Casual Dish

Challah Bread French Toast

2011-04-20T18:57:00.001-04:00

Happy Wednesday!

A big thanks to everyone for all the nice comments and emails about yesterday’s Challah Bread!

I couldn’t wait to slice it up today!

Today I turned that loaf into some delicious french toast. This is a great dish for a Sunday Brunch, you start it on the stove and let it finish in the oven.

This recipe comes from Rachel Ray’s Crunchy Vanilla-Almond French Toast with Fancy Fruit Topping. I made a few changes and omitted the sauce, but if I were to make this for a brunch I would be sure to add the fruit topping.

Challah Bread French Toast

6 eggs
3/4 cup half n’ half
2 tsps. vanilla extract
1 tbl real maple syrup
pinch of salt
1/4 tsps. freshly grated nutmeg
2 tsps. cinnamon
4 cups whole grain cereal flakes (I used Kashi)
1/2 cups almonds, roughly chopped
16 slices thick cut challah bread

Beat the eggs, half n’ half, vanilla, syrup, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon in a shallow dish. Lightly crush the cereal flakes, combine with the almonds and add to another shallow dish.
Warm a large skillet with cooking spray over medium heat. Dip the bread slices into the egg mixture and then the cereal mixture. Cook the slices for 2 minutes on each side.
Transfer slices to a baking sheet and place into a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Serve with syrup.

Makes 16 servings

I love the crunch of the toast along with the nutty flavor that the almonds develop after being cooked! Only way to serve this is with some real maple syrup!

Enjoy!

Challah Bread

2011-04-19T16:08:00.002-04:00

Today I though I’d share a recipe for Challah bread. I learned how to make it a few years ago from my bread baking class and it turned out to be a huge hit with my family!
I love this recipe because it uses the straight dough method which is basically measuring out all the ingredients, putting in a mixer and letting the mixer do all the work. The fun part is watching the dough rise so its doubled in size then braiding it not to mention the beautiful shiny golden color it bakes into! Let’s get started!
(You will need a kitchen scale in order to weigh most of the ingredients)
Challah Bread

8 oz. warm water
.75 oz. yeast
1 lb. 4oz. bread flour
4 oz. egg yolks (reserve the egg whites for the egg wash)
1.5 oz. sugar
2 oz. canola oil
1 tsp. honey
2 tsp. salt

Add the yeast to the warm water and let it sit for about 5 minutes till it’s nice and bubbly.
Next measure out the rest of the ingredients into your mixer bowl and add the yeast mixture. Attached the dough hook to your mixer and set it on the second speed for 10 minutes. The dough will come together into a ball, take it out and kneed it a few times by hand.
Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a towel and let it sit in a sunny window for 1.5 hours, till it’s doubled in size.
Take it out and gently pressed it down and divide the dough into three equal pieces. Roll out each piece into an 18 inch log. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and braid the three logs. (Make sure you squeeze both ends and tuck them under so they will stay together while baking. )
Now make the egg wash by whipping up the reserved eggs white with a touch of water until they are foamy and brush over the loaf.
Cover it again loosely with some plastic wrap and set it in the window for 30 minutes for it’s final rise.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30-35 minutes, until its lightly browned.

Look at how much it doubles in size!

Final rise before baking!

And this is what you get 30 minutes later, isn’t the color beautiful and shiny?!

Here’s a nice close up, I wish you could smell it! There is nothing better than the smell of freshly baked bread. The poor dogs have been hovering by my feet all morning hoping to sneak a piece!
Anyone can make this, it really is simply you just have to take into consideration the time it takes for the bread to rise.
I can’t wait to show you what I am going to turn this into for a great brunch idea!

Catching Up with Some Kale Chips

2011-04-18T16:34:00.001-04:00

April is such an odd month around here with Winter finally on its way out and Spring trying to make an appearance. The same goes for sports in our family, Kailey has just finished up her longer-than-usual basketball season making it all the way to the New England Regional Finals. We lost our first game by a couple baskets by a girl who we could have passed as Shaq’s sister…she was that tall!

Here’s a pic I took at the tip off of the game. You can’t see Kailey’s face (she’s at center) but you can see her feet and how far she tried to jump for the ball (keep in mind Kailey is taller than me and the tallest on her team) all while her opponent’s feet didn’t even leave the floor! lol Needless to say the poor girls were swatting at flies the rest of the game trying to get the ball!

So with basketball wrapped up and no more traveling for games, I am thrilled to have more time on the weekends to spend in the kitchen…hence my lack of recipes on the blog lately!

The other night I did manage to cook up something that I have been wanting to try for quit some time, kale chips. Everyone in the food blog world raves about them and now I know why!

Kale Chips

1 head of Kale
1 tsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
parmesan cheese

Preheat oven too 325 degrees. Take the kale leaves off of the stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash them thoroughly, I put mine in a salad spinner to get them nice and dry.

Next, toss the kale with the olive oil and s&p, spread out on a sheet pan. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes. The kale should be crispy and slightly browned around the edges. Keep an eye on them, toss them half way through as they can burn very easily!

They definitely are crispy and delicate. I loved the addition of the cheese, it added just the right amount of saltiness! The girls weren’t around to give them a try but hubby was and lets just say he is hooked!

Next time I will be adding some apple cider vinegar instead of cheese, I am a sucker for salt n’ vinegar chips!

Want to jump on the kale chip bandwagon?

Go ahead and give them a try if you haven’t already, you just might surprise yourself!

Nature’s Pride Hearty Wheat with Flax

2011-04-05T11:22:00.001-04:00

As a member of the Tastemaker program through Foodbuzz, I occasionally receive products that have been selected by the Foodbuzz team to try out.

Last week I received Nature’s Pride newest bread, Hearty Wheat with Flax.

One pretty neat fact about their new bread is it’s the first natural bread to be baked in 100% olive oil. It is also one of the firsts to provide a good source of Omega 3 – ALA that comes from the flax seed. The only thing that has me stumped is whether the flax seeds have been ground or not, we all know that they need to be ground in order for the nutrients to be absorbed. Hmmmm…

Here’s a look at the nutrition label for 1 slice of bread

Now on to the taste and sandwich. Sometimes I have to admit I love just a slice of toast and butter with a cup of green tea as an afternoon snack or perhaps for breakfast I’ll add some almond butter and a sliced up banana. Either way this bread tasted great, although I’m not sure if I can actually taste the difference with it being baked in the olive oil, but none the less I really enjoyed it.

My husband is a huge fan of sandwiches, especially on the weekends when we have a little more time to sit down and enjoy lunch together with the girls. So this weekend we whipped up a sandwich that included something that we each like!

Ham and Cheese Toasted Sandwich

black forest ham
turkey bacon
avocado
tomato
swiss cheese

Layer the ingredients between two slice’s of Nature’s Pride Hearty Wheat with Flax bread, start with the cheese and end with the cheese. Yes, the more cheese the better! lol Toast in a skillet until all that cheese is nicely melted. Enjoy!

How do you enjoy sandwiches, toasted or plain? I am a toasted girl all the way!

Disclosure: As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a loaf of Nature’s Pride bread. The review and opinions are completely my own.

Giveaway Winners!

2011-03-30T21:39:00.001-04:00

Thanks to everyone who entered the Simply Orange giveaway!

Congratulations to the two winners of a coupon for a free bottle of Simply Orange,

The Better Baker and Creative Southern Home

I’d like to thank Simply Orange for providing the free coupons for myself and my readers!

Make Your Own Lightbox

2011-03-29T11:45:00.001-04:00

Can you believe we only have a couple days left of March! It’s starting to look more like Spring but if feels more like November here in the northeast.

You know you’re a food blogger when you are excited for at the start of Spring when it’s lighter outside during dinnertime. It is much easier to take more flattering pictures of your dish with the natural light, right?!

Well to help in the lighting category, this weekend we made a homemade lightbox. This not only will come in handy for dark, dreary days in the kitchen but for taking pictures of my jewelry as well! Angela from Oh She Glows made one a few months ago so I thought I’d share mine as well! This was pretty easy especially since I had Keith to help me out. lol

Homemade Lightbox

What you will need:

large box
white fabric or tissue paper
duct tape
box cutter
3 utility lamps
3 daylight bulbs (100 watt)
colorful fabric (optional)

Total cost approx. $20

Step 1:

Take your cardboard box and tape one end with the duct tape (this will be the back). Then with your box cutter cut off the front flaps and then cut a window out of the three sides, leave the bottom as is.

Step 2:

Take your white fabric or tissue paper and cut out three squares to fit over the windows that you just cut out from the box and duct tape it to the box.

Step 3:

Slice a slit in the top so you can switch out different color fabrics for the background of your pictures. Love this idea!!

Step 4:

Set it up, shine the lights through each window for a nice soft lighting without all the shadows. The lights come with clamps attached so I clamped two of them on my chairs and the top one is clamped onto my dining room light.

Have fun taking pictures and trying out different backgrounds!

Here’s a picture of a bowl of soup taken under my normal kitchen lighting.

Now here is the same bowl of soup taken from the same angle in the lightbox.

What a difference, don’t ya think?!

The only complaint I have about this is where to store it because it is rather large. I really can’t see this staying on my dining room table, somehow I have a feeling the cat will take it over before too long! lol

With that said, I really do think its makes such a big difference when you don’t have the option of natural lighting during the day!

Want the recipe for the soup picture above?

It’s Lemon Chicken Soup with Spaghetti from Giada De Laurentiis. I love anything lemon and this soup is really simple and delicious!

A special thanks to hubby for helping me out with this project!

Sesame Fish

2011-03-26T11:52:00.001-04:00

Hope everyone’s weekend is off to a great start! I started mine with some pilates with a little partner to keep me entertained!

We are off to do some errands, at least the sun is shinning! Just wanted to share a super quick and easy fish recipe from the 17 Day Diet Program. Although I no longer follow it, I still enjoy many of the recipes from the book!

Sesame Fish

1 lb. tilapia
2 tbls. olive oil
2 tbls. rice vinegar
2 tbls. lite soy sauce
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 tbls. sesame seeds

Spray your broiler pan with non stick spray or cover it with some foil. Whisk together the oil, vinegar, soy sauce and chopped garlic. Pour over fish and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place under broiler, about eight inches from the heat for 20 minutes or until the fish flakes with a fork.

Servings: 4

How easy is that?! And so delicious, I served it with a side of veggies and whole wheat couscous. Perfect quick go-to dish during Lent!

Happy Saturday!!

Breakfast Treats and a Giveaway

2011-03-22T11:32:00.002-04:00

Well so much for Spring, it snowed here yesterday and we have more to come later this week! Yuck!!!
No matter what time of year it is I am always up for anything with pumpkin or apple, to me they are not just for Fall. So with the snow falling yesterday I decided to warm up and make some baked donuts and a warm cocktail to go along with them.
The great folks from Simply Orange sent me some coupons to purchase one of their juices and to give a couple away to my readers, more on that later.

Simple Orange has different varieties of juices such as, orange, apple, grapefruit, pineapple and mango just to name a few. They are certified by the American Heart Association, gently pasteurized, not from concentrate and loaded with vitamin C.
So I decided to try the Simply Apple which is 100 % pure pressed. I loved it because it actually tasted like a real apples, not sweetened. Some of the juices I use to buy for the girls were loaded with added sugars which is why I stopped buying them. This is something I would buy and feel good about! So after searching their website I had to give their Hot Apple Pie Cocktail a try, visit their website for the recipe.
Just warm up some a couple cups of Simply Apple with a few cinnamon sticks, lemon juice, vanilla extract, allspice and cardamom in a saucepan for a couple of minutes. Add some apple schnapps (optional), pour into mugs and top with a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt.

Holy yum!!! It tastes exactly like hot apple pie only better!
I found the perfect match to go with this, Baked Apple Cider Donuts from Tasty Kitchen. (Click the link for the recipe)
I substituted apple cider for Simple Apple juice and it worked perfectly.

Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl,

then the wet ingredients in another bowl.

Gently combine the dry ingredients into the wet.

Fill a mini muffin pan that has been buttered/sugared with the batter half way.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Brush the donut holes with butter and shake in a bag filled with cinnamon/sugar mixture.

These are so tasty, love the little bites and of course the warm apple flavor from the juice!

I can’t think of a better way to spend a cold, snowy Spring morning!
Now for the giveaway for two lucky readers!
The nice folks at Simply Orange have given me two coupons for one free 59 fl. oz Simply Orange, Simply Apple or Simply Grapefruit to giveaway to two lucky readers!
To enter this giveaway all you have to do is:

Visit Simply Orange and let me know which juice you’d like to try!
Follow my blog via GFC

This giveaway will end on Wednesday, March 30th at 9pm. I will pick two winners and notify you by email, you will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.
Good Luck!!!

*Disclosure: Simply Orange provided me with coupons. The views and statements are completely my own.

Spring!

2011-03-20T14:51:00.001-04:00

So much for the first day of Spring, Jordyn was up all night with an earache. We just barely escaped winter without an ear infection, what a bummer!

While I’m catching up on laundry, Jordyn and Keith are officially parked on the couch for the afternoon watching the race. The poor dogs are wondering why we aren’t outside on this beautiful day. lol

At least someone is enjoying the day!

I have no recipe to share today only a picture of the cupcakes that I made yesterday for the girls school’s Spaghetti Supper. I love making sweets when I know I don’t have to worry about consuming them!

Looks like some good ol’ chicken soup is on tap tonight for Jordyn!

Happy Spring!!!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

2011-03-17T11:17:00.001-04:00

The girls couldn’t wait to jump outta bed this morning and get their green on, they even got poor Maggie in on it!

The other night I got a head start on St. Patty’s Day and cooked up some corned beef and cabbage in the ol’ crockpot. The recipe came from Food Network and I have to say it was delicious, click here for the recipe! Where are the pictures? Sorry, I just didn’t find anything attractive about pale cabbage, cooked carrots, potatoes and beef, sometimes things are much better eaten than photographed. lol

Last night we had lots of leftovers so I made a yummy panini!

Corned Beef Panini

Marble Rye bread
corned beef, sliced thin
cooked cabbage
whole grain mustard
swiss cheese

Place all ingredients between two slices of marble rye bread and cook in a panini press or hot skillet until cheese is melted.

What are you cookin’ up tonight?

Traditional Cake

2011-03-16T11:04:00.001-04:00

Birthdays are the perfect excuse to have your cake and eat it too!

There is one thing that is never missing from any kind of gathering on Keith’s side of the family, Gramma’s Cake. She is 85 years young and still enjoys making this cake as much as we enjoy eating it. So it was no surprise to me when Keith requested this for this birthday yesterday.

Gramma’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/8 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, beat well. Next add the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Combine the sugar, cinnamon and walnuts. Pour 1/2 the batter into a greased bundt pan and sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture. Then add the rest of the batter on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

It’s not your traditional birthday cake but it’s a close 2nd!

Is it Friday yet? Daylight Savings Time has finally caught up with me (yawn)!

Naked Pizza Friday

2011-03-12T10:33:00.001-05:00

Did you think I forgot about Pizza Friday? Not a chance!!

Tonight we changed it up a bit and ordered takeout. Keith is lucky enough to work by the new Naked Pizza in Brookline that just opened up! He knows I’ve been dying to try their pizza so he sent me this pic as a little tease…how could I pass it up?!

I asked him his first impression, he loved the ipads that kept you busy while you waited for your pizza. Yes, he’s a total tech geek! lol

We ordered the all natural cheese pizza for the girls

And the greenhouse pizza for us

They certainly don’t skimp on the toppings, it was loaded with mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, peppers and black olives.

This pizza passed my “one hand” test, if you can pick up a slice with one hand and not have everything slide right off it’s a keeper, no fork and knife required! lol

The crust had to be my favorite!!! Love the flavor, not a speck of grease and the fact that they use 10 grains plus prebiotic agave fiber and probiotics really makes a difference! Did I mention they have gluten-free crust as well?

My only complaint is that they don’t have a location closer to me!

I can’t wait for the leftovers today, I was tempted to have some for breakfast this morning! hee hee

Off to get this weekend started, any special plans?

Disclosure: We purchased these pizzas on our own. All the thoughts and views are my own and were not influenced by any outside sources. I just like to share a good thing when I find it!

Cho’banana Split

2011-03-11T11:05:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday, it’s a soggy one here in Massachusetts!

First off I would like to send my thoughts and prayers out to everyone who has been effected by the earthquake and tsunami and to all the family members who are waiting to hear about their loved ones.

So I can’t decide if this next dish I am about to share is considered a breakfast or dessert. I’m going to say both, but I’ll let you be the judge!

I was lucky enough last month to win a case of Chobani Champions Greek Yogurt for kids! When you have this much yogurt, you need to get creative!

The girls love to have some as an afternoon snack or right out of the freezer as yogurt pops. I’ve been trying to get the girls to eat more for breakfast because a small bowl of cereal barely holds them over to lunchtime at school. This is where I thought this recipe would come in handy for breakfast! It is inspired by Devin Alexander’s cookbook I Can’t Believe It’s Not Fattening and of course my LOVE for Nutella.

Cho’banana Split

Mix a couple teaspoons of nutella in with the yogurt, I used Chobani Champions honey-nana.

Split the banana in half and spread both sides with peanut butter

Top the banana halves with the greek yogurt mixture

Sprinkle your favorite cereal on top, I used Kashi’s Go Lean Crunch!

It’s almost looks like the real thing, right? Minus the whipped cream and cherry on top!

Well, it tastes delicious and so much healthier!

I’m trying this out on the girls tonight for dessert and if it’s a hit Mom will be a rock star when she offers dessert for breakfast next week!

Woot! Woot!

Almost Famous

2011-03-10T21:32:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone!

Can you believe this week is over, it flew by for me! :)

One of the things I look forward to on the weekend is trying to squeeze in some quiet time and catch up on my magazines! I love the Food Network magazine, the dishes look amazing and the pictures are beautiful. The section I always turn to first is “Copy That!” where they try and make the perfect imitation of a famous dish from a particular restaurant.

So here is my attempt at two of their recipes that I’ve been holding onto for quite some time! Broccoli Cheddar Soup from Panera Bread and Bread Sticks from Olive Garden. Click on the links for the original recipe.

Almost Famous Broccoli-Cheddar Soup

Cook the onions in butter until soft and golden. Add the half n’ half, broth, and seasonings, cook until thickened about 20 minutes. Next add the broccoli and carrots, cook for 20 minutes or until tender.

Puree the soup until smooth with some chunks of broccoli.

Add the cheese and whisk until smooth, if you feel the soup is too thick add some water.

Ladle into bread bowls

This soup looked and tasted EXACTLY like the real thing, even better if I dare say! This was a hit with everyone..did she just eat something green??? Could you blame her, anything swimming in cheese tastes good!

Almost Famous Breadsticks

Combine the yeast and water and let it sit for 5 minutes.

Once it’s foamy add the flour, butter, sugar, salt and water and mix with the paddle attachment until dough forms into a ball.

Take the dough out and knead by hand for 3 minutes, until dough is very soft.

Roll into two 1 foot long pieces and cut into 16 smaller pieces, knead slightly to soften the dough.

Roll out each piece into a 7 inch long breadstick, put on parchment lined baking sheet and cover with cloth. Let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Brush dough with melted butter and salt. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Take out of oven and brush with add’l butter and sprinkle with seasoning mix; salt, garlic powder and oregano.

These were really good and did taste like the real thing. I love the combo of garlic powder and oregano!

Have you ever tried to replicate a dish from a restaurant before?

Do you have a favorite food magazine?

Homemade Samoas

2011-03-08T11:27:00.001-05:00

Today is all about a little indulgence, everyone deserves it in moderation!

When I was younger one of my favorite treats were Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies. I could easily eat a whole sleeve of them in one sitting, those were the days! Today I would have to say my favorite is the Samoas, isn’t it funny how our tastes change as we grow up?!

Well every where I go in blogsville lately, I have been seeing the homemade version of the Samoas. Hello!!! Must give these a try!!!

This particular recipe comes from Brandy at Nutmeg Nanny, her bars looked amazing along with all her other recipes, go check her blog out for the recipe and see for yourself!

Homemade Samoas Bars makes 30 bars

The crust:

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until edges are light golden.

Toast the coconut in a 300 degree oven

The topping:

mels, Melt the caramels, milk and salt in microwave

Combine with cooled coconut

Evenly spread topping over crust

After the topping has had a chance to cool and set I took it out of the pan to make it easier for cutting.

Melt the chocolate!

I cut these a couple of different ways; first into fun cookies!

Now for the fun and messy part, dip bottoms into chocolate and drizzle over the tops.

And the rest into bars!

This recipe does have several steps to it but I can promise you the outcome is well worth it! They taste exactly like the real thing, I absolutely love the chewiness and taste of the toasted coconut. And whats not to love about the addition of chocolate and the cookie crust is perfection!

Indulge!

Pasta Ponza with Giada

2011-03-02T11:23:00.001-05:00

Not long ago I had the pleasure of meeting Giada De Laurentiis from Food Network, she was signing her newest book Giada at Home. Although I haven’t tried many recipes from her book, I can say that it has some beautiful pictures all throughout it not only of her dishes but her family as well.

No pictures were allowed with her but I did manage to snag a few while waiting in line! She was super nice and down to earth!

Last night I tried a dish from her book called Pasta Ponza, click here for her recipe! This is the dish that is on the cover and Giada says it one of her favorites!

I love recipes that only have a few key ingredients!

I used red and orange tomatoes, yum!!

Mix tomatoes, capers, olive oil and s&p in an 8x8 baking dish. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top. Bake in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.

While the tomato mixture is in the oven cook your pasta and save about a cup of the pasta water, don’t forget or you’ll be sorry!

Out of the oven, love the crunchy topping!

After it has cooled a bit spoon the mixture oven your pasta and grate some romano cheese on top.

This dish was quite tasty but a bit dry, you definitely need that added pasta water. I love the concentrated flavor that the tomatoes take on after being roasted.

Have you ever met a “celebrity” chef before?

Kristy Lynn Jewelry Winner!!!

2011-03-01T21:18:00.001-05:00

Thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway and for all your kind words, I loved hearing about which necklaces everyone liked!!

The winner of a necklace from my Etsy Shop is

Victoria from Mission: Food

She said: “Congrats on your anniversary! I really love the cupcake necklace... I mean, who doesn't love cupcakes??! haha “

Congratulations, Victoria! I will be contacting you!!

A Hero for Hubby

2011-02-28T21:01:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday!

Today is a day that we have been waiting forever for and frankly we didn’t think would ever happen. Keith is finally back to work after many, many long months of unsteady work.

Today’s economy and job market has been very unkind to professional carpenters and the like! We have definitely changed the way we spend money, shop and I have really learned how to stretch a dollar when it comes to the supermarket.

So to celebrate I made one of his favorite sandwiches for dinner tonight! This recipe is adapted from a recipe that was given to me by a friend. One of his favorite sandwiches is a ~~greasy~~ steak n’ cheese, tonight I tried to lighten that up while still keeping the flavor!

Steak Hero

1 tsp. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup mushrooms, chopped
1 lb. lean ground beef sirloin (93%)
3/4 cup low sodium beef broth
2 tbsp. tomato paste
salt & pepper
wheat ciabatta loaf
basil
mozzarella cheese
provolone cheese

Cook the onion, garlic, pepper, mushrooms until soft. Add the ground beef, break into small pieces and cook until done. Add the beef broth, tomato paste, s&p and cook on low for 10 minutes, it should thicken up nicely.
Cut the ciabatta loaf into sandwich size pieces, drizzle with olive oil and place under broil until lightly browned and crispy.
Place some provolone cheese on bottom half of sandwich, next add the beef mixture, then some mozzarella cheese and finally top it off with some basil leaves. Press sandwich down and grill over low heat for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Yield: 4 sandwiches

This was right up Keith’s alley, it was a huge hit! I’m not a huge red meat fan but I did steal a bite and I loved the hint of provolone and the sweetness of the basil! Did I mention the bread was amazing?! I love ciabatta!!!

Best of all? There are leftovers for his lunch tomorrow!

Hope your week is off to a great start!

‘Night!

Sweet Ending Sunday

2011-02-27T17:14:00.002-05:00

The last day of vacation is always bitter sweet around here. So ready for the kids to get back to school yet not so ready for the early morning routines.
Today for a treat we decided to make a sweet pizza and let me yell ya, there was nothing bitter about it! The girls loved it!
This recipe is originally from Buddy Valastro, we love watching his new show Kitchen Boss. He is so enthusiastic when he cooks n’ bakes and his family recipes look amazing! Although they definitely aren’t calorie friendly but everything in moderation and having a little indulgence every now and then is perfectly fine in my book!
We followed his recipe loosely, click here for the original.
Sweet Pizza

I used the other half of the pizza dough from Friday’s pizza to make this.

Spread about 1/2 tbl. of butter on dough

Prick the dough all over with a fork to prevent it from rising too much.

Sprinkle to your hearts content with cinnamon and sugar. Bake in 400 degree oven for 7 minutes.

While the dough is baking, slice up some strawberries and bananas for topping. The girls are using my safe cutters by Pampered Chef, I love these knives!

Here’s the cooked cinnamon/sugar dough, I could have stopped here and devoured it. lol

Add some more love to the dough and spread a layer of Nutella over the pizza, I probably used 1/4 cup.

Top with strawberries and banana slices.

Drizzle with some melted dark chocolate with a touch of vanilla or chocolate sauce as in the original recipe.

If you’re a nut lover like my husband, sprinkle some chopped nuts over your slice!

Hope your Sunday was as sweet as ours!
Back to reality tomorrow!!
Don’t forget to enter my giveaway if you haven’t already, it ends on Tuesday!

This recipe is linked to

Roasted Pepper Pizza n’ More

2011-02-25T20:35:00.001-05:00

Its Friday!!!! Normally I would be overly happy but since this is school vacation week, Friday means that its coming to an end. The school bags, lunch packs and uniforms will be back into existence before I know it. No more lazy mornings with second cups of coffee for this momma!

Well I have a lot to cover so lets get started! Today I decided to make my own pizza dough for a change. A few years ago my SIL, Jane and I took a bread baking class and one of the things we learned how to make was pizza dough. Super easy, people, it’s simple to make and to work with! One of the things we learned was that when it comes to making any type of dough or bread, most things get weighed and not measured. So if you have a kitchen scale pull it on out.

Pizza Dough

2 oz. warm water
1 tbsp. active dry yeast
14 oz. bread flour
6 oz. cool water
1 tsp. salt
1 oz. olive oil
1 tbsp. honey

Stir the yeast into the warm water and let it sit for 5 minutes so it can do its thing and get all bubbly. Next, add the flour.
Stir the cool water, salt, olive oil and honey into the flour mixture. Place dough in a stand mixer with dough hook attachment and let it knead for 5 minutes, until the dough comes off the sides and forms a ball.
Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover. Allow it to rise for 20 minutes in the warmest part of your home. Next, punch the dough down and if desired divide into portions*. Roll out into very thin rounds or you can store it in the fridge for up to 2 days.

* This recipe yields one very large pizza, 2 regular pizzas or 8 individual pizzas

And there you have it! For tonight’s pizza I used one half of this dough recipe which makes 8 good size pieces.

Ready for the pizza recipe? Not so fast! hee hee For this recipe you will need a roasted pepper. I used a yellow pepper, you can use whatever color you want. Here’s a quick way to roast a pepper if you have a gas stove, if not well then you’ll have to roast it in the oven or buy a jar already roasted.

How to Roast a Pepper

Place your pepper directly on the stove over low heat. DO NOT walk away or get distracted in any way, i.e. cell phone. Trust me, I’m speaking from experience. That is all. lol

As the sides get nice and charred, carefully turn until all sides are done. Don’t be alarmed by the smoke or the “camp fire” smell, as Jordyn called it. It’s all good!

Now quickly put the pepper in a bowl and cover it tightly with plastic wrap. Let it sit so the steam can do it’s work.

After about 20 minutes uncover and peel the skin off, it should come off very easily and leave you with a delicious sweet, roasted pepper. Mmmmm!

Now that we’ve got the star of our recipe ready lets get this pizza made!

Roasted Pepper Pizza

1 roasted pepper
1 medium red onion
6 cloves of garlic, 3 minced & 3 sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
3/4 cup provolone cheese, shredded
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
pizza dough ( I used one half from the dough recipe from above)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out your pizza dough into a thin round. Slice roasted pepper, tomatoes and basil, place in a bowl. Slice onion into thin half moon slices and cook in a pan with the minced garlic over medium heat until onions are golden. Add onions and garlic to the bowl with the pepper mixture, add salt and pepper to taste.
With the same pan you used to cook the onions, add a touch more olive oil and toss in the sliced garlic for 1 minute. Drizzle the garlic infused olive oil over the pizza dough. Top with the provolone and mozzarella cheese, then add the pepper mixture.
Bake in oven until the crust is golden and crisp and the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle some feta cheese before serving.

Yield: 8 slices

This pizza was amazing or as we say in our house, “it’s a keeper”! The dough is thin and crispy, perfect to hold all those veggies. I love that its not all about the cheese with this recipe. The sweetness from the peppers, onions and tomatoes really stand out and I love the little bit of saltiness you get with the feta!

Want to know what I’m making with the other half of the pizza dough?! I’ll give you a hint, it’s something sweet!

‘Night!

Guests for Breakfast

2011-02-24T13:58:00.002-05:00

We have some new renters!!!

Is this a sign that Spring is finally around the corner? Lets hope so! The birds were chirping away as I was making breakfast this morning!
Speaking of breakfast, today was one of those days where I just didn’t feel like having oatmeal.
Do you ever feel like that? You eat almost the same thing everyday and one day ya just not in the mood, happens to me a lot lately. I’m just going to blame on the long winter.
So instead of oatmeal I made some stuffed french toast. It may not have been as nutritious but it was delicious and hit the spot for a cold winter’s day.
Banana Stuffed French Toast

2 eggs
splash of milk
dash of cinnamon
6 slices of whole wheat bread
1-2 ripe bananas
peanut butter
nutella
pure maple syrup (optional)
powdered sugar (optional)

Whisk the eggs with a splash of milk and a dash of cinnamon until light and fluffy, set aside. Spread peanut butter on one slice of bread and nutella on the other slice of bread. Thinly slice up the banana and place on top of the nutella then add the peanut butter slice on top to form a sandwich. Dip sandwich into the egg mixture and cook on a non stick skillet until cooked through and lightly browned. Top with maple syrup and powdered sugar if desired. Enjoy!
makes 3 sandwiches

I think every morning should start off with some sort of chocolate and peanut butter, they are a perfect pair!
What’s your favorite breakfast in the winter?

Wordless Wednesday (almost)

2011-02-23T10:39:00.001-05:00

I’m one of the co-hosts for the

with Blue Eyed Blessings and Crocheted Little Things! If you’d like to link up your shop and/or blog then hop on over!

My Anniversary Giveaway!!!

2011-02-22T09:07:00.001-05:00

Today is the 1 year anniversary of my Etsy Shop!

What started out as just a few homemade Christmas gifts a couple years ago has bloomed into a part time job for me. If you are not familiar with Esty, it’s an online marketplace where you can sell or buy homemade items, supplies and some great vintage finds. If you are looking for something special and unique then this is the place to go!

I make personalized hand stamped jewelry, here are a few of my pieces.

So to celebrate my anniversary I’m giving away a necklace to one lucky reader! If you win, you choose the necklace and we can custom design it together!

Here are the rules:

Mandatory Entries: You must do these both in order to be eligible!

Visit my Etsy Shop, look around and tell me which necklace you’d like to win!
Follow my blog

Additional Entries: Eligible only if the mandatory entries are completed. Leave a separate comment for each one you have done.

Follow me on Twitter (1 entry)
Tweet about this giveaway (2 entries)
Write a post about this giveaway and leave your link (3 entries)

This giveaway will end Tuesday, March 1st @9pm EST. Once I choose a winner, you will be contacted by email and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

Good luck!!

A Magical Night

2011-02-20T22:16:00.001-05:00

Hope everyone had a great weekend, mine has been busy but exciting!

Friday night we were invited by Disney Parks to opening night at the Boston Garden for Toy Story 3 on Ice along with other local bloggers.

The night started out with a meet n’ greet with Buzz and Woody.

We were treated to a wonderful kid friendly meal of hot dogs, chicken fingers, french fries, popcorn, veggies, sandwich wraps and chowdaaaah. And for dessert there was fruit salad and an array of the most delicious cookies. Needless to say the girls were thrilled and believe it or not Jordyn ate chicken! What?!

Don’t let this picture fool you, she was going straight for those cookies as soon as I turned my back! lol

Here we are with our bellies on overload!

After the meal and mingling with other local bloggers we were directed to our sky box seats, hello! After the excitement settled we waited in anticipation for the show to begin…

I have to say I was a bit nervous that the girls weren’t going to enjoy it as much considering they love anything princess, but they absolutely LOVED it! The expressions on their faces were just priceless from the start to the finish! This show definitely gets a thumbs up from us!

Thank you Disney Parks for a magical night, you really know how to put on a show!

Disclosure: We were provided with a family pack of tickets along with a meal and premium seating, all the opinions about our experience are strictly mine.

Happy Birthday, Jordyn!

2011-02-17T20:36:00.001-05:00

Happy birthday to the funniest, cutest and most lovable 7 year old that I know!

Did I mention craziest?!

Yes, this is my pitiful cake, without betty crocker it would have probably been a total flop! Seriously.

If you have a young one you will know that these are squinkies on the cake, one of the newest toy crazes. I can assure you that these along with the zhu zhu pets she begged Santa for will end up at the bottom of the toy box within a week. So be it.

And to celebrate the big day we did our tradition trip to the American Girl Place! Here is Jordyn with her new doll, Kanani.

Amongst many, many other things!

Needless to say her bag was much heavier at the end of this shopping trip than my wallet! lol

Thank goodness birthdays only come once a year!

Happy Valentine’s Day

2011-02-14T10:55:00.002-05:00

Here are a couple of pictures that I just love of Kailey and Jordyn on Valentine’s Day when they were younger!

This weekend we made some chocolate truffles for their teachers! So easy, fun and delicious! I’ve been hanging on to this recipe from Taste of Home for quite awhile, it’s a perfect treat for valentine’s day! Click here for the recipe!

Here are the toppings: chopped nuts, coconut, sprinkles, cocoa

Melt the chocolate chips and condensed milk in the microwave until melted and place in the fridge for 2 hours.

Scoop out the chocolate and roll into round 1 inch balls

Now for the fun part, roll them in your favorite topping!

Kailey LOVES white chocolate so we dipped a few in white and milk chocolate!

Voila! They almost look too cute to eat!

We wrapped them up before the whole plate was gone!!

I don’t know about the girl’s teachers but I would certainly love to start my Monday off with a jar of chocolates!

Do you like the little card? I printed this off a great blog called Paper Glitter, she has some adorable printables to choose from!

This recipe is linked to:

BBQ Chicken Pizza Friday

2011-02-11T17:42:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday! I don’t know about you but I am welcoming the weekend with open arms!

It has been so long since I’ve made a pizza, I miss our Friday Pizza Night. I’ve put them on hold for a bit while I was following the 17 Day Diet but now that I’m at the end of it that it’s time to enjoy some homemade pizza!

This pizza was inspired by Kailey, my 11 yr old daughter. She came home a few weeks ago from a friends house where they had take-out bbq pizza and she absolutely loved it and reminded me of if every other day. Seriously.

If you have kids do any of yours come home after a play date and tell you how delicious the dinner was or even better, that they ate something there that they would NEVER even touch at home? Happens all the time. First it was tacos now its bbq chicken pizza. If I can’t please this child with a simple bbq pizza like the pizza joint around the corner then I might as well through in the towel!

Honey BBQ Chicken Pizza

2 organic boneless/skinless chicken breast
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
salt n’ pepper
1/2 cup barbecue sauce (your favorite)
2 tbls. honey
shredded mozzarella cheese
1 Boboli whole wheat pizza crust

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice chicken into thin strips and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook the chicken in skillet until lightly browned and cooked through. Combine BBQ sauce and honey then add to the chicken and stir until evenly coated and just heated through. Spread on top of pizza crust and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Quick and simple…but was it delicious????

Kailey said it was even better!!!

BOOOYAAAAH!!!!

I’m not even going to bother telling her how much healthier mine is!

Winner of Toy Story 3 on Ice Boston!!!

2011-02-08T21:17:00.001-05:00

Thanks for entering the giveaway! The winner of the family four pack to Pixar’s Toy Story 3 on Ice is Sarah!!!

Sarah says her favorite character from Toy Story is Buzz!!

Congratulations Sarah!!!

Disney On Ice Toy Story 3 (Boston) Giveaway and Discount

2011-02-05T08:57:00.002-05:00

Disney on Ice is coming back to Boston this month with Disney Pixar’s Toy Story 3! What a perfect way to get the kids out of the house during February vacation. The fabulous folks at Disney are offering discount tickets and a chance for one of my readers to win a family four pack on opening night, Friday Feb. 18th at the TD Garden in Boston!!

Here are the details for the discount:

FAMILY FUN PACK:
4 TICKETS FOR $60!
OFFER VALID ON $20 AND $25 TICKETS

AT THE FOLLOWING VACATION WEEK PERFORMANCES:

Fri. FEB. 18 - 7:00 PM

Sat. FEB. 19 – 7:00PM

Sun. FEB. 20 – 12:00PM & 4:00PM

Mon. FEB. 21 – 11:00AM & 3:00PM

(Excludes Rink side, VIP and Club seats. No double discounts. Cannot be used for prior purchases or group sales orders. Service charges, handling and facility fees may apply. Please note that prices reflected on Ticketmaster.com INCLUDE service charges and facility fees. Select “Price Details” on the purchase page to confirm discount price.)

Click Here To Purchase

Step 1: Choose your performance
Step 2: Under Advance or Promotion Ticket Selection, choose either $25 or $20 price level
Step 3: Enter code MOMTOY
*********************************************
For the giveaway:
This is for a family four pack to Opening Night on Friday, February 18th @ 7pm. So if you live in or around Boston, enter away!
Mandatory Entries: (make sure you leave a valid email address)

Leave a comment telling me your favorite Toy Story Character
Follow my blog

Add’l Entries: (leave a separate comment for each entry)

Subscribe to my blog (1 entry)
Follow me on Twitter (1 entry)
Tweet about this giveaway (2 entries)

This giveaway ends on Tuesday Feb. 8th at 9pm EST. The winner will be notified by email and has 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Open to U.S. residents only, must be 18 years or older.
Disclosure: A family four pack to opening night has been provided to me, free of charge. All opinions and comments are completely my own.

Super Bowl Bites

2011-02-04T12:25:00.001-05:00

I have to admit I am not a huge football fan. Unless the Patriots are in the Super Bowl I rarely sit down to watch the game…I’m more into the snacking aspect of the whole hoopla of the day, although I do look forward to the commercials! lol

Today I just wanted to share a quick, healthy and super delicious snack for game day! As I mentioned here I have been on a ground turkey breast kick lately, it’s super healthy and so versatile.

Turkey Taco Bites

1lb. ground turkey breast
taco seasoning
diced tomatoes
diced cucumber
shredded monterey jack and cheddar cheese
Tostitos scoops

Brown the turkey breast in a skillet, once cooked through add the taco seasoning. Scoop turkey into the scoops and top with tomatoes, cucumbers and cheese. Another option would be to use salsa in place of the tomatoes n’ cucumbers. Place scoops on a microwave safe plate and put in the microwave for 50 seconds or just until cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Super simple and so much easier than trying to tackle a taco shell! The variations are endless with these scoops, you can add beans, avocado, sour cream, etc.

What’s your favorite game time snack?

Jammies and Chili

2011-01-27T14:16:00.001-05:00

After another night of more snowfall I woke up this morning to some beautiful sunshine and icicles! Under all that snow there is a swimming pool somewhere!

Its starting to feel like groundhog day around here with all these snow days. So the girls and I are taking full advantage of it with a pajama day! Nothing but jammies and some tv for a relaxing day!

I am still following along in Cycle 2 with the 21 Day Diet, Sunday will be my last day! Here is an example of what I eat during a typical day, again I am not following it strictly, just as a guide.

Breakfast yesterday was a smoothie which included kefir, frozen berries, agave nectar and flaxseed oil and along with that I had half a grapefruit. I really need to start adding some greens to my drinks!

Mid-morning snack I usually have some Chobani Yogurt and an orange

Lunch is usually some sort of salad and green tea. Here is a super salad that I added some chicken breast too and one of my FAVS “bacon” which is black forest ham that I browned in a dry skillet on the stove until it was crisp like bacon. So delicious!!!

If I’m hungry for an afternoon snack I will grab some hummus and veggies or maybe some pop chips to get me over that afternoon hump!

Dinner last night was Turkey Chili that I served over some whole wheat pasta, a salad and green tea.

Quick Turkey Chili

1 lb. ground turkey breast
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper
1 jar Classico De Napoli Tomato & Basil sauce
1 1/2 cups water
14 oz whole tomatoes, un-drained and chopped
1 tbl. chili powder
~~beans of your choice~~

Brown the turkey and break up into chunks with onion. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. If you like a thicker chili, add less water or cook it down longer than 30 minutes. Serve over your choice of pasta.

Makes 6-8 servings

It was pretty tasty, you can basically add anything to this chili. I just used what I had on hand last night, beans would be a great addition but hubby is anti-bean. lol

C-ya!

Sweet Saturday

2011-01-22T16:13:00.001-05:00

Do you ever have a sweet craving but don’t want to make a whole batch of cookies or brownies? That’s how I feel today, need some chocolate but certainly don’t need to be tempted by a whole batch of goodness!

I remember seeing this recipe in my Health magazine for Dark Chocolate and Oat Clusters which has only four ingredients and makes 4 servings. Bingo!!

Dark Chocolate and Oat Clusters

2 tbl. peanut butter
2 tbl. low fat milk
1/4 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

Heat the peanut butter, milk and chocolate chips over low heat until the chocolate is melted. Add the oats and drop 8 round tablespoon full portions onto wax paper. Place in the fridge for 10 minutes to set.

Makes 4 servings

Easy enough, right?! Nothing like a little indulgence on a Saturday afternoon. This is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth, I love the chewiness they have and what’s not to like about chocolate and peanut butter!

Next time I think I will try adding a little nutella or some dried cherries!

Hope your weekend is going well!

Cycle 2 and Taco Salad

2011-01-20T12:10:00.001-05:00

Happy Thursday!

Well, I am on to Cycle 2: Activate for the 17 Day Diet which is designed to re-set your metabolism so you stay in a fat-burning zone. It’s quite easy, basically you are alternating each day between Cycle 1 and Cycle 2, always changing it up and keeping your body guessing.

Before I go on, I just wanted to answer a couple questions that some have had.

Can you drink coffee/alcohol on this diet? You are allowed 1-2 cups of coffee a day. As for alcohol, it is restricted up until Cycle 3 which then you are allowed 1 drink a day.
Have you been hungry at all? No! I am eating so much more food now than I was before and I’m even finding it difficult to finish everything on my plate. One of the biggest obstacles that I have overcome is snacking at night while watching tv, not even hungry anymore!

So for Cycle 2 shell fish, lean cut meats (sirloin steak, pork tenderloin, lamb etc.), natural starches, starchy vegetables and legumes are added back into mix! Yahoooo for carbs! Again, there is a whole list in this chapter for each group, you pick the ones you like! You are allowed 2 servings of natural starches per cycle 2 day, such as oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, couscous etc. Some of the starchy vegetables listed are sweet potatoes, yams, butternut squash, spaghetti squash etc. For the next 17 days, these are some new options that I can have, every other day alternating with Cycle 1. Not bad, right?! Although I am not following it strictly but using it as a guide I am still enjoying it and am feeling lighter and more energetic every day!

Here is a Sample Day on Cycle 2

Wake up drink - 1 cup of hot water with 1/2 squeezed lemon
Breakfast – 1/2 cup oatmeal or grits, cooked, 4 scrambled egg whites, 1 peach and 1 cup of green tea
Lunch – grilled chicken or shrimp on lettuce with lots of veggies, 1 medium baked sweet potato and 1 cup green tea
Dinner – Grilled pork chops, steamed or boiled cabbage, large toss salad, 1 cup green tea
Snacks – 1 medium orange and yogurt

Since I don’t eat pork and very rarely eat red meat my choices are chicken or turkey. Well lately Kailey, my oldest daughter and I have been on a ground turkey breast kick. She loves taco’s and could eat them every night but after looking at the sodium content (even on the low sodium option) on the back of the seasoning packet my mouth dropped! After searching the web I found a GREAT taco seasoning recipe with only 9mg of sodium compared to 560mg that’s in the packet!

I decided to try it out on my version of the 17 Day Diet’s Taco Salad!

Turkey Taco Salad

1 lb. ground turkey breast
taco seasoning (see link above)
lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, peppers, etc
monterey jack and cheddar cheese, shredded

First of all make sure you are using ground turkey BREAST, just regular ground turkey contains the skins so it’s as fattening as 80% ground beef. Brown the turkey in a pan until cooked through and sprinkle several teaspoons (or more to your liking) on the cooked turkey. Serve on a bed of lettuce with your favorite salad toppings along with the shredded cheese. Where’s the dressing? I feel it really doesn’t need any since there is so much flavor form the turkey but feel free to add your favorite!

Not in the mood or don’t have time for a salad? Make a wrap out of it!

Next week I will be posting another option that uses this same ground turkey recipe that will be a hit for your Super Bowl party!

Hope your day is going well!!

More White Stuff

2011-01-18T14:19:00.001-05:00

Not only has more snow been falling outside all day, it is now changing over to sleet. Oh joy, just want I was wishing for! As long as it doesn’t turn into another ice storm…

At least someone in this house is enjoying yet another day off from school.

Not only do they like to play in it, they like to eat it!

Should I feel insulted?

And “P” in it…the dogs that is!

Some go a little overboard…

No hot chocolate for you!!! Sorry, hubby is a HUGE Seinfeld fan, I couldn’t resist! I have never made a pot of soup without him quoting the soup nazi from Seinfeld! No Soup For You!!! lol

As much as I would enjoy a bowl of soup on a day like today, I can’t help but wish I was back here by the pool eating a refreshing bowl of yogurt n’ fruit with some homemade granola. Mmmm!

Then reality strikes!

Would it be too much to ask if we could fast forward about 3 months!

*Here’s a little tip for drying out wet mittens and boots overnight, stuff them with newspaper and they’ll be dry by morning!

Back on Track

2011-01-15T15:42:00.000-05:00

I haven’t done a whole lot of cooking or baking the past few weeks, hence the lack of recipes on my blog lately. After the holidays, like everyone else I feel like I am on a sugar and carb overload and in dire need for a complete cleanse of everything.

So I thought this would be a great time to get back on my healthy lifestyle and to help me get started I borrowed this from a friend…

The 17 Day Diet by Dr. Mike Moreno. I have seen him on all the morning shows talking about his new diet that consists of four 17 Day cycles; Accelerate, Activate, Achieve and Arrive. He states that if you follow this diet strictly and exercise you can lose as much as 12-15 lbs during the first cycle. On this diet you eat lean proteins, vegetables, low sugar fruits, natural carbs, probiotics and good fats. This sounded pretty sensible to me so I decided to go ahead and give Cycle 1 –Accelerate a try. My main goal is not to lose a lot of weight but to get back on a healthy balanced diet, so I am not strictly following this, just using it as a guide. On this cycle you can eat unlimited amounts of protein and cleansing vegetables, some fruits, healthy fats and probiotics but are restricted from carbs. Did I mention how much I love carbs?! I’m going to be honest, by day 3 I wanted to cry! But once I got over that hump I felt great! It’s actually very easy to follow, there is a complete menu and recipes for 17 days of each cycle so all the guess work has been taken out for you. Each food category has a list and you choose your favorites.

Hear is a sample menu:

Wake up drink - 1 cup of hot water with 1/2 squeezed lemon (At first I thought no way can I wake up and drink that…..turns out I love it and it gets things moving if you know want I mean!!

Breakfast – 2 hard boiled or poached eggs, 1/2 grapefruit or other fruit from the list and 1 cup of green tea

Lunch – Super salad with unlimited veggies with 1 tbl olive oil mix with balsamic vinegar and 1 cup of green tea

Dinner – Plenty of grilled chicken with unlimited amounts of veggies, steamed or raw, 1 cup of green tea

Snacks – yogurt and 1 fruit from the list (I usually have these between breakfast and lunch)

drink plenty of water throughout the day

Why green tea with every meal? It contains natural chemicals that increase fat burn.

My biggest challenge besides no carbs has been getting in the veggies, this diet has definitely helped me try things that I have never tried before! Lunch has also been difficult because I am used to just having greek yogurt with some fruit and now I am eating so much more whether it’s a salad, homemade soup or a grilled chicken wrap.

How have I done so far? After finishing up Cycle 1, I feel great, I have so much more energy and much to my surprise I have lost over 7 lbs. Yikes!! This cycle is great if you have a special occasion coming up that you want to look and feel great for or just to get you butt back on track like me!

On to Cycle 2 – Activate which incorporates natural carbs back into the diet! Yay, I can’t wait!!

This week I made my version of the Chicken -Vegetable Soup, one of the recipes from the book. Although it may not look very appetizing in the picture it was AWESOME!!!

Homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup

Makes 4 large bowls

1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast – cooked
1 tsp. olive oil
1 large carrot, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 cup of frozen okra
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup cauliflower
1 pkg. spinach
15 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 14 oz. cans low sodium chicken broth
pesto*
salt and pepper

In a large pot cook onions, celery and carrots in a tsp of oil until tender. Add crushed tomatoes and chicken broth, bring to a boil. Add the cauliflower and okra and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Next add the cooked chicken and spinach, cook until its wilted down then just before serving stir in pesto.

*If you remember my post here about freezing pesto in ice cube trays, I thought this would be a perfect soup to add one of those cubes and boy was I right! Delish!!!

On to Cycle 2, wish me luck!!

Did I mention I’m taking my hubby along for the ride???

Snow Day!!

2011-01-12T14:33:00.001-05:00

Oh to be a kid again! The only bummer was school got cancelled yesterday, a whole day before the storm even started. I remember as a child going to bed at night waiting anxiously for the morning to arrive to have my mom come in and tell me school had been cancelled. Seems as if the fun of it has been taken away, none the less the girls were thrilled for our first official big nor’easter!

Long gone are the days with the big wooden sleds which weighed more than us that we’d have to lug up and down the hills. I found this snow seat for only a few dollars for a 2pk. that works great!

Getting plummeted by dad!

What’s the best thing about playing in the snow?? Coming inside to some of mom’s homemade hot chocolate!

I think some snow got to their brain! lol

Mom’s Hot Chocolate

milk
milk chocolate
cinnamon
marshmallows

Simmer some milk on the stove and bring almost to a boil, add chocolate and cinnamon and stir until chocolate is melted. Pour into mug and add marshmallows and a left over candy cane if desired.

Happy Snow Day!!

My Birthday Weekend

2011-01-10T20:37:00.002-05:00

Don’t you love it when you birthday falls on a weekend rather than a weekday? It just gives you the excuse to celebrate a little longer or in my case get pampered for as long as I can stretch it out!
I woke up to Jordyn singing Happy Birthday to me from her bed, she may be tiny and sweet but she has a set of pipes on her that could wake the dead! lol

The girls had the day planned out with some spa treatments…
Jordyn did my ~~fingers~~ nails

while Kailey gave me a pedi.

What is the perfect gift to go along with my nails???

A visit to The Coach Outlet of course! Hubby was suppose to be taking a pic of my new purse…oops! The girls and I could have stayed in there for hours!
What’s the best way to end your birthday weekend???

The cutest chocolate cupcakes made by the girls with dad!

Chocolate makes turning a year older that much easier!!
Happy Monday, hope your week is off to a great start!

Playing Catch Up

2011-01-05T12:18:00.002-05:00

We had an unexpected visitor at our house…

it wasn’t the guy with the long white beard and a cherry nose. It was more like the Grinch but only worse….much worse! He didn’t steal our Christmas but he did ruin a good portion of our vacation week. And for all of you parents or teachers out there you know that once one person has it, it spreads like wild fire. Just when you think it’s over you are suddenly awaken at night to the quick pitter patter of feet to the bathroom only to find out they didn’t quite make it that far! On the bright side, I have discovered that hubby is a fantastic housekeeper and I now have a pristine house to start the New Year!
Here’s a quick catch up of our Christmas!
Christmas Eve is always celebrated at our house with my side of the family. Although I took the night off from taking pics of the food, it is a tradition to have calzones from our local bakery, lots of easy finger foods and dips along with lots of sweet treats!

Pillow Pets!!!

Tracking Santa on Dad’s phone before heading to bed!! He’s was very generous this year!

It wouldn’t be Christmas morning without these..

Christmas Day is spent with the in-laws playing games and doing crafts.
Christmas Bingo, anyone?! Playing for nickels, go big or go home! lol

How ‘bout some cookie decorating?

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

Barefoot Books Giveaway Winner!

2011-01-02T21:35:00.002-05:00

Thank you to everyone that entered the giveaway for Kids Kitchen and a huge thank you to Barefoot Books for your generosity!

The lucky winner is Jen R. from So I Was Thinking
She said she likes the Fabrics of Fairy Tale book.
Congratulations Jen!

Can’t Forget the Reindeer!!!

2010-12-24T16:42:00.002-05:00

Magic Reindeer Food

1/2 cup dry oatmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup red and green food crystals

*Do not use glitter as it is harmful to birds
“Be sue to take this magic food and sprinkle on the lawn, on Christmas Eve, Santa’s reindeer travel miles before the dawn. The smell of oats and crystal path will guide them on their way and you’ll wake up to Santa’s gifts next morning on Christmas Day.”

Cookies for Santa

2010-12-23T21:17:00.002-05:00

Ready or not Christmas is here and the last thing on our to-do list is cookies for Santa!
Santa works hard all year round so why not spoil him with the best cookies on the planet! My mom gave me this recipe years ago and I have been making them ever since! They are crispy and full of chocolate chips and chunks of chocolate bar! As my girls would say, ooey and gooey!! The only thing that would make these cookies better would be some nuts, but just in case Santa has a nut allergy we will leave them out.
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

2 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
12 oz. chocolate chips
4 oz. Hershey bar

Blend the oatmeal into a fine powder and put aside. *This is a perfect addition for Santa to keep his belly full for his journey around the world!

Next cream the butter and both sugars then add the eggs and vanilla.

Combine the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder and slowly combine with the creamed mixture.

Finally chop the Hershey bar into little pieces and add it to the dough along with the chocolate chips. Scoop out dough about the size of a tablespoon and place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for approx. 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Makes 4 dozen large cookies
According to Jordyn they are best right out of the oven, even if its only 8am!

Santa’s cookies are ready and waiting, now for his reindeer….

Snow and Clusters

2010-12-21T11:53:00.002-05:00

The snow has arrived here in MA and it’s FINALLY looking and feeling like Christmas!!

It’s also sounding a lot like Christmas around here, too! Are your children begging you to open just ONE gift early and they swear they won’t ask again and be on their best behavior till the “big man” arrives?! Well, lucky enough for my girls and more so lucky for me because we celebrate Christmas early with my hubby’s side of the family. It works out so well because it really cuts down on the traveling we have to do on Christmas Day. And wouldn’t you know the girls got to open up some presents and I am officially off the hook!!

I though I’d share one of the quick and easy desserts I brought! Last year when I met Ellie Krieger, from the Food Network, she made these Cherry Almond Chocolate Clusters and handed them out. They were delicious!! I love the combo of cherry and chocolate!
This recipe only has three ingredients and you probably already have them on hand! Almonds, chocolate and dried cherries.

Melt the chocolate over simmering water then add the almonds and cherries.

Spoon out the mixture into clusters on a wax paper lined baking sheet.

Put in the fridge until they are set and serve at room temperature.

It’s that fast and easy! Give them a try, you won’t be disappointed!!

Barefoot Books Review and Giveaway!

2010-12-12T19:02:00.002-05:00

I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Barefoot Books store and if you read this post you will remember how I described it as walking into a box of crayons, not only the store but also the beautiful books that are throughout.

Just as fabulous as the store, they have a great online shop where you can view and step inside their books. They also have free digital content which includes Podcast Story Time , Videos and Arts N’ Crafts. If you’d like to subscribe to the videos, you can find them on YouTube and iTunes.

I had the pleasure of reviewing Kids Kitchen which is a set of forty recipe deck cards that are fun and healthy, come in a thick sturdy box and are coated so they can be easily wiped off. These forty recipes are broken down into five food groups; Eggs & Beans, Fantastic Fruit, Milk & Dairy, Spuds & Grains and Vital Vegetables. Along with these cards comes a folded card that contains information about each food group, vitamins and minerals

This is a great way to introduce your children to cooking and making healthy choices in the kitchen. Your children will be having a blast as they will be learning many things such as, useful skills, how to be safe in the kitchen and learning all about foods from around the world.

These recipes are easy to follow and fun to make, here are some pictures of my girls making the Breakfast Friends and Apple Volcanoes. They did a great job and the food was delicious! And best of all they were so proud of themselves!

Let me tell you, I have one of the pickiest girls in the world (the one on the left) and she devoured her food! Kids Kitchen is a great way to get kids excited about food and to teach them how to make healthy choices. I give this a two thumbs up!!

“We have to eat to live; by learning to cook, we also learn to live well.” ~Barefoot Books

Keep in mind that all these recipes are vegetarian and can be an accompaniment to any meat, fish or poultry. Speaking of vegetarian, don’t forget to check out this book while your browsing the store online! It’s about Herb, a peace-loving vegetarian dragon who lives in a forest with carnivorous dragons! He is captured by the knights…will he eat meat in order to save his own life?? You’ll have to wait and see for yourself!

Barefoot Books also has an Ambassador program which was featured on Good Morning America, you can see the video here. This program is a great way to make some extra money for your family or fundraise for your child’s school by selling their fabulous books! Go here for information on how you can become an Ambassador.

Now for the part you’ve been waiting for, the give-a-way!!!

Barefoot Books has been gracious enough to send one lucky reader their very own Kids Kitchen! In order qualify for this give-a-way you have to live in North America and please keep in mind that they can’t ship to PO boxes.

Mandatory Entry

Visit Barefoot Books and leave a comment about your favorite title!
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Additional Entries (Leave a separate comment for each entry)

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This giveaway will end on January 2, 2011 at 9pm EST. The winner will be notified by mail and has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Good Luck!

**Kids Kitchen and Herb the Vegetarian Dragon were given to me for review, the opinions and comments are all mine.

Hawaiian Friday

2010-12-11T14:08:00.002-05:00

We have been so busy lately that our Pizza Fridays have been few and far between but last night we actually didn’t have any plans, no playdates or sleepovers for the girls so we celebrated with one of our favs, Hawaiian Pizza!
Nothing special or different about this pizza, just amazingly delish and so much cheaper than takeout!
I took some store bought whole wheat pizza dough, rolled it out and topped it with some tomato sauce.

Next, I sprinkled a little bit on mozzarella cheese on top and layered the pineapple chunks and black forest ham and a little more mozzarella cheese.

Baked it in a 450 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted is starting to brown.

It’s even easier and faster than takeout, too!
Have you ever sliced up black forest ham into thin ribbons and browned them in a pan on the stove until they were crispy? Tastes as good as bacon, I love topping my salads or baked potatoes with it!
Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!!

Old El Paso Giveaway Winner!!

2010-12-05T22:04:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone, how was your weekend? Getting your holiday shopping done? I am slowing crossing things off my list, I can’t wait to be done so all I have to think about is cooking!

Just wanted to thank everyone who entered the Old El Paso Giveaway! The lucky winner is….

Keli from Feeding Four!

She said: “I’d like to try Southwestern Chicken Taco Salad! That just sounds wonderful!”

Congrats Keli!

Since I hate doing posts with no pictures and I haven’t been baking or cooking lately I thought I’d share a picture Kailey took of her breakfast that she made over the weekend.

She couldn’t decide if she wanted cereal or nut butter on toast so she had both! Love how she is thinking outside the box!

‘Night!

Welcome, December!

2010-12-01T18:45:00.001-05:00

Happy December 1st, the official countdown to Santa’s arrival has begun in our household!! The house is decorated inside and out, the stockings are hung and the baking has continued.

Last week was the annual holiday fair at school so Jordyn’s class was assigned to make some cookies and Kailey’s class, sweet bread. It will come to no surprise that Jordyn picked her favorite cookie, Peanut Butter Blossoms. In fact, rumor has it that these are Santa’s favorites also!

For the sweet bread I knew just where I was going to look for a new recipe. I’ve always had great success with Tina’s from Carrots N’ Cake sweet breads and I’ve been meaning to try the Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf . Can I just tell you how easy and delicious it was! I love recipes where you just measure out the ingredients, mix and pour! I divided the wet and dry ingredients up for the sake of taking some pictures but you can just put everything in one bowl, simple cleanup!

OK! I know, I swore to myself I was not going to open up another can of pumpkin but I just couldn’t resist! This WILL be my last pumpkin recipe post…fingers crossed! lol

I love the hint of nutmeg in this bread!

I poured mine into two mini tins, I think they are the perfect size.

Packaged up and ready for the holiday bake sale!

‘Night!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T21:05:00.002-05:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful day with family, friends and good food! I just wanted to share a quick recipe that is a must at our Thanksgiving table, Apple Squares. It’s one of the things that everyone in the family looks forward to!
I can remember making these when I was a little girl with my great aunt, we would clear the kitchen table, roll up our sleeves and dive into a world of sweet, sweet apples and the flakiest dough you could ever dream of!
Apple Squares
Dough:

5 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 cups shortening
4 eggs, separated
1 cup milk
2 cups crushed cornflakes

Combine the flour and salt in bowl and cut in shortening.

In bowl beat egg yolks and milk, reserve the egg whites for later.

Add egg mixture to the flour mixure

Mix dough until combined and form into a ball and cut in half. Refrigerate for an hour or so.

In the meantime, crush your cornflakes into very fine pieces. Perfect job for the little ones!

Roll out the dough and place it on a 15 x10 sheet pan. If you’re terrible at rolling out dough like I am than this is the perfect dough for you! It’s great for piecing together and once it’s baked, it’s so flaky that no one will ever know!

Filling:

6 apples
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Slice up the apples, we always used granny smith apples, why I have no idea but you can use your favorite kind. Toss them with the sugar and cinnamon.

Place the apple in a flat layer on top of cornflakes.

Roll out the remaining dough, place on top of the apples layer, cut some slits to let the steam escape and seal the edges. Beat the egg whites until foamy and spread on top of the crust.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour, until the crust is golden. Cool slightly.

If that doesn’t look delicious on it’s own there’s one more step!
Icing:

1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 tbl water

Combine the above ingredients and drizzle till your hearts content! I usually make these a day ahead so the next day I will cut them into 24 squares.

These squares will put any apple pie to shame!! A little bit of advice, if you decide to make these for a holiday party, make sure you keep a few squares at home for yourself! They will be gone as soon as you unwrap them!
p.s.
Could I make these square more healthy, substituting the shortening for a better option? Absolutely. But, some things should just be left alone and this is one of them.
It’s Thanksgiving, to me that means family traditions, our day just wouldn’t be the same without them…
‘Night!

From Biscuits to Blah

2010-11-23T20:15:00.001-05:00

Have you ever baked something that you have been craving only for it to turn out to be a huge disappointment? That was me this morning, biscuits…how hard can it be?!

It wasn’t just the biscuits that I was looking forward to, but the spread that was going on them. First, let’s just start with the biscuits…

Dry ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup toasted wheat germ
2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt

Wet ingredients:

2/3 cup buttermilk
2 tbl. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp honey

so far so good right?! Here’s where I think I went wrong, may have needed more butter.

Sift dry ingredients and mix 2 tbls butter with a pastry blender.

Now add the wet and mix just until combined.

add a couple handfuls of cranberries

Turn out onto counter and lightly kneed , roll out to 1/2 inch thick and cut out circles

Place on sheet pan and bake in 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.

The finished product…

wasn’t terrible but certainly not my favorite, what a bummer! So to try and jazz up the flavor I decided to spread some Cranberry Lime Sauce on them.

I loved this spread when I tasted it here but to tell you the truth I really didn’t care for it today. Maybe it was the crackers that tasted so good! lol

Nope, I don’t think anything can save these poor biscuits except….

Miley! Do you think she knows that she is getting my kitchen blunders?? Frankly, I don’t think she cares! lol Back to the drawing board for me!!

‘Night!

Taco's and a Giveaway!

2010-11-21T20:45:00.003-05:00

With the girls growing and getting older I find that our schedule and weekly routines are becoming more and more hectic. Lately it seems as if days can go by without having a nice sit down meal at the table as a family.
Old El Paso has come up with this brilliant idea of setting aside at least one night a month for “family taco night”. To help with this Old El Paso offers a variety of sauces, salsa, meal kits, etc. to make dinner in a cinch.

Through MyBlogSpark, Old El Paso provided me with a great prize pack of a packet of original Old El Paso Taco Seasoning, a Cactus Chip & Dip Serving dish, a set of 3 Fiesta Chili Pepper serving dishes and a $10 gift card to purchase my taco fixings.
Since Old El Paso makes it so easy to prepare a meal with their dinner kits, I decided to let my 11 year old daughter, Kailey prepare our taco’s for our own “family taco night fiesta”.

She first began by cutting up all the toppings for our tacos.

Now on to the taco filling…browning the hamburg

Adding the Old El Paso Taco seasoning

Adding the water, Old El Paso salsa and sauce…

Bring mixture to a boil and let simmer for 3-4 minutes

Easy peasy, done in less than 20 minutes! Time to sit down and enjoy!

One well deserved bite!!! Great job Kailey and thanks to Old El Paso, dinner was stress free and delicious!!

As if that wasn’t fun enough we played El Tacodor TM, the worlds only family taco night game. This game consists of challenging one another to quick fire trivia, wordplay or pantomime. Some of the games we played were:
Toon Time: Pick a partner and together you have 1 minute to name 10 animated movies.
W Words: Pick a partner and together name 5 foods that start with the letter “W”.
And my favorite,
You Crack Me Up: You have to carefully hold a taco shell in your mouth and sing the alphabet song without breaking the shell! Here’s how the girls did!!
Kailey vs. Jorydn

Oooopppps!!!

Sweet, sweet victory!

We have never laughed so hard at dinner than we did tonight and as a matter of fact we have never sat at the table for that long either!
Want to plan your own family taco night fiesta? Visit El Tacodor and download the instructions, score card and a challenge sheet of our own!
To get started you can click here to download a printable coupon for $0.60 off any two Old El Paso products via MyBlogSpark.
Giveaway!!!!
And best of all Old El Paso and MyBlogSpark would like to give one lucky reader a family taco night prize pack of your own which will consist of:

Old El Paso Taco Seasoning
Cactus Chip & Dip Serving Dish
3 Fiesta Chili Pepper serving dishes
$10 gift card to purchase taco toppings

Mandatory Entry

Be a blog follower and make sure you leave your email address
Visit Old El Paso and share with me what recipe you’d like to try for your family game night Fiesta.

Additional Entries (please leave a separate comment for each entry)

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Share your favorite taco topping

Contest Ends December 5, 2010 at 9pm. Winner will be notified by email and has 48 hours to respond or new winner will be chosen.
Good luck!!!

Boston Parent Bloggers Launch Party

2010-11-19T20:44:00.003-05:00

So as you already know, last night I attended the launch party for Boston Parent Bloggers!
What a great night! The founders, Christy Matte and Jodi Grundig did a wonderful job organizing this event. Thank you for all the hard work you put in for this successful night!

The event took place at Barefoot Books in Concord, Ma. This was my first visit and let me just say, walking in the door was like walking right into a box of crayons! See for yourself..

You couldn’t help but want to bring you inner kid out! Not only do they have beautiful books and story time but they offer daily events such as music, yoga, crafts and kids kitchen!
The food was catered by Peapod, there was something for everyone and the fact that I didn’t have to prepare dinner tonight made it that much more enjoyable! Thank you Peapod!!!

To go with the great food there were some wonderful giveaways, a few of which I won!! As we ended the night we each received 2 swag bags full of some great items from some very generous sponsors! Thank you!!!

I won a yummy gift basket full of chocolates, crackers n’ cheese from Wine Country Gift Baskets, a supply of Pop Chips and my favorite of all a dinner for four to Aura which is located in the Seaport Hotel in Boston! Christmas has come early for me!!!
It was so nice meeting new bloggers and putting some faces to their blogs! Wish there was more time to meet and talk with everyone. That just goes to show what a great turnout there was. Here I am with Jane and Kristi.

Can’t wait for the next one!

p.s. Have to give props to hubby for holding down the fort last night! I could get used to this real quick!!

Black N’ White

2010-11-18T15:38:00.002-05:00

The weekend is almost here and this mom is celebrating it a little early!

Mommy-at-home vs. Mom’s Night Out is like black and white!

From fluffy cheetah slippers to…

From elastic waist sweats and oversized sweatshirts to…

And from hair bands as jewelry to…

Tonight I am attending the Boston Parent Bloggers launch party tonight and I am really looking forward to making some new friends and putting some faces to the blogs!!

Hubby is holding down the fort tonight!

Homework
Dinner
Dishes
Snacks
Brushing teeth
Bedtime

Hmmm, wonder which one is going to fall off the list?! Wish him luck!!

C ‘ya!!

A Bowl of Holiday Cheer

2010-11-16T19:21:00.001-05:00

Are you one of those people that finds it very annoying to have Christmas shoved down your throat before you can even digest your Thanksgiving meal? That’s me!!!!

Maybe you are one of those people that goes from Halloween to Christmas and skips Thanksgiving all together?!

Guess what?! I live with one of “those” people…my husband! Busted!!!

Not only did I catch him stringing up the lights but he was also blaring Christmas music…our poor, poor neighbors!

Don’t get me wrong, I am no Grinch, I love everything Christmas….just after Thanksgiving!! lol

So in keeping with my husbands holiday cheer I decided to play along and make a festive soup for dinner. This recipe is from Weight Watchers, I followed it loosely, click here for the original recipe.

Tortellini Tomato Spinach Soup

To a large pot I added about 6 cups of low sodium chicken broth and about 4 cups of water. This is almost double the amount in the original recipe, I loves lots of broth in my soups.

Then I added a large can of whole tomatoes that I diced up myself. You can buy tomatoes already diced, the fire roasted ones would work well. I just used what I already had on hand.

Next I added some dried oregano and brought the broth mixture to a boil.

Once it comes to a boil add the tortellini, I used frozen. Cook and stir often, once the tortellini floats to the top, you know it’s done.

Add the whole bag of spinach and cook another 2-3 minutes.

You can add some parmesan cheese but I chose to leave it out since the tortellini is already filled with cheese. This soup is so easy, fast and delicious!

Doesn’t this look like a big bowl of holiday cheer?!

Hopefully this will satisfy hubby’s holiday spirit until AFTER Thanksgiving!

Back At It….Again

2010-11-11T14:24:00.002-05:00

Happy Veterans Day! I would like to send out a great big thank you to all veterans who have sacrificed their lives and families to keep us safe.
Today I didn’t something that I haven’t done it a long time, something that has been long overdue! And I am so happy to say that I am back at it!

I put my sneakers back on and went for a walk and can I tell you I wasn’t the only happy camper, the dogs were thrilled! Unfortunately, I haven’t kept up with my running schedule since the girls have gone back to school and I miss it terribly. I’ve decided to put it on hold until the spring since I really can’t give it 100%. Bummer…but I have re-committed myself to getting in a workout everyday. No excuses!!! lol
After my walk I was greeted with Kailey and her patriotic breakfast!

Now if I can only get my youngest to eat like this, I would be one proud Mom!
This morning I was in the mood for something warm and soothing so I made up a batch of Apple Cider Steel Cut Oats.
I forgot to add the apple cider for this pic, what a dope!

On the stove bring 3 cups of apple cider to a slight boil and add 1 cup steel cut oats, 1 chopped apple and 1 chopped pear.

Add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon

and 1/2 tsp of pure maple syrup

Cover and cook on low for about 15-20 minutes.

Scoop some out

add some walnuts and enjoy!
My house smells like one huge apple pie! Mmmmmm
I can’t wait to re-heat some of this up in the morning, it’s a perfect way to start the day!!
You can actually prepare this the night before and cook it in a crock pot on low, now that’s something to wake up to!

My Weakness Makeover

2010-11-08T12:04:00.002-05:00

Do you have a weakness for a particular food that you just can’t live with out? Even if you know how bad it is for you, you just can’t help it?

For my husband it would be onions, even though they are not bad for him…the effects are bad for me and the girls.

For Kailey it would be hot tamale candy ~ a dentist’s best friend.

For Jordyn it would have to be french onion dip…straight up, no chips!

For me it’s barbecue chips, any kind…any brand. After looking at the labels in the grocery store this weekend to try and find the “healthiest” one and the one with the shortest ingredient list, I decided to give a hand at trying to make them myself. How hard could it be? Potatoes with a little bit of oil and some spices minus all the preservatives. Easy enough!

Homemade Barbecue Chips

3 russet potatoes
1 tbl. olive oil
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Heat oven to 450 degrees and combine spices. Slice the potatoes very thin or let your food processor do it for you.

Coat the potato slices with olive oil and add the spices until all the slices are completely covered. Spread on a baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake for about 20 minutes, watch them closely as they are apt to burn since they are so thin…trust me!

Voila!!! They taste like they are right out of the bag, only better!!!

Is it easier opening up a bag of chips and popping them into your mouth? Absolutely! But sometimes it’s just fun trying to re-create one of your favs and making them even better!

Not a fan of barbecue? Omit the spices and just add salt for plain chips!

Happy Monday!

Spiced Apple Cider Muffins

2010-11-06T18:59:00.002-04:00

What’s better than picking up the last of the leaves before the snow begins to fly?

Coming in to the most delicious muffins that mom has been baking all morning! I found this recipe on EatingWell.com, click here for the recipe.
Spiced Apple Cider Muffins
Streusel

2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
4 teaspoons whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts

Muffins

1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 large egg
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup apple butter
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup apple cider
1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
1/4 cup canola oil

To make the streusel, combine the ingredients and with a pastry blender, cut in the butter until it forms coarse crumbs.

Whisk the dry ingredients: both flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg

Whisk the wet ingredients: brown sugar, egg, apple butter, maple syrup, apple cider, yogurt and oil

Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture and pour in the wet mixture. Stir until just combined and scoop into a prepared muffin tin, top with streusel topping.

Bake at 400 degrees for approx. 15-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

I wouldn’t change a thing about these muffins, they were perfect!
Sunday morning is going to taste so delicious!!!

Hope your weekend is going well!

A Crude Awakening

2010-11-05T21:06:00.001-04:00

Am I the only one who has taken this long to sit and watch this movie? Well I finally did the other night…

The only word that comes to my mind is disturbing, and how can I be so naïve? I will never shop the grocery store the same way ever again. Luckily, I am not a huge fan of meat, I very rarely eat red meat, no pork just usually chicken and that’s only once or twice a week. Needless to say there is no chicken in my fridge today and frankly I don’t care if there ever is again. My husband of course watched this with me and was quite taken back by it, then again his first concern is “What about Tom Turkey”???? lol

So for dinner tonight we had pizza of course since it’s Friday. I thought I’d go out on a limb and try something completely different…beans. Knowing that hubby is not a huge fan of beans, probably one of the only things he doesn’t eat with enthusiasm, I had my fingers crossed. I thought what the heck, after that movie he can’t expect me to cook up a meat lovers pizza. I found this recipe from Eating Well, click here to see the recipe.

Caramelized Onion and White Bean Pizza

I sliced up a large onion in the food processor and browned them slowly in a pan with olive oil and a little salt until golden brown. Take half the onions and reserve them for later.

Add a can of white beans to the remaining onions and cook for a few minutes. Next add this mixture to the food processor with water and vinegar and process until it is a course paste.

Pre-bake the pizza dough for about 10 minutes at 450 degrees. Then just spread the bean mixture on the crust, added the reserved onions on top along with sliced tomatoes and I used mozzarella cheese.

Put back in oven for about 13 minutes until cheese is melted and crust is golden.

Looks delicious, right? Hubby didn’t think so at all, poor guy ~~tried to~~ ~~choke down~~ ate the pizza to much dismay. Can you say operation failure. I thought it was good, not great. Need to dress up the bean mixture a little and add more onions. It’s all a work in progress…the pizza, my husband and our eating habits.

Wish me luck!!

My New Toy

2010-11-03T15:11:00.003-04:00

When hubby and I were newly married and Pampered Chef was all the rage, we had every kitchen gadget! From the garlic press to the egg separator and food chopper. Although I still have many of those gadgets, some of them just take up space in my drawers. I’d rather take my frustrations out on garlic by smashing it with my knife and who wouldn’t love juggling a yoke between a halved egg shell! Call me strange but I love chopping and dicing veggies by hand, I find it very therapeutic even if it takes a little extra time and effort.

But this weekend I broke down and bought a Cuisinart Food Processor!! I have the mini one that I like to use to make dips and dressings but the problem with this is it’s just too small. So the 11 cup was on sale and I had a coupon so I couldn’t pass up a great deal.
Today, I am finally getting a chance to play with it. It came with three discs: regular slicing , extra thin slicing and shredding, a chopping blade and the dough blade along with a large feeding tube and two covers, not to mention the how-to video.

I LOVE the slicing blades! No more near misses for my digits while trying to slice potatoes extra thin for baked potatoes chips. I can never get them thin enough or all the same size, this does the job super quick and perfect every time!
Not so crazy about chopping veggies in here, I tried an onion and pepper.

A little to wet and sloppy for me, it just seemed too mushy. I think I will continue to chop veggies by hand unless I am looking for this consistency in a particular recipe.
The main purpose for purchasing this was to make my pesto, granola bars and finally try to make some hummus! No more making things in little batches like I have been doing with the mini! Now I can just through all the ingredients in, press on and I’ll be done in no time! Yay!!!
Since basil doesn’t grow year round here I always try and harvest by November, make a huge batch of pesto then freeze it in an ice cube tray for the winter. It is the perfect portion size for adding to soups or thawing out and spreading on a sandwich, pasta or pizza….I could go on and on!
Simple Basil Pesto

Basil leaves
toasted pine nuts
garlic
lemon juice
parmesan cheese
olive oil
salt and pepper

Blend all ingredients and add to an ice cube tray (wrap tightly to prevent freezer burn) and store in freezer.

Enjoy fresh basil pesto through the winter…if it lasts that long!
So all in all I am very happy with my purchase, can’t wait to try some hummus, need to find a great recipe! Any suggestions?!
What’s your favorite thing to make in the food processor?

Happy Halloween!!!

2010-10-31T20:35:00.002-04:00

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween.
Since we knew the girls would be loading up their bags with sugary treats, we decided to make some adult treats of our own. I love caramel apples, but unfortunately they are terrible for your teeth and not the easiest thing to eat. I found this quick and easy recipe from Kraft for caramel dip and I have to say it’s just as good and so much easier to eat.
Creamy Caramel -Peanut Butter Dip

2 or 3 apples
25 Caramels
2 tbl peanut butter
1/4 cup milk
chopped peanuts
mini chocolate chips

Melt the caramels, peanut butter and milk in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.

Slice apples and dip into melted caramel dip and cover with you favorite toppings!

Loved this little snack, it was the perfect amount of sweetness! We had some left over so I dipped some pretzels, I think these were my fav!

Then it was off for Trick or Treating, our town moved it up from 6pm to 5pm and with Daylight Savings Time being pushed back a week I have to admit it was a little strange going out in the daylight. But nonetheless the girls had a great time!
Jordyn was a cheerleader…

After Kailey realized she was not going to win the battle with me over dressing as Lady Gaga, she decided to go as a hobo. She did a great job of pulling this look together all by herself, another reminder that she is growing up and I am getting old. lol

Can’t forget the dogs…

‘Night!

Pumpkin Guts N’ Glory

2010-10-30T21:24:00.003-04:00

Large round slippery pumpkin + knife carving kit + 2 kids and 1 accident-prone husband = one very nervous mom.
Does this sound familiar to anyone?
Today we finally ~~helped~~ let the girls carve the pumpkins, something they have been begging us to do for the entire month…something I have been dreading the entire month. I’ll take pumpkins guts all over the kitchen any day over a severed finger!
Dad is so thrilled with the guts, a surgeon he is not! I was very proud that not one power tool was pulled out for this project!

A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do!

Miley never turns down an invitation for a taste…

Kailey is giving Miley and Maggie a lesson on how to not let the pumpkin roll off your lap and stab yourself with a carving tool.

Jordyn is just beaming with pride that mom is letting her do it by herself….

…or not, hey she’s still my baby, she still lets me kiss her goodbye in front of her friends, brush her hair and help pick her clothes out. I’m milking this kid for all she’s worth! :

After an hour of listening to myself repeatedly say, “be careful”, “pay attention to what your doing”, “your head is going to roll” (I’ve always wanted to say that) I have to say that they did a darn good job, they still have all their fingers and my girls really ARE growing up and then it hit my, that can only mean one thing….I’m getting old!

Can you see the resemblance?

Now for mom’s treat, roasted pumpkin seeds!!!! I love just plain pumpkins seeds with a little olive oil and salt.
Can you believe no one volunteered to wash the seeds?!
No guts, no glory!

Boil the seeds in water for 10 minutes after de-gutting.

Pat them dry and coat with 1 tsp of olive oil and salt to your desire.

Roast in a 250 degree oven 1 hour, turning every 15 minutes.

Pop them in your mouth and call it a successful day! De-lish!

‘Night!

Trick or Cake?

2010-10-28T15:21:00.004-04:00

It’s October, right? Could have fooled me!
As I sat outside this morning, closing my eyes with the warm sun shining down I could have sworn that it was still August…

even though I could still smell Autumn in the air and hear the rustling of the leaves across the lawn. Stay with me now, I was having a moment…
Then I opened my eyes and realized that Mother Nature has one sick sense of humor!!!!

Like it or not, Old Man Winter is knocking at the door! Why not let him in and serve some cake!!!
OK, maybe not the cake you are thinking of but pretty darn close! The other day I came across this recipe on Stacey’s blog for Maple Cinnamon Rustic Scones. It only had a few ingredients and looked easy, so I gave them a try with a few variations. Click on the link above to see her recipe.

Here are a few of the ingredients:

Combine the dry ingredients:

2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour (I added 1/4 cup more)
1/2 cup oats
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon

Cut in 2 tbls. butter with a pastry blender until it just starts to resembles course crumbs

Add 1/2 cup milk ( I would have used buttemilk if I had it on hand), 2 tbls. maple syrup and I chose to add some diced apple. Do not over mix!

I chose to toast about a 1/4 cup of pecans and some wheat germ on the stove and added that to 1 tbl. brown sugar and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon for more of a crunchy topping.

Divide the dough into four equal portions, place on the sheet pan, shape into whatever shape you desire and top with the pecan mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.
Doesn’t this picture remind you of Shake N’ Bake chicken? lol
Trust me, it’s taste MUCH better!

Mula! Doesn’t it look delicious? Too bad you can’t smell them, mmmm. This one didn’t even make it to the cooling rack, it went right from the oven to the plate for a quick picture, I couldn’t wait to ~~devour it~~ give it a try!

Want a bite? Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it?!

Thank god it only makes 4. I almost made them into little cookies, they would have definitely been gone before the kiddos came home!

Thank you Stacey for sharing your recipe, I can picture me making these with the girls on Sunday mornings!

The Organizing Bug

2010-10-27T13:36:00.003-04:00

Jordyn loves hanging around the kitchen while I am making dinner. Although I am completely flattered it makes me laugh because she hardly eats anything I make, fussiest girl on earth. She loves how everything smells but taste is another story.
Anyways, last night she decided that our utensil drawer was a "disaster", yes that was exactly how she described it and I couldn’t agree with her more! ;)

Poor girl doesn’t realized yet that at her tender age of 6 she has inherited mom's organizing gene. Even when she plays, she loves to sort things into piles and then putting them away they have to be in there own little containers. If your kids play with Barbie, Littlest Pet Shop or Polly Pockets you know exactly what I am talking about...tiny little shoes, pocketbooks and necklaces that are constantly getting lost!
Her Barbie Dream House....spotless! The clothes are in the closet ON HANGERS!

And best of all she’s even decorated for the holidays! :D
So here’s my new utensil drawer a –la- Jordyn…

“Mom, could you please close the drawer nice and easy so nothing will get messed up….even when you are mad”? I wanted to die of laughter! “Yes, Jo I will try my hardest, thank you”. lol
So in keeping with the theme today, I decided to clean and organize a couple more drawers. I can’t believe the things that have been hanging out in my KITCHEN!

Last year’s Halloween bracelet, hair accessories, snowman bubbles, tape measure?! Seriously, this isn’t even my junk drawer!
Here’s some before and afters….

Having clean organized drawers makes cooking that much more enjoyable, if I can only keep them this way! :)

Lastly since I didn’t do any cooking today I thought I’d share one of my new favorite snacks! Of course it includes pumpkin…

Kashi’s Pumpkin Spice Flax granola bar, mmmmm so delicious!

What are some strange and unusual things you have found in YOUR kitchen drawers?