Gummies

Occasionally the kids invite a couple friends over and we have a craft day. Today became one if those days.

We tried tissue paper painting, but I must have some low dye tissue paper because it didn't work. Then, we tried crepe paper. Again, it was a fail. Our craft day was becoming a bust.

I had to think fast, I had kids that were beginning to look bored. I quickly made homemade tempera paint powder - the kind used in Color Runs. We made powdery chalk looking pictures and glued tissue paper on them too.

Then, we made gummies. These were a fun, easy, and quick snack for the kids (and me) to make and eat! I cut them into star shapes. They were so cute and would be perfect for July 4th!

And being the resourceful person that I am, I wasn't going to waste the extras from around the shapes.

I may or may not have been caught eating it! I'll deny it all the way to the dentist!

Two of My Favorite Sandwiches

Oh how I love food!
Let me count the calories...

These are so simple that it's crazy.

Two of my favorite sandwiches are:

Maynana - Blue Plate Mayonnaise and sliced bananas. Mmmmmm. Kinda Elvis-y here. The name sounds like it too. If you are really feeling crazy, add some peanut butter to the other piece of bread! Then, it'll be a peanut butter, mayo, and nanner sandwich. Don't hate. It's really good. Try it before you scrunch up your nose.

Then, there's PB & J w/ C.  
Soft fluffy bread with Jif peanut butter on one side, Welch's grape jelly on the other side, and stuffed full of Lays Original chips in between. Yes, about 3 or 4 layers of chips. Then, close the sandwich. Press down and listen as your sandwich says, "Eat me! Eat me!" with every crunch of the chips. Yum Yum Yummy Yumsters!

I would have posted pictures of the PB & J w/ C sandwich, but I ate it as quickly as I made it. In fact, I ate 1-1/2 and had to pull myself away from the rest. I am about to run into the kitchen to put everything up before I have time to think about another sandwich.

Too late.

I would have the kiddos do it, but the peanut butter and jelly would probably end up in their rooms. Not kidding.

Try them and let me know what you think.

French Toast

Lately, I've been attempting to make "memory meals". Those are meals that my mom made during my younger years. Some off those are spaghetti, strong-enough (stroganoff), chicken and dumplin's, and French toast. My mom is known for cooking with some of this, a little of that, a ssh here, and not really knowing the exact measurements. She gets it honest though. My grandmother does it too. That's also why I have trouble with exact measurements.

Oh, my mom's recipes are also different from the normal recipes. For example, our stroganoff (which we grew up calling strong-enough) is over rice not noodles.

Oat, so I decided to start with French toast.

Momma's French Toast

Ingredients
Eggs
Milk
Cinnamon
Bread
Butter

Directions
Mix the eggs in a bowl as though you are making scrambled eggs. Blend in the milk, and cinnamon. Heat your skillet on the stove. Dip the bread into the egg batter, quickly flip it over, and then place it in the skillet. Lightly brown on both sides, place on a plate and add a bit of butter on top. Drizzle syrup on top and enjoy!

My husband also adds powdered sugar.

Wheat Free Life by Michelle Badger

I love checking the mail and finding packages that are addressed to me. It doesn't matter that I ordered and paid for them. It's like Christmas --- or my birthday! I get to unwrap a special item.

The newest of my presents to myself is also a wonderful addition to my cookbook library:

Wheat Free Life by Michelle Badger

I have merely glanced in it, but I came across some really exciting new recipes. Plus, it includes an inspiring story which is pushing me to change my cooking / eating habits. Oh, and she includes the shopping lists too! How sweet is that?

I am so excited and I will definitely add more as I test the recipes in it! I can't wait.

Thanks Michelle, for the time, effort, energy, and love that you put into making this book in order to help people like me!

Fruit Pizza

Amanda here again, and have I got a treat for you!

Fruit Pizza

If you haven't had it before, try it out! It's yummy and it has fruit! Win, Win right?


I cheated some with my recipe today as I did not use a homemade cookie crust. But why bother with perfection when Miss Betty Crocker has already made the perfect cookies right!


Ingredients:
2 Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mixes (or your favorite)
Ingredients called for on Mix - (2 eggs, 2 sticks of butter softened)
1 package 8oz cream cheese - softened
about 3 cups of Powdered/Confectioner's Sugar
Fruit - Strawberries, Kiwi, Banana, Pineapple (also try with blueberries! or any other fruit you enjoy)


I started with two bags of Betty Crocker's Sugar Cookie Mix.
Make as directed (my bags called for 1 egg and 1 stick of butter each)

Take a large cookie sheet with sides, spray with Pam or other cooking spray. Spread cookie dough onto pan until it fills the pan.

Bake as directed (375 for about 15 minutes). Allow to cool completely.


While this is baking/cooling, take the softened cream cheese and place into a mixing bowl.
Add about 1/2 a cup to 1 cup of powdered/confectioner's sugar to the bowl at a time. Mix using hand mixer until all sugar is incorporated. Continue adding until the taste is a bit on the sweet side. I used about 2 1/2 cups of sugar.

Wash the strawberries. Cut up strawberries, pineapple, kiwi, and banana.

Once the cookie is completely cooled, spread the cream cheese mixture over the top.

Place cut up fruit on top of the cookie and cheese spread.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cut & ENJOY!!!



Also try Personal Fruit Pizzas...instead of making one big cookie, follow the recipe on the cookie dough to roll out and cut cookies. Cut them either into fun shapes or just into circles. You can also allow the kids or guests to put on their own fruit!


Let us know what kind of variations you try!

Heavenly Hummus

I have FINALLY found and tackled an awesome recipe for hummus! I have had so much trouble perfecting the ratios. Of course, Little Bit and I ate all of it before realizing I hadn't taken any pictures! We ate it all gone! Fingers around the rims and corners, too. I am so excited about this. Hummus is one of my favorite sides / appetizers, but typically it is drenched in sodium.

Okay, so I promise to make it again in the next few days (probably tomorrow) and take pictures. Just be warned, the photographs may show little fingers in the hummus.

PENDING RECIPE & PHOTOGRAPHS

Heavenly Hummus

1 can drained chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
4 Tbsp tahini
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder (can use minced our other form of garlic)
A dash of salt

Place first four (4) ingredients into blender and process. Add more lemon juice and / or olive oil as needed till creamy. Add garlic and salt. Then, finish blending. Enjoy with pita bread or veggies.

Posted via Blogaway

Amanda's Fancy Ham Pasta

I sat down at the computer to eat my dinner -- romain lettuce, a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese, and a ribbon of ranch wrapped up in a tortilla. Mmmmmm.... Sounds good, right? Don't get me wrong, this is a delicious meal considering my other options this late at night with two indecisive and never agreeable children. I wanted quick and easy, which this was. Okay, back at the computer, I opened up my email and saw that my little sister had emailed me pictures of the dinner she served tonight along with the recipe for it.

Talk about a good smack down! My little sister out "mothered" me, once again. This does NOT happen often people! bwaaaahhhhh :( okay, I lied. She is a better mommy than me. Ugh. ;) Love ya little sis.

Here is the recipe for her fantabulous "throw together whatever is on hand" dish. Her little ones wanted to name it. I think they did a pretty dern (yes, I meant D-E-R-N) good job -- much better than my Stravocadanerry Smoothie name, don'tcha think? 

Fancy Ham Pasta

1 pkg spaghetti noodles
Ham (about 4 thick cut slices) - diced
1-2 cups Broccoli - diced
1-2 cups Cauliflower - diced
1-2 Cups Spinach - diced
1/2 stick butter
2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
4 slices of Swiss Cheese -dice into small pieces
Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 Tbsp (to taste) Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb blend
1 Tbsp (or more to taste) Tony's Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning
Olive oil

Direction:

In a pot, pour heavy cream, Mrs. Dash, and butter. Turn on Medium/low and allow butter to melt. Mix occasionally.
In a larger pot, fill with water, add some oil (just a little). Bring to a boil.
Once boiling, add pasta. Cook as directed on box.
In a large skillet, put diced cauliflower and about a tablespoon of oil. Sautée on medium heat for a few minutes. Add in diced broccoli, continue to sautée for about 5 minutes or until veggies are softer. Stir occasionally. Add ham to veggies.
Add in diced spinach. Mix. Cook for about 2 minutes.
Sprinkle with about 2 Tablespoons of Parmesan Cheese. Mix.
Pour Cream mixture into skillet with veggies. Stir.
After noodles are done cooking, strain water and add pasta into skillet.
Mix everything together.
After plating, sprinkle with the diced Swiss cheese. 

ENJOY!!!

What kind of throw together meals do you make?

Stravocadanerry Smoothie

Okay, okay. Lame name. I couldn't find one that sounded decent enough but also described the smoothie. I made this one up. I have the "little of this; little of that" in my blood so if I am not sure about the exact measurements, I'll put an approximation in parenthesis.

So this smoothie is my daughter's favorite so far, but it did not hit the hubster's top list at all.

 

I rather like it. I'll let you decide for yourself. Here's the recipe:

Stravocadanerry or Straw-vocad-ann-erry Smoothie

1 original Yoplait yogurt, strawberry
1 large banana
1/2 an avocado
(1 cup) of fresh blueberries
a large handful of frozen strawberries
(1/2-1 cup) white grape juice

Blend it ALL up together. Yuuuuummmmmy!

Blackberry Burst

I found this recipe in the Ninja Inspiration Guide that came with my Ninja Pro System 1100 from Sam's.

The first time I made this (Wednesday), I followed the recipe to the T, which is VERY difficult for me to do. I'm getting better though. Their recipe calls for orange juice. Delicious recipe, but I felt there was a smidgen too much orange juice. Oh, but look how beautiful!

 

So, the second time I adapted it a little, plus I absolutely forgot to use yogurt in this version. It's still really flavorful and yummy. Here's my version:

Blackberry Burst (adapted)
1 cup fresh blackberries
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 - 1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup white grape juice

Place all ingredients in the pitcher, blend (on 3 with a Ninja) until smooth.


Ooooooh! Such a bright red!

 

 

It supposedly makes two servings, but I could drink all of it! I have to catch myself and separate it out. Lately, I've been using the second serving to make popsicles (that way I have a late night snack that's sweet, delicious, and healthy to boot).

I also have a freezer full of blackberries that we picked last summer at my mom's. Blackberries are great for Vitamin A, calcium, potassium, and antioxidants. Can't go wrong with that, can we?

 

 

Ninjas

Ninja! I just love the word ninjas. Nin-jahhhhh-s. If you say it enough, it sounds funny. Every time I hear or say ninja, I think of the "Ask a Ninja" website (askaninja.com). My wonderful hubster introduced me to years and years ago. Yes, we are still together. ;) It's actually rather funny once you get past the stupidity and lameness. Heehee.

Okay. Okay.... back on topic.

I am currently in the process (it's gonna be a looooooong process) of switching my diet, snacking habits, and food preparation methods. I have many health "issues" --- Girl, I have so many issues, I need a magazine rack! --- Please excuse the outburst. My brain does that pretty often.

So, yes, I have many health.... problems (oooh, I just had another one -- I have so many problems, I need a chalkboard! Get it?!? Math problems - chalkboard!! Hehehehehe!) Okay that was the last one, promise (at least the last one I will admit to... Let's just jump to the next sentence... One of which is Systemic Lupus Erythematasus (SLE) or most commonly called Lupus. The Lupus attacks my organs - mainly my liver and spleen. So, now that half of my life is already over I've decided to do things right.

I haven't decided exactly what my "diet" will be, but I will most likely combine multiple diets and create my own. I'm just unique like that. I'm interested in vegan, but I will probably end up more of a semi- or non-traditional vegetarian.

Anyway, all of this blabbing was just supposed to say that I will be posting more recipes, but they will fall along the same lines as the Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Sandwich, smoothies, and juicing. I'm looking for yummy (not exotic or strange) meals and recipes that are easily digestible, easily made, and delicious. I'm also going to try to have at least one liquid-like (soup, juice, smoothie) meal a day.

For the rest of this week, my breakfasts will be as follows:

Wednesday  - Blackberry Burst 

Thursday     - Blackberry Burst version 2  (added on to the above post)

Friday          - Berry Banana Twist Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie (2 diff. versions)

Saturday      - Blueberry Blast

Sunday        - Stravocadenerry Smoothie (I made up the name and recipe, can you tell?)

I'm a fruit person if you haven't noticed. I really need to mix it up and throw some veggies in there too.

(These recipes are either tweaked from or curtesy of NinjaKitchen.com, the Ninja Recipe book, and my Ninja Pro System 1100 that my hubster gave me for Christmas. [I do not receive any compensation for my thoughts and musings].) 

I can't wait! Check out the following posts for more about these smoothies!

Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Sandwich

Who knew Chickpeas had skin? You probably did, but this here chick had no clue! Oh, and just so you know, it's a good idea to read directions ENTIRELY. I guess that's why they teach that in school.

So yeah, this recipe for Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Sandwiches is from the PETA website. It called for garbanzo beans. I had a can of them in my pantry and so I drained, rinsed, and put them in the bowl. Then, I added the avocado -- like the directions said -- but I failed to notice pay attention read the fact that the ingredients section stated: 1 can Chickpeas, drained, rinsed, peeled.

Sooooooo, when I noticed the skins not mashing well, I reread the directions and ingredients. How on earth do you PEEL CHICKPEAS, especially when they are covered in mashed avocados?!?

 

Well, let me tell you -- it is without a doubt and most definitely not worth trying to salvage those chickpeas. So, of course, I tried to anyway. All I could think the entire time my hands were covered in avocado was that this had better be one totally awesome sandwich!!!! (Extra, extra exclamation Points on that one!)

Oh, and yes, the garbanzo beans smash soooooooo much easier when they are "peeled" or as I call it - skinned.

P.S. You hold them on the sides and slide your fingers back as though you are just slightly pinching them. The skin typically pops open and comes off. Yes, the beans sometimes POP out of your hands. ;)

And this was a pretty good sandwich. I think it will taste better next time when I make it CORRECTLY.

Now, take a little trip over to PETA for this yummy recipe and more!

Candy Cane Hearts

I had so much fun making these with the little ones! I definitely need to get more mini candy canes. Thee are so easy to make too. The idea came from glorioustreats.com.

Mini candy canes

White chocolate (I used the wafers)

Sprinkles (I used the red sugar crystals)

I'm going to be trying more candy cane treats as we lead up to Christmas. If you have an idea you'd like to share, leave it in the comments! Thanks.

Baked "Boiled" Eggs

I have seen this being done for a year or so now and I've been extremely tempted to try. My kids were sick, I wasn't feeling well, and my fridge had a zillion (and I only slightly eggs-aggerated the amount hehehehe) of eggs in it. I didn't feel like boiling them. You know, cause I'd have to wait for the water to boil and with a gas stove that I still haven't mastered after more than four years of trying. So, I finally broke down and attempted to bake "boil" them last night.

Here are the instructions:

Preheat oven to 325F.

Rattlesnake Bites Recipe

 

          My sister gave me this recipe and I have finally decided to try it. I have no earthly idea why I waited so long to make these. Maybe it was because subconsciously I knew how difficult it would be to limit my intake of these lumpy looking blobs. I do have to admit that after taste testing the innards of these "bites" before they were stuffed inside the dough, I was unsure how these would actually turn out. I thought that the crescent rolls might demean the flavor of the beef mixture. 

 

I was so wrong! After baking, it's as though this heavenly mixture is contained in a fluffy envelope.

 

Where have you been all my life?!?

fluffy cloud like bites of heaven

A shortened version of this description would simply say: You HAVE to try these!

This is the beef mixture! Mmmm...

Oh, my munchkin also wanted to show you how much she liked these, but I withheld that photo. Picture this: she held up her remaining bite, smiled, and when I went to take the picture, she stretched her mouth open as widely as possible. It was very interesting because it was almost as though she had the jaw of a snake. Like the one below from visualphotos.com.

Here are the changes I made to this recipe: I doubled it, used beef in place of chicken, added 1 can of diced green chilies and 1 can of diced jalapeños, and used 3 cans of crescent rolls.

Bangin Good Shrimp from Skinny Taste

This is the kiddie plate of Skinny Taste's Bangin' Good Shrimp at La Mama's Cafe (that's what we always called my mom's kitchen and I've sorta stole the name for mine too)...

I apologize for the coloring in the photos. My computer is broken so I can't use my real camera and the lighting is horrible in my house. It's so yellow! Yuck. I promise these look so much better in person and they taste even better!

Go straight to her site for the recipe.

 

The only changes I made were because I didn't have some of the ingredients. I didn't have the Thai Sweet Chili sauce so I searched the recipe and found a concoction from someone. They didn't have any amounts or measurements, just ingredients. I had to do some playing around, but it worked out really well! Also, I didn't have the cabbage :( so I just used lettuce. I bet the cabbage spruced it up a bit!

Lazy Day Stew

I found this recipe on Ring Around the Rosies. I'm really excited about it because it uses fresh vegetables, a bag of beans (canned have so much sodium), and is so simple to make! This recipe is for 2-gallon size ziplock bags to freeze for later, or cook one now and freeze the other for later. I love that this helps take prep work out of a day when I have fewer spoons!

Lazy Day Stew
4lb cubed stewing beef
4 cups baby carrots
4 cups baby red potatoes (cut in half)
2 medium onions, chopped
10 oz package dried lima beans (optional)
2 cups celery, chopped
4 tsp quick-cooking tapioca
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 15 oz can tomato sauce (1/2 in each bag) - low sodium
2 cup water
2 Tbs brown sugar

Follow directions above, and put everything into two one gallon freezer bags, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer. Instructions for Bag: Cook on low 8 hours, Eat as a soup, or serve over hot noodles or rice. She adds a little bit of shredded cheese on top.

Thanks Ring Around the Rosie!! Check out her blog for more freezer recipes like this one!

skinnytaste.com's Bangin Good Shrimp

skinnytaste.com's Bangin Good Shrimp

DELISH!!!

This is a lighter copycat version of Bonefish Grill's Bang Bang Shrimp. We had this tonight for dinner. It was extremely easy and quick to make. My kids and Hubster LOVED it and were dissapointed that I didn't have more!

I did have to tweek it a slight bit because I didn't have a few of the ingredients on hand so I made some substitutions.

Instead of the lettuce/cabbage salad I served it over white rice. It was good, but next time, I definitely want to try the salad though! On a scale of 1-5 Hubster gave it a 6!!! Thanks skinnytaste.com! This will definitely be in our meal rotation from now on!!

~~I'll be back to add my "version" of this (although I will get all of the ingredients to have on hand to make this version for next time).~~