Mommy Bits » Recipes

Planning Our Week (in Food)

ShannanB — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 12:00:47 +0000

It’s been a long time since I planned out our dinners for the week, but I’ve finally made the time to work on it. With school starting back and kids activities Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, things have been quite hectic around here. Here’s what I hope to serve this week… we’ll see how it goes ~

Monday – Grilled Tuna with broccoli rice casserole and cinnamon apples

Tuesday - Pizza Croissants (courtesy of Tricia at Once A Month Mom), Corn on the Cob and fruit cup of some sorts

Wednesday - Lasagna (Stouffers lasagna is on sale this week), salad and garlic bread

Thursday – Taco Night! Soft tacos, Spanish rice and veggies

Friday - Grilled Lime Chicken Kabobs (Thanks Paula Deen!); black beans w/ rice and Yogurt parfaits.

Saturday - TBD (probably left overs)

Sunday – TBD (probably a pasta dish like my Mexican Pasta Bake)

Mouthwatering Monday – Easy Mexican Pasta Bake

ShannanB — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:36:12 +0000

While I love Mexican food, I can never get my boys to eat anything other than cheese quesadillas. Not wanting to make separate dinners for the adults and the children, I discovered away to make it work – Mexican pasta bake. This twist on tacos let’s me enjoy the flavors I love, while also meeting the approval of my boys.

INGREDIENTS

1lb lean ground beef
1 can Red Gold Petite Diced Tomatoes w/ Chipotle (Ro*tel tomatoes w/green chili’s would work too)
1.5 cups shredded cheese – nacho/Mexican variety works best
1 box spiral/penne/elbow noodles (your choice)
1 package taco seasoning
1 red or yellow bell pepper, diced

DIRECTIONS

Prepare the ground beef, adding your diced bell pepper when the beef is about 1/2 way done. After browning, add taco seasoning, following directions on the packet. On another burner, prepare your pasta according to the directions and drain. Add both the ground beef mixture and the pasta to an oven safe casserole dish. Mix in the diced tomatoes and the cheese. Place in over for 20 minutes at 325.

This post is part of Mouthwatering Monday. Click on the link and check out more great recipes!

Help a Girl Out – Please Vote

ShannanB — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:41:06 +0000

My Friend Tricia at Once a Month Mom is participating in a contest with The Mushroom Channel. She submitted a photo of mushrooms she took and now people are voting on their favorite photo. 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd place prizes awarded with 1^st place getting $100! Voting ends THIS FRIDAY (FEB 26) so please click the link above and vote for Tricia. No registering is needed, just click “J” and voila. It’s that easy.

Mouthwatering Monday – Slow Cooker Potato Soup

ShannanB — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:16:53 +0000

Happy Monday everyone!

So with the crazy work week and all the chaos in the kitchen this weekend (see this blog post), I wasn’t able to whip up anything “mouthwatering” last week. I mentioned this on Twitter last night and my friend Carla generously offered to let me share her slow cooker potato soup recipe (adapted from two different recipes). She’d tweeted about it earlier in the week and I’d drooled over her Twitpic. This is one recipe you can bet I’ll be making soon!

INGREDIENTS

8 cups peeled, diced potatoes
1 small onion, finely diced
6 ounces bacon, cooked, drained, crumbled
8 ounces low fat cream cheese
3 cans fat-free chicken broth
1 can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS

In a 4-quart or larger slow cooker, combine potatoes, onion and bacon. In large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup and pepper, stirring until blended. Add soup mixture to slow cooker and stir to blend. Cover. Cook on low heat for 10 hours or high heat for 5 hours. Before serving, mash some of the potatoes to thicken the soup. Serve with a dollop of fat-free sour cream and chopped green onions or chives. Makes 8 servings.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (1 serving = 1/8 of recipe)

Calories: 261
Fat: 8g
Carbohydrates: 32g
Sodium: 1001mg
Cholesterol: 22mg
Fiber: 3g (leave skin on potatoes for an extra gram of fiber)
Calories from fat: 30%

This post is part of Mouthwatering Monday. Click on the link and check out more great recipes!

Mouthwatering Monday – Lentil Soup

ShannanB — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 23:54:38 +0000

Since I am still on a diet, I am trying really hard to find and try healthy recipes that are not only good for me, but that taste good too. This week I thought I would share the recipe for a low fat/high fiber Lentil soup that I made Sunday night. I’ve not had a lot of experience with lentils but I found them to be pretty easy to prepare. This lentil soup recipe is very hearty and filling and with our family of 5, we had enough left over to have again later in the week or to take to work for lunch.

INGREDIENTS

1 package of lentils, rinsed
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 small bag of sweet corn
3 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbs paprika
3 tsp chili powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
11 cups water
1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
shaved Parmesan cheese

SUPPLIES

slow cooker
laddle
strainer
cutting board
knife
measuring cup

DIRECTIONS

Place lentils in strainer and rinse. To your slow cooker, add the lentils, water and vegetable/chicken stock. Cook for one hour on medium heat, then add the onions, carrots, celery, corn and seasonings. Turn your slower cooker to low heat and let cook until all of the veggies and lentils are soft (I let mine cook for 2 hours). Top each serving with Parmesan cheese and serve with a slice of crusty bread. Makes enough for 8-10 people.

This post is part of Mouthwatering Monday.

Mouthwatering Monday – Eggplant Parmesean

ShannanB — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 08:26:47 +0000

I’ve mentioned before that in my quest to eat healthier I am exploring new recipes. Here’s a tasty recipe for Eggplant Parmesan that I made for my family last week. It serves 6-8 people.

INGREDIENTS

2 eggplants
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1/4 parmesan cheese
1.5 cups tomato sauce of choice
1.5 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

SUPPLIES

baking sheet
baking dish (2)
knife
whisk
tongs
shallow dish (2)
cutting board
measuring cups
cooking spray

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
Cut eggplant length-wise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
Take one of the shallow dishes and whisk egg whites and water. In the other shallow dish combine the Italian breadcrumbs and the parmesan cheese. Dip the eggplant slices into the egg mixture then coat with the breadcrumbs.
Place the eggplant slices on the baking sheet and place in the oven for 12 minutes. When they are done, turn the slices over and bake for 12 more minutes.
Next take your baking dish and coat the bottom with 1/4 of the tomato sauce. Place the eggplant slices in the baking dish and spoon sauce lightly over the eggplant slices. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Repeat in the second baking dish. Bake (uncovered) for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
Serve alone or with your favorite pasta.

: Coated w/ Italian Bread Crumbs

: Topped w/ Cheese

: The final product!

This post is part of Mouthwatering Monday.

NOTE/HELP: While the dish tasted great, this was my first time preparing eggplant and I was a little turned off by the seeds. Anyone out there know if there is a way to remove them before cooking?

Mouthwatering Monday – Black Bean Soup

ShannanB — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 23:10:05 +0000

Now that I am back to dieting, it’s really important for me to adjust both what and how I am cooking. To get started I turned to SparkRecipes.com, a healthy recipe database from SparkPeople.com. For those of you with iPhones, SparkRecipes has an iPhone app. I love the site because it not only has healthier recipes, but it also gives you the nutritional information so you can track your fat and calorie intake.

This weekend while looking through the recipe database I found what I think is a great recipe for black bean soup. Not only really easy to make, which is important, but it’s low in fat (2.8 grams) and low in calories (>250). Following is the recipe, modified slightly to fit the ingredients I had on hand. This recipe makes 6 servings.

INGREDIENTS

Garnish – low-fat sour cream & chives

DIRECTIONS

Place onion, green/red/yellow bell pepper mix in small pan and heat through. Place mixture in slow-cooker. Add black beans, chopped carrot, tomatoes (undrained), chicken stock, bay leaves, cumin, thyme and cayenne. Allow to simmer for 60 minutes, letting the carrots cook mostly through and the flavors to merry.
Before serving, puree 3 cups of the soup in a blender and then add back into slow-cooker.

Garnish with a dollop of low-fat sour cream & chives

For the original black bean soup recipe, click here.

This post is part of Mouthwatering Monday. To check out more mouthwatering posts, head over to A Southern Fairytale.

Mouthwatering Monday – Chocolate Mint Mousse

ShannanB — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:02:37 +0000

A few weeks ago a representative with Smucker’s emailed me to see if I’d like to try any of their new Limited Edition

toppings. Being a Smucker’s family, I was eager to agree. A few days later the woman contacted me again, only this time recipes she sent me a few recipes she thought I might be interested in trying. {Who knew?? I’d only ever used their toppings on ice cream}

Following is the recipe they sent me (and that I tried) for Chocolate Mint Mousse, using Smucker’s Chocolate Mint topping. It’s a really EASY and quick recipe that will leave your taste-testers smiling!

INGREDIENTS

1 1/3 cups cold milk
1 (4-serving size) pkg. instant chocolate fudge pudding
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon Smucker’s Chocolate Mint Topping, divided
1 (8 oz.) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

SUPPLIES

Mixer
Spatula
Mixing Bowl
Serving Dishes

DIRECTIONS

Whisk milk and pudding mix in medium bowl for 2 minutes. Blend in 1/2 cup Smucker’s Andes Chocolate Mint topping. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon into individual dessert dishes or serving bowl. Chill 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

My Chili Brings All the Moms to the Yard

ShannanB — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:20:38 +0000

If you read this blog, you know that I am not much of a star when it comes to cooking. Don’t get me wrong, from time to time I’ll have a success or two in the kitchen and share it here on my blog, but for the most part cooking’s just not my strong point.

I share this because imagine my surprise when I received this Tweet:

Curious, I clicked through the link and to my surprise…. my recipe for White Chicken Chili had made the “BEST OF” Once a Month Mom menu! That’s right. Once A Month Mom readers voted it as one of the best recipes from the year! I almost fell over.

Now… I cannot lie to you. I must admit something here….. the recipe is really my husband’s. It’s true. It is his creation. BUT — I do make this recipe all the time and make it well.

I am just speechless (as is my husband). Thank you so much to Tricia and to her loyal Once A Month Mom readers. I cannot even tell you how thrilled we are that you enjoyed the White Chicken Chili so much!

Recipe for Homemade Cranberry Sauce

ShannanB — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:41:14 +0000

One of my favorite things to make during the holidays is fresh cranberry sauce. As a child I only knew cranberry sauce to come in a can, served in slices. It wasn’t until I was older and creating my own Thanksgiving meals that I learned how to make it from scratch. In honor of Thanksgiving I thought I’d share my recipe with you. I hope you all enjoy it, it’s one of the few dishes I make that is always requested by my family!

INGREDIENTS
1 bag fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1 small can of pineapple (small chunks)
1/2 cup broken walnuts

TOOLS
Medium sauce pan
Medium bowl
Collander
Saran wrap

DIRECTIONS
Begin by placing the cranberries in the collander and running them under cold water. While you are rinsing them you will want to watch for/remove any stems that may still be attached to the cranberries. After rinsing, place the cranberries in the sauce pan and immediately add the water, sugar and juice from the pineapple can. Allow mixture to simmer over medium heat until the cranberries begin to burst. Once a majority of the cranberries have burst, remove from the stove and add your pineapple chunks and walnuts to the pan, saving a few for garnish. Allow cranberry sauce to sit for 5 minutes before placing in a medium size serving bowl. Place the remaining chunks of pineapple and walnuts on top as garnish. Cover in saran wrap and allow to cool in the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving . While it is cooling the cranberry sauce will thicken to the desired consistency.

Here are some photos to help you along:

: Rinse your cranberries and remove any remaining stems

: Add water and sugar to the pan

: Cranberries will begin to “pop”

: Once a majority of the cranberries have burst, remove from heat

: Your finished cranberry sauce should look like this