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.

4th annual Cookie Exchange

With a love of cookies, you can never go wrong with a cookie exchange! I for one enjoy trying new recipes. This has become a holiday tradition among my friends and co-workers. Listed here are the cookies that debuted at the exchange this year.

Gabby's Cookie Dough Cookies

Printable Recipe

Chocolate Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

printable recipe

Peanut Butter Blossoms

printable recipe

Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

printable recipe

Peppermint Swirl Refrigerator Cookies

printable recipe

No-Bake Carmel Cookies

printable recipe

Our First Tutorial- Creeper Rainbow Loom

If you have kids in your house like I do, I am sure you know that these Rainbow Loom rubber band bracelets are all the rage! Crazy Gabs was so eager to make bracelets she started by using her fingers and her fathers meat thermometer fork. Luckily her favorite Uncle J came to the rescue with the Loom and bands galore! 

I searched Pinterest for a Minecraft Creeper bracelet, so she could make one for her brother. Who is slightly obsessed with the game. I couldn't find one. :(

After looking at one of Gabs's bracelets, a triple single, I realized we could make that look like a couple of creeper faces! I was sooooooo excited about my plan I set Gabs straight to work! 

Gabs wanted to try her hand at making a video tutorial, after successfully making the bracelet. We filmed it without a script or practice. I think she did an amazing job, for her first time! 

If you use our tutorial and make a Creeper, send us a photo. We would love to see them!

Video Tutorial

Happy National Dessert Day

Who knew there was a day to celebrate one of my favorite things... DESSERT! One of our favorite desserts is apple crisp. It took awhile to find the perfect recipe. We tried ones from just about every family member, and in the end the one we liked the most came from a bag of apples. Sorry, I don't have a picture of the yummy dessert. It rarely lasts long enough to be photographed.


Our Favorite Apple Crisp

8 medium apples
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/8 cups flour
1 1/8 cups oatmeal
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Peel and dice apples and place into a 9X13 pan.
Combine sugar, flour, oats and cinnamon.
Cut in butter until crumbly.
Press oat mixture on top of apples.
Bake for 45- 50 minutes

MPM

On Our Menu this week...

Monday- Hot Beef Sandwiches
Tuesday- Tacos
Wednesday- Pork Kabobs and Sweet Potatoes
Thursday- Wendy's Fundraising night for the kids' school
Friday- Taco bake using leftovers

What are you eating this week?

Meal Planning Monday!

Here's what's cookin this week...

Monday- Summertime Pasta (pampered chef)
Tuesday- Chicken Sandwiches and Fries
Wednesday- French Toast (Birthday Boy's request)
Thursday- Hot Dog Casserole - I'll let you know how this one goes!
Friday- Tuna Hamburger Helper


What's cooking in your house? Are you trying any new recipes?

"I ATE THE BONES...I ATE THE BONES..."

Sorry for the long 4 month hiatus... It isn't that we didn't have some great food and great times in between now and then. 

Life was just busy!

But I am back! 

And with a finger licking good recipe...

I was a little skeptical when my Mother-in-Law first gave us this recipe. I really didn't think I could replicate the famous not so great for you KFC chicken. But I am here to say and I still can hardly believe it, but it did taste just like it. The best part was not loosing the flavor when you pealed away the slimy skin, because there isn't any skin on this chicken.

One change I would make for next time I think, is to omit the butter and just spray the pan with cooking spray. I ended up needing 2 pans when I made this, so the second pan got a coating of cooking spray. The chicken in the second pan turned out with a crisper crust and didn't loose as much seasoning in the turning process.

Baked Fried Chicken

2-3 lbs thawed chicken breast tenderloin strips

Milk

1/2 stick of butter

1/2 tsp salt

1 T seasoning all 

3/4 tsp pepper

2 tsp paprika

1 cup flour

1. Place thawed chicken into a bowl of milk and let soak for 20-30 minutes

2. Pre-Heat oven to 400 degrees. 

3. Melt butter in 9x13 pan

4. Spread butter around the bottom of the pan, Lightly spray the pan if needed to make sure that there are no dry spots

5. Combine spices and flour either in a bowl or ziploc bag

6. Shake off excess milk and dip/shake chicken in seasoning mixture and place in pan

7. Bake for 20 min. Turn chicken and cook for 20 more or until cooked through.

Yummy Nummies...

Mr. J-man needed to take snack to school today. I have loved providing snack this year, because I can make/bake the snack! That was one thing I looked forward to doing for my kids when they got into school. Once he starts Kindergarten I won't be able to make treats, because unfortunately in our school system homemade snacks are not allowed.

When I was making this snack mix, my house smelled like I was baking cinnamon rolls. It was like heaven! The perks of this recipe are that you can use whatever cereal you have on hand and it is all done in the microwave.

Cinnamon Snack Mix

(adapted from www.makeit-loveit.com)

• 8 cups popped popcorn
• 4 cups cereal (Chex, Cherrios, Kix, whatever you have on hand)
• 6 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

Combine popcorn and cereal in a large microwave bowl.  Melt butter and then drizzle evenly over popcorn/cereal mixture.  Then sprinkle sugar and cinnamon evenly over top, tossing and stirring as you go.  Then, place the bowl in the microwave for one minute and then remove and stir.  Then, microwave for 30 seconds, remove, stir again, microwave for 30 seconds more, and then stir once more.  Then evenly spread on wax paper and let cool.

For the Popcorn, I pop it in the microwave using the blow-your-mind-microwave-popcorn technique! 

And for those wondering... here's our menu

Monday- Spaghetti

Tuesday- Omelets

Wednesday- Swedish Meatballs

Thursday- Chicken Noodle Soup

MPM- meal planning monday

Here's what's cookin' in Mi Casa...

Monday- Hot Beef Sandwiches with Mashed Tatos
Tuesday- Eat Out
Wednesday- Lund Po'Chops (crock pot meal)
Thursday- Burgers and Potatoes
Friday- Omelets 

Meal Planning

Monday- Tater Tot Casserole

Tuesday- Tuna and Noodles

Wednesday- Eating out

Thursday- Burgers on the grill!!!

Friday- Subs

A sneak peak at our easter fun...

Brownie Peanut Butter Pie

 With Spring Break last week, the days flew by. So, I apologize for not getting this recipe posted Tuesday like I promised. But hey better late than never, right?!

 

When I saw the recipe for Fudge Brownie Peanut Butter Pie at justapinch, I knew it would be perfect to try on National "Pi"e day! The original recipe says the pie has 8 servings, but this is such a rich pie that we ended up with 16 pieces of pie. Also, we discovered that a sliced banana was a great compliment to this pie.

Ingredients

1 box fudge brownie mix

1 pkg deep dish frozen pie crust

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 small tub of whipped topping

Directions

-Mix brownie mix according to directions on box. Spread 1/2 cup of the mix into one thawed pie crust ( you can always make brownies with the rest). 

-Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown and brownie is set. 

-While cooling, mix the cream cheese (best mixes if cheese softened to room temp.) with the powdered sugar. Mix until creamy then mix in the peanut butter until well blended. 

-Mix in 1/2 of the tub of whipped topping until well blended. 

-Spread the mixture into the crust when it is completely cooled. 

-Spread the remaining whipped topping over the filling and if you wish you can top it with miniature peanut butter cups. 

-Refrigerate for at least an hour and enjoy. 

 

 

 

MPM

Our Menu...

Monday- Million Dollar Spaghetti
Tuesday- Oven Baked Tacos
Wednesday- Dinner at Church
Thursday- OMG Chicken
Friday- French Toast Casserole
Saturday- Chili
Sunday- Lunch:
              Dinner: Cheese and Cracker Party


Preview of tomorrow... How we celebrated National "Pi"e day!

Monster Cheesecake Brownies

Friday was National Peanut Butter day, so I thought I should finally share with you this wonderful creation. I had made some monster cookie dough dip and surprisingly, I did not care for it.

Unfortunately, it sat in my fridge for about a week before I came up with the brilliant idea to use the dip on top of brownies. What a genius idea! What could be better than brownies, peanut butter, chocolate, and m&ms?

Mix up your brownie mix and put in pan, then drop spoonfuls of Monster Cookie Dough Dip on the top. I only used about half of the monster cookie dough dip on top.

I used the brownie recipe on the side of my cocoa tub. But you could just use a box mix or your favorite brownie recipe. 



Monster Cookie Dough Dip - (I would just mix up half a batch!)

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup butter, slightly softened
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 ½ cups rolled oats, old fashioned or quick (see Note)
• 2/3 cup plain M&Ms (give or take)
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter, and peanut butter until smooth.
2. Add in the powdered sugar, brown sugar, flour, and vanilla.
3. Using the paddle attachment on your stand mixer or just a wooden spoon, mix in the oats. You may want to use more or less here. I really like the oats in it and a thicker dip so I added a lot. Remember that the dip will also firm up a bit in the fridge.
4. Add the M&Ms and chocolate chips.
5. Store in the refrigerator until serving. Serve with pretzels, graham crackers, or apple slices. You can dip or spread this depending on how thick you made your dip. Try not to eat it all like I did!
6. Note: You can use more or less oats to adjust the thickness of your dip. Start with about 1 1/2 cups oats and keep adding until you reach your desired thickness. If you use quick oats you might use less since it's finer and will make the dough thicker.

Toll-House Brownies

Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups of Granulated Sugar
3/4 cup (1 and 1/2 sticks) Butter, melted

 

2 tablespoons water
2 large eggs

2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 1/3 cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
3/4 Cup Nestle Toll House Baking Cocoa 

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish

Combine the sugar, water, and butter in a bowl.
Add in the eggs and vanilla extract

In a separate bowl, combine the Flour, Cocoa, Baking Powder, and Salt.

Slowly add this to the sugar mixture.

Spread into the baking dish.

The recipe says bake at 350 degrees for 18-25 minute or until a toothpick comes out clean.
I have found it takes a little longer unless you like them super gooey! 

MPM

The Menu at Mi Casa...

Monday- Hot Beef Sandwiches
Tuesday- Goulash
Wednesday- Eat at Church
Thursday- Turkey & Stuffing Roll-ups
Friday- Hamburger Helper
Saturday- Mamma's out, so Daddy's in charge
Sunday- Egg Casserole and Cheese and Cracker party