Goal for January!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas.... we sure enjoyed our time with our family!

I have set a goal for January and a New Year's Resolution... I will start by sharing the New Year's Resolution....clean my house. Not just clean my house, organize my house, clean out cabinets and closets... I want to feel like I have decluttered and dejunked by January 1st of 2011... yes, we have that much stuff...

the goal for January....


Eat From the Pantry Challenge

Check out the moneysavingmom.com site for the details... but basically the scoop is to clean out the pantry... spend the month grocery shopping as little as possible. Most of the moms are hoping to only pick up eggs and milk... I think the goal for her is to spend only $75 the whole month on groceries.... there were over 100 moms signed up on her site. All are supposed to blog about their experience...

My goal is to not eat out more than 4 times in the month and I am upping my grocery bill to $30 a week so $120 for the month. Which would save me about $400 for the month! Wow - that would be exciting! I think it will be okay the first two weeks of the month... it's the last two weeks that could be challenging!

Join me on this adventure! Let me know if you are going to accept the challenge!

Happy New Year! I look forward to sharing the details of this challenge with you!

white christmas?

it isn't looking like a white Christmas this year here in Kansas City... what a bummer. It is the only time of year that I like a little snow.... and actually, what I like more than those wet, cold flakes falling from the sky... is the sound. I am not sure I have the words to describe the sound... and you don't get it during the day.... usually Christmas Eve is best because there isn't much traffic... but I love to open the front door and hear the sound of snow falling. Such a peaceful tranquil sound.

So, Ginger had her tonsils taken out on Friday (today is Tuesday). It has been a very very long 5 days. In fact, I texted my husband today and told him to please choose a nice insane asylum for me...she is lucky I love her because she has been pushing my patience the past couple of days.

But you all do not tune in to hear about my children woes....I think you all come to read about new recipes.... which alas, I do not have any. But you will have to check in after Christmas! Christmas Eve I am trying bread pudding recipe... it is a lower calorie version of Paula Deen's Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding....I would love to hear if you are making anything special for the holidays! Love new recipes!

Thank you all for your friendships the past year... I wish you the merriest of Christmases! Love to all!

ah... the kids have gone to school

one of my favorite times of the day... the kids have left for school, the hubster has gone to work... I have a cup of chai tea latte... life is good!

What has happened in the 12 days since I last posted....the son had his 12th birthday! Seven boys came over, ran around, had a firepit in the driveway, made smores and did "boy stuff"... spent the night... apparently they did not go to bed until 5 a.m.! Yikes!

Since we made smores... we did not have a birthday cake.... so in the goodie bags, I included Cake Balls. Cake balls are truly a little piece of heaven.... ohhh yummm... and a gazillion trillion calories!



I think I made mine a little too big... they were falling off of the lollipop sticks... which you do not have to use... I just thought they would be a little easier to dip in the white chocolate...I will definitely include the recipe - you have to try making them at least once!

We spent Thanksgiving up in Minnesota with my husband's family - and had a great time, of course! Now we are back trying to play catch-up and get ready for Christmas! I really wish there was more time between Thanksgiving and Christmas... I don't feel that I really get to take the time and appreciate each holiday... rush rush rush....

Speaking of rush, rush, rush.... off to clean house I go!

Cake Balls

Will need to refridgerate a couple of times throughout the process so it takes a little time. Not a last minute recipe.

Cake Mix
Frosting
Almond Bark

Make your favorite cake according to the recipe or the box...I made a confetti cake in a 9X13 pan. Let cool about 45 minutes... won't be 100% cool but will be cool enough to not melt the frosting. Break up the cake into a bowl and add a can of frosting... (I used the confetti frosting). Mix all up well. Put in the fridge for about an hour. Scoop into balls onto wax paper. Can stick lollipop sticks in if desired. Put in the freezer for about 2 hours. Melt the almond bark - can use either vanilla or chocolate (can use those colored chips you can get at Amish stores or in the cake area of Michael's or JoAnn's). Dip the balls... can add sprinkles or such... let the almond bark harden and enjoy!

turkey day!

Ginger is still fighting some virus with her throat (actually went to the ENT and she is getting her tonsils out over Christmas vacation...) and then we will be leaving for Minnesota for Thanksgiving so this will probably be the only blog I get written before we get back.

A week from today, we will all be cranking up our ovens...fixing turkey, stuffing, potatoes, etc.

I have a confession to make. We don't LOVE turkey. I have a recipe for dry brining a turkey which number one is easy and number two is very good! That is probably the only way we like turkey...the recipe is at the bottom.

We like to have a Thanksgiving day dinner that actually is probably a little more what the pilgrims had.... this year we are having: turkey and stuffing, lobster, oysters, crab legs, sausage stuffed butternut squash (see October 8th posting for recipe), and other goodies....I am looking forward to this feast! Driving up to Minnesota with a husband, two kids, a dog, a ton of luggage and a partridge in a pear tree - now that is another story...

and so I can tell PMan that I wrote about him in the blog.... he turned 12 on Tuesday. Saturday, we are having 96 boys over to have pizza, play flashlight tag, hang out by the fire pit and spend the night.....okay 96 might be a slight exaggeration... (8 total but I am sure it is going to feel like 96). This will probably be his last "birthday party" so I relented and am letting him have more people than usual.... now I am trying to come up with fun (cheap) party favors....
off to Target I go....

I will leave you with the recipe for the Dry Brine Turkey!

1 (12-14lb) turkey - either fresh or completely thawed
1/4 cup kosher salt mixed with lemon pepper and herbs such as sage, rosemary and thyme
2 medium onions unpeeled and cut into eighths
2 medium carrots unpeeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
2 medium celery ribs cut into 1 inch chunks
1 1/2 cups water (or more if needed)

The night before: remove the giblets from the turkey, cut off the tail if attached, and reserve for making turkey broth if wanted. Rinse turkey thoroughly. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Sprinkle the salt all over it, starting on the back side, and then the cavity and finally the breast. Put the turkey on a wire rack set over a rimmed pan or platter and refrigerate, uncovered, overnight.

One hour before roasting: remove the turkey from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature. (will not be "pretty") If any juices or salt have fallen into the pan - rinse the bottom of the pan if using that pan for roasting. 15-20 minutes before roasting, position a rack in the lowest part of the oven and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Put half the onions, carrots and celery in the turkey cavity. Tuck the wings behind the neck and under the turkey and place bird in a large flameproof heavy-duty roasting pan (if not already). Scatter the remaining onions, carrots and celry around the turkey.

Roast for 30 minutes. Pour 1 cup of water into the roasting pan and roast for another 30 minutes. Add the remaining 1/2 cup water to the roasting pan and continue to roast until the little thing pops or an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh away from the bone, registeres 170 degrees and the juices run clear when you remove the thermometer, about another hour for a 12 pounder. Vegetables should be kept dry enough to brown but moist enough to keep from burning - may need to add more water.

Because of all of the salt - may not want to use the vegetables.... will just need to test for taste. Also do not put stuffing in the turkey because of the salt!

If anyone tries this - please please comment and let me know what you think of it! I thought it was absolutely the moistest turkey I have ever had!

where oh where has melissa gone

I haven't run away.... although it has been rather tempting...just busy. Not a good busy, not a bad busy... just busy....needless to say, I haven't cooked much (not good for the waist line...)

The daughter has been fighting strep throat, a virus, and has a cheerleading competition coming up. The son has had yearbook club and a birthday coming up. The hubbie... has been enjoying our beautiful fall weather - which means that people want to play golf. So he has been working...

I started volunteering at our church office two mornings a week which has turned into 3 days a week. I think I finally have things figured out and can get serious about keeping it to two mornings a week...

That's it in a nutshell.... just busy... but I do need to start thinking about Thanksgiving... which I have a wonderful dry brine recipe for turkey....I will post that soon!

For now, just know I haven't fallen off the face of the earth...

almost Halloween!

It was an absolutely perfect fall day on Saturday here in Kansas City.... so I dragged the kiddos out and took some pictures...they whined and complained initially but they got into it after a bit...

I have a very very long to-do list (including making Chinese costumes for the hubbie and myself - ugh - why did I say I would do that?) so I am going to make this pretty short...

I have 2 recipes - both were good! The first is cheese-stuffed manicotti from the WW cookbook...

cheese-stuffed manicotti

1 tsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves minced
1 (14 1/2 oz) cans tomato puree
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups part-skim (light) ricotta
1 1/2 cups part-skim mozzarella
3/4 c parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup fresh parsley
12 manicotti shells - cooked

1. Cook manicotti shells.
2. In large skillet, heat oil, saute garlic about 2 minutes. Add tomato puree, oregano, basil and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes. (If it seems too thick - add a little water.)
3. Preheat oven to 350 - spray a 9x13 with pam.
4. In a bowl - combine ritcotta, mozzarella, parmesan, egg and parsley. Fill the manicotti shells with the cheese mixture, place in baking dish. Pour sauce over shells. Bake until bubbly - about 30-40 minutes.
368 calories for 2 stuffed shells
Variations: can add cooked italian sauce to the cheese mixture or can use the imitation crab to add to the cheese mixture (will increase calorie count)

**Pasta has always been a low-fat favorite, but the sauce on pasta can be a high-fat trap.**

So - you might remember me talking about the Land O Lakes cookbook.... I found it... good ole Amazon! It was a used one - but in perfect condition....so I will have to make my chicken pot pie from there soon! But the other evening I tried a sauce that I put over baked chicken breasts.... this was delicious!!! I would easily serve this one to company!!

I just baked my boneless skinless chicken breasts with a little season salt on them... when they were done... I poured this over them...

sour cream white wine sauce

3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp minced garlic (I didn't use this much)
2 tbsp flour
1/4 c chopped parsley
1/2 c chicken broth
1/4 c white wine
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
1 cup sour cream

In 2 quart pot - melt butter, stir in garlic. Cook about a minute, stir in flour, continue cooking until bubbly (1 min). Reduce heat. Stir in remaining ingredients except sour cream. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens. Stir in sour cream. Continue cooking and stirring occasionally, until heated through. Pour over chicken.

Don't know if I will get the chance to post again before Halloween - if not, have a great Spooky Day!

favorite season - fall

Oh I do love fall! I love the crisp feeling but not so cold that you have to bundle up with a full length parka, gloves, scarves, hats, boots, etc.... The colors of fall are my favorite also. Those trees that turn that beautiful shade of salmony red.... just amazing! We are feeling a little cheated here in Kansas City.... we went from warm and sunny to downright COLD! I sure would like to start a petition to bring back fall...







Our little 6 pound maltipoo was sitting on my lap shivering.... so I put a blanket on her... my son thought it made a funny picture so he pulled out the camera!



To make a long story short.... we went out with friends on Saturday evening... before we went to dinner, we had appetizers... a cheese ball here at our house. This cheese ball is easy and good!

I also made a dessert for us - it was Pumpkin Praline Dessert... I am not sure if I have made this before or not... but pretty yummy! Again, another nice easy recipe. A good one for fall.








And since I have been slacking on using recipes from the cookbooks - I made a point to try one from the Fix It and Forget It Lightly - delicious chicken and vegetables . Delicious might be stretching it a bit. It was good. It would have been better if the chicken wasn't so dry. But that might be my own fault. My chicken breasts were frozen so I cooked it for about 7 hours on low when the recipe calls for 4-5 hours on high. I served it with some noodles... the mushrooms in it were really good! (190 calories)



Fun Info: Americans are on the low end of mushroom consumption at only 4 pounds a person a year... Japanese come in at 29 pounds a year per person!!







Finally, last night I made the kielbasa soup that I talked about a few days ago... the daughter doesn't like the kielbasa but she eats all of the potatoes out of it.... the son only likes the kielbasa. Wouldn't you know! We served it with some mozzarella toast.... love soup in the fall!













Cheese Ball

1 package 3 cups shredded mild cheddar
4-5 green onions chopped tops and all
1 cup slivered almonds
6-8 strips crisp bacon - crumbled
1-2 cups mayonnaise

Mix all together and pack into small mixing bowl. Refridgerate about 3 hours - invert bowl so the cheese comes out in a dome shape. Serve with crackers.





Delicious Chicken and Vegetables

1 cup fresh mushrooms sliced
2 carrots sliced
1 onion sliced
2 celery ribes sliced
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 tsp slat
1/2 tsp pepper
dash of red pepper flakes
1 cup water
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried parsley

Combine vegetables in slow cooker (I added some potatoes). Put chicken on top. Mix together salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, water and wine... pour over. Sprinkle with basil and parsley.
Cover and cook on high 4-5 hours.





Kielbasa Soup

1 package kielbasa sausage (the low cal or turkey works fine!)
1/2 onion
celery (optional)
2 cup carrots
1 cup cabbage
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp thyme
2 Tbl vinegar
1 tsp salt
2 potatoes chopped
carton of vegetable broth
3 cups water with 2 chicken bullion cubes

Brown the sausage, onion and celery if you use it. Add all other ingredients. Simmer for at least 2 hours. If longer - add potatoes the last hour.





Praline Pumpkin Dessert

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 package Betty Crocker Super Moist white cake mix
1 1/2 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup butter melted

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13 pan. Mix pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar and pumpkin pie spice until smooth. Pour into pan.

Sprinkle the cake mix (dry) over mixture. Sprinkle with pecans. Pour butter over. Bake until lightly browned on top.

internet?

A million years ago, when I was hanging out with the dinosaurs... and living in Beatrice, Nebraska...I had a friend that had this cookbook put out by Land O Lakes... the people that make butter. It had absolutely one of the yummiest chicken pot pie recipes. Unfortunately, in the three moves since Beatrice - I have somehow lost the recipe....

and we are having chilly rainy weather here in KC, so it is perfect for chicken pot pie! So I went to the internet to see if I could find the recipe.... alas, could not. But found another that I tried.

It was pretty good. I still like the other better and would like to find that recipe. But this one was pretty easy and had cheese in it so my family liked that.

I know I cited three cookbooks I was going to be using and this week I must confess, I have fallen away from all three. I mainly used the internet. Please forgive me...

The following evening - I made one of those "tried and true" recipes... one that I don't have written down anywhere but was all gone before I could even take a picture! This is super easy and always gets compliments.... it's bbq in a crockpot. I get (at Aldi's) a package of the country style no bone ribs and put them in a pamed crock pot. Sprinkle a little seasoned salt, maybe some celery salt and then smother with bbq sauce (our favorite is the original KC Masterpiece). Let them cook on low all day... shred up before you serve (may want to add more sauce)... serve on hamburger buns... YUM YUM YUM! Easy and tasty! Everyone in the family eats these! Including picky Pman!

Finally, last night we had dover sole, roasted fingerling potatoes and peas. I tried a sole recipe that I found on the internet... it was okay. It was easy which was nice... but wasn't fabulous. If anyone has a good fish recipe for sole... I would love to have it... (recipe at end ) While I was out with my mother, we stopped by Whole Food so I could get the fish... we had been to see the Andy Warhol exhibit at Union Station (pretty good! $12 to get in.... maybe a little pricy - it wasn't a huge exhibit but had a good sampling of his work!) and the Wyeth exhibit at Kemper Museum. (I am not a huge Wyeth fan... but it was free and I love lunch at the Kemper!) Back to my dinner.... Whole Foods had the packages of fingerling potatoes on sale for $1.99 (regularly $4.99 - huge bargain!) so I bought two. Now, I have never cooked with fingerling potatoes before but was anxious to try. Once again, I got on the internet and found several recipes for roasting the potatoes in the oven. Most were pretty similar... just used different herbs but I will include the recipe that I used because we really enjoyed the potatoes! I thought they were a very nice change to your basic baked potato.

Andrew Wyeth Andy Warhol

This evening I think I may make my Klebasa soup...

Time for recipes....

Chicken Pot Pie

Package of frozen mixed veggies

2 cups cooked cubed chicken

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp thyme

pepper

packaged pie crust

Mix together all items except pie crust. Put pie crust in pan put mixture in and top with pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees. 30-40 minutes.

Note: Typical Melissa, I made my pie in the morning.... I like to have dinner taken care of as early as possible. So I did not use a bottom crust (it would get tooo mushy sitting in the fridge all day.) I just put a top crust on.

Dover Sole

Dover Sole fillets

Olive Oil

Salt and pepper

Lemon Juice

White Wine

Parmesan Cheese

Paprika

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a little olive oil in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Lay out your fish fillets. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

Bake 5 min.

Pull out - drizzle a little white wine and lemon juice on top. Top with parmesan cheese and sprinkle paprika on top.

Bake until flaky but not overdone (about 5 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets.)

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Lightly oil 9x13 pan with olive oil. Cut fingerlings into 1/2 inch slices. In bowl, with the fingerlings add some olive oil, salt (kosher is nice), pepper, thyme, oregano and chives. Mix until coated, lay in the pan so only one layer. Bake at 425 degrees about 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are done.

how time flies....

my oh my - how time flies.... my goal was to blog twice a week.... and lately that has been a tough goal to obtain....and unfortunately, for no good reason. Just a lot of little things going on in our lives.

But let's get to the real reason we are here....FOOD! Saturday morning, I made the taco chicken soup recipe from the Fix It and Forget It Lightly (FIFIL) cookbook. It is a crock pot recipe.

I was a little hesitant when I was putting it together because it looked so thick and not at all soupy... I even pulled out my chicken broth and had it setting beside the crockpot in case I decided to add it....

and just what you love about a crock pot - I walked off and left...

took the son and a friend to see a play at the Coterie Theatre and had lunch at Fritz's at Crown Center. This is the two of them... they got sour candy at one of the stores.... eww was it sour!

when we got home - it smelled delicious!!! And once I stirred it - I realized - no chicken broth was needed! We served it with some grated cheese, lite sour cream and a few fritos on top. Without our extras it comes in at 210 calories a serving... so even with our goodies on top... it is a nice low cal dinner. And everyone LOVED it! Probably one of our favorites... I will most definitely be making this one again! (Recipe at end)

If you have been reading my blog, then you know I was looking for a recipe to use a butternut squash. I finally ended up pulling one from my Joy of Cooking book. It is the baked butternut squash stuffed with sausage and apples recipe. When I first read through the recipe it was appearing a little time consuming... but I went ahead and took the plunge. It had sausage in it and the hubbie loves himself some italian sausage... and on that note - it didn't specify as to what type of sausage...I bought some mild bulk italian sausage and a package of the sweet italian sausage link things from Johnsonville. I used about 1/2 pound of the bulk and two links of the sweet sausage that I squeezed out of the casings. (Froze the rest.) That turned out to be a good combo... most yummy!

I don't know if you have heard - but there is a pumpkin shortage this year.... canned pumpkin is hard to get in the stores. Well, I was at my local WalMart and found 5 cans so I snagged them all. And as long as we were having a squashy meal, I made some pumpkin bread. I have an old recipe from my grandmother - but I don't LOVE it. It uses oil and has that oily taste to it. Since I had the Joy of Cooking book out - I tried the one they had. This might be my new pumpkin bread recipe.... very good and uses a lot of spices - which I like!

Have the daughter home today with strep throat... so I guess I will start looking through the books and try to find something yummy for tonight...

I am not including the butternut squash recipe or the pumpkin bread since most people have Joy of Cooking - but if you don't - feel free to e-mail me or send a comment on here and I will be happy to send to you!

TACO CHICKEN SOUP

1 envelope taco seasoning

32 oz can low-sodium V8 juice

16 oz jar salsa

15 oz can black beans (drained)

1 cup corn (canned or frozen)

1 cup frozen peas

2 whole chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

Combine all ingredients except peas (might hold out chicken if you are cooking for longer than 4 hours.) Cover cook on low 4-6 hours. Add peas and chicken if held out. (The chicken can actually dry out and get mushy if cooked too long.)

recipes...

I have had a couple of requests for me to include recipes.... I will have to experiment with different ways to make this work... if I were good at the linking thing.... I would link over to the recipes... but I am not so much of a computer geek....so for now, I will try putting the recipes at the end of the blog so you don't have to read them if you are not interested.


As you see above, I tried the pesto-crusted fillet of salmon.... it was outstanding. This recipe is from the McCormick and Schmick (M&S) cookbook... it shouldn't have been too bad on the calories... and of course the big plus is the omega 3's from the salmon! M&S does not put the calorie counts in their cookbook.


I made my red onion relish ahead of time and used a jar of pesto (cheated and did not make my own...) but it was still delicious! and I used jasmine rice in my rice cooker.


For dessert - we tried a recipe given to me by a friend chocolate zucchini cake..... yum. I am always trying recipes in which I can sneak a few more vegetables into my kids diet... well, it didn't work this time. For some reason, they didn't like this one. I did! The zucchini made it very moist. I probably could have gone with fewer chocolate chips... 4 cups was a lot!

Last night - we had our tried and true - beer can chicken! - Love it because not only does the chicken always turn out moist, but EASY!! Beer can chicken is quick to make - but it does take about an hour on the grill and works best with a gas grill. I take a whole chicken and clean it up - pull the skin away from the meat and slide down spices in between the skin and the meat. My favorites are either the greek seasonings or the turkish seasonings from Penzeys Spices.... put the chicken over half of a can of beer... I think that is the neck side you stick it on... the chicken will be standing up on the can.... they have little stands at Bed, Bath & Beyond if you want... We have found it works best to put the whole thing (chicken and beer can) on an old cookie sheet that we have lined with tin foil and put that on the grill. Probably about medium heat for around an hour. A lot of the fat drips off onto the cookie sheet (which keeps it from flaming up and burning). Again, I don't know calorie count.... but my intuition tells me that as long as you don't eat the skin... it probably isn't too bad.

Since I spent my morning at the dmv..... ugh... ($1200 later) therefore, I decided I needed simple tonight. So I turned around and used part of the chicken that was leftover and tried the zesty chicken-noodle casserole from the Weight Watchers (WW) cookbook. I knew it was going to be $600 but was a little surprised at the $1200 - didn't realize that when we bought hubbie's new car - we only paid sales tax and not property tax! The husband and daughter both thought it (the chicken) was a little "blah". I thought the dmv was really "blah", the chicken on the other hand, was okay. Reminded me of tuna noodle casserole....was it good enough for 414 calories a serving??? Probably not. For 414 calories... there are some other recipes that look yummier to me. Is it worth $1200 to drive our cars for another year.... well, I have to admit I am rather attached to my car. I used these noodles that I absolutely love... they are Amish noodles. They are in the regular pasta area of my grocery.... but I really like them.

With our chicken noodle blah casserole, we had some acorn squash that I picked up at the Farmer's Market.... very good! I have a butternut squash that I am trying to find a good recipe to try....surprisingly there wasn't anything except soup in the WW cookbook. Maybe M&S has something....

Since we weren't overly impressed with the chicken recipe, I am not going to include it - but if you want it - please feel free to leave me a comment and I will include.

pesto-crusted fillet of salmon

2 ounces of pesto
1 salmon fillet
1 ounce vegetable oil
3 ounces fresh spinach
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons white wine
1 tablespoon cold butter
3/4 cup cooked rice

Coat the salmon with the pesto in an even layer. Heat the oil in a teflon saute pan. Sear on medium high heat pesto side down for 3 or 4 minutes. Turn the fish over, add the garlic, spinach and white wine to the pan. Cover it and reduce heat to low. Allow the fish to cook and the spinach to wilt for 3 or 4 minutes (I think mine took closer to 5 or 6). Remove the fish and set aside. Place the spinach in the center of the serving plate and return the pan to the heat. Add the butter and swirl to mealt. Place salmon fillet on the spinach and top with Red Onion Relish. Drizzle butter around the plate and serve with rice.

red onion relish

1 finely diced medium red onion
2 finely diced garlic cloves
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon sambal oelek - some kind of hot sauce - I just used hot sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3/4 cup red wine
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ounce capers
salt and pepper

Gently saute onion and garlic until tender. Remove from heat and set aside. In a separate pot, reduce red wine to 1/4 cup. Combine all the ingredients and toss well. Salt and pepper to taste.

acorn squash

Cut acorn squash in half. Clean seeds out. Cook inside side down in a baking pan (like a 9x13) with about 1/2 inch of water for 30 minutes at around 350 degrees. Pull out of oven, turn over - add butter and brown sugar (maybe a teaspoon of each) and then put back in the over for another 30 minutes. (can add about 1/2 teaspoon of finely chopped onion also if desired)

chocolate zucchini cake

1/2 cup soft margarine/butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sour milk
2 1/2 cups sifted flour
4 Tablespoons cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups shredded zucchini
4 cups chocolate chips

Cream margarine, oil & sugar. Add eggs, vannila & sour milk; beat with mixer until smooth. Mix together all dry ingredients & add to creamed mixture; beat well with mixer. Stir in zucchini. spoon batter into greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle top with chocolate chips. (This really needs NO frosting!) Bake @ 325 for 40-45 minutes.

skinny one night -not the next!

SKINNY Monday

Monday was a rainy cool day here in Kansas City. The perfect day for some chili. So I tried the Weight Watchers Beef and Bean Chili. As mentioned before, I love a crock pot... so I choose to make mine in the crock pot.

As you can see, this recipe has a lot of vegetables in it... I had some leftover corn on the cob - so I cut it off the cob and threw it in also. It cooked great in the crock pot. I put it on low all day. This is my kind of recipe....

11:47 am and my kitchen was all cleaned up from making dinner! woo hoo! All I had to do was make some corn bread and dinner was served!

The chili itself... well, it was okay. I am not sure if I had some old chili powder, if cooking it all day in the crock pot - the chili powder lost its potency? But it was not spicy at all and really had no chili taste to it. I should have tested it a couple of times throughout the day...

Changes - I did add some corn and onions don't do well with me... so I only put in about 1/4 of a onion. In the future - I would possibly add more chili powder.

This recipe was 341 calories a serving...

NOT SO SKINNY Tuesday....

Last night, my daughter put in a request for Crab Rangoon. Definitely not on the healthy menu. But delicious and really not difficult to make...I normally only give recipes to those that request them... but this one is a tried and true we have used in our family for years....try it!

Crab Rangoon

1 package of fake crab cut into small bite size pieces

1 package of wonton skins (found in the produce section)

2 8 ounce packages of cream cheese (I did use the 1/3 less fat)

1 or 2 teaspoons of either steak sauce or worchestershire sauce

dash or two of garlic powder

Put almost a whole bottle of oil (I use canola) in a deep pot and start warming up for frying the rangoons...(the unhealthy part). Mix all above except the wonton skins. Put a teaspoon full of the cream cheese mixture in the middle of a wonton skin. Dab the corners with egg white. Pull the 4 corners up together and pinch. Cream cheese mixture should last for the whole package of wonton skins. Deep fry at medium to medium high heat. They will float when they are done. You may need to turn them over to get the tops done. Should take 2-3 minutes for each batch. I put about 6 in my pot at a time.

Serve warm with either sweet and sour sauce or duck sauce....

a fortnight....

20 Days - since I last posted. Isn't that a fortnight? I have been trying to read some of the "classics" such as Jane Eyre and Tess of the D'ubervilles. They talk about visiting relatives for a fortnight... I think it is 20 days...can you imagine having family visit for 20 days.... yikes.



Anyways.... a lot has happened in our fortnight... the youngest, P-man as we call him, had pneumonia and was in the hospital for a few days... but is home, doing great and causing trouble! The hubster got a new car (a camaro), so we can check "mid-life crises" off of his to-do list. I painted the dining room. And the daughter, Ginger (second from the left in purple), went to the Homecoming Dance. Which that alone could probably elicit about 4 or 5 different postings. Somehow, every dance and event at school has become this huge production. An hour and half of pictures, hundreds of dollars, wanting to party all night long... and in case you are wondering... I am the meanest mom in town. Only did about 45 min of pictures, spent only a hundred dollars, and made the girls come home at midnight and wouldn't let them go to a party.

Back to the Hungry Girl cookbook...here's where I am at on this cookbook. I think it is a good cookbook but it isn't the type of cooking I do. Most of the recipes are quick easy on the go recipes. I prefer to make up my dinner recipes in the morning after the kids have gone to school so everything is cleaned up and put away by noon. I usually do a lot of crock pot cooking and am pretty good at adapting recipes to the crock pot. (Made a delicious recipe - Beef Mushroom Barley Soup from the Penzey Spice magazine that I was able to make in the crock pot.) This book is a lot of wraps and under 10-15 minute recipes. My main criticism would be that she uses lots of splenda and what I call "fake foods" - substitutes. I probably lean more towards using natural organic items. I also have had a hard time finding the noodles and a few other items that she suggests. If I can ever find the noodles - then there are a few pasta recipes that I will definitely be trying!

I am not giving up on Hungry Girl! I love the fun facts and little tips she gives... but I am going to add a little variety some recipes from 3 other cookbooks that have been sitting on my shelf gathering dust.



Weight Watchers is probably the closest to a low-cal healthy Betty Crocker cookbook. Has casseroles and crock pot recipes. Pretty normal everyday food - your basics. And ingredients are items that you most likely already have in your pantry.

McCormick & Schmick's - well, it isn't super low-cal - but we have all heard about the health benefits of fish! And there is a recipe for lobster pot-pie... how can I NOT try that one??? (probably zero health benefits) The cookbook I have is not exactly the one pictured... I got mine free at Costco...so if I try something and you want a copy of the recipe - please let me know!

Last - as I mentioned, especially with fall coming, I find crock-pot cooking extremely convenient for a Mom so I will be pulling recipes from the Fix It and Forget It Lightly! I have family members eating at different times so this is great for me.

If you have any special requests that you would like for me to try- please let me know! I do love to try a new recipe!

virus at our house

yep - there's a virus at our house... actually, there are 2. child number 2 has been sick since Friday.... but one of the computers also has a virus...keep giving the kid robitussin for his cough... can I give the computer some also?

one would think I am using all of this extra time to bake up 200 calorie goodies... but alas...no. It is all I can do to make sure dinner has been made... therefore; I have no recipes to report on and actually probably won't for another few days.

hope to be back soon!

the weekend over already

how did it happen - it is Sunday evening and the weekend is over....

I have 3 different recipes I have tried since I last blogged... ez tomato-basil chicken coming in at 175 calories a serving, the 129 calorie totally pumpin' fettuccine and so-good chocolate chip softies at 88 calories

Let's start with the ez tomato-basil chicken - ez was right - definitely a recipe to keep on hand for short notice... very easy! Although it called for canned crushed tomatoes with basil.... I couldn't find them - I just did the canned petite diced tomatoes and then pulled some basil from our garden and sliced it up and put it in...the hubbie liked this a lot... the daughter just ate the chicken... she isn't into tomatoes...


totally pumpin' fettuccine... was a total bomb.... very blah... no real taste to it...I would pass on this one very quickly....


and unfortunately - I have the same review for the so-good chocolate chip softies.... which were not-so-good - again, kind of blah...the whole wheat and the pumpkin... not such a good combination


This evening I tried the Orroweat Sandwich Thins (100 calories lots of whole grains and fiber) instead of a regular hamburger bun - MOST TASTY! Would highly recommend.










Fun Info: Chocolate had been enjoyed as a drink for centuries in ancient civilizations before Spanish explorers brought it back to Europe. But it wasn't until the early 1800's that companies started producing the chocolate we know and love today!

only one

I usually try to have at least 2 recipes to report on... but since I was out of town and hubster worked last night - I only have one from Monday.... lean bean'n cheese enchiladas... It was good. Just spicy enough... you could probably add hot sauce if you like them really spicy. It was filling. We each had one serving.... and key note here: the hubbie didn't realize that it was all fat free cheese... that's a good thing since he is a cheesaholic. These were super easy to make.

Fun Info: January 6th is National Bean Day.... keep this 187 calorie recipe in mind! Of course you can have them today also!

The spouse still says his favorite is the scoopable chinese chicken salad. I think the turkey reuben quesadillas were 2nd...

Hark - I see polka dots on the neighbors swing set and lo, I hear thunder... means it is time to do some housecleaning....(how do these relate - I have no clue.)

Making the ez tomato-basil chicken tonight!

a week later

I did not drop off of the face of the earth.... my cousin was married in Vermont this past weekend so getting ready and the actual trip took up most of my week.

Although I did find time to test 2 different recipes...

the first was the chicken fajita lettuce cups and I must apologize - I forgot to take a picture - but it was GREAT! something you probably wouldn't really need a recipe for - make fajitas and serve them in lettuce leaves (like the lettuce wraps at PF Chang's). By eliminating the tortilla - you just saved a bunch of calories. Now the recipe called for a little guacamole - I forgot to pick it up at the grocery and I didn't have any fat free sour cream. so in place of those, we used a small sprinkle of cheese. The hubbie loved them, the daughter just ate the chicken and liked it, I liked them... life was good!

Fun Info: The word "fajita" is the diminutive form of the Spanish word "faja," meaning "belt" or "girdle." These fajitas came in at 190 calories a serving...maybe if I eat enough I won't need a faja (girdle)!

Later in the week, we tried the cheeseburger quesadillas. I thought they were good. Not great - but good. Kids wouldn't try them. The spouse thought they were so-so. He preferred the turkey reuben quesadillas to these. These use the boca burger all cut up into pieces and then put on a tortilla with cheese. I dipped mine in a little bbq which I thought made a pretty good dinner.

Fun Info: Denny's Beer Barrel Pub in Pennsylvania has "possibly the world's largest hamburgers" - there is a 15-pound Belly Buster - oh my.... don't even want to think how many calories. These quesadillas came in at 186 calories each!

monday - catch up day

it's a rainy Monday here... a good day to catch-up... although I think I need a month to catch-up on everything....

Last Thursday I made the scoopable chinese chicken salad (see pic below)... while it was easy to make once I had all the ingredients... it was a little tricky to find the dry broccoli slaw mix. Neither my local Price Chopper or HyVee had it... crazy as it sounds... I found it at Costco! I liked it. It is a great easy summer meal. I boiled my chicken breasts and then cut up into cubes... so no heating up the kitchen with the oven. The hubster LOVED it. Had it for dinner and then lunch the next day!





Saturday.... we actually had both kids home for most of the evening...so we decided it was a good evening for steaks... I know... not really under 200 calories - but it seemed like a good time to try a dessert...I made the razzle dazzle chocolate raspberry cupcakes - which were most delicious contrary to what my kids said....they didn't like the raspberries in their cupcakes. Now I will have to try making them again... because the recipe calls for 2 packets of the diet hot cocoa mix.... well, mine had marshmellows in it.. (I didn't realize until I had already poured them in...) the other thing is... if you make this - just go ahead and double the recipe... otherwise you have 1/2 of a cake mix left over... what do you do with 1/2 of a cake mix??

The kids are at school, I have peace and quiet... so I will peruse my cookbook and decide what is for dinner!

2 more

well, today the kiddos started school... the youngest (P-Man) putting his books in his desk last night as they got to go up to school and see their classrooms and meet their teachers.... although in 6th grade - he is almost too cool for this....


so I am getting to sit and type this in peace and quiet...oh no, I hope my kids aren't my muse and all of my creativity will have left without them here....

last night for dinner we had...
bbq mango tilapia and cheesy cauliflower casserole - the hubbie told me I needed to add a little parsley or such to the picture...I was just glad I remembered to take a pic.

Let's start with the bbq mango tilapia. The hubbie and I both liked it. It was sweeter than I thought it would be... very mellow bbq taste. I might have liked just a touch more bbq. The daughter - who usually likes fish - did not like it at all. It was a lighter meal which was good because the cauliflower casserole with all of the cheese was much richer and heavier. I tried to convince the kids it was cheesy potatoes... but couldn't quite pull that one over on them. The hubster and I both liked the cauliflower a lot. He had 3 helpings.... so much for the 117 calories a serving. I will just remind myself of how many calories it would have been if it was cheesy potatoes...

Tonight, if I can find the broccoli salad mix, we are going to try scoopable chinese chicken salad. I will say this... so far, it has been all basic ingredients that I have had at home or could easily find at the grocery. This broccoli salad mix is the first that wasn't at my local Price Chopper. Let you all know how it goes tomorrow!

another day, more recipes

Oh shucks - I just realized I did not take pictures - I will have to work on making sure I take pictures of the made recipes...

Today I tried - cheesed-up pepperoni pizza scramble.... scrambled eggs with turkey pepperoni and diced tomatoes... how can you go wrong? yum yum! and only 173 calories. This is one that I would definitely make again!

turkey reuben quesadillas....pretty good.... and easy. which is always a plus! The son tried it... ate about half and then said he didn't like the dressing (Thousand Island) which really wasn't a surprise - he doesn't do creamy dressings... he is the only kid in the United States that doesn't like Ranch dressing. Surprisingly enough - absolutely no complaints about the sauerkraut....the daughter on the other hand.... took one bite and asked why there was lettuce in the quesadilla. The hubbie really liked them. I did use a little more cheese than the recipe called for which probably brought mine up to about 230 calories each instead of the 186. But as a dinner... 230 calories isn't bad at all!

One of the fun things about this cookbook are the little interesting "facts" she includes.... so I am going to plagiarize and share some....Today's fact: the Arby's Roast Turkey Reuben Sandwich has 594 calories! Yikes....

Have a great day! Tomorrow - I will make an effort to remember to pull out the camera!

Blueberry Muffins and Pizza

First comment - no I didn't eat these together... had the blueberry muffin for breakfast and the pizza for lunch.

big fat blueberry muffins. if you made the recipe as listed 137 calories each.... I didn't have any applesauce (already added to my grocery list) and I can't do Splenda (gives me headaches). So I used good ole oil for the applesauce and part sugar part sweetnlow for the splenda. I calculated that mine came out at 177 calories each. Did you know the Starbuck's blueberry muffin has around 500 calories and 19 grams of fat!

Easy to make... only makes six though....but since my husband informed me that he doesn't like blueberries (who knew?) and the kids each tasted them and said - "eww... too many blueberries" six was probably fine for us. Personally, I like blueberries.... and don't they give you brain power or something??? Overall the muffin was good.... since it is made with whole wheat flour - it definitely has the whole grainy taste. Kept me full for the morning!

superb-y herby sauce-exposed pizzas. Followed the recipe to the t. SUPER EASY! I don't know what kind of english muffins she uses... but she indicated that the recipe has 6 grams of fiber... and my english muffins (Thomas BetterStart Light) have 8 grams. So my calories may be a little higher than what they have listed also. But I am guessing by only 10 or 15.

Most tasty! Next time, I might even consider adding some turkey pepperoni... I am not usually a english muffin fan... but these tasted just like a pizza crust. My son tasted one and said it was pretty good. Daughter did not try one. Took the hubbie a turkey wrap for lunch... but I think if I added some veggies and the turkey pepperoni - he would like these!

We had several families over from church last night so we have left-overs that we will finish up for dinner tonight....

so tomorrow I am looking at trying the turkey reuben quesadilla and maybe an egg dish for breakfast!

Have a great Monday!