Meatball Maddness

So... today was finally the day to make the Open-faced meatball sandwiches. Have had them on my list for two weeks now and finally got to them. Erick and I thought they were delicious... I was pretty impressed with how yummy the meatballs turned out, the spices were wonderful and they had a good texture. I bet Grandma Murelli would be proud! Isabelle on the other hand said that they made her want to throw up (nice compliment huh?) and Austin mashed his up to pretend it was regular spaghetti sauce. Elliot you ask? You guessed it- he had plain pasta and butter. Off to a euchre party this evening. Happy Weekend everyone!

Burst of energy!

So, I wasn't even planning on cooking out of the cookbook tonight because I hadn't been to the grocery store for the week yet. I did take chicken out of the freezer this morning, and figured I would just grill it up. Then I got out of work and into the nice fresh air, and something about the sun shining gave me a burst of energy! So... I actually made two different things. For dinner tonight I made the Chicken and Biscuits casserole. ( I had ALL the ingredients!) I love how easy it is, and how it has everything all together-- chicken, veggies, bread.. yummy! Austin and Isabelle loved it... Is even gave it a 10! Elliot wouldn't even LOOK at it! WHAT am I going to do with that boy? Wondering if it is a third born thing? My brother Steve was 3rd born and didn't eat MANY things until adulthood! Let's hope Elliot starts to branch out. ( I should note that from probably about age 2-4 all I would eat is bologna rolled up with cheese!) Anyway, I also made a Mushroom Barely Soup. It had to simmer for about an hour, so we are going to eat it tomorrow! I got home from the gym tonight and was starving (hate that!) so I had a cup of the soup.. and it was delicious! I am going to put the recipe on the recipe page of the blog, because it is a definite must try if you like mushrooms! Low fat and VERY tasty!! American Idol tonight.... goodnight all!

Funday Fajitas

Oh Sunday how I love you! After a fun reunion night last night, I was dragging a bit this afternoon, but starving! Decided to make the steak fajitas for a lunch/dinner for Erick and I and since I also had some ground sirloin to make, I made spaghetti for the kiddies. It is now 4:15 and Erick and I are already done eating! Funny how "late nights" make you so hungry the next day! The kids are- according to Isabelle- going to eat at 5:15. (she has a friend over and that is their "schedule"- too cute!) Austin is at Nana's watching the State game, and Elliot is playing Lego Star Wars... so a quite afternoon at least! The fajitas were very tasty... I loved the seasonings/ sauce it called for. It had garlic, chili powder, pepper and oregano. I changed up the recipe a bit- no surprise there- and marinated it for about 30 minutes before cooking. I also used red and yellow along with the green peppers. Seriously though, you really CAN'T go wrong with Mexican. Busy week ahead of us with softball practice starting, catechism still having 2 more weeks to go, and some various meetings.... So will probably not be on here too much! Have a good week everyone. Take some time to reflect and count your blessings... and maybe make a new meal or two!

Spinach Manicotti (aka appetizer, entree and dessert)

Isabelle wanted to name this blog: appetizer, entree and dessert, because we had THREE courses tonight. (The little things are so exciting) We started with some sauteed mushrooms, Italian bread with some olive oil/pepper mix, and some cucumbers in Italian dressing. The main reason we ate these first is that everyone was STARVING since it was 7:00 by the time the manicotti was done. Once again the weather was so beautiful that we wanted to be outside enjoying it and took a walk to the park after work. I am thinking I will have to start making meals from the Healthy Living Cookbook and blogging maybe 2-3 times a week... that will take the pressure/guilt off of me when I miss some days! :) Spring and summer are just way too hard to be inside cooking... and we love to grill in the summer anyway. So.... the manicotti turned out very well. I have never made it without chicken or beef, and this was a nice change and perfect for a Friday in Lent! It had a lot of flavor! I liked that it had bread crumbs in it as well as fat free sour cream. I DID add some cottage cheese - just cuz I am crazy like that! (no comments!) This weekend is Erick's 20th Highschool reunion so I probably will not be on here all weekend. Have a great one everybody! PS- Isabelle made the yummy cookies!

Comeback Chicken Fried Rice

I KNOW you have missed me so much since I last blogged! It was a busy weekend, and believe it or not, I didn't HAVE to cook any of the nights!!! Between going out for pizza before bowling, eating at my parents Saturday and Erick's award dinner last night- I didn't even get a chance to cook had I wanted to! ;) Anyway, I am back, and it actually felt really good to cook tonight. I really needed the quiet time alone to just think, reflect, and cook. Granted, I DID hear the kids running around and playing, but I tried to zone them out and just COOK. The fried rice only called for rice, egg, green pepper and lite soy sauce. Of course, knowing me, I couldn't let well enough alone and I added chopped mushrooms, onions and chicken to make it a meal. It turned out pretty well... none of us were HUGE fans however. I think it got a 7 1/2 to an 8 from all of us, and Elliot had a chicken taco instead. I wonder if the baby is "always" going to be this picky!? As much as I know I should be making him try more things, it just doesn't seem worth the battle at this point. He did eat cheese, chicken and tortilla tonight. Usually he still gets a good variety of foods, but just simplified! Happy- sleepy clocks turned forward- Monday everyone.. Until tomorrow.. oh and almost forgot to add that Isabelle served some celery and carrots with ranch dip. SUCH a good helper!

Is's fruit salad, and salsa chicken skillet

Everyone keeps telling me they don't know where I get the energy to do all this cooking. Honestly, I always have cooked most nights, so the only difference is that I am trying different recipes. The planning and shopping does take more energy though, AND I am feeling a bit of pressure to COOK every night. Having McDonalds this Monday, I knew I had to cook the rest of the week, but I am super tired tonight. Somehow I found it in me to make the Salsa Chicken Skillet. It was EASY and very tasty. What I love about this cookbook ( taste of home: Guilt Free Cooking) is all the recipes with fresh veggies incorporated. I have made meals LIKE tonight's may times, but I never thought of adding celery, and I really loved the green peppers and mushrooms. The chicken mix also had garlic (which has been in a lot of the meals) onions, along with the chicken and salsa of course. Piled on top of a bed of rice with some cheese and sour cream (low fat of course), and volia- dinner!!! As you can see from the photos and the title, Isabelle also made a fruit salad.. this was her own idea and she did the entire thing on her own. It was a delicious, healthy dessert that she was very proud of. I look forward to passing some of the cooking responsibilities on to her slowly. :) Off to the gym and Target... until tomorrow...

OOPS- we ate both! :)

So today at lunch I saw people having soup, and it got me thinking about a broccoli cheese recipe I wanted to try this week. So I made the beef noodle casserole I had planned (I used ground turkey though) AND I made the soup. They were both very delicious and pretty easy! The soup was my favorite though. It was actually a "Southwest Broccoli cheese soup" because it had salsa in it. I have never made broccoli soup, so was a little intimidated at first, but it turned out very delicious. It started with veggies: broccoli (of course), onions, cubed potato, slices carrots, water and chicken bullion cubes. Those simmer until the veggies are soft, and then you add the flour/skim milk mixture, then light Velveeta-cubed, and lastly the salsa. Erick loved it as well! He said, "Well, I guess I DO like soup,.. but only the GOOD stuff!" The bonus was that the soup only had about 150 calories and 2 grams of fat per serving! NICE! Have a wonderful night everyone, until tomorrow....

Soup Sunday- Black Bean!

We decided that it was so beautiful out that we would grill out some chicken breast while the kids play outside. I thought I would throw together some Black Bean soup to go with. The house smells A-maz-ing. I am so excited to grab a bowl of the soup. It has all of our favorite foods in it- chicken, black beans, onion, garlic, salsa, rice, lime juice and cumin- so it really cannot be bad! Right??? It's been a wonderful weekend, and today I am counting my blessings. God Bless all of you- my family and friends, and may you never take one moment for granted. Until tomorrow...

A snowman and some cream cheese brownies

So, we are going to dinner at our good friends the Wagners tonight, and I offered to bring dessert. I realized today that I enjoy cooking more than baking. Too many measuring tools involved in baking!!! :) However, I put the brownies in the oven and got to go play in the sun with the kiddies! What a lovely day! We FINALLY made that snowman we have been trying to get to all winter. Most of the time the snow was too fluffy for it to work. Now, we do realize that by Tuesday she will probably be melting into the lake.. but it was fun while it lasted! Once I came in the house the brownies were out and the house smelled yummy! I hope they taste as good as they smell. It really seems so much easier to make the brownies in the box.... but I hope these were worth the measuring!!

TGI..... Shrimp Linguine

3 letters.... YUM! This was another delicious pasta meal! I will admit, I changed a couple of the veggies in the dish. It called for red peppers, carrots and broccoli... I did use the red peppers (love them!) but swapped the carrots and broccoli for mushrooms, yellow squash and asparagus. The shrimp was sauteed in olive oil with some minced garlic and crushed red pepper, then tossed with the linguine. (Isabelle said the crushed red pepper made the dish a 7- because it was a bit spicy for her). Austin ate the pasta and the shrimp, but picked through all the veggies. He said it could have used more flavor. (ummm EAT the veggies? :) Erick and I thought it had just enough kick to it. It seriously tasted like we were at a nice Italian restaurant. I was thinking earlier today (thanks Karrie) about how much it costs to make these meals. So, I figured this one out and it was about $15 TOTAL. (including rolls) Less than what ONE meal of this would cost eating out!!! ($3 per person! ) Having saved all that money, we are going to head out to DQ in a little bit. Elliot requested to Erick today that we make a trip there. Looks like this sunshine is giving everyone a bit of spring fever. Happy Weekend everyone! Until tomorrow...

Healthy Harvest Soup

Sweet potatoes recently became one of my favorite veggies. I love them baked with just a little bit butter, salt and pepper; and also love them cut in thin slices with a bit of olive oil and seasonings and baked. (sweet potato fries) A lot of restaurants serve delicious versions of these as well. The one thing I do not like is putting marshmallows and "stuff" on top--- I just don't GET that? So anyway, when the soup today called for sweet potatoes, I just knew I was going to love it! The fun thing about soup is that you can really put anything you want in it! I actually veered a little from the recipe and added some zucchini and corn to the ground beef, diced tomatoes, beef bouillon, water, onions, garlic, seasonings and of course sweet potatoes. The soup took less than 10 minutes to get all into the pot, and then a mere 25 minutes of simmering and it was good to go! It was really delicious! Isabelle and I both gave it an 8, and there is some awaiting Erick's arrival home on the stove. As I said before, he isn't a huge fan of soups, so we will see how it goes over. Tomorrow is shrimp linguine... very excited for that. Until tomorrow...

Just kiddies and mom... Italian Turkey and Noodles

So, it is just the 3 kiddies and Mommy for the next 3 nights since Erick has meetings. Tonight I picked the most "kid friendly" meal on my plan for the week. (I didn't plan too well on Saturday when I grocery shopped) So, the Harvest soup and the black bean soup will have to wait until the weekend when Erick and I can enjoy them together. Erick claims to NOT be a big fan of soups- but I am determined to change his mind! Anyway, tonight's dinner was very good, and simple! Easy was what I needed tonight for sure! The Italian Turkey and noodles was made with egg noodles, ground turkey, green pepper, onion, mushrooms, pasta sauce, some spices and of course topped off with mozzarella cheese! I have made dishes like this in the past and they are always a hit.. anything with pasta, sauce and cheese! Austin and Isabelle gave it an 8.. Elliot said he "doesn't like anything like spaghetti". Which is AMAZING considering lasagna is the only food he liked at about 9 months old! Maybe he over ate it then??? So.. Elliot gave his buttered noodles, shredded cheddar and cucumbers an 11. Austin tried to tell him 10 was the best, but of course he wasn't having it! Love that little guy! So, no promises for new meals the next two nights. We have a TON of leftovers from tonight, and will probably just graze on stuff in the fridge! I DO have something super yummy planned for Friday... Shrimp Linguine! Have a good night!

"Cheating" Crock Pot Pork Roast

Isabelle helped me come up with that name for tonight's dinner. I think the kids were kind of disappointed that I didn't make a recipe out of the cookbook tonight. Although, they did enjoy the roast. I had leftover pork loin from last night, as well as some potatoes I needed to use before they went bad. Also, I wanted to workout after school and with catechism tonight there just are not enough hours in the day. So, this morning I threw the roast, along with celery, onion, mushrooms, potatoes and spices into the crock pot. It really is lovely to walk into a house already smelling of delicious dinner! There is a lot to be said of the convenience of a crock pot. I did enjoy the dinner- but not one of my favorites of the last week. It was good- just nothing really exciting about it. Took a couple of pictures of the kid's different plates tonight....

Until tomorrow...

Disney on Ice and still Lo Mein!

So, between church and Sunday School this morning, and taking the kids out to lunch and to see Disney On Ice with some of our bestest friends, I didn't get home until after 6PM. Believe me, I was way tempted to order out a pizza.... but I, once again, drank some coffee and got my cook on. I made two things tonight. First was the ham and cheese biscuits that I have been meaning to make for over a week now. I had to do it tonight before the ham went bad. They turned out really good, a little bit dry- but still yummy. Austin and Is both liked them, and Is said she was going to have one for breakfast- which I think is a great idea! (good way to get some protein in the morning!) Then the main course was Pork Lo Mein. I have never made ANY Lo Mein before- assuming Lo Mein just means stir fry with noodles? It was very delicious with a ton of flavor. The recipe called for red peppers and pea pods, but I also added yellow peppers and asparagus. YUMMY! I am excited for Erick to get home from soccer to see what he thinks about it, but I think it was another hit! NOW, it is time to lay on the couch and get ready for my shows. Is it REALLY Sunday night already?!?!

"A Perfect Piece of food"

Okay, so tonight's menu was Tex Mex Lasagna.... from the title I am sure you can gather how amazing this meal was. That was an actual quote from Erick. He explained how he loves Mexican AND Italian, and this being a combination is perfect! It really was a delicious combo. It had ground sirloin (you could use turkey) black beans, corn, tomato sauce, salsa, green chilies(you could use jalapenos), and spices. It was layered with lasagna noodles, and of course reduced fat cheddar and Mexican blend cheeses. We topped it with lettuce and sour cream, and I KNEW I was missing something. When Erick mentioned it could use some avocado on top- I flipped out because THAT was the one thing I forgot to prepare!! I even bought the avocados today! Bummer! Anyway, we are going to top off dinner with some of the banana cup dessert (we couldn't wait.. just HAD to have that again!!!) and then off to the Lakefront Living show at Rock Financial. Have a happy Saturday everyone, until tomorrow...

(The kids were fighting over "crushing" the

graham crackers for the dessert!!! LOL!)

Crab cakes and Bowling Later

That title was for my teacher friends! And..... yummmmm now I know why they always wanted to go out for crab cakes in that story!! They were delish!.... I had no idea.... and very low fat! Erick and Grandma Diana really liked them too. Even Isabelle ate one- she gave it an 8. I forgot to gather data from the adults. :-) It was a very long week, but after a nap and some relaxing I was excited to try my hand at this new dish. It had crab, 1 egg, fat free mayo, green onions, parsley, ground mustard, salt, and pepper- sauteed in canola oil. I am thinking, however, that it is probably more of an appetizer, as I am not really full. Well, at least I am heading to bowling and to a couple of drinks! Happy Friday everyone- Until tomorrow...

Ham Casserole and Book Bingo night

Ok, so I made the casserole last night. This seems to be my best option these days. It was nice to be able to throw it in the oven when I got home and still eat by 5:15. Isabelle loved this dinner... she said it is her first 10. Elliot refused to eat it- I am realizing he is really not playing this little game with the rest of the fam! Austin said the pasta tasted weird, and decided to just eat a couple slices of the leftover ham (hope I still have enough for Saturday's ham and cheese bisquits). Erick and I enjoyed the casserole as well, and we added some peas to ours. Once again I am exhausted tonight, and we are leaving soon for Isabelle's school bingo night. I am wondering if I have a little bug or something, as I have been extra tired ALL week. Thank God it is Friday tomorrow... and since it needs to be "meatless" I am trying my hand- for the first time- at crab cakes. In fact, I think I just ate my first one ever a couple months ago. Will let you know how it goes tomorrow- hoping I have enough time (and energy) before bowling.

There are starving people out there

... therefore we wouldn't want to waste all those yummy leftovers in that fridge, right? So.... sorry to disappoint, but I didn't cook tonight. Well, I take that back, I actually cooked TOMORROW'S dinner at 8:30 tonight... Ham casserole. I will tell you about that tomorrow. I knew that this little endeavor of mine would be a lot harder when teaching too, but I didn't realize it would get this tough 2 DAYS into working again!!! Walking in the door at 6:30 I realized there was NO possible way I could whip together a new meal. I am thinking I will have to have a "leftover" night at least once a week... and gulp.. I MAY even have to order out now and again. Guess what?? I am NOT superwoman!!! I am still excited about the cooking and the blogging, but I HAVE to put things in perspective. I am thrilled that I have 15 followers now, and humbled that friends are actually trying out the recipes I endorse!! Carrie- how was the taco soup? And Adina- how was the jambalaya? Until tomorrow...

Erick gives the Chicken Jambalaya a 10

So, I actually made this last night so that we could eat at a decent time tonight since I went back to work today. I think it might have made it taste even better by sitting overnight. This dish had a TON of flavor, but was a bit spicy for the kids. Isabelle ate a little bit, but the boys opted out and had mac and cheese and leftover chicken and crescent rolls (is it cheating that they went back to the old staples?) Erick LOVED this meal- jambalaya is one of his favs at restaurants- so I was actually thinking he may not be impressed by this lower fat version, but he said it was delicious. I am going to put the recipe right in the blog today, because I think you should definitely try this one!

CHICKEN JAMBALAYA

3/4 pound boneless chicken breast, cubed

3 cups reduced sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice

4 ounces reduced fat smoked turkey sausage, diced

1/2 cup thinly sliced celery

1/2 chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

2-3 teaspoons Cajun seasoning

1 to2 garlic cloves, minced

1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1 can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained

1. In a large, nonstick skillet, coated with cooking spray, saute chicken. Stir all the ingredients except the tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 50-6o minutes.

2. Stir in the tomatoes; cover and simmer 10 minutes longer until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Remove from the heat, let stand for 5 minutes.

*** Tastes wonderful reheated the next day ***

Snow Day Casserole

Ok, so I feel totally exhausted today, and after making TWO meals I feel really really beat. I am praying I am not getting sick after all this time off of work! I made Chicken Dressing Casserole for dinner tonight and then Chicken Jambalaya for dinner tomorrow. Erick came down while I was cooking to ask what smelled so amazing... unfortunately it was TOMORROW'S menu. He said it was alright, now he would have that to look forward to tomorrow night. The casserole tonight was just ok. I felt like it seemed a little too salty- I used healthy request cream of mushroom as well as cream of chicken, so not sure why it tasted SO salty. Isabelle and I gave it a 7 (Is said it would be an 8 without the bread crumbs on top), Erick gave it a 6, and Elliot ate plain chicken and bread and butter... which scored a 95 in his book. Erick tried to tell him about the 1 to 10 scale and how 10 is the best, but he wasn't having it. He was like, "nope, it's a 95- see... 9....5..!!!" (As he drew a 9 and a 5 in the air) Austin is still skiing with Grandma Diana, so we will see when he gets home what he thinks. For dessert, Isabelle made some low fat peanut butter cookies. This is the first thing from this cookbook that I thought there was no mistaking that it is LOW fat. Of course I still ate 2 of them, but not like the peanut butter cookies that I love! Going to go rest on the couch, until tomorrow....

11 followers and Tortilla Pie!

Ok, so... needed a walk outside AND coffee to motivate myself to cook tonight. This girl just isn't used to being out til 2:30am! SO glad I cooked tonight though. On the menu was "Tortilla Pie". It was basically a pie of Mexican yumminess!!! (is that a word? ) It had ground sirloin (used my brand new Pampered Chef meat chopper!- Isabelle used it too!!!), with diced tomatoes, green chilies, other spices, also a cheese mix of ricotta and mozzarella and some low fat Cheddar on top. I will put the recipe on the recipe page- because this one is a must try! It was both easy, and delicious- would make a fun appetizer at a party! I was thinking as I was making it that I should make it for my "spring is here" party. (Haven't planned one.. but SO should!) Austin and Is helped some with dinner again- this is really turning into a great family project. It is funny how food brings people together.. love it! I even spent a bit of time organizing my spices and cooking supplies. Not sure anyone else could find stuff in there, but at least I can now! I had to buy a few different spices yesterday for the recipes I chose for this week. Feel good that I am gathering more cooking supplies. Will be excited when my grocery bill isn't so big once I get more of the staples stocked! Looking ahead for the week, some items on the agenda are: Salsa Chicken Skillet, Ham noodle casserole, Chicken Jambalaya, Chicken dressing casserole, and crab cakes for Friday! Trying not to do desserts much, but going to try cream cheese brownies and maybe some peanut butter cookies. Until tomorrow...

Pizza burgers and entertainment

Ok, so tonight was one of those meals where you are not sure weather to laugh or cry. Erick and I thought the mushroom pizza burgers were very tasty, however a certain little girl couldn't disagree with us more. She took one bite and started to spit out pieces of it and pick through it. She continued to complain about the "hard stuff" ( GRILL marks) and basically could not believe I was expecting her to consume that! Where it got good was when Erick had had enough and he said, and I quote, "You would think we were trying to feed you sand, or poop or something." That husband of mine--- always knows how to lighten up the mood. So, needless to say, we sent a couple of kids to Nana's for the night that will probably be raiding her pantry 60 seconds after arrival. A few curly fries, a cheese stick and a banana are not what I would call DINNER. Overall though, it was a good evening. It was so nice outside that I cooked the burgers on the grill outside.. in my shorts and boots. Now THAT would have been a good pic for the blog! Thank goodness I am the photographer. Until tomorrow.....