Scrumptious Sunday

It is Saturday evening...close to 11pm. I have been cooking for an hour or two because husband is out with the boys tonight and frankly...I'm bored. While some of you will curl up with a good book, watch a movie or take a luxurious bath when the children are asleep and the hubby is away, I cook.

Sunday mornings are always a little hectic in our household and it seems we end up with cereal and toast on the run. Which, mind you, is okay...but I was craving something yummy to wake up to in the a.m.! Begin preparation the evening before and you will be semi-stress free in the morning! (at least the breakfast portion of the morning) *grin*

One of my favorite breakfasts is my original 'crust-less quiche'. I've never liked the idea of a pastry shell with my eggs. I end up flaking it off and honestly it's healthier without it. So, I give a good spray to my pie dish and in goes the eggs, ham, cheese, vegetables, salsa, sour cream, etc. Not only is it beautiful, but packed with protein and vitamins!

So, here I am...taking a taste test. Understand, this goes against my absolute cardinal rule of zero eating 2-3 hours before bed! But... Mmmmm. Maybe just a little more. Ok, only one more bite. Yes, there is still enough for breakfast. Look at that picture! Isn't it gorgeous!?


Next, I made the cinnamon rolls. Can I just give a good word of advice at this point in the post? Never take a completely random person's recipe advice off a cooking website. You know, the kind that allows anyone to post something? Yikes. A lesson well learned for me this evening.

I usually make up my bread dough recipe, then roll it out, put in all my goodies, slice and bake. And that's all well and good- but tonight I wanted them special. Like really good "from the bakery" whole wheat cinnamon rolls. I should have known the recipe was bunk when it called for six eggs. Six eggs?! For one batch of rolls? And me...the little lemming just put 'em right in. So...four or five cups of EXTRA cups of flour later (I lost count) , I finally had a slightly doable dough. I'm still letting them rise. Half of them have raisins and the other half are plain. I used a honey/butter mixture with cinnamon on the inside. Too much drama. But they're still pretty, right?


As always, if you just can't live without these recipes...email me! Enjoy your day! I'm off to bed! Oh wait...the rolls are still baking. Hmmm...maybe I'll have just a little more quiche...

Mmmm Mmmm Monday

This title is probably taken. I am, however, going to take it just for today. And then...if nobody complains, maybe I'll come back next Monday with more Mmmm Mmmm fresh n' healthy recipes!

I tried out two new meals this weekend from the Sue Gregg cookbooks. A friend of mine passed these along to me a while back. Honestly, I don't think I realized the treasure that was stored on my shelf until about a week ago when I began to read through them. I've been convicted lately that my body is truly the temple of the Holy Spirit and that I haven't been feeding it very well lately. I was so focused on 'budget' eating that I was not concentrating on balanced nutrition as much as I needed to. The recipes in her books are not only super tasty, but healthy and designed for the budget shopper! She also shares scripture throughout, great nutrition instruction, as well as shoppings lists and more! Check out the link above for more info!


For breakfast this morning, we tried a variation of Sue's Breakfast Strata. Looks yummy, right? Daddy enjoyed it, but the boys were a little turned off by all the green veggies. I made it yesterday afternoon and let it chill overnight in the fridge. This morning I got up around 6am and popped it straight from the refrigerator into the oven then went back to bed. (It was in a stainless steel casserole dish covered with foil) I let it bake for about 45 minutes covered and then removed foil to let cheese crisp slightly to form a top crust. It was nice to have everything done and wake up to great smells from the kitchen! Recipe below!

Breakfast Strata

Yesterday afternoon we came home to shredded chicken tacos, rice and beans, and cottage cheese. This was from Sue's Main Dish cookbook. I wish I had taken a picture of it yesterday- it was so pretty served with all the fresh veggies and grated cheese! You'll have to settle for second best today... straight out of the tupperware with everything mixed together! Before we left for church in the morning, I boiled the chicken breast and cooked the rice. (Basmati long grain) I don't know about you, but when my family comes home, they are ready to eat NOW! When we came home all I had to do was grate the cheese, chop the veggies, bake the tortillas and fry the rice. Prep time was literally only about 15 minutes! It was really good! Looking forward to the leftovers today! Mmmm! Please email me if you would like this recipe!

Shredded Chicken Tacos

BREAKFAST STRATA (feeds 4-8)

Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Bread (torn into small cubes)
6-8 Eggs
1/2 cup Milk
Veggies of choice (broccoli, onions, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, etc.)
Black beans
1 Cup grated cheese
Ham- cubed or slice
Salt & Pepper to taste

Line greased casserole dish with bread cubes; mix eggs & milk/seasoning until well blended; cut veggies & meat and combine with egg mixture; pour all over bread; spread cheese evenly over top and cover. Bake immediately or let sit in fridge until ready to heat. Bake 375 degrees for one 45 minutes covered; 15 minutes with cover off. Serve warm with fruit and low fat sour cream!

Snow Cream

Yesterday we experienced what was deemed the blizzard of 2008. I'm sure to many of you, our foot of fallen snow (drifts in our area up to 4 feet) is business as usual. Here, however, this is big news!

Basic Recipe

1 cup milk or whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar (or honey)
very scant 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or vanilla beans
large bowl of clean snow (about 3 quarts)

Blend milk, sugar and vanilla. Stir in enough snow to make snow cream to an ice cream consistency. Continue to beat with whisk or beaters until completely mixed. Then freeze for approximately 30 minutes, stirring in 3-5 minute intervals.
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Instructions are as follows:

Step One: Find a good-looking husband to point out a fabulous place to gather your snow



Step Two: Collect snow in large mixing bowl



Step Three: Add all ingredients & freeze/stir



Step Four: Let the kids enjoy it and then bounce off the walls from all the sugar


Enjoy!

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A word on cleanliness; ALWAYS make sure the snow is clean. Wait for at least two to three hours of falling snow to clean the pollutants from the air, then use only snow that
has fallen after that first cleansing snow. Find snow that is in 'unpolluted' areas free from animals or foot traffic.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

This morning my oldest and I decided to make our favorite muffin recipe. I wish you could see how truly huge and gorgeous these turned out! The smell was absolutely overwhelming and quite intoxicating. Mmmmmmm!

Do you see the one missing muffin? It fed all three of us a very generous portion! No kidding, these were huge!

My oldest enjoying his portion and trying to smile at the same time.

Little one finally taking in some calories! (Please ignore the mess in the background! We were playing store with our "new" cash register from Grandma!)

Recipe for Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Wet Ingredients (Put in blender for a great consistency)
1 cup mashed banana
1 egg
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup oil

Dry Ingredients (Add well to wet and stir in chips)

1.5 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup chocolate chips

(Sprinkle brown sugar over top of batter prior to baking for an extra crispy glaze!)

Bake until golden and when have risen twice the size of batter. 400 degrees approx 30 minutes

Breakfast Cookies

Breakfast Cookies

"Wet Ingredients"

1 cup creamy peanut butter (all natural/organic)

2 fresh eggs

1 /4 cup honey

1/ 4 cup applesauce

"Dry Ingredients"

2 cups whole wheat flour (or white blend)

Pinch sea salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

"Add-ins"

1/2 cup prepared granola
1/4 cup ground flax seed

1/2 cup moist raisins

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Use hand mixer to add wet ingredients one by one. Then add dry one at a time until completely blended overall.

Work "add-ins" in with your hands until absorbed by dough.

Roll out with rolling pin between two saran wrap layers and use round cookie cutter.

Place on cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes at 375 degrees.

Makes approximately 20

Food For Thought

"Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead."

Daniel 1:11-16

One of my favorite things to do is create inventive healthy recipes that are super tasty! I love to eat. Truly, one of my best pastimes (past & present) is raiding the fridge in search of yummy treats to create!

My running 'career' started about two years ago, slowly and surely, as a means to energize my body and lose weight. I wanted to be healthy for my kids and maintain a good discipline that would follow me through the rest of my years. To date, I have lost almost 40 pounds through healthy eating and a consistent exercise regiment. Am I bragging? You better believe it! That was stinkin' hard work! :)

The goal now is to continue to keep it off through the disciplines that we have established in our home in regards to eating and active lifestyles.

I would love to share a recipe for homemade granola that we use every week in our home and helped me to shed the pounds!

In a large bowl, combine the following ingredients and bake on large cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes (as soon as you remove from oven use spatula to flip/mix granola to avoid sticking and allow to cool on sheet):

2 lbs rolled or quick oats (one large container)
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2- 3/4 cup raw honey

In separate bowl combine:
2 cups raisins
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 cup walnuts- broken up
1 cup mixed dried fruit that has been cut in small pieces (ie: apples, pears, peaches, etc.)

After granola has cooled, stir in fruit/nut mix. You can put 2 cup amounts in freezer safe ziploc bags and store in freezer for up to 3 months.

Enjoy!

My Little Pastry Chefs

This morning the boys and I decided to make homemade pretzels for the first time. My dough recipe turned out really well and was perfect for rolling! I doubled the batch and we made a lot! We put sea salt on some and cinnamon sugar on others! It was really a great time with little mess! The boys had a great time creating letters, shapes, balls, etc. Homemade Pretzels

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1 packet yeast

1 1/2 cup warm water

1 Tbsp salt

2 Tbsp honey (or sugar)

4 cups whole wheat flour (or white)

Knead together until bread dough consistency. (No need to let rise) Roll out into any shapes you like! Brush with egg wash and bake 10-15 minutes on cookie sheet.

**To add flavor- roll dough into either large unground sea salt or cinnamon/sugar prior to baking- do not use eggwash when using 'sweet' mixture**

Enjoy!