Oh My....

Can I just say that we've been busy around this place?  I have no other excuse... my evenings seem to be a lot shorter and if I have time to blog I try to focus on the Family Blog  (which is also being neglected horribly). 

I think I'll just post links to the recipes I've made in the past couple weeks with some comments about each one.  There've been some good ones!!

I bought this GREAT cookbook a couple weeks ago at Sam's:  Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet...and I've found many of the recipes online so I'll just pass them your way!

Beef and Wild Rice Medley  This has become a quick family favorite!  It gets requested weekly...  I simply use one of those Uncle Ben's wild rice packets and add it to the beef and veggie mix at the end and warm together.  So yummy!

Southwestern Goulash  This is a great family friendly recipe....and very adaptable.  I will be making this often.

Chicken Piccata with Pasta and Mushrooms  I had leftover mushrooms for some reason so I searched for a recipe that highlighted a good amount of them.  This was really good.

I'll have more to post once I figure out what else I've cooked/baked over the last few weeks... Stay tuned..  :)

A New Week!

I am SO over Freezer and Pantry Clean Out Week.  Ugh.  A favorite part of my day is to try new recipes so I am excited to get going this week...

But before I post this week's recipes, I must share with you the cake I made for my Mom's birthday this weekend.  O.M.G.  Seriously good. 

One Bowl Chocolate Mocha Cream Cake

I made this Makeover Tater Tot Casserole Monday night and it's a keeper!  Next time, though we decided to not bother with the turkey and just use 1 lb ground beef...and add more french fried onions.  They were a GREAT addition to this casserole!

I'll only be making one more new recipe this week since we have leftovers for the other nights.  Savory Onion Chicken, like the recipe above come from a new cookbook I bought:  Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet.  It's a GREAT cookbook for my family.  I can't wait to keep trying recipes out of it...

Not Much New...

I haven't been making any new recipes lately...we've been enjoying some old favorites:  Beef and Bean Chili Verde, Chicken Curry, Beef and Barley Soup...  I was also pretty sick with a chest cold and sinus infection...and then we were out of town...

This week I am only making meals with items in my freezer and pantry!  I am excited about this because it all really needs to be cleaned out...but I did warn the family that our meals might not be top notch this week...

Tonight's meal was a HIT!  I threw some chicken wings into the oven with a honey/soy sauce glaze and we all gobbled it up!  Here's the recipe I based mine on.

BEST. COOKIE. EVER. seriously.

When I saw the name of these cookies I knew they had to be good.  They did not disappoint.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Sea Salt Cookies

These are my favorite cookies right now.  And that is saying A LOT.  I also figured out the nutritional info for them and I made 57 cookies which came to 108 cal. each.  Not bad!!!

Catching Up...

Sorry for the delay... We've had "the croup" in our house and now I've got a nasty chest cold so I haven't had much energy to do anything... But, the sun is shining today and things seem to be looking up!

A couple weeks ago I made the 4 Packet Roast and didn't report back on it...IT. WAS. GREAT.  I cooked mine with carrots and that was the best part for me.  I loved the carrots soo much...

Last week I made the following recipes:

Whole Chicken in the Crockpot:  Such a simple and economical way to do it!  I overcooked mine a bit so it was a little dry...but at least I'll know for next time!  We didn't have enough leftovers for an entire 2nd meal so next time I'll also make a bigger one!

Beef and Barley Soup:  This was THE BEST SOUP of this winter!!  We loved this.  It recommends making this the day before so that the flavors have time to blend.  Such a great idea to throw together on a weekend before a busy week.  We'll be  making this again in the next couple of weeks.


Simple Crusty Bread:  We had this with our Beef and Barley Soup and it turned out PERFECT.  We were all loving our meal that night!  And I have enough dough left in the refrigerator for 3 more loaves!

Easy Pie:  I made this recipe except I made it with my own filling (strawberry-rhubarb) and it tasted great.  The only problem I had was that the filling flowed over the edges of the pan and I smoked out the house.  Oopsies!  Now I know I don't need quite as much filling....and I need a pan on the lower rack to catch any drippings...

Couple of Snacks/Treats

I made  Hot Cinnamon Apple Bars and some Whole Wheat Snickerdoodles last week.  Both were keepers!

This Week's Menu

So, last week's menu got switched around quite a bit and I never got around to the Mini Fritattas...  Bummer.  Thursday nights are going to turn into leftover or fend night because Britt isn't home all day...so I won't be planning much for those days..

Su- 4 Packet Roast with Carrots and Mashed Potatoes
M- Spicy Shrimp Wraps  (recipe from my sister...I'll try to find it online)
T- French Dip made w/leftover roast
W- Breakfast for Supper (haven't decided what just yet)
Th- Leftovers/Fend
F- Homemade Pizza

OH...and last Saturday I made these Honey Lime Drumsticks (along with Baked Buffalo wings for Britt) and they were a big hit with Odin!!

This Week's Menu

This coming week we were going to have a Summer Theme...but it is so DANG cold here that we didn't really feel in the mood anymore... so... we'll just continue with the stickin' to your ribs type of food...

Su- Ham in the Crockpot, Mashed Potatoes, Mixed Veggies
M- Popcorn Shrimp, Oven Fries, Broccoli 
T-Ham and Cheese Sliders, Chips, Fruit of some sort
W- Oatmeal Pancakes
Th- Ham and Cheese Mini Frittatas
F- Homemade Pizza

Tagging

I am going to do my best to try to make my site a little more user-friendly.  I get frustrated looking for a recipe I posted any more than a month ago so I can imagine it might be annoying to others, too!  I will try tagging my posts and having a menu to choose from...

Please don't "time me" on this  :)  I'm not sure how long it'll take and how much time I'll have to do it!

Updates

True to the menu I made Chicken Corn Chowder with Sweet Potatoes on Tuesday and I really liked it...but I was alone.  Britt didn't even finish hers and the kids weren't crazy about it either...and it made A LOT.   I ended up freezing half of it and trying it on the kids later in the week (it didn't take).  I thought it was a wonderful warm bowl of goodness... the sweet potatoes were sooo yummy.  But, alas... it might be the last time I make that for awhile...

My big cooking news is that I finally made a homemade pizza crust that was SO GOOD!!  We like our pizza thin and crispy around these parts and for some reason it's been a goal of mine to make it at home...and I DID IT!!  It was a recipe from a cookbook I got for Christmas from my Mom:  America's Test Kitchen:  Healthy Family Cookbook.  I can't seem to find the recipe posted anywhere online but I'll keep looking!  (I don't like to post recipes from newly published cookbooks unless I can find them online somewhere... it's just me.)

And, finally...I made the Apple Bars that I posted quite awhile back... I actually have made 2 pans of them this weekend because the first was gone in a snap.  Definitely a family favorite!  (Again... I double the apples and half the topping on this one!)

31 lbs!

As of Monday I have lost 31 lbs (in 15 weeks) on my One Year Plan.  I think I will start calling it My Life Plan, though...Because I hope and plan on continuing this forever!  I have been really happy with my results and I am following the philosophy that I don't change anything I can't live with forever. 

Nutritionally there is a lot of places that I can tune up...but I am not going to change much since I haven't had a gain in the entire 15 weeks.  As far as exercise I've really hit a rhythm and am feeling stronger.

My goal is to lose about 40 more... and sometimes it is hard for me not to get frustrated with how long that is going to take...but if I keep going as I have been I'll be fine!

Upcoming Recipes...

I'm not sure how this week's menu is going to fall into place yet...but here are the recipes I'm making:

Southern Baked Beans and Z'Tejas Cornbread   I made this tonight.  WOW.  Lots of flavor and VERY filling...it has made my tummy full and warm on this very cold night in ND!


Chicken Corn Chowder with Sweet Potatoes  and popovers

I think the week will round out with a 'breakfast for supper option' (maybe French Toast?) and leftovers and pizza.  We also may have a hot dog night... Britt loves them so I give in from time to time.  :)

Ice Cream Cake Roll

Britt requested an Ice Cream Cake Roll for her birthday...  I'd never made one so was anxious to give it a shot!  I have to say that the rolling part was a challenge and we ended up rolling it up and smushing it together and wrapping it in foil and tossing it in the freezer...

and Voila...it came out beautifully!  Who knew...?!

This tasted really good but we did miss having frosting...so...we just spread some on before eating!

Ice Cream Cake Roll

Heaven, I mean, Pie in a Jar

I saw this on a blog I follow and thought they looked like a fun idea so I made a couple yesterday and LOVED IT!!  Such a great idea to have on hand for guests or to give as gifts...  This time around I just used store bought crust and filling... and I'll probably continue to use the crust but will switch to my own filling.... 

Single Serve Pie in a Jar

Reviews from the Week...

The other night I made "The Best Ham Sandwiches Ever"... and they were fun and really good...but I think BEST might be stretching it.  :)  The hawaiian sweet rolls really were great...I don't think I've had them before and I will definitely use them again to make slider sandwiches...

Tonight I made the Thai Shrimp Curry and it was GREAT!  Next time I will use a lot more red curry paste because it didn't have much kick...  but this is a keeper!!  Lots of rich deep flavor and very healthful!

The rest of the week we've got repeats and pizza and eating out for Britt's birthday!!

Oatmeal in the Crockpot

I've been wanting to make this for a very long time...  and I'm glad I finally got around to it.  This was a GREAT weekend breakfast for everyone to wake up to...and I'll definitely be making this during the week, too.  We all like that it uses the very healthy steel cut oats in the recipe!


Oatmeal in the Crockpot

Chocolate Banana Snack Cake

I had some overripe bananas on the counter so I searched for a "banana and chocolate chip" recipe on Cooking Light and came across this one... YUM!  Just what I wanted this afternoon...

I made a few changes based on the reviews I read and I doubled the bananas and I added mini chocolate chips.  We ate this warm with ice cream for afternoon snack... This is a keeper!

Chocolate Banana Snack Cake

This Week's Menu

Su- Ham in the crockpot, Mashed Potatoes, Carrots
M- The Best Ham Sandwiches Ever, Chips
T- Shrimp Curry
W- Crumb Topped French Toast
Th- Pizza
F- Chicken Fried Steak (HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRITTNEY!)

I made the Ham in the crockpot today and it was SO GOOD.... very juicy and delicious...and sooo easy!  Mine was done really fast so was on "warm" most of the day  :)

Couple of Treats

Here's a couple of baked goods I've made this week.  Both are good... the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars aren't all that healthy but sure were tasty!  The Pumpkin Muffins are a great healthy snack for all of us...

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

Auntie Kate's Pea Soup

I have to say I NEVER thought I would like pea soup.  In fact, when Kate mentioned she had a "yummy" pea soup recipe I nearly gagged... but, since Britt really likes pea soup I thought I would give Kate's recipe a try...

AND OH MY GOSH.  It is SOOO GOOD.  Not only that but it is very healthy, low calorie and full of nutrients!!!  Thanks Kate!!!

Pea Soup Ingredients

	3 1/2 cup(s) fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
	2 medium uncooked Yukon Gold potato(es), peeled, cut into 1/2-inch chunks (about 2 cups)
	1 1/2 medium leek(s), chopped, white and light green part(about 2 cups)
	2 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), peeled
	1 1/4 tsp table salt, divided, or more to taste
	1/4 tsp black pepper, divided
	10 oz frozen green peas, thawed (about 2 cups)
	1/2 cup(s) plain fat-free yogurt
	3 Tbsp dill, chopped, divided
	1/4 cup(s) tomato(es), diced

Instructions

• In a large saucepan, combine broth, potatoes, leeks, garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are almost tender, about 12 minutes.
  
• Add peas to saucepan, stir and cook until vegetables are tender, about 3 minutes; remove saucepan from heat and let cool about 5 minutes.
  
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, 2 tablespoons of dill, remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper until smooth; set aside.
  
• Puree soup in saucepan using an immersion blender or in batches in a blender (be careful not to splatter hot liquid); stir in remaining 1 tablespoon of dill.

This Week's Menu

M- Chili and Cornbread leftovers
T- Auntie Kate's Pea Soup
W- Fend
Th- Baked Potatoes and leftover Chili
F- Homemade Pizza

The BEST Cornbread Ever

I have never been a big fan of cornbread... I mean, it's alright but always seemed a little too dry for me.  Britt, however, loves to have cornbread with chili and I tended to just throw together whatever box mix we had around.

Yesterday I came across a recipe for cornbread that caught my eye...  Z'Tejas Cornbread.  Z'Tejas was our favorite restaurant when we lived in the Seattle area.  We miss it greatly and I actually do remember how good their cornbread was.  So, I gave it a go...

Oh my.  This is simply delicious.  I am now a cornbread lover.  We ate it with the Beef and Bean Chili Verde that I've made many times before.  PERFECTION.  We are already excited for our leftovers tomorrow night.  :)

Happy New Year!

The last couple weeks have been filled with holiday meals, leftovers and being stranded in a blizzard...so I haven't made very many new recipes.  One I did make was this Monkey Bread one on Christmas morning.  I actually had made it a week before and it totally BOMBED... but I figured out what I did wrong and gave it another try and it was great!

The secret to making this successfully is to NOT use the whole package of dinner rolls...I used around 18-20 and it still overflowed a bit.... You may also want to put a pan on the bottom rack to catch any drippings...