I Wanted Healthy Muffins

So, again I must say...it's been awhile.  Life has been...well, life has been life.  Living at the beach, April starts the "summer" in my mind, so we've been doing work outside and trying to get our backyard fixed up.  Not an easy task!

We've had some other things going on, but those can be saved for another time!  Now, we must talk MUFFINS!

For those of you who know me, you may know that I am NOT an expert baker.  I consider myself pretty competent in the kitchen and have finally moved away from following a recipe line by line...except when it comes to baking.  I think it's because baking is SO precise and when I'm in the kitchen I like to change things up and try new things.  That said, I have really been wanting to bake recently.

Now, my college BFF is getting married in a few months and we're headed to NOLA in a few weeks for a Bachelorette Party...needless to say, Operation Get Ready for NOLA is in full force and that means lots of healthy eating.  But this weekend I just couldn't take it anymore and decided I had to find something healthy to bake, and BOY DID I!

Healthy Banana Blueberry Oat Muffins
Yields: 12
Weight Watcher Points: 2 each

Ingredients

3 bananas
2 cups of frozen blueberries
1 cup skim milk
1/8 cup Splenda
2 eggs
2 1/2 to 3 cups of quick cook oats (I know, baking is precise but I used three cups and thought it was a bit too much so use discretion!)

Preheat oven to 400

Mash bananas in a mixing bowl

Add the blueberries, skim milk, Splenda and eggs.  Combine well.

Add the oats and mix.  Let stand for about 5 or 6 minutes

Fill tins to the brim and bake for 20-22 minutes (mine was more like 23, but I'm pretty sure there is something wrong with our oven).

Let cool on a wire rack.

Oh My Word, these were good!  A note of caution, these are not very sweet.  If you think that will bother you add 1/4 cup of Spelenda instead of only 1/8.  But honesty, for only 2 Weight Watcher points these were just what the doctor ordered!

They also helped me get over my sadness of some of my new favorite shows being canceled for the 2012 season. Ringer, Secret Circle and ABC's GCBs all bit the dust this May and that news made me very sad, especially because I loved seeing Sarah Michelle Geller back on tv!

So if you decide to try out the muffin recipe, let me know how you liked it.  Also, please feel free to share any healthy baking tips you may have...I'm sure I'll be needing another fix soon!

Jalapeno Popper Chicken and What I Saved: The hubs strikes back!

So I've been out of commission a little recently.  We have taken on some projects around the house that are kind of big and we were fighting off some sort of illness last week - it never really took hold but it was a pain all week!

We have been doing a LOT of yard work!

I'm starting to get ready for Harris Teeter's Super Doubles (which start on Wednesday) but I scooped up a few good deals this afternoon...although my savings don't reflect it! And that's thanks to the husband!  He decided he wanted some mixers and soda (none of which as on sale) so that raised my price significantly - although I only went a few dollars over my $50 budget.

My totals value: $90.12
OOP: 41.82
Savings: 54% (probably my lowest since I started couponing!)

None of my deals were that spectacular and everything I did can be found on some of the other amazing coupon sites so I thought I'd take this time to share a really good and easy dinner I made this week.

Jalapeno Popper Chicken

4 ounces cream cheese, slightly softened
1 jalapeno, diced
4 chicken breasts, sliced to stuff
Breadcrumbs
Shredded cheddar cheese

Mix the cream cheese and jalapenos in a bowl

Slice the chicken horizontally leaving one side connected (so the chicken could open like a book)

Stuff each breast with a tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture

Mix the breadcrumbs and cheese and coat the chicken breast in the breadcrumb and cheese mixture

Bake for 40 minutes at 375 degrees

I severed ours with smashed potatoes and Darrin's Aunt Shirley's green beans which are pretty much the most amazing thing ever!

So again, let me say, sorry for the radio silence, but hopefully the time off has left me fresh and with a lot of new material to blog about!

Did you do anything fun this weekend?  What's your favorite chicken dinner?

It's Madness!

Can you believe we're in the last week of March?? I know I can't!  Darrin and I celebrated our 6-month anniversary earlier this month and are quickly approaching the 7th month mark!

This was even more fun than it looks!

And along with the first day of spring and the Ides, March also gives us Madness - in the form of college basketball that is!

Now my husband is a HUGE basketball fan!

My hubs is 24!

And he LOVES college sports!

The Duke game we went to a few years ago!

So March is a great month for him!  I've never gotten into the March Madness thing but in the spirit of taking an interest in your spouses hobbies, when I co-worker asked if I wanted to fill out a bracket this year I said sure - what's $10 if it means I care about what my hubby cares about for three weeks!

As a side note, I am currently in third place - and while there is NO CHANCE of me coming in first, I could finish a respectable second!

Anyway, Darrin and I decided that it would be fun to pit our brackets against each other!  Winner gets to decide the activities for an entire Saturday!  And it's gotten even more fun because if Kansas and Kentucky both win this weekend Monday will not only decide the National Champions, but also the winner of our little bet!  (PS. Everyone be pulling for Kentucky - it will make for a much more entertaining blog post!).

And now for a smooth transition...

I made a yummy pasta side this weekend!  It was super simple and pretty tasty.

First, dice one onion and 8oz of mushrooms and add to a skillet with a little bit of olive oil and minced garlic.  I seasoned with "Pasta Sprinkle" from Penzey Spices, but basil, oregano, and thyme would taste the same!

After about 8 minutes, when the veggies are nicely cooked down, add in sliced prosciutto and continue cooking for another few minutes.

Add about 3/4 Tbsp of flour and cook for one minute.  Add 1/2 cup of chicken stock and simmer for a few minute, until the sauce gets slightly thick.

Add in the juice of 1/2 a lemon and as many capers as you'd like (I LOVE THEM so I add a lot).  Add a bit more chicken stock (I did another cup) and simmer about 5 minutes.

Toss with cooked pasta and serve!

We had this with some rotisserie chicken (the rest of which I made a yummy chicken salad with) and asparagus!

So I must know:  Have you been following March Madness?  How's your bracket doing?  What would you make your significant other do for a day if you had that power?

A Romantic at Heart

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day!  I know I'm a big romantic sap when it comes to the "official Halmark holiday" but I am perfectly fine with that.  I was even more sappy this year because it was my first Valentine's day as a married women!

This did NOT make Darrin happy!

Our Valentine's Day celebration spanned several days (mainly because I wasn't a huge fan of dinner at 8pm on a Tuesday night, when I have to work the next day). 

We started early on Saturday with an afternoon viewing of The Vow!

I know, I know, I really take the cheesy V-day as far as it can possibly go...what can I say?  I've watched one too many romantic comedies I guess?

Anyway, I thought this was the perfect way to start our celebration.  Although I totally think most of the great parts of this movie are shown in the previews but the chemistry between Channing and Rachel was amazing! 

After that I got a wonderful gift from my husband! 

Love Birds!

We had dinner reservations that night at Catch.  If you're a fan of Top Chef you may remember Chef Keith Rhodes from earlier this season - corn tortillas anyone?? Anyway, Catch is his restaurant and if he was eliminated first this season the winner must make food that is indescribable!  We LOVE Catch.

And here is why...

To start the evening

Winter root vegetable salad with goat cheese and vinaigrette

I obviously couldn't wait to try my seared tuna with lobster stuffed dumplings and edememe pesto

Darrin's BBQ chicken with mac and cheese didn't last very long!

I think Darrin was starting to get a bit annoyed with my picture taking at this point!

Such a trooper :)

Not to make anyone too jealous but this food is beyond amazing!  We didn't have one bite of food that we didn't love! 

Burbon chocolate ice cream and chocolate cake with chocolate mousse

The only damper in the evening was the news of Whitney Houston's death.  Did anyone catch Mercedes' version of "I Will Always Love You" on Glee this week? Loved it!

Now, I'm sure you're shaking your head and rolling your eyes at this point and begging me to find the antidote for the arrow Cupid must have struck me with, but I promise I'm almost done!

Tuesday I got a wonderful surprise at work when Darrin showed up for a lunch date and these:

Love my flowers!

I cooked manly meal for dinner in hopes of wiping all memories of hearts, and flowers, and chocolates from Darrin's mind and we just spend the night hanging out at home!

Steak, mashed taters and asparagus

 So I must say, for a "holiday" that really isn't, February 14th was pretty great this year!

Did you do anything for Valentine's Day?  Do you love to celebrate with the ones you love, or do you find it to be a day you'd rather wasn't?

Chicken Be My Muse!

We spent a LOT of time working on the house last night so I'm taking a morning off.  Honestly, I'd be at Church right now but Darrin started volunteering in the middle school ministry so I'd have to go to the early service alone or he'd have to go to two back-to-back services - I'm not a fan of either option, so until we figure something out I'm watching the service online.  But I digress...

With all my "free time" this morning I'm trying to get my grocery list together and get my shopping done.  We have a nice little routine in the Lemmon/Overholt households - after Church on Sunday we go to lunch and then knock out our grocery shopping.  I try to only go to the store once a week - it saves me a ton of money because I don't pick up things I really don't need throughout the week!

I make my list by planning out our menu for the week, so I know exactly what I'll need to pick up.  This works really well for me and my need to be obsessively organized.  I love to cook and try and come up with fairly creative dinners for the nights Darrin comes over.  Right now I'm making us dinner 3, or maybe 4, nights a week.  In three weeks though, that's going to jump to SEVEN NIGHTS A WEEK!  Now I'm pretty creative and I can search recipe sites like a champ, but I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to come up with great dinners EVERY night of the week. 

My friend Kristen recently started a blog as well (http://notsodomesticated.com/) and posted a super simple, but really great looking idea for dinner, http://notsodomesticated.com/2011/07/01/slow-movin-bbq-chicken/, and I realized that her 6+ months have marriage have already made her an expert on the whole cooking for the hubby thing and that chicken dish became my inspiration!  I've always thought simple wasn't fun when it came to food (I'll post what I'm cooking for dinner below, which I think it's middle of the road creative/complicated-wise as for as what I usually make for dinner) but that slow cooker chicken looks yummy!  So yummy, in fact, that's going to be our 4th of July dinner (Thanks KP).  I think I'm going to try and make corn bread with bacon and jalapenos to go along with it (who doesn't love bacon and jalapenos, right?) and maybe sweet potato fries or roasted squash "fries."  Stay tuned to see how it turns out!

But that's tomorrow.  For dinner tonight I'm doing a stuffed chicken breast over whole wheat spaghetti.  I've made it once before and it turned out really well!  Darrin is the least picky eater ever - as long as he can't taste the egg!

Ingredients:
Chicken Breast
Package of frozen spinach (defrosted)
1 C. Ricotta cheese
LOTS of Mozzarella cheese (yes, LOTS is a cooking term in my mind)
1 egg white 
Bread crumbs
1 egg (beaten)
Sauce (I used homemade last time, but this time I'm using "jar sauce" which I liken to me spitting on my grandmother, but I just don't have the time to make sauce today)
Whole wheat spaghetti

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
Pound out the chicken breast until they're about 1-inch thick (this is still the hardest part for me)
Mix the spinach (I only needed about 3/4 of the package), the ricotta, the mozzarella, and the egg white in a bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.
Spoon a fair amount of the mixture into the center of each chicken breast and roll up each piece.  (I had to use toothpicks to hold them together last time!)
Dip each piece of chicken in the beaten egg and then in the bread crumbs
Place seam down and bake, covered, for 25 minutes
Remove from oven and pour sauce over the chicken.  Return to oven, uncovered, and bake for another 20 minutes.
Start boiling the water for the pasta and then cook according to the package (just remember whole wheat pasta take longer!)
When the chicken is cooked, sprinkle with additional cheese and heat until melted.

Serve the chicken over the cooked pasta - add extra sauce if you want!

See, it's a tad too complicated to cook like that every night.  Anyone have any easy, but yummy, recipes to share?  Suggestions are always welcome...although maybe I should just start instituting "Leftover Night" - I'm sure that would save me a day or two of cooking!