Monday, September 10, 2012

Spinach!

Spinach.  Super food!  It's so amazing for you... full of nutrients, good source of protein, high in vitamins, full of iron, low in calories, versatile... Popeye loves it.  Click here to read more about the benefits of spinach.  :-)


I will say that when I was pregnant I hated spinach.  Couldn't touch it.  Now that I'm not, I'm back to loving me some spinach.  Here are two recipes I've tried recently that are chock full of the healthy green stuff.  Both are WW friendly, too!


Yay, got to use my food processor to make this delicious concotion!  Mmm... Jim and I ate it with some random things we found in the house... carrots, crackers... and then decided to splurge and get some chips for dipping.  All worked well.  Obviously if you go with veggies, it's even less points. 

Spinach and Artichoke Dip (WW recipe)
 The following pictures I took of our dinner tonight.  It looks like a jumbled spinach mess, doesn't it?


 

 
Cheese Enchiladas (WW recipe)

The recipe calls for bigger shells, but I did smaller ones... I thought it actually worked out pretty well.  After baking, it smelled soooo good with the fresh salsa.  Yum!  I think next time I may add some meat or mushrooms... something else to add to the texture a bit.  They needed something more, in my opinion.  Just not sure what!  Any suggestions? 

How do you like to eat spinach?!  :-)

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Emily Bites!

I feel like I talk about Pinterest a lot.  Do I? 
 
I apologize if that's the direction my blog has gone.  I'm just in love with how easy it is to find recipes (and DIY crafts for that matter) there.  A while ago, I stumbled upon a great site called Emily Bites.  She basically takes recipes that she's either found in other places, or created herself, and makes them a little lighter (sometimes a lot lighter).  For those of us tracking P+ with WW, it's quite helpful because she's got it all laid out nicely.  
 
Emily, you rock.  I just think you should know that.  I've also been sort of stalking your site lately.  I hope you don't mind! 
 
Here are a few recipes I've made from her site recently.  I have plans to try many more.  :-) 
 
Mac & Cheese Muffins

I didn't use elbow macaroni for these, as you can probably tell.  I used Ditalini pasta!  First, because I didn't have any elbow macaroni and I figured any pasta might work.  Second, I wanted to make some Ditalini pasta for my little one to try (it's perfect for baby fingers). 

On that note, I would strongly recommend NOT using Ditalini pasta for this recipe.  I think using another kind might get the muffins to stick together a little better.  Don't get me wrong... these were delicious, just a little messy!


Bacon Cheeseburger Wraps
 
I know what you're thinking... 'That's not a wrap, Alissa!'  You're right.  It's not.  I didn't have any in the house the first time I made these.  They actually were more like Bacon Cheeseburger Sloppy Joes.  Not too shabby!  I was sure to get some for the second time (see below).  :-)  I didn't toast them because I'm generally not a fan of toasting... is that weird?  I do think that when I make them again I may try toasting just for fun. 
 
Actual Bacon Cheeseburger Wraps

Cheeseburger Pizza

You may also have noticed a theme... we were kind of on a little bit of a cheeseburger kick.  Cheeseburgers might be one of my all-time favorite foods.  A friend of ours suggested putting a fried egg right on top of that pizza.  So, I guess you could do that.  It would certainly add to the points, though!  ;-) 

Here are a few other recipes that caught my eye:
Cincinnati Chili - If you follow my blog at all, you already know this is my favorite chili of all time... I'm interested to try this version and see how it is!
Banana Pancake Bites - Uh... yum?
Buffalo Wing Hummus - Yeah... I might try this really soon.

Seriously, folks... Emily Bites just looks delicious every time I go there. 

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Eating More Plants

Happy August!  I can't believe it's August already... once August hits, it always seems like the summer is going fast (even if it's not).  I think this summer has felt very long, partly because I've been staying home with my sweet baby girl and she's grown so much!  We've been keeping super busy, too.  It almost seems like we are busier than we were during the school year, thought I know that can't possibly be true. 

On that note, I'm sure it will seem like summer is even longer than it already has been when I don't go back to school this year.  I'm a pretty lucky girl to be able to stay home.  <3

Anyway, with summer in full swing, I've been trying to eat more plants.  Plants are tasty!  Good for roasting, grilling, salad-making, etc.  I've been thoroughly enjoying corn-on-the-cob, which I've never really appreciated before this summer.  Why?  I don't know.  It's delicious! 

Spicy Black Bean Burger, Corn-on-the-Cob, and Grilled Eggplant

I also have a new appreciation for veggie burgers.  I know, right?  Who am I?  What have I done with Alissa?  Veggie burgers?  What's the world coming to?  Yeah... so, Morningstar products (at least the ones I've tried) are pretty good. 

You're probably wondering how I cooked everything.  I'm glad you asked!  I cooked it all on my grill pan.  Have I told you lately how much I love my grill pan?  I have?  ;-) 

The picture below is dinner I made tonight.  I'm not even sure what to call it... I kind of threw some things in a pan and cooked them up.  It consists of ground chicken, cream of chicken soup, pinto beans, frozen corn, garlic, and some seasonings (cumin, cayenne pepper, poultry seasoning, red pepper flakes, and a touch of garlic salt).  It's scooped over some brown rice and next to some grilled potatoes and mushrooms. 

I must also say that that's the saddest salad I think I've ever made.  It's just baby spinach and tomatoes... but it worked.  Initially I was debating about adding the spinach and mushrooms to the chicken mixture.  It probably would have been just as good.  By the way, this was a success!  Hubby liked it and even went back for seconds.  :-)  That's always a good sign.

Untitled Dinner...

These are just blueberries covered with strawberry yogurt (it's what I had in the fridge) and put in the freezer.  I found this idea on Pinterest.  :-) 

Yogurt-covered Blueberries

I hope you're making something amazing in your kitchen!!!

Monday, July 30, 2012

Old Bananas

I had a whole bunch of old bananas that were browning today and decided I was going to make some banana bread.  I've never actually made banana bread before, so I was looking for an easy, yummy recipe online.  This is the one I found.  I printed it out and planned to use it... but... then I logged onto facebook and there was a picture of this Raspberry Dark Chocolate Banana Bread

Which one do you think I made?



Now, the recipe said to use a loaf pan... but that's what happened when I did.  I probably should have gone with my better judgment and used a larger pan when I saw how full the loaf pan was after pouring in the batter.  Oh well.  :-) 

YUM!  I highly recommend this.  Just use a bigger pan.  I did put a cookie sheet underneath to catch any drips.  Hehe, that was a big one!

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Grilling Veggies

Check it out, two posts in two days!  Go me!  :-)

Tonight I made this:

Angel Hair Pasta with Eggplant-Tomato Sauce

It's all part of my more veggies plan... the picture is a little deceiving, though.  You grill up all the veggies and then make the sauce and toss it into the noodles.  I took the picture prior to tossing.  However, I think eating just the veggies would have been amazing... and spicy!

 Grilling eggplant...

 Grilling zucchini... (the recipe says to use strips of red pepper, but I hate pepper and I had some zucchini lying around) ...I should really make some zucchini bread or something!

 Chop up grilled veggies...

 ...and non-grilled veggies like these tomatoes. 

 Heat up some garlic...

 Toss it all together in the pan...

Season it up... mmm... I love this part!  It always smells so good!

Put it on some pasta... or don't.  Like I said, it probably would have been good by itself. 

Next time I may even be so bold as to add other veggies.  I think it would be good with squash and mushrooms, too.  Maybe a little more tomato.  Maybe even topped with some chicken or tofu.  Who knows?  Go crazy!  ;-) 

By the way, if you can't have an actual grill, I highly recommend a grill pan.  Mine was a cheap-o one from Walmart, but I love it!  You could easily spend $100 on a really nice one, though.  Just a thought!    

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Mish Mash!

Hi there!  It's been a while, I know.  I've been revamping my eating/cooking again... but this particular post might be a mish mash of things I've cooked recently.  To start us off, here's a picture of some cauliflower my lovely hubby bought at the store:


While it does seem to be very fun, it kind of scares me.  Is cauliflower ever supposed to be purple, yellow, or green?!  It just doesn't seem right.  Which brings me to my current ponderance.  I've been making baby food for the past few months and thinking about what I would want Olivia to eat vs. what Jim and I sometimes put in our own bodies.  I've been trying to educate myself on what to buy organicly... here's a list if you're interested.  There are other lists out there and it seems like there are different variations, too. 

The down side to buying organic food is the price... but I guess you have to think about what kinds of chemicals you're willing to put in your body. 

Anyway, enough about that for now.  Here are a few things I've made that you might enjoy!  :-)

Avocado Grilled Cheese

I actually found this idea on Pinterest.  I heart Pinterest!  It's just grilled cheese (grilled on my fabulous grill pan) with some avocado slices.  Amazing!  If you like avocado, that is.  That link under the picture will take you to not a ton of grilled cheese ideas.  Check 'em out. 

Shrimp Creole

Straight from the Bayou to your table.  Just kidding!  I actually found a box (yes, I know, this goes against everything I was just saying about being careful about what to put in your body) of creole rice mix that you could add chicken or shrimp to... so I did.  It was in my pantry from I don't know how long ago.  Someday I'm going to try to make one of these versions of Shrimp Creole... they just seem like they would be better than a boxed version (thought it was mighty tasty and lasted me all week long!). 

Crescent Roll Pizza

Ugh.  Okay, I shouldn't start off that way.  Jimmy really liked this!  A complete Alissa original recipe.  :-)  Haha.  I thought it was kind of a flop. 

I sprayed a cookie sheet with olive oil and then put down some crescent roll dough.  Next, I added some sauce, chopped cilantro, shallots, chunks of mozzarella, bits of taco meat (because I always seem to have leftover taco meat in the fridge), and mushrooms (only to my side).  I baked it in a 350 degree oven for eh, about 8 minutes because my oven cooks everything at the speed of light. 

Don't get me wrong, this probably would have been amazing as an actual pizza.  You know, on pizza dough.  It was weird on crescent roll dough.  Jimmy scarfed it down, though.  Hehe.  So, I guess it wasn't a total flop. 

That's all for now!  I've been making lots of different salads recently... all of them good!  I'm going through a little corn-on-the-cob phase.  Does anyone make it a special way that's yummy?  I'd love to have some new ideas!  :-)

Sunday, June 17, 2012

How Do You Roll?

Ahh... summer break... I can cook again!  (Not that I haven't been cooking... I just haven't been cooking too many NEW things and/or blogging about them.)  It's actually been kind of nice to have a repetoire of go-to recipes to make. 

I do like to try new things, though. 

I found this particular recipe on Pinterest:


Peanut Butter Rollup

I imagine that you make it in a similar way to making a pizza... except that you don't bake this... and you don't roll up a pizza.  I did say similar, not the same.  I've never made a pizza.  Maybe I should try that sometime!  I did once get a pizza delivered to my house that was still on the pizza pan.  Weird, huh?  Have I mentioned that I love Pinterest?

Anyway, these rollups were really good!  I liked them a lot with the jelly, but I would say that if you use jelly you should eat them the same day you make them.  Otherwise the jelly makes everything soggy and starts leaking all over your refrigerator.  Trust me on that one.  They just aren't as good without the jelly, in my opinion, so just keep your timing in mind.  I made them with jelly and then they were fantastic the next morning... but the NEXT morning, they weren't as good.  Does that make sense? 

Why do I feel like I'm rambling tonight?  I think I used the word jelly way too many times!  It's been a long day.  :-)

Happy Father's Day, by the way!  (If you're a Dad, of course).  I made my hubby some waffles from scratch, which I've actually never done before.  I usually use Bisquick for waffles.  I just like how they taste.  These were alright... but just not up to the Bisquick fluffiness standard that I've set for myself. 

Waffles from scratch!

Below are two salads I made this week... the first is a little overloaded in that bowl.  Haha.  I should have done it on a plate for a better picture.

Alissa's Crazy Salad

Alissa's Crazy Salad
Spinach leaves
Cherry tomatoes
Mushrooms
Broccoli sprouts
Hardboiled egg
Tofu
Cauliflower
Avocado
Ranch-flavored almonds
...with a little drizzle of ranch dressing on top. 

It's actually really good... despite all of the randomness that's in it.  ;-) 

I made this salad tonight:

Alissa's Taco Salad

Alissa's Taco Salad
Blue corn chips
Spinach leaves
Mushrooms
Grated cheddar cheese
Seasoned ground beef
Fresh salsa (YUM!  I discovered it this week... so good.)
...and whatever else you want to add.  I added a dollop of taco sauce, sour cream, and guacamole right on top.  I would have added some black beans and corn if I'd had any in the house.  I looked.  ;-) 

Thank you readers, if you're out there, for sticking with me through 100 posts!  :-)

Until next time...

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Reminiscing...

So, I remember my mom making something like this when I was little...

Tortilla Rollups

We always had them for parties and I remember them being delicious.  I wish I had her recipe... actually, maybe someone out there who reads this blog does have it!  If you do, I'd love to know what she put in her little rollups. 

I went hunting for a recipe via the Internet and came up with "The Pioneer Woman's" recipe.  I'll call it a recipe because there were some instructions, but really you could make these rollups anyway you want.  In her recipe, she used a whole lot more veggies.  My mom's weren't like that... they were more like how I made mine. 


Basically, I put RF cream cheese, scallions, chopped green olives, and cilantro in a bowl.  I mixed it up, spread it onto the tortilla and added a little freshly shredded cheese. 


Next, you roll and wrap with saran wrap to put in the fridge for about two hours.  I guess it could be longer, but that was all the time I had.  :-)


Take them out, chop them up, and eat!  Really easy... I took them to a housewarming party and they were literally gone in about 10 minutes.  I think I got to eat one!  Haha.  Mmm... I'd say they were a hit.  I'll have to keep playing with the recipe, though, to see if I can perfect it.  There's just something about having a food that reminds you of your childhood.  Am I right?  I don't know... maybe I'm crazy.  ;-)

Monday, May 21, 2012

The Amazing Avocado!

So, I don't know how familiar you are with Pinterest... but it's been a small obsession of mine lately.  There are about a million things on there I'd like to be eating, making, crafting, sewing, doing, etc.  However, because it's literally impossible to do everything on Pinterest, they are bookmarked for later when I have some free time.  Oh wait.  ;-) 

Anyway, I found these Baked Avocado Fries via Pinterest.  I've been wanting to make them for at least two months, but haven't had free time that matched up with ripe avocados.  Avocados, for some reason, only have a short window of opportunity.  Whoa... I think I just learned a bit too much information about avocados and how they were named.  I'll let you read that little tidbit on your own.  This is a family-friendly blog! 

Hehe.  Bet you're curious!




Can I just tell you that it is not easy getting an avocado out of it's skin without breaking it?  Usually I just scoop it out and mash it up for guacamole.  This was a little trickier.


Flour, egg, bread crumbs!  Dip, dip, dip!




The above concoction is sour cream, parmesan cheese, lime juice, adobo seasoning, and cumin.  Tasty for dipping!

Baked Avocado Fries

I'm telling you... Pinterest could not make it easier.  You click on the picture of something delicious and it brings you directly to the recipe.  Love. 

By the way, these were really good and really filling!  They had a crunchy texture on the outside, but were smooth and buttery on the inside.  Mmm...

Sunday, May 6, 2012

A Day of Cooking

Ugh.  I came home from work on Friday super frustrated with life.  Don't get me wrong... I have a very full life.  I love my family.  I like my job (most of the time).  Not too many people can say that!  It's just that life is a little too full at the moment.  I am counting down the days until summer vacation.  It can't come fast enough!

So, in order to try to give myself more time each night this week, I did a whole lot of cooking today.  My lovely husband, who does not get nearly enough credit for all that he does, went grocery shopping for me while I watched the baby.  Did I say that I love my family? 

Here's what I made:

Rosemary Lamb Stew with Spring Vegetables

Except that I used beef instead.  Lamb is crazy expensive and we are trying to stick to some sort of a budget here, people.  Plus, who wants to eat lamb?  Lambs are baby sheep!!!  :-(  If you eat them, they won't grow to their full potential and give anybody any wool.  Sheesh. 

Smokey Shrimp and Corn Soup

This is not for those allergic to shellfish *cough* Jimmy *cough cough*.  I'm eating some right now for dinner though and enjoying every bit.  Both of the above recipes were from the infamous WW recipe book that I can never find links to online.  I'll see what I can do. 

Veggie-Stuffed Shells

Absolutely no lactose in those... well, at least right now.  I may add some cheese directly to the top once I scoop some out.  They smelled really good while they were cooking and I'm excited to try some this week.  I love all things pasta.  There's also no meat, by the way.  Completely vegetarian. 

MORE Barley with Spinach and Asparagus

Yeah, I made this last week and it was so amazing that I made it again.  I didn't even take a new picture.  It looks exactly the same except that I accidentally added more onion than last time and I did add some leeks (on purpose) because I had one to use.  I like leeks. 

Anyway, if I have to cook this week, then there's something wrong.  Our refrigerator currently has a lot of yummy, healthy choices in it!  Go me!  :-)

Ugh, just ate a spoonful of onion.  I think I chopped/sliced/diced too many onions today. 
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...