Vegan pot pie

The picture really doesn't do it justice, but I just had to share.

We are have been fasting for almost two weeks now. My husband has been doing the daytime fast (basically he can eat if the sun is down). I have been doing the Daniel Fast, which is bascially vegan with additional restrictions. I can have fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains and legumes. I can't have meat, dairy, sugar, caffeine or baking powder (which seems like such a minor thing, but I'm really missing it!).

Tonight I made a cross between a pot pie and a shepherd's pie. I used my mom's pot pie recipe and vegan-ized it. Here's what I did

Topping
6 smallish potatoes, peeled, diced, boiled with salt and garlic in the water, drained
Canola oil (probably a couple of tablespoons)
Almond milk (eyeballed it...half a cup, maybe?)
Salt/pepper

Filling
3 T. canola oil
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
1/4 whole wheat flour
1 cup almond milk (might reduce this just a bit)
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
salt/pepper
poultry seasoning...eyeballed it, but it was a little too much
1 large can Veg-All

Heat oil. Add onions until transparent. Add flour to make paste. Slowly add milk and broth, whisking constantly. As it thickens, add seasonings and vegetables.

Place filling in a round casserole dish. Top with mashed potatoes. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Broil at the end of the cooking time if you want the top browned.

I served it with chicken for the rest of the family, but this was so good! If I make it again, I think I'd add white beans for some protein.

This was definitely comfort food tonight. Now, if I could just figure out how to have some chocolate :)

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What a week!

It has been a long week. On Wednesday, I woke up around 3:30 a.m. knowing something wasn't quite right. I was right. I was running a fever. I managed to make it to school to listen to a few speeches in my morning classes, but then I headed straight to the doctor. I got a z-pack and orders not to go to school until Friday.

That's where things got worse. By the time I got home, I was shivering so hard, and I couldn't stop. I went straight to bed and stayed there. I rode the fever roller coaster for several hours and finally got a break around 4. Good thing, too, because my hubby had to work that night. My daughter was such a big helper that night. Made me proud! My fever didn't return until just before the kids' bedtime, so we made it through the evening.

I kept running a fever off and on through the night and most of the next morning. It finally broke around lunch and I started feeling good. I had one last fever that afternoon. My throat was much worse though. I decided to stay home again Friday due to that fever...didn't want to share this with everyone.

On Friday, my throat hurt even worse and my lymph nodes felt like I swallowed golf balls. I called the doctor to see if this was normal, and they had me come back in. It turns out I have strep. Because I'm allergic to penicillin, it was a little bit of a challenge for them to find another medication for me. I'm not quite sure I'm on the mend yet, but at least I'm functional now. I have a follow-up with my doctor (not the walk-in ones) on Monday. We'll see.

The good thing about so much downtime (although the fever kept me pretty much out of it for most of it) is that I got to watch a few cooking shows, something I rarely do. I caught an episode of Paula Deen where she made her Omelette for a Crowd. I knew the kids would love it. I just wasn't sure when we'd be able to make it.

It turns out, tonight was the night. Chad has to work again, so it's me and them. I figured it was worth a shot. So...here's what we did.

First, I got out the ingredients (cheese, ham, bacon bits...and spinach and red pepper for me) and got a few heavy duty zip top bags (stress on the heavy duty!) set up in bowls for stability. I also started the water to boil early.

Then, I let each kid have a turn adding their own ingredients and squishing the bag around to mix them up.

I added each bag carefully to the boiling water and let them cook for about 8 minutes. They weren't quite done, so I rotated them a little and let them cook another two minutes.

They come out of the bag just like an omelet! The texture is a little different, but they seemed good. I say seemed because this latest medicine leaves a metallic taste in my mouth, and nothing quite tastes right.

Overall, the experiment was a success!

As you can see though, this week hasn't given me much of a chance to run. And to be honest, I didn't feel like it (although I felt like I needed one). I'm hoping to get back with it this week. And that's a good thing...because I've got plans up my sleeve. Stay tuned!

Mileage
This week: A measly 3 miles
YTD: 215.65 miles

Three Thing Thursday

I realize I could hold off on these for the Try It Tuesday posts, but I just gotta share three things in the food-ish category that are making me smile these days...

1. I'm late to the game once again, but after seeing a recipe for a "green monster," a healthy smoothie credited to Angela of Oh, She Glows, on Skinny Taste, my new favorite place to find ideas and recipes, I figured I should try one as a way to beat my afternoon munchies. The idea was that if I had a healthy snack planned, I could avoid all the junk I have been eating here lately. So, yesterday after school, I planned to make me one of these green monsters, but by the time I got home I really didn't want to mess with making it. However, my daughter, without her knowing I had planned it, asked for a smoothie for a snack. I made her a banana/blueberry one with almond milk, and I made Ryan one with regular milk, bananas and chocolate. Then, I gave the Green Monster a try. I have to say, I was a little leery. But I threw in a half of a frozen banana (the other half of the one I used in yesterday's overnight oats that I stuck in the freezer with this in mind), about a half cup of blueberries, a half tablespoon of chia seeds, a big handful of fresh spinach, a squeeze of honey, a cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and a couple of ice cubes in my Magic Bullet and blended away. It turned out a dark purple, almost black, color...and it was delicious! You couldn't even taste the spinach. I'm convinced.

2. Yesterday I mentioned that I had another idea for overnight oats, and I tried it this morning. I made Vanilla Spiced Chai Overnight Oats with apple. Last night I put a half cup of rolled oats, a quarter cup of chai mix (the liquid stuff), a quarter cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, a half tablespoon of chia seeds and a half of an apple chopped up into the fridge. This morning, I had to add a little water to thin it out a little, but after a minute in the microwave, breakfast was quick, easy, delicious and filling.

3. And then there's this...

Iced coffee without any work on my part. Once summer rolls around and I have a little extra time, I'll make Pioneer Woman's Iced Coffee because it's cheap and sooooo good (especially if you add a little sweetened condensed milk to it...and yes, I know that it isn't healthy). But right now, when things are this hectic, it's nice to know this is waiting for me in the fridge. I have the vanilla flavor and add a little milk because it's pretty sweet. It's a treat, I know, but it puts a smile on my face.

Reasons to Run

Ok, I have lots of reasons I run...but here are two that I think are especially worthwhile this holiday season (and before you start thinking in the highly sentimental vein, they are both high-calorie, yummy goodness).

#1 S'Mores Dip
A friend brought this to a Christmas party a couple of weeks ago, and when I found out last-minute that I had to bring a sweet treat for our luncheon on the last day of school, I called her for the recipe. It was so easy and good that I took it to my sister's ornament exchange last night too.

And here's how:
Mix 12 oz of semi-sweet chocolate morsels with 1 can sweetened condensed milk. Melt this in the microwave for about one minute. Stir. Add 13 oz of marshmallow creme (or 2-7 oz jars will work). Mix. You can mix well for a even smooth dip or leave swirly. The chocolate will sink to the bottom as it cools. Stir it again or reheat if needed. Serve with graham crackers.

You can also find this recipe over at Tasty Kitchen (this is their picture, not mine).

#2 Happy Holidays Hot Vanilla
This is a take on my hot vanilla that I drink every ice bath. I started drinking this last year after we were snowed/iced in for several days using this recipe from Family Fun.

I made a big batch for the ornament exchange last night. I heated 8 cups of milk in the microwave and added it to the crockpot on warm (bumped to low if it seemed cool). Add 1/3 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. The "happy" part comes next. Add an ounce of Kahlua to a mug, add the hot vanilla, and top with whipped cream and mini-chocolate chips. Cinnamon would be a nice addition as well. If you want to make an individual serving, mix 1 cup of milk with 2 teaspoons sugar. Heat in the microwave. Add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and any extras you want. Yum!

And those two treats are why I ran at 4 this morning even though I'd been awake since 2.

All Things Apples

Nothing says fall like apples...well, maybe pumpkins, but apples definitely scream autumn, even if we don't really have that season here in Texas. And research is proving that an apple a day really could keep the doctor away, so anything that helps me get that apple in is a good thing.

A Trick
A trick I keep forgetting to mention...you can soak apples in Sprite for a few minutes (like while you're cutting the rest up...10 minutes will do), and they won't turn brown! This also prevents that yucky too-lemony flavor store-bought precut apples have. It works well to send apples in the kids' lunches or for me to take with some peanut butter to school.

Apple-Pear Butter
I had some apples that had a texture I didn't like, at least for snacking. And I had some pears that were on their last legs. I figured I could make some apple-pear butter in the crockpot. After looking at a few recipes online, I came up with my own. For one thing, I only had about 5 small apples and 4 or 5 pears, and most of the recipes called for tons of apples. I will say, after making it once, I'll definitely make a bigger batch next time. Sarah Beth told me this afternoon that it was super-duper delicious. :)

Place cored and quartered apples and pears (my large crockpot was barely half full). You can leave the peel on and pull them out later or you can peel them first. My apples were so small that it was harder to peel them. Add about 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar. Cook on low for 6-8 hours until the apples and pears are very soft. Pull out the peels using a pair of tongs. They should come off the apples very easily. (And from what I've read, leaving the peels on during cooking actually adds to the nutrients.)

Add 1/4 cup brown sugar (or more, if you'd like...I didn't want too much sugar). Add 2 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 to 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice. Add a pinch of salt. And then add 2 tsp. vanilla. Stir to combine.

Cook on low another 8 hours or so. You'll probably want to vent the lid at some point to allow the liquid to evaporate. I put mine on high for the last 30 minutes or so this morning and the liquid really started to carmelize nicely.

We had this on little mini biscuits fresh from the oven this morning. I'm thinking I'll add it to oatmeal in the morning. It was really good. I didn't put mine in a blender or anything to make it super smooth, but you definitely could. Mine's not super sweet, but you can play with the sugar to your own liking.

Caramel Apples
Ok, so I haven't made these yet, but I'm planning on it closer to Halloween.

I bought the caramel bits because the thought of unwrapping all those candies didn't sound so fun. I hope to make some caramel apples like these...

Freezer breakfasts, part 2

I finally got around to making another freezer breakfast. I didn't tackle all that I wanted to, but considering the freezer has quite a few of my "make once, eat twice" kind of foods, it's enough for today.

I've made these before, but this time, I doubled the recipe and made a few adjustments so I'd have plenty to freeze. These are fabulous, and I really like them as a pre-run fuel.

Note: This is NOT my cookie...my photography skills are not this good :)

The original recipe is from Ellie Krieger on Food Network's Healthy Living. The original recipe makes 12 largish cookies at about 180-190 calories a piece. I doubled mine but got 40 smaller cookies out of it. I didn't calculate my adjustments, but it would be about 108 calories a piece.

Here's mine. This is the doubled version:

1 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour


1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

5 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup pumpkin puree (although the first time I used mashed bananas)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup bran cereal flakes

1/4 cup craisins  
 
Scoop out and place on a sprayed cookie sheet. Flatten using moistened fingers (they don't spread at all) and bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

I let these cool and freeze flat in individual bags of two cookies inside of a larger bag, much like I did yesterday's lil smokie pigs in a blanket.

I also am working on a way to use up some overripe pears and some apples that I didn't like the texture of. I have them peeled and quartered and in the crockpot cooking down now. This evening, I'll add some spices and a little sugar to make some apple-pear butter. I'm thinking biscuits in the morning with this on top will be fabulous!

I'm planning on making a loaf of banana bread this evening too. Maybe that with the apple-pear butter would be even better :)

Freezer breakfasts, part 1

I've been wanting to do this for a while, but I just never seem to be able to get it done. But...I've found that if I just never sit down on a Sunday afternoon, I can get all sort of things done!

I'm working on making some freezer breakfasts so I can make sure that we have a healthy breakfast even when we're in a rush in the mornings. Today's freezer breakfasts are all savory. I'll do another batch of sweet ones later.

First up, Freezer McMuffins!

To begin, you'll need ramekins. I only had 4, so that's how many I made. If you have a large muffin tin (not just standard sized), you could use it. If this works well, I'll have to figure out a way to make this in a larger batch to save even  more time.

Crack an egg into each greased or sprayed ramekin. Break the yolk and add salt and pepper if desired. Place the ramekins on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, until cooked through.

The assembly line

Layer the English muffin (I used 100 calorie, whole wheat ones) with half a piece of colby/jack cheese and a couple slices of Canadian bacon. Place the cooked egg on top and let cool before wrapping and freezing. According to everything I can find, these should cook in the microwave in 1-2 minutes.

My best guess on the nutritional content: 240 calories, 9 g fat, 10 g protein.

Second up, Egg Muffins, not to be confused with the McMuffins above.

I underestimated how many I could make with 8 eggs...I ended up adding 3 more cups.

Beat 8 eggs with a splash of milk and salt and pepper if desired. Place desired fillings into greased muffin tins before pouring mixture on top. I used spinach, red bell pepper and mushrooms for veggie muffins for me and bacon bits and cheese for the kids (and husband). Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes, until set. Let cool and freeze in serving sized portions.

If I'd thought about it sooner, I would have added some corn salsa I had in the freezer to some of the cups. Oh, well...there's always next time.

These kind of stuck to the pan, even though I sprayed it. I read a tip somewhere that you could add a little salted water to the bottom of the pan to prevent that. I may have to try it next time. The ramekins worked so much better for the first type of egg.

Each veggie muffin, by my best guess, has about 85 calories.
Each bacon, cheese muffin probably has about 135 calories.

Stay tuned for Freezer Breakfasts, Part 2 (probably next weekend). I think I'll make some scones that you can make by freezing the dough and baking fresh from the freezer and maybe some more breakfast cookies. I've made the cookies before and really like them (especially as pre-run fuel), but I didn't take any pictures while I made them. Plus, I need to make a double batch of them!

A little craftiness

Monday afternoon, the kids and I got a little crafty in the kitchen. I've had this project in mind for a while, and I've even had the stuff on the counter for a few days. We made these gifts for the kids' teachers. Originally they would have been gifts for the beginning of the year, but since that's also my beginning of the year, things were a little too crazy then. Now they were "sweet September" gifts instead :)

Here's the final product:

It's a little hard to tell, but it's a coffee mug with marshmallow pops and pencils.

The marshmallow pops looked like this (well, minus the sticks):

The kids had fun dipping the marhmallows into the almond bark and then adding the sprinkles. I took care of adding the sticks and putting the actual gift together. We did sack up a few of the marshmallows to give as little gifts as well.

A half package of almond bark made a whole package of big dipped marshmallows with a little leftover. I had some cinnamon bun flavored mini marshmallows, so I coated them with the chocolate and added sprinkles. They were really good too and made a few cute gifts too.

I'm loving some of the flavored marshmallows I've found! The gingerbread ones are my favorites :) Now, if they'll just come out with pumpkin ones!

Egg McMuffins

After the kids both tried to eat my Egg McMuffin a couple of days ago, I thought I'd try making my own. I thought it was really good...the verdict is still out on what the kids think.

Here's what I did...

1. Spray ramekins with nonstick spray. Crack an egg into each one. Then use a fork to break the yolk. You don't have to stir it up, just kind of spread it out a little.
2. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and place in the oven on 350 for about 15 minutes. I kept checking on mine, so it took a little longer.
3. While the eggs are cooking, toast up some whole grain English muffins.
4. Top the muffins with a slice of cheese and a slice or two of Canadian bacon.
5. Once the eggs are set, remove them from the oven. Run a knife around the edge so the eggs will slide out cleanly. Place on top of the cheese, and sandwich the two sides together.

It was easy, and the good thing is you can make as many or few of these as you need.

So, it's been a while...

I have two blogs. One is for my running. And this one is for things related to my home and children. Running makes me a better me so that I can do the things around the house and with the kids without too much screaming. But having two blogs makes me feel like I have a split personality or alter ego. I haven't figured out how to rectify that, so here's a random post for this side of me.

Today, food is on my mind. Specifically, I'm thinking about trying to eat healthier. It's summer, and I'm home with the kids. It's so easy to eat out, especially when we're busy, busy,  but I'm really going to try and eat at home for the majority of our meals. It's expensive either way, to be honest, but I know it's not as expensive to eat at home.

One of the best things I've found lately are rolls of turkey meat. They have the plain turkey, taco seasoned, Italian seasoned and breakfast sausage. They are cheaper than ground beef and they're really good.

 We've used the Italian flavor for make-your-own pizza and for a baked pasta dish.

We've used the taco one for nachos and tacos (duh, right?), but it would be really good for a taco ring.

I've got black beans soaking right now to go in the crockpot this evening. I'm going to use them in a huevos rancheros cups recipe I saw on Melissa D'Arabian's 10 Dollar Dinners  recently. I'll freeze the rest to use later in other recipes (maybe a black bean burger?).

I've got a few new recipes planned for this week. I'll try to post those later.

New dessert

Now, I realize this is totally simple, but it's new to us. Here's what we made for dessert tonight...

I'm calling ours triple chocolate treat, but the inspiration came from Pioneer Woman's recipe for Frozen Cappuccino Cups.

Here is what I actually did:

24 Oreos crushed (this made too many and I should have used my food processor)
2 Tbps melted butter

Mix these two together and put in the bottom of 12 foil liners in the muffin tin.

Chocolate ice cream, softened (the small carton, I have no idea what size that is)
About 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips
About 1/4 cup of the leftover crushed Oreos
A dash of cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all of this together and layer on top of the Oreos in the muffin tin.

Top with softened Cool Whip and freeze until set. These can be put in a Ziploc after they have fully refrozen. I added a drizzle of chocolate syrup before eating.

I can just imagine all sorts of possibilities! Think of vanilla sandwich cookies topped with strawberries mixed into vanilla ice cream. Or graham cracker crusts topped with chocolate ice cream with chocolate chunks and marshmallows. It's endless!

Hot Vanilla Drink

With this being Day 4 of being at home due to the snow and ice, I've been able to try new things (which also attests to how much time I've had to look at recipes online). It's finally not in the teens for temperatures, so the kids and I headed outside this morning for some snow fun, which gave us the perfect chance to try this: Hot Vanilla. It is so simple to make and delicious! If you don't want to click on the link for the Family Fun site, here's what you do:

Heat up 1 cup of milk and 2 tsp. sugar for each drink you want to make. Add about 1/2 tsp. vanilla per drink after it's warmed. That's the basics of the drink, but the best part is the topping. The recipe calls for making your own whipped cream, but I had Cool Whip on hand so I used that. Add about a tablespoon of chocolate syrup and a dash of cinnmon to the whipped topping before putting it on the hot vanilla. Drizzle a little more chocolate syrup and sprinkle a little cinnamon on top. It's a really "pretty" drink (if there is such a thing) and it's warm and cozy.

Trapped in the house = cooking

Yesterday, I attempted to make homemade pretzels. Ok, attempted isn't the right word because they were delicious! I used this recipe: Butter Soft Pretzels. I followed it pretty closely, but I did take the advice of one reviewer and started with 4 cups of flour with the intention of adding more if needed. However, it didn't need more. My dough didn't want to rise, but it worked anyway. I was really impressed with the dough...very smooth and stretchy. I was also impressed with the baking soda/water dunk before baking. It really did make a crispy crunch on the outside. I doused mine in melted butter as they came out of oven and sprinkled them with a cinnamon/sugar mix. I did one with salt, but with this dough, I'd stick with the sweet. They were really, really good...as in, I think I ate 3 or 4 of the dozen I made.

See, don't they look tasty?

I'm sure we'll tackle another recipe right now, but first, we're going to do some crafting. I'm getting all the crafty stuff out and letting the kids play away. We'll see what they come up with :)

Trying new things

Tonight's new thing? Brussel sprouts. Or is it Brussels sprouts? Whatever. It's the same thing when you're eating it. And no, technically, brussel sprouts aren't new, even to me. I distinctly remember hating them as a child. But I saw a recipe for some roasted brussel sprouts the other day in some magazine or on some website...helpful, I know. I can never remember where I see these things. Then I spend ages looking for them again. And end up making something I hope comes close to what I originally saw.

So tonight, I partially thawed some frozen brussel sprouts in the microwave so I could cut them in half. I put them in a glass 9x13 pan and tossed them with some oil, squeezable garlic (love this stuff), and kosher salt. I put them in the oven at 375 and stirred them every 5 minutes or so. I really liked them! I'm impressed with myself! Diva Daughter even ate one half of one!

I bought some polenta at the store today too. That will be a new recipe for later this week. I haven't quite decided what to do with it though. I'm thinking slice it up and pan fry it for something...if the tomatoes had looked decent at the store, I would have made some of my yummy sauteed tomatoes for it. Instead, I'm thinking either melted cheese with marinara or a fried egg and salsa.

And we've got some cooooooollldd weather moving in...it's super windy right now, and I'm pretty sure it's sleeting. We don't get weather like this often. Everyone was going crazy this afternoon at all the grocery stores stocking up on food and gas. I did go to the store, but only for stuff to make chicken noodle soup in the crockpot tomorrow and to have stuff for breakfast and lunch if we do end up not going to school tomorrow.

Yum!

I tried a new soup in the crockpot today...very yummy, I have to say. I found it online at the Tasty Kitchen website, which is part of The Pioneer Woman's site. Gotta say I love that site. The recipe was called Sausage Corn Chowder, but I made a few adjustments. Here is what I made:

1 pound smoked sausage sliced (the big U-shaped link sausage)
several small red potatoes, quarted (but I should have cut them a little smaller)
2 stalks of celery, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1 can cream-style corn
1 can cream of chicken soup
15 oz. chicken broth
a sprinkle of dried minced onions (because I didn't have the real thing)
salt and pepper
1/2 cup of half and half
1 1/2 Tbs. corn starch (that's approximate...I just put a big spoonful or so in the half and half)

Put everything except for the half and half and cornstarch in the crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours. I put everything in the crockpot and then in the fridge. My hubby had the job of putting the crockpot on low while he was home for lunch. Then, I mixed the cornstarch with the half and half and added it to the crockpot. I turned it up to high for a little while (about half and hour) to let it thicken up.

I really liked this and am actually looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow!

Crockpot cooking again

I'm so excited that I've got the crockpot out for tomorrow! It's been a long time. I hadn't looked at my Facebook group called Crockpot Cookers in a while. I forgot how many really good recipes we had collected there! I can't wait to try to a few of of them out soon.

The first one I'm trying out is the one I have ready to go for tomorrow. It's from one of my dearest friends. Here it is:

Ham and Bean Soup
1 lb. white beans
1 carrot (or more), diced
1 celery stalk (or more), diced
2 quarts water
2-3 ham hocks (which, by the way, I don't have)
1 lb. cooked ham, diced
1 onion, diced
spices (she suggests salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder)

Soak beans for 12 hours. Rinse and drain. Simmer with 2 quarts of water for 30 minutes. Place in crockpot with the rest of the ingredients. Cook on low for 10-12 hours.

I may change a few things about the recipe, but we'll see. I was thinking of adding a little chicken broth or bouillon. I have a little half-and-half in the fridge, so I thought about adding that at the end to make a creamy soup. We'll see.

That hit the spot!

The rice pudding was yummy! Here's what I did (after looking at tons of recipes):

I made brown rice last night.

Then, this morning, I peeled and chopped some apples and cooked them in a couple tablespoons of butter with a dash of cinnamon and a dash of pumpkin pie spice.

Once they were tender, I added 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 2 cups of milk, a large box of raisins (as opposed to the mini boxes) and 2 cups of the cooked brown rice. I brought this to a boil, reduced it to a simmer and let it cook for 15 minutes. I loved it! Ryan was sick this morning so he didn't even try it. Sarah Beth ate some of hers, but not as much as I'd hoped.

The only thing I'd do differently is add a little vanilla when I add the milk. I wish I'd thought of that sooner.

Estimated nutritional value- For 1/6 of the recipe: 190 calories, 5g of fat, 2g of fiber, 4g of protein.

Procrastination

I finally (finally!) got around to making homemade granola bars with Sarah Beth...Ryan didn't want to help. They turned out really well...chewier than expected, but I like them that way.

I tweaked the Playgroup Granola Bar recipe off of Allrecipes.com and came up with this:

Dry Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar (fairly packed)
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 craisins (or more)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mixed nuts and seeds (I used pumpkin, sunflower, and slivered almonds)

Wet ingredients:
1 egg, beaten
1/2 canola oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a big bowl. Make a well in the center and add the wet ingredients. Use a spatula to mix the best you can; then use your hands to finish mixing well.

Use waxed paper to pat into a sprayed 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes. They'll be chewy when warm but will harden some as they cool. In other words, cut them into small rectangles before they cool.

Nutritional info if you cut this into 24 fairly small bars:
Calories: 160, Total fat: 15.5 g, Protein, 2.4 g

PLEASE NOTE: This makes 24 small bars. If you eat more than that, you'll have to adjust the calories.

Picnic in a Jar

I'm trying something new today...I stole the idea from Melissa D'Arabian, but I didn't like the flavors she used. However, I loved the idea of a layered picnic in a jar, so I'm stealing the idea and making it my own. I'll be layering the following things in a jar...whether or not we actually picnic with it will be determined later:
1. veggie pasta spirals with Italian dressing
2. chickpeas, seasoned with garlic and onions
3. shrimp
4. veggies (zucchini, squash, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach)

I'm making this for us as well as Chad and Kayla. I think there's a concert in a park somewhere we could go to with this, but I don't know if we will. I'll give the verdict later on how this turns out.

***The Verdict: While I liked it, the rest of the family did not...so I won't try it again, at least not this way. I'm thinking maybe a chicken/tomato sauce/veggie combo might be better...or maybe a bbq pulled pork/coleslaw/beans one?

Crazy Me

What possessed me to plan two birthday parties, on the same day, back-to-back, in my house?! We are having a rock star party for SB...it will be her first "kid party." They are decorating some white, cardboard guitars to get things started, followed by karaoke (yes, I realize that 5-year-olds can't read and therefore karaoke is really pointless). Then we'll have cake (store-bought, thank goodness) and open presents and end with a guitar-shaped pinata.

Then, right after that, we've invited our families as well as a couple of our friends with boys R's age to stay for hotdogs and an all-star party as a way of celebrating his birthday. We're switching decorations to sports themed centerpieces, and to top it all off, I'm making baseball and football cake balls. The baseballs are funfetti cake with vanilla frosting. The footballs are devil's food cake with chocolate frosting. I've yet to dip or decorate them and I'm already regretting this idea. Why didn't I just book Jump for Joy or Chuck E. Cheese or Gymnastics Sport Center?!

But, for those that have never tried making cake balls, here are the steps. I had the passing thought to take pictures while I made them, but like I said, it was a passing thought, one that didn't even hang around long enough for me to find the camera. But...I will try to post pictures of the finished product.

Ok, back to the steps. Boy, these thoughts are passing like crazy.

1. Bake a cake, any flavor, according to the directions on the box. Yes, you can bake a cake from scratch. But why would you?
2. Let the cake cool for a few minutes and then crumble into a big mixing bowl.
3. Add 1/2 to 3/4 a can of frosting. Your choice in flavors. Make sure it goes with the cake though. I'm not to blame for your choices. It will be hard to mix. Use your hands if you want. A spatula will work though.
4. Let this chill for a while. Actually, don't. I tried cooling it today. It didn't work as well.
5. Form into balls, or in the case of the above-metioned footballs, weird pointy oval shapes. I use a cookie dough scoop, but you'll want to roll them a little to smooth them out. Place these on waxed paper and chill. This time, you really want to chill them.
6. Melt some almond bark or other coating, if you prefer, and then dip the balls to coat. I use two forks. It's messy no matter what you use. Put them back on the waxed paper. You can decorate with another color coating or sprinkles or icing. I'll be using icing to make the laces on the balls.
7. Enjoy. You'll want to hide at least half of them, or they'll be gone before you really meant to serve them.