Today I ventured into roasting a whole chicken. Roasted a whole chicken has always intimidated me. I love to cook and even a long recipe doesn't usually hinder me, but for some reason a whole chicken has always made me nervous. I got several recipes from friends over the past few days, combined the wisdom together, and made the simplest, but absolutely delicious, recipe for Roast Chicken. Truly simple and the best part is it only takes about 10 minutes to prepare and then sits in the oven for an hour. This would be a great recipe for company because it is delicious and impressive, but takes very little hands-on time.
I served it with roasted asparagus (although this time I used tuscan spiced olive oil and a bit of sea salt instead of rosemary and parmesan.) We also had some Alexa waffle sweet potato fries.
It was a delcicous and filling meal that we all enjoyed.
Add Comment
 
 
I love so many things about Superbowl. I love watching football. I love hanging out with friends. I love the commercials (although they were a bit lacking this year.)
But MOST of all, I LOVE all the yummy food. Buffalo wings are one of my favorite treats, but since they are deep-fried they are not a healthy choice.
One of my favorite podcasts and blogs is the Meal Makeover Moms. They have great cookbooks, fun podcasts, and amazing blogs with delicious recipes. I tried their Buffalo Chicken Dip and it was AMAZING! All the flavor of chicken wings without all the fat. Each serving (2 Tbls) had only 35 calories and 1.5 g fat. I served it with celery sticks, bell pepper strips, and carrot coins. Delish!
Add Comment
 
 
Saturday
Breakfast-Omelet w/ mushrooms and onions
 Lunch-Teriyaki chicken salad (leftover teriyaki
chicken)
Snack-rice crackers and Laughing Cow cheese
Dinner-Veggie Lasagna
 Snack/dessert-fruit and yogurt

 Sunday
 Breakfast-Fruit& Nut Oatmeal
 Lunch-Toasted tuna sandwich
Snack-Zone or protein bar
Dinner-Chili w/ chips
Snack/dessert-rice crackers and Laughing Cow
Cheese

 Monday
Breakfast-Baked
apple & ½ cup cottage cheese
Lunch- Pasta Salad w/ tuna (using whole
wheat noodles, grape tomatoes and green peppers)Snack-apple
w/ 2 Tbls peanut butter
Dinner-Chicken Stir-fry w/ cooked pearled barley
(instead of rice)
Snack/dessert- rice crackers and Laughing Cow cheese

Tuesday
Breakfast-Smoothie & trail mix
(12 almonds and 4 apricots)
Lunch-bean and tomato salad
Snack-apple and
almonds
Dinner-ham and broccoli quiche
Snack/Dessert-yogurt (frozen)

Wednesday
Breakfast-Zone bar, yogurt, &
fruit
Lunch-Orange Chicken Salad
Snack-grapes and slice of cheese
Dinner-Leftover chili & chips
Snack/Dessert-carrots and Laughing Cow
Cheese

Thursday
Breakfast-Smoothie & trail
mix
Lunch-Soup & carrots
Snack-Zone bar
Dinner-Pesto and veggie chicken packets
 Snack/Dessert-rice crackers and Laughing Cow cheese

Friday
Breakfast-Zone bar, yogurt
Lunch-frozen meal
& carrots
Snack-apple and almonds
Dinner-Boca burgers on thin bun,
side salad
Snack/Dessert-lunch meat wrapped in lettuce

1 Comment
 
 
Joe and I have committed to eating better this year. I thought I would share with you our menu for the week. It isn't anything super special, but it did take a bit to create to maybe it will help you.
Last night I made Black Bean & Wild Rice Soup. It was delicious. I served it as directed, but also added some chopped avacado (we had a few leftover from the holidays.) The recipe calls for cooking over a stove, but you could easily modify it for the crock-pot.
Monday
Breakfast-Omelette w/ 1/2 cups mushrooms, 1 cup spinach, topped w/ 1 oz goat cheese
Lunch-Chinese Chicken Salad
Snack-apple w/ 2 Tbls peanut butter
Dinner-Teriyaki Chicken (made a double batch of the marinade for later in the week)
Snack/dessert- 1 cup chocolate milk
Tuesday
Breakfast-Smoothie & trail mix (12 almonds and 4 apricots)
Lunch-Pasta Salad w/ tuna (using whole wheat noodles, grape tomatoes and green peppers
Snack-Zone or Luna bar
Dinner-Teriyaki Shrimp
Snack/Dessert-grapes
Wednesday
Breakfast-oatmeal w/ dried cranberries and 2 Tbls nuts
Lunch-Chicken & Goat cheese salad
Snack-Fruit and nonfat yogurt
Dinner-Boca burgers served without buns w/ sauteed mushrooms and onions, side salad
Snack/Dessert-Crackers and cheese
Thursday
Breakfast-baked apple (baked chopped nuts and dates)
Lunch-Progresso Soup and veggie sticks
Snack-Trail Mix (almonds and apricots)
Dinner-Split Pea Soup
Snack/Dessert-laughing cow cheese and grapes
Friday
Breakfast-Zone bar, yogurt & banana
Lunch-Cheese platter (Cheese, crackers, grapes & nuts)
Snack-apple and almonds
Dinner-
Snack/Dessert-
Add Comment
 
DIY Weekend 12/03/2011
 
It is DIY Weekend for my household today. I ran out of granola AND laundry soap. The great news is I got both taken care of in 30 minutes! And for a LOT less money. Check out the recipes.
Crock Pot Granola

Liquid Laundry Soap

Are you brave enough to try??

4 Comments
 
Cookie Dough! 10/06/2011
 
I am not a huge fan of cookies, but I LOVE cookie dough. But there is always that chance you take to getting sick...but I have the solution. Cookie Dough Brownies that don't use any egg. Safe to eat and OH SO GOOD!! 

I use my regular brownie recipe and topped it with a layer of cookie dough. Cookie Dough Brownies!


These were a huge hit in my house, thinking about making another batch soon!



3 Comments
 
 
I am making some Crock Pot Granola again. The first time I made it, I used a recipe I found online. But today I decided to venture out and create my own recipe. I went through my freezer and pantry to find nuts and fruit to add. Then starting on my very own recipe of Crock Pot Granola. I have to say, it is SUPER tasty. My oldest came out of his room and said, "Mom, what smells so good?"
I have to think that is success! Hope you enjoy it. Feel free to change it in any way you want, but I left a lot of room for creativity:) (If you don't have the coconut manna you can increase the butter a bit, or decrease the honey so it is equal to the amount of butter/oil you are using.)
5 Comments
 
Lunch Box time! 09/15/2011
 
Picture









 



Now that school is back in session, I thought I would share my system for
healthy lunches that kids will actually eat!

My
school age kids are now 11 and 14, so they help a lot, but this system can work
well with little kids too...they just might need a bit more
help.

Kids ALWAYS eat better (less whining and complaining
too!) when they have ownership over their food. Last year I started this system
when my son would come home w/ everything in his lunch sack except the granola
bar. That was NOT a successful lunch in my book. Something had to change.  First
I sat down with him and talked about what "categories" should be in a good lunch
(protein, whole grain, fruit/veggie, etc).  Then we came up with lists of ideas
so he would never get stuck in a rut.

On the
inside of our cupboard I have the lists. Here are some
ideas:
Whole grain-crackers, bread, cereal,
pasta, tortilla, rice cake
Protein-nuts, peanut butter, lunch meat,
cheese, yogurt, hard boiled egg, beans
Fruit/veggie-carrots, raisins, dried fruit,
fresh fruit (apple, orange, etc), yogurt, bell peppers,
tomatoes, cut up melon

When we pack lunches the kids just
look at the lists, pick what they want and pop it in the their
bag.

My middle son has a huge sweet tooth, so
on Friday, as a reward to making his lunch ALL week, he gets to pick a dessert.
Either a candy, granola bar, cookie. This "treat" keeps him happy and makes he
more agreeable to packing his lunch the rest of the week.

8 Comments
 
 
My garden has been a HUGE success! Thanks all goes to my dear friend Erika who boosted my courage to give it a shot!  We have had bumper crops (at least they seem that way because usually my plants die!  LOL).  We have been enjoying zucchini, cucumbers, lettuce, carrots, peas, beans, cauliflower and soon some cabbage!

The challenge is sometimes eating it fast enough.  One GREAT and tasty way is to grill. Asparagus, zucchini, corn. So many options. The easiest way is to marinate them in a bit of italian salad dressing for 20 minutes.  Then just stick them on the grill. It brings out a great flavor and everyone eats them up!

If you want to see more pics of the garden, check out the gallery:)
5 Comments
 
Back 2 School! 09/01/2011
 
Thursday, September 1, 2011 Back to School Shopping! I am a mom of 3 kids, so Back to School shopping hits my pocketbook extra hard. This year I found a great site called ThredUp. Basically it is a clothing exchange site for 2nd hand clothes. You make a box (they provide them for free) of your kid's old clothes, list it on the site and wait for someone to "pick" it. Then you mail it (postage is pre-paid.) While you are waiting you can pick boxes of your own. They are only $5 plus shipping. The super cool thing is they are giving you $10 to start out. Just click this link to check it out! http://www.thredup.com/326993

I have sent off 3 boxes of old clothes and have picked and received 2 boxes. I got such great stuff I just couldn't wait to share it with you! For my youngest I got a box STUFFED with shirts and pants. For my 11 year old I got 3 pairs of jeans and several church shirts. Great quality! I am definitely a believer in ThredUp.
4 Comments