Holiday Popcorn

This is my go to treat when I want something quick to make for school/family parties. All you have to do is change the sprinkles to match the holiday.  :-)

Ingredients:

1 bag butter flavored popcorn
3 pieces almond bark(white chocolate)
Nonpareils Sprinkles (per holiday)

1. Pop the popcorn

2. Put Almond Bark in a bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until melted.

3. Add some sprinkles to the melted chocolate.

4. Add popcorn to chocolate and stir well until all popcorn is coated. Add more sprinkles

5. Spread out on a wax paper lined sheet pan, and let sit 5 minutes to harden up.

Once it has hardened you can break it up and put in Ziploc bags to store.
I put it in Valentines bags and made some Strawberry muffins and that's what Sissy took for her Valentines party for school this year! :-)

Menu 2-11/2-17-13

Monday:
Juice
Cabbage Soup
Freezer/Pantry Meal

Tuesday: MARDI GRAS
Juice
Soup/Daddy's Choice
Sausage, Chicken,Shrimp Jambalaya
Kings Cake from Taste of Home

Wednesday:
Eggs and Biscuits
Soup
Chicken Salad

Thursday: VALENTINES
Juice
?
*Out to Eat*

Friday:
Cereal with Fresh Fruit
Sandwich
Beef Stew

Saturday:
French Toast with Fresh Fruit
*Subway*
?

Sunday:
CLEAN
   OUT
      FRIDGE

Minestrone Soup and Herb Bread

I wish I had a big bowl of this soup right now! This was a great soup recipe and is better than Olive Gardens ;-)

Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:

2 cups frozen peas(thawed)
3 small yellow squash(chopped)
2 medium zucchini(chopped)
1 can green beans
5 celery stalks(chopped)
1 red bell pepper(chopped)
2 large carrots(chopped)
1 large white onion(chopped)
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp Oregano
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp parsley
2 cans reduced sodium kidney beans(drained and rinsed)
1 can white kidney beans(drained and rinsed)
2 can Italian style diced tomatoes
1 box organic vegetable broth
1 can chicken broth
2 Tbsp light brown sugar

Add everything to the crock pot and stir. Let cook on high 6 hours.
I will say this FILLED my 6qt crock pot. So if you have in a bigger one you will want to use it OR combine everything and then freeze half for later.
I also ate on the through out the week and it just kept getting better and better!
Y'all have to try this soon!
I got the original recipe at UndressedSkeleton, one of my favorite sites! :-)

On the same day I made the soup I made some Herb bread to go with it. I found this recipe on Pinterest and had my eye on it for a while but, I knew it would be perfect match for the Minestrone Soup!

Cheese, Olive, and Buttermilk Herb Bread 

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan
1/2 cup grated cheddar
1/2 cup green olives slices
8 pieces sun dried tomatoes, sliced thin
1 tsp salt
1tsp pepper
1/4 cup mixture of parsley and green onion
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
2 eggs
2 1/2 tsp Olive Oil
1 1/4 cup Buttermilk
-Egg Wash (made from 1 egg yolk beaten with 2 tbsp water)
Extra thyme leaves and sea salt for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350.

Generously butter a loaf pan and dust with flour, set aside.

In a large bowl sift all dry ingredients. Then add in cheese. Next add olives and tomatoes, onion and parsley. and thyme. Stir thoroughly together.

In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, then olive oil and buttermilk until combined.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the buttermilk mixture in the well. Stir until the "dough" is very sticky and then pour into the loaf pan.

Brush the top of the batter with the egg wash and then add the extra thyme and salt.

Bake for 40-45 minutes. Once knife inserted in center comes out clean remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before turning out on a cooling rack.

I got the original recipe from Sugar and Everything Nice, found on Pinterest! :-)

Bento- Catch Up Post

It's been a while since I did a bento post so I thought I would do a catch up post today. These are just here and there bentos, some for school and some for Brother at home.

This is one of Brothers, packed in the Nibble Tray
Peaches,Craisins,Ritz Crackers,Tomatoes,Cheese, and Summer Sausage. He had water to drink.

This is one of Sissy's lunches for school.
This day she had Turkey and Cheese Roll Ups, Garlic Naan bread hearts, Grapes, Carrots and Cucumber with Ranch in the blue box. She had water to drink.

This is a snack Sissy took for school.
Apples, Blueberries,and String Cheese. She had water to drink.

This is another Brother lunch. Here he has Toddler Maple Crunchies, Dried Plums,Pickles,Grapes,String Cheese and Mini Pepperonis. He had water to drink.

This is one of Sissy's lunches packed in the Laptop lunch box.
This day she had Pretzel Thins,Carrots,Apples,Strawberries,Turkey Sandwich. She took water to drink.

This is a snack that was packed for Sissy for school.
Chicken Biscuit Crackers, Blueberries and Grapes and Strawberries. She had water to drink.

This is Sissy's lunch for school.
This day she took Pineapple,Garlic Naan hearts, Carrots and Ranch(made with Greek yogurt) Turkey and string cheese.

Menu 1-4/1-10-13

Monday:
Juice
Soup
Freezer Meal

Tuesday:
Juice
Soup/*Daddy's Choice*
Chicken Salad

Wednesday:
Eggs and Biscuits
Soup/*Daddy's Choice*
Chili from freezer

Thursday:
Juice
L.O.
Shrimp Fajitas

Friday:
Cereal with Fresh Fruit
?
Freezer Meal

Saturday:
Banana Pancakes and Fresh Fruit
*Subway*
Turkey,Kale, Taco Quesadillas with Fresh Pico de Gallo

Sunday:
CLEAN
   OUT
     FRIDGE

Lots of freezer meals this week, to clean the freezer out  ;-)

2013 Goals

Better late than never...right?

I am keeping my goals realistic!!

I can honestly say I suck at New Years "resolutions", and usually end up disappointed in myself.
A goal list keeps me motivated! Plus, nothing I love more than crossing things off a list!
So here it is, this is what I want to do,change,get,and places to go, etc... in 2013! :-)

Home:
*Make a "Home Binder" like this one.
*Garden (Making some changes of how we did it last year)
*Flower Beds (Big Daddy wants to redo them)
*New Oven (Mine is like 30yrs old)
*New Recliner
*Estimate/Do paved driveway

Finance:
*Maintain Emergency fund (We call this the "Oh *&^% fund) HA HA- New glasses,tires,appliances,etc..
*Add to savings
*Pay down 50% debt
* Buy 2013 Christmas throughout the year (I do this by shopping thrift stores and yard sales)
*Cash Book-(I was given a simple cash book, to keep better track of the cash I spend)

Marriage:
*Date Nights
*Overnight Trip
*Time together more during week

Family:
*Myrtle Beach
*3 camping trips
*Abbey Softball
*Both kids swimming lessons
*Kids Birthday pictures
*Park/Picnics
*Titanic Museum
*Cherokee
*Sunday Lunches with Family
*Get rid of Brothers Passy
*Keep track of Abbeys books read
*Work on Brothers preschool learning(colors,shapes,numbers,etc..)
*Shadracks Light Show

Personal:
*Drop 2 pants sizes (Doing good with this, lost 10lbs so far and so has Big Daddy)
*Eat Breakfast (Been doing Juice)
*Juicing (Juicing fruits and vegetables for breakfast and snacks)
*Use Crock pot more
*Read 12 books
*Write "Thank You" cards more often
*5 Hiking Trails(at least)
*15 Pinterest recipes
*10 Pinterest projects
*Blog More
*Unplug more
*PATIENCE

Menu 1-28/2-3-13

Monday:
Juice
?
Minestrone Soup with Herb Bread


Tuesday:
Juice
Soup
Chicken Salad

Wednesday:
Scrambled Eggs, Turkey Bacon, and Toast
Soup
Tilapia Tacos

Thursday:
Juice
L.O.
Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken

Friday:
Oatmeal with Fresh Fruit
L.O.
Freezer Meal

Saturday:
Giant Breakfast Cookies
*Subway*
?

Sunday:
CLEAN
  OUT
    FRIDGE

Vegetable Lasagna

VEGETABLE LASAGNA

• 3 Large Zucchini (Thinly Sliced)
• 4 Large Summer Squash(Thinly Sliced)
• 1 Large Onion (Thinly Sliced)
• 1 Large Green Bell Pepper(Thinly Sliced)
• 1 Large Red Bell Pepper(Thinly Sliced)
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• Garlic Powder
• 1 Container Low Fat Cottage Cheese
• 3 Cups Spaghetti Sauce
• 1/4 Cup Reduced Fat Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 Cup Fresh Basil Leaf
• 1 Bag Reduced Fat Mozzarella Cheese
• 1/2 Cup Low Fat Colby Jack Cheese

1. Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil to the bottom of the baking pan.
2. Add a layer of squash or zucchini to the bottom of the pan, on top of the olive oil. 
3. Next, add: spaghetti sauce, basil, 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese,1/4 cup cottage cheese, 1 Tbsp of Parmesan, 1/2 Tsp garlic powder, sliced peppers, and onions. Repeat this 4 times, but alternating the squash and zucchini. 
4. After building up the four layers, top dish with Colby jack, remaining mozzarella  Parmesan, basil and 1 tbsp of olive oil.
5. Bake 50-60 minutes. The Cheese should be golden brown. 
6. The edges may have extra juice from the vegetables and olive oil. Lightly tip the pan into the sink and drain the extra liquid. 

I made this thinking that I would be the only one eating it...I was wrong...there were no leftovers! We had Garlic Naan with it and it was delicious, y'all should try it soon!

I got this recipe from UndressedSkeleton, one of my favorite sites! 

Menu 1-21/1-27-13

Monday:
Juice
Cabbage Soup
Garlic Chicken  with Roasted Veggies

Tuesday:
Juice
Soup/ *Daddy's Choice*
Baked Spaghetti with Green Beans and Salad

Wednesday:
Scrambled Eggs with Turkey Bacon and Toast
Soup/*Daddy's Choice*
Turkey,Kale and Black Bean Quesadillas with Roasted Veggies

Thursday:
Juice
L.O.s
Sausage,Potatoes, and Kraut in Crockpot

Friday:
Oatmeal with Fresh Fruit
Tuna Melt  with Fresh Fruit and Veggies
Freezer Meal

Saturday:
Giant Breakfast Cookies  with Fresh Fruit
*Subway*
Shrimp Fajita Lettuce Wraps

Sunday:
CLEAN
     OUT
        FRIDGE

Turkey Sausage and Kale Soup

It is a cold rainy day and I am so glad I planned this soup on the menu! Very Yummy and filling!
I did have to substitute a few things from the original recipe I wanted to have, but was still great!

I am taking a little time while Brother is napping to get this blog post done, start looking for recipes for next week and just resting(3 yr old BOYS wear you out!)  ;-)

I have to share that we are all going strong on this healthy eating challenge! I can feel the change; I do not want a soda(really), I don't want to eat crap because I know how many calories are in it and I don't want to have to walk/exercise more just to get those off on top of what I already have to do. I am really enjoying the juicing, wish I could get in to the smoothies more though, my blender is not getting it..well..smooth. It's very thick and gritty. Any tips would be appreciated!

On to the recipe, here we go...

Turkey Sausage and Kale Soup 

Turkey Sausage- (I used Seasoned Turkey Sausage Links, because that's what I had on hand. This would be good with regular Turkey meat seasoned, ground chicken seasoned, Turkey kielbasa, etc...)

1 small onion, 3/4 cup, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes , drained but juice reserved

Broth/Water- ( I used 2 cans chicken broth and 2 cups water. Which was very good, however next time I am going to try with vegetable broth and water)

4 red potatoes, quartered (about 2 cups)

1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (I used Pinto because that's what I had)

1 cup carrots, chopped

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 bunch kale (about 6 cups raw), stems removed and cut into bite-size pieces

*Place a dutch oven over medium-high heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

*Once it is hot,add onion and meat. Let cook until the meat is browned and onions are soft. Remove meat and set aside.

*Add the garlic and the drained tomatoes to the pot, stir constantly until the tomatoes begin to dry out and brown color begin to form on bottom of pan.

*Add the reserved tomato juice and broth slowly while stirring/scraping the brown from bottom of pot.

*Add the potatoes and simmer for 10 minutes.

*Add beans,carrots, meat and pepper, cook 5 more minutes.

*Add the kale and let simmer until the kale is wilted.

I got the idea for this recipe from SparkPeople.com