicine thy food - Hippocrates

2010-09-27T08:40:00.000-07:00

I watched an episode of Dr. Oz last week reporting on the benefits of certain foods in helping the body starve and inhibit cancer growth. It was interesting to say the least. Dr. Li has dedicated his life to studying the effects of certain food and how the food can help or hinder the growth of cancer in our bodies. Hippocrates said: “Let food be thy medicine, medicine thy food”. Science is now proving that to be true indeed. What we eat does matter! Think in terms of preventative, rather than waiting until you have a disease or other sickness, be proactive.

There were five foods that Dr. Oz featured on his show. These 5 foods were: bok choy, artichoke, flounder, strawberries, cooked tomatoes. These five foods that the Dr. Oz show featured are innocent enough, right? How easy is it to add some artichoke hearts to your pasta, or salad? How about a nice piece of flounder? Spaghetti sauce made with diced tomatoes? Or how about some sliced strawberries with your cereal? These are all simple ways to eat these foods. Here is one of the recipes that Dr. Oz featured on his website relating to this segment under the wellness warriors http://www.doctoroz.com/blog/nancy-schuessler/mighty-artichoke. The recipe is simply sautéing garlic, onions, fresh tomatoes, artichokes and great northern beans on top of whole wheat pasta. You could make this up and eat it for lunch for the week, or for a quick, healthy delicious dinner! This recipe has both tomatoes & artichoke!

So, in honor of making this the healthiest week possible, I wanted to kick of the week with a recipe that includes one of these key ingredients. A recipe easy enough that you could whip it up on a whim and feel really good about what you are eating with all the enjoyment necessary :-) (Recipe to follow in just a few minutes) So, here is to eating for health! Hoping everyone has a wonderful week.

http://www.doctoroz.com/

My Apple Cart Runneth Over!

2010-09-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

We went apple picking yesterday! It has become an annual tradition. Taking the whole family to the mountains and letting the kids pick apples. I always buy some freshly made apple butter and pumpkin butter too. It is a great way to usher in the new season.

So with the change of seasons I have been thinking a lot about inspiration. Change can sometimes help to bring inspiration and often inspiration will bring about change! I don't necessarily think that we need to wait to be inspired before we start making changes, but rather make changes (no matter how small we start) and inspiration will follow. Make small healthy changes for yourself and watch how you will become inspired. A healthy snack, a glass of water rather than soda, a walk after dinner, appreciating all of the good things you have in your life. These are all small things that we can decide to do on a daily basis that will bring about inspiration.

Enjoy your Sunday! Try to do something good for yourself and watch how you will become inspired by yourself to do even more good for yourself.

Skinnied Down Onion Rings...Part II

2010-09-25T10:35:00.000-07:00

OK so part 1 was pretty good,but now for part II! Part II is great. I loooove these! I have to say they are a little on the spicy side, but really, really, really good! Did you catch that these are really good? I liked the BBQ flavor, but in my heart I am a spicy girl, so these take the cake for me! Please try these...you will not be disappointed.

* My kids liked the BBQ Onion Rings better because these are spicy, but if you like spice these are for you!

Here is (probably the only) recipe you will ever need again for Onion Rings:
1 large onion
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 egg
2 teaspoons whole wheat flour
1 cup of Franks Hot Sauce
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder

Preheat Oven to 450. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice your onion rings. In one bowl combine 1 cup Franks with 2 teaspoons of whole wheat flour and 1 egg and mix together. The egg will help the batter stick better. In a different bowl add your panko bread crumbs, garlic powder and onion powder just sprinkle some on top of the panko and mix in. Let your onion rings sit in the Franks for just a minute and shake off excess liquid and dip in panko mix. lay coated onion ring on parchment lined baking sheet. Before baking spray with your Pam Olive Oil cooking spray. After 7 minutes turn, spray other side and bake for another 8 minutes. You may want to keep an eye on them and if you want them just a little crispier you can leave them in an extra minute or two. Let them sit for 1 minute out of the oven and Eat & Enjoy!

Have a Happy, Happy Saturday!

Skinnied Down Onion Rings...Part 1

2010-09-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

I have a love for many things! One of those loves is for traditionally fat laden food items that have been "skinnied" (Is skinnied even a word? well I like it) down. That way I can continue to eat those foods that I love without any guilt. Skinnied down food = pleasure - the guilt! That is a great equation..hehe! OK so this is part 1 as I have been experimenting with different approaches to the perfect baked onion ring. I have tried many things, including buttermilk. I will share some of those other recipes in the future, but for now please try these! Makes a great snack for those football games!

Here is what you need for your Skinnied down Onion Rings:
2 small or 1 large sweet onion
About 1 cup of BBQ sauce
1 egg - add to BBQ sauce & beat into sauce
2 tablespoons Whole Wheat Flour - add this into the BBQ sauce
About 2 cups of Whole Wheat or Panko Bread Crumbs
A pinch of garlic powder
A pinch of onion powder
Pam olive oil cooking spray

Preheat oven to 450. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice your onion into rings. Mix your BBQ sauce, egg, flour and lightly mix together. In a different bowl add your bread crumbs, pinch of garlic powder, pinch of onion powder.

Dip each onion ring first in the BBQ sauce mixture and follow it directly in the bread crumb mixture. Lay each coated ring on the baking sheet. Before baking spray the side of the onion ring that is up with Pam olive oil spray. Bake for about 6-7 minutes. Turn the onion ring over, spray and bake for 6-7 minutes. Voila' you're ready to eat!!

Happy First Day of Fall & Creamy White Chicken Chili....

2010-09-23T18:34:00.001-07:00

Happy first day of Fall! I cannot believe it is already that time of year again. It is my favorite time of year. There is even the most magnificent moon out tonight to close out the day. I knew this would be the perfect recipe to kick off the first day of fall. It is the perfect way to enjoy a cool crisp fall day! So easy and yet so tasty! Honestly, with this recipe I like the leftover even better. I think the longer it sits the better the flavor gets. This recipe is courtesy of Jenna at http://eatliverun.com/

Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless chicken breasts cubed
1 medium sized onion diced
1 Tablespoon Veg. Oil
2 4.5 ou cans of green chili's diced
14.5 ounces of chicken broth
2 cans of cannellini beans (drained)
1 Teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon Cumin
1 Teaspoon Oregano
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 cup half & half
8 ounces reduced fat sour cream

Heat your oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add cubed chicken pieces and chopped onion and saute for 6-8 minutes allowing the chicken to sear and the onions to get translucent. Add garlic and cook for about another 3 minutes. Add beans, spices, chicken broth, green chilis and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Turn off heat and add sour cream and half & half. Serve! You can top it with a little cheese and extra sour cream if you want. I didn't add any to mine and it was really good!

BBQ Chicken Tenders!

2010-09-22T15:46:00.000-07:00

I have a notebook filled with recipes that I have found and that have inspired me, basically ones that I will one day try. This recipe has been on the top of that dream list and today I finally had the chance to make this W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L recipe!This recipe can be found on Howsweeteats.com website. My husband and children have a real affectionate love for chicken tenders so I knew the real test audience would be them. Well, they loved these and have already requested that I make them again. I took two of the tenders and chopped them up in a delicious veggie salad (you could eat these plain, or in a wrap with a ton of veggies, in a quesadilla, or like I did and add a little to some salad, really endless possibilities). My family just ate these with a side of BBQ sauce for dipping, but again you can do whatever you prefer and like. I added a side of sweet potato fries for them and it was a comforting and filling meal. So, here is what you will need to make this dream a reality:

1 to 2 LBS of skinless/boneless chicken breast tenders
2 cups of low fat buttermilk
1/4 cup BBQ sauce ( I use Sweet Baby Ray's - Is there any better?!?)
2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs
1/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
2 Tablespoons McCormick's BBQ Seasoning
1 Tsp. Sea Salt
1 Tsp. Garlic powder

You will want to marinate your chicken tenders in a dish. You can marinate for as little as 2 hours or for as long as overnight. I marinated mine for 3 1/2 hours. For the marinade you will mix the buttermilk and BBQ sauce and add your chicken and cover. When you are ready preheat oven to 450. In a large bowl add panko, BBQ seasoning, salt, garlic powder, and flour. Coat each piece of chicken in the panko mix and lay each piece on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Continue until all chicken is coated. Spray them down with Cooking oil or olive oil before baking.

Bake on one side for 10-12 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces over and spray that side and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Perfection!

Stracciatella Soup With Orzo & Spinach!

2010-09-21T20:13:00.000-07:00

Italian egg drop soup is the easier name, but I like the official name better..lol!
This soup is so good and so simple to make! I mean really, really good. It takes only about 20 minutes to make and tastes rich, silky and creamy. You will enjoy this soup and find yourself dreaming about it :-} I got my original recipe from Gina's Skinnytaste.com website. I basically used her ingredients, but with some slight modifications and I slightly changed up the technique. Serve this with a bread or a grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough and you will be very satisfied!

Ingredients:
6 cups of organic chicken broth
2 large eggs
1/2 cup Fresh shredded Parmesan (or you can buy the wedge and shred yourself) + a little bit extra for topping
4 oz. uncooked orzo (if you can find it use whole wheat)
about 1 1/2 cup of organic baby spinach
1 1/2 teaspoon of dried parsley
Sea salt and pepper if you desire

Use 5 cups of chicken broth and set aside 1 cup of that broth to use later. Bring your chicken broth to a boil. In a different bowl, while your waiting for your chicken broth to boil, add the 1 cup of broth, with 2 eggs, Parmesan cheese and parsley and whisk. Once your broth comes to a boil add in your orzo - you will want to cook this on high for about 9 minutes. After the orzo cooks for about 9 minutes turn your flame down to low and whisk in your chicken broth/eggs/cheese/parsley and cook for 4 minutes on low while stirring just a few times throughout the 4 minutes. After this your soup will be silky and creamy. After the 4 minutes while the flame is still on low add in your spinach and stir. Allow to cook on low for another 1-2 minutes and let that spinach start to wilt. Remove from heat and serve. Top each serving with an extra sprinkle of shredded Parmesan - this doesn't add very many extra calories and will give it a great taste! Left overs are so good too! Enjoy!

Oh My Sweet Tango!

2010-09-21T15:41:00.000-07:00

Have you seen these apples in the stores lately? They are called Sweet Tango! You gotta give these a try. These are really great tasting apples!

Eggs With Soul!

2010-09-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Sunday Everyone! I hope everyone is having a nice weekend. This is such a simple and quick recipe. Very nourishing and satisfying. You could eat this recipe for breakfast/brunch/lunch, or dinner! It's easy to adapt too based on what you like. So use this as your starting point. It is very good and will keep you full for a few hours.

What you Need: *Serves 2 people easily*
5 eggs
3 heaping teaspoons of diced fire roasted green chili's (mine were very small so I needed three, but if your pieces are larger you could go with 2)
3 finely chopped green onions
1 cup of chopped artichoke hearts ( I used frozen, but also like the can ones)
2 teaspoons of low fat sour cream
handful of goat cheese
green Tabasco *if you like*

Spray your pan with Olive Oil cooking spray. Whip up 5 eggs and add in your chopped green onions and your chopped artichokes. Allow to cook on medium heat for about 4-5 minutes and stir. Once they are almost cooked through add 2 teaspoons of low fat sour cream and stir into eggs. Allow to cook for another minute or two. Add your handful of goat cheese on top and turn heat to low to allow the goat cheese to soften. Give it a minute or two and remove from heat and serve immediately. Top with green Tabasco if you like ( I do like!).

POM Marinated Deliciousness!

2010-09-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

This is a wonderful recipe from Greenlitebites.com. Roni has some amazing recipes that always inspire me. She uses healthy ingredients that satisfy! You should give her site a visit. I have made her POM marinated chicken with brown rice and spinach many times and have switched it up a little here and there depending on what I have at the time. I have used chicken and turkey cutlets and I have swapped the brown rice for jasmine rice...it's all good! I'm just saying I don't think you can do wrong with this recipe! It's just so good! Today I made it with the turkey breast cutlets because that is what I had and brown rice. I do love my jasmine rice though too! Whatever you decide to use you will not be disappointed. Roni's recipe can be found here: http://greenlitebites.com/2010/05/20/pom-chicken-brown-rice-spinach/
She has much better pics than I do so check her site out! Here you go....

Here are the ingredients:
• 4 oz POM juice
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey or agave
• 1 tsp dried tarragon
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breast (About a pound) OR about 1lb of turkey breast cutlets
• About 2 cups cooked brown rice I used Minute Instant brown rice
• 2-3 cups of baby spinach

Whisk the POM juice, honey (or agave), vinegar, tarragon, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Pierce the chicken/turkey a few times with a fork and let sit and marinate for at least a half an hour. I usually let it marinate for an hour.

Usually before I start cooking my meat I will start my rice so that it is ready to add. Try to keep your rice warm though that way it will be quick once you add to the meat.

Place the chicken/turkey in the hot pan. It will smoke and sizzle but do not touch it. Let it sear for around 2 minutes. After 2 minutes turn over. Cook for one more minute and remove the chicken/turkey from the heat and cut into pieces. It will not be fully cooked yet, but we are not done cooking it. Return the meat to the pan and add the left over marinade to the pan at this point.Allow it to cook your meat thoroughly. Bring it to a boil, this will not take long since your pan should still be hot.

Now you will want to add your cooked rice to the pan of meat and stir. Add your baby spinach and stir and once it starts to lightly wilt shut off the heat and serve immediately.

Burgers & Fries...Try This On For Size!

2010-09-14T13:10:00.001-07:00

This is a kid tested and husband approved recipe! I love when a healthy recipe is enjoyed by the kids too. This is a quick and easy recipe. I love these fries and so glad the cooler weather is back so I can use my oven again. When I make these fries I use sweet potatoes or yams. Both of these work great and are very tasty! They are so good for you too. No guilt with these fries. I usually turn these half way through the baking process, but I forgot and they still turned out great. Just keep an eye on these because every oven is different and it will depend on how big/small you cut these. Here is what I did:

Two yams or sweet potatoes - you can make more if you need too. Preheat oven to 425degrees. Wash them and cut off any gross parts. Cut them into uniform pieces. I like to keep the skin on mine. I topped my baking sheet with tin foil and spray it with Pam Olive Oil spray so they do not stick, but crisp up nicely. Lay the fries down and spray tops with more OO spray. Sprinkle with paprika, curry powder and sea salt. Now this time I forgot to turn them and baked them at 425 for 2o minutes and they were crispy and perfect. I usually turn them half way through. Try it either way, just be sure they get crispy enough! Dip in Ketchup and enjoy :-)

Now, for the chicken burgers. Mix 1lb of ground chicken with garlic powder, onion powder and worcestershire sauce (about a tablespoon and a half - maybe add a bit more for flavor, a dash of sea salt and 1 and 1/2 handfuls of feta cheese. Mix well and form into patties. Just gives the chicken a nice hint of flavor,nothing too overpowering at all. Cook on Medium heat for about 6-7 minutes each side (just make sure your chicken is cooked all the way through).

There you go! Just a simple idea for a quick lunch or dinner! I highly recommend trying the sweet potatoes/yam fries. They are tasty and good for you.

Hope you are all having a nice Tuesday! Please forgive these pictures because they do not do the food any justice. The food tasted much better than it looks in the pics :-)

MONDAY MUSINGS: All Calories Are Not Created Equal!

2010-09-13T11:58:00.000-07:00

This is the first Monday Musings post! I would like to use these posts every Monday to express some of my thoughts on nutrition and health. It takes a great deal of effort to be the best that you can be! Nutrition, sleep, and exercise are just a few of the key components that are necessary in helping us be the best we can be. If you are run down and tired all of the time you will likely not be able to complete your daily tasks being your best. Often times we put all of our emphasis on clothes, cars and other materialistic things and do not give a second thought about the quality/types of foods we are purchasing. In my opinion, and own personal experience, high-quality whole foods are necessary for optimal health. I think when people stop and think about the kinds of foods that we are ingesting everyday, it becomes clear that we all too easily put the wrong foods in and very little of the right foods in.

Are all calories created equal? If you eat 200 calories worth of chips or you eat 200 calories for 2 organic cage free eggs with veggies and some goat cheese it becomes clear that all calories are not created equally. Especially when you further consider the nutritional value in those chips vs. the eggs. Eggs are a nutrient dense protein and essential fatty acid packed food. They contain vitamins B-12, D, E, riboflavin, calcium, zinc, iron, and lutein. We sadly cannot say that of our 200 calories worth of chips. Be mindful of the foods that you eat! I know we cannot be perfect, but we should really work at eating the best foods we can to ensure that our bodies have what they need to perform the best! Cherish your body and try to give yourself quality ingredients. It will change the way you feel, and it will also change the way you think about food. I know it's cliche', but eat to live!

Get To Snacking!

2010-09-12T21:15:00.001-07:00

Just a quick idea for you! Multi Grain Cheerios with Almond Milk (vanilla unsweetened - only 40 calories a cup)and a scoop of almond butter. I had forgotten about this fulfilling snack, but have recaptured it and love it. All for under 250 calories!!

Mexican Delight?...Do It Right!

2010-09-11T21:55:00.000-07:00

I made these enchiladas on a whim tonight. I wanted enchiladas but didn't have much to work with. I used my Low Carb flour tortillas (Only 80 calories each and a nice big size). I used 1 can of refried black beans ( I buy these from Trader Joes) and sauteed one sweet onion and one red bell pepper. Make sure to let them get really sauteed so that flavor really comes through. I like mine a bit brown, in fact when I make these again I am going to really let them get crispy. I layered each tortilla with some black beans and topped it with the onion, red bell pepper mixture and folded and rolled them up like a burrito. Spray your glass baking dish with a bit of Olive Oil spray and put some enchilada sauce on the bottom too and stack those babies in there side by side. Pour on your enchilada sauce and make sure there is enough in there to cover the sides and tops - you do not want them to be too dry. Layer your cheese on top. Believe it or not, this doesn't take much cheese to make it cheesy and delicious! I also topped them with some light organic sour cream. My husband liked these too, but mentioned they would have better with some shredded chicken. But I loved these and thought they were filling and savory just the way they were! Great way to satisfy your Mexican food craving without the guilt.

A Day Away, Pumpkin Crisis & A Grilled Turkey Rueben!

2010-09-11T13:26:00.000-07:00

Hello! I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. Football has arrived, but sadly canned pumpkin has not! So, I have been to 5 stores desperately seeking pumpkin and no one has any! Nor, can any of the store managers tell me when they expect some in. This cannot be happening! Does anyone know where to find the great canned pumpkin?!?! On a brighter note, we got to go to Disneyland/California Adventure yesterday. I won tickets to World of Color and it included a 1 day hopper pass. We had such a great day! The World of Color show was incredible! Such a great day away. I feel so fortunate to have won the tickets. After yesterday and my failed attempt for pumpkin I wanted...no needed some comfort food. I decided to make a grilled turkey Reuben. Now I know not everyone is a kraut fan, but if you are you need to make this. It is so good and so satisfying. I have made it low fat so that there is no guilt associated with this comforting sammy. Here is what I used:

2 slices of sourdough bread
1 wedge of light spreadable laughing cow cheese
2 slices of Hormel Natural Turkey (contains no nitrates/nitrites)
a bit of sauerkraut
Olive Oil Spray
Mustard

I just spread the laughing cow cheese on the sourdough bread and placed the turkey and sauerkraut on it and sprayed the outside of the bread and grill. I also put some mustard inside once it was done. It was perfect! Great sandwich.

Well, hopefully I can find some canned pumpkin because I have some A - M-azing recipes I want to try. Have a fabulous day!

You Don't Have A Thing If You Aint Got That Zing!

2010-09-09T09:04:00.001-07:00

I love eating soup! I find soup to be a filling and satisfying meal. I love to experiment with different flavors. I had a pretty bad (or good)addiction to Chili's Chicken and Green Chili Soup in the earlier part of this year. So when I woke up yesterday to find I needed my sweater I took it as my cue to make soup! This is my version of chili's soup, or rather it is what I had intended when starting but ended up with something different. I have to point out that this soup doesn't have any cheese or cream in it which keeps the calories down, but the taste doesn't suffer at all. I made some modifications based on what I had in my pantry. This is a good and satisfying soup! Love this for lunch on a cool afternoon. Tip: You can top with low fat sour cream or use hot sauce if you want a little extra zing!

Ingredients:
1 box (4 cups/32 Oz)of Organic chicken broth
about 2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
1 tomato, diced
1 sprinkle/dash of cumin
1 small diced onion
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 small can of diced green chili
1 lemon or lime
1/2 cup of cooked rice (I used Jasmine)
chile powder - amount depends on taste preference
1/2 of avocado to top each bowl of soup
Salt and Pepper to taste

Prepare the rice ahead of time so that it is ready when your soup is done. You can cook the chicken however you like. I like to boil mine or put it in the crock pot. Make sure to shred the chicken. Put about 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a pan and saute the onion and garlic. Usually takes about 3-5 minutes. Add the diced tomato and saute about another minute. Sprinkle the cumin and salt and pepper and add the can of diced green chilis and chicken. Stir and let cook on medium heat for a few minutes to let the flavors come together. Add chicken broth and chili powder and stir and add rice. I used a whole lemon and I squeezed the juice into the soup, but you can use 1/2 or lime would be good too. Allow to cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes or so. When you are ready to serve spoon soup in a bowl and top with 1/2 avacado. I topped mine with a teaspoon or so of sour cream which gives this a great flavor! Salt and pepper as you desire.

Green With Envy!

2010-09-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

This is for my Mom because I have been trying to get her to drink these for a few months... OK Mom, now you have the directions so no more excuses..(he he)! I have to tell you that green monsters are one of my favorite things! They are so tasty and so wonderfully good for you! I mean even the kids ask me for one almost everyday. I have experimented with different types of nut butters - cashew butter and coconut butter - and my good old faithful almond butter and they are all so good! You just cannot go wrong! Trust me when I say you will not taste the spinach! It is the easiest way to get your greens down. All you need is Almond Milk - use the vanilla unsweetened at only 40 calories for 1 cup. -organic spinach 2 heaping handfuls, 1 to 2 tablespoons almond butter (or peanut butter or cashew or coconut...anything you like)amount depends on how nutty you like it, honestly 1 tablespoon is usually perfect for me, 1 frozen banana (what I like to do is take my ripe bananas and peel them, break them into three pieces, and freeze them, that way they are ready to grab and throw in for the perfect smoothie. 1 scoop of Vanilla protein powder (this is optional, but I do recommend. Use a quality brand. I use ValerieSaxion or GPRX brands) No ice is needed and trust me the frozen banana will make it creamy and thick and give it a great consistency. Kids love these too and you can really feel good about giving it to them. Great way to get your raw greens in! If you haven't tried these before, please please, please try!

Is Anything Better Than Homemade Pizza....Ugh, I Don't Think So!

2010-09-05T11:21:00.000-07:00

I love pizza! I really really do! It is the one thing I haven't wanted to give up. So I just make my own. My quick naan pizza (from a previous post) is very, very good! But there are times I just really want some good ole crusty, cheesy pizza. This is a healthy recipe made with all whole wheat flour. I love that I can control the ingredients and I know exactly what goes in the crust. Toppings are organic peporoni and cheese for the family and for me goat cheese and tomato. The possibilities are endless. Give this pizza crust recipe a try, you will not be dissapointed....Yummy!

The original recipe can be found here: http://howsweeteats.com/

HowSweetEats recipe for Parmesan Pizza Crust

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

3/4 – 1 cup lukewarm water

In a large bowl combine flour, salt, yeast and parmesan cheese. Mix with a spoon and create a well in the middle. Add in 3/4 cups water, honey and olive oil. Stir with a spoon until dough comes together. Continue to form into a ball with your hands. If more water is needed, add it by the tablespoon. (I ended up using 3/4 cups and 1 tablespoons of water, but go slow and gauge how much you need as you go, just start with the 3/4 cup)

Knead dough for 1-2 minutes before placing it in a lightly oiled bowl - I just sprayed a bowl with my olive oil spray - and cover. Let rise for 1 1/2-2 hours. I let mine sit for 1 1/2 hours and it was great. Make sure to lightly flour your work area before placing the dough down. This will keep the dough from sticking. I also flour my rolling pin. Roll the dough out and top with pizza sauce and whatever you like. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 475 degrees. Mine was perfect at 8 minutes so keep an eye on it. Time will vary based on ovens and what you bake your pizza on. I baked mine on a pizza stone and I sprinkle cornmeal on the bottom which keeps the dough from sticking. So easy to get the pizza off this way.

My Quick Take on Sweet & Spicy Chicken!

2010-09-04T18:51:00.000-07:00

Here are the ingredients I used!

This was a throw together at the last minute chicken recipe. I think if I made it again I would add a bit more hot sauce (although I am cooking for little ones so maybe not). It was good, quick, and easy to make. I allowed the chicken to soak in the marinade for a good 1 1/2 hours before I cooked it. Here is the ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
2 Teaspoons agave - drizzled over the chicken
1/4 cup soy sauce
onion poweder
garlic powder
2 teaspons hot sauce (you could use more if you like) I love Franks Hot Sauce

Mix all together and allow chicken pieces to marinate. I used 4 chicken breasts. Heat pan with OO Spray and cook chicken all the way through. Serve on top of rice...you know I used Jasmine...! Enjoy!

I would like to Introduce You!

2010-09-02T17:34:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about the newest members of my pantry! I have tried both of these already --both lightly smeared on toasted sprouted bread-- and let me tell you soooo good! Oh I have big plans for these babies. Oatmeal, muffins....oh I have big, big plans!

Also, coconut oil/butter and cacao have excellent health benefits! Really cannot go wrong with these babies!

Love At First Bite!

2010-09-02T15:28:00.000-07:00

Warning: This is by no means a healthy or calorie conscious recipe. Proceed with extreme caution ;-) I was an innocent victim, unsuspecting, and totally susceptible to the hypnotic power of the chocolate chip cookie... Dun Dun Dun...... So, I was reading the incredible EatLiveRun blog as usual and then it happened. Jenna went into great detail about this chocolate chip cookie - pictures included- and I knew it wouldn't be long before I too would have the opportunity of meeting this small, dark and handsome choc. chip wonderfulness! Now, I was good and only had one, but the family loved these. What a great recipe to try for football parties and the upcoming holiday festivities. The original recipe can be found here:

http://eatliverun.com/perfect-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Here is the recipe as posted by EatLiveRun and the directions I followed:

makes about 16 cookies

1 3/4 c all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

14 tbsp unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks)

1/2 c white sugar

3/4 c packed brown sugar (recipe suggests dark brown, but light brown is also acceptable)

1 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 1/4 c chocolate chips

optional: 3/4 c chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 and line two large baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats. Sift or whisk together the flour and baking soda in a medium bowl.

Put 10 tbsp of the butter in a medium skillet set over medium high heat. Allow the butter to melt for 2 minutes and begin to swirl it around the pan, allowing it to brown. Keep the butter moving so it doesn’t burn. Browning should take about 3 minutes and you’ll know it’s done when it smells nutty and it has a dark golden brown color. Remove the pan from the heat and use a heatsafe spatula to transfer the butter to a large, heatsafe mixing bowl. Add the remaining 4 tbsp of cold butter to the melted butter, and stir gently until it is melted.

Add the white sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt to the butter and whisk the ingredients together. Add the egg and egg yolk and whisk again until mixture is smooth, 30 seconds. Allow the batter to rest for 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds more. Do this two more times; the end result should be thick and shiny.

Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined, about 1 minute. Gently stir in chocolate chips and nuts, if using. The batter will be soft.

Form each cookie with roughly 3 tbsp of dough (if using a cookie scoop, use a #24). Place cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets and bake one tray at a time, 10 to 14 minutes, on the middle rack of your oven. Rotate baking sheet after 5 minutes and check the cookies at 10; you want them to be golden brown and set around the edges, but puffy in the middle. (My oven yielded perfect cookies at 12 minutes.)

Allow to cool on the pan for 1 to 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

A little Bite of Fall In A Bowl.......

2010-08-31T17:42:00.000-07:00

*There is a bit of almond butter nestled under that greek yogurt goodness*

With the arrival of the cooler temps comes thoughts of all the wonderful flavors of fall! I was instantly inspired by one of the recent posts by IowaGirlEats.com. She made apple cinnamon oatmeal. One look at her picture and I knew it was something that I had to have - and quick! I finally made it - with some slight modifications to her brilliant recipe- check her site for her original recipe.

First, I peeled and cubed an apple. I sprinkled it with cinnamon and a dash of vanilla extract. Then I put the apples in the microwave for 1.5 minutes. While they were cooking I combined 1/3 cups of oatmeal and added a sprinkle of cinnamon, and combined that with 2/3 cup of water and nuked the oatmeal for 2 minutes. When the oatmeal was finished I added 1 tablespoon of Almond Butter and 1 packet of stevia and 1 tablespoon of Greek style lowfat vanilla yogurt and a small splash of vanilla extract and stir. It was warm, creamy, and absolutely delicious! I mean so creamy and good! You can add adapt the amount of cinnamon/vanilla extract as you prefer, but I like the flavors to be bold! (Oh and I think this would be good with a little maple syrup - make sure it is Grade B- mixed in too, but I didn't try it that way this time).

It's Been Kinda Hectic!

2010-08-31T11:14:00.000-07:00

Hello! You all know how it feels when you have one of those weeks and it's only Tuesday...ughhh! The kids started school yesterday and things are a little hectic around here. I am looking forward to getting back into a routine again!

So on the food side of things, I have been looking everywhere for canned pumpkin without any success :-( I am hoping that it is not a repeat of last year where it was impossible to find. I went to three stores so far and the last store told me they expect a shipment at any moment. So I will have to keep checking and will pounce on it when I find it! I have a few new recipes that require pumpkin and just waiting for that star ingredient.

I did try these new Cinnamon Apple Straws! I have had (and really like) the Veggie Straws. So, I was surprised to find these made by the same brand that puts out the Veggie version. I bought mine at Costco, but have also seen them at Sam's Club. The kids really enjoy these. Something new and different!

Hope everyone is having a fantastic Tuesday!

Tortilla Chip Perfection ...Oh Ya!

2010-08-28T13:03:00.001-07:00

The perfect tortilla chip is as easy as a pack of corn tortillas, olive oil cooking spray, a dash of sea salt, and an oven! Pair these babies with homemade salsa (or store bought, of course that would fine too) and you have a delicious, low-fat, extremely satisfying snack! I cut mine into triangles with my kitchen shears first. Next, arrange them on a baking sheet, but be sure you spray them on both sides so that they crisp up evenly. Sprinkle the chips with some sea salt (I have even made these without the salt and they are still very delish)and bake at 375 for around 4-5 minutes a side. Just keep an eye on them so you can determine when they reach your desired crunch factor preference! I like mine extra crispyyyy! I know this is simple, but it is so good and satisfying.

Hope everyone is having a fabulous Saturday! I am experimenting with some new recipes that I hope to have on here in the next week. See you soon :-)

There Is A Storm A Brewin'!

2010-08-26T11:56:00.000-07:00

This is the view from my front door this afternoon:

We have been having a bit of a heat wave. I am so looking forward to the cooler temps expected this weekend. Looks like we might be in for a T-storm today though. When the cooler temps arrive I will be sharing an apple pumpkin muffin recipe to take you through fall! Hoping you have a wonderful Thursday!

Lemon Feta Artichoke Chicken Say What?

2010-08-26T09:35:00.000-07:00

This is a nice flavorful dish! Easy, light and so good! Before begining you will want to start your rice. Now you can use brown rice or whatever you prefer, however I love Jasmine rice; it is my guilty pleasure. I take one cup rice to two cups of water and one teaspoon of veggie oil and a dash of sea salt and bring to a boil. You will want to boil until most all of the water is evaporated- when the water just skims on the top of the rice - and cover the rice with a lid on LOW for 15 minutes then shut off from heat and let sit for 5 minutes (or until ready to eat- I leave it covered until ready to serve so it stays warm).

Next you will take 3-4 chicken breasts and place in a pan with a little bit of olive oil spray and brown the breasts. Makre sure you flavor the chicken with onion powder, garlic powder, and whatever else you may like. After they are partially cooked through you will want to cut up into pieces and allow the meat to cook through. I add about 1/2 of an onion (red onion or sweet onion works best) to saute a little in the oil.

Next, you will want to dice up your artichoke (make sure you drain the juice) and add after the chicken is cooked through. Mix it well and let it warm through( about 5 minutes) and squeeze your lemon juice over the entire pan. I use 2 lemons, but it is up to your taste. I have used one before too and it was good, but I heart lemon so I add the extra! Allow to simmer and the flavors to come together a bit - only need a few minutes- and finally crumble your feta cheese over the top while on low heat to allow the feta to melt just a bit over the top! That's it, just add onto your jasmine rice and eat!

Not Your Average Apple!

2010-08-24T21:19:00.000-07:00

This is just a quick idea and a timely one since apple season is right around the corner! Add a bit of lime or lemon juice to an apple, sprinkle with chili poweder and sprinke with sea salt! Oh you have a great and savory snack! So much flavaa going on there :-> Give it a try! It's a nice change of pace from your average apple.

Hot Not Pocket!

2010-08-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

I bake these on my pizza stone so that the bottoms become nice and crisp!

Be sure to layer your ingredients on one side so that you can pull the other side over to form a cover. Then you press the edges forming a seal.

Ingredients.

My kiddos love Hot Pockets, but I don't like to buy them because of the ingredients. I came up with a healthier version to make. When it comes to stuffing your Not Pocket, the ingredient possibilities are endless. You could make turkey or chicken, all veggie, or a pizza type pocket. I make several up at once and freeze them and when someone wants one I will pull it out and pop it in the microwave. My hubby loves to take these to work too!

For these I used 2 packages of Whole Wheat dough from Trader Joe's, Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. Hormel's Natural choice Roast Beef ( this does not contain any artificial nitrates/nitrites) and some organic cheese that I shredded.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Roll out the dough and cut into three sections. Cover with a little BBQ sauce and layer the roast beef and cheese onto one side. Stretch the other side over to cover and press edges together sealing it shut. Bake for about 8 minutes and you are done! Let cool if you plan to freeze. Otherwise they are delicious right out of the oven! Try different flavors! This is great for a quick go to snack/meal when we have a busy day. Enjoy! Let me know what flavor combinations you come up with.

Rock Your Face Good!

2010-08-21T14:30:00.000-07:00

I wanted pizza! It's how it usually starts for me; I have a mad fantasy about ooeey gooey cheesy pizza and realize after a few minutes that I do not really want to eat it that way because it makes me feel terrible afterward. I have tried all kinds of healthy alternative types of pizza. I am on an eternal quest for good healthy pizza (trust me good healthy pizza is not an oxymoron and is possible). I saw this recipe on Trader Joe's website and went out and immediately purchased the ingredients and made it my own (with a minor alteration). I used Garlic Naan, Bruschetta and goat cheese. That's right, three little ingredients, when combined equal total bliss! Trust me when I say this is outrageously good! Give it a try.

So Good...Buffalo Chicken!

2010-08-05T13:41:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for a quick and delicious sandwich, look no more! This is so good and super easy to make! I did end up adding chopped celery after this picture was taken (2 stalks finely chopped). I drained the canned chicken meat and added 2 of the Laughing Cow Blue Cheese wedges, covered it with a lot of Franks hot sauce (Use per your taste - I like it hot), and added 2 small dashes of the white wine vinegar. Sprinkle with Garlic powder, onion powder and pepper, cover and let sit for about 1 hour. Voila' instant gratification! No mayo needed! I put mine on a 100 calorie sandwich thin, but this would be good on a low- carb whole grain wrap or rolled in a lettuce leaf! Give this a try for a low fat, easy Summer lunch or dinner!

When Water Just Doesn't Cut It!

2010-08-01T14:45:00.000-07:00

Have you tried this line of Crystal Light: Pure Fitness? These are wonderful because they do not contain artificial sweeteners, flavors, or preservatives. They have three flavors! Each box contains 7 packets and each packet provides 2 servings. One serving (half of the packet) is 15 calories and 3 g sugar. I only drink one a day and when I do I use the whole packet! This is great when I am in the mood for something other than water! So give these a try!

Mock Me Cinnabon!

2010-07-31T20:46:00.000-07:00

Let's face the facts, no matter how healthy we aim to eat, every once in a while we need a sweet treat! So in my recent attempt to cure the sugar craving without blowing it too bad I made a mock cinnabon with the Southaven Farms Cinnamon mix. Hot out of the oven with a gooey glaze over the top! WOW! This is a must try. Now, if you have not yet tried these fabulous mixes you must go directly to their site (of course after finishing here) and check it out. They offer amazing healthy mixes that you can easily convert into tasty muffins, breads, pancakes...you get my drift. The best part is that these mixes are healthy! No added sugar, 100% whole grain all natural. each box has a recipe right on the back. You can also go to their website and look through all the recipes available for each flavor. I caution you that these are highly addictive! So without any further delay let me give you the recipe that I used; I did alter the recipe suggested on the back just a little.

1 box of the Cinnamon Southaven Farms mix

1 cup Organic Lowfat Yogurt (I used Trader Joes brand)

1 cup of Splenda/Sugar Blend (I do not promote Splenda and try not to use it, but I had a bag I was trying to use up)

1 cup organic milk and 1/2 cup almond milk unsweetened vanilla

I mixed this all together and poured them into muffin cups. Oven preheated to 375 and bake for 16 - 21 minutes. Now I pulled these out at 16 minutes and they were perfect. I mean a minute longer would have been too long, so keep a close eye on them. The recipes says that it should yield 12 - 14 but I got 20! (Tip: freeze half of them and pull out one at a time for perfect portion control) While these babies are baking you can make the glaze. I used 1/2 cup of my Splenda/Sugar blend and 1 tablespoon of my vanilla yogurt and stir really well. After you pull the muffins out you can let them sit about 2-3 minutes and either poke a few holes with a fork on top to let the glaze seep down into them, or skip the holes and just slather on top. I poked a few holes and slathered the glaze on top. YUMMY! You will not be disappointed. delish. Oh and the kids loved these too!