Egg Roll in a Bowl

If you unwrap an egg roll, you get to enjoy a Chinese meal with out the need for rice. I originally found this recipe at glutenfreemakeover and made a few changes to peak the kiddos interest. They love water chestnuts, so it was a no brainer to add them. Sorry for the lack of picture, just trust me "tis tasty"!

Egg Roll in a Bowl

Ingredients:
1 can of water chestnuts (optional)
1 lb ground pork, hamburger
1 package coleslaw mix
3 ribs of celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
3-4 Tbsp liquid aminos
1-2 tsp rice vinegar

Directions:
Cook the ground pork until done and remove from pan, leaving the drippings.
Add onions, garlic and celery to the pan and saute until nearly cooked through.
Add the coleslaw mix and continue to cook about 15 minutes.
Add the freshly grated ginger, liquid aminos, and rice vinegar.
Allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Make Tasty Fool Ya Kool-aid!

I started reading the healthy lifestyle book, Trim Healthy Mama. Although I am only about 1/3 of the way through the book, I have been trying to implement some of the principles. I decided I would start by getting my Breakfasts on plan and try to cut out sugar. 

Buying Truvia today was my first step in eliminating sugar. I also picked up some Raspberry tea so I could make Cool-Aid from Lexi's Kitchen. I only made a half gallon, so I didn't waste too much if it wasn't good. But I was shocked it was good! I even was able to get Gabby and Mike to try it, and believe it or not they liked it too! I am now curious to try other flavors.

How I made it:

     2 Tea bags

     2 cups boiling water, plus more cold water

     1 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar

     2 Truvia packets

Steep tea in boiling water. Pour into 1/2 gallon container, add ACV and Truvia. And fill the rest of the way with cold water.

The original recipe:

Ingredients:

4-6 HERBAL TEA BAGS (pick a robustly flavored fruit variety)
About 4 cups boiling WATER, plus more cold water
2 tablespoons raw APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
LIQUID STEVIA CONCENTRATE  or other sweetener to taste

Directions:

• Add tea bags to tempered one gallon jar.
• Pour boiling water over tea bags and let steep 4-6 minutes
• Fill jar the rest of the way with cold water.
• Mix in vinegar and stevia or sweetener.
• Serve chilled over ice.

My Salad Addiction and MPM

Some of you may know this, especially if you talk to my husband, I LOVE to put just about any leftovers on top of lettuce. Taco meat, bbq meat, kid's leftover chicken strips or their "dip" egg remnants. It is a great way to jazz up a salad and give variety to my lunches. 

Today I spied a half a grilled burger waisting away alone in the fridge. It was a perfect contender for my salad. Man don't grilled burgers just make you think of summer and long, sunny, warm days! 

After assembling my salad I decided the usual Ranch dressing just wasn't going to cut it today. I need more of a BBops Burger dressing. 

I ended up mixing:
1 tsp Light Mayo
1 tsp Ketchup
1/2 tsp Mustard
Water (until desired consistancy)

In my opinion it was perfection! It used up a leftover and satisfied the burger craving.

What is your favorite salad toppings?




And now here is what is on the Menu for this week:
Monday- Spaghetti with mushrooms and meatballs, Salad

Tuesday- Pork Kabobs and Green Beans (with bacon and mushrooms) on the Grill

Wednesday- @Church

Thursday- Wendy's Night (school fundraiser)

Friday- Summertime Spaghetti 

MPM- Meal Planning Monday

Our menu for the week...

Monday- Grilled burgers and Veggies, with Chick-Pea Veggie Salad with Cilantro Lime dressing
    The veggie salad was really light and summery tasting. I didn't have cilantro so I left that out, and it was still good.

Tuesday- Fried Rice
    I may try making it with Quinoa instead of Rice.

Wednesday- @ Church

Thursday- Swedish Meatballs
    with mashed potatoes for the family and mashed cauliflower for me!

Friday-  Taco Bake 

What are you cooking this week? Trying any new recipes?

What's Cookin'

Our Menu for this week...

Monday- Chili

Tuesday- Tacos
         I will have mine with Spanish-Style Quinoa

Wednesday- Eat@Church

Thursday- Chicken and Cauliflower Casserole

Friday- Grilled BLT pizza

What's For Dinner?

I took a big step in the direction of getting myself healthy, aside from my Just Dance battles with Gabs, I am doing the Advocare 24 day Challenge. In taking this challenge I am trying to eat/cook cleaner, healthier meals. If I am brave enough I will share my results!

Our Menu for this week....
Monday- Chicken & Quinoa Bowl with Veggies
Tuesday- Eat Out
Wednesday- Big Salads
Thursday- Turkey Chili
Friday- Baked Fish and Confetti Quinoa Salad (to use up left over quinoa from monday)

Pie, Pie, Me Oh My!

I went all out for National Pie Day. I made homemade Chicken Pot Pie for supper and Apple Crisp Pie for dessert. This was the first time I have made a Pot Pie from scratch. I must say the whole family was shocked at how good the Pot Pie was. It reminded me of the store bought ones I had as a kid. I found the Pot Pie recipe at reneebeck.com. The only thing I would change is saving myself a step and use frozen mixed veggies instead of chopping celery and carrots. I also used the pioneer woman's perfect flakey pie crust. Her recipe is perfect because it makes 3 crusts. 2 for the pot pie and 1 for the apple pie!  

Healthier Chicken Pot Pie (adapted from AllRecipes.com)

• 1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
• 1 1/2 c. sliced carrots
• 1 c. frozen green peas
• 1/2 c. sliced celery
• 3 tbps butter
• 1/3 c. chopped onion
• 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp celery seed
• 1 3/4 c. chicken broth
• 2/3 c. low-fat (1%) milk
• 1/4 c. chopped Italian parsley
• 2 (9-inch) unbaked pie crusts

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Chop veggies. Combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery in a saucepan. Cover with water. Boil until chicken is no longer pink in the middle and vegetables are fork tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain, and set aside.
3. Cook and stir onions in butter in a saucepan over medium heat, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick, about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley and remove from heat. Set aside.
4. Place chicken mixture in bottom pie crust; pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in top to allow steam to escape.
5. Bake in preheated oven until pie is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Pie Crust from: The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cup Crisco (vegetable Shortening)
• 3 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 whole Egg
• 5 Tablespoons Cold Water
• 1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Salt

Preparation Instructions

In a large bowl, with a pastry cutter, gradually work the Crisco into the flour for about 3 or 4 minutes until it resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork and then pour it into the flour/shortening mixture. Add 5 tablespoons of cold water, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir together gently until all of the ingredients are incorporated.

Separate the dough into thirds. ***Note: Separating it into thirds will result in three thin crusts. If you prefer a more substantial crust, separate it in half.*** Form 3 evenly sized balls of dough and place each dough into a large Ziploc bag. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough (about ½ inch thick) to make rolling easier later. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer until you need them. (If you will be using it immediately it’s still a good idea to put in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes to chill.)

When you are ready to use the dough to make a crust, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for 15 minutes. On a floured surface roll the dough, starting at the center and working your way out. (Sprinkle some flour over top of the dough if it’s a bit too moist.) If the dough is sticking to the countertop use a metal spatula and carefully scrape it up and flip it over and continue rolling until it’s about ½ inch larger in diameter than your pie pan.

With a spatula, lift the dough carefully from the surface of the counter into the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan. Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge.