Category Archives: Food

Eat Meatloaf!

People either like meatloaf or don’t like meatloaf.

I LOVE MEATLOAF!

I finally found one and burned all my previous meatloaf recipes.

Ina Garten knows how to do meatloaf. Here is her recipe.

Moist.(I don’t like this word, but in the meatloaf world, this is a good thing). Flavorful. Delicious.

Please don’t let the picture below be a turn off. Ina is a fan of free forming her meatloafs…..I prefer a loaf pan, but this thing would never fit in my loaf pan in a million years. But, it’s g-o-o-d and equally yummy the next day on a sandwich with a little TJ’s Wasabi Mayo!

You may want to consider cutting this recipe in half, because, um….5 pounds of ground turkey is A LOT! I used about 2.5 pounds of ground turkey in the meatloaf below:

Instead of topping with plain ketchup, I mix regular yellow mustard, ketchup & brown sugar and slather on the top before baking.

I served it along with this Sonoma Salad which is always a hit:

1 bag Butter Lettuce, Spring Mix, Baby Spinach, etc.

Half of a large Fugi apple, chopped

Bleu cheese, gorgonzola or goat cheese

Craisins, raisins or both

Candied walnuts, chopped (I like Emerald~Original)

Marie’s Poppy Seed Dressing (in the short bottle in the refrigerated section)

(Salad courtesy of Melanie Corona! Thanks, Mel!)

Caffeine Cakes

I’ll take my caffeine any way I can get it!

I made these Mocha Cupcakes with Espresso Frosting and they’re good…and easy, too!

Take one box Dark Chocolate cake mix (I like Duncan Hines) and prepare according to package directions, but substitute water with strong coffee. Bake into cupcakes or sheet cake and frost with espresso frosting!

I made my espresso frosting with instant espresso ~ about a Tbsp mixed with just a tad bit of boiling water. Let sit for a few minutes and then mix with a container of vanilla store-bought frosting and spread or pipe onto cupcakes or cake. Wish I would’ve had some chocolate covered coffee beans to top them with!

Enjoy!

Oops!

It was 2:50 this afternoon and it dawned on me that I had NO idea what I was serving for dinner tonight! I’ve been trying to cut back and eat early so I can go running and do my evening workouts, but, ahem, I still need to feed my husband and children, right? Oops!

Hmmm, what do I have on-hand that I can whip up? I’ve been overloading Jay with ground turkey for the past several nights so I pulled out the frozen chicken tenders, found a small can of corn, some black beans and a jar of Trader Joe’s pineapple salsa in the pantry! Throw all this in a crock pot, put on low for about 3 hours and you have a yummy filling for some soft flour tortillas!

I don’t even know what to call this recipe other than GOOD & EASY….maybe I’ll just call it “Good & Easy Southwestern Crock Pot Chicken”. Jay jokingly says that anything with black beans and corn is “southwestern”, so there you have it!

I do need to run to the store and get the tortillas and shredded cheese. I like to use the small fajita size flour tortillas for these tacos, but of course you could make burritos out of the filling or use crispy corn shells. I prefer mine topped with a little shredded cheese, light sour cream, an avocado slice, cilantro and a squeeze of lime!

So…..if you’re ever in a bind, keep this stuff in your cupboards and you can whip up dinner in a jiffy:

I used about 6 little tenderloins…after about 3 hours on low, you’ll be able to shred the chicken with 2 forks, mix it up and let it warm through for a bit. Then you’re ready to load up your tortillas and GRUB!

This is what the mixture looks like after you shred the chicken:

This is what your taco/burrito looks like all assembled:

And this is what it looks like after you’ve taken a couple bites and are in love:

One more thing…I suggest draining the corn and draining and rinsing the beans. It turns out too runny otherwise.

Out With The Old, In With The Shoe!

Hello? Is anyone still out there in Blogland? I know… I’m a blog abandoner! My apologies to my reader(s)! I promise to be around more now that we have the holidays behind us. I’ve missed doing my little posts and am looking forward to getting back into a routine.

Just to recap, I think that this past holiday season was one of the BEST ever for me. I tried my best to stretch it out, slow it down and take in as much as possible. And you know what? I think it worked!

We packed a lot in, but at the same time, managed to have time to sit back and reflect on a great year.

A Disneyland trip kicked off our holidays. Turkey in San Diego. 3:30 a.m. wake-up call on Black Friday. 4 foot tree from Home Depot. Token Santa visit at mall. H1N1 mist up the nose. Holiday card send-off. Road trip to Vegas for Jay’s 40th milestone b-day. Holiday play dates. Intuit holiday party. Visited friends in Newport. Peppermint mochas. Neighborhood lights on foot. Crafting delicious holiday treats. Listening to E&H sing Christmas songs on car rides. Late night shopping excursions. Wrapping paper. Tape. Curly ribbon. Tissue paper.

It’s all gone. Lurking around the corner to make an appearance again in what will be a short 11 months.

Superbowl ~ Valentine’s Day ~ Holden’s 3rd b-day ~ St. Patrick’s Day ~ Easter ~ Elliott’s 5th b-day ~ Last day of school ~ Summer ~ First day of school ~ New routines ~ My fortieth! ~ Pumpkins ~ Halloween ~ Annual Disneyland trip ~ Turkey Day ~ Repeat most of above paragraph and we’ll be in the same spot in 2011 as we are now!

My “resolutions” this year are: 1) No excuses 2) Keep it simple

To get off to a running (literally) start in 2010, I bought these:

Yes, the tag is still intact, but these will be getting put to use this week. My goal, again, is to do the Las Vegas Rock N Roll Half Marathon in early December…I am still positive, but seeing that I can barely run a half-mile, I have a few hesitations! Especially when I see a woman who looks to be in fabulous physical shape wearing a half-marathon finisher t-shirt! Uh, do I need to look like that in order to complete 13.1 miles? If so, then I have a LONG way to go and may need more than 11 months to complete my goal! BUT, since this is the year of “no excuses”, I will hit the pavement in the above pink and silver numbers and see what comes of it! Don’t worry, you will hear about every pain and blister along the way!

Jay decided he wanted to start the new decade out with a nice bottle of tequila! Ay caramba! So, there I was on New Year’s Eve @ BevMo in the L-O-N-G line extending to the back of the store getting this:

We rang in the New Year locally (meaning ON our street!) which was awesome since we were able to cruise home on foot around 2:30 a.m. from about 20 yards away!

We used the above square bottle for some Pomegranate Margaritas ~ recipe here.

This bottle DID last us 2 nights as we continued to welcome in 2010 last night with a wonderful sushi spread provided by our lovely neighbors Bob & Sun.

Check out this spread:

and this spicy salmon hand roll:

Let me just say that 2010 is off to a great start!

Thank you to ALL our family & friends for an epic 2009! Looking forward to new friends, new traditions, new discoveries and new adventures in the upcoming year.

Wishing you peace, love, health and happiness in the next 361 days!

Easy As Pie

Seriously…this pie is easy and the only thing that isn’t from scratch is the shell. I use frozen unbaked crusts that come two to a package AND in a tin! Easy peasy!

Here is the recipe: Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie

Here are the ingredients:

pieingred

Here is what it looks like when it’s making your whole house smell delish:

pieoven

Looks like I need to clean the inside of my oven door…..

Anywhoo, this is what it looks before you cut it and devour it:

piefinal

The recipe calls for a meringue top, but I think the pie is gorgeous without it. Maybe a little vanilla bean whipped cream? But tonight I’m serving it on it’s own and saving the calories for something else!

Intervention

I am whipping up a couple batches of Puppy Chow for Jay’s co-workers and the neighbors.

This stuff is addicting!

You may see me on the A&E show “Intervention” because of it.

You can find the recipe for this drug here.

This is what you’ll need:

chowstuff

It’s super quick and easy, but sometimes a bit messy with the powdered sugar. I just get a paper Trader Joe’s bag, dump the powdered sugar in there, add the coated Crispix and shake! Then I spread onto a cookie sheet to dry a bit before bagging it up.

chowbefore

One 12 oz. box of Crispix only makes 5 little snack-size bags (with a little leftover for the cook and her assistant!) The recipe says 9 cups, but I go ahead and use the whole 12 oz. box (about 12 cups) so it isn’t quite so powdered sugary! Also, I melt the peanut butter, chocolate chips, butter and vanilla in a sauce pan over the stove instead of in the microwave. Less chance of burning or heating the chocolate too fast. This will make it seize up and get grainy – Blech! But I’m sure if you follow the directions and decide to use the micro, it’ll be just fine!

Found some cute snowflake bags at Dollar Tree ~ 25 cellophane bags for a buck! Cheap!

chowafter

Your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors (and anyone else) will LOVE you!

Happy Chowing!

Improve Your Eyesight

Don’t you remember growing up you always heard, “Eat your carrots…they’re good for your eyes!”

I heart carrots. I know they’re not the best veggie out there, but hey, they’re veggies.

I also love curry. So naturally, when I came across this soup, I tried it.

Curried Carrot Soup

It’s another one of those recipes that use very few ingredients.

carrot

Everyone thinks that there is cream in this soup. Nope. No dairy. Guilt free. With just the right amount of kick from the cayenne pepper. Today I served the soup with egg salad tea sandwiches…not a bad combination. Even my good friend who isn’t a soup lover gave it her stamp of approval! Thanks, K!

soupafter

Lettuce Wrapz

Why is it that things seem cooler with a “z” at the end instead of an “s”?

Well, this recipe is cool on it’s own and does not in any way need a “z”, but maybe it will make ME look cooler!

I discovered this recipe in Rachael Ray Everyday Magazine under the “Take 5” section.

Teriyaki Turkey Lettuce Wraps

I am all about the ground turkey so it was an immediate contender for a quick weeknight dinner!

It. is. so. easy. and. so. good. Seriously!

I make some steamed rice and place it on the lettuce leaf and then put a scoop of the meat mixture and you’re good to go! Roll up and eat like a little lettuce taco!

The lower carb option without the rice is just as good, too!

Here is how I set it up:

wrapsbefore

And this is what it looks like all assembled:

wrapsafter

Really. You’ve got to try these. They’re almost as good as P.F. Chang’s.

Now if I could just work on their Ground Chicken & Eggplant dish, I’d be in heaven! Now THAT is some good eats!

Soupy Tuesday

This is the easiest soup on the planet. Another recipe by way of my sister!

Black Bean & Salsa Soup

4 ingredients + 2 toppings = Quick & easy meal

I use chicken broth in place of the veggie broth. Instead of the green onions, I substitute just a bit of shredded cheese and/or a lowfat sour cream.

Sometimes I serve with pepper jack grilled cheese sandwiches or quesadilla triangles.

Enjoy!

soup